Frame rate loss under these conditions.

[infowars]

Hi there.  This problem just started a few weeks ago.  The game for months has been operating fine. 

When there is terrain filling most of the screen my frame rate drops into the teens and less sometimes.   When there is little terrain and more than one player in my screen it lags bad.  Weirdest  of all though is I can have a fifty frame rate because my screen is filled with mostly sky yet if a niki comes into view it drops to like five or less.

My computer barely meets minimum requirements but it does meet them.  I recently added ram to try to help.  It did not.  Neither did cleaning it,  even though it needed it badly. 

I am getting a new computer soon but in the meantime I'd sure to keep playing. 

Thanks...


------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 11/27/2008, 22:28:41
       Machine name: THEPARKERS
   Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.080814-1236)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Compaq Presario 061
       System Model: EL427AA-ABA SR1711NX NA610
               BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
          Processor: AMD Sempron(tm) Processor 3400+,  MMX,  3DNow, ~2.0GHz
             Memory: 958MB RAM
          Page File: 231MB used, 1312MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
    DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
  DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
      Display Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
          Music Tab: No problems found.
          Input Tab: No problems found.
        Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D:    0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw:  0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay:  0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow:  0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
        Card name: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series
     Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
        Chip type: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series (0x5954)
         DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5954&SUBSYS_2A26103C&REV_00
   Display Memory: 256.0 MB
     Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
          Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
  Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
      Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
   Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6571 (English)
      DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
 Driver Date/Size: 8/13/2005 21:36:12, 238592 bytes
      WHQL Logo'd: Yes
  WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
              VDD: n/a
         Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
    Mini VDD Date: 8/13/2005 21:35:54, 1313792 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-1A14-11CF-276A-2C0AA1C2CB35}
        Vendor ID: 0x1002
        Device ID: 0x5954
        SubSys ID: 0x2A26103C
      Revision ID: 0x0000
      Revision ID: 0x0000
      Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D
 Deinterlace Caps: {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
                   {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalSt retch
                   {3C5323C1-6FB7-44F5-9081-056BF2EE449D}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
                   {552C0DAD-CCBC-420B-83C8-74943CF9F1A6}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
                   {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
                   {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalSt retch
         Registry: OK
     DDraw Status: Enabled
       D3D Status: Enabled
       AGP Status: Enabled
DDraw Test Result: Not run
 D3D7 Test Result: Not run
 D3D8 Test Result: Not run
 D3D9 Test Result: Not run

[The Fugitive]

Hit <control><alt><delete>, click on the processes tab. In the bottom corner it will tell you how many processes your computer is running. The less the better, in a stripped down XP box you should be able to get it to 10-15. This clears up your computer to run the game instead of all those other things.

Second thing is to start the game. When the notepad comes up click on video setting. Make sure you are NOT pre-loading any textures, or skins. Also turn the max texture size down to 128 (256 might work) After the cache rebuilds, start the game, and go into the setting, and turn all of the sliders to "performance/faster" The game won't look that pretty, but it might be playable.

Good luck!

[infowars]

I've got my processes down to 28.  Can't figure what else to close.  It started with about 50 however.  I'm not sure if I'm preloading textures or not,  I'll check when I get home.

I've slid all the slidder to fastest and stop downloading other player skins. 

I'm just wondering what is failing?  It played fine for months,  I haven't added new programs.  Can my video be taking a dump?

Thanks