Still unplayable.

Aurex · February 2013

I tried posting in the stickied thread about this problem i'm having, got no feedback so i'm trying with a brand new topic.

First, my quite old rig's specs.
Intel Q-9400 @3.2 ghz (can reach 3.8 , but without fps improvements)
DDR3 Corsair 8gb, 1333 mhz (slightly overclocked)
Ati Radeon 4870, 1gb (overclocked, with custom cooling)
Everything's running on Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit edition. The game is on 1920x1080, but it plays almost the same with lower resolutions.

It seems like my rig cannot run Natural Selection 2 at the present state. Looked around for workarounds, tweaks, tried everything on multiple occasions, spent DAYS tweaking everything. Best result i had: 12 fps in end game, with frequent slowdowns bringing me to 5-10. Was better before build 239, but not by far. This is what i can read under "Recommended System Requirements" on http://www.naturalselection2.com/ :

OS:Windows 7 32/64-bit / Vista 32/64 / XP
Processor:Core 2 Duo 3.0 ghz
Memory: 2GB for XP / 4GB for Vista/7
Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible video card with 1GB, AMD 5770, NVidia GTX 450 or better

Even if the GPU is older than the recommended ones, it does perform great with most recent titles. Shouldn't i be able to play with, let's say, 25 fps using minimal settings? Yet i can't even aim with meager 10 fps, mouse is terribly unresponsive and everything feels like a slideshow. Someone would probably suggest an upgrade, but why should i upgrade if my specs are above the system requirements?
I feel this is just wrong, considering this game does not have jaw dropping visuals (don't take me wrong. i do not dislike the game's visuals, they are just not advanced enough to tax a system so much) or incredibly complex physics engine.
Should i be expecting a generous fps boost in the next builds, or the way the engine's made doesn't leave room for improvements? I'd really, really enjoy this game, if i could play it REASONABLY. I'm sorry if this sounds like, well, whining. It's just that i want this game to be playable.

Kouji_San · February 2013

Downing the resolution should essentially give you a bit more FPS, something like 1600x900 or one step further like 1280x720 (not much but at least something noticeable). However, end game is still quite dependent on CPU power and the C2D/C2Q range is starting to show its age, even if it is a last generation of that range.

Racer1 · February 2013

Based on how the engine has evolved since release, I think its reasonable to assume that, with your old rig, improvements in the next 6 months will not be dramatic. I think you may get a few fps here and a few fps there. So you might get to 25 fps one day, but don't hold your breath.

UW did pull a major performance fix "rabbit" out of their hat right before NS2 was released. However, that rabbit was eaten by skulks soon thereafter and I don't know how many more can be found in the near future. But who knows?

[I am not a UW Dev or spokesman]

Desther · February 2013

I have a 3.1GHz C2D and 4830 and on 1280x720 I average 40fps over a game and never go below 12-15fps in 18-20 player servers.

phoenixbbs · February 2013

I'm on an old 2.4Ghz triple core Phenom, with an ATI 4850, and depending on what's going on, even with most graphical settings on, I don't often dip below 18-20fps

Aurex · February 2013

@ Kouji_San
I tried to switch resolution, and i got some results (+3 - 5 fps, nothing substantial) only when going lower than 1280*720. And... quite frankly, the game is a terribile sight to behold on that res.

@ Racer1
That's quite discomforting, and i fear you're right. What i can do is cross my fingers and wait. I love rabbits btw.

@ Desther and phoenixbbs
I'm happy to know that even with rigs old as mine the game can still run smooth enough. Problem is there must be something wrong with the game code itself, because i've never had any problem and i keep a clean, lightly loaded OS (no viruses, no adware, defragmented every 15 days and formatted every 6 months) and performance with this game is way worse than yours.

Thanks for your feedback.

Obraxis · February 2013

Hi Aurex, can you please run techsupport.exe in your NS2 folder and follow it's instructions. It will make a file that can be emailed to NS2 support. Give a quick explination to what's going on as well, and hopefully in a future patch things can be sorted for you. Thanks!

Aurex · February 2013

@ Obraxis
Thanks for the reply, i'll send it as soon as i can!

turtal · February 2013

I'm using q9600 at 3.4 with a 560Ti and I can tell you that it still drops to 20's at low-med settings running at 1920. Oddly enough resolution change impacts the performance very little. The engine seems more cpu dependent than gpu. I hope the next patch improves the performance.

puelo · February 2013

Mostly the CPU is the bottleneck. And as they already mentioned they are trying to optimize the CPU performance first.

Still unplayable.

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