NS has never been so rage-inducing
Arface
Join Date: 2004-04-13 Member: 27906Members
Join Date: 2004-04-13 Member: 27906Members
<div class="IPBDescription">shouldn't have preordered</div>After 199 patches the game is still unplayable for me. Now i'm wondering myself if I will be able to play on retail, even after the optimizations kick in. I bought the game the day preorder was released, thinking my gaming notebook would be able to handle it. What a mistake. I've attempted to play a game today and, in short, it was all about flying flame-turrets and explosions on 5-30fps. On ridiculously awful settings.
Not only that but for some reason all I can hear for the entire game are my bites/shots. When attacking a marine RT, for instance, it's impossible to know when someone is coming. When I hear the shots as an alien (if i can hear them) it's already too late, i'm already dead.
Anyway, from the amount of rage from my last game I probably could write a monograph about it. FPS games are extremelly frustating when your enemy has a hardware advantage over you, even if you are clearly more skilled than they. Now i'm hating on a game that I loved and wasn't even released yet.
inb4upgrade, for reference:
c2d T9550 @ 2.95ghz
4gb ddr2 @ ~800mhz
4650M @ 650/900
Not only that but for some reason all I can hear for the entire game are my bites/shots. When attacking a marine RT, for instance, it's impossible to know when someone is coming. When I hear the shots as an alien (if i can hear them) it's already too late, i'm already dead.
Anyway, from the amount of rage from my last game I probably could write a monograph about it. FPS games are extremelly frustating when your enemy has a hardware advantage over you, even if you are clearly more skilled than they. Now i'm hating on a game that I loved and wasn't even released yet.
inb4upgrade, for reference:
c2d T9550 @ 2.95ghz
4gb ddr2 @ ~800mhz
4650M @ 650/900
Comments
Though it sounds like your system may also have some setup issues, as far as the sound problem goes. I'd suspect for some reason that your system might be configured in a surround-sound setup.. I've run into the same problem myself where that was the case, and the front/center channels were being played, and the side/rears just were getting dumped into nothing.
How about using the resource tower as cover and keep an eye open for incoming enemys. If you dont see the marine coming you will always be dead no matter what (if you hear bullets or not).
PS: you can also stop biting for a few seconds and listen for footsteps every now and then...
Sounds to me you have issues with drivers and not hardware. Problem with "Gaming" laptops is only the maker of the laptop (ex. Dell/Alienware) releases drivers for you card, most likely a 460GTX M not the standard 460GTX and they are almost never up to par with desktop drivers direct from nvidia. laptopvideo2go.com may be able to help you get the latest drivers instead of the ones released ~1+ years ago.
But it wont change much, the problem is the cpu not the gpu... i got pretty much the same fps as imbalanxd on my laptop tho i got a much weaker gpu. (mobile i7 quad(first generation), ati 4650m @1600*something resolution)
But it wont change much, the problem is the cpu not the gpu... i got pretty much the same fps as imbalanxd on my laptop tho i got a much weaker gpu. (mobile i7 quad(first generation), ati 4650m @1600*something resolution)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Shows my age a bit. I have noticed the biggest jumps coming with CPU upgrades as well. However his processor should be plenty. I wonder if its maybe a "power saving" feature, or some other bloatware slowing him down.
for instance, im running a phenom II x3 BE @ 3.4 ghz, 4 gb ddr3 1600, and 2x5670 in crossfire. sounds pretty good right? i get about 30 fps average. tops out at 40 with nothing going on and no structures, yet still dips down to 20 or lower when things get nuts later in the match.
id say wait for optimizations and look into buying/building a new rig in preparation for the summer release
I7 2.2 ghz, 12gb ram, and Nvidia GTW 560M. Runs smooth all times and gets a tad jittery in combat. Putting on 3d drops the frames a lot but is still cool to mess around with. I tend to upgrade my hardware every year or so, so i have no problem keeping up with the gaming industry. Those who have comps 2+ years old need an upgrade to play even the latest games, so why complain about NS?
You have a real issue, probably GFX drivers. Force on the latest Nvidia GeForce drivers and that should fix your problem. Unless you have an i7 which is clocked at <2Ghz of course (I've seen them).
And to the OP: IF you are unhappy with the development of the game, email store@unknownworlds.com and ask for a refund. Though you should really understand this is a game which is in constant development and improvements are coming.
<!--quoteo(post=1910137:date=Mar 5 2012, 01:40 PM:name=Obraxis)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Obraxis @ Mar 5 2012, 01:40 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1910137"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->At the moment, there are lots of 'listen' and WINE (running on Linux) servers. Right now NS2 only runs on Windows, and works best on a dedicated FAST CPU. Currently, the best servers are:
Inversion, Team 156, Skulkrush, HBZ, and AustraliaPure.
They have the most powerful and best tickrates currently. Other servers, you can check with the 'net_stats' command in console. If the tickrate is less than 15 to 10, try another server :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
But yeah, welcome to beta, where the progress is slow but steady.
btw, you can cancel out of this pre-order anyway
just hold onto it until later patches and cancel before release if you still can't play it
I can't imagine a i7quad (even first generation), getting worse FPS then me on my OC-ed C2D... So as others have said, drivers can indeed slow you down, that and bloatware that usually eats away at laptops for some odd reason the manufacturers thought up...
heres what you can do
download everest aka. Aida32, i think you can get the pro version with 30 day trial ?
that will tell you your core clock speeds real time and your temps (and everything else)
then you want to get a program to simulate 100% cpu load, get intelburntest or prime 95
anyways, it sounds like your cpu is underclocking in order to keep the temps down
you could disable this in the bios, thus solving your problem cause 3ghz is more than enough to run NS2 smoothly. But it depends how hot your cpu gets, you could turn the fans up in the bios, you could open up the laptop and clean all the dust out.
or you could just buy a pc (remember ghz is the most important for ns2, the higher the ghz the better performance will be, at least untill the optimize)
But id wait for future patches, though it honesty sounds like your PC could use a little upgrade.
This is, in fact, the min spec right now.
And as thoughtful as everyone is trying to be to help the OP, that laptop won't be running this game ever. Maybe if it was a desktop, and you could pop a new gpu in there and overclock a bit, maybe... but that's not the case here.
I would either get a new computer or sell your NS copy. You might qualify for a refund since you can reasonably argue that you never knew the min specs when you ordered. I'm pretty sure by law that they have to tell you, hence why you see them on every box, and hence why the min specs for any game are a joke.
And as thoughtful as everyone is trying to be to help the OP, that laptop won't be running this game ever. Maybe if it was a desktop, and you could pop a new gpu in there and overclock a bit, maybe... but that's not the case here.
I would either get a new computer or sell your NS copy. You might qualify for a refund since you can reasonably argue that you never knew the min specs when you ordered. I'm pretty sure by law that they have to tell you, hence why you see them on every box, and hence why the min specs for any game are a joke.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
disappointing :(
Uh... You dont know that.
a dual core @ 3 ghz is average and it is more than probable that the developers are attempting to reach that customer base and while his video card isn't beefy, ns2 doesn't need it to be. Bottom line: neither of us truly know how optimized it will eventually be so we shouldn't make such claims.
@op: Also, you should be getting better performance, trouble shoot
1. Update your audio driver
2. Update your graphics driver. Use the beta drivers, because the official ones are not fast enough or may cause problems in this cutting edge game.
3. Overclock your CPU a bit. Maybe it helps if you disable Hyper-Threating
4. Disable all bloatware and uninstall everything you do not need
5. If that does not help reinstall
Then when you enter the game you should set
r_atmospherics to false
r_shadows to false
r_lighting to false
Then you should be able to play!
P.S. I'm just kidding. If the game does not run it's probably not your fault, but the unfinished game's. (Does not run smoothly for me either)
P.P.S Other people are better: Buy a better PC! Check your fans! Change BIOS options!
I'm aware a lot of optimization needs to be done and there is a lot of room for improvement. I use a multi-monitor setup where I can keep the asus suite sensors running and the game seems to utilize one core fully (more or less) and draw on 1-2 more cores here and there so I would expect it to be better as UWE does their thing.
Regards to the OP, a C2D is quite a few generations behind in the cpu cycle, by the time this game goes gold and retails even my rig will be behind in the intel lineup (no performance difference with ivy but better power usage, likely higher OC capabilities).
Then NS2 is going to fail pretty miserably. Check the steam survey to see what 'average' gamer hardware looks like. Intel CPUs are most common, and clock frequency is a sort of bell curve centered around the 2.3-2.69 Ghz bracket.
Another curious fact is that ~75% of systems in the steam survey are running DX10 and DX11 hardware. The remainder have DX10 and DX11 hardware but are running a hobbled OS that forces them to run software in DX9 mode.
<!--quoteo(post=1912625:date=Mar 13 2012, 01:37 PM:name=Flounder)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Flounder @ Mar 13 2012, 01:37 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1912625"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Maybe if it was a desktop, and you could pop a new gpu in there and overclock a bit, maybe... but that's not the case here.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
GPU is irrelevant. Really. GPU just is never the bottleneck in NS2 unless you're on some ridiculously awful integrated shizz.
Another curious fact is that ~75% of systems in the steam survey are running DX10 and DX11 hardware. The remainder have DX10 and DX11 hardware but are running a hobbled OS that forces them to run software in DX9 mode.
GPU is irrelevant. Really. GPU just is never the bottleneck in NS2 unless you're on some ridiculously awful integrated shizz.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I have to chime in here, UWE wants to get this game out to as many people as possible and to do that it needs to run on many systems not just the few people that have super computers the system specs for beta should not be anything close to the release ones period, too many people don't know what they're talking about.
This is why Valve has such a large audience for their games because they run on super computer to low end machines.
If UWE can not do that then the NS2 community will remain small, shrink then die. Just what every multiplayer game needs.
An easy way to trial this is to try playing with the laptop sitting on top of a few bags of frozen peas and seeing if it gets as choppy as you're used to. I'm not kidding. Put some saran wrap over them before trying this, though, to keep condensation from soaking the laptop.
You could also just look at the hardware settings and see if it's got heat control stuff going on, or get an external cooler for it, but the frozen peas are cheap and easy.
I had a friend get his Alienware laptop replaced 3-4 times back in 2005 or so because the motherboard was literally charring under the GPU. Heat control in a laptop, especially if you keep it on your lap (a constant ~37*C heat sink) is tricky if you're gaming.
c2d T9550 @ 2.95ghz
4gb ddr2 @ ~800mhz
4650M @ 650/900<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well to be fair, Your CPU and GPU were released late 2008. I'm not sure what you expect from a 3.5 year old laptop. It will be almost 4 years old when NS2 is relased mid year. And don't forget laptop hardware is always light on grunt compared to desktop hardware released in the same time.
From what I've seen and discussed, NS is pretty CPU dependant. I'm running a stock (not overclocked) i7-2600 (1 year old top end CPU) with a Radeon 5850 (2.5 year old mid range GPU) and I get 50+fps in 1920x1200 with stock settings. One of my friends has almost the same graphics card (6850) but an old Quad Core CPU and he's in the low teens.
I don't expect much by the way of optimisation, maybe 10-15%.