Tutorial Yert's December 2016 Graphics Optimization Guide

Guide For (NVIDIA) and General Game Optimization - 60 FPS
​

Some of these things are relevant to you even if you get 60 fps, check "A few things that came to my head...."
This took me about 23 hours of gameplay and testing (mostly gameplay, so much fun!) to figure out my solution. I bought this game less than a week ago so Hi everyone!​

​

This is applicable as of November 30th, 2016, and the most recent patch in which you would install the game from scratch, with all saves prior deleted! You do not need to delete saves unless you feel necessary or you have old loose files somehow!​

​

I feel that this is a culmination of hours of internet researching the various issues that people had with dozens of mods as well as previous FPS fixes from back in 2014 through 2015, and the mystery as to why they stopped working. I played the game myself in multiple biomes and scenarios with my personal helping tester through the 23 hours of gameplay to find not only fun but answers to why I wasn't getting 59-61 fps..... I do not have the end all answer. But I'm hoping I can help!


​

Well I completely solved my FPS issue that was bringing me below 50-20 fps, and I'm so astonished that it worked. I hope this helps someone now or in the future, and also help to better study the game's performance and engine in the future as well (hopefully). I am hoping to be able to work more and more in the games files to optimize while retaining the Vanilla game in it's entirety. Thank you.



Basically the game folder needs to be ensured that all files have been added to permissions for (your username specifically), and then NVIDIA control panel needs to have pre-rendered and virtual pre-rendered at managed by 3d app setting Same thing with Vsync. The other settings should be set to your personal setup-specific settings, which should already be set. Usually max-prerendered frames is set to 4 (on a good GPU), does not work effectively in Starbound, but usually allows you to gain FPS in most games like Witcher 3 or CSGO. I set my vsync in steam.exe and starbound.exe to Fast Sync, and haven't even touched the ingame vsync yet thru the config file. I now get 62 fps (NOT 60) no matter what, except when (1x obviously, still dont have access to source code, cant optimize any further) and in huge fights.​

​

A few things that came to my head:​

1. -Running steam in admin is always required unless you like inconsistencies with reading and writing data, (obvious)
2. -Forcing starbound.exe to -high priority thru launch options makes it crash, and thus setting various pre--rendered and other settings that are not compatible with the game engine, renders the game unstable and untested,
3. -This game works best when it has easiest access to all files with complete permissions and no unsupported driver customization for Starbound (rendered frames, etc).
4. -Fast Sync is NOT compatible
5. -V-sync forced from Nvidia control panel is ALWAYS better than ingame vsync.
6. Thisgameissick

I consider my rig to be very standard in performance in comparison to a basic computer or 1060 of today. This means I get 60 fps max settings Witcher 3, Black Desert Online, Arma 3 Singleplayer, No Man's Sky, Fallout 4.
My 6 year old rig with newer gpu & SSD to compare:

• -1x i5-2380p 3.3ghz - OC'd at 3.99ghz (shows as 6.99ghz)
• -1x EVGA GTX 970 FTW ACX 2.0 - OC'd w/ custom flash bios at 1531 boost, mem 4001 boost 1.275v
• -1x Crucial M X 300 500gb SSD
• -Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, Afterburner MSI OC and Custom Fan Curve, No other windows open, Steam overlay with FPS counter IS ENABLED for tests (62 fps max in Starbound)
• -4x USB Devices Connected
• -1x 500w power supply
• -Connected to 2x UPS's for maximum power consumption and stability
• -Firestrike scores as 68% better than rest of GTX 970's in online comparison (due to OC)

edit:
(extra info)​

• Fast Sync tl;dr = Almost as low latency as having v-sync forced off, this is simply new tech and applies most of what is said below. Superior to v-sync in certain scenarios. Fast sync is now improved option for +60fps games and lower latency, no screen tearing in starbound with properly configured vsync.

• vs V-Sync tl;dr = v-sync is set in starbound.config to true by default, but in the control panel make sure you don't have V-sync forced Off. Forces every frame sent by gpu to sync with monitor, effective but high latency, (but can work well for starbound if forced by GPU and not ingame setting).

Here are some other Nvidia Inspector settings to ensure you have.

​

This game is awesome! -Yerts

My name is Yerts! I have a passion for games, overclocking, frugal enthusastist builds, modding, game engine graphics and driver optimization, and more! Steam Contact. http://steamcommunity.com/id/Joltiwolfe