[Solved] Game stutters to the point of unplayability. [8.00, Steam, English, Unmodded, No-Saves]

[Levelzero]

[8.00, Steam, English, Unmodded, No-Saves]

I fixed the issue.

The Fix:
1. I powered down the PC and physically removed the GPU.
2. I installed the GPU into a different PCIe slot and booted the system.
3. After verifying the hardware was detected, I tested the game and it ran perfectly.
4. I then moved the GPU back to the original primary PCIe slot.
5. The issue is now completely gone; the game runs smoothly.

I'm not sure how the issue arose, but at least its working now.

Spoiler

Show

I just bought the game and I'm having a game breaking issue where the moment I load the game it stutters to the point of unplayability.
(Since the game hasn't crashed, there is no crash dump files to share sadly)
Severe performance issue where the game runs at ~15–20 FPS immediately on launch, despite decent hardware. GPU utilization remains extremely low (~1–2%) while GPU clocks are normal (~2200+ MHz).
Audio plays smoothly, but visuals appear as a slideshow.
This occurs consistently from the main menu (including the starting cutscene movies) and persists in-game.

Steps to reproduce:
Launch the game via Steam
Issue occurs immediately at main menu
Starting a new game does not change behavior

System specifications:
CPU: Ryzen 7 5800X3D
GPU: Radeon RX 6750 XT
RAM: 32GB DDR4 3600MHz
OS: Windows 11 (fully updated)
Storage: SSD (70~%)

FPS: ~15–20
GPU usage: ~1–2%
GPU clock: ~2200 MHz (normal boost)
CPU usage: ~15–20%
Frame time: ~50ms with spikes
Audio: normal, smooth with no issues
Visuals: extremely choppy / slideshow-like

Graphics settings:
Tested on lowest possible settings
VSync: On and Off tested
FPS limit: tested (including uncapped)
Resolution: native resolution
No change in behavior regardless of settings.

Troubleshooting already attempted:
Clean driver reinstall using DDU (multiple times)
Updated GPU drivers to latest version
Deleted X4 config files (Documents\Egosoft\X4\)
Cleared AMD shader caches (DxCache, VkCache)
Disabled overlays (Discord, Steam, AMD)
Tested both fullscreen and borderless modes
Tried different VSync and frame limit settings
Attempted Vulkan/DX variations (no change)
Uninstalled an reinstalled, tried multiple versions

https://pastebin.com/ysGb5d3w ←DXDIAG
https://pastebin.com/P1anjfiy ←VulkanInfo

↓Running the game for roughtly 5 minutes game me these performance logs.↓

[CBJ]

It looks like you have a debug installation of Vulkan. Try removing the Vulkan SDK and just using the standard Vulkan runtime that comes with your graphics drivers. You might need to reinstall those once you've removed the debug installation.

[Levelzero]

It looks like you have a debug installation of Vulkan. Try removing the Vulkan SDK and just using the standard Vulkan runtime that comes with your graphics drivers. You might need to reinstall those once you've removed the debug installation.

Do you know how I might do that? Because I can't find any Vulkan SDK in my C drive or appwiz.

[CBJ]

Try just uninstalling your graphics drivers, and when you reinstall, make sure you don't pick any debug options.

[Levelzero]

Try just uninstalling your graphics drivers, and when you reinstall, make sure you don't pick any debug options.

It didn't work, I used DDU in safe mode so it should have been a clean install too.

[CBJ]

OK, try searching for the Vulkan SDK in the Apps section under Settings, and uninstalling it from there.

[Levelzero]

OK, try searching for the Vulkan SDK in the Apps section under Settings, and uninstalling it from there.

Trust me man I've been looking for any installation of it, it's not there. I did a manual removal of my Vulcan drivers just to make sure I had cleared out any lingering files too.

[Alan Phipps]

I know that this will seem unrelated but you have a whole host of different sound devices and drivers running at the same time consuming system resources and with potential for clash problems. I would disable any that you don't use in Control Panel, Device Manager, under the Audio and Sound Device categories (right-click on a device in the list for a disable/enable pop-up - easily reversed the same way). Having fewer devices running might help a bit with stability while playing.

(Now I'll take off my sunglasses after reading the opening post. )

[Levelzero]

I know that this will seem unrelated but you have a whole host of different sound devices and drivers running at the same time consuming system resources and with potential for clash problems. I would disable any that you don't use in Control Panel, Device Manager, under the Audio and Sound Device categories (right-click on a device in the list for a disable/enable pop-up - easily reversed the same way). Having fewer devices running might help a bit with stability while playing.

(Now I'll take off my sunglasses after reading the opening post. )

I just tested it, no increase in performance sadly.
I also ran it in safemode to make sure nothing opened on startup.
Also the audio drivers you see are virtual audio drivers, they come in pretty handy for EQ and recording.

Some more info for you guys is that it was running like 5 years ago perfectly when I played it on steam for about 30 minutes, (only for my steam account to get stolen by my ex) then she refunded all of the games that my account was able too ... into steam cash (including this one) and then gifted herself stuff using the cash. yea that wasn't fun
I totally forgot about this game until recently when I got some time off work.

(lol sorryboutthat)