Sixfortyfive wrote:I usually don't notice a difference between a 3-bar game and a 0-bar game, and most of my games are 0-bar. VOOT's netcode is really good. I'd say that only about 2% of my matches stutter to the point where I really notice it.
Stutter is a separate issue from lag in general. I've had 3-bar games that were unplayable due to extreme stuttering, and 0-bar games that were smooth. Stutter probably warrants a dedicated rule separate from lag, although it will also be subjective.
The netcode makes lag manifest as a delay on apparently all inputs. The impact on your gameplay will depend on your VR and play style. For me (using Grys-Vok), it's noticeable in a variety of ways. One is freeze cancels... I have to adjust my timing for every freeze cancel I do in every game (might be dozens per round). This is not too bad as long as the latency is consistent during the match, and I rarely miss the timing on these during a match (there's no in-game "lagometer", so I don't usually know if it is me or lag). But, when I switch opponents, and play a match with a dramatic lag difference, I have to be very careful to compensate. If I'm playing a series of "important" matches, there isn't time to acclimate to varying lag levels, which is annoying. I consider a "dramatic lag difference" to be between 0-bar and 1-bar, 1-bar and 3-bar, and 3-bar and LAN/single player.
Another impact of input lag is on movement. Lagged movement is bad because in this game you have to move A LOT!
It's really noticeable when you are trying to avoid something. Higher lag can mean the difference between a near miss and a potentially game changing hit. At any level of lag, your reaction time has to be excellent, but it has to be even better with high lag. Players push their gameplay to the limit, and realistically the limit under minimal lag is different than that of higher lag. So under high lag, you have to play differently. For example, this could mean aborting an attack that you would have tried under low lag.
Under high lag, CC is very difficult. The tolerances for CC are very tight, so actions that are difficult under low lag are nearly impossible under high lag. I think most players will try to avoid CC under high lag due to this. What I've found the hardest is blocking. So many times I've input block at the "right" time, only to get hit anyway. With 3-bars, I'm noticeably better than 1-bar, and just forget about it under 0-bar.
Yet another effect of input lag is inputting precise attacks. With Grys-Vok, forward and forward-diagonal dash cRW is very good offensive attacks. I prefer the forward-diagonal variation because it does more damage, but it shoots fewer missiles than the forward variation. So, I really have to have perfect timing to do the forward-diagonal version, and under high-lag, it is much harder. So I have to adjust my gameplay, and just do the standard forward variation since it is slightly easier to connect with.
