Performance bug in 2.0

[Cith]

Last update:

I've been playing with the memory parameter to 2500 for the last days. I haven't found any permanent downgrade to less than 1fps yet, but still having the totally random sttuters of about 2 or 3 seconds. In conclusion, better than before, but still worse than before the patch 2.0

I have similar problems, also after the 2.0 patch. You should read this if you have time. Maybe post there too.

[The Great Stonk]

(this problem doesn't seam to occur on a 64bit machine).

may have to shoot you down there... im experiencing this exact same (game destroying) problem, only im on vista 64, with 8gigs of RAM and an 8800gtx

with graphics pumped it runs buttery when first loaded, but as soon as i jump to another sector im below 1fps and have to task manager my way out...

turning down the graphics to lower settings allows me to jump a few times before i end up with the same problem...

[Sogo]

(this problem doesn't seam to occur on a 64bit machine).

may have to shoot you down there... im experiencing this exact same (game destroying) problem, only im on vista 64, with 8gigs of RAM and an 8800gtx

with graphics pumped it runs buttery when first loaded, but as soon as i jump to another sector im below 1fps and have to task manager my way out...

turning down the graphics to lower settings allows me to jump a few times before i end up with the same problem...

I'm running Vista 64bit w/ 4 gigs of ram having the EXACT same problem. I've been worried that it was my new rig. Does part of your HUD also disapear?

Tried backing out 2.0 by reloading a steam backup which I ran the day before 2.0 came out so I can run the game w/ version 1.4 but even using the option not to automatically update doesn't work since it won't launch until the update is installed.

[Kapakio]

I'm running Vista 64bit w/ 4 gigs of ram having the EXACT same problem. I've been worried that it was my new rig. Does part of your HUD also disapear?

Yes, the hud and the vertical menu on the left disappear, but I think this is not particular to this problem. It happens everytime there's a critical slow down of fps.

For now, the workaround is avoiding the game using above 2 GB of memory, either modifing the flag in the X3TC.exe or the parameter in the OS boot options.

[gandy|UKCS|]

ive had the same bug as the op twice now, on vista x64 with 6gig ram.

will post a dx diag if needed

[Alan Phipps]

Just to add to the info pool. I've had the exact same problem only 2 or 3 times on Vista x64 since TC 2.0a (everything slows to 1 frame every ~2 secs) when entering a sector. It seems to occur completely randomly and lags everything else on the PC (even Task Manager) until you can somehow kill TC. Logically, the game should not be overloading RAM (I have 8 Gb with the usage switch enabled), and the cpu cores just seem to idle at about 2%. My rig runs TC just great at all other times, including big complexes and major battles.

Now the extra info. I find that if I do somehow kill TC after this issue and then either just carry on, or do a warm restart (log off/on), the problem persists the next time I try to enter that sector from the same savegame. Also, all other applications seem to run sluggishly. If I do a complete cold reboot, then the problem always disappears, the PC runs smoothly, and I can enter the sector normally from the same TC savegame. It is as if memory or pagefile has been allocated but not released on program closure or warm restart, leaving the system starved of available RAM or trying to load garbage. This is just a suggestion, as the RAM shortage theory is not supported by Task Manager which shows all RAM/cpu within Vista norms while the PC is actually being sluggish. Oh, and I don't get any major Hard Drive thrashing either.

I put all this in case it triggers some IT guru to smack his head and say,'I know what that is!'

Intel 2 Duo E8600 3.33 MHz ASUS P5QL Pro Intel P43 Mobo 700W PSU
ATI 4870 512 Mb GPU X-Fi Extreme Gamer soundcard (latest ALchemy)
8 Gb DDR2 750Gb HD(32 Mb Buffer) Mesh CoolerMaster case
Vista x64 (+all updated drivers/BIOS)

[CBJ]

No eureka moment here, but that's useful feedback, thanks. In general I'd say it tends to suggest a possible driver issue if it persists over a log off/on but not a reboot, but that's by no means definitive.

[aka1nas]

I've also had this issue crop up twice now on Vista 64 with 8GB of RAM since the 2.0 update. First time was just the sub 1fps slowdown (first time I entered Earth).

On the second time , I get the HUD fading out and briefly fading back in from time to time when this occurs. I was able to get into the Universe map, and all of the sector icons were replaced by black squares.

Reloading a save or restarting TC fixed it for me, though.

[Nanook]

I've seen the same black squares once in my current game, a 1.4 savegame, although I haven't experienced those major slowdowns. As with aka1nas, a game restart fixed the problem and I haven't seen it since.

XP Pro 64, E8600 CPU, 4 GB dual channel DDR3 RAM, GeForce 260.

[g04tn4d0]

I don't know if this helps or not, but I'm on Vista x64 with 4GB of RAM and a newer Radeon PCI-e video card and I've not experienced any slowdown that is inconsistent. In certain sectors, when it's slow, it's obviously because there's lots of ships and/or stations. When the framerate is smooth, it's because there's not much going on in the sector. I have a 2nd generation Core2Duo CPU, as well.

[frymaster]

(this problem doesn't seam to occur on a 64bit machine).

may have to shoot you down there... im experiencing this exact same (game destroying) problem, only im on vista 64, with 8gigs of RAM and an 8800gtx

with graphics pumped it runs buttery when first loaded, but as soon as i jump to another sector im below 1fps and have to task manager my way out...

turning down the graphics to lower settings allows me to jump a few times before i end up with the same problem...

just for comparison I'm using an 8800gts640 (ie the old-style GTS that has the same kind of GPU as your GTX) with 8 gigs of RAM and it's running smooth as anything

I've also never seen x3 be able to lag the task manager out (are you looking at it on a second screen or are you tabbing out to look at it? if option 2, then x3 DEFINATELY shouldn't be lagging it) which lends more support to it being a misbehaving driver of some sort...

[Alan Phipps]

Ok, I'm happy to pursue the misbehaving driver theory. I wonder if there's a common theme for those experiencing just the random sector entry slow-down issue in Vista x64. Creative X-Fi soundcard drivers perhaps?

[paulms1980]

aye creative xfi elite pro
best soundcard but 4 sum reason x3 dont like it = very annoying
my driver shows up as being untested by microsoft aswel 4 sum strange reason

[Kapakio]

Yep, same here, but remember, it's not only a Vista x64 issue, it happens also if you enable the usage of >2gb in Vista x32

[Alan Phipps]

We'd need a lot more replies to establish a common theme, but say the issue was found to be commonly linked with a Creative soundcard driver issue when >2Gb is enabled. Could it be something as simple as say the driver itself not being >2Gb enabled? Could that easily be tested or rectified using some tool as some did with TC itself before the patch? IT gurus - any ideas?

One further aspect occurs to me, a lot of us (myself included) have said things like 'bug since 2.0 patch'. We have to remember that lots of things are going on in parallel. If we all downloaded 2.0(a) at roughly the same time and have kept our PCs updated as we should, then a lot of us could equally be saying 'bug since OS/driver update xxx.xx'. Just a thought.

[Kapakio]

I'm not sure I get your point Alan. At least in my case, I'm pretty sure that the issue never occured before 2.0, and I didn't change anything in my system. Besides, I said in a post in this thread that after reducing the value of the >2Gb parameter in the OS I haven't seen the issue anymore. So, it's highly probable that this issue is 2.0 related.

[Alan Phipps]

I was just conjecturing that a lot of Windows updates have taken place since 2.0 came out, and also releases of card driver uipdates (video and sound). We remember 2.0 release clearly as a long-awaited event but do not necessarily recall the little 'background activity completed' flags that mean something may have been auto-updated.

On the driver issue, I just wondered that if the program was using shedloads of RAM, could it take a card driver out of its comfort zone if that driver was not itself enabled to use high values of RAM. Probably a daft idea I know!

[AntoineS]

Atm i do an average of 40-60fps with about 40 khaak ships on my list and a argon defense force. I am running at 1920x1200 4xaa 8xaf and my nvidia drivers at max quality.

dual core 3.0ghz
2x 8800gtx sli
4gig mem
2x raptors 10krpm
Xfi extremegamer (64mb)

I do get fps spikes when entering a heavy loaded sector or when an attack or defense force jumps in for a few sec, but thats it not really during my fight experiance atm.

[Sogo]

Ok, I'm happy to pursue the misbehaving driver theory. I wonder if there's a common theme for those experiencing just the random sector entry slow-down issue in Vista x64. Creative X-Fi soundcard drivers perhaps?

<----- Vista 64 bit, but using onboard surround sound.

Newly built machine.
All drivers up to date. Have been running bench marking and burn in apps since it's been up and running. No other issues in apps/games.

Specs:
Vista 64bit
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX
4094MB RAM
2x XFX GeForce 8800GT Extreme (Alpha Dog ed) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 (Running SLI)

Have disabled SLI, pulled 2nd card, done reinstalls - nothing changes my symptoms. No other game or benchmarking app displays anything like the frame rate issue we are seeing. Also NEVER saw this before on my AMD machine, (using the same card and memory). Heck, maybe it is related to the 64 bit OS - but I would expect it to be a combination brought about by 2.0 and 64bit Vista if anything.

[Kapakio]

Heck, maybe it is related to the 64 bit OS - but I would expect it to be a combination brought about by 2.0 and 64bit Vista if anything.

Once again, it also happens in Vista x32 with the >2gb switch enabled.