Testing, testing, testing

[rshubert]

I have been testing various fixes for the stuttering issue, here are some of the first results.

1.  I use enditall (always have) to turn off everything possible on the PC.  I have the following processes running:



2.  I renamed the sound subdirectory, and entered the game.  Stutters were still evident.  I noted bad stutters when an enemy fighter fired its guns at me, when I was doing loops over a woods, and near fires on the airfield.  I also noticed minor stutters (if there is such a thing) whenever a plane came into view.

[rshubert]

Shut off PopupDummy, renamed sound directory back to "sounds".  Went back into game, stuttering still there.

[rshubert]

left popupdummy off, renamed sounds directory.  (btw, sound settings are "hardware acceleration off")  Started game, went to A5 for the furball.  Stuttering still there.  Got my bellybutton shot down in about 2 minutes.  In other words, a typical sortie.

[Waffle]

no dice on "seeing" planes in hanger first?

[Pyro]

Do you get this offline as well?

[Waffle]

Pyro, I had small texture stutters when I went offline. Last couple of time when I start AH2, i'll look at all the aircraft/vehicle textures in the hanger - even the add-ons.

After I do that, I am lag free. I didn't do that today.

Also, When I went offline from being online, my rudder /  brakes were out of whack and I had to recalibrate.
Anyway, I went back online and looked at my settings and rudder/brake deaband / damping were set back to default.
They didn't save from the last time I set them.

[rshubert]

One at a time waffle, one at a time.  That way I'll know which "fix" actually fixed something.

BTW, I reinstalled, and went to a back field and just sat there for 4 hours to get all the .res files downloaded.  Went to an active field, upped my spit 5, had stutters almost immediately.  Onward and upward!

I now have the default sounds, and a completely new install of AH2, all nice and clean.  Next step is to look at everything in the hangar.



shubie

[rshubert]

Originally posted by Pyro
Do you get this offline as well?

I'll check that right now.  Back with you in a few.

(edit)

Checked offline.  Some stuttering at first, when using view hat, looping around and looking at ground, that sort of thing.  Then it settled down--about 3 or 4 minutes into the flight, after first firing guns at one of the drones from about 400 out.   Flew around for about 10 minutes, using view hat, etc. with no more stuttering.

Now to go look at planes in the hangar online...This should be a real ball.

[rshubert]

Ok, with all that done, now I went to an empty field and stared at planes in the hangar.  It helped A LOT.

For a minute or two after takeoff, I flew near in and around the woods, and got some stutter.  It went away after a couple of minutes of loops and rolls and heavy hat usage.

I flew against planes for about an hour, and saw NO stutter.

[Waffle]

It seems the textures aren't holding in a "cache" or whatever the term is, or however it works.

Whenever I reboot, I get texture stutter - only way to fix it is to "look" at all skins in the hanger - then stutter free.

Also I noticed some issues about having to re-cache once the film viewer is used in a nother post. I believe this might have been what happened to me. (instead of the .exe. file)

Also tonight I had a CTD and a lock up -

on the CTD - I was landing an La7 with flaps / brakes applies and pulling the stick back for tail wheel lock. A lanc formation dropped about 6-8 bombs on the vh. After about 6 explosions, I CTD'd...

The freeze happened when I shot down a formation of lancs. the lanc fell from the air, and I lost sight of him. When the kill message was recieved, it froze. Could this possibly be with him dropping ord as he fell  down. Basically, killing himself for good when the bombs hit below him?


And another off topic issue I saw. One player was having problems with being around multi engine planes. Said it affected his framerate. Anyway, was reprted that he turned off the external engine sound and his frame rate was back to normal.


I noticed I had some weird framrate issues in a 110, but wil have to do more testing.

[rshubert]

Good tag line, huh?

Anyway, I jumped in the game this morning, and the stutter was back.  That seems to validate waffle's (and others) observation that the cache unloads when the game ends, or begins, or something.

Maybe making the cache more permanent will be the ultimate solution.  Maybe.  Not that I'm telling Pyro how to do his job, and after all I really know nothing about how the app is written or how it works, being a simple, unassuming out-of-work automation engineer who only...

You get the picture.  Good luck, Pyro.  I hope all this feedback is helping.



shubie

[Waffle]

Just had another thought as I was looking at the planes in the hanger before upping -

I noticed that the textures apply really quickly once the 3d-model is recognized or "seen" in the hanger.

You can see this as you switch from different planes from the first time you get into the hanger. But when you go through the 109 versions (e4, f4, g2,g6,g10) and 190 versions (a5,a8,f8,d9)  as well as the different p47 versions, even m3/m16 they seem to load super quickly, almost instantaneously.

But going from the 190 series to a lancaster, or b17, whos model hasn't been "seen" yet - there is a stutter even in hanger.


Anyway shubie - see if you notice this if you get a chance...start with the 190a5 model, then see if going to the other 190 versions(a8,f8,d9) is smoother in hanger...then goto a different plane, whos model you haven't "seen" yet.