I actually noticed this during beta 4, but it was the first time I noticed buildings, on my new laptop, so I thought they just needed some optimizing, which would be done for the release.
I get a constant max framerate (limited to 90 in my case, for example) over all the map, on a bare ground, units for example are ok. But as soon as a small 3D object enters the field, it decreases. A tree in the corner? 45 fps. A city (not a big one, just the first settlement) visible? 15 fps.
I tried to change the various settings, deactivated soft lighting, AA, shadows, resolution, it's still doing the same. It works good on the cloth map, without a problem, though, as there are no such elements.
Now I would understand such thing on my older laptop, but I'm surprised to see this on the new one. Specs:
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz (8 CPUs), ~1.6GHzMemory: 8192MB RAMVideo Card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
So I'm guessing there is somehow a problem with drivers (though latest ones from ATI), or at least some incompatibility somewhere. Because the objects are nice, the cell shading effect too, but it's hardly something to bring this computer to its knees.
ps: I understand that a game like this doesn't need to run at 90fps. But 15-20 is actually unpleasant on the long term.
Edit: To make a complete (more or less) analysis, I tried at a high and low configuration, similar effects:
LOW Settings:
- Video Configuration
- Over a city: 20 fps
- Without objects: 138 fps
HIGH Settings:
- Over a city: 18 fps
- Without objects: 80 fps
So it doesn't seem to be related to the video settings. I also tried windowed, same.
It is really related to these 3D objects, as shown by these two other screenshots:
- Full zoom, empty ground: 99 fps
- Same place, just a bit higher to have one tree in the view: 29 fps
So far, the only thing which seems to improve performance is to force the game to run only on one core (physical one, so two virtual cores on Core i3/5/7), as suggested by thebigJ_A in this answer.
It should be the other way around, clearly, so maybe it's giving a hint on where the problem could be. Note that this doesn't solve the performance problem, there is still a big decrease on framerate when passing on cities, but less than when the game is authorized to run on all cores. I noticed however that doing this since the 1.05 version makes the sound choppy, probably because it was expecting to run on a different core to begin with.
When zoomed out to 'default' it looks like the game is still rendering all the workers and stuff in the cities on screen, even though they are too small to be seen.
This really needs to get fixed soon.
Any monday updates on this?
Ive had two devs today tell me that there will not be a fix or patch for this today (Monday).
I hope they can give us a hint on if it's fixed or not soon. It's really annoying bug with manually countable framerate late game. CPU and GPU use is very low, GPU-Z says less than 25% GPU load, and Process Explorer showed that CPU use was far from maxed out.
This is absolutly horrible. I hope my $50 didn't go to waste here....
I think I have decided to give it until this Friday, then I will have to request a refund most likely, simply on the basis of principal. I know they will eventually fix this, but this exact issue was reported during Beta by several people it seems and combine that with the other issues of launch, I just don't feel that I should be 50-60 bucks lighter without a working game in my possession.
If by some chance this issue isn't fixed by Friday, I will simply have to see about getting my money back and then evaluate how quickly they get it fixed and if my interest is sustained over that time period.
To be perfectly honest, this is only like the 2nd or 3rd time in my entire gaming history (25+ years) that I may have to go down this path. I just never thought I would have to do so with Stardock. More than anything, that is the most disappointing thing about this entire ordeal.
But here is hoping that my little drama soap box is moot, and that the patch fixes all this crap soon.
I'm inclined to agree. Not out of any malice or rancor, but simply because being unable to, you know, actually look at the game is sort of... ridiculous.
I'm sure they're tired, worn out, stressed, and morale is low, and I understand and sympathize, but this is supposed to be my break from life, not another source of frustration.
Yea paying Stardock $50 so that I can have an icon in impulse is really not worth it, I'd like an actual playable game behind that icon. If this isn't fixed promptly (I mean it's been a week already...) then I'm getting my money back.
Oh for godssakes you guys, give it a rest. it's been a week. it's not like the game would be cheaper if you waited a week or a month to buy it. give them a chance. you bought the game - why? cuz it sounded awesome. stardock has their developers working on it full-time for a year. did you play galciv2? the game didnt even resemble the release version in 6 months - it was 10x better.
theyre not charging you by the month. get a refund if you want - but youll just end up wishing you'd stuck it out. grow some patience and maturity. jeez.
What part of patience or maturity includes paying $50 for a game that runs at sub 10 fps when you install it on your machine that runs Crysis comfortably?
I'll second I Intrude.
If the upcoming patch won't fix the performance issues, which make the game unplayable for me, I don't think I can trust Stardock to ever do it.
This isn't immature. I can't play the game. Stardock says the next patch will fix it. If it doesn't I still won't be able to play the game. I'll ask for a refund.
I hope that the patch will fix the problem.
If I get a refund and Stardock fixes the issues some time down the track, I will probably buy it again. I'll be paying for a working product.
I'm disappointed. I was hoping that by today at least we would have had an update on the most problematic bug for most (all?) people.
"It's been a week"?
I thought the game was in betatesting since spring. How a bug like this could slip through to the final release version is quite hilarious, unless they managed to add it in a late build that was never really tested just before release. In the latter case, it's very easy to fix as it would be easy to backtrack the added late changes that caused the problem. If the problem has been there since beta then I have to ask, what was the beta testing good for? And what did the QA do? (or is there any QA at all?)
This released bug isn't as bad as in The Saboteur from EA/Pandemic, but almost as bad.
I am disappointed by the bug too, but let us give them a chance to fix this. I am a software developer too and I know some problems are terrible to solve and no matter how hard you try to fix something, it may take a time. I remember one tab control, that caused Windows 98 and older operating systems to freeze. Windows 2000 and newer operating systems were working fine. It took me 14 full days to find the solution (not the reason, because there was no error according the Windows API documentation).
The software development house I work for is a wholly owned subsidiary of a multibillion dollar corporation. We do the development of the application that is the "face" of this corporation. Literally tens of millions of people use our product every day. To ship a product in the same condition as E:WoM would instantly get our firm shutdown and all of our work outsourced or moved to a different development company. I'm not saying our software is bug free, I don't think any major piece of software is, but we definitely do not ship with showstoppers or high priority issues still reproducible, period. A release like this is unacceptable from anyone.
The relese of this game is disgusting, weather they fix it or not isnt an issue it simply wassnt ready and a lot of people who pre ordered it wasted there money. The fact that Brad was clearly aware it wassnt ready for release is evident from the whole PC gamer incident, while i dont care about him snapping at someone while stressed it does make it clear he knew the game wassnt compleat. They dont even have the excuse that the publisher forced them to rush it out as they are themselves the publisher, heres two lines from the gamers bill of rights...
2) Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
5) Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
Stardock came up with that, what a joke.
Ive waited patiently for this game since it was announced and i resisted applying for the beta because i didnt want to spoil the release of what i expected to be one of the best games in years. Well here it is and its broken, ill prolly hang in there because i love this type of game and can see underneath is something truley great but the entire experiance has left a bitter taste in my mouth.
i agree with everyone, and i'm almost never mad about these sort of things when I should be. I usually find some excuse/reason to just deal with it when i'm a little unhappy about a purchase.
but with this, i'm ready for a refund and looking to spend the money anywhere that isn't stardock. playing something this bad almost ruins the chance of enjoying a fixed version, and the game did seem like it really would've been great.
Just got a new system with an ATI HD 5750... the game runs amazingly now on all graphics turned up to the top.. What a difference... I can play it now!
Really? Have you tried building a few big cities and checking the FPS while hovering above them?
Doesnt matter what your graphics card is.....its still not using it
I just hope the fix is released before this weekend (4 day weekend for me ) I'm trying to play on the cloth map, but it studders even though I get around 40 to 50 FPS. This is the only game I have this bad of performance, I fired up BFBC 2 just to see if my computer is messing up, no issues, got solid 60 FPS during heavy action with 2xAA on.
I haven't gotten far enough to really big cities yet, but no stutters at all, things are running smooth as silk so far, a far cry from where I was with my old system. I do have a pretty good processor as well though now. I'll let you know the FPS the next time I play.
Everyone saying game is smooth should try using FRAPs or similar program and look at frame rate when cities are around.
I mean, it's not FPS, so even 10-20 frame rate could "appear" smooth, especially if not scrolling much.
In other words, your company has resources and a userbase on a scale 10x bigger, if not more, than stardock. well played.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
