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Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE

 
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Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/21/2015 9:19:03 PM   
RealChuckB


Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline 		I know that the issue I'm describing here is caused by my computer setup but hope that someone might have an idea on how to fix this.

The issue is that I'm getting very low FPS (frames per second) when playing WitE, meaning that my system only shows less than 13 FPS on average when playing WitE. While FPS are very important when playing fast-moving games like simulations or shooters, having low FPS within WitE make the game overall sluggish when moving around on the map and it gets painful when scrolling around on higher zoom levels.

I'm playing on a quite powerful laptop http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade that comes with two video cards: (1) a very poweful NVIDIA Geforce GTX 970M for high-end graphic and (2) Intel Integrated Graphics that use less energy when using basic Windows applications. I'm generally using hight screen resolutions (min. 2560x1440, sometimes 3200x1800) but the GeForce is powerful enough to handle this, in fact, it runs most of the latest graphic-intense games on "very high" or "ultra" settings on these resolutions.

I'm pretty sure that the problem comes from WitE not using the GeForce but the Intel Integrated Graphics. My guess is that my system "thinks" that WitE is a standard 2D Windows application and therefore routes the video processing and output to the Integrated Graphics.
The NVIDIA drivers allow to define which executables use which card and I tried all the different executables within the WitE folder but to no avail.

Does anyone have any idea what else to try or which other executables to include? (Example: I found people discussing this problem with other games and for them, including the Java executable within the NVIDIA drivers resolved the problems). Does WitE rely on some other executables that could be important?
Some additional information: I have exactly the same problem with the AGEOD games (Alea Jacta Est, To End all Wars, Civil War 2). I SEEMS that I do not have this issue (or to a lesser extend) with War in the West (WiTW), although I have not found an application that shows me the FPS within WitW.

Any feedback/idea/solution is highly appreciated!
Post #: 1
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/21/2015 9:59:04 PM   
morvael


Posts: 11762
Joined: 9/8/2006
From: Poland
Status: offline 		I think this is OK. WitE is not trying to run in 30 fps or more like 3d games. It's better to run it on integrated graphics. 970 would be an overkill, and it would generate more heat and fan noise.

(in reply to RealChuckB)
Post #: 2
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/21/2015 11:14:07 PM   
RealChuckB


Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline 		Hi Morvael,

Thanks for your response. Yes, this doesn't make the game unplayable but I would like to improve it nevertheless, if possible. While around 13 FPS on average are ... doable, sometimes the FPS drops into the single digits and scrolling is a real pain, it's very choppy and getting from AGN TO AGS is ... well, not as bad as the real thing back on the East Front but certainly painful

Are you aware of any resources that WitE uses that I could try to convince using the GeForce?

Thanks a lot!

(in reply to morvael)
Post #: 3
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/21/2015 11:19:15 PM   
Denniss

 

Posts: 7902
Joined: 1/10/2002
From: Germany, Hannover (region)
Status: offline 		Strange - the Intel card should be powerful enough for WitE unless it somehow runs out of memory.
Are you sure WitE is not run via nvidia gfx?
Have you tried forcing nvidia gfx to be not used for WitE? - to rule out an issue with nvidia driver.
Which WitE version are you using ?

(in reply to RealChuckB)
Post #: 4
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/21/2015 11:30:36 PM   
RealChuckB


Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Denniss

Strange - the Intel card should be powerful enough for WitE unless it somehow runs out of memory.
Are you sure WitE is not run via nvidia gfx?
Have you tried forcing nvidia gfx to be not used for WitE? - to rule out an issue with nvidia driver.
Which WitE version are you using ?


Denniss,

Thanks for your response - that's actually a good idea, instead of forcing the GeForce, I'll try the opposite (because you're right, the Integrated Graphics should be able to handle WitE, the only thing that could create a problem are the high resolutions. I think the Intel graphics use shared memory and I have 16 GB so I should be fine from a memory perspective). I'll let you know how it went after I have had the chance to try it.

I'm using the latest beta but ti has always been that way through the last versions

(in reply to Denniss)
Post #: 5
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/22/2015 6:04:21 AM   
RealChuckB


Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline 		Ok, tried to force the Integrated Graphics for both WarInTheEast.exe and ggwite.exe within the WitE folder but --unfortunately-- no improvement. Changed both back to GeForce and nothing changes.

I also took a closer look at the FPS - the highest I'm seeing is 14 FPS and it drops down to 1-2 FPS during scrolling, really not great.
I'm still running the Matrix Games installer version but I'm pretty sure that the Steam version is no different (I'm running the Steam versions of AGEOD and I'm experiencing the same issue.

Still is still very strange, hope I can find a solution ...

(in reply to RealChuckB)
Post #: 6
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/22/2015 12:22:24 PM   
Denniss

 

Posts: 7902
Joined: 1/10/2002
From: Germany, Hannover (region)
Status: offline 		Is the behaviour different if switching from battery to AC power?
Aggressive power saving stuff running?
Is there a difference between WitE as window and fullscreen?

AFAIR WitE runs one one processor Core, may be some problem with getting this processor core out of a sleep mode, especially if Windows sheduler send them though different processor cores. You may want to experiment with windows task manager while WitE is running, assing the game executable to processor core 0.

(in reply to RealChuckB)
Post #: 7
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/22/2015 1:40:25 PM   
Mehring

 

Posts: 2179
Joined: 1/25/2007
Status: offline 		I haven't experienced low frame rates but any unit movement certainly gets my fans going. With 16GB DDR4 RAM, 980GTX card with 4GB memory and i7 6700k processor it raised my eyebrow. I'll have a look next time to see which fans.

_____________________________

“Old age is the most unexpected of all things that can happen to a man.”
-Leon Trotsky

(in reply to Denniss)
Post #: 8
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/22/2015 2:04:08 PM   
VPaulus

 

Posts: 3630
Joined: 6/23/2011
From: Portugal
Status: offline 		You could try renaming the sound folder inside the Dat folder to _sound and check if the low framerate is not related in fact with the audio.

Another suggestion is to check if any 3rd party program isn't interfering with the game and causing the low framerate.
You can check this by running msconfig and disabling all non-windows start-up programs and services.
Then once you have disabled all non-Microsoft services, run the game and see if the issue persists.
If it does not, reopen msconfig and reenable those services, one by one, until you find the program causing the problem.
A tutorial on how to do this can be found below:
https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/shutting-down-background-applications

(in reply to Mehring)
Post #: 9
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/22/2015 7:11:58 PM   
karmad

 

Posts: 14
Joined: 10/11/2015
Status: offline 		I've had this issue as well but I always assumed it was simply a limitation of the engine. I don't have a top of line PC, but my specs should be more than enough; AMD A8 3800, Radeon HD 7750, 8 gigs of RAM. I wonder if it has to do with the fact you can't go into full screen mode, yes I know you can enlarge the window, but it's not completely full screen (task bar remains). From what I understand if it's complete full screen mode your computer prioritizes it. I've tried renaming sound folder, prioritizing it higher in task manager(get error), using CFF explorer to increase address space, running in different compatibility mode, nothing works. Can someone confirm that they do get higher FPS using fraps or something ?

(in reply to VPaulus)
Post #: 10
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/22/2015 9:33:24 PM   
RealChuckB


Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Denniss

Is the behaviour different if switching from battery to AC power?
Aggressive power saving stuff running?
Is there a difference between WitE as window and fullscreen?

AFAIR WitE runs one one processor Core, may be some problem with getting this processor core out of a sleep mode, especially if Windows sheduler send them though different processor cores. You may want to experiment with windows task manager while WitE is running, assing the game executable to processor core 0.


Hi Denniss,

Thanks again for your reply! I almost exclusively use the laptop with AC power and it's really overall geared towards performance. The system runs something like Total War: Rome II on 2560x1440 on the highest settings at over 25 FPS/average, so I'm pretty sure it's not a general performance issue.

I always play WitE maximized, meaning I maximize the window after I launch - is there another way to play if fullscreen?

I'll look into the processor matter you mentioned but my gut tells me, it's a GPU issue. Interestingly enough, I have a couple of very old 2D wargames installed and running on the system (such as the John Tiller Campaign Series and the Panzer Campaigns) and some newer wargames that use different engines (such as the Decisive Campaign games, Unity of Command, Panzer Corps), all of which do not have this issue.
The interesting thing is really how WitW behaves - again, I have not found a way yet to measure FPS but it feels much smoother (but I could see that it's generally behaving differently than WitE in some aspects - for example, the Windows screen scaling for my 3200x1800 laptop screen work fine with WitE but messes everything up for WitW).

(in reply to Denniss)
Post #: 11
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/22/2015 10:38:38 PM   
karmad

 

Posts: 14
Joined: 10/11/2015
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Chuck B.


The interesting thing is really how WitW behaves - again, I have not found a way yet to measure FPS but it feels much smoother (but I could see that it's generally behaving differently than WitE in some aspects - for example, the Windows screen scaling for my 3200x1800 laptop screen work fine with WitE but messes everything up for WitW).


Try the program Fraps.

(in reply to RealChuckB)
Post #: 12
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/23/2015 5:39:54 AM   
RealChuckB


Posts: 284
Joined: 9/29/2003
Status: offline 		I tried FRAPS, which confirmed the FPS within WitE and showed me that WitW is actually about the same (it "feels" less choppy but the highest FPS I saw was 13.
Unfortunately, FRAPS doesn't show anything within the Decisive Campaign Games, the John Tiller Campaign Series games or Unity of Command.
According to FRAPS, I'm runnning War in the Pacific: AE at only around 2-3 FPS and yes, it also feels that way.

(in reply to karmad)
Post #: 13
RE: Very low framerate (FPS) when playing WitE - 11/23/2015 3:42:28 PM   
Mehring

 

Posts: 2179
Joined: 1/25/2007
Status: offline 		Just checked what was happening with my rig and it turns out its CPU fan that speeds up during movement, though core usage is at 16%. By chance I changed the animation speed and found it's all in that. Strangely, at max speed there's no stress on CPU at all, slowing down causes the stress. So what animation speed you are at may cause low FPS.

_____________________________

“Old age is the most unexpected of all things that can happen to a man.”
-Leon Trotsky

(in reply to RealChuckB)
Post #: 14
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