In competitive online video games, response speed is everything. In just a second, the situation can completely change depending on who acts first, although often the player is not the only one responsible. Lag, the delay between a user input and its reflection in the game, frustrates many players every day.
Whether it’s due to internet speed, the type of servers the game uses, or even the player’s own PC, the experience can be satisfying or a total ordeal depending on the lag we encounter.
In response to this situation, AMD released in its latest driver update the features Radeon Anti-Lag and Radeon Anti-Lag+, allowing gamers to play video games with less latency.
While Radeon Anti-Lag adjusts the CPU’s workload to prevent it from getting too far ahead of the GPU (thus reducing the amount of work accumulated by the CPU), Radeon Anti-Lag+ applies frame alignment within the game’s own code, enabling better frame synchronization and even lower latency.
While these features can be a blessing for many players, for some, they have been a curse. Counter-Strike 2, the highly anticipated sequel to one of the most played FPS games in history, has been banning players who have AMD’s Anti-Lag functions enabled.
Valve explains the main problem
According to Valve, the issue lies with Anti-Lag+, which triggers the company’s anti-cheat system: Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC). It confuses AMD’s low latency mode with player-activated cheats by intercepting and redirecting the game’s dynamic link libraries (DLL) functions.
Certainly, Valve has already confirmed that, once AMD resolves this issue in the next driver update, “we will be able to identify affected users and lift their ban.” So, if you are one of the affected by this situation, you’ll have to wait a bit to play with your friends in Counter-Strike 2 again.
