TC_DeathValley = Framerate killer?

[~SJ~{CDT} Ro0t]

I played several rounds of TC on TC_DeathValley last night on a full server of 24 players. My FPS is normally more than adequate (above 50's) with settings at High and even Very High for some, but on that map, it dropped severely all game long. Others were complaining about it as well.

I may not have the latest and most high end system ever, but this should be more than enough:

- Core 2 Quad CPU
- 4Gb of RAM
- Zotac GeForce GTX460 with 1gb of VRAM
- Soundblaster X-FI Extreme Audio

All that running on Windows 7 64bit

There seems to be a lot of reflective textures on this map and weird lighting effects, could this be what is causing this FPS drop? And what graphic setting should I lower (other than the obvious Shadows and AA) to help without affecting the graphic quality too much?

[=KoS= Saber15]

Deathvalley is by far the smoothest running map for me; even more smooth than Mirage

Then again I'm running on ultra-low settings with every single option except HDR (it's needed to see on some maps) disabled via CCC.

[~SJ~Azov]

This map is unplayable for me. I think it may have something to do with the skybox. I've had to turn my graphics down from high to medium/low to play this map at 24fps.

[IG142]

I'm running on all low settings and it's the best map for me, performance-wise. Perhaps there's a specific effect at higher graphics levels causing an abnormal slowdown?

[Stahlseele]

I think it caused a memory overflow/leak once for me . .
used up more than 5Gigs of RAM on that map and then the HDD's started working like crazy for the swap file . .

[Spifficus]

This is so far the best running map for me. It's my favorite too!  The only time I see a drop in frames is when i'm in the middle of a serious furball defending a base. I'm running settings on high in DX10 without the CCC. I usually get a very smooth 30fps but in the middle of things it drops to 15-20fps sometimes a little lower but not much, still playable. Other maps like marshes hit me harder.

I hope everyone else gets a fix or something so they can enjoy this map more fully.

[shadowkiller]

There seems to be a lot of reflective textures on this map and weird lighting effects, could this be what is causing this FPS drop?

You have a screenshot? There are no reflective textures or odd lighting so it sounds to me like hardware artifacting. Usually happens  when your gpu is about to die, overheating or has been overclocked too high. What is your gpu temp when playing?

[GB-72AT Talon]

No problem running on all very high with 4xaa here and we have similar systems. 

What resolution are you running your monitor at?

You should Google the C2Q and 460GTX bug.   For some reason there is an abnormally high number of people with that CPU architecture and a 460GTX that have low GPU utilization.  Fire up msi afterburner if you don't have it and let it run in the background.  Also have task manager in the background.  Then launch MWLL and join a server.  Get a good five minutes or more into it and exit.  Take a screenshot and host it on imageshack and post a link here.  If your CPU is pegged out but GPU is running like 50% then you are being bottlenecked by the CPU or you have the same issue others have.  I have seen it on BFBC2 but not MWLL yet.

[~SJ~{CDT} Ro0t]

There seems to be a lot of reflective textures on this map and weird lighting effects, could this be what is causing this FPS drop?

You have a screenshot? There are no reflective textures or odd lighting so it sounds to me like hardware artifacting. Usually happens  when your gpu is about to die, overheating or has been overclocked too high. What is your gpu temp when playing?

Humm I think I didn't express myself correctly. I just created a local server to test it out and it's not the map itself that has reflective textures, it's the mechs and vehicles. There is so much reflection due to the intense light on this map that the mechs get all shiny... I was wondering if that could be causing an issue with FPS...

Funny thing too, locally my FPS was never below 50 most of the time (I hit 35 a few times when turning fast towards something with a lot of lighting).

So bottom line, I think the issue is (assumption here, and a guess) that when there are too many players and vehicles near each other, that my client is having a hard time to process all the reflection created by light shininy on them.

the fact that everybody running on low has no problems at all may be an indication that this could be a potential issue... if my logic makes sense...

[GB-72AT Talon]

There seems to be a lot of reflective textures on this map and weird lighting effects, could this be what is causing this FPS drop?

You have a screenshot? There are no reflective textures or odd lighting so it sounds to me like hardware artifacting. Usually happens  when your gpu is about to die, overheating or has been overclocked too high. What is your gpu temp when playing?

Humm I think I didn't express myself correctly. I just created a local server to test it out and it's not the map itself that has reflective textures, it's the mechs and vehicles. There is so much reflection due to the intense light on this map that the mechs get all shiny... I was wondering if that could be causing an issue with FPS...

Funny thing too, locally my FPS was never below 50 most of the time (I hit 35 a few times when turning fast towards something with a lot of lighting).

So bottom line, I think the issue is (assumption here, and a guess) that when there are too many players and vehicles near each other, that my client is having a hard time to process all the reflection created by light shininy on them.

the fact that everybody running on low has no problems at all may be an indication that this could be a potential issue... if my logic makes sense...

See my post above.  Not everybody here runs low settings.  Everything is very white and somewhat shiny for me too, as if lit by a full moonlight evening.  I don't have any problems and I have the same video card.

[~SJ~{CDT} Ro0t]

@JF_Talon: I just ran the monitoring test you wanted me to do. I joined a server on TC_DeathValley and played for over 5 minutes, then quit and took this screenshot:



As you can see, I don't have the issue you're talking about... my GPU was used as much as my CPU.

I also didn't have any FPS problems on that round, but there were only 10 players on the server...

[LordHack]

I think it caused a memory overflow/leak once for me . .
used up more than 5Gigs of RAM on that map and then the HDD's started working like crazy for the swap file . .

I've had same issues, and I can't tell if it's hardware or other (seems to happen more often on high ping server).  If the map starts super choppy w/ lots of hard drive churn, I know to just disconnect.   I've tried playing this as the first map (so I'm pretty sure my gpu is not hot or whatever).  Running 6 core 8gb + 5800 series ROG gpu, so it's mindblowing to have ahy trouble.  Forcing DX9 has seemed to help just a bit.

[Stahlseele]

It's been just once for me yet . .
And i just upgraded my RAM to 8 Gigs, gonna keep an eye on that.

[GB-72AT Talon]

@JF_Talon: I just ran the monitoring test you wanted me to do. I joined a server on TC_DeathValley and played for over 5 minutes, then quit and took this screenshot:



As you can see, I don't have the issue you're talking about... my GPU was used as much as my CPU.

I also didn't have any FPS problems on that round, but there were only 10 players on the server...

very similar to mine then, i just ran the same test but it was on Kagoshima, the other map that gives people this issue

1440x900
all VERY HIGH
4xAA

notice it is using all my video memory though...might want to check those GPU temps bro.....75 is pretty high



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[~SJ~Azov]

75 pfft. Have you seen my screenshot of my you cruising at 103*C?