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FPSC Classic Product Chat / Project Performance :: Small FPSC performance update

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Airslide
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 07:05 Edited at: 20th Aug 2011 00:22
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Some advice - don't say you can do something as a quick weekend project unless you actually are willing to do it as a quick weekend project, because someone will undoubtedly e-mail you and make you feel committed

That said, I'd like to introduce Project Performance, a quick FPSC update that I hope will eventually be integrated into the main codebase.

This is not a feature update - merely a performance fine tuning. I wouldn't expect wonders either (despite the unoriginal naming scheme that sounds all big and special), but you may see some improved stability and a few extra frames (and then again, you never know what horrifying performance atrocities I may find and slay!).

Testing
In order to keep this from being a downgrade, I'm going to occasionally post builds here for people who are interested to test out. I'd like to make sure that the engine behaves no differently and that there are no stability problems. I'd also like to see how much, if any, of a performance boost people get out of it. I no longer have any major projects I can really test it out with.

Latest Build
Build No.: 2
Download: Attached.
Instructions: Back up your copy of FPSC-Game.exe (and, well, everything else) and replace it with the downloaded copy. If you don't know where to find FPSC-Game.exe, I highly recommend you avoid testing for now.

Update Log
August 18th - "Still Probably Nothing Special" - Second upload. A little more cleanup and a small bugfix for flak explosion sounds.
August 13th - "Nothing Special" - Uploaded first test build. Minor code cleanup and optimization. Let me know what level of computer destruction it causes.
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Bugsy
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 07:40
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gave it a shot and noticed no difference, but then again I have a really nice computer and have never gotten less than 55 fps on it anyways, so I am anxious to know how well this works for low-end machines. thanks airslide! I'm sure this will be an excellent contribution.

imageflock.com/img/1303928322.png[/img]
skype = isaacpreston. I want to talk to YOU
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Airslide
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 08:43
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Yea, I wouldn't expect much yet. I'll start hitting optimizations that will hopefully be more noticeable tomorrow, but anyone who regularly gets about 60fps probably won't notice much difference.

In your case, we can consider no difference a good thing, since that means I probably didn't do anything bad
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Bugsy
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 09:04
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if you want I can try a 300k polygon room with 100 enemies with and without it!

imageflock.com/img/1303928322.png[/img]
skype = isaacpreston. I want to talk to YOU
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Soviet176
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 09:05
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Hey Airslide! I think this is exactly what we need! thank you very much!

This means a lot, FPSC really needed something like this. Thanks again!


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uzi idiot
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 09:27
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Cool idea. Some extra performance optimisation can never hurt.
I think one place that needs to be tuned up is the particles system.


Mental Stability is over-rated!
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maho76
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 17:43 Edited at: 14th Aug 2011 17:53
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- particles eat 1-3 frames when in the field of view.
- npc (animated or not, many meshes or not) eat 3-7 frames per entity. so it seems a problem of the basic settings of npcs through the language/editor.)
- water shader eats 10 frames, more (up to 30) in combination with npcs in fov or massive polys.
- all more than around 150.000 polys costs 2-3 frames per 20.000-50.0000 more, in fov or not.
- 10 nonchar-nonstatic-entities are about 2-5 frames.
- 2 lights in combi with 5 shaded entities(npc or not) in fov are about 2-3 frames when lightmapping is vanilla set. same for calculating segment shadows (2 lights + 5 shadows > 2-3 frames). wallshaders are not the problem as far as i can see, can be hundreds without any performance probs.

thats what i see on my machine when fog and bloom turned on in absolute vanilla settings without any optimizations/cleaning methods (phenom II, 4gig, win7, 1gb gpu ati5800). hope it helps a bit.
i think the water/(global)-shaders and npc-calculation are the most noticable things when thinking about getting better performance. lightmapping is an intense feature, even in "bigger" engines, i dont think you can do something about it.

i cant help testing because i´m totally in my project at the moment, but good luck.
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xplosys
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 18:23 Edited at: 14th Aug 2011 18:51
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Quote: "Some advice - don't say you can do something as a quick weekend project unless you actually are willing to do it as a quick weekend project, because someone will undoubtedly e-mail you and make you feel committed"


It worked! LOL

It runs basically similar to the stock exe. There is perhaps a 1 frame increase but it's hard to tell if I'm standing in exactly the same spot looking in exactly the same direction. No problems with it.

My Computer
-------------------------
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - 64Bit
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2140 @ 1.60GHz
Memory: 4092.91 MB
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS
Video Memory: 512 MB
DirectX Version: 9.0c

FPS Creator
-------------------------
Version: FPS Creator 1.18.015
Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\The Game Creators\FPS Creator

This is my lower end system and typically runs about 20 FPS lower that my other one.


I've notice something odd with my resource meter, and this is with both exe's. While standing perfectly still the poly's in scene bar is constantly fluctuating, almost like it's cycling. It goes up and the FPS go down. Then it goes down and the FPS goes up. All the while, the numerical indicator of poly's never changes, only the yellow bar. Is this common and what is the cause?

Brian.

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bruce3371
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 18:23 Edited at: 14th Aug 2011 18:24
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I'm currently one of SC's testers for Wasp mod, which also aims to boost performance.

From what I can gather after talking with SC, lower end computers will always benefit more from performance boosting mods. [edit]Is it me, or did that just read like a statement of the bleedin' obvious? lol[/edit]

While a lot of FPSC users have up to date multi core PCs, there are still some (like myself) who have lower end machines, and will benefit from any kind of performance boost. So good luck with this, it will be interesting to see what boosts people get from it

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WickedX
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 18:43
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Tested on my low end machine. Memory usage down 100mb. Unfortunately performance down also. Definitely would be interested in testing.

MS Windows XP Home 32-bit SP3
AMD Athlon XP
512MB
256MB GeForce 6200

WickedX
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Airslide
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Posted: 14th Aug 2011 20:49
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Quote: "I've notice something odd with my resource meter, and this is with both exe's. While standing perfectly still the poly's in scene bar is constantly fluctuating, almost like it's cycling. It goes up and the FPS go down. Then it goes down and the FPS goes up. All the while, the numerical indicator of poly's never changes, only the yellow bar. Is this common and what is the cause?"


Well, looking at the resource meter code - it's very hard to follow. The polygon text (that shows you the actual number) reads it straight from the polygons-in-scene report, whereas the bar seems to be doing something a little different - if I'm reading it correctly, it could be mislabeled. But the code is hard to follow in that segment.

Once I'm properly awake I'll get to doing some more work, and hopefully tonight I'll have a build that might actually have some noticeable improvement as I start looking back at what I did for AirMod SE. Keep in mind that you'd likely see the most difference with a large number of entities, as I'm mostly looking at improving entity logic time.
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DarkFrost
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Posted: 15th Aug 2011 01:07
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Maybe if we clean up the code.

It'd be easier to add more features to the engine.

[img][/img]
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A dude
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Posted: 15th Aug 2011 01:58
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I found no performance increase. Still 0 fps.
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da2020
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Posted: 15th Aug 2011 17:04
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Quote: "Still 0 fps."
Whats your specs? are you using a ti 82 or some sort? lol JK.
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michael x
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Posted: 15th Aug 2011 21:51
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okay I have to say it. fpsc does not go by how fast your computer is. fpsc has set specs where a single core and a 8400 card run without slow down.but fpsc does need to want more cpu power.if this mod could get fpsc to run by how much cpu you have this will better the performance.

i run a Duo core 2.0ghz 9800gt card 4gbram. fpsc does even touch the power on my cpu.I can run on my quad core 30ghz 460 card but that a waste of time.lol

you will know when you cpu is work hard to run game.you can heard your fan trying to keep it cool.I play game like left for dead and not get slow down.there is only one mod on here that can run three character and and large room of entities and s4mod made it.

i have test this it runs the same.it will slow down with 4 enemies.make so it can use the power of a duo core.

more than what meets the eye

Welcome to SciFi Summer
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szempek555
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Posted: 16th Aug 2011 02:03
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Very nice work it gave me +4 fps thank you, when will the next build be released I'm really looking forward to it.
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Airslide
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Posted: 16th Aug 2011 03:50
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Sorry AppGameKit was just released

@szempek555 - Good to hear someone noticed something! Should probably put a "mileage may vary" disclaimer up though...

@michael x - Unfortunately, in order to fully utilize a multi-core cpu, significant systems would have to be written to make use of multithreading. DBP doesn't natively support this and I'm not sure if the versions of DarkAI and ODE used for X9 make use of multi-cores like X10's builds do.

I'll try to put down my new toy for a few minutes and get back to work soon
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Hamburger
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Posted: 16th Aug 2011 04:55
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Quote: "...does need to want more cpu power.if this mod could get fpsc to run by how much cpu you have this will better the..."


I always thought that fpsc didn't make use of all of the cpu power but only a portion of it...

[/href]
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Soviet176
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Posted: 16th Aug 2011 15:21
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Quote: "I always thought that fpsc didn't make use of all of the cpu power but only a portion of it..."


In a way you are correct. The CPU is used in coordination with the GPU to draw the triangles and work with the shaders. However, the problem with FPSC is not how is makes use of the CPU or GPU. It's the RAM. FPSC and games created with it, are RAM intensive. Airslide is working on performance bugs which could be using RAM that is not needed. Among the many other things he is doing.

Quote: "I'll try to put down my new toy for a few minutes and get back to work soon "


*Cough AGK*


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rolfy
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Posted: 16th Aug 2011 21:03
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Tried this uaing laptop:
AMD 1603 Mz
1024 RAM
NVidia GE Force 6100 (integrated)

Got a 1fps increase on map tested.

Was 28fps with original
Was 28-29fps with mod.

I am making the awesomest game, with the Foxes and Xplosys!! Click me here---->
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Captain Coder
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Posted: 17th Aug 2011 19:50
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Downloading now. Will test shortly and post results.

Hey, I would like to learn how to code my own mod, but I am having trouble compiling the code (and I have not made any changes to it). I have a thread already started on it. Could you hop on over to it and check it out? Here's the link: Coding a Mod... how?

Thanks Airslide!
Captain Coder

PS: Thanks for all your contributions to the Community Guide! It has helped me a lot.

One of the most humbling days in your life will be the day you discover you AREN'T the best at what you love to do.
- Me
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Errant AI
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Posted: 18th Aug 2011 05:54
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Quote: "Well, looking at the resource meter code - it's very hard to follow. The polygon text (that shows you the actual number) reads it straight from the polygons-in-scene report, whereas the bar seems to be doing something a little different - if I'm reading it correctly, it could be mislabeled. But the code is hard to follow in that segment."


Don't know if this is helpful or not but I believe the yellow bar is somehow representative of system load. On my old laptop I could have a tiny room and the yellow bar would be maxed most the time but on my new rig I can have much larger areas and many more polys on screen and the yellow bar is rarely more than 1/4 full.

Quote: "DBP doesn't natively support this and I'm not sure if the versions of DarkAI and ODE used for X9 make use of multi-cores like X10's builds do."


X9 with DAI or not uses only one core during gameplay. The only time I've seen proper multiple core usage is during the lightmapping build process.

If FPSC could ever use more than one core or hyperthreading it would be a real beast but I won't hold my breath lol
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Airslide
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Posted: 19th Aug 2011 06:02
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The best hope for multithreading would be with plugins like DAI, since the plugins themselves are written in C++. DBP code unfortunately has no multithreading capability. For FPSC to really move on, I think it's going to have to move on to another language.

That said, I'm putting up another build and have no idea whether it will actually improve anything I keep getting distracted, and can't remember exactly what I did when...

Regardless, this version does contain a minor bugfix - I fixed custom flak sound effects. Or at least, I think I did. It's a one-liner that I copied over from the AirMOD SE source (man, looking at that brings back memories - and I did a LOT for that mod). Basically, it was just positioning the sound in the wrong place. So if you define custom flak and set a custom explosion sound (I believe the stock sound effects are all misplaced in the weapon folders, rather than in the actual flak folders) you should be able to hear it.
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Soviet176
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Posted: 19th Aug 2011 06:23
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Good to hear Airslide. I can't wait to see more progress on this. Thank you!


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xplosys
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Posted: 19th Aug 2011 06:27
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Too late. Must sleep. Will test tomorrow. Thanks.

Brian.

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szempek555
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Posted: 19th Aug 2011 09:51
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I love your work I got +2 more fps with your build 2, now I have 6 more fps with your build then with the regular update. I hope you are going to continue your work on this it's very good I don't know why other people don't get better framerate with this because I myself have a petty good computer better this improves alot.
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Akanto10
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Posted: 20th Aug 2011 07:02
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This is the official v1.18 update, right? I don't want to downgrade.

Thanks,
Akanto

| Windows 7 Home Premium 64 - Bit | AMD Athlon II X4 @ 2.8GHz | Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 1GB | 6GB DDR3 RAM | 1TB HDD |
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Captain Coder
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Posted: 20th Aug 2011 22:21
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Hello again,

I tested the first build on a level I recently assembled and I had the following results:

Best performance increase: +10%
Worst performance increase: -50%

PC Specifications:

OS: Windows Vista
Processor: 2.10 GH
RAM: 4GB
Video Card/Graphics: ???

I generally experienced lower FPS with the mod unless I was in small corridors.

I was trying to figure out why I had such bad performance with a mod designed to increase performance when I realized that I was running FPSC with v1.18 on a build probably made using 1.17 source code. Is this the case?

Thanks for your work,
Captain Coder

One of the most humbling days in your life will be the day you discover you AREN'T the best at what you love to do.
- Me
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Airslide
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Posted: 21st Aug 2011 01:22
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It's based on 1.18. There are a couple of possibilities as to why the performance may have dropped however. For one, my DBP setup may not be the same as the one used for official builds.

Could you send me a stock media level that replicates the problem? I may have tinkered with something that accidentally backfired and made it do some more work, which is exactly the reason I'm having people test it
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xplosys
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Posted: 30th Aug 2011 00:14
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I bet you were hoping this wouldn't pop up again, huh?

I've been a little preoccupied with other things but got back around to testing Build 2. I see no difference from the possible 1FPS increase in Build 1.

Brian.

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Captain Coder
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Posted: 29th Sep 2011 02:13
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@Airslide: Hey, are you still working on this? Would be kinda sad to see this die.

Anyway, it's been a long time since I've been here, and I knew there was something I needed to do around here on the forums, I just couldn't remember. Then I remembered it was this! So I am back - if you still want to continue this, that is.

As for sending you the map, I would like to politely decline. But try to create a map that includes, 3 lifts, a 3 segment by 3 segment open area, a hurt zone, lots of crates and explodable barrels, as well as long corridors, all composed of stock scifi media.

Sincerely,
Captain Coder

One of the most humbling days in your life will be the day you discover you AREN'T the best at what you love to do.
- Me
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Airslide
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Posted: 7th Oct 2011 03:18
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Since some people were probably hoping for something to come out of this, and I have a habit of creating vaporware, I figured I should explain why nothing is happening.

Someone very close in the family passed away, and I've had a lot of trouble programming since. Add that to many other things I want to do and the fact that I don't personally use FPSC anymore, it's pretty unlikely I'm coming back to this.

Sorry xplosys!
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xplosys
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Posted: 7th Oct 2011 04:07
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No problem bud. Family first, always. I'm not using it much anymore either, at least not in the usual way. For what I'm doing now, speed is not a factor. Thanks for your time and work on it.

Brian.

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