Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Technical Problems Choppy while scrolling

My game chops only while scrolling across the screen but it's really irritating. Any ideas why? I'm running 1600x1200 and have tried various FSAA settings and turning fog off. At 1600x1200 FSAA 2 with fog on the test app gives me back ~75fps, where is this chop coming from?


Here are my sytems specs

XP [email]2500-M@2700(12.5x216)[/email], NF7-S v2, 1GB PC3500 Mushkin lvl1 @ 2-2-3-11,Sapphire 9800Pro @ 425.25 x 389.81, DangerDen RBX + Maze4, 2) 160GB Hitachi Desktar 7K250 Raid0.

Thanks,
SOkratz

bumpidy bump. At nearly 20,000 3dmark01se marks, why do i choppidy chop?

3dmark01se... Sorry, what? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

3dmark 2001 second edition. www.futuremark.com still a standard of benchmarking. This system currently does 6507 in 3dmark03.

Just because something benchmarks well doesn't mean it's going to perform that well under every environment. Software-hardware intercompatibility can always cause variations. All I can say is grad the newest drivers for your video and sound cards, drivers for your moterboard, disable unnecessary programs (virus scanners, DC projects, popup blockers, ram refreshers, etc.), get the latest version of DirectX, and try lowering resolution. If all of that doesn't work there's some optional OS optimization I could help you with, but it could just be that BD doesn't like your card completely.

I have the same issue. The thing is, when I first installed the game it worked fine. But then I had to reinsall windows xp to try and fix some windows problems and it has stuttered ever since.

For those circumstances, definitely look for updated drivers and DON'T trust drivers listed in Windows Update. I lost a sound card to WU listed drivers <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/memad.gif" alt="" />

Do not listen to this guy. Drivers are not the problem with that choppiness.

Excuse me? Where did you get your A+ Certification? Outdated drivers can cause a multitude of problems, from simple game chopping to an external HDD causing the parallel port of a PC to malfunction to causing a computer to malfunction completely. What do YOU think is causing it then?

Whoopee. . .you have an A+ certification. . .in spite of which, you've never heard of the 3DMark series (I guess you've also never read Maximum PC), and you were silly enough to "upgrade" what I assume were already working drivers with generic drivers from Windows Update, thereby breaking your system. I'm real impressed. Maybe they need to upgrade the requirements for an A+ cert, so not just anybody can get one. Can you back it up with an actual degree like an MS in Comp Sci from an accredited university? If not, don't throw it in people's faces. I know plenty of IT people with "certifications" but not degrees who, while not being total idiots, do know a lot less about computers than I do, especially the practical side of home computing.

To get back to the subject at hand. . .Dorito was right. Drivers are not the problem. The Radeon series has the Catalyst driver suite, which has had basically the same functionality and performance for a long time, in spite of a few driver updates. Even if he never upgraded his drivers, the 9800 pro is not such an old card that he would have a problem using the drivers that came on the CD with the card.

Radeon cards have a problem with OGL games like NWN, but BD is not OGL, so we can rule that out, too.

I have a P4/3.4 and FX5950 (yes, with latest drivers) and the game also stutters on scrolling, and when the chars run long distances, so again, it can't be his drivers.

The only things we are left with then is what you said in a roundabout way Neo. The problem is with the game code itself and the way the game is designed. There is a lot of crap on the screen at any one time, and more with larger resolutions, and scrolling just makes your computer work harder by having to redraw part of it alot. To maximize performance, turn off FSAA (I can't tell a difference, personally), and lower the resolution to 1280x960 (my resolution) or 1024x768. That's all you can do, short of buying an X800XT or 6800 Ultra, which may or may not help.

They do? Weird, I've played NWN, Q3 games, and KOTOR (I believe it's OpenGL too) all on my Radeon 9800 with no probs.

BTW, the stuttering/choppiness you're talking about has never happened to me (after 30-40 hours of play), and I'm using a 9800 Pro. Using 1280x960 w/ 4X FSAA. Doubt it's video card related, maybe it's 1600x1200 related.

What I said was a little simplistic. What I meant was, that if you look at Tom's Hardware or other sites, they have benchmarks that show NWN and other OGL games underperforming FX cards. One benchie I saw showed NWN at 40 FPS with a 9800XT and 60 FPS with a FX5950. Both are very playable frame rates, and the end user probably wouldn't notice the difference, especially without both cards together to compare each other with.

Some people are more sensitve to stutter, as well. My BD is mostly smooth, but in the large open areas of Act III, there is just a little pause between character movements that I notice and find slightly irritating. And yeah, I haven't noticed a difference between FSAA on or off, so I don't think it makes a difference. High end cards like the 9800 and 5900 are optimized to be used with FSAA on anyway so should only lose a few FPS. I just mentioned it for the sake of completeness.

Blackjack, to tell you the truth, I'm working on my Comp Sci & Eng degree. I wasn't flaunting the A+, I guess it wasn't a good place to use an adaptation of the old joke "Where did you get YOUR degree?", but I don't like it when someone says, flat out, not to listen to someone else, then puts no backing to his own comment.

I also didn't say drivers were the definite problem, but it never hurts to update if possible. Rule One: Check software first. Even if it's not drivers, isn't it best to cover all bases when troubleshooting a problem, no?

As far as the card I lost to the WU generic drivers, that was my fault. I was lazy and didn't think it would hurt. Worst mistake I've ever made next to buying an internal Maxtor HDD <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />

Yeah updating your drivers to the latest ones directly from ATI or nVidia is always the first step.

PS: how do you "lose" a soundcard to some drivers?

After I installed the drivers I tested the card, got sound equivalent to a modem initializing, then was treated to the smell of burned resistors. The drivers overloaded the card.

I am also running a 9800XT Pro 256 mb DDR, 3.0 gig Pentium. All drivers are up to date since I just replaced the HD and re-intalled/downloaded everything. I have noticed a bit of choppyness as well, but it is really a very minor thing. If someone other than me were using the computer they probably would not even notice it.