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stutters - HELP!


peter winship

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Sorry if this is a question that has been posed many times.  I have searched here for answers already, and tried many suggested fixes, but to no avail. I just bought the game again (having lost all my toggles and so on ages ago...) and I'm running the very latest version/build. I have a Ryzen 5 2600, 16GB of RAM, the game on SSD (inc maps), the card is a GTX 1660 with 6GB memory, win 10. I'm wondering if those specs are enough? I can get decent frame rates using the default settings, by which I mean a low of around 30fps, and that's adequate. My problem is the sights - the main gun sight, the thermals, the commanders little TV screen (in the Leo) - they all stutter terribly. Makes it hard/impossible to lead or aim. The commanders little TV screen in the Leo (sorry can't recall the name of it...) for scanning and designating targets, is the very worst. NOTHING I do will stop stutters on this screen. I have tried half refresh, all sorts of combinations of game refresh/card refresh, third party FPS limiters, putting ALL adjustable in-game graphics settings as low as possible, lower screen res (I'm on 2560x1440 normally), etc etc. Still those stutters in the commanders thermal screen. It's true that the above tweaks all made a slight difference and that the stutters are worse on highest zoom levels, but nothing makes them go away. Do I just have unrealistic expectations from my set-up? And if so, what should I change to get rid of these stutters? Anyone help? Many thanks. Sorry it's yet another graphics query - I've read buckets of them over the last 2 days....

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Our preliminary assessment is that your system should be adequate for Steel Beasts.

 

To investigate deeper,

  • ...send us the DebugLog.txt file, please
  • ...check task manager to see CPU & GPU usage by Steel Beasts -- and by other processes
    We'd like to rule out that your system is relying on virtual memory (harddisk swapping ... it shouldn't be, 16GByte is plenty)
  • ...please check nVidia control panel settings and reset them to default.
  • ...update/reinstall nVidia drivers.
  • ...disable all ancillary 'tools'

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Ok. Thanks! 

 

Here's the last debug txt. I asked you last week about the page file line you get on screen when you select show framerate, and wondered why there was any there at all....You didn't seem to think that an entry in that line meant I was using a page file.  Maybe the entries about the page file in the debug log txt show differently? 

 

I will try (again - I've actually already tried the last 3) the other measures this morning and report back.

DebugLog_12.txt

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For the debug log, please start the exe with the command line parameter -loglevel trace.  This can be done by selecting Start Menu->eSim Games->Toubleshooting, and then launching SB with the (debug) shortcut.  Please enter the scenario, and go to the Leo TIM view (or any view that experiences trouble) and exit.   Please attach DebugLog.txt  (not one of the numbered ones, as they are from previous sessions).

 

Quote

[10:32:14,966] CGame INFO : +--+ MEMORY USAGE INFO (SteelBeasts START):
[10:32:14,966] CGame INFO : |  | Process: 4.3 GB (0 % of 128.0 TB total, 128.0 TB free) 4.3 GB min/4.2 GB max
[10:32:14,966] CGame INFO : |  | Physical: 3.6 GB (22 % of 15.9 GB total, 12.4 GB free) 3.5 GB min/3.6 GB max
[10:32:14,966] CGame INFO : +--+ Pagefile: 5.2 GB (28 % of 18.3 GB total, 13.1 GB free) 5.1 GB min/5.2 GB max

 

Regarding the Pagefile line.  The values are indicate the total page file that is available to SB, and how much of it is consumed by the the system, other applications and SB (so, everything). 

Edited by mrivers
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Many thanks for looking at this.  Is the attached any use - generated in the way you described, I hope? I changed the graphics settings a few times whilst in the session. It stuttered, though not too much - and I'm not tracking with the TIS so it's playable. The key things to reduce it to playable are, I've found, to reduce Terrain Object Detail to around 20 and grass clutter to 0. These sliders have the biggest impact on the stutters. I can put general distance and ground distance on 100 and it makes virtually no difference at all to either framerate or stutter, which is nice, I should say, that I can have these sliders at least at 100%. Then the road graphics and shadows I also put to 0, and this helps. But the biggest hits come from the 2 sliders I mentioned. BUT, this is all with in game vsync set to off, Nvidia vsync set to on and an external FPS limiter (MSI afterburner Riva plug-in) set at between 35 and 45. I think - and I really mean 'I think' - I'm not certain - that the stutters appear in the TIS, and to a lesser extent in other sights - when the framerates take a sudden dip for whatever reason. I don't know what the reason is. Sometimes I suspect it's when there are enemy located (not yet detected) where the sight stutters. Sometimes it just seems to be trees. Hence setting the graphics options generally to get a lowest fps that is lower than the hit dip - when that happens - and limiting the fps to around there almost eliminates the stutter. But, with the set up I've detailed above, that means I have to have the terrain detail slider at 20, grass clutter, roads and shadows at nil, and a framerate fixed at around 35. The object being to get it to run more or less at the lowest fps it achieves when it stutters. And 35 is a bit hard on the eye, to be honest.  But if that's the way it's to be, so be it. If so, would getting a 1070 make enough of a difference to make it worth it, I wonder? 

 

I'm very interested to learn if it's using the pagefile at all. Because if so I guess going up to 32GB ram would help? Without having to cater for the stutter I could be getting a decent 60fps, I think....

 

 

DebugLog.txt

Edited by peter winship
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Well, I only got the Riva plug-in after trawling posts in here for possible solutions to stutters, but - since you asked me to - I just disabled the MSI afterburner and the Riva plug-in and ran it with an unfettered fps and the stutters are much worse then. Like I said, I think the stutters occur when there's a sudden large difference in fps, or a lag, and the fps limiter helps reduce that. 

 

But in the log I posted 3 posts up can you tell if any use of the pagefile is happening? 

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What good are the various Logitech tools running in the background?

Can you see if disabling them helps with anything?

Like I wrote in my initial reply, "...remove all ancillary tools". We need to rule out that it's coming from a third party software.

Have you tried different drivers?

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I shut down everything in task manager, plus all the malwarebytes anti viral stuff, anything I could see that wasn't system related, aside from the CM stuff, then ran it. No difference. The stutters occur in the Leo TIS most often when the framerate dips suddenly, when panning. Normal framerates would be around 40 or even higher and as I pan - for no observable reason - the framerates will dip to below 20, then it stutters. I will go along, say, two thirds of a tree-line at 49fps, then when it reaches some random point it momentarilly dips to 10fps. Then it stutters. The dips last micro-seconds (as do the stutters).  It can happen panning across buildings too. There is never any obvious graphical reason why it would stutter (take a framerate hit) just at that point. It doesn't happen in normal external views. It does happen with the Leo peri, but less, much less, than with the TIS. You sure others haven't noticed? My system is pretty standard.  Why would there be sudden framerate negative spikes? 

 

Did anyone look at the new debug log I posted to see if there was anything there? 

 

Again, many thanks for looking at this. 

 

 

Edited by peter winship
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I looked at the debug log, but don't see any reason for stutters.  However, your last description of the problem could indicate the tree cache being populated as the culprit.  While panning, trees that come into view are added to a cache.  It could be that there are so many trees that it takes longer to update the cache and that results in a delayed frame.

Could you upload a scenario that causes these stutters?

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Thanks all. Sometimes it's trees, mrivers, yes, probably, but sometimes it's a sound loading too, I've noticed, sometimes nothing apparent, but a lot going on.  I get stutters with the Leo TIS in every scenario I've tried, The Wood.  The benchmark scenario also. I'll live with it, no doubt. They're not game killers. It's a great simulation/game and I want it to run well, with good graphics. I might have to buy better kit, I fear.  Is there any thread anyone can point me to indicating a set-up that would run with very high graphics settings and no probs? I'm thinking I should upgrade the card first and wondering if an 8GB 1070 would make a diff.  What I have now is a 6GB 1660, which is like a 1060, I believe.  Thanks.

Edited by peter winship
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I run SB on two laptops, a Lenovo with a 1660 ti full power and a surface book 2 with a 1050 mobile.  I can run SB on the Lenovo at pretty much full settings except ground clutter.  I have to crank the surface down a little.  No "stutters", but does get laggy in wide views with a lot trees on the surface.

 

Thats why its kind of important to run the benchmark.  It might pinpoint where the game gives you issues.

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Not all laptops are created equally.  Its mostly about the cooling.  You also have to have expectations on FPS and settings.  On the benchmark, it runs between 45 and 65 in all the tests.  The surface runs 25 to 35.  They both run 80-90C with some thermal throttling of the CPU.

 

If you have a 1660, that's not an old card.  Its one of the newest.  The 1660 ti, which I have, runs about equivalent to mobile 1070.  I had a mobile 1070 on my last laptop and it ran SB slower 10-15%.  Of course it also has an 8750, vs a 9750.

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1 hour ago, peter winship said:

Thanks all. Sometimes it's trees, mrivers, yes, probably, but sometimes it's a sound loading too, I've noticed, sometimes nothing apparent, but a lot going on.  I get stutters with the Leo TIS in every scenario I've tried, The Wood.  The benchmark scenario also. I'll live with it, no doubt. They're not game killers. It's a great simulation/game and I want it to run well, with good graphics. I might have to buy better kit, I fear.  Is there any thread anyone can point me to indicating a set-up that would run with very high graphics settings and no probs? I'm thinking I should upgrade the card first and wondering if an 8GB 1070 would make a diff.  What I have now is a 6GB 1660, which is like a 1060, I believe.  Thanks.

I don't know if a 1070 will improve your situation, because it may be a CPU/memory bandwidth problem and not a GPU problem (or something unrelated even). 

 

I do use an 8GB 1070FE card and it performs quite well with SB.

 

Regarding sounds, the sound files are not loaded on-the-fly.  If you suspect sound related issues, perhaps check for driver updates.

 

Also, the mention of throttling is interesting.  It would be good to verify your CPU/GPU temps are good.  I've suffered from throttling problems after I bumped the CPU cooler and broke the bond with the heat sink.

Edited by mrivers
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The tree textures are loaded before the scenario starts. 

 

The cache I mentioned above that is updated during the course of the scenario is used to optimize determining which trees to render, and their physical location.  Nothing is loaded from disk, but it could be a bit cpu intensive to generate this cache.  (imagine panning a few thousand trees into view and data needs to be generated for those trees)

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ok. thanks. I monitored temps/cpu usage etc with aida64 and the ryzen 5 processor never rose above 30% usage, all temps fine, so not that, I think.  I think it's just what you can expect at 2560x1440 with my system - which is a Ryzen 5 2600 3.8mhz, 16GB ddr4 RAM, and the GTX 1660 6GB card (everything installed on the 500GB system ssd). With that set-up I can run it with pretty smooth fps of around 40 in all views except the zoomed sights, with the TIS being the worst offender. In the sights the fps will drop occasionally/randomly significantly below 40fps (as low as 15fps momentarilly - causing stuttering) unless I have the following settings - in-game vsynch off and instead Nvidia vsynch on combined with the riva FPS limiter set to 40, then general detail distance set to 100%, ground detail slider set to 15%, object detail slider set to 0, clutter set to 0, cache 100%. Then no shadows and no road detail in the graphics options, everything else default.  With these settings it's usually smooth with just the odd stutter. It looks fine too. If I switch to my 1920x1080 screen (or run the normal screen at that) then I get about 5fps added to those figures. So I'm guessing that's just what you get with that set-up?  If I had to buy only one of a Ryzen 7, another 16GB of memory or a 1070, I wonder which would improve it the most? 

Edited by peter winship
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