The buster is a punk!

UPDATE

The problem appears to have been resolved, punkbuster appear to have solved the lagging issues incurred by this update...or removed it all together

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The saviour, the incorruptable, the...Lagger?

Reports coming from down under (who have been playing with the new punkbuster update whilst we were asleep) are suggesting that evenbalance's latest update is actually a burden on the player.

The main feature of this release was not new cheats caught, but a new PunkBuster Screenshot methodology:

Quote

New screenshot code introduced: beginning with this version of the PB Client, PB will randomly take screenshots about once per minute on average and send each screenshot signature to the PB server; several screenshots will be queued and future PB Server editions will be able to request any of the last few screenshots that were taken by the client; the PB Server will also track information pertaining to how often windows reports the game minimized or otherwise inactive, admins will be able to configure PB to kick players who do not keep the game as the active application while playing; admins will also be able to kick players who do not return requested screenshots or where the returned screenshot does not match the previously supplied signature

Its a beautiful idea, its simplicity is great, however its technology is not. Reports coming in from our aussie friends suggest that once a minute you're given a huge lag and frame drop as the screenshot is taken and sent. Your average ET player is left stranded halfway through a gun fight, and the cheated are defeated by the very method to capture the cheaters!

One suggestion is to lower the amount of screenshots being taken, from 1 a minute to a higher figure, possibly one every 10 minutes, however is this lag issue would still remain.