View Issue Details

IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0012829Bionic DuesSuggestion - InterfaceOct 7, 2013 2:01 pm
ReporterPenumbra Assigned Tokeith.lamothe  
Status resolvedResolutionfixed 
Product Version0.932 
Summary0012829: Graphics option: Turn off explosions
DescriptionReplaces explosions with something simple, or just nothing.
TagsNo tags attached.
Internal WeightNew

Activities

Penumbra

Oct 4, 2013 5:06 pm

reporter   ~0034482

I have a poor graphics card on my Linux box. When I fire a rocket, by FPS goes from 80+ to 5, and doesn't recover for the rest of the mission. I think it's the explosions.

Penumbra

Oct 4, 2013 5:32 pm

reporter   ~0034484

Maybe another option to disable the animations entirely? My poor computer is struggling. Though I'm sure it is mostly my fault, somehow.

I have an nVidia nv41gl Quadro FX 1400 and am running Ubuntu 3.8. I have the updated nVidia drivers, but it still struggles.

When I play on my main computer, this game looks amazing, everything flows and seems fluid. Here, however, I just want to _play_ the game.

keith.lamothe

Oct 4, 2013 8:01 pm

administrator   ~0034497

It's one thing for fps to drop while it's showing some explosion, but why on earth would it stay dropped (from 80 to 5) after all the explosions are done playing? Does it go back up after save/quit-to-menu/load? Or after save/quit-application/load?

Penumbra

Oct 4, 2013 8:06 pm

reporter   ~0034498

Last edited: Oct 4, 2013 8:07 pm

Everything is fine until the first big explosion. Then, the FPS is tanked until I hit the map screen again or quit.

This box has a ton of system RAM, and is 64 bit, but the video card is a mobile one. It can drive two monitors, though I am using only one.

keith.lamothe

Oct 5, 2013 4:30 pm

administrator   ~0034514

You said this is your Linux box, but to be absolutely clear: this is on Linux, right? Do you notice any kind of permanent fps drop on any non-Linux platform? Or any other machine running Linux?

Penumbra

Oct 5, 2013 4:43 pm

reporter   ~0034515

Yes, just on my Linux box. It's a desktop, but the video card is not that great. The nvidia Quadro FX 1400.

Sadly, thus is my only Linux box, so I can't test with a different hardware configuration. My windows machine has no problems at all.

keith.lamothe

Oct 5, 2013 5:30 pm

administrator   ~0034516

Ok, we're issuing you special gremlin-hunting equipment ;)

For 0.934:

* Added a "Disable Explosions" toggle to the settings window. Unless your computer or GPU are very low end you want nothing to do with anything that reduces the explosiveness of this game.
** Thanks to Penumbra for the suggestion.

* Added a new unbound-by-default "Debug: Clear Graphical Effects" utility keybind that dumps all the data tracking explosions, particles, etc from the game. Useful to check if they're clogging up performance for those (well, the one case we know of, at least) who see a permanent fps drop after the first big explosion, etc.


So my suggestion when you have 0.934 and a chance to test is:
0) Don't turn on the "Disable Explosions" toggle yet. But do bind the "Debug: Clear Graphical Effects" key (I used K for it, personally)
1) Start a new game on your Linux box, with a siege exo (bonus points for Genji).
2) Go into a mission.
3) Record your framerate.
4) Press F3, and look for the line starting with "NonSimDebris"; the counts on that line are relevant. Probably just take a screenshot of this for us. Then Press F3 again to make that display go away.
5) Make a large explosion (how is left as an exercise for the reader), and wait til it has visually cleared.
6) Record your framerate.
7) Press F3, take another screenshot, press F3 again to close the debug display
8) Press your "Debug: Clear Graphical Effects" key
9) Record your framerate
10) With the F3 display still up, take a third screenshot.
11) Completely close the application
12) Restart the application
13) Turn on the "Disable Explosions" toggle
14) Repeat steps 1 through 10 :)

If that's too much of a bother (I'd understand, it's not like you're being paid), then a less rigorous test would do: Turn on "Disable Explosions" and see if that fixes the problem.


Thanks!

Penumbra

Oct 5, 2013 6:18 pm

reporter   ~0034517

Ah, I see this isn't out yet. Will it be coming soon?

Penumbra

Oct 5, 2013 7:08 pm

reporter   ~0034518

Ok, don't hate me ;)

I drove into work so that I could try out .934

It's not out yet. So, I look to my Ubuntu update and see that there are some kernel updates.

Now, I get only about 5-8 FPS in the main menu. While this was initially disheartening, the map screen gives me 140+ and the missions run at about 100. Explosions send me to 50, and then it comes right back to 100.

Penumbra

Oct 5, 2013 7:13 pm

reporter   ~0034519

Ok, quit to main menu, 280 FPS. I have no idea, but whatever kernel update came out fixed this issue. I'll try it for "just one more turn" and see if anything else pops up.

The "no explosions" will still be great, as that's the only thing that makes it noticeably stutter.

Penumbra

Oct 5, 2013 7:17 pm

reporter   ~0034520

Last edited: Oct 5, 2013 7:18 pm

Sigh....

Genji,

+10% AoE starting item.

Plasma Cannon.


4-7 FPS, sustained, after explosion.

At least, um, there's still something to look into? ;)

keith.lamothe

Oct 5, 2013 8:26 pm

administrator   ~0034521

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that 0.934 was out yet :) Chris announces such things in the forum, if you're ever unsure of a given version being out.

Interesting on the sometimes-different-results with the new OS update.

Anyway, I think Chris is trying to get 0.934 out shortly, we'll see :)

keith.lamothe

Oct 5, 2013 8:34 pm

administrator   ~0034522

In 0.933, if you save before that plasma shot, and then reload (from a fresh app start, probably) and fire it, do you still get the fps drop? If so posting that save could be helpful :) Since it appears that not all big explosions cause this for you, having one that definitely does is a good tool for testing.

keith.lamothe

Oct 5, 2013 8:38 pm

administrator   ~0034524

Ok, 0.934 is out now :)

Penumbra

Oct 5, 2013 9:05 pm

reporter   ~0034525

I will try and get into the office tomorrow, otherwise I will have to wait until Monday to test it out.

Penumbra

Oct 6, 2013 1:51 pm

reporter  

Run 1 - 1 Pre.jpg (175,017 bytes)   
Run 1 - 1 Pre.jpg (175,017 bytes)   

Penumbra

Oct 6, 2013 1:51 pm

reporter  

Run 1 - 2 Post.jpg (202,453 bytes)   
Run 1 - 2 Post.jpg (202,453 bytes)   

Penumbra

Oct 6, 2013 1:51 pm

reporter  

Run 1 - 3 Cleared.jpg (202,719 bytes)   
Run 1 - 3 Cleared.jpg (202,719 bytes)   

Penumbra

Oct 6, 2013 1:52 pm

reporter  

Run 2 - 1 Pre.jpg (165,995 bytes)   
Run 2 - 1 Pre.jpg (165,995 bytes)   

Penumbra

Oct 6, 2013 1:52 pm

reporter  

Run 2 - 2 Post.jpg (193,637 bytes)   
Run 2 - 2 Post.jpg (193,637 bytes)   

Penumbra

Oct 6, 2013 1:52 pm

reporter  

Run 2 - 3 Cleared.jpg (193,605 bytes)   
Run 2 - 3 Cleared.jpg (193,605 bytes)   

Penumbra

Oct 6, 2013 1:57 pm

reporter   ~0034542

Here is the information as requested:

Run 1 is with Explosions aka Run Awesome

1 - 1 Pre-explosion: FPS 45.7 (this was about 90 before I turned on F3, don't know why)
1 - 2 Post-explosion: FPS 6.3
                      NonSimDebris: 0 (along with the rest of the line)
1 - 3 Post-clear: FPS 7.3
                      NonSimDebris: 0 (along with the rest of the line)

Run 2 is without Explosions aka Run :(

1 - 1 Pre-explosion: FPS 150.7
1 - 2 Post-explosion: FPS 136
1 - 3 Post-clear: FPS 128

Penumbra

Oct 6, 2013 2:00 pm

reporter   ~0034543

Last edited: Oct 6, 2013 3:24 pm

No Explosions, while sad, is a resounding success! There has almost no stutter when firing rockets or even the plasma cannon. The NonSimDebris line was always 0, and I didn't see much of an effect with clearing (probably because there was nothing to clear?)

The minor changes in FPS in Run 2 seems to be totally normal, and not directly related to anything. During the Plasma blast, FPS hit about 70, then recovered to the 120-130 range. I don't have more time to test today here, but I will tomorrow to see if there are any other issues.

keith.lamothe

Oct 7, 2013 1:17 am

administrator   ~0034555

Thank you for the info, I've passed it on to Chris :)

In the meantime marking this one resolved, since the issue itself is dealt with. Hopefully Chris will be able to better get to the bottom of why linux+low-end-hardware+big-explosions produces permanently low FPS, but that's probably beyond our pre-1.0 capacity.

My personal guess is that Linux has a higher pony consumption rate than the others.

Chris_McElligottPark

Oct 7, 2013 10:48 am

administrator   ~0034560

The only thing I can think of is this:

* Added an ability to disable additive blending via the graphics settings, in case that is the culprit behind why explosions cause slowdowns permanently on some linux installs.

I'm not sure that there's a whole lot more that I can do beyond this, as I have looked through the code and all seems to be well. It sounds like maybe some driver issue, or some combination of a driver and unity.

Generally the linux nvidia drivers are reputed to be the best of all options there, so that's very odd!

Penumbra

Oct 7, 2013 10:52 am

reporter   ~0034561

I think it has to do with the bifurcated product line nVidia has created so they can charge business customers more money.

I have been reading some ways to install the GeForce drivers instead of the Quadro ones, and that might do something. I may try that later and see if it helps. Thanks for all the effort!

Chris_McElligottPark

Oct 7, 2013 11:10 am

administrator   ~0034562

Interesting.

Well, two more options for you also:

* Added a new option to the graphics settings: Destroy Materials Between Frames
** Normally the internal texture materials are pooled and reused between frames, but this may cause issues on some graphics cards on linux. If you suspect this may be the case, enabling this option may help (at a minor RAM/CPU performance cost).

* Added a new option to the graphics settings: Destroy Sprite Meshes Between Frames
** Normally the internal sprite meshes are pooled and reused between frames, but this may cause issues on some graphics cards on linux. If you suspect this may be the case, enabling this option may help (at a minor RAM/CPU performance cost).


These cause the ram to really count up much faster, resulting in much more frequent garbage collections. However it's still small enough that it probably would not really matter.

Penumbra

Oct 7, 2013 12:46 pm

reporter   ~0034563

Last edited: Oct 7, 2013 2:01 pm

Both of the destroy between frames tank my FPS by about half, just normally without even doing anything.

The disabling of additive blending is terrific! There is a minor FPS hit during the explosion (maybe about 10) that comes right back afterwords. I get all the fun of the big booms, while still being able to play.

The only thing that (sometimes) tanks me back to < 10 FPS is the main menu. If I restart the application and quickly load my last save, it recovers in the map screen. Then, everything seems to work.

I played for about 30 minutes with using every rocket and grenade I could find. No issues, lots of beautiful explosions.

Chris_McElligottPark

Oct 7, 2013 2:01 pm

administrator   ~0034565

Well, that is a bit of a funky mystery WHY that worked, but I'm glad it did. :)

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Oct 4, 2013 5:06 pm Penumbra New Issue
Oct 4, 2013 5:06 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034482
Oct 4, 2013 5:32 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034484
Oct 4, 2013 8:01 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0034497
Oct 4, 2013 8:01 pm keith.lamothe Assigned To => keith.lamothe
Oct 4, 2013 8:01 pm keith.lamothe Status new => feedback
Oct 4, 2013 8:06 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034498
Oct 4, 2013 8:06 pm Penumbra Status feedback => assigned
Oct 4, 2013 8:07 pm Penumbra Note Edited: 0034498
Oct 5, 2013 4:30 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0034514
Oct 5, 2013 4:30 pm keith.lamothe Status assigned => feedback
Oct 5, 2013 4:43 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034515
Oct 5, 2013 4:43 pm Penumbra Status feedback => assigned
Oct 5, 2013 5:30 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0034516
Oct 5, 2013 5:30 pm keith.lamothe Status assigned => feedback
Oct 5, 2013 6:18 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034517
Oct 5, 2013 6:18 pm Penumbra Status feedback => assigned
Oct 5, 2013 7:08 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034518
Oct 5, 2013 7:13 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034519
Oct 5, 2013 7:17 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034520
Oct 5, 2013 7:18 pm Penumbra Note Edited: 0034520
Oct 5, 2013 7:18 pm Penumbra Note Edited: 0034520
Oct 5, 2013 8:26 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0034521
Oct 5, 2013 8:34 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0034522
Oct 5, 2013 8:38 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0034524
Oct 5, 2013 9:05 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034525
Oct 6, 2013 1:51 pm Penumbra File Added: Run 1 - 1 Pre.jpg
Oct 6, 2013 1:51 pm Penumbra File Added: Run 1 - 2 Post.jpg
Oct 6, 2013 1:51 pm Penumbra File Added: Run 1 - 3 Cleared.jpg
Oct 6, 2013 1:52 pm Penumbra File Added: Run 2 - 1 Pre.jpg
Oct 6, 2013 1:52 pm Penumbra File Added: Run 2 - 2 Post.jpg
Oct 6, 2013 1:52 pm Penumbra File Added: Run 2 - 3 Cleared.jpg
Oct 6, 2013 1:57 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034542
Oct 6, 2013 2:00 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034543
Oct 6, 2013 3:24 pm Penumbra Note Edited: 0034543
Oct 7, 2013 1:17 am keith.lamothe Internal Weight => New
Oct 7, 2013 1:17 am keith.lamothe Note Added: 0034555
Oct 7, 2013 1:17 am keith.lamothe Status assigned => resolved
Oct 7, 2013 1:17 am keith.lamothe Resolution open => fixed
Oct 7, 2013 10:48 am Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0034560
Oct 7, 2013 10:52 am Penumbra Note Added: 0034561
Oct 7, 2013 11:10 am Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0034562
Oct 7, 2013 12:46 pm Penumbra Note Added: 0034563
Oct 7, 2013 2:01 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0034565
Oct 7, 2013 2:01 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Edited: 0034563