1.30 Good FPS but jittery

[bogol]

The rats are hiding, no more twitter, no more posting in here. Oh no, they are working, sorry!

[Tigger6]

Incidentally- the patch did increase max FPS I'm getting. However there is something that makes it go horribly low. I tested it sound off, because the stutters seemed to be worst in the cases where I get very low FPS on linux, which is sound-related, but there was no change. Sound disabled, I go to offline, lift a airplane and fly through one of the high tree alleys just next to the airfield. 2-10 fps. With 1.29 I would have about 40 is my guess.

However sometimes the FPS readout shows as much as 160-180 in 1.30, which is much more than I ever had with 1.29.

[GOPHUR]

I don't know gents. I'm just not seeing anything to go on. "Jitters" is fairly subjective. Three always going to be loading pauses when something loads but I can't see anything unusual in my test flights.

[rote7]

I don't know gents. I'm just not seeing anything to go on. "Jitters" is fairly subjective. Three always going to be loading pauses when something loads but I can't see anything unusual in my test flights.

Gophur, do the rats have a TIR at the office? Make a low flight over a bigger cities (500m or so). Fast head movements with TIR or switching views with the coolie hat cause the after images/jitters to appear, especially when new buildings come into view. The old city grey blocks don't cause jitter. This also happens at higher alts up to around 2k.

Jitter may not be the right word, I am talking about a stroboskope like motion of the whole view. This is accompanied by periodical mini stutters (< half a second freezes). None of these problems showed in 1.29.

The framerate drops I reported before release were solved with 1.30.1. Hopefully 1.30.2 will bring a cure for the jitters/mini stutters.

[Tigger6]

Jitter may not be the right word, I am talking about a stroboskope like motion of the whole view. This is accompanied by periodical mini stutters (< half a second freezes). None of these problems showed in 1.29.

^^^ This.

The hole thing moves smoothly for 700ms, stops for 300ms, smoothly for 700ms, stops for 300ms......

The FPS readouts look like this: (updated every second I guess?)

50, 65, 4, 155, 73, 21, 45, 15, 65, 8, ....

I updated drivers, defragged disk... no help.

[pusicato]

Rote7 do the jitters look anything like this? To me it looks like 2 frames are displayed at the same time.

Note that this is a mockup, I can't capture it on video.

[bogol]

I don't know gents. I'm just not seeing anything to go on. "Jitters" is fairly subjective. Three always going to be loading pauses when something loads but I can't see anything unusual in my test flights.

Wildly fluctuating FPS, which go as low to a few and as high to 80 within the space of a few seconds. This is what is happening for me at least.

System specs: iMAC Intel Dual Core 2 2.66 GhZ, 4GB DDR3 RAM, Nvidia Geforce 9400 with 256+vRAM. And no, I did not have ANY loading pauses before this patch. Please rats, acknowledge there is a problem and try to investigate.

[rote7]

Rote7 do the jitters look anything like this? To me it looks like 2 frames are displayed at the same time.

Note that this is a mockup, I can't capture it on video.

Jupp, exactly - this is how it looks like.

[Tigger6]

Jupp' date=' exactly - this is how it looks like.[/quote']

Ah. Here we differ. That is not what it looks like for me. For me the "stop" between quick frames looks just like a normal frame. And I'm not using MAC (or linux) unlike lot of people that report the problem. I would look for something that is done cyclically every second or so.

[rote7]

Ah. Here we differ. That is not what it looks like for me. For me the "stop" between quick frames looks just like a normal frame. And I'm not using MAC (or linux) unlike lot of people that report the problem. I would look for something that is done cyclically every second or so.

I think we are talking about the same problem. As pusicato described it, it looks like 2 frames are displayed at once and the additional frame is missing in the place where it belongs. The transition between 2 (or more) frames displayed, one stopgap and another two frames is what it makes it jittery.

The mini stutters (< half a second) are cyclical and completely independent from the jitters.

[pusicato]

So there are two problems, the seizure inducing two-frames-in-one effect (what Rote7 and I refer to as "jitter") and the random stutters. Unfortunately I suffer from both.

1. Jitter

The image I posted above has to do with V-sync. V-sync works smoothly when FPS would be at ~ 80 or more with it turned off ok but when I approach an area where frame rate would drop towards 60 is when the strobo party light starts.

With V-sync off the game is not very smooth, but I can't tell if that is because of screen tearing or what.

TBH the jittering did happen to me prior to 1.30 but it was not very common.

2. Stutters

In 1.29 I got a stutter in these 3 cases:

- when firing for the first time since logging. It would only happen once in a while. Seems to be gone in 1.30.

- when a message popped up on screen (like "we have captured a facility in XX"). Still here in 1.30.

- when the sun entered or exited the frame. This one is also still here in 1.30.

Perhaps there was some stuttering while flying low over a heavily contested town, but I honestly can't remember because I rarely fly low over busy towns. If it did happen I guess it wasn't that bad.

1.30 introduced more stuttering. It happens anywhere at anytime. It is more common on the deck, but it does happen even at 6k. I remember this type of stuttering prior to 1.30, but after replacing vid card drivers it went away. I was using Catalyst 8.9 for 1.29 without a problem. No matter what driver version I try with 1.30, the stutters remain.

(there was a vid posted somewhere with these stutters but I can't find it anymore)

[OLDZEKE]

Rote7 do the jitters look anything like this? To me it looks like 2 frames are displayed at the same time.

Note that this is a mockup, I can't capture it on video.

Hummm you have a LCD? What the MS rateing on it?

That mockup looks more like a speed blurr as if the monitor ain't drawing fast enough.

But then again it may just be the mockup............

[pusicato]

I do have an LCD and have thought about what you are saying myself. Thing is it is not always like that and as I said, it rarely happened in 1.29. (plus I've just tested it on a CRT).

I know it looks blurry on the picture, especially in the center. The real effect is more apparent on the edges of the image - note the building in the lower left corner.

[liberty66]

Well, sorry but I spoke too soon after the v1.30.1 patch.

I am still getting Stutter Steps at times. It's not real horrible, but it is certainly enough that it is annoying. It's not happening all the time which is why at first I had thought patch had cured it for me.

System Specs:

Intel Core2Duo E8600(3.33 GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, E0 Stepping) on Asus P5Q Deluxe(Intel P45 Chipset + ICH10R Southbridge), Zlaman CNPS9700 LED 110mm HS/Fan, Thermaltake W0116RU 750W Modular PSU, Mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066(PC2-8500) RAM in Dual-Channel mode(set to DDR2 800 5-5-15-2T with 1.9v in BIOS), HIS(ATI) 4850 HD 512 MB with IceQ4 Cooler and validated HIS Catalyst 8.10 Driver, Creative SB X-Fi Titanium with v2.17.0006 Driver, Samsung 214T MultiSync 21" Digital LCD Monitor(1600 x 1200 native res), Microsoft Sidewinder Forcefeedback 2 USB Joystick, Western Digital 500GB GB w/16 MB Cache SRTL 7200 RPM Sata 3.0Gb/s HDD, Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Full Tower Case, DirectX 9.0c v9.25.1476(November 2008), Norton Internet Security 2009(Firewall and Anti-Virus), Comcast Cable Internet Connection, WinXP Pro SP3 32-bit or Ubuntu 8.10 64-bit

[piattoni]

Going to add my experience to the jittery discussion.

Launched game June 3rd - first spawn was infantry in depot under light to medium HE fire. Spawned in at about 50 fps - took 1 step and frame froze for about 6 full seconds - could hear HE sounds but no movement. Then right back to 40 fps.

Made way to ground - sprinted to first tree berm and in mid sprint the screen froze for about 3 seconds. Made way to tree berm - looks right and screen froze again for a second or two. Looked forward. Looked left - screen froze for less than 1 second.

All the time fps staying roughly 20 to 40 fps with dips of 1 fps during the freezes.

Later that night spawned AA gun Haybes during attack. Pushed out from deport, image froze for 2 seconds but could hear pushing sound. Took a turn, set up and when viewing left and right image would occasionally freeze.

Full install for 1.30

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700

Asus P5WDH Deluxe Wireless Edition

2 x 1024MB Corsair DDR2-667

Samsung SyncMaster 20.1" Flat-Panel 5ms - LCD Monitor

Nvidia 9800GTX

Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic

Seagate Barracuda 300GB SATAII

[pusicato]

Well one thing all the posters who gave their specs have in common is Intel Core2 Duo...

[bogol]

Dam cato, you should be a detective

[GOPHUR]

Jupp' date=' exactly - this is how it looks like.[/quote']

Nice. Is this what you others are reporting? If not then we need to move you to the other thread.

I'll get that around to the team and see what we can replicate. We're all running Core2Duo's just about.

I hate to even suggest this but you might try setting the affinity on the processor to single core and see if that addresses the issue. We made some changes this go round and that might have an impact but I'm not sure because I haven't seen that.

I guess I'll do a little flying to see what I can find.

[OLDZEKE]

Going to add my experience to the jittery discussion.

Launched game June 3rd - first spawn was infantry in depot under light to medium HE fire. Spawned in at about 50 fps - took 1 step and frame froze for about 6 full seconds - could hear HE sounds but no movement. Then right back to 40 fps.

Made way to ground - sprinted to first tree berm and in mid sprint the screen froze for about 3 seconds. Made way to tree berm - looks right and screen froze again for a second or two. Looked forward. Looked left - screen froze for less than 1 second.

All the time fps staying roughly 20 to 40 fps with dips of 1 fps during the freezes.

Later that night spawned AA gun Haybes during attack. Pushed out from deport, image froze for 2 seconds but could hear pushing sound. Took a turn, set up and when viewing left and right image would occasionally freeze.

Full install for 1.30

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700

Asus P5WDH Deluxe Wireless Edition

2 x 1024MB Corsair DDR2-667

Samsung SyncMaster 20.1" Flat-Panel 5ms - LCD Monitor

Nvidia 9800GTX

Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic

Seagate Barracuda 300GB SATAII

Hummm I've got that very same lcd, 5ms should'nt show motion blur. I'm running a 2ms lg now but never saw anything like whats been described on the samsung so it's prolly not a monitor issue.

I rearely use tir cause it plays heck with the busted disks in my neck but I'm currious so will check ingame.

My specs are lower than yours with a E2160 and 9600gt.

[dogness]

I too have the stutters. I do not have the jitters but I am still using a CRT (if that matters).

First, my system specs:

i7 920 o'clocked to 4.0 Ghz (HT is disabled)

evga x58 mobo

3 GB DDR3 RAM

pair of 8800 GTs in SLI

SB Audigy 2

pair of Raptor HDs running in RAID 0

Track IR 4

Win XP (32-bit)

I have been running this rig since January. I play WW2OL with max settings and VSync ON. With 1.29, my framerate would max out at 85 and dip down into the 40s when things got really heated. I had no stuttering issues.

Since installing 1.30, everything is the same except I now get the stutters.

I first notice it when loading the game. Loading now takes twice as long and my hard drives are going crazy (they can be quite loud). Even after the game loads and I get to the Persona screen, the hard drives are still going. I thought that perhaps the code had been modified to preload as much as possible when loading. However, if I check Task Manager at this point, WW2OL is only using 50MB of RAM. Something is obviously wrong here. I am just sitting at the Persona screen, the game has spent a couple of minutes to load 50 MB of RAM and the hard drives are still going.

Then, I choose an area to spawn in. Nowadays, I choose a rifleman in a contested town and just sit there. Upon entering, for the first few minutes, my framerate will intermittently drop down to 1 and my hard drive will be going crazy again. After a few minutes, things will quiet down and I will step out of the spawn. As I run through town, I will again be hit by intermittent stutters where the framerate will drop to 1, the game will freeeze for several seconds and the hard drive will go wild.

If I check the Task Manager at this point, I will now see WW2OL using about 4-500MBs.

Eventually, things will quiet down and everything will be silky smooth.

However, whenever I go to a new area or spawn a new vehicle, I will get the stutters again.

The good news is that once I get through the stutters for an area or vehicle, I don't get them again. I can play for hours and never see them. But, I play all ground so I am not as exposed to new places as the pilots.

I am also a professional game dev and if I had to guess, it would appear that you guys have done something to cause loading to thrash so that it takes ridiculously long. As I stated, the objects all eventually get loaded, but loads that should takes milliseconds are taking multiple seconds. (I have been dealing with a lot of loading issues like this the last few weeks which is why I feel confident to make such a blind guess.)

In the end, the game is quite playable after the first few minutes. But, it is annoying and something is definitely not correct. If you review my specs, there is no reason my hard drives should be running that long and that often.

[OLDZEKE]

Wwll I just did a 110 run glize to st nik and bombed both abs with trackir running, no stutter or jitter or frame freezes.

If I had to guess I'd suspect a usb conflict or a mouse giveing "ghost" imputs (mouse will try to override trackir but can't. This will cause jumpy views if you move the mouse with trackir active.)

EDIT I'm not sure about the mouse as it would have to be remapped after trackir was....I think it would need be a hand edit. But I can get a jumpy view by hitting the js hat (it's also maped to freelook).

[Tigger6]

Hummm I've got that very same lcd, 5ms should'nt show motion blur. I'm running a 2ms lg now but never saw anything like whats been described on the samsung so it's prolly not a monitor issue.

I rearely use tir cause it plays heck with the busted disks in my neck but I'm currious so will chack ingame.

My specs are lower than yours with a E2160 and 9600gt.

Nvm. I'm stupid.

[pusicato]

I hate to even suggest this but you might try setting the affinity on the processor to single core and see if that addresses the issue.

Tried that, doesn't seem to help at all. Besides, in 1.29 I always switched to both cores due to white map bug.

I did discover something else tho. If I leave the task manager opened on the "performance" tab while playing, I get stutters at seemingly the same interval as the CPU and PF usage history graph update. Does anybody get the same?

[rote7]

If I had to guess I'd suspect a usb conflict or a mouse giveing "ghost" imputs (mouse will try to override trackir but can't. This will cause jumpy views if you move the mouse with trackir active.)

This may be a possibility but I didn't change anything in my input/usb configuration since 1.29. The LCD motion blur is not to blame, my Samsung 21" worked fine with previous versions of the game. It is either the affinity thing that gophur describes or, my guess, something is wrong with the render pipeline/game loop. But these are guesses and most likely not very helpfull.

[AHWULF]

I don't know about the motion blur but stutters are almost always memory allocation related. This game loads at least a million separate objects just to get started. It's possible the motion blur effect happens because a frame took too long to draw in between two faster ones and for some odd reason the opengl video buffer wasn't cleared in between. Another possibility would be some exception gets throws and some opengl code is skipped. On the mac I never see the double vision but we do get terrible memory effects that lead to stutters and the other jitter.