High Priority Optimization. FEEDBACK FOR DEVS

Found this on Steam Forum and i have Experienced this my self.

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Steam Name DaedaeRE 9/2/2015
Am I the only one with performance problems?
I may not have the best hardware available but I'm pretty sure that it should be more than enough for a game like starbound. But for some reason there are areas in which I get pretty annoying to incredible devasting performance problems.
One example is the sewer/poop/Nougat underground biome. I couldn't even get down the first ladder because the fps fell down to like...well it felt like 4-6 frames per second. I can play games like Skyrim or Payday 2 without a problem at max settings. I know those games aren't the best example for a hardware stressing benchmark today but...It should REALLY be enoguh for Starbound, no?

Can anyone help me or maybe tell me that the devs are working on it? Because I would really like to play the game. But in some areas it just don't make sense to even try.
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Next 2 post's report Same FPS lag.
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Steam Name CrunchyBiscuit Same thread

Yes, performance often drops to appalling levels.

Processor: AMD Phenom II x4 3800MHz
RAM: 4GB Kingston HyperX 1333MHz 7-7-7-20
Videocard: AMD Radeon HD6950 2GB
Motherboard: Asus M4A88T-M
Sound: Onboard VIA HD Audio
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Display: Dell 2209WA
Input: Logitech G400s mouse (1000Hz), generic keyboard
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 7200 RPM 1TB
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I have Tested this and found it to be True when FPS Crashes.

Steam Name Kitsune Same thread
I have found that switching between windowed mode and fullscreen or back helps when fps crashes. No idea why or what the overall issue is but I have an Alienware 15 gaming laptop and can run games like Ark: Survival Evolved on Epic so it's not your rig, it's just that it's an early access game and has issues.
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This is a Critical Issue. if i find any more info i will bring it to your attention.

My system stats are
AMD Athlon II x2 260 3.4 Ghz
4 GB Ram
Asus Nvida 550 TI Video card
Mother bord: Gigabyte M68MT -SP2
Windows 10
Western Digital 512 GB Standard HD

If you are Experiencing This Post you'r system Spec's
If you are NOT experanceing this POST You'r System Spec's.
The More info the better.

Much respect
Gothraga

 

I'd guess that the problems are caused by the complete lack of optimization. Nothing can be done about that until after they've finished implementing some of the more important things, since they would otherwise have to optimize it again every time they changed something.

 

It doesn't help that the CPUs listed in those specs are a bit dated.


Ive had a hunch about AMD systems having poor performance however. This only adds to that theory.

 

Old bit in a new thread. Optimization will never be high priority while there is still feature development happening. We're looking at a round of optimization happening before the 1.0 release, but until then you'll just have to live with the slowdowns.

 

I keep hearing people say this, but it's not exactly true. ChuckleFish keep saying they're almost done with the core of the game, and the things that are going to remain in the game can be optimized. You don't over optimize during development, for sure, but you do run benchmarks and make sure your game isn't so top heavy it topples over on testing machines.

 

I think the issue stems more from CPU design. I've noticed the vast majority of people with performance issues have an AMD system. Couple this with the simple fact that AMD cpus are not as good with single core processing as Intel, which would explain why so many with AMDs are having issues.

If this is indeed the case, then I don't think there is a whole lot CF can do. Even once optimizations are done, Starbound could suffer from performance hits regardless.

 

I experience worse performance after Pleased Giraffe than with previous updates as well. Low FPS even when using the nVidia card

Here is the (cut) output from inxi -F:

Kernel: 4.1.6-1-MANJARO x86_64 (64 bit) Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3
Distro: ManjaroLinux 0.8.13.1 Ascella
CPU: Dual core Intel Core i7-4510U (-HT-MCP-) cache: 4096 KB
Graphics: Card-1: Intel Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics Controller
Card-2: NVIDIA GM108M [GeForce 840M]
Display Server: X.Org 1.17.2 driver: intel Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz
GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Haswell Mobile GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 10.6.5
Audio: Card-1 Intel 8 Series HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel Sound: ALSA v: k4.1.6-1-MANJARO
Card-2 Intel Haswell-ULT HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel

 

CPU is fairly weak. Is your laptop switching over to the 840M when you run Starbound?

 

I agree that AMD cpus haven't been on par with Intel's for the past few years, but they're not so far behind that they can't run games. People are playing pretty high end games on these things without issue. The issue is with the code, it's apparently written so inefficiently that only the latest and greatest CPUs can handle 2D mostly non-rotated sprites. Even then... I have an Intel chip, i5, quad core, only a few years old now and I have problems, I was having major problems when I installed the game years ago.

This isn't a hardware problem, it's a software problem.

 

Never said they couldn't run games. Clearly they can, otherwise they wouldn't be doing so well.

My comments were about the design of the CPUs causing them to under perform in areas where Intel CPUs excell. In this case, the common denominator ive seen is that most performance issues stem mainly from those running an AMD system. There are many reasons why a system of any type would have performance problems.

And for the record, I've run the game on various systems ranging from Core 2 to current gen i5 with no issues. I don't use AMD, so I am unable to verify much of anything, however. I can only report my observations.

 

You just seem to be saying that it's a hardware problem and CF shouldn't have to deal with it. I'm saying that whatever the problem is, it's on CF to do baseline support. When you're releasing for PC, particularly for all the major OS's, then you don't just leave some group of people high and dry... or if you do you get a rep for being an asshole of a company. This isn't obscure hardware.

I have problems and I have an Intel chip. Last time I tried to install it on my laptop (Intel, but older than what I have on my desktop) the game just wasn't having any of it, though I haven't tried with with latest build.

 

If it is a hardware problem, then there's nothing CF can do...

Your problem may not be the same as those with AMD. Similar simptoms =/= same problem

 

But it's not a hardware problem... it's a badly written code problem. If people who can play the latest AAA titles are having a problem running this game then it's the game that's causing problems, not their CPU.

Look at this from a reddit thread:

That's bad code.

 

That is, for now, an isolated issue. It is not commonplace to have such an issue, so you can't really lump it with general performance problems.

 

I actually don't see a ton of performance drops on 64-bit openGL. But I haven't found a poop area recently.

I do get the normal performance drops, such as at the outpost or a large colony/dungeon/etc.
But not random unexplainable FPS drops, usually. If I do get any it's because I tried to travel too fast and the game needs to catch up.

I don't really know my system specs, it's a laptop I bought from somebody for $250, sounds bad, but it's a definite upgrade to the one I had.

 

BETA is for testing a game, to see if it runs and everything works right? How can one test a game if the FPS struggles to get above 15 when it rains on a planet, Purely because the game REFUSES to use the hardware it gets?

Just check the shiny Screenshots i made:
http://community.playstarbound.com/...tarbound-not-fully-utilizing-hardware.103585/


I am running:
AMD 1100T (Phenom II X6)
8GB RAM DDR3
NVIDIA GTX 580

and all i get is roughly 40 FPS on my ship
around 35-40 FPS on planets (when standing still)
15 FPS when it rains (still standing still)
and let's just not even start on the outpost..........

I know this game is in BETA, but i repeat, BETA's are for testing and i consider low FPS a gamebreaker, i cannot even test this game properly right now.

 

Part of testing is resolving performance issues.

And if there is indeed an issue specifically with AMD processors, as I suspect, then there is likely little chucklefish can do. AMD and Intel CPUs work in fundamentally different ways, and it could be that fundamental difference is causing the performance issue you and some others are having.

 

mine droped and crashed in a poop/sewer biome

 

I have an AMD A8-5500 3200mhz with integrated HD Radeon graphics
8GB ram on windows 10 64 bit,
My fps averages 50-60. Only time my fps drops is when its raining heavy in an NPC town, and it only drops to around 30.
Not to bad for little optimization if you ask me.