Use of AMD Anti-Lag+ technology in Counter Strike 2 will result in a VAC Ban, Valve confirms
AMD has made an oversight in implementing their new technology that poses a significant issue for Counter Strike 2 players who have opted to utilize AMD’s AntiLag+. Recently, AMD introduced a new 23.10.1 driver allowing players to access this technology in the game. However, it has now been confirmed that utilizing this technology can lead to a ban.
Despite Counter Strike 2 being launched just this month, it has already earned attention from all major GPU manufacturers, each offering dedicated graphics drivers. AMD’s most recent release introduced Anti-Lag+, an exclusive feature for the Radeon RX 7000 series, aimed at enhancing responsiveness by optimizing frame alignment within the game’s code.
It has been discovered that manipulating DLL functions with AMD’s technology could result in a VAC ban. Valve may consider lifting the bans only when AMD provides an update for this technology. Until that happens, it is recommended not to enable this technology in the game.
The Anti-Lag+ technology is an improved tech that only works on Radeon RX 7000 series and RDNA3 based products. The tech is available in multiple games but Counter Strike 2 is the only that has reported problems with implementation. The game also supports NVIDIA Reflex technology, but Unlike Anti-Lag+ which works on a driver level, Reflex is incorporated into the game itself.
Tweet from @CounterStrike:
"AMD's latest driver has made their "Anti-Lag/+" feature available for CS2, which is implemented by detouring engine dll functions.
If you are an AMD customer and play CS2, DO NOT ENABLE ANTI-LAG/+; any tampering with CS code will result in a VAC ban.
Once AMD ships an update we can do the work of identifying affected users and reversing their ban. @AMD"
It sucks but I mean, the game is basically a sport now. I get the necessity.
Professional players should all be using the same hardware and software configuration
VAC is to keep the game fun for more casual players
This would be a serious challenge in real-life and basically impossible online.
You're bound to encounter minor model differences unless you spend dramatically more on hardware.
I mean… professionals always have to spend dramatically more on hardware…
There are rules around the engines and bodies f1 and nascar drivers can use, there are rules around what shoes runners can use…
A slimmed down operating system on a specific hardware configuration isn’t unreasonable
F1 is still largely a pay2win affair with clear competitive advantages for having a bigger budget so not a good a comparison IMO.
The worlds greatest cs2 player may live in a 3rd world country and never been able to afford a PC
I see what you're saying but you're comparing $500-1500 for a PC to the millions of dollars you need to even prototype an F1 car, let alone transport and race it.
That’s sort of my original point - bringing VAC into the discussion of “it’s a sport” isn’t very meaningful
VAC has never, and will never, had an affect professional esports
Much more limited these days. F1 teams all have to stay within a budget cap these days, and while the top ones are still benefitting from the money they poured into R&D before the caps, ongoing investment is much more limited.
I'd buy in to that. You could even do it the way NASCAR does it: here are the specs. You can buy it from us to guarantee you are in compliance, or if you're good enough to replicate this setup you can use your own, but we'll tear down your setup to inspect after every contest. The only changes allowed are peripherals
Irl professionals dont use their own pc. They use a pc provided to them, and their own accessories thats tested before hand for any suspicious modifications.
Online of course is unenforcable
Real sports let you change the source code
Football
Rugby
Cricket
Basketball
Hockey
Are all open source; it’s not that esports aren’t sports. It’s just most are advertisements not sports
That's not a great argument. Real sports don't let you change which rules you play by while others are still using the normal rules.
What you described is more like making your own league.
What do you think open source is?
If you’re using a modified version of something then you need other people using it too
Code is rules