Torque Lag

#1 First up, drop the lighting to Basic Lighting (in the editor) or options->lighting quality->lowest (depending on which version you are using).

Next in scripts/client/prefs.cs - change it to this:

$pref::Net::PacketRateToClient = "32";
$pref::Net::PacketRateToServer = "32";
$pref::Net::PacketSize = "900";

See if all that helps.

#2 A few more tips:
Check the automatic adjustment for quality levels in the options menu. Adjust them lower if necessary. If your machine still performs poorly while using Basic Lighting you could also try finding these prefs inside of "core/scripts/client/defaults.cs" and changing them to true in order to disable these specific graphic features:

$pref::Video::disableNormalmapping = false;
$pref::Video::disablePixSpecular = false;
$pref::Video::disableCubemapping = false;
$pref::Video::disableParallaxMapping = false;

$pref::Water::disableTrueReflections = false;

$pref::Shadows::disable = false;

Shadows will likely be the biggest performance killer for lower end systems as the shader features are decently supported across most hardware nowadays -- although there is still a framerate cost to using them.

#3 By the way, and correct me if I'm wrong, I think changing the packet settings only affects multiplayer performance. I've found that after changing those settings my game actually runs faster in multiplayer than in singleplayer.

#4 Packetsize affects single player as well because it's a still a server-client relationship, just on the same box.

#5 Yep, data is still being transferred between sever code and client code. Those packets prefs do make a difference in single player, it's just not as evident as it would be in a true multiplayer environment -- although there is a greater risk of throwing multiplayer synchronicity off with extreme adjustments.

#6 Ok, but it still stands that after making that change my multiplayer fps doubled but singleplayer didn't change.

#7 Depends how many players you have on the single box (Aiplayers are players ... with extra stuff on top).

#8 I too am having lag issues on the FPS. I've changed the pref settings to match above, but it doesn't seem to have helped at all?

Any suggestions?

#9 Have you tried the basic lighting option Robert ?

#10 Sorry, I'm new to torque 3d, where are the lighting options located?

#11 If you're using 1.1 version then they are in options (ctrl O). Choose lowest in lighting quality.

If you're using a 1.0.1 then in the world editor (F11) and it's on the menu bar lighting->basic lighting

The forward rendered shadows are big performance hogs.

#12 I've set to the lowest lighting, yet I'm still only getting 17.5 - 19.1 FPS (as according to $FPS::real).

I'm not sure what else could cause it, any suggestions?

*EDIT*

I'm noticing that $pref::Shadows::disable resets itself to 0 every time I start up the game even though I have modified the core/scripts/client/default.cs file to disable it. IS there anything else I can do to force these options off at the start up of my project?

#13 1. You did press "apply" when you set the lighting to lowest didn't you? Not just OK ...

2. Did you notice a change in lighting shadows when you changed the setting?

3. For measuring fps I use:

metrics("FPS GFX SHADOW SFX TERRAIN GROUNDCOVER FOREST NET");

which pretty much covers everything ...

4. What are your PC specs?

If you're having issues in prefs.cs, delete it and let it regenerate a fresh version.

#14 1. Yes
2. Not at first, I had to edit the prefs file to get it working
3. I'll use the metrics command next time.

4. I'm running on my laptop since I have no active desktops currently, I'll be switching over to the desktop when I get it running again.

Laptop:
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T8100 @ 2.10GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Memory: 4086MB RAM
Card name: Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Display Memory: 358 MB

*I'm noticing that the bulk of the lag comes from me looking at the ground, which for some odd reason is experiencing some really odd as heck coloring for the "Square" my player is in (Red/Pink, but all others are fine)

#15

Quote:
Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family

I expect that that's your issue ... T3D really needs a dedicated Graphics Card, even at lowest settings.

#16 Yeah, those Intel graphics chips are rather low end for something like Torque. They're very common cards but I go out of my way to avoid a computer that uses one.

#17 Well, I'll try it on my desktop when I get it running again.

#18 If money isn't too big of an issue for you, you can buy a quad core at tiger direct with a 1gb graphics card, 1 tb harddrive, and 4gb of ram for only $300. Would be an excellent desktop for game development. Laptops just don't work for game development their integrated cards(mine is a geforce integrated and it still sucks) just aren't up to snuff.