Performance Issues

No way, Jose

from Demigod Forums

I was really hoping that this game would play on my machine. I decided to wait until the second beta to make my report.

 

I have an older, single core machine. It plays CoH and CoD at acceptable levels, but Demigod is unplayable. The framerates are abysmal, from 7-8, dropping to 1-2. I think that this has more to do with the proc requirements than the video. I say this because the proc is pegged at 100% from the very beginning. The Stardock/GPG splash page is slow and choppy, and even the static game setup screen will only get ~20 FPS. Very poor. Contrast this with the GalCiv splash, which is as smooth as butter, and it's setup screen(s) which run at 99 FPS.

Again, I think that this is more of a processor issue than a video one. Changing screen resolutions has no effect, and even going into the CCC and changing the settings from one extreme to the other has limited effect. The number of opponents also has little or no effect. I have played 2v2 and 3v3; no noticable difference. I will try a 1v1 tonight, and see if that works, but I doubt it.

This program is a real hog. From what I have experienced, I would say that a fairly speedy dual core proc would be the bare minimun requirement. This is a shame, because it shuts out a large segment of possible customers.

I would like to see more performance changing options. The hardware mouse cursor would be a start, and being able to toggle off some of the animations would help also. The waterfalls and lava look nice, but they don't effect gameplay, and eat up resourses. Other effects could be looked at as well, such as the cold effect around the Torchbearer. Nice, but unnecessary.

I am well aware of the limitations of my system and knew that there was no way I would be able to play this on high settings, but I was hoping that there would be some setting that would allow me to at least play the game.

Both Stardock and GPG are fine companies, so I will hold out hope for awhile longer; but to tell the truth, it is already beginning to fade. My DXDIAG follows:

EDIT: No C&P in FF? Very shabby.

 Time of this report: 10/3/2008, 14:31:15
       Machine name: OWNER-B33C3E2F9
   Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
       System Model: A7N8X-X
               BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
          Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3200+,  MMX,  3DNow, ~2.2GHz
             Memory: 2048MB RAM
          Page File: 435MB used, 3508MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
    DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

  Card name: Radeon X1650 Series
     Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
        Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP (0x71C7)
         DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_71C7&SUBSYS_0850174B&REV_9E
   Display Memory: 512.0 MB
     Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
          Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
  Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
      Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
   Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6844 (English)
      DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
 Driver Date/Size: 7/31/2008 23:32:35, 311296 bytes

 Description: SB Audigy 2 ZS Audio [9000]
 Default Sound Playback: Yes
 Default Voice Playback: Yes
            Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1102&DEV_0004&SUBSYS_20021102&REV_04
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 100
                   Type: WDM
            Driver Name: ctaud2k.sys
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.1361 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: n/a
          Date and Size: 7/7/2008 10:31:10, 532376 bytes
            Other Files:
        Driver Provider: Creative
         HW Accel Level: Full
              Cap Flags: 0x0
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 0, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: Yes
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: Yes, Yes
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No
               Registry: OK

 

 

 

 

3,484 views 16 replies
Reply #1 from Demigod Forums Top

  Card name: Radeon X1650 Series

Reply #2 from Demigod Forums Top

its the video card problem? is that what NwExilon is saying? and how is he getting 99 frames on the setup screen i get like low 30's max which is less then half of what i get on actual gameplay

Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from Demigod Forums Top

Card name: Radeon X1650 Series
End of quote

It's NOT the card. The 1650 is analogous to the nVidia 7600 series, which by any and all accounts runs this game just fine.

The problem is the allocation of resourses. There is too much extraneous crap going on. For one, the backgrounds should be static. Once the game begins, you can't even see the waterfalls or lava, yet they are still there, using up cycles. There are other examples also, such as the Torchbearer's cold aura. You can't even see or notice it unless you are zoomed in on him, yet there it is- sucking up resourses.

This game needs to go on a serious diet. Focus on the gameplay, and cut out the marshmallow fluff.

Reply #4 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Mistralok, reply 3

Card name: Radeon X1650 Series
It's NOT the card. The 1650 is analogous to the nVidia 7600 series, which by any and all accounts runs this game just fine.

The problem is the allocation of resourses. There is too much extraneous crap going on. For one, the backgrounds should be static. Once the game begins, you can't even see the waterfalls or lava, yet they are still there, using up cycles. There are other examples also, such as the Torchbearer's cold aura. You can't even see or notice it unless you are zoomed in on him, yet there it is- sucking up resourses.

This game needs to go on a serious diet. Focus on the gameplay, and cut out the marshmallow fluff.
End of Mistralok's quote

 

Very valid point for all settings off or low.  This is optimization they can tackle as time progress. Things can be reduced but only on low.

 

However, the game graphics are not fluff in my book.  I would like more and bigger fx added.  This is supposed to be demigod, battles should be epic.

Reply #5 from Demigod Forums Top

You need direct x 10

you might need a newer card than the one you currently have. Your card might not support direct x 10.

Reply #7 from Demigod Forums Top

All I know is that was my problem and I don't have vista. My system is the same as yours except I have a nvidia 8600 and direct x 10. I had 9c before I got my new card and after I had it it worked just fine. Another possiblilty is your BIOS version which is 6.0 I think the latest is 6.1, I had 2D graphics corruption with my new 8600 when I installed and I had to upgrade my BIOS to fix it.

EDIT: NVM all my assumptions are wrong. I have 9.0c still and my BIOS version is 6.00, wrong problem is different than mine I guess. Sorry for my misleading help.

Reply #8 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Mistralok, reply 3
The problem is the allocation of resourses. There is too much extraneous crap going on. For one, the backgrounds should be static. Once the game begins, you can't even see the waterfalls or lava, yet they are still there, using up cycles. There are other examples also, such as the Torchbearer's cold aura. You can't even see or notice it unless you are zoomed in on him, yet there it is- sucking up resourses.

This game needs to go on a serious diet. Focus on the gameplay, and cut out the marshmallow fluff.
End of Mistralok's quote

are you sure of this?

AFAIK these things don't happen, as they didn't do so in SupCom. that said, if there was a bug making the engine continuously render stuff that it likely shouldn't be i think i know where it lies.

Reply #9 from Demigod Forums Top

Hi there.

Played only few games with the new build (on both maps -6 simspeed).

But I noticed, except this slimspeed issue, that my fps are really bad now.

I´ve got a single core 3GHZ and a 7600GT. With the first build I played most the time with ~20 - 25fps, enough for a strategy game in my opinion. But now, with the same settings I´ve got at the beginning ~20fps and after a while 150 - 200 in the rate number (5-6fps).

You can find my dxdiag here.

Reply #10 from Demigod Forums Top

are you sure of this?
End of quote

No, there is no way that I can be absolutely sure without the proper testbed. But when I zoom into myself in an empty part of the arena, then zoom out to a busy (graphically) part, and the numbers don't change, that tells me that something is going on that, to my mind, shouldn't be.

Again, this is simply anecdotal evidence, and it may very well be because of my particular setup. Just to chime in about simspeed, mine tends to hover at between -4 and -7.

Good luck. This is going to be a great game.

Reply #11 from Demigod Forums Top

I'm having similar problems with the new beta:

Q6600 (quad-core 2.4ghz)

Radeon x1800XT 256MB

4GB Ram

Vista 64.

Playing around with changing the settings, the graphics engine itself seems smooth.  Scrolling and zooming around is fine at almost every setting (textures high makes it a little jerky).

However, all the animations seem to stop every few frames, and the unit AI gets unresponsive.  Guessing this is CPU-related, since I had the same problems with Supcom when I was using a single-core CPU.

 

Edit: To clarify, I didn't notice any slowdown in Beta 1, it's new in 1-A.

Edit2: Thinking about it, perhaps the common denominator is that I also have an Audigy 2 ZS installed.  However, it's not actually in use: my speakers are using the motherboard integrated sound.

Reply #12 from Demigod Forums Top

Nights Edge, can you disable the card (via device manager) and try it again? it would be rather interesting to see what/if effect occurs.

[NINJA-EDIT:] actually, can anyone with a ZS2 disable it and post back? (i forgot that everyone also has integrated sound)

Reply #13 from Demigod Forums Top

So is this a sound-related thing? It seems that a lot of performance issues these days are the result of wonky sound cards and/or poor drivers. I, however, have no issues with my Razer Barracuda, which shares a chipset in common with some of the Asus Xonar cards. Any Xonar users out there having trouble, or are you also in the clear?

Reply #14 from Demigod Forums Top

Hm, I´m not having a soundcard, just onboard sound :(

Reply #15 from Demigod Forums Top

My computer's processor is a 4¾-year old, single-core Pentium 4 @ 2.8 GHz.

For the past 1½ month, it has experienced no difficulty running DEMIGOD with decent framerates, on the Waterfall map, with 6 players.

All the settings are on HIGH, in a 1360 x 768 window (1440 x 900 desktop), but I disable v-synch & shadow fidelity.

Sound is great and never stutters, with my good, old SoundBlaster Live! soundcard (2002 drivers, on XP).

I won't tell you that I have the greatest framerates ... but I have never felt that the game was slow & choppy.

Those 2 GB of recently installed Kingston RAM don't hurt, even though they are of the older DDR 1 type.

P.S. EDIT > On the other map (2 v 2), the game suddenly dropped down to a crawl when I reached level 16. That problem has been experienced by other gamers, and it is the main topic of another thread.

Reply #16 from Demigod Forums Top

[quote]can anyone with a ZS2 disable it and post back? [/quote

Disabled it in the Device Manager and started the game with no sound at all; insignificant changes in framerate or simspeed.