Extreme FPS issue

[IroniCus]

I got some lag spikes to... Not really big ones, but big enough to prevent me from getting top scores. I got a high end system so it shouldn't lag at all.

specs.:

vga.  : Nvidea 8800GTS (g92) 512 MB
mem. : 2 gigs corsair 6400C4  800 mhz
proc. : Core2Duo e6850  @3.0 ghz
Mobo : Asus P5K
OS    : Windows XP 64bit

I hope this problem is getting fixed soon enough ! I wan't to set topscores!

[NightRyder]

You know.. from what ive been reading, it seems like the game is CPU limited. I say this because you can usually turn on AA 8x, and have almost 0 performance drop. If the videocard was the limiting factor, there would be a much larger fps drop. Also along the same idea, the resolution doesn't matter. 1024x768 vs. 1920x1080, the fps are (more or less, w/in 5fps) the same. Both these factors seem to point toward a CPU bound game.

Having said this, I usually get 50-60fps in normal, and it drops to ~30-35fps in either of the other two modes. I have an AMD x2 4400+ @2.2ghz, although I overclocked it up to 3.0ghz, and there wasn't much of a change. I think if Dylan thinks about what is going on processor wise in the game, he might be able to increase the performance a bit.

[IroniCus]

I was using 169.25 or 169.28, just like you so maybe you should give the 173.65 drivers a go since they are said to improve the performance in many other games as well.

hope it helps

What's this?! I scrolled over the nvidia site and the latest driver it could find for my 8800GTS 512mb + OS windows XP 64 bit was from 17 december 2007 ( 169.21 ). Isn't Nvidia making drivers for 64 bit anymore or something ?! What should I do now?

[IroniCus]

You know.. from what ive been reading, it seems like the game is CPU limited. I say this because you can usually turn on AA 8x, and have almost 0 performance drop. If the videocard was the limiting factor, there would be a much larger fps drop. Also along the same idea, the resolution doesn't matter. 1024x768 vs. 1920x1080, the fps are (more or less, w/in 5fps) the same. Both these factors seem to point toward a CPU bound game.

Having said this, I usually get 50-60fps in normal, and it drops to ~30-35fps in either of the other two modes. I have an AMD x2 4400+ @2.2ghz, although I overclocked it up to 3.0ghz, and there wasn't much of a change. I think if Dylan thinks about what is going on processor wise in the game, he might be able to increase the performance a bit.

It's true what nightryders says, when I hold my task manager on my side while playing AudioSurf. Questviewer is using over 55% of my CPU while playing at low settings, while my proc is and Core2Duo e6850 @3.0ghz. So indeed the problem could be cause of an cpu bug ?!

[Lim-Dul]

A friend of mine reported a 100% CPU usage!

[NightRyder]

A friend of mine reported a 100% CPU usage!

100% is the same as 50% on a dualcore, or 25% on a quad. (assuming it is a single threaded application)

[Messerwitz]

Er, my setup is:

proc: E6400 OC'd at a total of about 6Ghz
memory: 2GB RAM Corsair
vga: NVidia 7950GT (512MB) (169.21 drivers)
OS: XP

[DremoraLord]

The game should be using the max amount of processing power it is given, so this isn't a problem. The game is clearly not multi-threaded though, so this might be something to look at as the game is CPU-bound.

Still don't what was causing others and formerly me to get huge lag spikes, where the game has to catch up on itself, making it impossible to get high scores.

Hope someone out there is working on this! 

[EdZ]

Ran a quick comparison between Beta 1 and the 'gold' version.
Beta 1 settings: 1920x1200, enhanced graphics
Gold settings: 1920x1200, standard graphics

Song: 006 Shingeki - The Thrill (Blue Submarine 6 OST)
Character: Ninja Mono


Oddly, the framerates appear to be pretty similar (at least, as FRAPS records them). In-game, however, the gold version is unplayably juttery at standard detail, whilst the beta plays perfectly smoothly with Enhanced.

[Gvaz]

not to toot my own horn here, but give this a try
http://www.audio-surf.com/forum/index.php/topic,1208.0.html

[spastic]

not to toot my own horn here, but give this a try
http://www.audio-surf.com/forum/index.php/topic,1208.0.html

No thanks, I don't think I should have to void my warranty to play a game that shouldn't run this slow in the first place.

[DremoraLord]

Gvaz, I think this is the main problem you have identified!

If this fix worked, It seems there is something wrong in the way Audiosurf initializes the 3D Card into 'performance mode' which then obviously causes there to be serious lack of power in the bits which need it to be in performance mode.

Oh, and EDZ, the thing which is making the 'gold' stuttery is the lower minimum fps rate as seen by the downward spikes in the graph for gold. Quick changes in frame rates are what cause the perception of 'lag'.

Might I also highly recommend forcing Vsync off for Questviewer.exe, as this makes the frame drops less noticeable, and frankly makes the game more responsive. Note to developers: Please give a 'turn vsync off' option in the next game unless you are able to make sure the game can do 60 fps steady on all machines! 

[NightRyder]

Okay, Here is a new question/idea. Run a song with plenty of blocks. When there are many blocks in view, bring up the menu. Let it sit for 5 seconds to normalize. What do you get as fps for each of the 3 modes in the menu??

At startup windowed size and , with AA off (doesn't seem to matter much anyway..)
Normal: ~50fps
Enhanced: ~30fps
Premium: ~25fps

I find it drops 5fps from what it was at ingame, once in the menu. Which by itself isnt surprising.. there are now menu items to render. The surprise is how I guess the game is still calculating the same amount of things even when paused, since the frames don't go up.

[EdZ]

Oh, and EDZ, the thing which is making the 'gold' stuttery is the lower minimum fps rate as seen by the downward spikes in the graph for gold. Quick changes in frame rates are what cause the perception of 'lag'.

I don't think that's it. Even the lowest drop is above 40fps and the change is never really more than 15fps, and I've played FPS games that hover around 30fps and whose framerate varies even more wildly and are still smooth and perfectly playable, whereas audiosurf is unplayable on even the slowest paced song. The juttering I get in audiosurf is much greater than what I'd experience from the FPS fluctuations measured.

[DremoraLord]

Is Vsync enabled on any of these FPS Games? 

I know from experience, if you set a game to Vsync, and it can't keep up a steady 60 fps, it stutters like hell. Try forcing Vsync off and see what happens, its the only way I will play now, as it makes Ninja Mono much more responsive, and makes drops to 50 fps undetectable unlike before where it really put you off balance with Vsync on.

I should add I'm really sensitive to FPS changes, and I'm probably being spoilt as I can run anything at 60 fps, well maybe not Crysis  (but then who can)