Step 1: Unpark the Cores! Download from: http://bitsum.com/about_cpu_core_parking.php Scroll down, you'll see options for 32 bit or 64 bit. Run that program, and tell it to set enable at 100, then click "Apply" and "OK". This will remove ALL of the graphical lag spikes! [Windows VERY conservative 'parking' default, slows everything down by turning cores off all the time.] Step 2: Limit the Maximum FPS! Download "Notepad++" from: http://sourceforge.net/projects/notepad-plus/files/latest/download Install it, open it, then browse to where your PS2 files are installed. Open the file named "User Options", it will be an .ini file. [If you downloaded PS2 from SOE, the the direct path should be:] C:\Users\Public\Sony Online Entertainment\Installed Games\PlanetSide 2 [If you installed it with Steam, it will be in your commmon steamapps folder.] Here you want to look for the part named "MaximumFPS" and change the value to 60 or 75 depending on your monitor. Your monitor only displays at a rate of 60 FPS, unless you have a fancier one that displays at 75 FPS. Click 'Save' and continue to Step 3. Step 3: More UserOptions.ini editing! Change "Overall Quality" to have a value of "-1". [this tells the game that you are using 'custom settings'.] Change "V-sync" to have a value of "0". [v-sync is worthless drain now that you've limited the MaxFPS] Change "Render Distance" to whatever you want. [this is in meters, it allows you to see terrain further away] Change "RenderFlora" to have a value of "Off" [it only effects the grass under your feet but causes lag] Remember to hit the 'Save' button before starting up PS2! If this works for you, leave a post to keep this thread where others can see it! Any suggestions? Leave a post and I'll make the edits! Do you use an AMD/ATI video card? I have a guide over here just for you: http://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/...cc-optimization-guide-for-ps2-pictures.82350/
Also, I've copped flak for posting this but there's throttlestop: http://www.techinferno.com/downloads/ This only works for mobile i3/i5/i7 Intel processors, but has helped me greatly. The only foible with throttlestop is that it tends to cause emergency shutdowns, as it prevents the processor from throttling when it reaches critical temperatures. The way I've found to get around this is to find a clock multiplier that balances playable FPS with heat production.
Is it your CPU or your GPU that's bottlenecking? I'm going to assume it's your GPU unless you have a low processor speed (I figure a 5800 has a higher chance of being the issue than an i7). If my assumption is correct and it is your GPU, open useroptions.ini and replace the following fields with their corresponding values (leave all other settings unchanged): GraphicsQuality=5 TextureQuality=0 OverallQuality=-1 LightingQuality=2 TerrainQuality=5 ModelQuality=5 VSync=0 The rest of the options pretty much effect the CPU. For some odd reason I've noticed that just because it's lower detail, it doesn't necessarily mean that PS2 is running smoother. **Note that I may be wrong (but I'm confident enough to post this, at least) as to what effects the GPU/CPU; I could be wrong about this entirely since I haven't heard too much feedback about it. But it's worth a shot. Note that if the client keeps reverting the changes you made to useroptions.ini upon launch, right click the file and select "read only" and apply that. My system tends to keep 30-40+ FPS no matter what setting it's on, so I really couldn't try it out myself. (My specs "4 teh lulz" and whoever is curious; note that none of it is OC'ed): Processor: i5-3570k @ 3.4GHz (3.8GHz turbo) RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600 G.Skill GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM PSU: Seasonic 620W Bronze Star Certified Modular 12V MB: ASRock B75M-DGS
hate to bring to you after you wrote all of that, but it's the CPU (even though it's an i7@2.8GHz. I overclocked it a little but can't much..)
What the options I gave do are to essentially provide the "best" quality for a GPU that's bottlenecking your framerate. It doesn't transfer the effort to the GPU, but rather, if your GPU is being a pain, it should (no promises) help your framerate a bit.
It decreases your screen resolution, so it should. Hmm, in that case, I suggest trying to tinker with the settings excluding those I listed; in particular, decrease your render distance (in the useroptions file, it's listed as RenderDistance=[some value]). Decreasing the shadow quality and turning the effects quality down as low as it can go should help a bit. Edit: Sorry for the double post; didn't think there would have been replies in the time it took me to make my post that's right before this one. You guys are quick.
Yup, there's a bug that makes it 'overflow' in fullscreen mode. Just play it in windowed mode, but maximised.
Hmm.. I'll try playing tomorrow in windowed fullscreen @ 1280 x 720, then i'll knock it up to my native resolution of 1366 x 768 and see how it goes.
Ah, yea, that is just a flat out problem we have to wait for SOE to fix. My specs aren't exactly being utilized to their full potential either, but I'm happy playing in medium quality with 30-50FPS (happens to hang around 40-ish on medium settings and jumps down to hang around 30 on High, and I'm not OCD about quality too much).
I got the fix for you! Useroption.ini, set Lighting=0 and Shadow=0, set the GraphicsQuality to high in the ingame settings, and turn the aprticle effects to low. The game looks way better with the lighting and shadows turned off.
I'll give it a shot when I get in-game; right now I'm trying to keep myself in front of my homework by checking PS2 forums every few minutes or so. Integrating trigonometric functions by parts is not exactly what I like to call "fun", but it is required, so off to work I go! Back on topic - thanks for that, though. Lighting can be tricky/interesting - it certainly does add a bit of quality to it in my opinion, but I'll try tinkering with those three settings in particular and see what I get. (In fact, screw calculus homework. It can wait until three or so in the morning!) Edit: Results are in! Unfortunately that reduced my overall FPS by about five frames per second with that.
Oy vey. You know what would help the most? Windowed mode, shrink it as small as possible. If that don't work, god help you, because the devil's got your CPU.
I've already unparked the cores of my 1090t and the difference is *very* noticeable to the better. I'm just verifying Rider004s suggestion what I wanted to ask though is, why do you think limiting our FPS will be of any benefit? (apart from unnecessary GPU usage that is )
As it is an optimization, it is suggested with the purpose of assisting lower-end computers, and keeping upper-end computers cooler. Also, it really IS wasteful. A higher FPS will not help you beyond your monitor's refresh rate; any reflex based movements also lie within that speed, so again, it's just a waste, and turning it down can help you handle more advanced settings.
It will help monitoring which settings help most though I used to have that limit myself but it was hard to know the difference, when I changed settings, since I always seemed to have at warpgate 60fps... using unlimited fps I can quickly check the difference of fps for every setting I change without the need to find a *heavy* setting to test them on
