I'm curious about why so many games, especially older ones, have certain actions tied to the frames per second (FPS). For example, games like Daggerfall and FNAF 1 can actually be broken by changing the FPS, making certain mechanics depend on it. Given that modern computers are way faster, why would developers design games this way? Would it not be better to link these actions to a timer or some other method? I'm not a programmer, so I'm just trying to wrap my head around this concept!
2 Answers
In many early games, tying actions to a specific FPS was easier for developers. Back then, it was common to assume everyone would run the game at a standard frame rate, so it made calculations straightforward. Every action is processed in steps during loops, and since each frame represented a step, it was a simple method to track progress without complex timing systems. However, increasing FPS leads to faster updates for things like movement while more demanding calculations, like collision detection, might still be capped at a slower rate, creating glitches when the game behaves unexpectedly.
Games operate on a repeating loop that updates all the relevant data in the game, like graphics and physics. In the past, when computing power was limited, developers expected things to run on slower processors, which is why adjustments based on FPS were more manageable. Nowadays, as computers can process so much more, keeping these mechanics tied to FPS can lead to issues like clipping through walls as movement updates occur more frequently while other systems don’t keep up. Many modern games now use a method called delta time to adapt updates across different frame rates, but not all games are programmed that way, especially older ones.
Yeah, exactly! Delta time helps smooth out issues as it accounts for how long has passed since the last update. That's why some actions might feel broken at higher FPS in older games.