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Author Topic: Campaign mode is very slow  (Read 1461 times)

Warruk

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Campaign mode is very slow
« on: October 11, 2021, 10:22:14 PM »

I've been playing the same save for a while, and I've noticed that the game has slowed markedly when flying around the star systems, but is fairly normal when in combat.  The game appears smooth, both when running very slowly or when I speed up using 'Shift.'  I think the process has been gradual.  Due to how slow the game has become, I have increased the SpeedUpMult twice (to 3 then 4). 

The impact appears to affect the particular save only.  If I open a save for a brand new game, the speed is back to normal (and I have to drop the Mult back to 2). 

Any thoughts on what I could try?  I'm playing on a Mac.
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Alex

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Re: Campaign mode is very slow
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2021, 08:29:38 AM »

Hi - is this vanilla, or with mods?
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Warruk

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Re: Campaign mode is very slow
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2021, 04:58:58 PM »

Alex, it has mods (detailed combat results).  I tried to deselect that mod, but then the saved game won’t load at all. 
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Alex

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Re: Campaign mode is very slow
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2021, 05:42:12 PM »

Ah, interesting! Would you mind emailing me your save, so I can take a look?

fractalsoftworks [at] gmail [dot] com

It would also let me know *exactly* what I'm looking for - i.e. "load save, <do thing?>, <observe X>".


(Edit: moved this to the modded support section, but that's not a statement on whether the issue is in vanilla or from a mod; just generally if mods are involved, it belongs in this section. No worries, though.)
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Warruk

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Re: Campaign mode is very slow
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2021, 05:17:06 PM »

Sure, no problem, and thanks for the help.  I realize I left our some information in my original post, so I'll add it to my email and here, in case someone else has the same problem. 

When I installed Detailed Combat Results, I read a thread (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=8726.0) that I should increase the amount of allocated system RAM for SS by modifying the starsector_mac.sh file, so I did so (increased to 4096).  After that, I started to get a warning upon loading that my system RAM and VRAM were both low.  However, that warning comes up for both my older save (slow) and newer saves (normal speed).  The FPS and Idle indicator both read about 60 fps and ~40-50% idle both in the campaign map view, and during combat.  Campaign is very slow, combat is normal.

In any case, I'll email both my save and my mac.sh file.  Load save, navigate from spot to inner system jump point and jump, navigate to pirate base around Beta Basmaida I planet, enter combat.  When I do this, the navigation steps are extremely slow and then combat is normal.
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Nick XR

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Re: Campaign mode is very slow
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2021, 10:12:27 AM »

From: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=11551.0

Quote
To remove this mod
  • Set the property 'MaxCombatResultCount' to 0 in DetailedCombatResults.json
  • Start StarSector and load your save
  • Advance game time by two days
  • Save Game

Sounds like you might have allocated too much memory and are getting the game swapped into VRAM.  DCR should be pretty light on resources, especially the latest 5.1.2 version, also after a combat the DCR code will log how much time it spent processing.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2021, 10:15:04 AM by Nick XR »
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Alex

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Re: Campaign mode is very slow
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2021, 10:39:02 AM »

Thank you for the save! Hmm. I'm not actually seeing any slowdown in the campaign when I load it on my end - it seems completely fine. So I suspect Nick XR is onto something and it might be a "too much memory allocated" issue, perhaps - or something else external to the game.

A new save might be fine because generally speaking a new save will use a bit less memory then a save where more things have gotten going, so maybe it's just crossing a threshold for your system when the save gets past a certain stage. I'd definitely try a lower (or even reverted-to-original) memory setting, though. With just the one mod you're running, you really don't need more than the default amount of memory anyway.

(It's also a little strange if the fps counter is showing 60 with lots of idle time, but the campaign was still slow - that seems... well, I'm not sure how that could happen.)
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Warruk

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Re: Campaign mode is very slow
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2021, 05:44:02 PM »

Nick and Alex,

Thanks both for the help.  I reverted the RAM allocation back to 1536 and tried again.  I still got the VRAM/System RAM error, and the campaign mode was still slow.  I followed Nick's instructions to purge the combat results, then de-selected it as a mod and reloaded.  The VRAM/System RAM error is gone, but the campaign mode is still just as slow. 

Tough to describe, but when in campaign mode, it's just like watching slow-motion video.  The cursor movement is still rapid (no lag).  Hitting 'i' or 'e' brings up the respective menus, and those are normal speed.  Moving things in inventory is normal.  It's only ship movement that is impacted.  The ships (and hyperspace lightning, etc) move very smoothly...just very slow.

With the reverted memory and DCR de-selected, I'm still getting 60 fps and ~40% idle time.  I looked at the activity monitor for the Mac OS, and it's indicating that SS is taking 1.13 GB of memory.  Total system usage is like 9 GB out of 16 GB total.  Nothing on my computer is running slowly. 
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