Deck/Periscope issues (huge lag)

Tossik · 11-07-10, 07:56 PM

I've been playing SH4 for a while and I recently found a very cheap copy of SH3 and bought it straight away. So I decided to give it a go and installed the game, updated to 1.4b, and got the GWX3 Gold too. The game works perfectly, even though I am playing it on windows 7 64x.

Problem is that whenever I look around in periscope view or when I go up on the deck the fps plummets to about 5-10. If I zoom in in periscope, or if I use the binos on deck, the fps goes back up. Same goes in free cam, if I look straight down at my sub, the fps is fine, as soon as the horizon gets in view my fps goes down. Any ideea what I could do? Keep in mind that SH4 works perfectly on the same machine.

I have a notebook with amd athlon x2 64, 2Gb RAM and an onboard ati x1250(sucky, i know but again, it can handle SH4, drivers are up to date too).
I tried everything, from environmental altering mods to different versions of drivers. Any help would be appreciated.

Sailor Steve · 11-07-10, 09:23 PM

WELCOME ABOARD!

SH3 is actually more graphics intensive in some areas than SH4. For instance, I've done several upgrades to my computer, and SH4 now runs very well, but with SH3 my game always lags when I look at heavy fire and smoke, and I can't even run the super-heavy smoke mods without crashing.

If you can't improve your graphics somehow I think you're going to have to live with it. I'm hoping someone will tell me I'm wrong and tell you how to fix it, but until then that's all I can think of.

Paulie76 · 11-07-10, 11:09 PM

I don't really know a solution to it, but it sounds very much like a fairly common flight simulator problem. As long as your graphics card is focusing on one thing (ie water, or sky), it's fine. But as soon as it has to do both at once (showing the horizon), it drops.

My computer is old as well. It's an Athlon X2 64 2.2ghz. I've got 3 gigs of RAM. So all total I have a barely better machine than you. The only difference is that since it's a desktop, my graphics card has been upgraded again and again and again in the intervening years. Currently running an Nvidia 9500gt.

Why it runs SH4 smoothly, I honestly couldn't tell you. But I would stake my life that your problem is your onboard video having to share memory with the system rather than having it's own to play with like an installed card. Considering it's a laptop, I might think overheating a bit too, but that's only based on my own past experience with a laptop running flight simulator 2004 many many years ago.

Tessa · 11-07-10, 11:20 PM

SH3 can be a major resource pic even on the best rigs. A few of the mods actually help performance (iirc MaGui helps your fps as do some of the other Gui mods) be sure to read them all the way through as some while they improve the graphics quality do explicitly say that you can expect a 10-15 fps drop when added their mods.

krashkart · 11-08-10, 12:06 AM

Surprised to hear that even an onboard ATI chipset has trouble with those horizon views; thought it was just the shoddy video support on this laptop I use.

However, there is a (keygetys?) DirectX dll that might improve frame rates on some machines. Found it in the SH3 Mods section:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=173605

Capt. Morgan · 11-08-10, 12:19 AM

Somewhere in here I remember reading that in some situations, you need to do a full 360' rotation of your view in order to read all of the visual elements into memory. Once done, the FPS pick up dramatically.

I've found this works well in busy places like harbours.

krashkart · 11-08-10, 12:49 AM

That's true, but it has more to do with loading nearby models and textures. On some systems it doesn't make any difference when switched to an external view -- as long as the horizon is in FOV the framerate grinds along at slideshow quality. Through optics (UZO/periscope) the framerates pick up again and are much more bearable. I don't know why.

11-07-10, 07:56 PM	#1
Tossik Nub Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 3 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	Deck/Periscope issues (huge lag) I've been playing SH4 for a while and I recently found a very cheap copy of SH3 and bought it straight away. So I decided to give it a go and installed the game, updated to 1.4b, and got the GWX3 Gold too. The game works perfectly, even though I am playing it on windows 7 64x. Problem is that whenever I look around in periscope view or when I go up on the deck the fps plummets to about 5-10. If I zoom in in periscope, or if I use the binos on deck, the fps goes back up. Same goes in free cam, if I look straight down at my sub, the fps is fine, as soon as the horizon gets in view my fps goes down. Any ideea what I could do? Keep in mind that SH4 works perfectly on the same machine. I have a notebook with amd athlon x2 64, 2Gb RAM and an onboard ati x1250(sucky, i know but again, it can handle SH4, drivers are up to date too). I tried everything, from environmental altering mods to different versions of drivers. Any help would be appreciated. Last edited by Tossik; 11-07-10 at 08:32 PM.

11-07-10, 09:23 PM	#2
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	WELCOME ABOARD! SH3 is actually more graphics intensive in some areas than SH4. For instance, I've done several upgrades to my computer, and SH4 now runs very well, but with SH3 my game always lags when I look at heavy fire and smoke, and I can't even run the super-heavy smoke mods without crashing. If you can't improve your graphics somehow I think you're going to have to live with it. I'm hoping someone will tell me I'm wrong and tell you how to fix it, but until then that's all I can think of. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

11-08-10, 12:19 AM	#6
Capt. Morgan Commander Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Just east of the west coast. Posts: 462 Downloads: 404 Uploads: 0	Somewhere in here I remember reading that in some situations, you need to do a full 360' rotation of your view in order to read all of the visual elements into memory. Once done, the FPS pick up dramatically. I've found this works well in busy places like harbours. __________________ There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet. -- Admiral William Halsey

11-07-10, 11:09 PM	#3
Paulie76 Seaman Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 35 Downloads: 60 Uploads: 0	I don't really know a solution to it, but it sounds very much like a fairly common flight simulator problem. As long as your graphics card is focusing on one thing (ie water, or sky), it's fine. But as soon as it has to do both at once (showing the horizon), it drops. My computer is old as well. It's an Athlon X2 64 2.2ghz. I've got 3 gigs of RAM. So all total I have a barely better machine than you. The only difference is that since it's a desktop, my graphics card has been upgraded again and again and again in the intervening years. Currently running an Nvidia 9500gt. Why it runs SH4 smoothly, I honestly couldn't tell you. But I would stake my life that your problem is your onboard video having to share memory with the system rather than having it's own to play with like an installed card. Considering it's a laptop, I might think overheating a bit too, but that's only based on my own past experience with a laptop running flight simulator 2004 many many years ago.

11-07-10, 11:20 PM	#4
Tessa Grey Wolf Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: CG 96 Posts: 861 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	SH3 can be a major resource pic even on the best rigs. A few of the mods actually help performance (iirc MaGui helps your fps as do some of the other Gui mods) be sure to read them all the way through as some while they improve the graphics quality do explicitly say that you can expect a 10-15 fps drop when added their mods.

11-08-10, 12:06 AM	#5
krashkart Navy Seal Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5,292 Downloads: 100 Uploads: 0	Surprised to hear that even an onboard ATI chipset has trouble with those horizon views; thought it was just the shoddy video support on this laptop I use. However, there is a (keygetys?) DirectX dll that might improve frame rates on some machines. Found it in the SH3 Mods section: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=173605

11-08-10, 12:49 AM	#7
krashkart Navy Seal Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5,292 Downloads: 100 Uploads: 0	That's true, but it has more to do with loading nearby models and textures. On some systems it doesn't make any difference when switched to an external view -- as long as the horizon is in FOV the framerate grinds along at slideshow quality. Through optics (UZO/periscope) the framerates pick up again and are much more bearable. I don't know why.