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"
Surely Valve is reversing these? I’d be pretty pissed.
It has been discovered that manipulating DLL functions with AMD’s technology could result in a VAC ban.
So actively altering game code can be misconstrued as trying to cheat. Well consider me fucking shocked.
Things like reshade and controller api modifcations redirect dll functions. The line is kind of vague about the specifics.
Should people on steamdeck ironically be banned for how proton changes how the DX11 is read and converts it to vulkan?
Should people on steamdeck ironically be banned for how proton changes how the DX11 is read and converts it to vulkan?
it’s just converting the call that the game make to vulkan, it’s different, it don’t touch game code at all
Its not exactly, its a dll conversion. You overtake the dll the game uses and replace it with a different library. Same idea with reshade. You bypass the dll given by the game to use your own.
Exactly. Steam should just run a check to see if they’re using the feature and ignore it if so. It can’t be that hard to read the amd config file.
Then hackers would be able to bypass the anti-cheat by enabling it (or convincing the anti-cheat that it is enabled). DLL Detouring is common in hacks, and making a ‘get out of jail free’ card available would essentially make the anti-cheat pointless.
And yet use of actual cheats doesn’t result in VAC bans, and the game is in just as bad of a state as CS:GO, with most old cheats being easily ported over. Good fucking job…
Not sure why people are downvoting you. I’ve been in about 2 Valorant games where I’ve seen people straight up get banned mid-match. It terminated the match immediately.
On top of that, I’ve never seen obvious cheaters in Valorant. Go play Counter-Strike for long enough and you’ll find spin bots.
Is rootkit anti-cheat sketchy? Absolutely. Does it work really fucking well? Absolutely.
Not even purely just a CS/Valve issue, which is the worst part. Anything that runs BattlEye struggles with rampant unpunished cheating, and yet they successfully ban anyone running legit systems, or software that has nothing to do with the game. Somehow it’s only getting worse, because a bunch of new games are introducing Ring0 anticheats, that have access to way too much information, but still fail to do what they’re designed to
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
Professional players should all be using the same hardware and software configuration
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
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.
AMD when injecting code into a game triggers the anticheat
