Is there a fix/cause for stutter in late game?

[verdeboy2k]

I've noticed that once my game gets to a certain 'size' in terms of stations/ships, every 5-20 seconds the game will 'hiccup' to zero FPS for a second or two--when I assume that ships are updating their orders or something? Is there a fix for this? I've done my best to limit the number of ships assigned per station, since I saw that having too many subordinates was a cause. But despite only having 4-5 miners per station for stations that need miners, and usually only 1-2 traders... I get this stutter. I can get a rock-solid 60 in empty sectors between the freezes, so I don't think it's graphics.

I'd upload a save but I have mods that can't be removed from an active save safely (VRO, Ship Variety Overhaul). But I've disabled all third party orders.. and it still happens, so it has to be a vanilla behaviour run amok.

[KextV8]

Getting a better CPU is generally the fix, if it's not mod related.

[Raptor34]

What's your size for stations/ships then?

[mr.WHO]

What's your size for stations/ships then?

This might be it - the biggere the station the more things need to be calcualated.

Since like a year ago I went from one huge station (500+ modules) to several smaller (about 100+) and my very late game is rather stable performance wise.

[Imperial Good]

If your save is unmodified then you could try linking it for other people to see if they have the same periodic stutter. If they do stutter like you then this could be a bug of sorts.

It would not be the first time such a bug has been reported, although previous cases should have been fixed.

[Raptor34]

What's your size for stations/ships then?

This might be it - the biggere the station the more things need to be calcualated.

Since like a year ago I went from one huge station (500+ modules) to several smaller (about 100+) and my very late game is rather stable performance wise.

I was actually using the same terms as OP and was asking for size as in number.
But seriously? I thought station module number only affects it if you're IS.
That's good to know I guess. At least with the new Terran economy I no longer build 16 fab self-sufficient Claytronics stations.

[verdeboy2k]

What's your size for stations/ships then?

I normally try to keep my stations around 1000 workforce total, so usually 4ish production modules and ancillary modules. And most of them just have one freighter that takes finished goods to a warehouse and brings resources back. THe problem really didn't get noticeable till I got around 100ish stations? I tried to avoid massive megaplexes because it's faster to build stations in parallel.

If your save is unmodified then you could try linking it for other people to see if they have the same periodic stutter. If they do stutter like you then this could be a bug of sorts.

It would not be the first time such a bug has been reported, although previous cases should have been fixed.

I don't have a vanilla save, I can upload a save with a modlist I suppose for some brave soul to try. Does the game have a way to profile what scripts are causing the hiccups? The next time I play I might just start removing ship orders until it stops so I can narrow down the culprit. I have a *sneaky* suspicion it's related to the fact that I have 100% station coverage with satellites so scripts have a *ton* of buy offers to scroll through. Or I could try playing vanilla, but I would miss the station mule mod and VRO since the mule mod is what makes my low number of station subordinates work in the first place.

[CBJ]

I don't have a vanilla save, I can upload a save with a modlist I suppose for some brave soul to try.

Thanks, but no. We can't afford to spend time trying to track down issues if there's a good chance they are caused by a mod. We're more than happy to look at an unmodified game, though.

[dtpsprt]

Even though your problem can be partially blamed to mods (VRO especially since it interferes with almost every aspect), there is a (sad in my opinion) reality that most CPUs can not "handle" the extreme info to be processed with the CoH addition... (increase by 7 million lines -things to watch and calculate- just starting a new game comparing to 3.30). This is about the size of a mid to end game player's position...

My "reply" to this... mods to bring back "swift" moves and lessen the need for player's ships and a "Pirate" playthrough, enjoying exploration, caping SCA and FAF destroyers for my "fast strike force" and no building whatsoever (except for the barely minimum for the PHQ). The Terran stories now provide enough interest and they do not demand huge constructions. I also play the Split plot up to the point I get the Cobra, the Tuatara and the Chimera (all nice additions to the Fleet). Cap an Asgard or two if you like but, for all that is holly, do not increase the total number of ships in the game (or modules for the same reason)

[paraskous]

Hm, I figured I rather build few large complexes to keep the impact of calcs down and traffic too. Plus, I would be able to avoid the place when placed in spot rather off the action.

[paraskous]

Even though your problem can be partially blamed to mods (VRO especially since it interferes with almost every aspect), there is a (sad in my opinion) reality that most CPUs can not "handle" the extreme info to be processed with the CoH addition... (increase by 7 million lines -things to watch and calculate- just starting a new game comparing to 3.30). This is about the size of a mid to end game player's position...

My "reply" to this... mods to bring back "swift" moves and lessen the need for player's ships and a "Pirate" playthrough, enjoying exploration, caping SCA and FAF destroyers for my "fast strike force" and no building whatsoever (except for the barely minimum for the PHQ). The Terran stories now provide enough interest and they do not demand huge constructions. I also play the Split plot up to the point I get the Cobra, the Tuatara and the Chimera (all nice additions to the Fleet). Cap an Asgard or two if you like but, for all that is holly, do not increase the total number of ships in the game (or modules for the same reason)

Yea, I stopped the terran pt for now. The ship bloat (miners) is real. Switched to Split since I didn't finish the story last time when I said "nope" seeing a quest with rattlesnakes to deliver. Now having played with a shipyard I guess that is somewhat trivial quest now and it only needs 1 Snake today.
I plan to nest in NE, Spear of Patriarch, support curbs and finally take over ZYA space. So is the plan. The minerals look like shite up there though. But is a region I have never been really and I want Litany of Fury for the looks.
Also considering piracy for the start. But I know me - I'm gonna crank up the factories anyway. After playing Terran, the Split feel so slow. Incredible - it is actually the Terran ships being slow - it's all about the Terran engine and how fast they accelerate in Travel mode. This is like Sinza.

[verdeboy2k]

I don't have a vanilla save, I can upload a save with a modlist I suppose for some brave soul to try.

Thanks, but no. We can't afford to spend time trying to track down issues if there's a good chance they are caused by a mod. We're more than happy to look at an unmodified game, though.

I figured as much, but if I have the problem in my next vanilla playthrough I'll let you know. Want to get used to it again for the new venture playthroughs anyway.

Even though your problem can be partially blamed to mods (VRO especially since it interferes with almost every aspect), there is a (sad in my opinion) reality that most CPUs can not "handle" the extreme info to be processed with the CoH addition... (increase by 7 million lines -things to watch and calculate- just starting a new game comparing to 3.30). This is about the size of a mid to end game player's position...

Just to let other people reading know, it's hardly *unplayable* I might add, beyond the brief moments of stutter my FPS is solid as a rock as long as I'm not looking at my hordes of miners on a map, especially since I'm at the stage of the game where it's more of an RTS. If I'm just a passenger on a ship it's not noticeable at all. Though I will say that using SETA makes my CPU melt and cry, lol. Just if I'm flying a ship or walking around the 'hiccups' are definitely noticeable.

[Matthew94]

I don't have a vanilla save, I can upload a save with a modlist I suppose for some brave soul to try.

Thanks, but no. We can't afford to spend time trying to track down issues if there's a good chance they are caused by a mod. We're more than happy to look at an unmodified game, though.

I posted the same issue months ago (unmodded). Someone looked into my save and said it was due to the shipyard script. I can upload the save again if someone will take a look at it. No dev replied when I posted that old thread however a moderator did say "The devs are already aware of this thread".

Do you know if someone actually looked at my save at that time?

viewtopic.php?f=146&t=428663

[verdeboy2k]

Someone looked into my save and said it was due to the shipyard script.

Huh! It started about the time I got a shipyard built.. but I assumed it was from the fact I promptly built a small horde of supporting factories...

[CBJ]

I posted the same issue months ago (unmodded). Someone looked into my save and said it was due to the shipyard script. I can upload the save again if someone will take a look at it. No dev replied when I posted that old thread however a moderator did say "The devs are already aware of this thread".

They might well have done, but a lot has changed since then and it's quite likely that some issues that were around then will have been fixed. If you've got a save that still exhibits similar problems now then by all means post it, but please do so as a new report rather than resurrecting the old one.

[Imperial Good]

I normally try to keep my stations around 1000 workforce total, so usually 4ish production modules and ancillary modules.

Computronic Substrate require 1,500 workers each module.

[dtpsprt]

Even though your problem can be partially blamed to mods (VRO especially since it interferes with almost every aspect), there is a (sad in my opinion) reality that most CPUs can not "handle" the extreme info to be processed with the CoH addition... (increase by 7 million lines -things to watch and calculate- just starting a new game comparing to 3.30). This is about the size of a mid to end game player's position...

Just to let other people reading know, it's hardly *unplayable* I might add, beyond the brief moments of stutter my FPS is solid as a rock as long as I'm not looking at my hordes of miners on a map, especially since I'm at the stage of the game where it's more of an RTS. If I'm just a passenger on a ship it's not noticeable at all. Though I will say that using SETA makes my CPU melt and cry, lol. Just if I'm flying a ship or walking around the 'hiccups' are definitely noticeable.

Understood (and respected)... I suppose by RTS you mean Real Time Strategy. That leaves out people that would prefer to fly their own ships (for any reason) though...
BTW if you are using the game as RTS what is the purpose of VRO?

[al_dude]

I would never play X series as RTS.

In 99% of space games out there, you are forced in a tiny fighter. In X, you can captain huge ships!

So, that's what I do in X. I captain huge ships and have semi-big battles. I generally avoid OOS fight.

[verdeboy2k]

Understood (and respected)... I suppose by RTS you mean Real Time Strategy. That leaves out people that would prefer to fly their own ships (for any reason) though...
BTW if you are using the game as RTS what is the purpose of VRO?

I mean, I like to sit and watch my battles, but I get bored flying a big capital ship, and flying a fighter in a massive space battle is a great way to end up hitting the 'reload' button (even with the new ejection system). So I tend to issue my attack orders and watch the battle unfold from the bridge while micromanaging the fight. (And my opinion of how the AI executes fleet combat is not fit for public viewing. I would pay actual $$ for a mod/addon/patch that lets you put 'no go' zones around stations so my fighters will fight the things they can actually kill and not die to the pretty laser light show of a xenon station bristling with their fighter eating beam weapons.)

And the purpose of VRO, to me, is to make it so I don't zerg rush things. Because the last time I played vanilla there's not enough power gap between a fighter, a corvette, and a destroyer. And I play without highways so VRO's engine balance is kind of a must.. if nothing else having no highways makes L (and XL with VRO) sized freighter make sense for long haul freight. I generally appreciate VRO's difficulty even when I get to the point where I'm guiding fleets of 100s of ships versus manually flying a destroyer to snipe a station to death.

[verdeboy2k]

I normally try to keep my stations around 1000 workforce total, so usually 4ish production modules and ancillary modules.

Computronic Substrate require 1,500 workers each module.

I suppose I should clarify that I try to keep my Commonwealth factories about that level. My terran ones are massive beasts just due to stuff like that.