Fixed Improve Performance in 3D Sailing Mode

[Levis]

@Hylie Pistof do you get any error logs when sailing with multiple ships?

------------------------------------------------------------

No Lag V1:

Very well, let's try that again. With a different approach this time.

I made a comparison between @Hylie Pistof's PROGRAM and RESOURCE\INI folders and the Beta 3.4 files.
Then I placed all code I consider to be LEAST likely to cause the lag in the attached archive.
And this time I actually did it a bit more carefully and the game should actually start up with this....

So please do the following:
1. Make a copy of your smoother-running Beta 3.3 install
2. Extract the attached archive on top
3. Find a heavy test case and let me know if it got worse again

You may want to find a heavy test case that DOES run smoothly before extracting that archive.
That way you can use the exact same scenario to check the difference.

http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/modpack-performance-issues.24859/page-4#post-503758


No Lag V2:

@Hylie Pistof: Next step! Same as before, extract on your smooth game version.
This is based on the previous version, but now includes MORE Beta 3.4 code, most notably the improved smuggling.
I also removed the shipyard sale price fix again, figuring that is the most likely cause for your interface lag there.

So if I did well, with this file sea should still be as smooth as Beta 3.3 and the shipyard interface should also be smooth again.
If you can confirm that, we can continue for the next step.

http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/modpack-performance-issues.24859/page-4#post-503833


No Lag V3:

@Hylie Pistof: Next step is here! This time I also added the code related to Fetch Quests in there.
As before, please let me know if this is still smooth or if the lag sneaked back in on this update.

http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/modpack-performance-issues.24859/page-5#post-503936


Perks & SeaAI:

So is the performance down to Beta 3.4 sluggishness yet or not?
If not, I have the next two steps here as well:

1. Do this FIRST or SEPARATELY from #2!
Extract b14_b3-3_SeaAI.zip and then check for performance.
This is definitely the most relevant file for sea battles and may be the cause.

2. Do this either ON TOP or SEPARATELY from #1
Extract b14_b3-3_Perks.zip and then check for performance.
This puts the ability updates back in.

Again, if we can find the culprit, I can either exclude that code from the Beta 3.5 WIP files or we can try to fix it so that it does work, but performs better.
If all goes well, perhaps I can look into it over the weekend and hopefully sort this out so we can all get on the same game version again.
Now THAT would be nice!!!

http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/modpack-performance-issues.24859/page-5#post-503941


Initial Results:

So let's see if I got this right:

Build 14 Beta 3.3, 9 Nov 2014: Performance is OK

Build 14 Beta 3.3, Plus NoLag update V1 (General Changes): Performance still at previous level
Build 14 Beta 3.3, Plus NoLag update V2 (As Above + Smuggling): Performance still at previous level
Build 14 Beta 3.3, Plus NoLag update V3 (As Above + Fetch Quests): Performance perhaps a little lower, but not sure of that
Build 14 Beta 3.3, Plus NoLag update V3 (As Above + SeaAI): Performance still at previous level
Build 14 Beta 3.3, Plus NoLag update V3 (As Above + Perks): Performance dropped down to Beta 3.4 level

Build 14 Beta 3.3, Somewhere January: Performance was BETTER than any other version mentioned here
Build 14 Beta 3.4, 19 Jan 2014: Performance is notably bad

To clarify, when you installed the SeaAI and Perks updates, did you do that on the NoLag V3 version or on the original Beta 3.3 you posted?
It was intended to be installed on NoLag V3, so if you installed the Perks on Beta 3.3 without it, that may not work as it should.

Basically Build 14 Beta 3.3 + NoLag update V3 + SeaAI + Perks should pretty much be equal to Beta 3.4 (minus your own settings tweaks).
So what happens if you install ALL of those and compare it to Beta 3.4?
Technically there should be no more difference: Functionality should be the same and performance should be equally bad.
Exception is the shipyard lag, because I did still exclude that.

Can you also please try the latest Beta 3.5 WIP? It seems the Perks are the most likely cause of this, but the WIP contains some further changes to that.
So I'd like to know if those changes made any difference at all, for better or worse.

Also, I don't see how a January pre-Beta 3.4 release could have better performance than ANY other version.
Basically the NoLag update series should have covered that stage.
And Beta 3.4 was released on 19 January, so the BEST version would have been REALLY close to the WORST in timing.

http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/modpack-performance-issues.24859/page-5#post-503968


Resulting No Lag Band-Aids:
These files restore the perks and shipyard code to Beta 3.3 state.
Those changes are the most likely causes of lag.

b14_b3-4_NoLag.7z for Build 14 Beta 3.4:
Extract on top of a correct installation of Build 14 Beta 3.4 .
The extra patch-zip is already included so this can be done straight on top of a ModDB installation.

b14_b3-5_NoLag.zip for Build 14 Beta 3.5 WIP:
Extract on top of a correct installation of Build 14 Beta 3.5 as per this thread.
This is based on the 6 May 2015 release (most recent at the time of posting),
which contains both an EXE and a ZIP that must be installed prior to this.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I do not have any now. Never checked before.

 

[KillPhil]

Hm strange.. I dont have any problems with performance.. only when I set the cannon particles too high, my performance goes down when there are many cannons firing at once. I also got probably 1 or 2 times a CTD because of smoke, when I tried to spyglass through the smoke.. seems like the D3D8 Renderer doesnt make it then

BUT I also have to say that my Laptop has a quite high performance, so maybe we accidentaly increased the minimum system requirements by adding 'too much' code?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I got an error log just now but don't think it is sea related. There also seems to be a lot of missing textures.

I just ran into a problem. I was smuggling a load of fruit into Bonaire. This is listed as contraband. I have smuggled sugar there before with no trouble. So I went to the Buccaneer camp and he wouldn't talk to me. Then I went into town and the smuggler in the tavern wouldn't talk to me. So I went into the store and sold my load of contraband fruit there. What happened to make the smuggler not want contraband but the store did want it?

Our differences in performance have different causes. For instance my video card is too powerful and POTC doesn't push it hard enough to get it out of 2d mode and frame rates drop. So I run AA at 24x and AF at 16x to put a load on it to kick it into 3d mode.
Methinks this new performance hit is more cpu related because the one core that POTC uses is now running at 100% and it did not do that before much at all. Sometimes even when pushing buttons to do things there is a lag from when the button is pushed until something happens, but only at sea.

 

[Rei]

As for the lag issue, kinda feels like this:

 

[Levis]

I think I found a reason for the laggyness
please try this version:
http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/...-companions-captains.24609/page-2#post-501023

 

[Levis]

So does the new update work to bring it back to the previous level?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

There is no change for me.

 

[Levis]

What settings are you playing, are you using open sea mod etc. Did you change anything in the internal settings?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I play the Open Sea mod and the only change I make to internalsettings.h is no perks from jewels and unlimited loot.

Here are my current settings.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Take a look in the screenshots thread starting with page 1. You will see that for most of 2013 I was getting a solid 60 fps most of the time that would fall into the 30s in large battles with lots of smoke. The fps count is in the bottom right hand corner.

Now my fps is peaking at 30 and drops as low as 4 frames per second. The difference? I got a new video card with the latest drivers. I am still working on getting the old performance back.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Do you have any old modpack installers? I'd be curious to know how performance would be for you on Beta 3.1, for example.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Nope. I have POTC 3.3 and then some old ones like patch 5. POTC 3.3 gets better fps.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

POTC 3.3 gets better fps.

On the same computer with the same hardware and the same settings, right?
What date do you have on the Beta 3.3 version that apparently works better?

Also, do you still have the installer for that version? While I do always keep all main modpack versions installed, I don't store all intermediate installers.
So right now I think I only have the Beta 3.4 installer and one intermediate Beta 3.3 game version.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

My POTC 3.3 install is dated 9 November 2014 and I have copies stashed in many locations along with installers.

I just played build 14 beta 1 patch 5 dated 22 April 2011. The games last save is at the shore just before the battle with the Mefisto and the Animists. So I did that battle. Frame rates were in the 50s with an occasional drop into the 40s. POTC seems to run off the hard drive instead of the memory and playing on the usb external drive meant lots of lags.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Now I'm thinking that my problems with lag has a lot to do with this video card and/or drivers are not compatible with POTC. In 2013 I was getting 60 fps in essentially the same game as now graphically with a video card from 2007! Now with a much stronger VC I'm getting half that.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

After working on hardware and software I managed to improve all games some. Then started a new game in beta 3.4. In the new game merchant shop menus scroll smoothly, the shipyard meny only has a small hitch to it, and fps at sea with only one ship is ok.

In the old game with large ships the merchant menu is good, the shipyard menu still hangs but not as bad, and at sea the fps is so low the game is unplayable.

POTC3.3 is fine in all regards.

 

[Rei]

Sometimes I get nice crisp graphics in direct sail, other times I get this horrendous stutter and lag. Very annoying. What causes this nuisance with my graphics? I have a good dedicated graphics card and GPU. I shouldn't be having these issues.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

More details are needed such as what ship are you sailing and are there any other ships around you when it stutters. Also are you getting the graphic Anomaly then?

Were you getting this with the older versions of POTC?

 

[Rei]

More details are needed such as what ship are you sailing and are there any other ships around you when it stutters. Also are you getting the graphic Anomaly then?

Were you getting this with the older versions of POTC?

The ship I sail with is irrelevant. I have tried several different types of ships. What I have is clearly graphic. With ships or no ships around me I still get these horrid stutters and lag. The only anomaly I get, and it's very rare, is flickering under my ships. Though oddly enough the flickering helps my frame rate dramatically. Other versions not as often, but it has happened before.