Title: AMD’s Anti-Lag+ Feature Triggers Valve’s Anti-Cheat System, Resulting in Bans for “Counter-Strike 2” Players
Introduction:
AMD has taken down its latest graphics driver, AMD Adrenalin Edition, following concerns raised by Valve, the maker of “Counter-Strike 2”. Valve warned that players using AMD’s Anti-Lag+ technology would face bans under its anti-cheat rules. The additional lag reduction offered by Anti-Lag+ could potentially provide players with a competitive advantage, but its method of altering the game code triggered Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system warnings.
Body:
AMD’s Anti-Lag+ Feature:
Anti-Lag+ is a feature introduced by AMD in its graphics driver to reduce input lag further from regular Anti-Lag mitigation. While the earlier Anti-Lag system reduced queued CPU work to minimize input lag, Anti-Lag+ applies frame alignment within the game code itself. According to AMD’s data, this method offers lag reduction of up to 10 ms, potentially providing players with a competitive edge in supported games.
Valve’s Anti-Cheat Response:
Upon discovering that AMD’s Anti-Lag+ feature implemented code changes in “Counter-Strike 2”, Valve issued a warning to AMD customers. Valve cautioned players not to enable Anti-Lag/+, stating that tampering with the game code would result in a VAC ban. The detection of Anti-Lag+ adjustments by VAC led to unsuspecting AMD users being banned after activating the feature.
Other Reported Issues:
In addition to Valve’s concerns, various reports emerged of Anti-Lag+ triggering crashes or account bans in competitive online games like “Modern Warfare 2” and “Apex Legends”. Despite this, users of Nvidia’s Reflex system, which also reduces input lag, have not reported similar problems.
AMD’s Response and User Solutions:
Following the ban reports, AMD removed the AMD Adrenalin Edition 23.10.1 update, and direct links to the update stopped working on the AMD website. Users who have already downloaded the new driver can avoid bans by disabling Anti-Lag+ in-game by pressing alt+L before starting. AMD is expected to release an update to resolve the compatibility issue with Valve’s Anti-Cheat system.
Valve’s Commitment to Reversing Bans:
Valve has acknowledged that the unintended “cheating” identified with AMD’s Anti-Lag+ feature was unintentional. Once AMD releases the necessary update, Valve has promised to work on identifying affected users and reversing their bans. Restoring bans in other games, however, may prove to be a more challenging task, leading to frustration among players.
Conclusion:
AMD’s Anti-Lag+ feature, intended to provide a competitive advantage for gamers, has faced backlash from Valve’s Anti-Cheat system. The ban warnings issued by Valve have led to the removal of AMD’s recent graphics driver update. While Valve aims to rectify the issue for “Counter-Strike 2” players, the broader impact on other games and bans under different publishers remains a complex challenge. AMD’s next update is eagerly anticipated to bring a resolution to the compatibility issues.