1.2 Framerate Issues?
EnterHaerDalis
Member Posts: 813
Anybody else having framerate issues with the new 1.2 patch?
Never had any issues with any of the other patches but with this one the game seems really lethargic, the frame rate seems to be far less than 30. My hardware is old but as I said I've never had any problems in the past or noticed a frame rate drop at all.
Never had any issues with any of the other patches but with this one the game seems really lethargic, the frame rate seems to be far less than 30. My hardware is old but as I said I've never had any problems in the past or noticed a frame rate drop at all.
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@EnterHaerDalis
I launch the game with Xfire so I'm not sure if that's an issue
BG:EE doesn't even appear on Program Files, the only other way I know to launch it is with beamdog
Now, with the 1.2 patch, it doesn't matter whether I run it in Windows 7, XP, or 95, the frame rate fluctuates between 50 to 25 percent of the maximum setting when I'm in a large, open area, and about 75 percent of the maximum rate when I'm in a small, enclosed area. I tried out what would happen if I cast several AoE spells at once, and the frame rate drop gets worse. I use a digital frame rate display in-game, and I've found that the game loading screen is the only place where it even reaches the maximum frame rate.
I've spent hours trying out various solutions to speed up the frame rate, none of which have made any difference. Cameron Tofer has looked at my .ini file and can't find anything wrong.
While my computer is 3 years old, it exceeds the minimum system requirements, and I've updated everything I can think of. The fact that it was running fine in Windows 95 compatibility mode before the patch indicates that whatever was changed can be undone. I just hope that this can be solved before BG2EE comes out.
I keep thinking it has to be something simple like an update or a certain configuration that will solve the problem, but nothing has made a difference so far.
As well as hardware drivers for your motherboard, BIOS etc?
Sometimes it's just old software being the badguy!
everything is up to date and I had no issues before 1.2
I hope there is a solution .. the game is quite unplayable when the framerate drops huge amounts and at random times
I just had several random moments where the game speed increased like crazy - almost like everybody in my party was hasted with high attacks per round and high movement speed. The next second it will go to the sluggish half game speed with seemingly low framerate. The weird phantom haste seems to be triggered when I entered buildings in Nashkel..
Maybe I'll take a video of what is happening ...
I'll try to make a video and post it here to help illustrate the problem.
But the FPS drop/lethargic gameplay comes in at random and lasts for a random amount of time. It still happens regardless of the FPS value in Baldur.ini but it's far less frequent when it's left at 30, I tried 45 and 60 and the problem is way more frequent at those frame rates.
I tried to make a video with the free version of Fraps, but it didn't turn out very well--lots of skipping and an even lower FPS.
What are your pc-setups? Hardware etc, do you have the same/similar?
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601)
RAM: 4 GB
CPU: AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual-Core Processor TK-42 (2 CPUs), ~1.6GHz
GPU: ATI Raedon HD 3200 Graphics
DirectX 11
OpenGL 3.3.11672
I've installed the most recent updates to my OS and GPU, and have updated my BIOS as well.
Unless the patch mysteriously increased the minimum PC requirements a ridiculous amount there should be no issue on my end
I'll sacrifice screen size for smooth fps any day.
I DID do some testing at higher framerates (60 FPS I think was the one I tested the most) but did not see any major or even very minor differences in FPS. I did NOT test with an external monitor, however. The only external monitor setups I tested with were on my uber gaming system (Dual NVidia 460s in SLI) which is WAY WAY over spec, and obviously never showed issues no matter what I threw at it.
I'd be interested in hearing if the external vs. internal monitor is the cause also. If you do see a slowdown like this and can track it to an external monitor or multi-screen setup please @ me here so I can see.
I'll try to throw some quick tests at BG2 Beta and see if I can re-produce the results there as well...though it sounds like all my laptops are over the spec you guys are playing at (not hugely, but where you are specing an ATI 3200, I'm using something rated around a 4600 I think).
As for the external vs. internal monitor, it definitely made a significant difference in my FPS consistency when I switched to the internal monitor and set my FPS to 32. I've experimented with zooming in and out and casting various AoE spells, none of which had any significant impact on the FPS. One exception is with the final battle with Sarevok. After summoning 3 skeleton warriors and casting 5 AoE spells, the FPS slowed down to about half the rate and then caught up to normal speed about halfway into the battle. I wonder what the battles in SoA/ToB will be like, given some of the large-scale animations and multiple spells being cast on both sides.
In BG II, the option to set the video synchronisation was 'Display Frequency' under 'Program Options' as well.
I don't know if BGEE handles this the same way as in BG II, but if it's the same, setting the 'Maximum Frame Rate' to 60 is indeed asking the engine to run scripts, move things on screen, etc. two times faster and it can have a big impact on your system.
For better understanding, you can read the post from Derek French, a Bioware employee, in this discussion. Here is the important part:
"Just for clarity, I want to state that this is the "AI Frame Rate" which has nothing to do with game video rendering Frames Per Second. It does make the game run twice as fast as 30 is 1:1 time. I just cringe slightly when I read "60 fps" because this has nothing to do with video frame rate. I should have fought harder to get a better label on this control back then."
The Setting being discussed is "'Program Options', 'Maximum Frame Rate'" in Baldur.ini. It does, indeed control the maximum FPS that the game can run at. 30 is the default setting and thus you will NOT get an FPS above 30 at default game settings.
HOWEVER, this setting DOES indeed control more than just the FPS. I'm going to completely butcher any explanation I give as to why so take this with a grain of salt: I seem to remember that the original internal game clock had something to do with Screen Refresh time. Setting this from 30 to 60 framerate ALSO increases the game speed by approximately double. So your characters will move twice as fast, as will the mobs and scripts and everything else that the game executes. It's like watching a movie on fast forward.
Many people do this intentionally because they find the walking rate of characters to be abysmally slow, so they up the Frame Rate to make everything go faster. And yes, when you're asking the game to run twice as fast you are upping the minimum system requirements that the game needs.
I'm not technical support and I don't work for Overhaul, so I am going to feel free to give the very unhelpful advice of: If the default stock game does not run properly with the Maximum Frame Rate set to 30 please post your problem. If you have mods installed and/or you're trying to push your MFR (Maximum Frame Rate) above the stock/default 30, please understand YMMV (Your Mileage May Very) and please do NOT expect a huge amount of help. We, the community, will do what we can to assist, but please understand the moment you are not running Overhaul's Code at their Default Settings, their minimum system specification and the way the game has been tested to play is now out the door.
If you buy a computer, open the case, and start swapping parts, don't call the manufacturer for support...you're no longer using their computer. While there's less harsh of a policy here than trying to call Dell for support after cracking open their case, keep in mind you are still NOT running the game you bought...or the one they produced.
@Mortianna: The issue with the original renderer was that it did a horrible job at painting objects on a screen in an efficient manor. The new renderer is much much better and more efficient at painting objects to the screen. Obviously, this doesn't make it the magical silver bullet in solving all slowness problems. Whereby before a single stinking cloud or cloud kill might bog down the renderer on lower end hardware, it doesn't do that now. That doesn't mean that casting 3 skele warriors, a web, 2 stinking clouds and a couple cloudkills won't do it.
Beyond that, anything rendered on your screen COMPLETELY depends upon the graphics hardware you throw at it. No one loads Skyrim at maximum settings on an Nvidia GeForce6 (and I'm not talking about the 660 either) and expects the game to move. That's not the GAME'S fault. You can only push the hardware so much and then it's going to slow down.
"I wonder what the battles in SoA/ToB will be like, given some of the large-scale animations and multiple spells being cast on both sides."
This is going to be interesting to see also. In my testing (mostly major quest testing) I didn't see any huge slowdown on an ATI 6000 Series Mobile Card (I think it performs identically to something like an ATI 4650 or something like that). That said, I also didn't get into any huge amazing battles either.
@iankirts: If you're using a portrait mod, be careful some of those are known to cause problems with 1.2 (Look for some of the crash threads in this board for more info). If you've just added some custom portraits, I would make sure your portrait size is on spec.
I am also experiencing the same issue with the new renderer.
I copied the old program directory before installing the update so can test out both the old and new executable files.
I was used to V1.0.214 never dropping below 60fps regardless of what was happening. I have now confirmed this with Fraps and it is as smooth as silk to play.
Using the same save file, V1.2 averages around 30fps but fluctuates significantly, sometimes going down to 15fps just moving and navigating around.
My hardware is certainly not new (GeForce 9300M GS) and I'm running on the laptop screen itself, so an external display is not related to the problem (at least, in my case).
i'm not using my portraits any more and the framerate is still acting up
I've been playing v1.2 at the standard 30 fps on my laptop monitor and, while it's much smoother and consistent than when I was using my external monitor, I'm still experiencing frame rate slowdown in certain areas and situations. For instance, when I reached the southern part of the map of the Basilisk area, it slowed down to about 5 fps while I was walking around the smoke cloud (?) animations. It then caught up to the normal rate after I let my party stand there for several seconds. I also experience an initial slowdown period when I encounter large numbers of enemies all at once, like the Chill Hobgoblins at the center of the Beregost Temple area.
I haven't yet noticed a pattern with the time it takes to return to the normal frame rate.
What I don't understand is why I could play the V1.0 version with up to 60 fps (in Windows 95 compatibility mode with the desktop composition disabled) and have near-perfect fps consistency, and why I cannot do so in v1.2.
If I remember something I've read (and I forget if it's earlier in this thread or in another thread) Compatibility Mode no longer does the trick. This means that whatever compatibility mode does in the Windows OS is no longer affecting the way the new renderer works.
Beyond that, it's going to take tech support / development staff to figure out if/what is going on with the renderer slowdowns. Can someone give me some areas (area refs and X/Y locations in zone) where there are issues? I can try to see if I see them myself.