We have unfortunate news on the Splatoon 3 tick rate. According to an analysis by Twitter user OatmealDome, who is a self-described Switch tinkerer, the upcoming game only has a tick rate of 16Hz, which matches that of Splatoon 2 released five years ago in July 2017. The tick rate for the original Splatoon on Wii U is 25hz, meaning that Splatoon 3 is more than 30% slower than the first game. The good news is that this is based on the Splatfest World Premiere demo, which appeared online this weekend. More testing will be needed when the game fully releases on September 9.
Further analysis of Splatoon 3 tick rate
[Splatoon 3]
A lot of people were asking me for the tick rate, so I had a look.
It appears unchanged to Splatoon 2 (~16Hz).
I will re-do this test after the game releases to verify this.
The graphs below show packets sent per second to the lobby host. Left is 2, right is 3. pic.twitter.com/SgfHPPQj0n
— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) August 29, 2022
A graph using Wireshark software shown in the tweet above reveal that the tick rate for Splatoon 2 and 3 match. However, OatmealDome qualifies this comparison by noting that the tick rate appears to be higher at 30Hz when looking at the number of packets per second sent from the lobby host to the console. He believes that this 30Hz anomaly could be based on a problem with a PC or Wireshark configuration, so when Splatoon 3 is out, OatmealDome hopes to test the tick rate during a Private Battle lobby with only two players. Either way, he makes an important note: “Do not consider these results as final.”
Fortunately, having a lower tick rate has its benefits. OatmealDome stated in another tweet that reducing the transmission rate is one way to “optimize” bandwidth requirements. He notes that peer-to-peer transmission between multiple consoles is “stressful” so Splatoon 3’s tick rate might make it easier for muliplayer online play to work better.
That said, a higher tick rate typically means that information between the client and the server is being relayed more frequently, resulting in a better network and online experience. Given that Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3 have essentially the same tick rate, the smoothness of online play between both games should be within the same ballpark.
In other news, the lineup for Xbox Games for Gold September 2022 comes with four free games, and here’s whether you need to watch Lord of the Rings before The Rings of Power.
