I'm really worried regarding performance

[MrH]

I've been watching some streamers play, most notably itsmeJP who has the best PC money can buy (SLI GTX 1080ti / i7 6800K) and he cannot maintain even 60fps (which is the minimum these days with 120Hz and especially 144Hz becoming so popular), I've seen him drop as low as 24fps and in general he's sitting around 35 - 45fps which is really awful considering his hardware. If the best PC money can buy can't play this game properly what chance do the rest of us have? If Steam is to be trusted the average user is using far, far less powerful hardware so it'll be interesting to see the experience most people end up getting.

 

I'm hoping the build the streamers are currently playing isn't the build we'll receive tomorrow, because if it is I'll have to hold off playing until it's patched.

[taviow]

Well, to be honest, Pillars was the same way in some spots (Defiance Bay, Stalwart, etc.). I doubt a very long standing issue like that which persists even through their optimization for Deadfire (which looks incredible, I have to say) will be solved in time for release if it's still present in streams.

[Wormerine]

One way to find out, eh? 

[Ganrich]

SLI usually has trouble on initial launch. Thats in AAA games with much larger budgets. What would you expect here? If I had SLI/XFIRE I would turn it off for this game. You can throw all the horsepower at it you want, but of it isn't optimized for SLI you will have trouble.

[taviow]

Well, it's a single GPU issue too, if the first game is any indication.

Edited May 7, 2018 by taviow

[MrH]

Well, to be honest, Pillars was the same way in some spots (Defiance Bay, Stalwart, etc.). I doubt a very long standing issue like that which persists even through their optimization for Deadfire (which looks incredible, I have to say) will be solved in time for release if it's still present in streams.

 

I played PoE1 with a GTX 970 / 3500k @ 4.3GHz / 16GB DDR3 1600MHz / 60Hz screen and it was pretty bad, I never held 60fps during combat regardless of settings. I recently upgraded to a GTX 1080 / 6700k @ 5GHz / 16GB DDR4 3200MHz / 144Hz screen so I'm hoping I can maintain at least 60fps, but with a 144Hz screen 100 - 144fps is ideal which is what I get in every other game. However after watching itsmeJP I know it won't be possible.

[anathanielh]

 

Well, to be honest, Pillars was the same way in some spots (Defiance Bay, Stalwart, etc.). I doubt a very long standing issue like that which persists even through their optimization for Deadfire (which looks incredible, I have to say) will be solved in time for release if it's still present in streams.

I played PoE1 with a GTX 970 / 3500k @ 4.3GHz / 16GB DDR3 1600MHz / 60Hz screen and it was pretty bad, I never held 60fps during combat regardless of settings. I recently upgraded to a GTX 1080 / 6700k @ 5GHz / 16GB DDR4 3200MHz / 144Hz screen so I'm hoping I can maintain at least 60fps, but with a 144Hz screen 100 - 144fps is ideal which is what I get in every other game. However after watching itsmeJP I know it won't be possible.

In the first game, lowering the settings helped me maintain a fairly high fps (pretty much constant 50+), and my specs ain’t the best. Resolution doesnt typically bother me, though. For others it may be a prob

[yoyolll]

I'm pretty worried about this, too.  I played PoE1 on an i7 4790k, Fury X, 16gb DDR3 and it was hovering around 20-30 fps throughout most of Defiance Bay and any fight with more than a couple wizards casting at the same time.

 

Also, towards the end of the game, loading screens and menu-ing were unbearably slow.

 

I was really hoping they had made performance a priority after all the feedback they got about the first game, but the streams I've been watching this past weekend dashed those hopes.

[virgi26]

i played beta on 1080 (not ti), 1440p, no sli or overclocking and it was 80fps in average or even more... not lags what so ever. And with g-sync - no stuttering, amazing picture.

not sure why this dude is getting so low fps

Edited May 7, 2018 by virgi26

[MrH]

I'm pretty worried about this, too.  I played PoE1 on an i7 4790k, Fury X, 16gb DDR3 and it was hovering around 20-30 fps throughout most of Defiance Bay and any fight with more than a couple wizards casting at the same time.

 

Also, towards the end of the game, loading screens and menu-ing were unbearably slow.

 

I was really hoping they had made performance a priority after all the feedback they got about the first game, but the streams I've been watching this past weekend dashed those hopes.

 

I don't know anything about game development, but I do know Unity engine games almost always have poor performance from my experience, I wonder if it would have been viable to spend some of the backer money on licencing a superior engine? I assume it wouldn't be an easy task changing engine, but it definitely would have been good for the game IMO. State of Decay 2 has moved from CryEngine 3 to Unreal Engine 5 so I guess it's possible.

[Calurin]

Watching the streams today there is definitely a memory leak in the game that gets worse after ~2 hours of game play that effects heavy areas like Nekkatakka ( or however the city is spelled lol). Cohhcarnage quit his game and reloaded and it was smooth again.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Calurin

[Clerith]

Also, towards the end of the game, loading screens and menu-ing were unbearably slow.

That's a problem with the game, not the pc. Load times were a very common complaint that still remains to this day as you get deep into the game. They started being unbearable around WM2 for me.

[yoyolll]

 

I'm pretty worried about this, too.  I played PoE1 on an i7 4790k, Fury X, 16gb DDR3 and it was hovering around 20-30 fps throughout most of Defiance Bay and any fight with more than a couple wizards casting at the same time.

 

Also, towards the end of the game, loading screens and menu-ing were unbearably slow.

 

I was really hoping they had made performance a priority after all the feedback they got about the first game, but the streams I've been watching this past weekend dashed those hopes.

 

I don't know anything about game development, but I do know Unity engine games almost always have poor performance from my experience, I wonder if it would have been viable to spend some of the backer money on licencing a superior engine? I assume it wouldn't be an easy task changing engine, but it definitely would have been good for the game IMO. State of Decay 2 has moved from CryEngine 3 to Unreal Engine 5 so I guess it's possible.

 

It's been a long time and I'm sure Obsidian is made of very different people now, but they have just never been good with engines.  If these are the same people who were working on Fallout 2, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights 2, KotOR 2, Fallout New Vegas, Alpha Protocol etc., then I think it's about time they should consider investing in some talent that can improve and optimize the engines they use.

 

I'm seeing this pattern where they are only able to achieve good performance when they use an already developed and optimized engine for a sequel or very similar game (Icewind Dale, Fallout 2, NWN2, KotOR2).  With Pillars, Tyranny, and Alpha Protocol, they licensed Unreal and Unity and did all the work themselves.  Those games turned out with very poor performance.

 

Of course, I'm not a developer and I have no idea if any of this makes sense.  It's just a pattern I noticed.  I love Obsidian's games (almost unconditionally at this point), but engine-related things seem to be quite a weakness for them.  And with all the success they've been having lately, I was really hoping they would make a point to address this common complaint for Deadfire.

[MrH]

 

 

I'm pretty worried about this, too.  I played PoE1 on an i7 4790k, Fury X, 16gb DDR3 and it was hovering around 20-30 fps throughout most of Defiance Bay and any fight with more than a couple wizards casting at the same time.

 

Also, towards the end of the game, loading screens and menu-ing were unbearably slow.

 

I was really hoping they had made performance a priority after all the feedback they got about the first game, but the streams I've been watching this past weekend dashed those hopes.

 

I don't know anything about game development, but I do know Unity engine games almost always have poor performance from my experience, I wonder if it would have been viable to spend some of the backer money on licencing a superior engine? I assume it wouldn't be an easy task changing engine, but it definitely would have been good for the game IMO. State of Decay 2 has moved from CryEngine 3 to Unreal Engine 5 so I guess it's possible.

 

It's been a long time and I'm sure Obsidian is made of very different people now, but they have just never been good with engines.  If these are the same people who were working on Fallout 2, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights 2, KotOR 2, Fallout New Vegas, Alpha Protocol etc., then I think it's about time they should consider investing in some talent that can improve and optimize the engines they use.

 

I'm seeing this pattern where they are only able to achieve good performance when they use an already developed and optimized engine for a sequel or very similar game (Icewind Dale, Fallout 2, NWN2, KotOR2).  With Pillars, Tyranny, and Alpha Protocol, they licensed Unreal and Unity and did all the work themselves.  Those games turned out with very poor performance.

 

Of course, I'm not a developer and I have no idea if any of this makes sense.  It's just a pattern I noticed.  I love Obsidian's games (almost unconditionally at this point), but engine-related things seem to be quite a weakness for them.  And with all the success they've been having lately, I was really hoping they would make a point to address this common complaint for Deadfire.

 

 

Performance is often an afterthought for some developers it seems, but it has one of the biggest impacts on my enjoyment of a game, if a game is good but super choppy it's hard for me to fully enjoy it, it's like there's a devil on my shoulder constantly whispering in my ear "this isn't right, it feels so sluggish doesn't it?" :D

Edited May 7, 2018 by MrH

[Torm51]

Well, I will say that I think it is Unity.  I am currently playing Battletech, and it does the SAME thing POE 1 did.  It hiccups and has a memory leak.  I surpass the recommended requirements by far, and whether I play the game on low or high it does the same thing.  

Edited May 7, 2018 by Torm51

[MrH]

Well, I will say that I think it is Unity.  I am currently playing Battletech, and it does the SAME thing POE 1 did.  It hiccups and has a memory leak.  I surpass the recommended requirements by far, and whether I play the game on low or high it does the same thing.  

 

Yeah my friend also has really bad performance in Battletech. I can't think of a single Unity game I've played that ran well.

[Torm51]

 

Well, I will say that I think it is Unity.  I am currently playing Battletech, and it does the SAME thing POE 1 did.  It hiccups and has a memory leak.  I surpass the recommended requirements by far, and whether I play the game on low or high it does the same thing.  

 

Yeah my friend also has really bad performance in Battletech. I can't think of a single Unity game I've played that ran well.

 

I have done everything I can to no avail on that game.   Granted its far from unplayable but when you surpass the recommended settings by so much and still get mediocre performance it is annoying.

[yoyolll]

 

Well, I will say that I think it is Unity.  I am currently playing Battletech, and it does the SAME thing POE 1 did.  It hiccups and has a memory leak.  I surpass the recommended requirements by far, and whether I play the game on low or high it does the same thing.  

 

Yeah my friend also has really bad performance in Battletech. I can't think of a single Unity game I've played that ran well.

 

Somewhat OT, but Dusk and Kerbal Space Program are the only two Unity games I've ever seen that have good performance.

Neither are nearly as demanding as a game like Battletech or even Pillars, but I'd rather it run well than look good tbh.

 

Does anyone know if there are better graphics options in Deadfire than PoE1 and Tyranny?

[NZV]

This isn't really the sort of game where I'm super concerned about the framerate. Even if you aren't getting phenomenal FPS, it probably won't impact things too much.

[Torm51]

This isn't really the sort of game where I'm super concerned about the framerate. Even if you aren't getting phenomenal FPS, it probably won't impact things too much.

True I just like good performance.

[MrH]

This isn't really the sort of game where I'm super concerned about the framerate. Even if you aren't getting phenomenal FPS, it probably won't impact things too much.

 

It'll have a differing impact depending on what the person is used to really, for me I'm used to gaming on a PC capable of 144Hz gaming which is ridiculously smooth, so 30fps feels really terrible to me, whereas 30fps is perfect for a guy who has been playing at that fps his whole life, it's why console gamers generally swallow a lot of poorly made games without even noticing something is wrong. The genre does help lessen the problem a little though, but it's still not acceptable to ship a game that doesn't run well on a £1500 PC.