By default Counter-Strike: Source keeps your network settings conservative. Since we use higher settings on our servers, clients need to increase their rates fromt he default set when the game is installed. If you want to raise the quality of your connection to the server you can adjust your connection rates to the server using the following console commands:
cl_cmdrate
cl_updaterate
rate
All BOOM! Public Servers are 66-tick for the best overall performance. The rates for our Public servers are capped to prevent people from running rates lower than a minimum and higher than a maximum. The server-side rate limits are as follows:
sv_minrate 25000
sv_maxrate 40000
sv_minupdaterate 33
sv_maxupdaterate 66
sv_mincmdrate 33
sv_maxcmdrate 66
Players on using the BOOM! Gaming Community Public Source Servers should first try using the following rate settings for optimal game performance:cl_cmdrate 66
cl_updaterate 66
rate 40000
The above rates are the best for most halfway decent High-speed Internet connections, so try using them below rates for the Match server and only lower them if you get choke or the tick-rate falls
The BOOM! Match Server is 100-tick for the best Match performance. The rates for our Match server are also capped to prevent people from running rates lower than a minimum and higher than a maximum. The server-side rate limits for our Match server are as follows:
sv_minrate 25000
sv_maxrate 40000
sv_minupdaterate 66
sv_maxupdaterate 100
sv_mincmdrate 66
sv_maxcmdrate 100
When playing on our 100-tick Match server, use the following rate settings:cl_cmdrate 100
cl_updaterate 100
rate 40000
Again. the above rates are the best for most halfway decent High-speed Internet connections, so try using them below rates for the Match server and only lower them if you get choke or the tick-rate falls
You can manually set your rates by typing these values into your Source game's Developer's Console (use the "~" key in game) or put them in a cfg file you can execute in your local cstrike folder.
What do these things do? They control the size of the pipe between you and the server, as well as the rate of updates you send and receive from the server. Adjusting these values allows your client to more accurately show you the world and gives the server more accurate info about what you are doing so it doesn't have to have to work as hard. Proper rate settings equate to less choke and better overall game play for all players in the server.
If you want to see how your client is communicating with the server, open up your developer console and type: net_graph 3, then close the console. This will pop-up live statistics so you can see what is going on. Here is an outstanding article the explains what all the numbers mean on the netgraph monitor and how to set your rates appropriately. It's the best article I've ever seen on the topic.
http://whisper.ausgamers.com/wiki/index.php/Tickrate#Net_graph_3_ExplanationFor those really interested in the more geeky side of all this, here is a solid article:
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Source_Multiplayer_NetworkingHere is another techy article that explains what Tick rate is:
http://whisper.ausgamers.com/wiki/index.php/TickrateHere is another more focused article about rates:
http://whisper.ausgamers.com/wiki/index.php/Source_Netcode
