Fixed Improve Performance in 3D Sailing Mode

[Pieter Boelen]

So. Is a new game required for that no lag patch in post #100 to work?

I don't think so.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

No new game required, although it makes very little difference. POTC 3.3 plays much better. I am thinking about building another computer just for these old obsolete games as this one is getting worse and worse with them while getting better and better with modern games.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Little difference? But we checked the whole ruddy, bloody thing step by step!
You confirmed that with with those changes, the NoLag test version was almost as smooth as the Beta 3.3 version.

There is some seriously disgusting "computer magic" going on here because it doesn't make sense anymore!!

 

[Hylie Pistof]

So I chose La Croix and because I start at level 5 I actually won the duel! So went to....well I am now sailing around with a defrocked priest. And everyone but the French are mad at me and I am being recognized everywhere. But at least they have not attacked me yet.

Frame rates are good and sailing is smooth with no jerkiness. All menus scroll smoothly, even the shipyard one but it is early yet.

I don't know yet if this has anything to do with it, but I installed a new cpu yesterday and while it is not completely stable yet it is running fast. Took it from 4 ghz to 4.9 ghz and that is about the limit for everyday use.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I'm pleasantly surprised the shipyard works smooth for you.

At the moment I am focusing on the sidequests in the Nelson storyline, so I cannot vouch for that one right now.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I am still testing but it looks like there is something wrong with my old cpu. Beta 3.5 continues to run very well and beta 3.3 is running better as well. More testing required.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I am still testing but it looks like there is something wrong with my old cpu. Beta 3.5 continues to run very well and beta 3.3 is running better as well. More testing required.

So you're making progress on the performance thing? Maybe? Perhaps? Good news!

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Progress? Beta 3.5 now gets better frame rates at 10x speed than it used to at 1x speed! Beta 3.3 is running a little better too. Frame rates still drop off too quickly when there are a lot of ships around but it is much much better than it was. There is no stuttering or lag anymore even at low frame rates.

So this appears to mainly be a hardware issue fixed by a new cpu.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

So this appears to mainly be a hardware issue fixed by a new cpu.

In that case it gives me great pleasure to mark this as "Not a Bug" since it apparently isn't hugely related to the code and more to hardware stuff.

Thanks very much!

 

[Pieter Boelen]

@Hylie Pistof: I merged the two threads we had on modpack performance together.

While we're on that subject, have you and/or @Thagarr any ideas about "recommend system requirements" for PotC: New Horizons?
@Bartolomeu o Portugues could use that for the Box Art that he would like to see done some time:
http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/box-art-and-user-manual.24215/

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Recommended system requirements? Hmm.

The CPU is more important than the GPU.

On the AMD side an R9 250X or better video card is probably good enough for POTC. My R9 280X is overpowered for POTC and is not powerful enough for modern games.

For CPU any A8 or A10 APU will work with the A10 7850K being a rock star, and almost any FX cpu will work well enough with the highest overclocks equaling the 7850K in single thread performance. POTC only uses one thread.

I just came across this chart that shows the relative performance of many AMD cpus. For POTC all you need to look at is the bottom row or 1.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1547339/new-amd-processor-questions/20#post_23710803

 

[Pieter Boelen]

For it to look "professional" and simple, we'd need to bring the requirements down to something like the examples here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_requirements#Examples

This is the list from the unmodded game:

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Processor: 800 MHz
Memory: 128 MB
Hard Drive: 1.5 GB Free
Video Memory: 32 MB
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 8.1
Keyboard & Mouse
CD/DVD Rom Drive

What of that do you reckon needs to be upgraded? And how much so?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Oh now it is MINIMUM system requirements? That changes everything.

OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1
Processor: 2 ghz or better
Memory: 4 gb
Hard Drive: 12 gb free
Video Memory: 2gb
Sound Card: DX compatible
DirectX: 8.1
keyboard & mouse
CD/DVD drive

POTC shouldn't run too badly with these minimums.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Actually, that "minimum" there is only because that is what I found from the original game.
Certainly actual "Recommended" specifications written in a similar way would be quite welcome too.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Hmm. Ok....

OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1
Processor: Intel: anything new enough to have hyperthreading
AMD: A8 or A10 APU or FX, preferably overclocked
Memory: 8gb
Hard Drive: 20gb free
Video Memory: 2gb
Sound Card: DX compatible
DirectX: 8.1
keyboard & mouse
CD/DVD drive

 

[Pieter Boelen]

And I suppose mention needs to be made about the definitely NOT recommended Intel on-board GFX cards.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

It is starting again. Level 11 and last night I noticed a small drop in frame rate while sailing. It was like flipping a switch as it was just suddenly there.

Today I noticed a small rhythmic pulsing of the fps counter while sailing and in the shipyard the menu is a little jerky while scrolling.

It is not as bad as it was before but it is there.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Well, I flashed the bios in my motherboard yesterday as it had gotten corrupted. The memory perked up quite a bit, then today while playing beta 3.5 24 March 2015 I was sailing along and encountered a 6 ship fleet with 2 of them being big boys. I was surprised to see that the fps stayed at 60! Took the time to record stress and again got a surprise. POTC is running much better than before and loads seem to be much smaller. This is a good day.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

That'd good news, that is!

 

[Hylie Pistof]

It comes and goes. Performance will be fine and then it will drop off to terrible, then jump back up again. Here I am in an 11 ship battle in the rain getting better fps than it used to get just sailing alone.