SP5 and performance

[paulper]

As I understand it, in SP5 we no longer have the option to select or deselect 'Process Objects Behind Camera' with the in-game setting option erroneously retained. I used to tinker with this and find it hit the performance of my route when switched on. What was the reason for removing it as an option?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[JCitron]

The option is still there. While in Trainz, i.e. Driver or Surveyor, or at the main menu, click on the 3-bar menu and then click on video settings.

The option is the 2nd checkbox below the draw distance.

 

[paulper]

I read somewhere that it was a mistake the option was retained in game. If you un-tick it and return to the option it is still ticked.

 

[pware]

If you un-tick it and return to the option it is still ticked.

From what I have read in these forums the setting is ignored and its continued presence in the options was an oversight. I have always had it checked ON.

 

[JCitron]

From what I have read in these forums the setting is ignored and its continued presence in the options was an oversight. I have always had it checked ON.

That's interesting. This must be one of the features [sic] that was incorporated internally. For some systems, this makes a definite performance difference unchecked for the better.

 

[paulper]

Some parts of my session go down to 10 FPS now. Was no noticeable issue before. I just don’t understand why get rid of existing good options like that?

 

[JCitron]

Some parts of my session go down to 10 FPS now. Was no noticeable issue before. I just don’t understand why get rid of existing good options like that?

What kind of video card do you have?
What are your other settings set at?

 

[paulper]

4060-TI. I’ve lowered settings because of it (most were at high before). I know my route is pretty intense but having this feature forced upon me has changed the ability to run any sessions, which is a shame. Am getting some new additional memory at the weekend to see if that helps as I only have 16gb at present

 

[JCitron]

4060-TI. I’ve lowered settings because of it (most were at high before). I know my route is pretty intense but having this feature forced upon me has changed the ability to run any sessions, which is a shame. Am getting some new additional memory at the weekend to see if that helps as I only have 16gb at present

The extra RAM will help a lot. I too run busy routes with lots of things going on and lots of assets.

I have a 3080 and it runs pretty well. I changed V-Sync to half and then found turning down trees to Normal in Trainz itself helped.

Under the Performance settings, in addition to V-Sync at half, I set the textures to Basic because I hate the goopy guts on the PBR and that helped a lot too and also lowered my GPU temperature quite a bit.

 

[paulper]

Thanks John. I concur with those tips. I’ve got water cooling and fans galore so no issues with heat. Will post an update once the new RAM is in

 

[paulper]

Here's an update:

Having recorded the screen during testing of various memory scenarios, between the 16gb and 32gb dual sticks, I saw no material difference. The 64gb dual sticks performed worse, probably because they turned out not to be XMP compatible.

Performance tab settings were:
Shadow quality: High
Shader quality: Standard
Texture detail: High
Post processing: Low
Water quality: High
Detail scenery: Clutter + TurfFX
Antialiasing: 8x

In game video settings:
Maximum draw distance: 5000m
Scenery Detail: Low
Tree Detail: Low
Post processing: Low

My session is still, in some places, running at 10 fps. This was not the case when I had the option to turn off 'Process Objects Behind Camera' (I have only an estimation, but I believe it was double that fps).

My previous setup UserBenchmark was as follows:
UserBenchmarks: Game 46%, Desk 85%, Work 37%
CPU: Intel Core i5-8600K - 71.7%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060-6GB - 57.4%
SSD: Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe M.2 1TB - 187.3%
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB - 71.1%
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB - 62.2%
MBD: Asus PRIME Z370-P

My new setup UserBenchmark is as follows:
UserBenchmarks: Game 145%, Desk 96%, Work 144%
CPU: Intel Core i9-10980XE - 91.8%
GPU: Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti - 160.4%
SSD: Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe M.2 1TB - 312.5%
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB - 112.7%
RAM: Unknown 2x16GB - 66.1%
MBD: Gigabyte GA-X299X DESIGNARE 10G

I'm not saying the new rig hasn't improved fps because I didn't take a like for like video but I'm puzzled as to why I cannot achieve a higher fps with those settings as low as they are. It would certainly be handy to be able to record the difference with 'Process Objects Behind Camera' switched off.

 

[paulper]

Running my session and there are some huge pauses as the screenshot shows below. Is this indicative of a bad or heavy asset or two?:

 

[JCitron]

With your increase in memory to 64 GB, increase your virtual memory to go along with it. Set your page file to at least 1.5 x 64 GB of RAM. Windows 10 and 11 are a bit too conservative with the page file.

Something else is causing the big drop. What kind of assets are these in this particular location? I had some that would cause a huge pause due to being really high poly with humongous textures. After replacing the assets with similar ones, the frame rates increased. A high draw distance can cause this too if you happen to look into the direction of some high poly assets located far away. I noticed that back in T:ANE and spent a long time searching for culprits. These particular assets, dating back to TRS2010 days if not earlier, had no LOD and were "seen" far across the route. You can test this by lowering your draw distance, or facing your camera in another direction.

A corrupted mesh or texture can also wreak havoc. Those assets are particularly difficult to find because they may appear okay but cause long pauses when the camera faces at them. I spent days, if not weeks, hunting down a very tiny buoy that caused that. I deleted the assets from the route and the big pause went away. I downloaded the asset again and replaced it and the problem was still gone.

I'm not saying that this isn't the game engine that's causing this; these are the things I found that didn't help matters either.

 

[paulper]

A bit of an update and some potential advice for others thinking of upgrading their PC:

Following on from what turned out to be a bit of a cowboy with a complete lack of knowledge, I got a partial refund and then went to someone else and ended up with a PC benchmark as follows:

UserBenchmarks: Game 215%, Desk 130%, Work 278%
CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K - 136.1%
GPU: Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti - 161.1%
SSD: Samsung 990 Pro M.2 2TB - 569.7%
SSD: Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe M.2 1TB - 440.9%
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 6000 C30 2x16GB - 196.9%
MBD: MSI MPG Z790 EDGE TI MAX WIFI (MS-7E25)

This has delivered the significant improvement in performance that I was looking for, but followed a bit of tweaking by me, including the following:
- BIOS update
- switching on XMP memory profile in the BIOS (got about 10% uplift with that)
- Intel chipset driver updates
- Samsung Magician: Performance Optimization Full Performance Mode
- Nvidia app: system > performance > Automatic Tuning on
- Nvidia app: graphics > program settings > Low Latency Mode Ultra (add TRS22.exe for this)
- Nvidia app: graphics > program settings > Power Management Mode Prefer maximum performance (add TRS22.exe for this)
- Windows 11 Power Options: High performance
- Windows 11 Graphics Settings: Add an app > set TRS22's GPU preference to 'High Performance'
- Follow this advice for another visible boost of around 10%: https://forums.auran.com/threads/trs19-trs22-performance-on-radeon-gpu.167083/page-2#post-1914772 (always look out for the latest version)

What didn't make a difference:
- MSI's Afterburner app
- MSI's BIOS Game Boost setting (suggest leaving this switched off to prevent increased wear)
- Virtual memory changes

NOTE:
The Nvidia app option for 'Smooth motion' does not work in combination with the DLL plugins that are mentioned in the link above. Trainz just stalls on the splash screen, but it is the DLL's that result in the best performance boost, hence this is likely to be a preference.

Hope that helps!

 

[JCitron]

The virtual memory change will allow you to merge routes without crashing. This comes from many years of experience. This is a nice system you have.

 

[railroader86001]

The option is still there. While in Trainz, i.e. Driver or Surveyor, or at the main menu, click on the 3-bar menu and then click on video settings.

The option is the 2nd checkbox below the draw distance.

I do not see the 'Process Objects Behind Camera' option? All I see is, "Override Draw Distance Cap" which I have checked?

After the last update, all distant trees are no longer showing up in my routes. I am getting the error message;

250329.08:24:55.259 RenderImposterPage;; CullDynamic Billboard>Dynamic imposter material does not support instancing. This will hurt Performance.

Any ideas?

 

[JCitron]

I do not see the 'Process Objects Behind Camera' option? All I see is, "Override Draw Distance Cap" which I have checked?

After the last update, all distant trees are no longer showing up in my routes. Any ideas?

The option has been removed in the latest versions, so much for that useful feature!

Latest update, do you mean the beta? That's a known problem with the beta version. I don't have that problem with the released version at all, aka Build 128486

 

[railroader86001]

I have version 129620. I am not sure if it is the beta version? If this is the beta version, is there a way to revert back to the release version128486?

Thank you

 

[JCitron]

I have version 129620. I am not sure if it is the beta version? If this is the beta version, is there a way to revert to 128486?

129620 is the beta.

You might be able to go back to 128486.

Reinstall Build 128486 unless you want to participate in the beta. If you do, install Plus into another folder.

Copy your existing data folder and call it something else such as PLUS_DATA.
Delete the following files from the copy:
assets-cache.tdx
asset-cache.tdx-wal
assets.tdx

Open the cache folder
Empty the internet folder (open the folder and delete the contents).
Empty the libraries folder; same as above.

Start up your freshly installed Plus 128486
At the Launcher, click on Trainz settings
Click on the Install tab.
Click on the ... button on the far right of the path.

An explorer window will open up...

Browse and select your copied data-folder --- the one that you just removed assets.tdx et al from.

Plus will want to restart.

Go back to Trainz settings again on the Launcher and put in your login information by clicking on the Internet tab.

A long DBR will run...

Since this isn't visible, click on Developer on the menu bar and choose Show logs.

Now for a caveat: You may have a data issue if you modified any files, but if all goes well you should be back where you left off. Fingers crossed!

 

[railroader86001]

Thank you so much for all the help! I will give it a try.