Marina
06-08-2008, 09:49 PM
For those of you experiencing great deals of lag... Try following some of these suggestions..
Optimizing EQ2
by Vanyel on Thu May 01, 2008 6:56 am
There's a lot of misinformation on how eq2 works. SOE took a gamble with eq2 and LOST. They assumed the industry would stick with one CPU and one GPU and keep making them faster and faster (especially the CPU). EQ2 actually uses VERY little of modern day GPUs. It relies HEAVILY on the CPU. For example.
If you take a Pentium 4 system at 4GHZ with an nvidia 7xxxx card and 2GB of ram vs a newer system with a Quad core cpu at 2.66Ghz and an nvidia 8800 ultra and 2GB of ram.... eq2 will SMOKE on that older p4 machine.. and perform not very well on that newer machine. So now you're going WHAT THE HECK?!?!
It's becuase Eq2 is coded for ONE CPU. It's not a multi threaded application. It draws ALL spells, particle, and shadows on the CPU, NOT the GPU. Lightning, bump maps, and standard graphics are drawn on the GPU. Cloth simulation and cloaks... all CPU... flora... cpu.... character model movements... you guess it CPU (some gpu).. why do you think you have to crank the settings so low when you raid? If SOE simply drew 90% of the game on the GPU, you could raid on high quality and play on extreme quality. This is why the newer duo and quad cpu system can actually make eq2 SLOWER than some older machines! So if you have one of these new systems under 3GHZ... see if you can overclock the CPU and get it to 3Ghz or faster. It WILL make a HUGE difference.
All SOE has to do is make the game multi threaded so it can use 2, 4, or 8 CPUs, and multi CPU people could raid on extreme quality! Personally I think SOE will eventualy release a Direcx 10 client that will use multi cpu/gpus.. but we won't see that for a while.
Ok so how to tweak eq2. Two factors speed up eq2 the most... a FAST CPU and RAM.
RAM (doesn't matter how fast your cpu/gpu is/are)
XP:
512MB - you're hating life - run the game in extreme performance - even then.. it's going to suck....
1GB - playable, but the game will slowly slow down and stutter over time as the game uses more than 1GB and hits the swap file. I recommend nothing higher than very high performance OR choose balanced then manually set the textures down to med or low.
1.5GB - high performance (cpu/gpu dependant)
2GB - high to balanced (cpu/gpu dependant)
>2GB - as high as your system can handle with playable framerates (make SURE to tune windows to let the game use more than 2GB of RAM)
RAM is a HUGE factor. You know the people who take FOREVER to zone? guarenteed they have 512-1GB of ram. People with 2-4GB of RAM zone VERY fast as the game caches it's files as well as windows will cache the game files. With the RoK expansion, I recommend nothing less than 2GB.
CPU/GPU:
This is tough.. basically play with your options to get playable framerates. Texture quality has VERY little impact on framerates. So if you have the RAM, CRANK the texture quality up. If you are buying a new machine and it's for eq2 (or eq2 is a big factor).. make sure your CPU(s) are at LEAST 3Ghz. SLI (nvidia) & Crossfire (ATI) have little impact on EQ2.. and in some cases actually slow it down. This is because the game uses the CPU more than the GPU and trying to use multiple GPUs usually doesn't work well with EQ2. Nvidia has an option that tries to FORCE apps like eq2 to somewhat use multi gpu/cpus..b ut it doesn't work very well on eq2. The only time I've seen multi gpus actually REALLY work with eq2 was Quad SLI under windows xp using 2 7950GX2s.
The biggest slow downs:
0) Runing in a Window - ACK. On XP 5-10fps hit... on Vista with Aero enabled 10-20fps hit. Try to run the game full screen at all times if you can
1) Shadows are the A#1 slowdown of the game. You're better leaving them 100% OFF or use torch/char shadows only. At least until SOE draws them on the GPU
2) High detailed models. Again drawn on the CPU. They slow your system down FAST.
3) PArticles/spell effects. Another one drawn on the CPU (some on the GPU) and a HUGE slowdown. If you want more spell effects up at once.. do quality minimal... or you can do 1-2 effects at once and do avg to high depending on your system
the best way to "tune" eq2 is set it to EXTREME PERFORMANCE.... and work your way up adding features you like and what your system can handle. Alternatively you can set to extreme quality... shut off all shadows and work your way down. Or you can just use the presets... personally I like to hand tune it all
Indivudual Settings:
Display/Performance:
Graphics/Lighting should always be MAXED
Sync refresh/Triple Buffer - almost always off. Sync will limit your framerate. It helps to solve visual issues on some LCD monitors.. but in most cases they should be off for optimal FPS (frames per secod)
Reuse Vertex buffers: ALWAYS ON (unless it causes you problems)
Rendering Distance: This uses the GPU mostly. If you have a NICE GPU, max it on out! Otherwise 500 will do nicely for most systems
Complex shader distance: Handles how far lights are done, how far shadows are drawn, how far bump maps are drawn. Normally not a big slow down unless you crank it out 25-50 will do nicely. On low end systems set this to 2-8. A setting of -1 will disable ALL lighting, shadows, bump maps... anything "fancy".... REAL low end machines should be on -1
Texture Resolution:
If you have the ram, and have modified windows, MAX all 3 (or MAX the 2 top and set LOD to HIGH). People with <2GB of ram shouldn't go over medium or a med/high mix. Normally this isn't a big impact. LOd texture rez CAN slow you down in large crowds or raids if on MAX. If you notice slowdowns in LARGE groups use med-high.
Atmosphere Effects:
100% drawn on the GPU. They should all be checked - unless you have a REALLY old GPU
Water:
Mostly set it to what appeals to you. However here is what will slow you down Evironment Cube Map updates. Never do EVERY FRAME. This will lag even the highest end machine! For most machines "Fast/Periodic is best" For low end set it to "One time" These are GPU drawn... so high end GPUs can handle faster updates.
Reflections:
all drawn on the GPU so Mirror map (best) if you have a decent GPU
Particle Effects
CPU drawn - balance particle effects with high detailed models to get what you want. Usually if you want TONS of pretty spells and flashy lights... you have to cut out a lot of the high detailed models to keep a high framerate.
Lightning
ALL GPU drawn... little impact on system with a GOOD video card.... so if you have a GOOD one... crank up the lights! Although you never really need more than 2 "spec lights" any more is just a drain on performance.
Shadows
Do yourself a favor... leave them all off! If you must have some set to type high quality and quantity very high and check torch and character. The other 3 boxes are EXTREMELY taxing! If your system can handle them go for it... but most cant as they are all cpu drawn
Model Detail:
The first 2 sliders should NEVER be less than 1/2 way or objects and mobs will clip out too soon or show up at the last second. This has minimal impact on modern systems. I recommend 75% of the way for both to 100%
High details characters - even at 0, you are always in high detail, 1 is you plus 1, etc.....usually the more high detailed models you have the less spell effects you can have
low detail characters - this is more for raids. There's low... then there's LOW... if you set this to 10.. 10 toons on a raid will be in low detail.. while the rest will have blob faces and blurry undefined bodies. low end systems should be set to 10.. but for most systems, I'd set it at 30 so people look decent on raids.... you can go to 100.. but you will probably lag in areas like QH, EFP, TG, etc where there's a LOT of models about.
Animation
Min animation rate - the higher the setting tells the game "hey I want my toon and other toons to move more quickly, more fluid like". However if the system gets bogged the rest of the game will LAG... including you trying to push hotbar buttons!! I rec this alwyas be set to the FAR left. This will allow the game to run tooon animation at fast speeds, but slow them down so other game functions are playable on an as needed , on demand basis
Fast animation distance - if to the far left PCs, Mobs, and NPCs will move with less animation the farther the are from you. This can help improve performance on some machines... but has little impact on good ones.. usually 50-100% works fine with little impact, but if u find it lags you... set to far left
Animation weighting quality - cleans up some of the textures on the character models.. making the fabric look less stretched and distorted in someplaces... had a moderate impact on performance. Do this to your liking but back it down if it lags you too much
Cloth simulation - VERY pretty enhancement - HUGE, HUGE SLOWDOWN. I recommend OFF unless you are either soloing or have a machine that can handle it
Render Cloaks - most people have them on. I don't. usually you loose 5-10 fps with this setting on. Having it off for raids will REALLY help your performance. On for groups and solo.. but this is really up to you
Flora:
Eyecandy.. and part GPU/CPU drawn...if you use it, I rec 50% on each slider... no impact for zones with no flora (ie COA, MMIS, etc).. but would impact a raid zone like emerald halls. Rec OFF unless your system can handle it
Sound/General
boxes 1,2, and 4 checked all 3 sliders maxed. These have VERY little impact on system performance... if you have a soundblaster card and have the game in EAX mode then the impact is ZERO as the souncard does ALL the work.
Find something that works for YOU. PLay with the sliders... if the game gets too out of whack.. then just go back to performance and chooose a preset mode. Anyway, when y ou find something you like, hit SAVE in the options and save it. I have 3 profiles saved: SOLO, Group, and raid... this way you can change on the fly without having to change modes or move sliders all the time
Optimizing EQ2
by Vanyel on Thu May 01, 2008 6:56 am
There's a lot of misinformation on how eq2 works. SOE took a gamble with eq2 and LOST. They assumed the industry would stick with one CPU and one GPU and keep making them faster and faster (especially the CPU). EQ2 actually uses VERY little of modern day GPUs. It relies HEAVILY on the CPU. For example.
If you take a Pentium 4 system at 4GHZ with an nvidia 7xxxx card and 2GB of ram vs a newer system with a Quad core cpu at 2.66Ghz and an nvidia 8800 ultra and 2GB of ram.... eq2 will SMOKE on that older p4 machine.. and perform not very well on that newer machine. So now you're going WHAT THE HECK?!?!
It's becuase Eq2 is coded for ONE CPU. It's not a multi threaded application. It draws ALL spells, particle, and shadows on the CPU, NOT the GPU. Lightning, bump maps, and standard graphics are drawn on the GPU. Cloth simulation and cloaks... all CPU... flora... cpu.... character model movements... you guess it CPU (some gpu).. why do you think you have to crank the settings so low when you raid? If SOE simply drew 90% of the game on the GPU, you could raid on high quality and play on extreme quality. This is why the newer duo and quad cpu system can actually make eq2 SLOWER than some older machines! So if you have one of these new systems under 3GHZ... see if you can overclock the CPU and get it to 3Ghz or faster. It WILL make a HUGE difference.
All SOE has to do is make the game multi threaded so it can use 2, 4, or 8 CPUs, and multi CPU people could raid on extreme quality! Personally I think SOE will eventualy release a Direcx 10 client that will use multi cpu/gpus.. but we won't see that for a while.
Ok so how to tweak eq2. Two factors speed up eq2 the most... a FAST CPU and RAM.
RAM (doesn't matter how fast your cpu/gpu is/are)
XP:
512MB - you're hating life - run the game in extreme performance - even then.. it's going to suck....
1GB - playable, but the game will slowly slow down and stutter over time as the game uses more than 1GB and hits the swap file. I recommend nothing higher than very high performance OR choose balanced then manually set the textures down to med or low.
1.5GB - high performance (cpu/gpu dependant)
2GB - high to balanced (cpu/gpu dependant)
>2GB - as high as your system can handle with playable framerates (make SURE to tune windows to let the game use more than 2GB of RAM)
RAM is a HUGE factor. You know the people who take FOREVER to zone? guarenteed they have 512-1GB of ram. People with 2-4GB of RAM zone VERY fast as the game caches it's files as well as windows will cache the game files. With the RoK expansion, I recommend nothing less than 2GB.
CPU/GPU:
This is tough.. basically play with your options to get playable framerates. Texture quality has VERY little impact on framerates. So if you have the RAM, CRANK the texture quality up. If you are buying a new machine and it's for eq2 (or eq2 is a big factor).. make sure your CPU(s) are at LEAST 3Ghz. SLI (nvidia) & Crossfire (ATI) have little impact on EQ2.. and in some cases actually slow it down. This is because the game uses the CPU more than the GPU and trying to use multiple GPUs usually doesn't work well with EQ2. Nvidia has an option that tries to FORCE apps like eq2 to somewhat use multi gpu/cpus..b ut it doesn't work very well on eq2. The only time I've seen multi gpus actually REALLY work with eq2 was Quad SLI under windows xp using 2 7950GX2s.
The biggest slow downs:
0) Runing in a Window - ACK. On XP 5-10fps hit... on Vista with Aero enabled 10-20fps hit. Try to run the game full screen at all times if you can
1) Shadows are the A#1 slowdown of the game. You're better leaving them 100% OFF or use torch/char shadows only. At least until SOE draws them on the GPU
2) High detailed models. Again drawn on the CPU. They slow your system down FAST.
3) PArticles/spell effects. Another one drawn on the CPU (some on the GPU) and a HUGE slowdown. If you want more spell effects up at once.. do quality minimal... or you can do 1-2 effects at once and do avg to high depending on your system
the best way to "tune" eq2 is set it to EXTREME PERFORMANCE.... and work your way up adding features you like and what your system can handle. Alternatively you can set to extreme quality... shut off all shadows and work your way down. Or you can just use the presets... personally I like to hand tune it all
Indivudual Settings:
Display/Performance:
Graphics/Lighting should always be MAXED
Sync refresh/Triple Buffer - almost always off. Sync will limit your framerate. It helps to solve visual issues on some LCD monitors.. but in most cases they should be off for optimal FPS (frames per secod)
Reuse Vertex buffers: ALWAYS ON (unless it causes you problems)
Rendering Distance: This uses the GPU mostly. If you have a NICE GPU, max it on out! Otherwise 500 will do nicely for most systems
Complex shader distance: Handles how far lights are done, how far shadows are drawn, how far bump maps are drawn. Normally not a big slow down unless you crank it out 25-50 will do nicely. On low end systems set this to 2-8. A setting of -1 will disable ALL lighting, shadows, bump maps... anything "fancy".... REAL low end machines should be on -1
Texture Resolution:
If you have the ram, and have modified windows, MAX all 3 (or MAX the 2 top and set LOD to HIGH). People with <2GB of ram shouldn't go over medium or a med/high mix. Normally this isn't a big impact. LOd texture rez CAN slow you down in large crowds or raids if on MAX. If you notice slowdowns in LARGE groups use med-high.
Atmosphere Effects:
100% drawn on the GPU. They should all be checked - unless you have a REALLY old GPU
Water:
Mostly set it to what appeals to you. However here is what will slow you down Evironment Cube Map updates. Never do EVERY FRAME. This will lag even the highest end machine! For most machines "Fast/Periodic is best" For low end set it to "One time" These are GPU drawn... so high end GPUs can handle faster updates.
Reflections:
all drawn on the GPU so Mirror map (best) if you have a decent GPU
Particle Effects
CPU drawn - balance particle effects with high detailed models to get what you want. Usually if you want TONS of pretty spells and flashy lights... you have to cut out a lot of the high detailed models to keep a high framerate.
Lightning
ALL GPU drawn... little impact on system with a GOOD video card.... so if you have a GOOD one... crank up the lights! Although you never really need more than 2 "spec lights" any more is just a drain on performance.
Shadows
Do yourself a favor... leave them all off! If you must have some set to type high quality and quantity very high and check torch and character. The other 3 boxes are EXTREMELY taxing! If your system can handle them go for it... but most cant as they are all cpu drawn
Model Detail:
The first 2 sliders should NEVER be less than 1/2 way or objects and mobs will clip out too soon or show up at the last second. This has minimal impact on modern systems. I recommend 75% of the way for both to 100%
High details characters - even at 0, you are always in high detail, 1 is you plus 1, etc.....usually the more high detailed models you have the less spell effects you can have
low detail characters - this is more for raids. There's low... then there's LOW... if you set this to 10.. 10 toons on a raid will be in low detail.. while the rest will have blob faces and blurry undefined bodies. low end systems should be set to 10.. but for most systems, I'd set it at 30 so people look decent on raids.... you can go to 100.. but you will probably lag in areas like QH, EFP, TG, etc where there's a LOT of models about.
Animation
Min animation rate - the higher the setting tells the game "hey I want my toon and other toons to move more quickly, more fluid like". However if the system gets bogged the rest of the game will LAG... including you trying to push hotbar buttons!! I rec this alwyas be set to the FAR left. This will allow the game to run tooon animation at fast speeds, but slow them down so other game functions are playable on an as needed , on demand basis
Fast animation distance - if to the far left PCs, Mobs, and NPCs will move with less animation the farther the are from you. This can help improve performance on some machines... but has little impact on good ones.. usually 50-100% works fine with little impact, but if u find it lags you... set to far left
Animation weighting quality - cleans up some of the textures on the character models.. making the fabric look less stretched and distorted in someplaces... had a moderate impact on performance. Do this to your liking but back it down if it lags you too much
Cloth simulation - VERY pretty enhancement - HUGE, HUGE SLOWDOWN. I recommend OFF unless you are either soloing or have a machine that can handle it
Render Cloaks - most people have them on. I don't. usually you loose 5-10 fps with this setting on. Having it off for raids will REALLY help your performance. On for groups and solo.. but this is really up to you
Flora:
Eyecandy.. and part GPU/CPU drawn...if you use it, I rec 50% on each slider... no impact for zones with no flora (ie COA, MMIS, etc).. but would impact a raid zone like emerald halls. Rec OFF unless your system can handle it
Sound/General
boxes 1,2, and 4 checked all 3 sliders maxed. These have VERY little impact on system performance... if you have a soundblaster card and have the game in EAX mode then the impact is ZERO as the souncard does ALL the work.
Find something that works for YOU. PLay with the sliders... if the game gets too out of whack.. then just go back to performance and chooose a preset mode. Anyway, when y ou find something you like, hit SAVE in the options and save it. I have 3 profiles saved: SOLO, Group, and raid... this way you can change on the fly without having to change modes or move sliders all the time