rec.autos.simulators

by **Eldre** » Tue, 07 Aug 2001 09:18:43

It runs at 37fps or so offline. Online, I get stuttering. The framerate keeps
switching from 33 to 37 to 40 and back. It's undriveable. I'm sure this has
been discussed, but of course I didn't pay attention... :( What's the fix?
I have the patch, but I only have a modem for connection. Is that the problem,
maybe? I'd hate to think that I won't be able to race online until I get a
cable modem, because I have *no* idea when that will be.
Specs:
Athlon 1.3G
128MB ram
Voodoo5
SBLive
win98se

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.racesimcentral.net/~epickett
F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...

Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

by **Eldre** » Wed, 08 Aug 2001 10:41:25

>You have plenty of system for N4 except it really likes more RAM. I would go
>to 256MB at a minimum. I got rid of the "stutter" pauses with a RAM upgrade
>myself, I went from a single 128meg stick to (2) 256meg sticks and they
>were gone. 256MB Total may help you there, I do other stuff that warranted
>the 512MB RAM I put in. The other problem I see is the video card. I know
>you probably love vodoo, as did I at one time. But they are dead now and
>really N4 likes the nvidia based stuff. I plopped in a GF2 MX400 64 MB card
>($149 retail a month or so back) and am seeing incredible FPS performance
>with the video options turned up a fair amount. A bone stock reinstall of

>with 15 cars ontrack, online. (I have an AMD 1.2Ghz CPU, BTW)

>Also if you built this computer, make sure the OS drivers for your chipset
>is updated. The last snag I found was out-of-date Via drivers for my Mobo
>(KT7A RAID) and after updating to their latest 4in1 driver (includes AGP
>bridge driver), my system has been faster and more stable.

>Sim

100 FPS?!? Geez, I didn't even think that was POSSIBLE. Well, I can borrow
another memory stick from work to see if that helps. I don't see myself
getting a GF2 anytime soon - finances and other concerns. Other than
GP3(that's another post), all my other games run fine. I had to re-install N4
because I re-installed Win98, but it wouldn't bother me to delete N4 and start
fresh. But, it works just fine *offline*. Why would it struggle online, even
if I'm the only car on the track? That's the curious part...

Eldred
p.s. I just noticed the resolution you're running. I may have been trying it
at 1024x768 - I'll have to look. Geez, what do you need for that resolution, a
Cray supercomputer???
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...

Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

by **Uncle Feste** » Wed, 08 Aug 2001 12:02:14

> p.s. I just noticed the resolution you're running. I may have been trying it
> at 1024x768 - I'll have to look. Geez, what do you need for that resolution, a
> Cray supercomputer???

Nah. Just a Geforce2. ;-)

--

Fester

by **Gerald Moo** » Wed, 08 Aug 2001 22:45:44

If the problem only happens online, you can ignore any suggestions you
may have read about memory, graphics cards, etc. Well, try more
memory, anyway... but the problem most likely has to do with your
modem and/or network settings.

I haven't used a modem for a long time, so I dont really have any
specific information for that part of the equation other than making
sure you aren't using error-checking. You might fiddle around with
various settings for your transmit and receive buffers and see if that
makes a difference. SE has the latest updates to the TCP and DUN
software, I think, but you might check that too. Verify that your
modem driver is up to date. I notice your reply-to address is AOL...
if you are playing through them, that *could* be a big problem right
there. Some modems (often called "Win-Modems") use the resources of
the operating system to perform communication operations that are
normally performed by the modem microchips. This can be especially
detrimental to CPU
intensive programs.

There are some registry settings that impact performance as well. MTU:
(maximum transmission unit) windows sets this to 1500 by default,
ideally with a V90/56k modem it should be set to 576, IIRC. RWIN:
(receive window) should be set to 8x. You can probably find multiple
utilities that will do all this for you, if you dont want to edit the
registry directly.

Do you have problems with GPL online? Other games? If not, maybe all
you need *is* more memory. It's dirt cheap and can't hurt. Come to
think of it, Win98SE eats up about 60MB with nothing else loaded.

Ironically, my problem seems to be the reverse. Online, N4 runs
great, but with only a P4-800, it runs like a dog with much more that
20 AI cars in single player. All them little bug brains is thinking
WAY too hard...

Lastly, if you don't have any other broadband solutions, ISDN might
(or might not) be a viable alternative, depending on where you live.
In TN, it is only a little more expensive than DSL or CABLE, is WAY
more robust than either, and gives excellent performance for online
***.

HTH,
Gerald Moore

> It runs at 37fps or so offline. Online, I get stuttering. The framerate keeps
> switching from 33 to 37 to 40 and back. It's undriveable. I'm sure this has
> been discussed, but of course I didn't pay attention... :( What's the fix?
> I have the patch, but I only have a modem for connection. Is that the problem,
> maybe? I'd hate to think that I won't be able to race online until I get a
> cable modem, because I have *no* idea when that will be.
> Specs:
> Athlon 1.3G
> 128MB ram
> Voodoo5
> SBLive
> win98se

> Eldred

by **Eldre** » Wed, 08 Aug 2001 23:53:01

writes:

>> p.s. I just noticed the resolution you're running. I may have been trying
>it
>> at 1024x768 - I'll have to look. Geez, what do you need for that
>resolution, a
>> Cray supercomputer???

>Nah. Just a Geforce2. ;-)

Penfold, SHUSH!
<g>

Eldred
p.s. BTW, does *anyone* get the Penfold reference? I'm curious...
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...

Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

by **Uncle Feste** » Thu, 09 Aug 2001 01:28:52

> writes:

> >> p.s. I just noticed the resolution you're running. I may have been trying
> >it
> >> at 1024x768 - I'll have to look. Geez, what do you need for that
> >resolution, a
> >> Cray supercomputer???

> >Nah. Just a Geforce2. ;-)

> Penfold, SHUSH!
> <g>

> Eldred
> p.s. BTW, does *anyone* get the Penfold reference? I'm curious...

Dangermouse?

--

Fester

by **bernie eccl** » Thu, 09 Aug 2001 04:06:04

The problem you are explaining is very similar to those that I was
experiencing. I also use a 56k dial up modem. I thought that I would just
have to forget about N4 online, however, I received details of the following
fix from Dave Ciemny.

" Look up in core.ini in N4 folder. Yours should say the number 4 in
it. Change it to 2.

[Task]
max_grabs_per_update_w_track_view=2 ; Max frames/update with
track view "

This has worked a treat for me and I was surprised by how stable N4 online
racing could be with a 56k modem (thanks Dave). I hope this works for you.
Also cheaper than additional RAM ;-)

I also read about your GP3 PO problem. Again sounds similar to the problem
I had when I tried to run FSAA with GP3. It doesn't appear to like it! Try
turning it off. Again hope this helps.

Cheers
Stewart
(a.k.a. bernie eccle)

by **Eldre** » Thu, 09 Aug 2001 04:44:13

writes:

Ding ding ding! Well done! Anybody have any episodes on VHS? I'd love to
have copies...

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...

Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

by **Eldre** » Thu, 09 Aug 2001 04:44:13

I have a different ISP for online games, and I'm not using a Winmodem.

I've never changed the MTU stuff before. I don't think I ever NEEDED to
before...

THAT would be understandable...

I don't have any problems with GPL, and the only other game I've played online
recently is Diablo II. It's passable in D2. I have a 128MB sim sitting on my
desk that I'll try tonight. I think I'll try deleting N4 and re-installing
from scratch as someone else suggested.

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.racesimcentral.net/~epickett
F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...

Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

by **SimRace** » Thu, 09 Aug 2001 05:21:46

I don't get the Renfold reference, but I have seen and played with a Cray
before. (UNC '91) :)

Yeah, all you need for high FPS is a little more RAM and a GF 2 or any other
higher end 64 MB vid card (with updated drivers). Like I said, I tweaked
until I got 50-70 FPS on line consistently. I don't use FSAA, but my
settings have N4 looking pretty good.

Why only online will it stutter, because it is having to be told where the
cars are on the track by another computer whereas offline, your machine
already knows where they are. This brings connection, RAM and overall (CPU)
horsepower into the equation. Then after all that, your CPU has to tell your
vid card where to draw your online competitors in relation to your
coordinates on the track.

As for resolution, I don't think it matters that much, I have just found
that N4 likes to be run in the same res and depth as your desktop. My
desktop was 1152X856X32 and we all know N4 is a heavy resource hog in 16
bit, so I set my desktop to 16 bit, run the video config in N4 and chose
idential settings to my desktop and voila, nary a problem since. The only
caveat is that I *think* that N4 will run in 800X600 regardless of desktop
settings. If N4 is your primary "game" I would set your desktop to
1024X768X16 bit and run the game in the same setup. *Or* Set your desktop
that way and run N4 in 800X600. Just be sure that you only try N4 in 16bit,
I know it is capable of 32 bit, but that is going to require 128MB video
cards I think. The 64 MB cards can't do FSAA yet without a huge hit, I'd
hate to see one try 32 bit with any kind of options enabled...(I'll be
called a liar on that one, but I know of what I speak)

Simracer

> > writes:

> > >> p.s. I just noticed the resolution you're running. I may have been
trying
> > >it
> > >> at 1024x768 - I'll have to look. Geez, what do you need for that
> > >resolution, a
> > >> Cray supercomputer???

> > >Nah. Just a Geforce2. ;-)

> > Penfold, SHUSH!
> > <g>

> > Eldred
> > p.s. BTW, does *anyone* get the Penfold reference? I'm curious...

> Dangermouse?

> --

> Fester

by **SimRace** » Thu, 09 Aug 2001 05:26:33

I politely disagree. I had the *stutter* problem and RAM fixed it. My dialup
settings have not changed in over 4 years and N4 online stuttering stopped
when I upped my RAM alone. I have since made numerous changes (added new
proccessor and video card) and still haven't tweaked my dialup and online
has gotten even smoother.

My opinion is the dialup is likely just fine, get the computer to do its
thing in a timely matter and the data transfer will take care of itself.

> If the problem only happens online, you can ignore any suggestions you
> may have read about memory, graphics cards, etc. Well, try more
> memory, anyway... but the problem most likely has to do with your
> modem and/or network settings.

> I haven't used a modem for a long time, so I dont really have any
> specific information for that part of the equation other than making
> sure you aren't using error-checking. You might fiddle around with
> various settings for your transmit and receive buffers and see if that
> makes a difference. SE has the latest updates to the TCP and DUN
> software, I think, but you might check that too. Verify that your
> modem driver is up to date. I notice your reply-to address is AOL...
> if you are playing through them, that *could* be a big problem right
> there. Some modems (often called "Win-Modems") use the resources of
> the operating system to perform communication operations that are
> normally performed by the modem microchips. This can be especially
> detrimental to CPU
> intensive programs.

> There are some registry settings that impact performance as well. MTU:
> (maximum transmission unit) windows sets this to 1500 by default,
> ideally with a V90/56k modem it should be set to 576, IIRC. RWIN:
> (receive window) should be set to 8x. You can probably find multiple
> utilities that will do all this for you, if you dont want to edit the
> registry directly.

> Do you have problems with GPL online? Other games? If not, maybe all
> you need *is* more memory. It's dirt cheap and can't hurt. Come to
> think of it, Win98SE eats up about 60MB with nothing else loaded.

> Ironically, my problem seems to be the reverse. Online, N4 runs
> great, but with only a P4-800, it runs like a dog with much more that
> 20 AI cars in single player. All them little bug brains is thinking
> WAY too hard...

> Lastly, if you don't have any other broadband solutions, ISDN might
> (or might not) be a viable alternative, depending on where you live.
> In TN, it is only a little more expensive than DSL or CABLE, is WAY
> more robust than either, and gives excellent performance for online
> ***.

> HTH,
> Gerald Moore

- Show quoted text -

by **Eldre** » Thu, 09 Aug 2001 12:18:55

>As for resolution, I don't think it matters that much, I have just found
>that N4 likes to be run in the same res and depth as your desktop. My
>desktop was 1152X856X32 and we all know N4 is a heavy resource hog in 16
>bit, so I set my desktop to 16 bit, run the video config in N4 and chose
>idential settings to my desktop and voila, nary a problem since. The only
>caveat is that I *think* that N4 will run in 800X600 regardless of desktop
>settings. If N4 is your primary "game" I would set your desktop to
>1024X768X16 bit and run the game in the same setup. *Or* Set your desktop
>that way and run N4 in 800X600. Just be sure that you only try N4 in 16bit,
>I know it is capable of 32 bit, but that is going to require 128MB video
>cards I think. The 64 MB cards can't do FSAA yet without a huge hit, I'd
>hate to see one try 32 bit with any kind of options enabled...(I'll be
>called a liar on that one, but I know of what I speak)

Well, I dropped another 128MB in it. The stuttering lessened a 'bit', but not
much, and the framerate stayed the same. I tried to set it to 2 FSAA instead
of 4, and I didn't see a change. So, I deleted the N4 directory, re-installed
at the default 800x600. The framerate online was close to 70(!). There was
still some slight stuttering, but I was able to run a 30-lap race at Michigan.
I don't remember what resolution I was running before, but I still think I
should be able to run at 1024x768. right? That's what my desktop is already
set to, if that matters. It's late, so I'll have to try N4 at 1024x768
tomorrow...
Btw, HOW long does it take for the ratings to change..? It still had zeroes in
all the fields after my race... :(

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...

Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

rec.autos.simulators

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters

N4 online stutters