Ravenloft: Prisoners of the Mist

Public (OOC) => Tech discussion => Topic started by: superman300038 on April 25, 2010, 06:51:38 PM

Title: running choppy
Post by: superman300038 on April 25, 2010, 06:51:38 PM
    Hey I havent played in about 3 1/2 months but turned it on last night and today and I am running choppy.  Sometimes worse and sometimes not so bad, but still choppy.  Has there been any new update I would have missed and therefore now I have this problem?  Thanks.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Purist on April 25, 2010, 10:04:58 PM
Disable Realtek Audio.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: bloodandsoil on April 25, 2010, 10:47:42 PM
Could be lots of things...I assume you have Windows?  What video card?  How much system memory?

The problem could be due to something else on your system besides NWN.  Do you have more programs or services running in the background now?  What changes have been made on the system in the 3.5 month period?
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: superman300038 on April 25, 2010, 11:00:13 PM
I'd have to look into any changes, I was away from home.  I'll start inquiring though, thanks.  Oh!  We did get a router, and now share the connection between two computers.  Could that be the culprit?
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: bloodandsoil on April 25, 2010, 11:24:06 PM
I do not know for sure, but I doubt it.  The network is probably not a bottleneck...assuming you have cable/dsl?

My guess is it is most probably related to lack of system memory or some sort of issue with the video hardware/software.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Kendric98 on April 26, 2010, 12:04:55 AM
My son likes to play his 360 wile I'm on and we have a wireless setup so i feel your pain. Also make sure its password protected or your neighbors laptop will lag you.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: superman300038 on April 26, 2010, 12:44:46 AM
I dont know how much this matters but I played the game online, then offline, then online.  Offline ran just fine, online remained choppy.  Narrow down the possibilities any?
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: bloodandsoil on April 26, 2010, 12:51:01 AM
Quote from: superman300038 on April 26, 2010, 12:44:46 AM
I dont know how much this matters but I played the game online, then offline, then online.  Offline ran just fine, online remained choppy.  Narrow down the possibilities any?

Did you run the same things offline and online?  I mean...you can't run PotM offline AFAIK.  And it uses different texture sets, etc.  Assuming you ran the same things offline and online, then yea your test is valid.  Looks like a network issue.  You are connecting wirelessly or wired?  Can you try connecting to the router with an ethernet cable and doing the test again?
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: superman300038 on April 26, 2010, 01:28:10 AM
I use a wire which plugs into the modem/router.  I had not run the same thing, I just started new game on NWN.  Im not aware of any upgrades that came out in the time I was gone though.. if I am correct, is there any way to fix this issue?  And thank you all very much for the responses.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: bloodandsoil on April 26, 2010, 04:24:19 AM
If you ran different things offline and online then the test is not so valid I think..

The new game in offline may use different tiles, textures, etc.  Whereas online PotM uses maybe tiles, textures, whatever that are higher.

Could you try plugging your computer directly into the cable/dsl modem and re-testing?
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: suǝʇʇıɯ on April 28, 2010, 05:17:59 PM
I'm having the same issue right now. I had to reformat and i've got the same specs now. Before the game ran great, but after the reformat i can't seem to get rid of the chop, I need some suggestions on how to fix the problem.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: KoopaFanatic on April 29, 2010, 11:20:01 AM
I'm having a similar problem -- whenever I log in, I get a framerate of about one frame per second, at most.  I've cleared the overrides, done two reinstalls, and re-downloaded both the CEP and POTM haks.  Nothing solves it.
Plus, it's only POTM that does this.  Other PWs, the NWN campaigns, and even a custom module made using the hak order from the Item Request Thread all run fine, but POTM runs like pitch through a funnel.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: suǝʇʇıɯ on May 03, 2010, 11:14:09 AM
Having PoTM withdrawals here. Need techy help. Anyone!?!?
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Kendric98 on May 04, 2010, 12:30:30 AM
Quote from: Orochi on April 25, 2010, 10:04:58 PM
Disable Realtek Audio.
What is the exact method for carrying this out and having new sound, do i need a new sound card?
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: KoopaFanatic on May 04, 2010, 10:49:25 AM
Quote from: Kendric98 on May 04, 2010, 12:30:30 AM
Quote from: Orochi on April 25, 2010, 10:04:58 PM
Disable Realtek Audio.
What is the exact method for carrying this out and having new sound, do i need a new sound card?

Also, does anyone have any other suggestions?  For those of us who don't have Realtek and are still having problems...
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: suǝʇʇıɯ on May 04, 2010, 05:29:28 PM
This sucks.. I wanna tear it up on Dougan but can't...  :banghead:
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: superman300038 on May 20, 2010, 10:35:37 PM
Well I do not believe it is my router anymore.  I plugged my computer back into the modem.. though I did not restart my computer when I did, only the modem.  Don't know if that matters.  Anyone, Im going to be running virius scans and all that good stuff.. the computer in general seems to run slower, when the internet is used in any way.  Though I run on a cabel modem sooo... any ideas?

To add to this I am recieving and sending over a million 'packets' as far as my internet connectivity goes.. no clue what that means, but sounds good to my ignorant self.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: shadymerchant on May 21, 2010, 02:25:09 AM
If anyone's graphics are slightly choppy, try going into options > sound options > and changing the applications that is running sound.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: superman300038 on May 21, 2010, 03:07:08 AM
My AVG anti virus scan turned up nothing, and I updated.  I'll try tinkering with sound options.  Thank you.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Badbelly on May 21, 2010, 02:11:41 PM
I would try running the game with the sound disabled as a test. If the chop goes away when you play the game with no sound, you will know it is the cause. If the game plays better, head down to the nearest computer store and buy a sound card.  Before you purchase a sound card, check that you have an available slot for the sound card. Installation is easy, and can be accomplished with a Phillips screw driver (magnetic works best).

To disable sound
 Control panel > Sound and Audio Devices > Hardware Tab > Locate and highlight audio device in list (Realtec is common on board sound) > Click on properties> Select disable and click Okay.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: superman300038 on May 28, 2010, 02:57:18 AM
I've been trying alot of things; now the game seems to run fine - until i encounter others.  Then the lag or chop (your preference) begins.  Any thoughts?
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Heretic on May 13, 2012, 09:36:29 AM
Holy el crappo.  :shock:


I updated windows 7, which I had not done in a long time. Same with my Radeon ATI 6900 video cards' driver and what a mistake that was. :S

I try to run the game now and it runs so choppy, its unbearable, cannot even see the PC's animation when they walk. On top of that, I see graphic glitches on the screen.

Tried disable sound, running compatible mode and so far, nada.


Halp. :(
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Blacky Rose on May 13, 2012, 09:56:45 AM
Quote from: Heretic on May 13, 2012, 09:36:29 AM
I updated windows 7, which I had not done in a long time. Same with my Radeon ATI 6900 video cards' driver and what a mistake that was. :S

Catalyst 12 series breaks NWN a little, the easiest solution may be just going with 11 series for the time being.

Alternatively also disabling 'surface optimization' for the NWN application in the catalyst control center allegedly fixes it.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Geiger on May 13, 2012, 09:57:43 AM
I had the same thing happen recently. Running it in compatibility mode and as admin helped me a lot. As in, it was pretty good! Try that.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Blackthorn51 on May 13, 2012, 09:59:45 AM
There is a freeware program you can download called IOBOTs Game Booster.  Use it.  Its helped me a lot when playing on my Windows 7 Laptop.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Romar Notten on May 13, 2012, 12:15:03 PM
The listed solutions below is what I have done for a friend that used to play Neverwinter on Windows Vista which afterwards his play went from choppy to smooth. However I'm unsure how it would work with Windows 7 but it still should could still be a possible solution if you wanted to try it.

Roll Back Driver  (Use At Your Own Risk)
Spoiler: show


Windows Xp (Click Start, Click Run)
*Copy this:  devmgmt.msc
*Highlight Text And Press: Ctrl+C (Copy)
*To Paste The Text: Ctrl+V (Paste)
*Paste It Into Run, Then Click Ok

Windows Vista/ Windows 7 (Click Start)
*Copy this:  devmgmt.msc
*Highlight Text And Press: Ctrl+C (Copy)
*To Paste The Text: Ctrl+V (Paste)
*Paste It Into The Search Box, Press Enter Key

Click The "+" Sign Next To Display Adapters
*Look For Your Video Card Name
*Example Video Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440

Double Click The Video Card
*Select The Tab: Driver
*Select Roll Back Driver

**Have Your Video Card Driver On Hand Just In Case, Either By Disc Or Downloaded Driver**



Solution One
Spoiler: show


Open Up Your NWN Directory
*Right-Click On Your NWN Shortcut, Properties, Find Target (Win Xp)
*Right-Click On Your NWN Shortcut, Properties, Open File Location (Win Vista / Win 7)

Open The File Called, Nwnplayer.ini
*Open The File Using Wordpad, Notepad Or Something Similar.

Under [Game Options] Locate. Client CPU Affinity=
*To Easily Find It Use Your Search Function, Normally Set As Ctrl+F

Edit Client CPU Affinity=
*Change The Value To Either Be 0 Or 1
*Should Look Like This: Client CPU Affinity=0
*Should Look Like This: Client CPU Affinity=1
*Save Changes Then Check Your Game



Solution Two
Spoiler: show


Open Up Your NWN Directory
*Right-Click On Your NWN Shortcut, Properties, Find Target (Win Xp)
*Right-Click On Your NWN Shortcut, Properties, Open File Location (Win Vista / Win 7)

Run The Program Called NwnConfig.exe
*Confiquration Settings

Click The Change Button
*Click The Drop Down Menu Next To Sound
*Select Safe Mode
*Save Changes Then Check Your Game

As A Side Note
*Sometimes Your Correct Processor Or Graphic Isn't Listed Correctly In Nwconfig.ini
*Using The Scan Can Correct This
*If It Doesn't Correct It, You Can Simply Delete Nwconfig.ini Or Move It, Then Run The Scan Again



Solution Three
Spoiler: show


Graphic Card Control Panel
*I Can't Get Into Detail On How To Open This Open, Varies With Different Cards

To Standardly Open Your Video Card Control Panel
*Click "Start", "Control Panel"
*Find The Control Panel For Your Video Card
*Mine is "Nivida Control Panel"

Once You Have Ran Your Control Panel
*You Want To Access Your 3D Settings                         (Varies With Different Video Cards)
*Under Sub Menu's For This Click "Manage 3D Settings" (Varies With Different Video Cards)

You Then Want To Access "Program Settings"
*Should Be Listed As Possible Tab Box Located Near "Global Settings" In The Main Window

Program Settings (Neverwinter Nights)
*Click "Add" Button And Browse To Your NWN Directory And Select: Nwnmain.exe
*You Will See A Assorment Of Details Once Added

Settings Listed Under (nwnmain.exe
*Suggested Changes
*Some Video Cards May Display More Options Or Less Options

Setting                                         Feature
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grayed Out                                  Ambient Occlusion
Off                                               Anisotropic Filtering
Off                                               Antialiasing - Gamma Correction
Off                                               Antialiasing - Mode
None                                            Antialiasing - Setting
Off                                               Antialiasing - Transparency
Use Global Setting                        CUDA - GPUs
Use Global Setting                        Maximum pre-rendered frames
Compatibility Performance Mode    Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration
Off                                               Teture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization
Allow                                           Texture filtering - Negative LOD bias
Performance                                 Texture filtering - Quality
Off                                               Texture filtering - Trilinear optimization
Off                                               Threaded optimization
Off                                               Triple buffering
Off                                               Texture filtering - Anisotropic filter optimization
Force Off                                      Vertical sync



Solution Four
Spoiler: show


Open The Properties For Your Neverwinter Shortcut
*Right-Click Your Neverwinter Nights Shortcut
*Select Properties

Editing the Properties
*Look Around And Change It To Either One Of, Or Both Of The Following
*Run as Administrator, either by drop down menu or a check box depending on windows version
*Compatibility Mode, Something Windows Xp Related Should Work
*Click Ok, Close Out The Window And Check Your Game.


Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Heretic on May 13, 2012, 01:14:38 PM
Thanks a lot guys, gonna try all of the above and see what happens.  :)
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Heretic on May 13, 2012, 01:58:03 PM
The solution was rolling back the driver.

Using a 11 driver, the 12 messed me up big time.


Thanks guys. :)
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Jeebs on May 13, 2012, 02:52:34 PM
Quote from: Heretic on May 13, 2012, 01:58:03 PM
The solution was rolling back the driver.

Using a 11 driver, the 12 messed me up big time.


Thanks guys. :)

Yeah, isn't it odd how newer versions of things can break stuff? Also, your first mistake was getting a Radeon  ;)  Though it seems a fair bit of people are having issues with lag these days. I'm not quite sure what's causing it anymore, as most of them insist it's not hardware related.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Geiger on May 13, 2012, 02:57:09 PM
Mine wasn't - since this restart I'm 100% fine. But I have a feeling it'll happen again.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Jeebs on May 13, 2012, 03:12:41 PM
Quote from: Geiger on May 13, 2012, 02:57:09 PM
Mine wasn't - since this restart I'm 100% fine. But I have a feeling it'll happen again.

It always does. Your computer starts acting strangely if you leave it on all the time and never restart it. Things start taking longer to load, errors crop up for no apparent reason and well, long story short, even if you have your system on all the time, you need to reboot it once in a while to keep it running somewhat smoothly. This is less of an issue on a Linux-based system from what I've seen, but for something like the PotM server, you have to keep in mind that it's keeping track of a lot of information. All the corpses on the ground, the items in said corpses, all the non-standard items you can find in a shop after PCs have sold the loot from their adventures, etc. The more stuff the server has to keep track of, the less processing power/memory it has available to handle all the information from players. That's why we have DMs reset it. One thing they could do, although I'm not sure how to set this up myself, is set up the server to self-reboot every 8 or 12 hours. I've seen other servers use this, it would start warning you an hour ahead that it would restart itself and then do the whole thing automatically. How you get that to work with NWN so the actual system doesn't just do a reboot without warning is not something I know how to do though, so it's something for the devs to consider and look into if they choose to go that route.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: dark_majico on May 14, 2012, 02:49:50 AM
Quote from: Blacky Rose on May 13, 2012, 09:56:45 AM
Quote from: Heretic on May 13, 2012, 09:36:29 AM
I updated windows 7, which I had not done in a long time. Same with my Radeon ATI 6900 video cards' driver and what a mistake that was. :S

Catalyst 12 series breaks NWN a little, the easiest solution may be just going with 11 series for the time being.

Alternatively also disabling 'surface optimization' for the NWN application in the catalyst control center allegedly fixes it.

I went looking for that option in my catalyst control centre and I dont see it, did you mean something else Rose? I had a problem with series 12, then i rolled back to 11, but then I updated again to  12 and the problem went away. Might be something to do with installing new updates without doing a clean uninstall or something. Im glad thats fixed though and I dont have to keep dismissing the update reccomendation.

I also had a problem with choppy gameplay a long time ago whenever I entered combat mode, it turns out my sound options in thw game menu had switched to Realtek Audio, I dont even know what Realtek is, let alone if I have it or not, I changed it to one of the other options and problem solved.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: Jeebs on May 14, 2012, 12:35:58 PM
Realtek is your onboard sound... basically the one built into the motherboard. I find it weird that it's causing issues for people though. I stopped using sound cards two PCs ago when I realized that the onboard sound was usually just as good these days.  I suppose it's dependent on how much RAM and processing power you have then, 'cause I don't usually have any issues.
Title: Re: running choppy
Post by: dark_majico on May 15, 2012, 02:53:25 AM
Quote from: Serillian on May 14, 2012, 12:35:58 PM
Realtek is your onboard sound... basically the one built into the motherboard. I find it weird that it's causing issues for people though. I stopped using sound cards two PCs ago when I realized that the onboard sound was usually just as good these days.  I suppose it's dependent on how much RAM and processing power you have then, 'cause I don't usually have any issues.

I have a quad core 2.5 gig processor and 3 gig of ram, it has nothing to do with that, its just Neverwinter Nights ghayness thats all :P