Graphic stuttering

[JasonM]

I get the rubber band effect as well, frame rates are good most the time(60-vsync on) and do not notice too much stutter but it is just that non smooth feel when driving.
I have tried all sorts of gfx settings and using nhancer but can not stop the rubber band effect, shame as a lot of people don't have these problems, wish i did'nt.
I have a core 2 duo E6750, 8gb ram, 8800GT, win7.
I keep thinking about a new GFX card but just worry the same thing will happen, don't have these probelms with rally/driving games etc.

[erikkr]

"On SADS blog, is he indicating by putting every asset in one folder it increases loading speed, or am I reading it wrong, the route certainly runs smoothly, I dont even get a micro stutter on it.. though that may be to do with its length (or is that largely irrelevent as well)"
Depends on how you are driving ( cab or outside view ) , and in what resolution .
In 1280 x 960 and outside view 2 ( and a bit zoomed out ) i can get a complete stand stil for a few seconds , while i see the town over the hill loading .
Thats because to much assets load at the same time .
It all depends on what you have on screen and what resolution you use .
btw: very nice route and very wel done ( and clever use of hills and tunnels between the dense populated places ).

[dean1986]

Hi Jason if you are thinking of upgrading I'd upgrade your processor first I have a E8400 Core 2 duo 3.0ghz and a GTX 275. I get around 70 fps with max settings and up to 130 on the Port Road route but still get the rubber band effect.

Dean

[ightenhill]

I would always go Processor first with RW.. Its just doesn't seem to know how to use the gpu at all..Mores the pity.. Yes you will add a certain fps with a better gpu but you will get better % increases with a processor upgrade unless your pre 8800 series at a guess..

[pilot37]

I get the rubber band effect as well, frame rates are good most the time(60-vsync on) and do not notice too much stutter but it is just that non smooth feel when driving.
I have tried all sorts of gfx settings and using nhancer but can not stop the rubber band effect, shame as a lot of people don't have these problems, wish i did'nt.
I have a core 2 duo E6750, 8gb ram, 8800GT, win7.
I keep thinking about a new GFX card but just worry the same thing will happen, don't have these probelms with rally/driving games etc.

Hi Jason

I would hold off....I think nobody has the answer so changing kit is a bit of a lottery. I have been trying to fix this on my rig for weeks. I get 60fps locked on Vertical Sync. Tried every combo on Nhancer, different drivers etc. I get what everyone here calls Rubber Band effect. The train runs smoothly but the scenery has little and sometimes bigger jolts as you move along. I have reduced these but not eliminated them and it kills the immersion in what would be a very immersive and atmospheric sim.

My rig runs every other game i have like silk.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Overclocked to 3.0Mhz
Nvidia Geforce 285GTX
Creative Xfi (I even swapped about some sound cards)

[paulz6]

I've got a Q6600, (2.4 GHz), 4 GB (3.25GB) of DDR2 RAM on a 32-bit O/S, and twin 8600GS 512MB graphics cards.
Despite the slight reduction in context switching that you may get with 4-cores - for RS/RW you might as well have two higher speed cores.
Forget about more than one GPU, you get no performance benefit in SLi mode. Whatsover. At least it won't crash.
Look for at least a 3GHz dual core CPU and a GPU better than 8800GTX. Add in DDR3 RAM and that is what seems to make the difference.
And there is not a lot of difference between a 9800 and an 8800 GPU. Forget some of the higher GTX2xx cards, they are 2 GPU's on one card. There appears to be no benefit in SLi for RS/RW.

The GTA IV engine at least was designed ground up for more than one central processing core. I have to run it at the lowest resolution to get a decent frame rate. At least is is smooth. I can run RS/RW at higher resolutions, but the display is choppy. The GTA IV engine has the same characteristics as what is required in a rail simulator - the freedom to move around a dynamic world in which ever way you choose.

I hope the people at RS.com have the skills to diagnose the root cause and rectify the problem. If speculation about what the root cause helps them identify this problem, then this thread is of great value.

[pilot37]

[quote="paulz6"]I've got a Q6600, (2.4 GHz), 4 GB (3.25GB) of DDR2 RAM on a 32-bit O/S, and twin 8600GS 512MB graphics cards.

Is there something else going on besides the power of ones computer?

My full spec:

Vista 32
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Overclocked to 3.0GHz. Copper piped cooling, and cool (I have a monitor checking it)
Nvidia Geforce 285GTX currently on 196.21....tried lower drivers 195.62
Creative Xfi (I even swapped about some sound cards), disabled sound etc.
4gb RAM DDR2 PC2 6400 Corsair
Western Digital 6.4G Hard drive 7200rpm
Coolermaster Case awash with cool air!

Nhancer Anti Aliasing at Combined 4s and Super Transparency AA (Bigger AA reduces framerate below 60)
Gamebooster to switch off other programmes including Panda Anti Virus
Defragged
All details high except shadows on low

I run locked at 59/60 Frames Per Second on Isle of Wight apart from the very occasional incident
Tornado loco runs smooth

Passing scenery has micro stutters all of their own and which are inconsistent. Smooth flowing for a few seconds then stutter for a while. This is worse when viewing from the cab but framerates still sit at 59/60. I can pan around very fast and smooth without stutter.

Turning detail right down makes no difference.

Very open to ideas

[KeithThomson]

Yep I have the "rubber banding" effect too, where the scenery will make a "jump" every second or so. Most noticeable when you look side-on at a locomotive travelling at speed, but I can see it from the cab-view also which pretty much ruins the experience and feeling of speed.

For me it could be related to the on-board soundcard on my motherboard, but I need to investigate further.....

Rough specs are Intel Core 2 Duo E7500, 4 gig ram, 9800GT, Windows 7 64bit.

[pilot37]

Yep I have the "rubber banding" effect too, where the scenery will make a "jump" every second or so. Most noticeable when you look side-on at a locomotive travelling at speed, but I can see it from the cab-view also which pretty much ruins the experience and feeling of speed.

For me it could be related to the on-board soundcard on my motherboard, but I need to investigate further.....

Rough specs are Intel Core 2 Duo E7500, 4 gig ram, 9800GT, Windows 7 64bit.

Try disabling it in the BIOS to see if any effect.

[markjudith]

I get exactly the same results as you pilot37, dropping detail or resolution makes no difference.
Also I can have problems going in to the 2d map when in scenario editing mode. I have to press 9 a few times to make it appear, when it does, I move the mouse and the map follows 3 or 4 seconds later. Everythig is defragged and steam has checked all files cache etc. I have had starting signals work 1 day not the next then work the day after!

Mark

[ightenhill]

I have the 9 button problem whist in scenario mode.. In fact Im sure I can click in this under certain circumstances whilst scenario editing and get a BSOD

[Wikkus]

Very open to ideas

Is the Indexing service turned off?

Do you have Google Desktop?

Rik.

[bremen]

WHY is better whitout the shadows?
Because the shader for the shadow is compiled to run with ps2...
VertexShader = compile vs_2_0 VS_TransformAndTexture();
.. and the rest of shaders run with 1.1...

A great mix.. so the videocard needs to switch from one shader model to the other.. loosing speed in the mean time.

I'll never do an object for my route without shadows because i live in a world with shadows and i want see them in the sim.

Your explanations seems logical. I hope that the diagnosis is correct.

This is my theory.. and every theory needs evidence. In my post i have given some evidence to support my theory... like this one
"Vertex shader assembly instructions (see Instructions - vs_1_1). Support for pixel shader instructions (ps_1_x) has been deprecated. To compile ps_1_x shaders as ps_2_0 shaders see Compiling Shader Model 1."
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... 85%29.aspx

A table with the limitation of older shader model..

Also, I believe that all assets are loaded into memory in RW during the route loading process. The more assets you have in a route, the longer it takes to load. These assets are not been loaded from disk on the fly.

Only the 3Ds, textures etc of the first bunch of tiles are loaded into the memory... the rest is loaded piece by piece during the vojage.

[Wikkus]

Only the 3Ds, textures etc of the first bunch of tiles are loaded into the memory... the rest is loaded piece by piece during the vojage.

This, if it can be confirmed by RSC, gels with my perception (and others') of what's going on when you get a massive stutter followed by a CTD...

Would be good, as Paul already suggested, to get some input from someone with a high-end rig with (crucially) SSDs...

Rik.

[vlado960]

@bremen; If it is the fact, is there a way to fix it, or already is too late for that? Is it possible to do anything? What you think about it?