The new Need for Speed makes a technically bold promise – co-operative, high speed driving across 100 miles of vaguely American tarmac. That’s probably why it arrived last week on PlayStation, Xbox and PC with a framerate locked to 30, much to the chagrin of a subset of players.
For some, a framerate below 50 is unthinkable – like shoes without socks. If that’s you, well – there is a way. But it’s a payoff.
All that’s needed is an extra line in Need for Speed Rivals’ executable nonsense. Right click on the shortcut, find ‘Properties’, and add one line to the end of the ‘Target’ entry:
‘-GameTime.MaxSimFps 60 -GameTime.ForceSimRate 60+’
Here’s the fix explained by punctuation-averse Youtuber Pixel Enemy:
Pixel Enemy suggests that the workaround is “almost flawless” – but available only to those with a capable rig. Like a bomb-rigged truck in the sorts of films Need for Speed emulates, if the FPS drops below about 50, you might as well be coating your monitor with treacle before play. To prevent that, you’ll want to compromise on many of the scaleable options available to you in the graphics menu.
Attempt higher than 60 FPS, and you’re apparently likely to experience some “odd crashing” and unusual physics-based happenings.
The choice is there. But are the results likely to be worth it, in your book?
Thanks, Videogamer.