How cl_interp affects my gameplay
Honestly, I completely forgot these command (cl_interp, cl_interp_ratio) until I read a topic on Reddit few days ago. After changing mouses, changing sensitivities, crosshair, resolution, in-game settings, and even gaming chair and table, I still could not get used to playing CS:GO online. It was so much difference between training with bots offline and playing MM. And you know that feeling when you shot someone in his head 3, 4 times then you die without killing him huh? So frustrating. I was thinking the reason was the CS:GO hitbox was much smaller than CS 1.6, but c’mon, I knew my aim was not that bad!
A few days ago I read a topic on Reddit and BINGO! I immediately launched CS:GO and check my config settings. My cl_interp was 0.0xxxxx, and my cl_interp_ratio was 2, cl_interpolate was 1. So I changed my cl_interp_ratio to 1 to see if there would be anything different. Got in an MM game and YEAH!. Now everything feels better, everything is controllable, and a lot more confident.
How to tweak cl_interp properly
So if you have done a lot of things to improve your aim but still get stuck, you might want to change your interp settings. Here I will tell you how to do it. (If you wish to read more about how Interpolation works, see this)
We have 3 commands: cl_interp, cl_interp_ratio, cl_interpolate. To be able to use these commands, you must first enable the in-game console. Go to ‘Options’ -> ‘Game Settings’ -> Choose ‘Yes’ for ‘Enable Developer Console’. Then go to ‘Options’ -> ‘Keyboard/Mouse’ -> Assign a key to ‘Toggle Console’. (Recommended key: ~). Now get in game and open your console by pressing ‘~’.
The default settings are:
Cl_interp 0
Cl_interp_ratio 2
Cl_interpolate 1
Back in time in CS 1.6, I often change the cl_interp only, but in CS:GO is a bit different. In your settings, the cl_interp should be set to 0 and 0 only. The game will automatically adjust this value based on the servers and the rate you playing on. But basically just set it to zero. The lower the better.
Cl_interp_ratio should be set to 1,2 or 3. It depends on your connection. So for me, it is 1, but for you, it might be 2 or 3. You probably need to test it yourself to see what works. However, this is noticeable so there will not be a problem. Tips: Set to 1 if you have little to no packet loss (a.k.a loss, choke, use the command net_graph 3 to see it yourself), 2 of you have regular packet loss, and 3 if you have a big amount of packet loss.
Cl_interpolate, remember to check this command. Just set it to 1.
To change this you can add it to your autoexec config, or just copy and paste this to your CS:GO launch option:
No packet loss:
Config file:
Cl_interp 0
Cl_interp_ratio 1
Cl_interpolate 1
Launch option:
+cl_interp 0 +cl_interp_ratio 1 +cl_interpolate 1
Regular packet loss:
Config file:
Cl_interp 0
Cl_interp_ratio 2
Cl_interpolate 1
Launch option:
+cl_interp 0 +cl_interp_ratio 2 +cl_interpolate 1
Big amount of packet loss:
Config file:
Cl_interp 0
Cl_interp_ratio 3
Cl_interpolate 1
Launch option:
+cl_interp 0 +cl_interp_ratio 3 +cl_interpolate 1
Hope it helps!
