*** Stutter every second, precisely? ***

[Smileyman]

Hi all.

Well, I bit the bullet and bought TS2010.
Apart from one or two of the things people have said about it, I thought I'd give it a go.

Downloaded and installed fine, loads fast, and runs well.
Like the new look, and especially like the layers feature.

So what's the problem?
Even though Trainz runs well with good FPS, and for the most part, very smooth, I get a small surge of speed, like a reverse stutter almost, and it happens every second.

And I do mean every second, on the dot.
It happens for several seconds, then runs fine for a second or two, and then starts again for several seconds.
And this happens on a packed route or an empty baseboard.

I seem to remember someone suffering something similar back in the TRS2004 / TRS2006 days, but can't for the life of me remember what their solution was.
As I say, apart from this anomaly, the caching of data seems fine, load times are great, runs lovely at 1920x1080, and is running on a new computer I built a few months ago, Dual core AMD 2.8Ghz, 2xGeForce 8400gt running in SLI mode, 4Gb DDR3, Nvidia Motherboard, etc, etc, etc.

So, a better machine than anything I've run Trainz on in the past.
To put it in perspective, certain people here run The Sims 3 on this system with all settings to Max at 1920x1080 without any slowdown.

So what's tripping me up guys?

Smiley.

 

[fran1]

I'm sure i've read that trainz does not support SLI mode and it's in a recent post.

 

[gus1911]

Wow! 1920x1080 resolution?? Is that the res that you guys are running with? At that resolution even 2006 would look like an extremely slow slide show on my PC.

 

[Baureihe41]

Hi all.

Well, I bit the bullet and bought TS2010.
Apart from one or two of the things people have said about it, I thought I'd give it a go.

Downloaded and installed fine, loads fast, and runs well.
Like the new look, and especially like the layers feature.

So what's the problem?
Even though Trainz runs well with good FPS, and for the most part, very smooth, I get a small surge of speed, like a reverse stutter almost, and it happens every second.

And I do mean every second, on the dot.
It happens for several seconds, then runs fine for a second or two, and then starts again for several seconds.
And this happens on a packed route or an empty baseboard.

I seem to remember someone suffering something similar back in the TRS2004 / TRS2006 days, but can't for the life of me remember what their solution was.
As I say, apart from this anomaly, the caching of data seems fine, load times are great, runs lovely at 1920x1080, and is running on a new computer I built a few months ago, Dual core AMD 2.8Ghz, 2xGeForce 8400gt running in SLI mode, 4Gb DDR3, Nvidia Motherboard, etc, etc, etc.

So, a better machine than anything I've run Trainz on in the past.
To put it in perspective, certain people here run The Sims 3 on this system with all settings to Max at 1920x1080 without any slowdown.

So what's tripping me up guys?

Smiley.

I had the same problem after installing the latest nvidia driver ( 195.62_desktop_winxp_32bit_english_whql ) and running the simulator in DirectX. When i switched to OpenGL the stutter was gone.

 

[Lots_Trains]

Hi Smiley

Its been quoted round here several times that Directx has a bit more of a stutter or jerkyness to it than OpenGL, give it a try

Cheers

Lots

 

[Smileyman]

Thanks guys.

I should point out that even if I run TS2010 at 1024x768, I still get the same problem, so it seems it's something more core to the timing rather than graphics.

Funnily enough, I've just upgraded the graphics card driver to the latest version.
Maybe I'll try and go back one or two versions and see how that works out.

Hi Lots.
I've already tried it both in DirectX and OpenGL, and the result is the same.
The thing is that, as I said earlier, it doesn't really appear to be a stutter in the normal sense, like we've probably all experienced in Trainz at some time.
This is bang on every second, and it's more of a speed-up/surge than a stutter.
I've actually timed it, and it is definitely every 1 second.

It's very odd, but I've read it somewhere on here in the past.

It makes TS2010 unplayable.
You almost feel seasick after a while.

EDIT: BTW, I hadn't read anything about SLI and Trainz, so I'll have a look for that now, but I still don't see how that would be the problem.
Thanks for the heads-up though.

Smiley

 

[elgato]

Hi, Smiley
It may be related to SLI but I would try disabling the "ichat" first in the Options menu to see if it does solve the problem.
Good luck
Gilles

 

[FootplatePhil]

I had a similiar problem, although I have a different graphics card (ATI 4670). Try adding the following to your trainzoptions.txt file

-framerate=24

Play with the actual number if you like. This improved things for me (and has added advantage that card runs cooler).

Phil

Edit: Have just tried again with and without the above option. It definitely makes a huge difference for me. Please let me know if you see a similiar effect - I have provided this advice to a number of people now who have described a similiar problem in 2009, but have received no feedback.

 

[VinnyBarb]

Some time ago, AMD CPUs did have a clock cycle timing problem running on certain motherboards which a utility d/loaded from AMD's web site fixed. I don't know if this is related to your problem. Since it is a regular occuring problem.

*Edit: Or it could be a pinging problem, when CM or any other programs of TS10 try to contact AURAN's web site and you are offline.

Other than that, I don't know, hopeful above answers of others will fix your problem.

Cheers

VinnyBarb

 

[Mick_Berg]

Hi, Smiley
It may be related to SLI but I would try disabling the "ichat" first in the Options menu to see if it does solve the problem.
Good luck
Gilles

For a while I ran my computer with Crossfire (the ATI equivalent of SLI) and it didn't cause any problem, it just didn't do anything because Trainz doesn't support that mode of operation. But you should try disabling it, I think.
Mick Berg.

 

[Mike10]

My money is on the iChat. First thing I do is switch it off.

Mike.

 

[norfolksouthern37]

Wow! 1920x1080 resolution?? Is that the res that you guys are running with? At that resolution even 2006 would look like an extremely slow slide show on my PC.

now we know exactly why you dont like 2010 or say speedtrees are fps killers. its a computer deficiency, not the game. that res is your standard HD res and is very very common these days. maybe its time for a upgrade?

 

[Baureihe41]

Thanks guys.

The thing is that, as I said earlier, it doesn't really appear to be a stutter in the normal sense, like we've probably all experienced in Trainz at some time.
This is bang on every second, and it's more of a speed-up/surge than a stutter.
I've actually timed it, and it is definitely every 1 second.

Smiley

I do have the same problem ( in TS2009 actually, forgot to say that earlier ). It is a precise stutter bang-on every second. Then it runs okay for a few seconds and it happens again. This started after I installed the new nvidia drivers while nothing else was changed.
Switching to OpenGL "solved" it for me though.
Good luck in your search for a solution.

 

[big_b]

Have you tried either running setting Trainz to run on on 1 core in task manager or loading the duel core optimizer.

http://support.amd.com/us/psearch/P...&product=&contentType=Tech Download Processor

Dave

 

[geoffwilliams]

I had exactly the same problem but it only occurred when I was not connected to the internet. Removing my username and password did the trick for me, might be worth a try.
Geoff

 

[meatloaf747]

Is your LCD monitor 2, 5, 8 or 12 ns ??? Try running it in 4:3 ratio instead of wide screen and see if that makes any difference. (at a lower resolution). Say 1280 x 1076. Worth a try...
Sounds like there is a bit of a bottleneck somewhere. - I'd also recommend that you turn off any unnecessary programs that are running in the background, A/V, etc, etc...
Cheers, Mac...

 

[Smileyman]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

It turned out that it was indeed the latest Nvidia drivers that caused the problem.
How many times over the years have Nvidia done this.
I had to go back several drivers a couple of years ago to get the Sims 2 working correctly, but that caused problems with something else, and a few times new drivers caused the TV-Out to stop working correctly, and had to roll back to a driver that worked.

I don't know how they get away with it.

Anyway, I've taken your suggestions here and used them to make sure I get the best performance out of TS2010, and I have to admit that as long as I ignore the ridiculous looking SpeedTrees, I think this is definitely the best version of Trainz since TRS2004 (and I don't say that lightly about my beloved TRS2004).

Now, as long as CMP behaves itself, I'll be happy.

Thanks again guys,

Smiley.

 

[geoffwilliams]

I had a similiar problem, although I have a different graphics card (ATI 4670). Try adding the following to your trainzoptions.txt file

-framerate=24

Play with the actual number if you like. This improved things for me (and has added advantage that card runs cooler).

Phil

Edit: Have just tried again with and without the above option. It definitely makes a huge difference for me. Please let me know if you see a similiar effect - I have provided this advice to a number of people now who have described a similiar problem in 2009, but have received no feedback.

I have to say that this is by far the best tip I have seen yet for improving performance in TS2010. I tried it some time ago adding -framerate=24 but it did not seem to make any difference on my system. Then I got to thinking that when running Flight Simulator I have it set to 15fps.

So, I added the line -framerate=15, fired up TS2010 and fraps, and honestly, I could not believe the difference. Framerate was held at 17 and all of the jerks and lags had gone. Have tried on two routes ECML and Skipton to Carlisle, and TS2010 is now for me a better experience altogether. Not only does it run much smoother, I have sliders another couple of notches to the right.

Being a little sceptical (from the North you see) I removed the option and tried again. Performance was back to what it was before on both routes.

Thanks for this Phil, at a time when I was considering ditching TS2010 and going back to TS2009, this has made all the difference. Now, if only I can overcome my fear of Triffids, I mean SpeedTrees
Geoff

 

[FootplatePhil]

I have to say that this is by far the best tip I have seen yet for improving performance in TS2010. I tried it some time ago adding -framerate=24 but it did not seem to make any difference on my system. Then I got to thinking that when running Flight Simulator I have it set to 15fps.

So, I added the line -framerate=15, fired up TS2010 and fraps, and honestly, I could not believe the difference. Framerate was held at 17 and all of the jerks and lags had gone. Have tried on two routes ECML and Skipton to Carlisle, and TS2010 is now for me a better experience altogether. Not only does it run much smoother, I have sliders another couple of notches to the right.

Being a little sceptical (from the North you see) I removed the option and tried again. Performance was back to what it was before on both routes.

Thanks for this Phil, at a time when I was considering ditching TS2010 and going back to TS2009, this has made all the difference. Now, if only I can overcome my fear of Triffids, I mean SpeedTrees
Geoff

Discovered this by trial and error on several different configs. I have subsequently found 23 appears to work slightly better for my latest upgrade (changed form ATI 4330 ATI to theoretically faster 4670 - go figure !).

Phil

 

[CoachMan888]

I have just entered the world of hi-res HD 1920 x 1080 monitors and am very impressed.

However the Trainz world has turned upside down.

TC3/06/09 which were all good but suffered major stutters in built up (high content) areas and large routes.

09 & now 10 were better than 06 and TC3. All the sliders to the right and smooth interaction on the screen.

Then came 1920 x 1080 and all is reversed. TC3 is now the King of the Walk strutting it's stuff like it just got a good dose of something good, it really is a pleasure to watch trains glide through the largest stations with no hesitation what so ever.

But not so with 09 and 10, they stutter and stammer there way along.

I have tried the recommendations in this topic but no improvements.

Any suggestions? Would running 10 in 64bit mode be better?

Running Dual Core E8400
3gb Memory
Win 7
512mb 8400GS Video Card (I do have a 9800GL still in the box).

All Trainz progs work best with Direct X (now ver.11) on my comp in preference to OpenGL.