Ridiculous Visual Lag

[Spontz]

I've had this problem since I started playing EQ2, and nothing I do seems to fix it.  Whenever anything interesting is happening, like combat with multiple people, my framerate drops significantly.  When spells that affect the entire group are cast, the game becomes a slideshow.  It's incredibly annoying, to say the least.I have a Pentium D 3.2 GHz CPU, 4 GB of RAM (though Windows XP only sees 3 GB), and an ATI X1900XT video card with 512 MB of RAM.  One would think this would be enough to run EQ2 with the graphics maxed out, but I don't dare even contemplate that.  I have this problem with most of the graphics settings fairly low.  No shadows, particles on Average, etc.  I'm sure that if I set everything to zero, I could get around the lag, but then the game would be so hideously ugly that I'd be better off playing EQ1.Is there anything I can do to fix this?

[Killerbee3000]

sadly, your system is far below whats needed to run eq2 maxed (even when soloing single mobs). you will have to lower the settings or upgrade your system. just keep in mind, no currently existing hardware can run eq2 maxed in raids. that will take another 2 or 3 years.... but, dont just push the settings all down at once, there are some that have a big performance impact, turn off shadows and smooth fonts for starters, those are known to be among the top performance killers.

[Spontz]

Well, as I said, I don't even consider trying to max out the settings.  It would just seem reasonable that a one-year-old computer would be good enough to play a three- or four-year-old game.  But there's reasonable, and then there's Sony. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/2786c5c8e1a8be796fb2f726cca5a0fe.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />I don't use shadows or any of the high-end graphics options.  Most things are set fairly low, as I said, and yet I still have visual lag, especially when spells are cast.  The game seems to ignore my video card, and force everything to the CPU, which is a baffling design strategy.Short of turning off all spell effects and setting the graphics to the supremely ugly ultra-low pre-EQ1 level, is there anything I can do to reduce the visual lag?  I can't afford to upgrade the computer, but even so, this is a pretty hefty machine.  It should be able to run EQ2 with the moderate-to-low graphics settings I employ, without lag, except perhaps in raids.  I'm not asking for super-fast whizz-bang performance with all settings maxed.  I just want to be able to run around with a group of friends without having the game turn into a slideshow.

[Killerbee3000]

well... they wanted eq2 to profit from (back then) future hardware.... now, as we all know, the design apporach of hardware was changed... soe should put some effort into eq2 to adapt to those changes... but since you cant do that, it really comes down to update drivers, close down unneded processes, turn down graphics options, or upgrade the system.

[xOnaton1]

We can only speculate about your problem unless you post more technical details. If you think it's a general computer problem you have to post the information in the sticky post. If you think it's a problem with your graphics options in EQ2 you'll have to say what your settings are. Those settings are in your eq2_recent.ini file. (Don't post your user name though.)Othesus - Dirge - Lucan DLereVaspar - Fury - Lucan DLere

[Killerbee3000]

yep, on top of the quality options we could also do with a dxdiag (i'm sure theres a guide how to get it somewhere around here), or if you know the driver versions that would do aswell

[Spontz]

OK, my ATI driver version is 8.421-070928a-053250C-ATI (according to the Catalyst Control Center).Here's the contents of eq2_recent.ini:epilepsy_warning_seen trueeu_merge_seen truecl_picked_configuration truechat_autoswitch_chat_type truecl_maximized falsecl_screenwidth_windowed 1680cl_screenheight_windowed 1030r_performance 7last_selected_char_id 903974cl_movie_enabled falser_performance 7cl_fullscreen falsecl_screenwidth 1680cl_screenheight 1050cl_screenrefresh 60o_max_farplane 500.000000r_fast_layer_min_distance 25.000000letterbox_frame_visible falsecl_textureshrink 2cl_charactertextureshrink 1r_texture_lodding_shrink 2r_bloom falser_bloom_atmospheric falser_underwaterdistortion truer_splashes 1splash_particles_enabled truer_drawocean_quality 2r_reflections 0r_particle_priority 1num_active_spell_results 1r_particle_lod_scale 1.500000r_point_particle_near_plane -2.000000r_point_particle_max_size 0.300000r_max_torches 2r_max_lights 4r_light_spec falser_max_spec_lights 1r_light_bump_max_distance 5.000000r_min_dir_ambient_intensity 0.500000r_shadow_priority 0r_shadows_torch falser_shadows_characters falser_shadows_keep falsecl_lod_tridensity 75000.000000r_ec_max_lod0 6r_ec_max_lod1 20r_min_anim_update_rate 0.100000r_anim_update_start 0.040000r_initial_point_weight 0.800000r_particle_cloth falser_flora truer_flora_radius_scale 0.643600r_flora_density_scale 0.505000sound_provider Miles Fast 2D Positional Audiospeakers 2 speakersmaster_volume 0.600000music_volume 0.000000combat_music_volume 0.500000voice_volume 0.900000ambient_volume 0.730000max_active_sounds 24cl_confirm_item_destroy falsecl_filter_client_text falsewindow_allow_offscreen falsewindow_snap_to_grid truewindow_snap_to_grid_size 10convwindow_follow_actor truetradeskill_showexamine falsechat_fontsize 18I know disabling flora can help, but it only gives a minor improvement, so when I'm soloing I keep the flora turned on.  I also don't see any difference between windowed and full-screen mode.  I have the same lag problems either way.  Everything's a wee bit smoother in full-screen, so I use that when necessary, but the improvement is tiny and doesn't really do anything to improve the lag from spellcasting.Thanks for the assistance, I'm open to any advice you may have.

[Killerbee3000]

<cite>Ilmarinen@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote>epilepsy_warning_seen trueeu_merge_seen truecl_picked_configuration truechat_autoswitch_chat_type truecl_maximized falsecl_screenwidth_windowed 1680cl_screenheight_windowed 1030r_performance 7last_selected_char_id 903974cl_movie_enabled falser_performance 7cl_fullscreen falsecl_screenwidth 1680cl_screenheight 1050cl_screenrefresh 60o_max_farplane 500.000000r_fast_layer_min_distance 25.000000letterbox_frame_visible falsecl_textureshrink 2cl_charactertextureshrink 1r_texture_lodding_shrink 2r_bloom falser_bloom_atmospheric falser_underwaterdistortion falser_splashes 0splash_particles_enabled falser_drawocean_quality 2r_reflections 0r_particle_priority 1num_active_spell_results 1r_particle_lod_scale 1.500000r_point_particle_near_plane -2.000000r_point_particle_max_size 0.300000r_max_torches 2r_max_lights 4r_light_spec falser_max_spec_lights 1r_light_bump_max_distance 5.000000r_min_dir_ambient_intensity 0.500000r_shadow_priority 0r_shadows_torch falser_shadows_characters falser_shadows_keep falsecl_lod_tridensity 75000.000000r_ec_max_lod0 6r_ec_max_lod1 20r_min_anim_update_rate 0.150000r_anim_update_start 0.040000r_initial_point_weight 0.800000r_particle_cloth falser_flora truer_flora_radius_scale 0.643600r_flora_density_scale 0.505000sound_provider Miles Fast 2D Positional Audiospeakers 2 speakersmaster_volume 0.600000music_volume 0.000000combat_music_volume 0.500000voice_volume 0.900000ambient_volume 0.730000max_active_sounds 24cl_confirm_item_destroy falsecl_filter_client_text falsewindow_allow_offscreen falsewindow_snap_to_grid truewindow_snap_to_grid_size 10convwindow_follow_actor truetradeskill_showexamine falsechat_fontsize 18</blockquote>try overrriting it with the version i quoted, i edited some stuff, slowed down rate animations update and reduced water quality, should help some. as for the driver version, 8.421 and so on is 7.10, so its up to date.

[Bournville]

His PC should be fine.<div></div><div>I have an AMD 2600+ (approx 2Ghz) with 2GB RAM, X1650 PRO AGP card. Runs great on a 22" widescreen monitor.</div><div></div><div>My son has a Celeron 3.2 with 1.5G ram, onboard video and he runs it fine over wireless  internet.</div><div></div><div>We both run XP home.</div><div></div><div>Try disabling virus scanners and other non-critical applications etc.</div><div></div><div></div>

[Killerbee3000]

yeah.. it should run on his systen... the hardware is there.. the drivers are ok... the ingame options are ok... Atari is right about the Antivirus, running norton by chance? its a known ressource hog...

[antwar]

<cite>Bournville@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote>His PC should be fine. <div></div><div>I have an AMD 2600+ (approx 2Ghz) with 2GB RAM, X1650 PRO AGP card. Runs great on a 22" widescreen monitor.</div><div></div><div>My son has a Celeron 3.2 with 1.5G ram, onboard video and he runs it fine over wireless  internet.</div><div></div><div>We both run XP home.</div><div></div><div>Try disabling virus scanners and other non-critical applications etc.</div><div></div><div></div></blockquote><p>your son must be on a newer comp that has onboard video with either nvidia based chipset or an ati based chipset on the motherboard, because i know for a FACT that most intel onboard video chipsets will NOT run this game or any game that requires pixel shaders or hardware T&L.</p><p>i would also agree that ANY norton product (or symantec for that matter) is a HUGE performance hit, given enough time for it to update itself several hundred to thousand times. can you say "bloatware"?</p>

[Spontz]

<cite>Killerbee3000 wrote:</cite><blockquote>yeah.. it should run on his systen... the hardware is there.. the drivers are ok... the ingame options are ok... Atari is right about the Antivirus, running norton by chance? its a known ressource hog... </blockquote>That's what I thought, and that's why this is so bloody annoying.I don't run Norton or anything of the sort.  Bloatware, indeed.  What I have running when I start EQ2 is: my HP printer driver, the ATI Catalyst Control Center, my APC "Power Chute" battery backup minder, Trillian, the PC Probe program that came with my motherboard, and the Tom's Hardware Guide Task Assignment Manager (which I use to shunt EQ2 over onto the second CPU in the hopes of getting some tiny performance boost).  I know for a fact that none of these programs is causing the problem, because I had this problem before I bought the printer or the battery backup, and it happens even if I close all the other things first.What's strangest is that it's difficult to make the situation worse.  If I open my word processor and half a dozen Firefox windows, there's no noticeable change.  Only if I play MP3s do I notice a significant drop in performance.

[Spontz]

Any suggestions at all?  Nothing seems to be working.  I can't even cure it by shutting off particle effects completely, because some of the animations which cause lag are still drawn (like druids' group heal).  It's making grouping life rather difficult.