At least offline, I haven't had any issues like what I'm describing above on PC. I really do hope it's just me though, and that it's something I can adjust to.
I only TLDR post
I think there are a lot of things that can make a game feel like it's "eating inputs."
- Not having enough buffering making timings so strict it feels unreliable; which would be a whole game level issue. They generally have added enough buffering in places that in and of itself that shouldn't be a problem once you get used to a game. So unlikely to be your problem
- Input timing shifting online. This game specifically adds 3 delay frames to inputs when online that changes all the timings. So you end up with things like the flawless window moving 3 frames later or counter poke timings being different. It's possible to know your counter poke timing offline but suddenly you fall outside of the buffer window online and now it comes out inconsistently. That's when people turn on the input delay option, so they don't have to learn two sets of timings.
- There is Rollback stress + v-sync. + 60hz. I don't think there is any way to know what the benchmark actually does, but it's possible it doesn't run the game while doing max rollback frames the whole time. When you hop online, rollback add extra CPU overhead and if your system occasionally misses frame delivery with V-Sync on OR you are using borderless window mode, then your game has to stop and wait for the next sync window before it can move on.. That's a long time if it's a 60hz monitor. Being a frame behind also has online implications for your opponent who's game may have to stop to wait for you to catch back up. Rollbacks specifically don't cover a player falling out of time sync.
If not already doing so try to run in exclusive Full Screen with V-Sync off when using a 60hz monitor. Adaptive sync tech can help, and so can lowering settings, and closing everything you can to give the system breathing room. Windows key + "G" will bring up the windows game bar if running and it recently added a "resources" widget to show you high impact processes running that may be affecting gaming. Or just use a high refresh rate, adaptive syncing monitor before using V-Sync. And I'm talking 165hz or more when saying high.
- Then there is the issue I've complained about since the Aftermath patch when online only, I get hitching in matches dragging my FPS AVERAGE down 5-8 frames. I point out average because it means the game is stalling long enough to show significant drops in the average. Like you could run 30 frames then stall for half a second and end up with 30fps average over 1 second which is a very different experience than 30 total spread out over one second evenly.
I've done everything possible to see if it was fixable on my end. I'm not the only one talking about it. I have a totally different computer at this point and not seen any improvement. I'm kind of suspicious that I'm actually running into GGPO spec wait states where my computer is having to wait on someone else's to catch back up. If one system falls behind the other has to literally stop and do nothing while the other catches up
Apparently that's the original GGPO strategy for dealing with systems falling out of time sync with one another. At least according to the stuff that came up when Skullgirls got their netcode improvement last year. Falling out of clock sync isn't the same thing as having to wait for inputs, and is way more likely for random computers than between identical consoles, but even v-sync on a system could push it behind a few ms at a time. It sounded like Skullgirls was doing something never done before to address this old problem and I recall it was a noticeable improvement for players who already had some of the best online. Given the timing, it seems unlikely NRS would have something similar in MK11, especially since (IIRC) one of the hallmarks of waiting on you opponent's rig is eaten inputs.
This issue sounds like something nobody can do anything about. Just hope everyone is running the game super well, and not dropping frames. I am dropping frames online, but I not sure if I'm the cause or the effect.
I'm done rambling about stuff I only half know about, and sure that anyone that tried reading it fell asleep along the way.
