[Genma Saotome]

Jim, the speed of your cpu and the speed of your disk drive both play a part in MSTS fps performance but at different times.

The disk drive is center stage at a load point line of each tile -- that's when either the X or Z value that locates the camera passes zero. Doesn't matter which one or whether it goes positive to negative or the other way around. Just that this is the signal the game uses to rush over to the disk and figure out what stuff it has to get. If you have a slow disk, or lots of files to get, or files that are defragmented and scattered in pieces all over your disk, or any combination of the above, the fps will plummet and the game will do a visual studder. And if you have Norton Anti-Virus 2009, it will examine every file MSTS is reading (not very helpful at all). There are things you can do about the disk issues: defragment your disk. Have a faster disk (more rpms). Turn off Norton when you play MSTS. Get into the route editor and on busy tiles, assign a display value > 0 on everything that isn't located in the global\shapes folder (leaving everything at zero means the disk has to jump back and forth across more directories to read everthing). Preload shapes from nearby tiles (> 1 tile away) underground at places where a majority of scenarios start. Kill unnecessary processes so there is no reason for the game to use virtual memory. Use the mem switch when the game starts.

Once the files have been obtained, the CPU takes over. When MSTS was written video cards were not that powerful, so the authors of MSTS wrote into the code functions that has the CPU prepare the shape data for display. Every cycle it is doing that, the game is being delayed. Today games are written to let the video cards performed those functions, and they're better at it anyway. This CPU delay happens right after the disk drive has read the files, as I desribed above. Once again the fps plumet, there is a visual studder, and then things in the distance appear and the fps return to normal. The only posible fix is to buy the fastest cpu money can buy... and then overclock it.

I have not been able to figure out why fps varies because of higher poly counts. Dunno if that's the CPU or the video card.

Anyway, if you fire up any route and pay close attention to what happens when the camera crosses the 0 value, you'll see exactly what I've described. It's most obviopus in the route editor because you have more control over camera motion. But under the hood, it's all the same.

[hiball3985]

Thanks Dave, thats a great explanation as to what is going on. I don't have Norton. I use ESET. And FPS doesn't change regardless if its on or turned off. I can't get a faster HD or a new CPU, I'm stuck with what I have. With everything maxed out ( game options and video card ) I'll get 30FPS in open area's, like in a desert, 15-20 in moderate scenery and 8-12 ( some places 6 ) on routes like Paul's FJ&G. But thanks for the help and I'll see what I can do.

Jim

[philmoberg]

charland, on Jan 30 2009, 07:02 PM, said:

...
I was really surprised when I created a winter passenger activity to include when the route's released. I've tested plenty including the steep grade up Main street, never had any problems getting up the hill until the winter activity. Same car, but in the winter you have to start hitting the sanders to get up Main Street. Who would have thought they would have thought of that years ago!
...

One of the things that has fascinated me about these Yankee traction properties is Winter operations. The bulk of the testing I've done on the Beta version was in Winter conditions, and I've found it to be equally challenging getting a couple of loads up and down Mineral Street in a snowstorrm. :D -Phil

[charland]

Hi Phil,

Amazing what a little shot or two of sand will do! While switching the interchange on the first activity I created I needed to move 19 cars, brought the throttle up to 100% and still no go, hit the sand and it started creeping along. Hit Mineral Street with 4 cars and started to wonder if I was going to make the grade... then I remembered the sanders!

Paul :-)