Hints and tips

[Skuzzy]

Updated: August 30, 2018

Topics covered in this thread include:

General CPU Utilization
File sharing programs/utilities
Sound Problems
Interrupts (INT) and your computer
Securing Internet Explorer 6/7
Anti-virus programs
Firewalls and Personal routers
Host queue and variance in Aces High
Screen Stutters and Pauses
Saitek Calibration Issues
Need email support?
Unnecessary Windows Updates/Stopping Windows 10 Update
Cleaning Up Windows
Windows 10 DPI scaling issues
Power Management for better performance
Keying Microphone crashes Game (no longer crashes since Version 3.03 Patch 19)
Reporting a bug
--------------------------------------------------

GENERAL CPU UTILIZATION

NOTE:  I have left Windows 10 out of this as Microsoft will undo any changes made with any given update.  In many cases, they simply ignore any settings you attempt to change on processes they deem important to them.

I am also dropping anything related to Windows XP and Vista as they are no longer supported by Microsoft.

Windows 7/8/8.1, by default, has several processes, which run in background, that can cause odd problems with online gaming as well as security issues.
For Windows 7/8/8.1 users:
Go to your Control Panel and double-click the "Administrative Tools" ICON.  Then double-click the "Services" ICON.
This will show you a list of processes Windows will run or start at boot time.  Some will show as "Running".  To alter the state of any of the listed processes, simply right-click on it, and select "Properties" from the pop-up menu.
The processes you can safely "Disable" are as follows:

Automatic Updates (this is one nasty program.  You must enable it when you need to do Windows Updates.  That is the only time you want it to run.)
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
Fax Service (NOTE: unless you are using your computer to send/receive FAXES)
Internet Connection Sharing (NOTE: unless you use your computer so that other computers access the Internet through it)
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Messenger
Print Spooler (unless you have a printer connected)
Remote Registry Service
Routing and Remote Access (unless your computer is also acting as a router for the LAN)
Smart Card
Smart Card Helper
Telnet (unless you want to be able to telnet to your computer from a remote location......not recommended to leave enabled and, by default, should not be listed at all.)
Uninterruptible Power Supply (unless you have a Windows compliant UPS system)
Superfetch (Windows 7/8/8.1)

All others are at your discretion, but take care.  Windows will allow you to shut off services that can keep your computer from booting.  The ones you must not touch have RPC in the name.

A well tuned Windows 7 system should only have about 33 to 37 background processes running, as reported in the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del, under the "Processes" tab).


FILE SHARING PROGRAMS/UTILITIES

If you run any file sharing program, you might as well get use to the fact that you will never have a decent connection to the servers.
Turning off those programs after they have been running for any period of time at all does not stop the users on the Internet from pounding on your connection.
This will cause lost packets, switches from UDP to TCP, and just generally lousy connections to the servers.
My testing shows, that after the program has been running longer than 3 hours, it takes over 24 hours for your Internet connection to return to normal.   When you have a dynamic IP address (as most users do), you can also inherit an IP address from a user who had been running one of these programs and also inherit the flooded connection, even if you have never run one of these programs.
Many games, today, will start up a file sharing service, intended for the game, but can cause the same issues.  Most of these games will have an option to disable this service.  I would advise doing so.


SOUND PROBLEMS

NOTE:  The current version of Aces High, requires DirectX 9.0c, or later.

  Make sure you have the latest sound chip/board drivers for your operating system. NOTE:  In some cases, such as the C-Media chip or any onboard sound chip, random lockups and lost sounds seem to be normal.  Sigmatel onboard audio devices have zero hardware for sound support and have been reported to cause stuttering.  Do not load any custom sounds if you have an onboard sound chip.

  If you have interrupt conflicts/sharing with any Creative Sound Blaster board, you will have problems, such as video graphics stutter, lost sounds, general Internet connectivity issues, or any combination of the above.

  Using the "System Information" tool, you can see what interrupts are being used in your computer system.  NOTE:  It is safe to ignore the various "Steering" interrupts.


INTERRUPTS AND YOUR COMPUTER

For gaming, it is highly desirable that each device in your system be on its own interrupt.  Sometimes this means moving cards around in the PCI slots to accomplish this.
Shared interrupts will cause all types of maladies.  Stuttering video, sound cut-outs, all the way to system freezes and crashes.
It is difficult to tell you how to resolve this as it depends on the BIOS, motherboard, shared device type, operating system, and many other factors.

[Skuzzy]

SECURING ALL VERSIONS OF INTERNET EXPLORER

While this is about securing Internet Explorer, it should be noted the following adjustments effect your Email as well as other applications, so even if you are using an alternate browser (which is a very good idea) it is still a good idea to make the changes.

The following presumes you have Internet Explorer 6.0, or later installed.

DISCLAIMER: There are applications which can be broken when doing the following. For example, Intuit Turbo Tax demands your computer have no security, in order for it to work.  Personally, I take those applications back to the store and get a refund, but you may not have a choice in the matter. If you find the following breaks your applications, it is up to you as to how you want to handle it.

Start Internet Explorer, and then open the "Tools" menu. Select "Internet Options" from the drop down menu.

Then select the "Security" tab.
Next, select the "Internet" zone and hit the "Custom Level" button. Scroll down and you will see 6 options for ActiveX controls. ActiveX is the primary delivery mechanism for spyware and malware programs, which can be loaded on your computer without your knowledge, regardless of any anti-virus program or software firewall your are using.

Carefully read each option and set them to prompt or block ActiveX controls from running or downloading to your computer. Even the ones which are marked 'safe' are not neccesarily 'safe'.

After doing this, you will either get a popup prompt when an ActiveX control is encountered on a WEB page, or if you blocked all these controls, you will see a warning bar notifying you a site is using ActiveX controls and it may not display properly.

Now that you are here, you might as well default the rest of the zones security settings as they will all be set wide open if you have never adjusted them.

Just select each of the zones (except the Internet zone) and press the "Default Level" button to reset each zone to its unique security settings.

In the "Trusted" zone, you may have to add Microsoft (or any other site you know can be trusted) so the auto updater will work (yes, Microsoft uses ActiveX on thier site). Just select that zone, press the "Sites" button, uncheck the requirement for secure connection, and enter '*.microsoft.com' and press the "OK" button.

This will allow Microsoft's WEB site to run under the "Trusted" zone. Internet Explorer will show what zone is being used for any given site you visit in the lower right portion of the status bar.

Now that you have buttoned up this bad boy, let's take a look at the "Privacy" settings. This is where you can setup your security as it pertains to "cookies". Cookies, in of themselves, are very benign, but they can be used to pass personal information from your computer to other WEB sites. There are sites on the Internet who make money by selling that personal information.

To tighten up security here, check the "override automatic cookie handling" option. Then check the option to block all third party cookies and uncheck the option to allow session cookies.

Once you have done that, you will start seeing a new ICON appear in the status bar of Internet Explorer. It looks like a red circle with a minus symbol in it over a computer. You can double-click that ICON and it will bring up more information about the cookie.

Pressing the "Summary" button shows more details about the cookie and allows you to set other options to handle that cookie in the future. Of course, my favorite is the last option which permanently blocks cookies from that domain.

Take note, altering the "Privacy" settings in the manner I am suggesting will break legitimate sites containing bulletin boards, such as ours. All you need to do is to add the domain name to the "Trusted" sites zone in the "Security" settings and it will act normal.

All this sounds like a pain in the tush, doesn't it? What you gain from doing it is a more secure system. One that is not prone to pick up tracking cookies and one that is not prone to getting infected with spyware or malware software.

In the end, it is up to you. No one can force you to make the above changes, and if you do, you will be responsible for how it effects your computer's operation.

[Skuzzy]

ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS

You must shut down any Anti-Virus software you have running in background. If you do not, you could suffer problems, such as, being switched from UDP to TCP, dropped connections, massive lags, and other anomalies.
Even when you think you have the Anti-Virus software shutdown, it can start up again if you update the Anti-Virus database. So always check this.

What Anti-Virus programs do is grab every packet of data coming into your computer from the Internet and they analyze the data in each packet. This, in of itself, could cause problems as it introduces significant delay to the packet getting to the game.
More importantly, a game data packet could accidently look like a virus to the software, in which case, you would lose your connection to the game servers.


FIREWALLS and PERSONAL ROUTERS

This is a can of worms. Aces High depends on ports 2000-6000. They all need to be opened through your firewall. Aces High will not use all these ports simultaneously, but some subset of the above port range will be used.

Also note, when we release an update to the game, you will have to re-allow the aceshigh.exe program back through your personal firewall. Nothing we can do about this as it is a function of the firewall software you are using.

Personal routers: These types of routers (LinkSys, NetGear...) are very slow devices which really cannot handle a lot of traffic from several systems at the same time. Typically, you should restrict your local LAN to 5 systems or less.
Here are some tips:

1) Make sure you have MAC broadcasting enabled in your router. This keeps your ISP from having to rediscover your Ethernet MAC address. If you do not have this enabled, and your ISP's router has to go through discovery you will get switched from UDP to TCP/IP by Aces High due to lost packets.

2) If you are on a network with a dynamic IP and the ISP expires the lease forcing your router to get a new IP address, you will again be switched to TCP/IP from UDP by Aces High due to lost packets and you will probably lose your connection to the servers.

3) If your router or cable/dsl modem is connected to your computer through a USB port, you can expect to lose UDP a lot, as well as unreliable connections to the servers overall. You should have this device connected to an Ethernet port or unreliability will result.

If you have NAT enabled on your router, UDP may not work at all, as there are problems with some versions of firmware in routers that keep them from handling UDP in the translation tables, and this becomes worse with more computers on your LAN.


HOST QUEUE and VARIENCE in Aces High

The graphs in Aces High which shows this data can be read as follows.
Host Queue: Host Queue will typically vary between 5 and 10ms continously. This is perfectly normal. Large occasional spikes will occur, usually due to new objects coming into your area. This is normal as well.
What is not normal, are constant swings in the queue times, or long times at high times.

Varience: Varience should almost always be flat. Wide swings in this line occur if you computer's hardware clock is not running correctly. This anomaly occurs in some builds of Windows 2000 and cannot be fixed. Running other network programs can cause this to vary as well (and instant messenger program).

On occasion, when you first connect, there could be a sharp drop in the varience. This may occur whenever there are a high number of clients on the server. In this case, the varience line will slowly return to normal.

Another factor which impacts "Variance" is how busy your computer may be running other processes in the background.  If you notice a regular sawtooth pattern in the Variance line, there is a high probability your computer is running a background process which is keeping the CPU away from running the game.

Many things can cause this.  It is not something consistent from computer to computer and it all depends on what software you have loaded on your computer.  One of the more popular programs around is "iTunes" and we happen to know it can cause a lot of stuttering in the game as well as lost VOX, lost UDP and many other things.  It is not alone though.

Check your background processes in the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del, under the "Processes" tab).  Look at the lower left corner to find the count and the overal CPU usage.  The overall CPU usage should be at 0%, bouncing up to 1, maybe 2% on occasion, when nothing is running on the desktop.  If it higher than that, then you have something eating away at your computer's performance.

[Skuzzy]

SCREEN STUTTERS/PAUSES

There is probably nothing more exasperating than to have a bogey lined up in your sites, about to pull the trigger, then the screen freezes/pauses!

Pauses like that are normally attributable to resource starvation in the computer. That can be CPU, memory, video card, and/or sound card related.  It can also be due to Windows trying to shut down power or hibernate any given device as Windows does not seem to know when a game is running. See Power Management in this post, for more information.

The freeze or stutter itself is caused by the computer having to make room for a new resource, or load something from the hard drive.  A short pause/stutter is normally just a texture or sound being loaded. Once loaded, the texture/sound data will stay resident in memory, unless the computer runs out of resources.

In most systems, it is probably system memory related. Cutting down the "Maximum Texture Size" in the game's "Video Settings" is the quickest way to determine if it is resource related.

On NVidia video cards, the 9x.xx drivers can also cause massive stuttering as well, particularly if you have a multi-core CPU.  These were the first drivers where NVidia tried forcing multi-threading and they were a mess.

On-board sound chips use more CPU cycles than a good PCI card would. So if your CPU is at the edge of having too much to do, these chips will push it right on over the edge. Adjusting the hardware sound acceleration down a notch from 'Full' will help reduce the CPU load.  Note, in Vista/Windows 7 it is no longer possible to adjust the hardware acceleration as Microsoft as gotten rid of DirectSound and plays all sounds through the normal Windows sound API.  Best guideline is to never use custom sounds with Vista/Windows 7 in conjunction with onboard sound devices.

If you have loaded custom sounds, you could experience all manner of resource issues, regardless of the operating system, as most of the custom sound packs use very large sound files at high sample rates.  Onboard sound chips just cannot process that many of those types of sound files without running into resource issues.  And those files take up enormous amounts of memory in your computer as well, which could exacerbate any resource related issue.

Lastly, the number of and type of background processes is a contributing factor to poor performance. Open the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del), select the "Processes" tab. In the lower left corner is the total number. It should be around 19 to 21 for a reasonably clean Windows XP/2000 system.  A fairly clean Vista/Windows 7 system will have around 35 processes.

Right next to the total count is the CPU usage percentage. For Windows XP/2000/Vista/Windows 7, it should be bouncing like a heartbeat between 0 and 1 (maybe 2 on occasion) percent.  If there is any deviation to this, then something is amiss. You can also start the game, minimize it (ALT-TAB), then check the game's CPU usage. It should be at 99 to 100%. In a dual-core computer system, due to the way Microsoft displays CPU usage, the game should be at 50% CPU utilization without any deviation.

If the processes look good and the CPU usage is fine, then you are probably pushing the video card too hard. Simply uncheck the "Detailed Terrain" option in the Options->Graphic Details->Advanced panel. Reduce the "Maximum Texture Size" in the game, disable any anti-aliasing you have forced on, as well as any anisotropic filtering you have forced. Then go from there.

The "Detailed Terrain" option requires a video card to be able to process a high number of calculations per frame.  If the video card's GPU (graphic processing unit) is too slow, it will cause massive stutters in the game.  A general guideline is, if the video chip is an onboard video chip, such as an Intel, or NVidia 61xx series, then do not bother trying to run the game with this option enabled.  Onboard video chips are not designed to be powerful units.  They are designed to be cheap.

[Skuzzy]

NEED TECHNICAL SUPPORT VIA EMAIL?

First, the email address is: support@hitechcreations.com

Next, when asking for help with problems, it can save you some time if you include the output from the DXDIAG utility with your email.  You can attach the file (preferred) or embed it in the email.

In this video, on our Youtube channel, it talks, in detail, about running DXDIAG.

Windows 7 NOTE:  If you are running the default "Aero" desktop, then right-click on the "Start" button and then switch the "Start" menu to "Classic" view in order to have access to the "Run" dialog box.  If the "Run" option is still not available, then right-click the "Start" button, select "Properties", select the "Start Menu" tab, then press the "Customize" button.  From the list, scroll down (alphabetical order) and check the "Run" option from the list.

Here are the steps to get a DXDIAG report:

1. Go to "Start" from the Windows desktop
2. Select "Run" from the pop up menu
3. In the Run dialog box, type DXDIAG and press <ENTER>
4. After a few seconds the DXDIAG utility will be ready (the progress indicator in the lower left corner will disappear).
5. Run the video and sound diagnostics (Select the Display and Sound tabs to do this).
6. Press the "Save All Information" button
7. This will save the DXDIAG data to a file of your choice
8. Once you have done this, simply email the file to support@hitechcreations.com and we can look for any issues your system might have.

Be sure to include your game ID and/or login ID with the email and a good explanation of the problem as you see it.
We cannot see your computer screen and rely on you to give us as much information as possible about it so we can try to help.

For information/help with your Internet connection   click here

When sending files, such as DXDIAG, films, screenshots, and so on, do not send us a link to some remote hosting company (mediafire, youtube,...).  We will not be able to view those files due to various potential security issues.  Send all files via attachments with the email.

[Skuzzy]

There is a problem with the Saitek control manager which can only be fixed by editing the Windows registry.  It has to do with axises not being able to move through the complete range of motion/calibration issues.  Once in this mode, it cannot be undone (even removing the control manager software does not fix it), without a registry edit.

The following comes from Saitek.
------
The axes on my controller are not travelling through their full range of movement or centering correctly, how do I fix this?
 
If you ever experience calibration issues with your controller then the following procedure should resolve it.
 
First of all, unplug your controller.

Windows 7/8/8.1 Click Start and type regedit into Start Search, and click the regedit icon that appears.
 
The Windows Registry Editor will open on your screen.
 
You will be presented with a folder tree,
 
clicking the > (Vista/W7) next to the folder name to open the folder and display all the folders contained within. Open these following folders in order.
 
HKEY_Current_User (HKEY_Local_Machine if using XP)
System
CurrentControlSet
Control
Media Properties
Private Properties
Direct Input
 
Delete any folder inside the Direct Input folder that begins VID_06A3
 
Once deleted, close the editor, and then reconnect your controller to your USB port. Move all the axes of the controller through their full range of movement four times.
 
Now test the axes on your PC. If this does not resolve the issue then, if possible, test the controller on another PC to see if they do the same thing. If the issue is consistent across two PCs then there may be a fault with the controller and it will need to be replaced.

[Skuzzy]

Disclaimer:  We cannot be held responsible for your choice to follow the instructions in this post.  If you make an error in the update number you are removing, it is not our fault.  Please be very careful when doing the following.  An error could turn your computer into a brick.

This "Hint and Tip" applies to all Windows 8.1 based computers, and earlier.  Do not do this for Windows 10!!!
Updated: May 25, 2016

The following Windows updates add functions to Windows which are only used to collect data from your computer and send it to Microsoft.  They can be safely removed and usually will help your computer run better as it no longer is trying to log everything and send it to Microsoft.

There are two ways to remove an installed Windows update.  You can do it using the "Windows Update" tool from the Windows Control Panel.  Start it and click on "Installed Updates" in the lower left corner.

Or you can do it from the command line prompt using the following command.

wusa /uninstall /kb:update_number /quiet /norestart

NOTE: Replace the word "update_number" with only the number in the update name (i.e. KB3068708 would be 3068708).

The following updates should be removed.  Note that some of the updates may not be installed on your computer.

KB2999226
KB3118401

A word about KB2999226 and KB3118401.  These two updates are described as allowing Windows 10 applications to run on earlier versions of Windows.  They also allow Microsoft to install and test your computer for updating to Windows 10.  Unless you are experiencing issues running software, which was designed for Windows 10 (does not apply to any game or utility which needs DirectX), you do not need either of these updates.

KB3021917

About KB3021917.  This update sends telemetry information back to Microsoft notifying them whether or not, your computer is Windows 10 compatible.  That is all it does.

KB2952664
KB3068708
KB3022345
KB3075249
KB3080149
KB3123862

The above updates all have to with preparing your computer for Windows, or making Windows 7/8 computers supply Windows 10-like telemetry data to Microsoft.  Many of them will hurt the performance of your computer. 


Additionally, if you do not want to be bothered with the "Windows 10 Upgrade" notice in your system tray, remove the following update.

KB3035583

NOTE:  This update appears to continue to be installed on computers even if you hide it in the list of updates.

KB3035583 is now set to re-install each time a new version of it is released from Microsoft.  Microsoft has been changing it to combat those who are trying to kill the "Update to Windows 10" nagware utilities.  A new version released now installs a program which checks registry settings twice a day to insure the user/owner of the computer has not manually tried to block the nagware.
Furthermore, if you manage to install more than one copy of KB3035583 (yes it is possible), then you will never be able to remove it and will not be able to stop the nagware.

There is a tool (GWX Control Panel) you can install which should help you take control of your computer again.  All reviews/remarks about this program seem to indicate it is safe to install. 

Another tool has been released to stop the Windows 10 nagware. https://www.grc.com/never10.htm

For those of you who do not want to delve into the guts of Windows to stop the nagware, the above utilities could be a safe alternative.

None of the above updates help your computer run better.  In most cases, removing them will actually help improve the performance and stability of your computer.

Just be careful to type the numbers correctly.

After you remove the updates, you can go into "Windows Update", find those updates, right-click on them and "hide" them.  That way you are not bothered with them again.

[Skuzzy]

Windows 10 DPI Scaling Issue
----------------------
March 16, 2017

Widows 10 has this DPI virtualization/scaling feature, which wreaks havoc with many games.  It can become enabled system wide by any given Windows 10 update, if you have not already enabled it.  It does mess with Aces High III.  How do you know if it is messing with your game?

• You cannot click on any clipboard options.
• The clipboard gets lost or partially hidden on the screen.
• The mouse just does not seem to work or works badly.
• It can cause blurry text in the game, or blurry textures as well.

All the above are due to the DPI virtualization/scaling in Windows 10.  There may be other oddities.

The best thing to do is to disable that feature for Aces High III.  You do this by right-clicking on the startup ICON (the one on your desktop is fine), then select the "Compatibility" tab.  Then check the "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" option.

That should help get around this Windows 10 feature (which happens to be very broken at the moment).

[Skuzzy]

Power Management
====================
While you may enjoy your computer hibernating so it restarts faster when you attend it again, there is a trade-off in performance, in leaving all that running.

Having any type of power management enabled will impact performance, especially for those multi-core computers as Windows (all versions) is rather inept about parking cores when power management is enabled.  What does that mean?  It means Windows will not use multiple cores efficiently.  It will, instead, use them to make the best use of power.  So if it can run everything with one core, it will.

Power management is normally located in the Windows Control Panel and is quite aptly named "Power".  I say "normally" as any given OEM (Dell, HP,...) could move/rename/lose that ICON.  Once you open it, then your trek into getting more out of your computer begins.

First things first, change the setting to "High Performance" then select "Change plan settings"  next select "Change advanced power settings".  Once there set the following as indicated.

Hard disk: Never
Wireless Adapter Settings: Maximum Performance (only important if you are using wireless mice, keyboards, and so on)
Sleep: Sleep after: Never
Sleep: Allow hybrid sleep: Off
Sleep: Hibernate after: Never
USB Settings: USB Selective suspend Setting: Disabled
PCI Express: Link Power State Management: Off
Display: Turn off display after: Never

Hit "OK" after making those changes.

Windows 10 users really need to tweak power management as Windows 10 does not consider playing games as an activity and it will put things to sleep, or attempt to hibernate devices while you are playing.  The "Creator" update is supposed to address this problem, but I have not seen any reports to say it has been fixed.

Also note, check your settings from time to time.  Microsoft will revert those settings back to defaults after any given Windows 10 update.

Windows 7 power management has always had a lot of problems.  They never did fix it.

All Laptops are very aggressive about power management and the impact with correcting those settings is the most dramatic.

[Skuzzy]

Please review the "Reporting Bugs" thread before posting a bug.

[Skuzzy]

One of the more difficult things, for people to do, in cleaning up a Windows installation, is to find all the programs/DLLs/tasks which auto-start and do not need to.

The following link is to a utility Microsoft supplies which shows everything which starts up in Windows and allows you to disable/remove the things which are not needed.

Now, as always, a utility like this is dangerous to use as actions are instant and not easily undone.  You can cause your computer to never boot again, without running a Windows repair installation, or a full installation!  So, be careful, and understand what you are doing BEFORE you make those changes.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

The ZIP file contains the program.  Simply create a folder on your computer, unzip the files into it and then you can execute the "Autoruns.exe" program.  No installation is required beyond that.

After extracting the files, right-click on "Autoruns.exe", select "Properties", click the "Advanced" button, and check the "Run as administrator" option.

I have tested this on my Windows 7 system(s) and it works great.

[Skuzzy]

With the latest update for Windows 10 from Microsoft, they have added a new feature which disables application access to the Windows microphone, by default.

You know you have this problem if you key the microphone in the game and the game crashes to the desktop.  NOTE:  As of Version 3.03 Patch 19, the game will no longer crash.

To fix this, open the Windows 10 search box.  Type "Privacy Settings" in the search.

Then scroll down and open "Microphone".

Now, press the "Change" button, then move the switch to allow applications to access the microphone to "On".

That will take care of the problem.  Now, be mindful.  Windows 10 updates can reset these options back to default at any given update.  So if it happens again, just repeat this procedure.