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"
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?
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.
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Possibly not since Proton is Valve’s thingy, but who knows.
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.
I mean, the way that Anti-lag+ interacts with dlls is likely unique. My point is that this is on Steam to figure out, not AMD.
Steam is erroneously marking legitimate processes as illegitimate, and behavior monitoring is a pretty well established security mechanism for virus detection.
VAC already is a pointless anticheat, the game has been littered by cheaters for 10 years.
So you combat it by making it easier to cheat?