Multiple known problems and 1 unknown

[Vagos]

First of all thank you for this great effort in reviving one of the most beautifull games of all times.

 

I was following this project for quite some time but since now is a standalone release i gave it a go.

 

Some of the problems that I'm experiencing but I saw some other did as well.

 

 

-On a high end system (GTX760) I experience really low fps (10-15) which seems to get slightly better if I decrease antiallizing etc, but always below 30fps.

The config file is as per wiki's recommended instructions

 

seta image_usePrecompressedTextures "1"

seta image_useNormalCompression "2"

seta image_useAllFormats "1"

seta image_useCompression "1"

seta image_preload "1"

 

 

-As other I cant load the two preinstalled missions, but it works perfectly on others.

 

- I was facing really slow loading times but by deactivating vertical sync it got better but still not perfect.

 

 

Now a problem that I didnt manage to find a similar question anywhere.

 

 

- I face major shuttering in my movement. When I press a movement key I will likely face a pause on my movement.

 

Its like stop pressing the movement button, which is quite difficult to play and perform on any level.

 

For example when I press forward, after a while Garett stops moving. Release forward and press again, Garett moves but it will stop after a while.

 

There is no constant pattern its just random but quite often.

Edited October 12, 2013 by Vagos

[Serpentine]

- I was facing really slow loading times but by deactivating vertical sync it got better but still not perfect.

 

Try

image_useCompression 0

 

On systems with loads of memory, specially vmem, there's no real point in compressing textures at load time. This should drop your load times quite a bit. It will still allow pre-compressed textures, so no worry. It doesn't hit performance or anything else really.

[Xarg]

I just tried it in the console, the message it gave me firstly explained how that worked, then said it doesn't affect TDM as all the textures are DDS.

[STiFU]

So, how much have you been playing around in the nvidia control panel? For me, enabling vsync and triple buffering always used to work wonders, so I am surprised that you have problems with vsync. Also try to disable threaded-optimization and check that ambient occlusion, FXAA and transparency AA are disabled.

[Serpentine]

I just tried it in the console, the message it gave me firstly explained how that worked, then said it doesn't affect TDM as all the textures are DDS.

It's the normalmaps which are the big hit. They are RGBA, the combination of

 

image_useNormalCompression 2 and image_useCompression 1 will mean that at load time they are converted from RGBA->DXT5 with the swizzle, which is very heavy computationally (could be lightened a bit if we borrowed some code from amd). image_useNormalCompression 2 is however required as there are a _few_ DDS files for normalmaps, and without it they are either flat or black, depending on magic that I can't quite remember.

 

TDM however does have 99% of the diffuse/specular textures as DDS, so no harm there.

[Xarg]

I'm assuming that it doesn't hurt to leave it at 0 (image_useCompression, that is), and it may benefit maps using custom assets not packed as .dds? Or perhaps later on down the line if someone chose to release their map twice (a .dds version, and an uncompressed version for higher memory pcs)? On that train of thought, what would be easier? Putting the mission out twice depending on what texture format you want to use, or including both with some method of switching between them?

[Serpentine]

I'm assuming that it doesn't hurt to leave it at 0 (image_useCompression, that is)...

Yup, all it means is that you use more memory, note that this does not break any 32bit limits etc, in fact it might actually lower the memory use since I seem to recall that the raw RGBA is never actually released. Performance wise, unless you're using a low end card or intel, its unlikely you will see any real drop in performance.

 

As for shipping FM's in one form or another, there would be very little difference, the normalmap compression used in D3 is not ideal for shipping, and the full size TGA's compress well in zip. The current optional load-time compression means we get the best of both worlds, if only there was some logic to set it up better... I have plans for that tho.

 

I think that r_useCompression really needs a new name, since it is very confusing

 

Anyway, try it out and see, I'd be interested to see if you get a nice drop in load times and performance is about the same. Since that's what I've seen in my testing.

 

On the up side of this, AMD and nVidia usually apply compression where the driver sees fit anyway, and their driver-side encoding is a _lot_ faster and better quality than the built in code (it's also done in large part on the GPU).

 

In the far future this may all change once I finally look at compressed normalmaps again, now that I _know_ keeping intel compatibility is important, it makes the choice in format a lot easier. That's the endgame tho

[Xarg]

Got a 2gb 7870, would love to use a bunch more of that in return for some load time decreases. I *think* I saw load time decreases when reloading a save, and reopening the game and reloading a save off the main menu for the Glenham Tower, though that could just be me imagining things, and the map is rather small (filesize wise) to begin with. I might try to do some more proper testing with larger maps, like Score to Settle and Sneak and Destroy, as those weigh in at well over 100mb each, so I figure a load time difference would be more noticable.

[Bikerdude]

• -On a high end system (GTX760)
  
• For example when I press forward, 'after a while Garett stops moving'. Release forward and press again, Garett moves but it will stop after a while.
  

• Can you give use your FULL system specs(laptop/desktop) included driver versions
  
• And there is no Thief related IP in the Darkmod, so the phrase your'e looking for is 'after a while the player stops moving'
  

[Vagos]

• Can you give use your FULL system specs(laptop/desktop) included driver versions
  
• And there is no Thief related IP in the Darkmod, so the phrase your'e looking for is 'after a while the player stops moving'
  

 

 

Mobo: Asus P6T Deluxe V2

BIOS: 1202 (latest)

CPU: i7 920

RAM: 6X 2Gb Crucial Ballistix

GPU: Evga GTX 760 FTW

SSD: Crucial M4, 256Gb

OS: Win7 X64

 

 

I have also noticed that when a room has multiple light sources then most of the above problems appearing more ofter.

 

Heavy shuttering, really low fps, pause in movement (like scrolling an old dirty ball mouse but only in movement not in head rotation)

Edited October 14, 2013 by Vagos

[Serpentine]

Semi-troll: Interesting how many of these issues seem to happen on nVidia hardware, almost like their OpenGL drivers arnt quite as good as people seem to think!

 

(That said, I have _no_ idea what's going on with this one, seems very strange)

[STiFU]

Well, after the long and cumbersome catalyst AI era, nvidia is also allowed to mess up for once, right? :-P

 

Vagos, did you check the nvidia controlpanel settings i mentioned above? I have a rig with a 760 Ti here at work. I am gonna test it on that one later.

 

Edit: Dang, it's just a 660 Ti. Sorry.

[Vagos]

Well, after the long and cumbersome catalyst AI era, nvidia is also allowed to mess up for once, right? :-P

 

Vagos, did you check the nvidia controlpanel settings i mentioned above? I have a rig with a 760 Ti here at work. I am gonna test it on that one later.

 

I'll have another go when I get back home.

 

In any case thank you all for your support. This is a wonderfull mod and I'm trying to get the most out of it.