Performance issues since GU54 updated to test server [Archive]

tkia

11-19-2009, 02:10 PM

I know other people on test have mentioned performance issues but I don't know how many have reported them yet so I've bugged it and am repeating the details here.Since GU54 went up on test I'm seeing performance problems that don't exist on the current live build.In the area of Nek Forest around Mound Lake I'm getting an FPS drop from around 40 into single figures as I run past large groups of sap urchins. At times it's behaving something like a slide show.In many different places fast turning, even while standing on the spot, momentarily drops fps through the floor and causes a pause, after which the graphics display catches up to show that you've overturned on your intended target. This effect displays well in Loping Plains. Zone in from Steamfont and then run into the village up to the haunted house area. The lag effect as you do the left, right and left turns around the entrance to the village is very marked. If you go back and redo the run without zoning out, it still does the same thing but nowhere near as badly as if you zone out and come back in again.Running a long distance across fairly clear ground, or on Griffon or horse rides, I'm seeing a brief pause effect in the terrain movement every few seconds. This is very similar to the symptom that was reported for the Nvidia 8800 cards some time ago, which was mostly fixed by the 're-use vertex buffers' option. I've played with that setting both checked and unchecked and it doesn't seem to make any difference to this particular problem.In Frostfell, starting at the far back right island from the zone in and running across to the stoves island my FPS dropped from 60 to 1 as I passed the fuel vendor. By the time it came back up high enough to be responsive enough for me to stop I'd almost overshot the island. This seems to happen every time I run to that island although it's not quite as bad if I run to and fro repeatedly rather than go there for the first time since zoning or after a long period in another area of the zone. Haven't checked this particular one on live yet <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/908627bbe5e9f6a080977db8c365caff.gif" border="0" />I've been to all the same places on my live server and looked for these problems and the game is playing perfectly smoothly there on this same machine. I've loaded the same profiles on both live and test and whichever profile I use the problem remains on test but never on live.System details:Intel Core2 Duo E7400 WinXP Pro SP3, 4GB RAM (3.25GB seen)GeForce 9800 GT 1GB RAM, 186.18 driversI know those aren't the most up to date graphics drivers but I'm loathe to go up to the 19x series given the various other problems reported with them. And as those drivers are working fine on the live servers there's obviously something else going on here.

feldon30

11-19-2009, 02:20 PM

Odd question, but watch your hard drive light while you are seeing these slowdowns. Does it light up solid? If so, then there is some kind of issue with loading resources.

Trellium

11-20-2009, 01:12 AM

I also have been having identical issues. I bugged it a week ago, and got a response from SOE asking for more info. Not too sure what else to give, except I get choppy video now. Turning on a spot is hard on the eyes, since it isn't smooth. I still have a high framerate, but not as high as before. But it is choppy.When I go to live, no issues. Started with our big patch to Test about two weeks ago.And I didn't see any abnormal disk useage, nor is memory an issue. Its happening in XP and Win7. My wife had it but she thinks its better again now. For me its still noticeable.Win7, AMD Phenom II X2 550 (3.1GHz, Socket AM3), 4GB DDR3 Ram, ATI HD4850Nothing is overclocked.

brammator

11-20-2009, 05:22 AM

I think I had similar issues on Live, when running to Hollow Hedge entrance.

Gaealiege

11-21-2009, 11:49 AM

I'm having the same problems on test.Dual Nvidia Geforce 295 GTX, Intel 3.3 Ghz quad-core CPU, 8 Gig DDR3 RAM

Dimhammer

11-26-2009, 05:12 PM

I have the same issues. My performance on Test is far far worse than on Live with the same graphic settings.

Trellium

11-27-2009, 12:01 AM

I played a fair bit today. Overall, I find the graphics hard on the eyes. It's still clunky. I am able to run in High Quality settings on live and get smooth graphics. On Test I drop down to Balanced to get the same smoothness. Of course, the quality is out the window.But it gives an idea of how much the optimizations have dropped recently. This needs to be fixed before it goes live.

Whilhelmina

11-27-2009, 07:28 AM

Same problem here. windows xp pro, Pentium 4, Intel 3,2 GHz, single core CPU, RAM 2Go, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX

Cyberlink

11-27-2009, 09:14 AM

I have the same issues on TestCopy.It's quite strange as it looks like the client is streaming or downloading something which causes a FPS breakdown to 1. So basically my game stucks every 200meters or so. However my harddrive does not seems to be under heavy load during this time.Windows 7 RTM x64 Ultimate, Core i7 920, 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 1600MHz, XFX 275GTX 896MB DDR3, separate Samsung Spinpoint F1 HD for EQ2

Firnbarion

11-27-2009, 09:42 AM

HiSame on Live (Innovation) since about 2 Weeks. Sometimes I get only standing pictures specially in places where Lag is a well known fact since a long time (Kelethin around the bank, Gorowyn Docks, North Qeynos near the Crafting House etc.). It seems to get worth though and we have Lag in places there isn't usually. And as already said, this is since about 2 weeks maybe 2 1/2 weeks - that bad, I mean. And it is on Live.F.

tkia

12-09-2009, 08:15 PM

I re-checked all these on live tonight (except Frostfell) and they've all gone across. One other place I have found a problem to be 100% reproducible: Zone into an inn room in Willow Wood - any will do, even the tour version. Zone out, run round the counter and through the front door of the inn. As I pass the inn door I get a total freeze frame effect and by the time I have control back I'm all the way across the square.

DeemonEQ

12-09-2009, 08:26 PM

Im getting exactly the same issues. So i did a bit of investigating with my settings and found that its the GPU shadows that are causing my freezing and frame rate drop outs. I have no problems at all with shadows off or CPU shadows on.But turn the GPU shadows back on and pretty much every zone i tried the framerate drops and the screen freezes and the game is unplayable.Something must have been "tweaked" in the update as it was working fine last night (pre GU54).

tkia

12-09-2009, 09:14 PM

Nice find. Just re-checked both with CPU shadows and no shadows on and all is smooth again. Edit: Just logged back to test to check the Frostfell zone and that bit's fixed too with GPU shadows off.

Rhak

12-10-2009, 11:48 AM

I'm agreeing with the other posters here - GPU shadows are definitely causing 'pauses' on my otherwise great rig as of this latest patch. Every few seconds it'll just freeze for a brief instant. Never had this problem on Live before this.So off GPU shadows go. They looked nice before that at least, but I can't stand the total freezes of the game every few seconds because of them.

Trellium

12-10-2009, 02:20 PM

On my system the GPAU shadows brought it to almost a stop,the CPU shadows do a lot better. But, I still get the unsteady video movement when running or turning even with CPU shadows.

pinba11

12-10-2009, 04:13 PM

Same issue on Live , turning off GPU shadows solved it for now.

Jeyne

12-10-2009, 04:32 PM

Same issue too with GPU Shadows activated. Turn off all is OK. By the way, CPU options aren't available anymore.

Kraa_Aarkyn

12-10-2009, 05:51 PM

Thanks for the heads up guys! Was beginning to think something was wrong with my brand new rig <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Rothgar

12-10-2009, 06:59 PM

Thanks for letting us know that disabling GPU shadows makes the problem go away. I'm sure Imago will be excited to look into this new bug! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

hayaikaze

12-11-2009, 02:47 PM

GPU shadows are broken now. Cause hitching unlike before and brought me to desktop for a few seconds and then back to game. Lots of bugs.CPU shadows: Why are all the controls for CPU shadows gone now (grey) with GU 54? Lost all control of them.Finally, SOE said they have a new commitment to quality with their updates.Are you KIDDING! GU54 has broken so many parts of the game. Post patch I experience: Hitching, shadows crashing to desktop, flickering all over (water, walls, etc.). Mobs are stuck in the world (can't see or hit them), very bad lag with combat arts (2-5 sec before they go off). Weapon procs going off at random times when not in combat (sitting at dock in room, etc), yet not doing what they did before GU54. Increase in general lag. I could keep going on and on.The worst testing and quality control I have ever seen!!

Imago-Quem

12-11-2009, 07:35 PM

I'm curious, if you turn off "Switch to CPU shadows indoors" does this issue still happen when GPU shadows are on?

tkia

12-11-2009, 07:45 PM

Kraa_Aarkyn

12-11-2009, 11:16 PM

Same here too.

Jeyne

12-12-2009, 05:17 AM

Trellium

12-12-2009, 01:52 PM

<cite>Imago-Quem wrote:</cite><blockquote>I'm curious, if you turn off "Switch to CPU shadows indoors" does this issue still happen when GPU shadows are on?</blockquote>For the Shadows options "None" and "CPU", all further options are greyed out and not editable.For GPU shadows, only the first four options can be changed (resolution, max darkness, appearance, distance).What option do we need to turn on to get everything editable, such as indoor shadows?The stuttering also seems to be worst in GPU shadows, and somewhat noticeable in CPU. The places I see it the worst (and notice the CPU shadows stutter at all) are in the Frostfell related zones. Do all of the temporary items like presents, shinies, and other decorations impact this?South Qeynos and Qeynos Harbor are hit very hard, as is West Freeport.

nfsdan2

12-12-2009, 04:40 PM

<cite>Trellium wrote:</cite><blockquote>On my system the GPAU shadows brought it to almost a stop,the CPU shadows do a lot better. But, I still get the unsteady video movement when running or turning even with CPU shadows.</blockquote><cite>Trellium wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite> </cite>For the Shadows options "None" and "CPU", all further options are greyed out and not editable.For GPU shadows, only the first four options can be changed (resolution, max darkness, appearance, distance).What option do we need to turn on to get everything editable, such as indoor shadows?The stuttering also seems to be worst in GPU shadows, and somewhat noticeable in CPU. The places I see it the worst (and notice the CPU shadows stutter at all) are in the Frostfell related zones. Do all of the temporary items like presents, shinies, and other decorations impact this?South Qeynos and Qeynos Harbor are hit very hard, as is West Freeport.</blockquote><cite>hayaikaze wrote:</cite><blockquote>GPU shadows are broken now. Cause hitching unlike before and brought me to desktop for a few seconds and then back to game. Lots of bugs.CPU shadows: Why are all the controls for CPU shadows gone now (grey) with GU 54? Lost all control of them.Finally, SOE said they have a new commitment to quality with their updates.Are you KIDDING! GU54 has broken so many parts of the game. Post patch I experience: Hitching, shadows crashing to desktop, flickering all over (water, walls, etc.). Mobs are stuck in the world (can't see or hit them), very bad lag with combat arts (2-5 sec before they go off). Weapon procs going off at random times when not in combat (sitting at dock in room, etc), yet not doing what they did before GU54. Increase in general lag. I could keep going on and on.</blockquote>Yeah I'm getting the same problems on live, especially in QH and Ice Keep. Haven't tried testing it with CPU shadows yet though.

Rock_Mansions

12-12-2009, 06:09 PM

Yep: On live I'm finding increased hitching and brief freezes pretty much wherever I go - wouldn't say it's limited to 'known' trouble spots personally.CPU shadows have been greyed out on live for me as well: first on test actually.I did ask elsewhere - why don't GPU shadows work 'indoors' btw? Just wondered <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Blackadder

12-12-2009, 09:24 PM

Things went wonky for my as well, so I'd like to chime in with my system, what I'm doing, and observations:Setup:i7 920 OC'd to 4.2ghz, 12gigs ram, Game running off of SSD drive for fast loading.Now, I do play multiple games on one machine, but I see this to a lesser degree even logged in to just one account at a time.Severe lagging when you encounter new textures for the first time (worst in towns where there's lots of NPC's around every corner).GPU/CPU shadows does seem to have an effect on overall framerate, but several weird observations:1) As others have said, most of the options are greyed our.2) While in a zone with GPU shadows on and lagging, switching to CPU shadows seems to help, but then zoning into another zone the lag will be back, and switching TO GPU shadows seems to help. It gets very hard to tell what settings are actually being used as the display of shadows seems to change from zone to zone.Pre-patch, single player, I could play pretty solidly (60 FPS or better in quiet areas, 30FPS or better in very active ones, little to no texture loading stutter). Post patch the change was very noticeable.

Rock_Mansions

12-13-2009, 08:18 AM

Blackadder sums the situation up perfectly for me.

Imago-Quem

12-15-2009, 08:59 PM

Really sorry about all the crazyness. The next hotfix should fix the grayed out options as well as the 2-3 second occasional hangs when GPU shadows are on.

Vismo

12-16-2009, 01:00 AM

<cite>Imago-Quem wrote:</cite><blockquote>Really sorry about all the crazyness. The next hotfix should fix the grayed out options as well as the 2-3 second occasional hangs when GPU shadows are on.</blockquote>I assume this was fixed in todays hotfix because both issues have been resolved for me. Thanks!

Blackadder

12-16-2009, 11:53 AM

Much improved with the patch. Game is playable again, even running multiple EQ2 accounts at the same time. It's not perfect, I'm still getting hitches with areas where (and I'm making assumptions on this) large amounts of textures are loading.They are not as common, though, and the overall framerate is up (I can play my main character on very high quality with max textures playable. All other accounts in Extreme performance).This has me wondering. I'd be surprised if perfomance of multiple instances of EQ2 on one machine is even a consideration, but I'm wondering what kind of impact the upcoming graphics changes are going to have.I originally set up multiple accounts so my family could all play together. They've since moved on to other things. But, I've found myself playing a group solo (which is a fun challenge all by itself), and getting to go and see content I'd never gotten to touch in all my time playing (since beta), because I mostly solo'd and when in a guild, I was always in the wrong level range for what was going on.I'm looking forward to the new changes (shader upgrade), but I'm hoping they don't break the experience for me.

nfsdan2

12-16-2009, 01:09 PM

Doesn't seem to have fixed for me, I'm still getting stuttering during gameplay, doesn't seem to be as bad but its still noticeable, and I know its not my PC because i tried with CPU shadows and though i get less FPS with CPU shadows I dont stutter.Sounds like things have improved but still not right.

Gaige

12-16-2009, 01:10 PM

Yup still hitches for me, especially in QH. Not as bad as before but a noticeable 20+ fps drop still with GPU shadows enabled.

nfsdan2

12-16-2009, 01:12 PM

Hmm I get more fps with GPU shadows, and stutter, but i get less FPS with CPU shadows and dont stutter xD lol

tkia

12-16-2009, 06:04 PM

It's better but it's still not back to what we had before the GU54 update. Nek forest - still getting an fps drop out around the sap urchins. Not as much as before, but still quite marked. Somborn - running into the village seems no better, I dropped as low as 2 fps on the third turn. Frostfell - still had an fps drop and freeze the first time I reached the vendor but seemed back to normal after that. Willow Wood inn - still freezes as I pass the door. Open runs/rides - still hitches although not as frequently as before.

Kraa_Aarkyn

12-16-2009, 06:37 PM

Still a lot of hitching here as well. Honestly, it doesn't seem any different.If its any help, I'm running an ATI5750 (using catalyst 9.11) on an AMD x4 955 setup (using Windows 7 64bit).

Imago-Quem

12-16-2009, 10:02 PM

<cite>Kraa_Aarkyn wrote:</cite><blockquote>Still a lot of hitching here as well. Honestly, it doesn't seem any different.If its any help, I'm running an ATI5750 (using catalyst 9.11) on an AMD x4 955 setup (using Windows 7 64bit).</blockquote>Hmm, I'll have to look at it some more. For me the hitching was gone, as well as for QA.For all of you who have the hitching still, are your CPU shadow options not grayed out anymore?

Gaige

12-16-2009, 10:18 PM

CPU shadow options are fine, not grayed out, but there is still noticeable hitching for me with a 5850 9.11 drivers.

Armawk

12-16-2009, 10:50 PM

<cite>Imago-Quem wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hmm, I'll have to look at it some more. For me the hitching was gone, as well as for QA.For all of you who have the hitching still, are your CPU shadow options not grayed out anymore?</blockquote>If it helps, the hitching/judder appears to be happening on initial creation of assets. The framerate is good and smooth, but if you reach an area where a lot of new stuff is visible, or turn rapidly left or right in a new area you get pauses for up to a second or so. Once you have seen something once it seems to display fine however.All options appear correctly.

Kraa_Aarkyn

12-16-2009, 11:26 PM

<cite>shaunfletcher wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Imago-Quem wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hmm, I'll have to look at it some more. For me the hitching was gone, as well as for QA.For all of you who have the hitching still, are your CPU shadow options not grayed out anymore?</blockquote>If it helps, the hitching/judder appears to be happening on initial creation of assets. The framerate is good and smooth, but if you reach an area where a lot of new stuff is visible, or turn rapidly left or right in a new area you get pauses for up to a second or so. Once you have seen something once it seems to display fine however.All options appear correctly.</blockquote>As above, all options appear correctly.

Blackadder

12-17-2009, 03:01 AM

Shadow options are fixed. And as far as I can tell shadows are working just fine again. I had some stutter in Neriak, but tonight I went for a trip to Lavastorm and it was REALLY bad. It seems to depend on the zone and how many effects are going on. Although turning down particle options doesn't really seem to help.I can't say what framerates were dropping to, as it would be running 40+, hitch up, and by the time control was back the framerate counter would be back in the 40's.I don't think shadows are the culprit, here.

pinba11

12-17-2009, 05:54 AM

CPU shadow options are still grey for me.I presume thats because im on an EU server and not a US ? as we tend to get everything after the US servers.

Armawk

12-17-2009, 06:27 AM

<cite>Blackadder wrote:</cite><blockquote>Shadow options are fixed. And as far as I can tell shadows are working just fine again. I had some stutter in Neriak, but tonight I went for a trip to Lavastorm and it was REALLY bad. It seems to depend on the zone and how many effects are going on. Although turning down particle options doesn't really seem to help.I can't say what framerates were dropping to, as it would be running 40+, hitch up, and by the time control was back the framerate counter would be back in the 40's.I don't think shadows are the culprit, here.</blockquote>Certainly, for me, switching to CPU or off shadows instantly cures the stutter. Turning back on GPU shadows starts it again. Its 100% repeatable.Its possible of course your issue is something else than mine.

Blackadder

12-17-2009, 08:26 AM

<cite>shaunfletcher wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Blackadder wrote:</cite><blockquote>Shadow options are fixed. And as far as I can tell shadows are working just fine again. I had some stutter in Neriak, but tonight I went for a trip to Lavastorm and it was REALLY bad. It seems to depend on the zone and how many effects are going on. Although turning down particle options doesn't really seem to help.I can't say what framerates were dropping to, as it would be running 40+, hitch up, and by the time control was back the framerate counter would be back in the 40's.I don't think shadows are the culprit, here.</blockquote>Certainly, for me, switching to CPU or off shadows instantly cures the stutter. Turning back on GPU shadows starts it again. Its 100% repeatable.Its possible of course your issue is something else than mine.</blockquote>You're right. I went back to Lavastorm and tried it out.GPU shadows on: higher average framerates, but massive slowdowns when moving around.CPU shadows on: lower average framerates and some stutter, but more consistent.Shadows off: Consistently playable framerates in all areas with no slowdowns from movement (at least that I saw, was a short test).Sorry for the misinfo. There's so many toggles, we need a checklist for what steps to go through when looking at problems like this.*sigh* EQ2 needs its shadows, but until this is fixed, I'll leave them off. The difference is huge.

hayaikaze

12-17-2009, 03:39 PM

Imago & Rothgar,I use fraps and also have the same GPU stutter/hitching issue (Still).However, there is another bug that you guys should take note of. With letterbox on in GPU shadows, I have ghosting over my toon (clearish mirror version of my charactor). So, I see 2 of them.Also, there is a straight line across my screen with GPU shadows. The line starts 1/3 the way up the screen and there are absolutely no shadows below the line (all are above).I believe this is an old GPU shadows bug that is still persistant. Perhaps tied to the lettterbox setting? Not certain on that.I appreciate your team looking into both issues.Thanks

Jeyne

12-18-2009, 07:44 PM

As others, CPU Shadows options are now available, but the stuttering issues are always here.Even without shadows, It seems that some places are a little more stuttering/hitching than before (mezzazine in Sebilis, area near the watch tower and bridge just before Sathir's span).Configuration in sign. Using Catalyst 9.11, vertical sync & triple buffering on.

Kraa_Aarkyn

12-19-2009, 06:48 PM

Is anyone having problems and NOT using Catalyst 9.11?It may be a driver issue, I know they released a 9.12 hotfix because there were some bugs in 9.11, but nothing related to EQ2 specifically.

hayaikaze

12-20-2009, 12:44 AM

Jeyne, I agree.Shadows aside (all disabled), there is just a bit more lag/hitching after GU54. I use fraps and I am speaking based on objective tests.

Whilhelmina

12-20-2009, 09:19 AM

Catalyst 9.11 is an ATI Driver ? I don't have it and I have a NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX (windows xp pro, single core CPU and 2 Go RAM).

Mythal_EQ2

12-20-2009, 09:53 AM

Stuttering and really, really low FPS when shadows are turned on persists for me too. I do have the option to turn CPU shadows on while indoors, which was grayed out before the hotfix, but it has done nothing to improve the game's performance.GPU is a nVidia GTX280, with the 195.62 drivers on Windows Vista Ultimate x64, 4gig RAM. CPU is a quadcore Intel X9650. I run the game at 1920x1200, both full screen and windowed, depending on the situation.In many zones -- easier to notice simply by zoning into QH -- fps drops down to 4-7, and stutter/freezeup every few feet. Still feels to me that the streaming-fetching of NPCs is to blame, since the GPU has to stop and wait for them to be downloaded so that it can render shadows, hence the every-few-feet freezups.For me, performance of the game seems to have gone down since LU54 in general, even with shadows turned off.In any case, it's extremely annoying, and makes me feel like I'm back playing with 2004's standards and crappy performance.

Blackadder

12-20-2009, 03:32 PM

Stuttering is coming up for me still (greatly reduced in frequency and location, but it still happens) and I now have shadows off entirely. Did anything change in the way textures are being loaded?

Gadge

12-23-2009, 05:03 PM

Really glad I found this thread - I thought the hitching from GPU shadows was just me. PLEASE PLEASE fix asap - should be priority one imo - the hitching is driving me mental.Turning shadows off for now. <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Trellium

12-23-2009, 06:20 PM

Playing on Test server, I now have the Shadows options available. The stuttering issues are better but still not resolved. Like people above have said, it feels like GU54 dropped the general quality of the gaming graphics.It's really odd because it's not always evident by the fps. The shadows options make it worse, but even without shadows on the hitching is still apparent. It's almost like the game is deciding my character location has moved from the expected path. I know EQ2 tried to reconcile the characters client and server locations, and maybe this is where the issue comes from. Could it be that the reconciliation is not as smooth as it was, especially when moving?When I run up and down the street in South Qeynos (by the bank), I get a constant jitter in the drawing of the surrounding houses, even with shadows off. The frame rate is between 30 and 39fps. With CPU shadows on, I get 22-27fps, noticeably worse hitching. With GPU shadows on (3x resolution, lighting at 3.70, appearance way down at 38, distance set to 11) I get 28-38fps but lots of hitching (but less than before).So, the frame rates don't match the hitching. Overall GPU shadow quality is terrible, even with 2x and minimal settings, but fps is high. CPU is better than GPU for hitching, but less fps. Shadows off for minimal hitching and maximal fps.System: Win7 64bit, AMD Phenom II X2 550 dual core CPU, 4GB ram, ATI HD 4850 card with Catalyst 9.11 drivers. Downloading the 9.12 drivers now, will retest with them.

Trellium

12-23-2009, 07:05 PM

I tried it with the 9.12 Catalyst drivers and don't see any improvement from before.It still seems odd that CPU shadows perform so much better than GPU shadows. GPU shadows have a high fps rate, but still don't seem to draw well and stutter/stall much more often. Running down the street in South Qeynos, if I try to turn while running, the GPU shadows option will stall for a fraction of a second and then catch itself again. But, I will be turning far more than I should have. It's like it keeps turning while it stalls.CPU shadows don't seem to do that at all, but there is a slight stutter in the drawing of surrounding houses as I run. Turning while running isn't a problem at all.

Trellium

12-23-2009, 07:27 PM

I thought that the Shaders 3 would make things worse, but for with Shader 3 on and GPU shadows on (3x, and raised all of the options to max quality) I could see fewer shadows but they looked better in general. And, I was getting less of the stutter. Very, very weird.

Imago-Quem

12-23-2009, 09:23 PM

Just wanted to chime in here to let you know we're looking into the issue. I was hoping the GPU shadow update would fix the stuttering entirely but it's now obvious there are multiple causes. I'll keep hammering at it.Thanks for the test cases and updated info.

Gadge

12-23-2009, 11:09 PM

<cite>Trellium wrote:</cite><blockquote>It still seems odd that CPU shadows perform so much better than GPU shadows. GPU shadows have a high fps rate, but still don't seem to draw well and stutter/stall much more often.</blockquote>Exactly the same here.

Trellium

12-24-2009, 12:47 AM

<cite>Imago-Quem wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just wanted to chime in here to let you know we're looking into the issue. I was hoping the GPU shadow update would fix the stuttering entirely but it's now obvious there are multiple causes. I'll keep hammering at it.Thanks for the test cases and updated info.</blockquote>Thanks so much!The thing is that it really looks like we might get better performance and a visual upgrade with your work. I know nobody wants to promise it until we see it, but I think that there might have been an issue before that you are resolving now. I have never really been all that impressed with the GPU shadows; I had expected they would do more for offloading from an already overloaded CPU to some pretty decent GPU equipment. I also expected my higher performance computer to really outshine the neanderthal one. Something just never seemed to perform like I thought it should, and I think GU54 started to enhance this error to the point that we could track where its coming from, and show that it needs a fix. Getting to that step isn't always so clear and direct! <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" />If there was an issue with the GPU coding before that can be fixed, you might just find that the Shader 3 performance problem goes away. We might still have the same framerates, but the framerates end up more steady.

Calcedon

12-24-2009, 12:51 PM

I have been playing EQII off and on since it launched, and I am also somewhat of a graphics nut. I like my games to look the best they can possibly be.I recently built a new computer with the following specs: <ul><li>(2) XFX Radeon 5870's in CrossFire (Running Catalyst 9.12 drivers, latest as of 12/23/2009)</li><li>Intel I7 920 CPU</li><li>Asus P6X58D Premium motherboard</li><li>Intel X25-M G2 160 GB SSD</li><li>Windows 7 Ultimate</li><li>Antec Quattro 1000W power supply</li><li>30" Dell 3007 Monitor</li></ul>So basically I run EQ2's graphic settings maxed, all of them. I also run at 2500 x 1600 resolution. And I also have 8x antialiasing enabled as well. So everything looks pretty [Removed for Content] good even the GPU enabled shadows. If you go to Stargazer Plateau in Majdul, I get about 17 FPS at that point. Most other areas in the game I am getting around 40 FPS, sometimes all the way to 60 FPS. Kelethin is also brutal on this machine, I get fairly low framerates there as well. But there is one problem with the shadows that others have mentioined previously. While using GPU enabled shadows, there is a line of demarcation that cuts through your character at about a 30 degree angle, going up, left to right, from the bottom left corner of the screen. Above this line, the textures look sharp. Below this line the shadows are no longer sharp, just kind of fuzzy. It is also much more pronounced if you have the darkest shadows.I am not exactly sure what this is, I am hoping it is an ATI driver bug, but it is also possible that it may be an EQ2 issue.Hope this info helps.P.S. I was wondering if anybody has forced Anisotropic Filtering at all? For me, it doesn't seem to change the visual quality of the game.

Imago-Quem

12-24-2009, 03:01 PM

<cite>Valareon@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>I have been playing EQII off and on since it launched, and I am also somewhat of a graphics nut. I like my games to look the best they can possibly be.I recently built a new computer with the following specs: <ul><li>(2) XFX Radeon 5870's in CrossFire (Running Catalyst 9.12 drivers, latest as of 12/23/2009)</li><li>Intel I7 920 CPU</li><li>Asus P6X58D Premium motherboard</li><li>Intel X25-M G2 160 GB SSD</li><li>Windows 7 Ultimate</li><li>Antec Quattro 1000W power supply</li><li>30" Dell 3007 Monitor</li></ul>So basically I run EQ2's graphic settings maxed, all of them. I also run at 2500 x 1600 resolution. And I also have 8x antialiasing enabled as well. So everything looks pretty [Removed for Content] good even the GPU enabled shadows. If you go to Stargazer Plateau in Majdul, I get about 17 FPS at that point. Most other areas in the game I am getting around 40 FPS, sometimes all the way to 60 FPS. Kelethin is also brutal on this machine, I get fairly low framerates there as well. But there is one problem with the shadows that others have mentioined previously. While using GPU enabled shadows, there is a line of demarcation that cuts through your character at about a 30 degree angle, going up, left to right, from the bottom left corner of the screen. Above this line, the textures look sharp. Below this line the shadows are no longer sharp, just kind of fuzzy. It is also much more pronounced if you have the darkest shadows.I am not exactly sure what this is, I am hoping it is an ATI driver bug, but it is also possible that it may be an EQ2 issue.Hope this info helps.P.S. I was wondering if anybody has forced Anisotropic Filtering at all? For me, it doesn't seem to change the visual quality of the game.</blockquote>I do know about this bug for GPU shadows. So far I've only noted it happening on ATI cards. I have a card here to repro and fix the issue but "right" right now I'm trying to get a crash bug out of Shader 3. I'll be revisiting GPU shadow bugs heavily as soon as Shader 3 is just a liiiiiittle more stable.

hayaikaze

12-24-2009, 05:02 PM

Hi Imago,Please note, that bug above is not just ATI cards. I have an i7 rig with an Nvidia GTX295. I also have the line through the screen 1/3 up from the bottom.The line seems to be the point at which GPU shadows begin. Nothing below and all above. Also, I still have the ghosting of my toon above his head with GPU Shadows on. Looks like a clear double image of him.Have a great holiday and thanks!

pinba11

12-24-2009, 05:32 PM

nVidia GTX260 , gpu shadows bug on it <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Imago-Quem

12-24-2009, 05:57 PM

<cite>hayaikaze wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hi Imago,Please note, that bug above is not just ATI cards. I have an i7 rig with an Nvidia GTX295. I also have the line through the screen 1/3 up from the bottom.The line seems to be the point at which GPU shadows begin. Nothing below and all above. Also, I still have the ghosting of my toon above his head with GPU Shadows on. Looks like a clear double image of him.Have a great holiday and thanks!</blockquote><cite>Xenar@Runnyeye wrote:</cite><blockquote>nVidia GTX260 , gpu shadows bug on it <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" /></blockquote>Got it. Thanks! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Does it go away when you turn your WideScreen Letterbox off and AA off?

Aule

12-24-2009, 11:09 PM

I also had the diagonal bottom-left to top-right line happen, am running an ATI Radeon HD4850. As others mentioned it is most pronounced with GPU shadows on, particularly in void zones (but they may just make more use of shadows than non-void zones). This appears to be present 100% of the time for me, it just is barely noticeable with shadows turned off. With shadows on, anytime the character is standing in such a manner that a shadowed region falls upon the bottom-right side of the screen, the game looks awful. Adjusting the widescreen letterbox value does not alleviate the problem, it just changes the angle that the diagonal line from bottom-left to top-right is drawn at. The graphic differential is significant enough that I've had to return to not using shadows. This is very disappointing as I finally have a system that can handle shadows yet can't use it. If I don't do that then I have a constant sense of something's wrong with my display. Turning down the texture resolution does not help either. The bottom-right half of the screen always stays what appears to be 1 texture quality level worse than the top-left half of the screen.

Aule

12-24-2009, 11:15 PM

If it's useful, I'm running Win7. This display issue has been happening since I purchased my new computer, so not just new with 54. Ati Driver pack 8.661, Catalyst Version 09.10

Liiri

12-27-2009, 06:03 AM

I'm experiencing the same issues. When moving my FPS drop and the game stutters, when standing around everything is fine. It seems everytime the game has to load new objects, NPCs, etc it starts to stutter. Once they are loaded the framerate is fine again, even when moving. Turning off GPU shadows only helps in some zones , turning off flora completely helps too.My specs: Intel Q9400 2666 MHz, 4 GB RAM, Radeon HD 4879 512 Mb RAM, newest Catalyst driver...

Sir MadDog

01-05-2010, 05:48 AM

Same issue as others also.Just to add.... When moving windows(chat windows, hotbars, Item windows...ect) they stutter. For the years I've played the game, it has never happen untill gu54

Gadge

01-07-2010, 11:45 PM

The stuttering has stopped - I think it was fixed (?).

krinkled

01-21-2010, 09:21 PM

I am curious if there will ever be a machine that can run this game on max quality.It amazes me, we do testing and have a system with a 1x5870 ATI card and a core i7. We have another with 2x GTX 285 in SLI and an 45nm QX9770.Neither can run this game at max settings and it is many, many years old now. I wonder if a computer or configuration will ever exist that run the game at the highest possible settings?I have never encountered another game that doesn't scale - how is it that there is little or no difference still between my performance today and 2 years ago?I get better framerates on Crysis in 1920x1200 with every setting maxed than I do Everquest II.You would think such a thing is not possible!! I have basically given up on this game ever being able to scale. It is the #1 fault of what I would otherwise say is the best MMORPG in existence - this graphics engine.I think at this point Everquest 3 will come out (please don't repeat the prior mistakes when designing that engine) and we will get better performance on that at highest settings and a more beautiful game by far than running Everquest 2 at the same time which will still bog down any machine in existence - especially in certain zones that just seem to be computer destroyers.I have never encountered a game that won't scale before (or scales very minimally with the purchase of the latest next - gen hardware).I appreciate the work being done.My main point, and I hate to mention this other MMO, but in the WoW expansion Cataclysm they are REDOING THE GRAPHICS ENGINE of the entire WORLD. So that you can have flying mounts back in Azeroth.I personally would pay $39.95 in a heartbeat for an expansion that had ZERO content, and all that was offered is a new graphics engine that brought the game firmly into the modern era where games SCALE when new hardware comes out, something this game uniquely will not do.Apologies for the soapbox, but I love this game more than any other MMO and the fact that it has such an inredibly frustrating graphics engine just drives us crazy.I say most sincerely - I would pay $100 for an expansion that just made the engine more beautiful and scale properly - neither of the rigs above should ever drop to 15FPS but they do in any raid or in certain zones.Crysis makes this game look like something from the 1980s in comparison yet it runs smooth as butter and the graphics take your breath away on either rig above, the lighting, polygon counts, everything is in the space age comapred to EQ2.PLEASE - push EQ3 forward and make it a modern scalable engine (use the Crysis engine like NCSoft used the Far Cry Engine for Aion: Tower of Eternity) you don't even have to design it - just BUY it.If you won't push EQ3 forward how about an entire patch that is just done to improve performance and graphics quality? Blizzard "gets it" as shown with the release of Cataclysm that graphics and scaling are very important.I hope someone is listening here too. Most sincerely, and out of my love for the game and desire for its success - kr.

zimmer

01-22-2010, 12:48 PM

Unfortunately the resources (I think) are not there. I am positive that Blizzard has a bigger development team. They have the people to make things like that happen. it sounds like they are going through every single zone and changing it and the way it was setup.I guess while they are re doing the zones they can add in flying mounts to all the lower ones.One thing I liked a lot was when I get to the flying mounts. that was just awesome to get around.I would kind of like to see flying mounts in EQ2. but the slowdown you would see from viewing that much of the world is just crazy. My computer would just lock up nm down to 15fps.Though with the rig you mentioned krinkled I would think it would run a little better.Friend of mine just bought a laptop last month. Core i7 920, Geforce GTX280, 6gb ram, 120GB SSD.he runs the game 3 times on that all high quality. Says it runs good. Good enough that he does not notice slow downHere is the main difference there though is he has not run a raid yet. Likely if he did it would just be one account and not all 3That does seem to be where the most problems are. 24 chars with animations and all kinds of fx with spells etc.Revamping it as a whole for SOE would be more work than they could handle.I think Imago is doing a nice job of working on the re-vamp in the right order.