possible hint at better game optimization

[VibroBlade]

heya devs, i just wanted to throw at you something that i've discovered that could turn out as a really easy way to actually get a good performance boost out of the game.

 

 

so, i guess the vast majority of users actually plays the game on laptops or otherwise non-hyperthreaded CPUs, however, i think this one is still something worth mentioning.

 

i am currently running the game on a powerful desktop (i7 7700k overclocked, gtx970, 16gb of ram) and, as expected, the default rooms run just fine up to 4k resolution bar some really heavy options like detailed reflections. custom rooms vary but that's ok. however, what really bugged me was the new beach, because it seemed to really trounce my CPU and GPU at any resolution, 1080p included. i see almost 60% usage out of my CPU and 100% GPU, that's actually more than many AAA videogames with top notch graphics and simulation. this translated in horrible stutter and great framerate variance at every resolution depending on the camera orientation and location within the beach, which really bothered me because i think it's an extremely well done location and i'd like for other rooms to be updated in similar fashion. after a lot of tinkering in the nvidia driver though, i seem to have found a "magic trick" that boosted my beach performance immensely, and that's enabling "multithreaded optimizations" in the 3d options, specifically for the 3dx profile. nvidia mentions that it's enabled by default for all games but since 3dx is not recognized as a game by the driver unless you make a custom profile for it, i guess that it was actually disabled.

 

right now, i can comfortably run the beach at 50+ fps without having to gimp my usual level of detail, no matter how many people are in it, at a resolution of 3200*1800, just like any other default room. i think that it's worth for the devs to maybe check the nvidia documentation on what multithreaded optimizations actually does, because it may turn out to be something really easy to implement in the game code that would net a huge performance boost for a lot of users. also trying to understand why the nvidia driver does not list 3dx as a 3d application by default and therefore apply its optimizations to it may be a worthwile endeavor.

 

another thing this would help with is Vsync, because right now, your implementation still has frame pacing problems. to be more precise, i am actually running the game without vsync and with a 60fps cap, because that nets me a really good tear-free experience even if i spend most of my time between 50 and 60. however, the half refresh rate (30fps) mode has really bad frame pacing and does not feel smooth at all, with or without vsync. also, because the nvidia driver doesn't like 3dx much, it's currently impossible to ovverride the ingame vsync and frame limiter options through the driver. this, imho, is yet another hint that having a look at how the game and drivers interact could actually net important performance results without touching the codebase too much.

 

honestly, despite running just fine on most systems, i think spending some time profiling the game to catch easy paths of optimization would be nice. a lighter, faster engine would make you able to implement a lot more in term of graphics despite 3dx already being the best 3d community around in term of looks. more eyecandy is always welcome, and i'd really love to run everything maxed at 4k. detailed reflections and multiple lights/shadows really add a nice touch, but i need to disable them most of the time because they kill my gpu big time. :/

[chloe]

hmm.. hve just an option called "Threaded optimization" but changing it for 3dx (after I figured out how to create a profile for it) seems to have no effect. I also have a GTX 970 and beach is problematic. How do I display FPS to see if there is a difference which I cant notice?

 

ty

[AnyNameWillDo]

Interesting thread. I too have a laptop with the i7 7700k and the nvidia 1080, and the beach can be lagyy for me too, but only when it loads and for about 30 secs after. Would be interested to know how you do this optimisation also. My main problem on the beach is high temps, about 7-9c higher than other venues.

 

thanks

[chloe]

 

For our next beach trip Any

[AnyNameWillDo]

 

For our next beach trip Any

 

 

LOL... I just got one similar to that! I guess being a Brit, the beach always gonna seem HOT XD

[VibroBlade]

hmm.. hve just an option called "Threaded optimization" but changing it for 3dx (after I figured out how to create a profile for it) seems to have no effect. I also have a GTX 970 and beach is problematic. How do I display FPS to see if there is a difference which I cant notice?

 

ty

 

you need a third party software to do that. i personally use FRAPS, the free version will do. mind though, that a lot of stuff can change between systems. for exhample, it may be that one driver release works and another doesn't. that's why i suggested the devs look into how the game and the driver work together. right now, i'm on the latest nvidia release, 384,76.

Interesting thread. I too have a laptop with the i7 7700k and the nvidia 1080, and the beach can be lagyy for me too, but only when it loads and for about 30 secs after. Would be interested to know how you do this optimisation also. My main problem on the beach is high temps, about 7-9c higher than other venues.

 

thanks

that's normal since the beach is really heavy on the gpu. since you have a laptop, you are trying to cope with a heavily taxed CPU and GPU at the same time, hence the increase in temperature. at my target resolution, i usually see 70 to 80% gpu usage in a lightly custom room, and 100% on really heavy ones like the beach. what really piqued my interest is that on the beach and there only, CPU utilization seemed to spike really hard and make my fans spin up to max speed to keep the heat down. to enable threaded optimizations, you need to right click your desktop, open the nvidia control panel, get into "manage 3d settings", select "program settings", manually give it the path for the 3dx executable and then turn on threaded optimizations on the list. here's a screen:

 

 

but yeah, please note that this may not work at all, depending on the specific machine you are running. that's why i wanted to notify the devs, because they are the ones better equipped to look into it and see if there's an optimization issue with how the beach can overwork the CPU.

[AnyNameWillDo]

you need a third party software to do that. i personally use FRAPS, the free version will do. mind though, that a lot of stuff can change between systems. for exhample, it may be that one driver release works and another doesn't. that's why i suggested the devs look into how the game and the driver work together. right now, i'm on the latest nvidia release, 384,76.

that's normal since the beach is really heavy on the gpu. since you have a laptop, you are trying to cope with a heavily taxed CPU and GPU at the same time, hence the increase in temperature. at my target resolution, i usually see 70 to 80% gpu usage in a lightly custom room, and 100% on really heavy ones like the beach. what really piqued my interest is that on the beach and there only, CPU utilization seemed to spike really hard and make my fans spin up to max speed to keep the heat down. to enable threaded optimizations, you need to right click your desktop, open the nvidia control panel, get into "manage 3d settings", select "program settings", manually give it the path for the 3dx executable and then turn on threaded optimizations on the list. here's a screen:

 

 

but yeah, please note that this may not work at all, depending on the specific machine you are running. that's why i wanted to notify the devs, because they are the ones better equipped to look into it and see if there's an optimization issue with how the beach can overwork the CPU.

Thanks for all your help, much appreciated

[tinanude]

you need a third party software to do that. i personally use FRAPS, the free version will do. mind though, that a lot of stuff can change between systems. for exhample, it may be that one driver release works and another doesn't. that's why i suggested the devs look into how the game and the driver work together. right now, i'm on the latest nvidia release, 384,76.

that's normal since the beach is really heavy on the gpu. since you have a laptop, you are trying to cope with a heavily taxed CPU and GPU at the same time, hence the increase in temperature. at my target resolution, i usually see 70 to 80% gpu usage in a lightly custom room, and 100% on really heavy ones like the beach. what really piqued my interest is that on the beach and there only, CPU utilization seemed to spike really hard and make my fans spin up to max speed to keep the heat down. to enable threaded optimizations, you need to right click your desktop, open the nvidia control panel, get into "manage 3d settings", select "program settings", manually give it the path for the 3dx executable and then turn on threaded optimizations on the list. here's a screen:

 

 

but yeah, please note that this may not work at all, depending on the specific machine you are running. that's why i wanted to notify the devs, because they are the ones better equipped to look into it and see if there's an optimization issue with how the beach can overwork the CPU.

 

Thanks for your help. I had a Nvidia too and it works better after use this settings.

[Guest Mulan]

Threaded optimisation offers higher FPS but will jump around a lot. With it off then you should get a more consistently smooth FPS. In a game like 3DX it is hardly a big deal that you get 45 FPS consistently. It is not Overwatch.

 

I do agree that the game needs optimisation. The game uses way more resources than it needs to.

[Aliviax]

Hi i have i7 6700k 16gb ram gpu r9 270x direct cu2 2gb top edition asus at 1120.

My cpu usage while playing on extreme is very low but game is killing my gpu haha.

I noticed temp like 64c n rising when i go to big houses so for now i made a profile on my gpu n set my fun at like 60% speed from the default 20% that has for these temps.

Important note now..when i try overclock my gpu through asus default profiles while i play game screen goes black so i re start pc .

Haha i think my card will say byeeeee soon...runs at 100% ^^^ all time in this game while my cpu sits on like 30%

[Aliviax]

Btw i use the fxaa anti not smaa