Lock the framerate


Aggelakis

 

Posted

I heard online that locking the framerate on a game might improve performance since the card won't be wasting time rendering what you can't see anyway (60+fps).

Is that right and can you do it in CoH/V?


 

Posted

Sounds reasonable. IIRC, the human eye samples at 20Hz, so anything over 60Hz refresh rate would be very hard to notice.

Hell if I actually know how to lock the framerate though. I can tell you how to show your FPS, but that's about it.

EDIT TO ADD: As an example, fluorescent lights are powered by 60Hz AC power. Since a 60Hz sine wave has a value of zero exactly twice per cycle, the fluorescent lights actually "shut off" at a rate of 120Hz. This is much higher than our eye's sampling frequency, so it's not noticeable.


Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
don'T attempt to read tHis mEssaGe, And believe Me, it is not a codE.

 

Posted

Yes there is a way to lock the frame rate.
I don't remember which one it is but one of these commands will hook you up.
I'll show you what I use.

/setfps 4
or
/maxfps 4

You don't have to use 4, I used that so I could dual box on one computer. The slave account would bog down the primary account. After running the command it improved the performance on the primary. I suggest experimenting with various numbers to find what works for you. This is not a permanent command either. After you log off the game it resets.


 

Posted

Yes, via slash commands, might aslo be able to do it through the menu but I'm not sure.
Edit: apparently any value from 1-999 will work and 0 turns of the limiter.

/Maxfps ###


 

Posted

I wonder how limiting this would help with RWZ Mother Ship Raids.



 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by xXHalfSliceXx View Post
I wonder how limiting this would help with RWZ Mother Ship Raids.
Probably wouldn't. During ship raids your FPS drops below 60 very easily. Not to mention that most of that is server side lag anyway.


Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
don'T attempt to read tHis mEssaGe, And believe Me, it is not a codE.

 

Posted

Remember, that's an UPPER LIMIT lock. ie 40 = "I don't care that you could be rendering at 60 fps, don't ever allow more than 40 fps.

It won't do diddly unless your machine is capable of going higher than the set value. So in extreme slideshow times, it won't help.


6000+ levels gained and 8 level 50's
Hello, my name is Soulwind and I have Alt-Itis.

 

Posted

Above 60? Hell, above 30, while not unnoticeable, is trivial, IMO.




Virtue Server
Avatar art by Daggerpoint

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shadow State View Post
Yes, via slash commands, might aslo be able to do it through the menu but I'm not sure.
Edit: apparently any value from 1-999 will work and 0 turns of the limiter.

/Maxfps ###
So I could set that to bind key and just tap it when logging in. Interesting stuff! Must go home and play!


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Soulwind View Post
Remember, that's an UPPER LIMIT lock. ie 40 = "I don't care that you could be rendering at 60 fps, don't ever allow more than 40 fps.

It won't do diddly unless your machine is capable of going higher than the set value. So in extreme slideshow times, it won't help.
As I understand, the idea is that you're telling your card not to waste it's time rendering stuff you can't see anyway which may help in times of load just because all cycles are useful. Something like that.


 

Posted

You can also put that at the end of your shortcut target line: add a space and then "-maxfps #" (without the quotes) - then you don't have to worry about remembering to hit a button every time you log in.


Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
City Info Terminal: http://cit.cohtitan.com
Mids Hero Designer: http://www.cohplanner.com
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dispari View Post
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aggelakis View Post
You can also put that at the end of your shortcut target line: add a space and then "-maxfps #" (without the quotes) - then you don't have to worry about remembering to hit a button every time you log in.
Beaten by Aggie~ Again!

yeah, so you can have it show :

"E:\Program Files\City of Heroes\CohUpdater.exe" -maxfps 35 -maxinactivefps 5

Caps FPS at 35 when program is in focus, 5 when not in focus.

I use the maxinactive alot - helps with alt-tabbing :P Also good if you run multiple instances of the game.


Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net

Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Debt_Magnet View Post
Yes there is a way to lock the frame rate.
I don't remember which one it is but one of these commands will hook you up.
I'll show you what I use.

/setfps 4
or
/maxfps 4

You don't have to use 4, I used that so I could dual box on one computer. The slave account would bog down the primary account. After running the command it improved the performance on the primary. I suggest experimenting with various numbers to find what works for you. This is not a permanent command either. After you log off the game it resets.
Use both the Maxfps and Maxinactivefps commands. I use 25 and 5 for my values. Maxfps 25 will set a cap on FPS at 25, while maxinactivefps 5 makes the client that isn't the focus window run at 5 FPS. It's a great way to save resources, and you don't have to watch a slide show when you're switching to the secondary client.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Aggelakis View Post
You can also put that at the end of your shortcut target line: add a space and then "-maxfps #" (without the quotes) - then you don't have to worry about remembering to hit a button every time you log in.
Beat me to it. It's a great way to set it up for people like me who don't remember to hit buttons like that on login. You can use multiple commands in the end of the target line -test -maxfps 25 -maxinactivefps 5 etc


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rajani Isa View Post
Beaten by Aggie~ Again!

yeah, so you can have it show :

"E:\Program Files\City of Heroes\CohUpdater.exe" -maxfps 35 -maxinactivefps 5

Caps FPS at 35 when program is in focus, 5 when not in focus.

I use the maxinactive alot - helps with alt-tabbing :P Also good if you run multiple instances of the game.
Thanks for the detail. I didn't know what she was talking about before

I'll have to try this! I do have multiple instances at times and this could be very helpful.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Obsidian_Farmer View Post
Use both the Maxfps and Maxinactivefps commands. I use 25 and 5 for my values. Maxfps 25 will set a cap on FPS at 25, while maxinactivefps 5 makes the client that isn't the focus window run at 5 FPS. It's a great way to save resources, and you don't have to watch a slide show when you're switching to the secondary client.




Beat me to it. It's a great way to set it up for people like me who don't remember to hit buttons like that on login. You can use multiple commands in the end of the target line -test -maxfps 25 -maxinactivefps 5 etc
And thank you too


 

Posted

I'm trying to increase my crappy pc's performance for the game.
Found this thread, tried the /maxfps # and didnt' notice much of a change.
How do I change the "E:\Program Files\City of Heroes\CohUpdater.exe" -maxfps 35 -maxinactivefps 5 thinger? or maybe where is a better answer.
I got to program files\city of heroes ...but couldn't figure out how to change it.
Thanks in advance!
Byro


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by ByrosMessenger View Post
I'm trying to increase my crappy pc's performance for the game.
Found this thread, tried the /maxfps # and didnt' notice much of a change.
How do I change the "E:\Program Files\City of Heroes\CohUpdater.exe" -maxfps 35 -maxinactivefps 5 thinger? or maybe where is a better answer.
I got to program files\city of heroes ...but couldn't figure out how to change it.
Thanks in advance!
Byro
Right click the icon you click on to bring up the CoH updater and select properties. Add -maxfps 35 -maxinactivefps 5 to the end of the Target line.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by ByrosMessenger View Post
I'm trying to increase my crappy pc's performance for the game.
Found this thread, tried the /maxfps # and didnt' notice much of a change.
How do I change the "E:\Program Files\City of Heroes\CohUpdater.exe" -maxfps 35 -maxinactivefps 5 thinger? or maybe where is a better answer.
I got to program files\city of heroes ...but couldn't figure out how to change it.
Thanks in advance!
Byro
Well, if you've got a "crappy PC", I don't imagine the maxfps will do you much good. If you're hitting more than 35 FPS regularly, of course, I wouldn't say your PC's all that "crappy" myself.. If not, then the setting will be useless to you.




Virtue Server
Avatar art by Daggerpoint

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by ByrosMessenger View Post
I'm trying to increase my crappy pc's performance for the game.
Found this thread, tried the /maxfps # and didnt' notice much of a change.
How do I change the "E:\Program Files\City of Heroes\CohUpdater.exe" -maxfps 35 -maxinactivefps 5 thinger? or maybe where is a better answer.
I got to program files\city of heroes ...but couldn't figure out how to change it.
Thanks in advance!
Byro
I can verify that this works because I tried it and Fraps shows the adjusted FPS during gameplay and when the screen is inactive. As was said already though, this doesn't INCREASE FPS, it only decreases it (which I did to save processing power for other stuff).


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan_Yen View Post
I can verify that this works because I tried it and Fraps shows the adjusted FPS during gameplay and when the screen is inactive. As was said already though, this doesn't INCREASE FPS, it only decreases it (which I did to save processing power for other stuff).
That is correct. It will only increase performance is your PC is actually able to generate more than your desired cap.

My PC for instance hovers right around 70FPS, which, to me, is useless, since this isn't one of those über high performance action games. I cap it at 25 just to save power for use elsewhere, such as dual boxing.

Also, there is an in game command to show fps, it's /showfps 1 /showfps 0 to turn it off.


 

Posted

Thanks for the info guys! will hopefully be posting a couple computer builds on the boards shortly, looking forward to the feedback on those also.
-Byro


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan_Yen View Post
I heard online that locking the framerate on a game might improve performance since the card won't be wasting time rendering what you can't see anyway (60+fps).

Is that right and can you do it in CoH/V?
The human brain can interpret more than 60Hz. Most people can see the difference in 60Hz televisions and 120Hz (frame interpolated) televisions, although there are diminishing returns.

Setting a maximum framerate of 60Hz works fine in most non first person shooter games. In terms of 'improving' performance, for the most part this game is not very CPU dependent and most dual core machines (and up) are not saturated. Capping the frame rate won't do much to improve performance unless you are running more than one instance of the game.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by PumBumbler View Post
The human brain can interpret more than 60Hz. Most people can see the difference in 60Hz televisions and 120Hz (frame interpolated) televisions, although there are diminishing returns.

Setting a maximum framerate of 60Hz works fine in most non first person shooter games. In terms of 'improving' performance, for the most part this game is not very CPU dependent and most dual core machines (and up) are not saturated. Capping the frame rate won't do much to improve performance unless you are running more than one instance of the game.
I was assuming the OP was referring to 60hz being their monitors refresh rate. If there can physically only be 60 frames shown on their screen, then they will only be able to see 60 frames, and there would be no reason to process anything higher than that. If this option is turned on, there would be no reason to use /maxfps 60.

I do agree with you though... even though "there have been studies that the human eye can only detect X frames per second... blah blah", we can certainly still perceive higher frame rates in other ways. Even if the human eye/brain only processes X# of images every second, it's not like they are X# still images. We can still notice differences. What a higher framerate does is create "motion-blur", which is what makes us believe a video at a higher framerate looks more realistic, or "true to life".

To answer the OP, there is already an option called Vertical Sync in the game options that should automatically limit the frame production to your screen's refresh rate. Not only does it theoretically increase overall performance of the system, but it would also reduce choppiness while you are moving/dragging the camera around.

NVidia even has an option in their Control Panel to Force On such an option. I'd guess ATI might also.