Poor FPS, simple fix!?

[malleybo]

Hi all, I don't know if it's just me or what, but I'm doing a mission and I'm just flying over Dres at about 100k and my frame rate is pretty poor, at around 15-20fps, but if I exit to main menu without saving and then reload the saved game, my FPS is shot up to 80-100fps and KSP.

Looks like reloading the saved game fixes something??

Edited March 15 by malleybo

[Scarecrow71]

2 hours ago, malleybo said:

Looks like reloading the saved game fixes something??

Although I cannot confirm this due to not having access to the code while it's running, it is a pretty well-known fact that, with any software, exiting and restarting dumps memory and wipes variables.  Doing this can clear up memory and buffer/swap files that are being used.

[kdaviper]

1 hour ago, Scarecrow71 said:

Although I cannot confirm this due to not having access to the code while it's running, it is a pretty well-known fact that, with any software, exiting and restarting dumps memory and wipes variables.  Doing this can clear up memory and buffer/swap files that are being used.

I've been taking a class on C.   After learning about low level programming languages I can see how this kind of thing would help.  I imagine at the assembly level it gets even messier. A botched call to an unassigned variable, or trying to call a value outside the range of an array can lead to some very unwieldily behavior.

I imagine that the game is storing data in a bunch of locations and isn't optimally clearing the data when it's no longer useful.

[malleybo]

8 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

Although I cannot confirm this due to not having access to the code while it's running, it is a pretty well-known fact that, with any software, exiting and restarting dumps memory and wipes variables.  Doing this can clear up memory and buffer/swap files that are being used.

But I'm not exiting the game, just going back to the main menu.

[magnemoe]

19 hours ago, malleybo said:

But I'm not exiting the game, just going back to the main menu.

Probably enough to dump much of the stored data. How much memory do you have? 

[malleybo]

On 3/16/2024 at 3:40 PM, magnemoe said:

Probably enough to dump much of the stored data. How much memory do you have? 

Got 32GB 6000Mhz, It's not as if my save game files are large either, the last autosave is only 5,614Kb.

Also switching between the different areas in KSP 2 is faster. I just done a test, with just loading KSP 2 then loaded my save game, then from VAB sent a rocket to the launchpad, then reverted to VBA, on clicking the "Confirm Revert" button, to being back in the VBA took 59.50secs, then I quit back to the main menu then loaded my saved game again, and then did the same thing, and from clicking the "Confirm Revert" button, this time it took only 11.50secs, big difference.

 

[KincaidFrankMF]

13 hours ago, malleybo said:

Also switching between the different areas in KSP 2 is faster. I just done a test, with just loading KSP 2 then loaded my save game, then from VAB sent a rocket to the launchpad, then reverted to VBA, on clicking the "Confirm Revert" button, to being back in the VBA took 59.50secs, then I quit back to the main menu then loaded my saved game again, and then did the same thing, and from clicking the "Confirm Revert" button, this time it took only 11.50secs, big difference.

59.5s? The first question is why it's taking that long in the first place... Is your GPU sub-spec, like mine? Or a craft with a massively high part count? Or lots of satellites in orbit...?

I tried recreating the steps above (old machine, graphics set to low, 140-part ship) and got 19 seconds the first time, then 17 seconds after quitting to main menu & redoing. Small improvement, but still, you could be on to something. So I restarted the game, crossed myself, flicked holy water over the keyboard and set the graphics to "high". It then took 57 seconds the first time - much closer to your result - and then, after quitting back to the main menu, it took exactly 57 seconds to... crash.

I think we'd need more detail about your game save to figure out whether this is just a one-off that's affecting you, or a broader issue.

[uglyduckling81]

Easiest fix is just to buy a more powerful PC. 
Get a 4090 and your FPS will stay pretty high. 
it will still be terrible compared to what you should be expecting to get but you can buy yourself out of this awful technical debt the game has. 

[Flush Foot]

2 hours ago, uglyduckling81 said:

Get a 4090 and your FPS will stay pretty high

I'm pretty happy with my 4070 Ti-Super (though only up from a 3080, so not a HUGE leap in raw performance... mostly 'performance per watt') paired with my 5900X 12-core CPU

This jumbo-craft, near to Kerbin (even in sight), was giving my ~18 FPS under thrust [and in a pre-existing, aka cluttered, save]

[malleybo]

20 hours ago, KincaidFrankMF said:

59.5s? The first question is why it's taking that long in the first place... Is your GPU sub-spec, like mine? Or a craft with a massively high part count? Or lots of satellites in orbit...?

I think we'd need more detail about your game save to figure out whether this is just a one-off that's affecting you, or a broader issue.

Well I've got a 12GB 3080 and CPU is a 7800X3D, the only reason it's take that long is becuase I hadn't reloaded the save game, once I'd done that, it only takes 11.50 seconds, so something is wrong when I first run KSP then load my saved game. No I don't have a lot of satallites in orbit becuase I delete most things because of the frame rate issue, but if I relaod my saved game by going back to the main menu the issue is gone, and it doesn't work if I reload by hitting F9 or loading the saved game, I have to go back to the main menu, my frame rates go from 18-20FPS to 80-144FPS and this is in 4K

Yeah I would have thought it might be an issue with the saved game, but I tried starting a new Campaing then tested with that, and it creates the same issue.

9 hours ago, uglyduckling81 said:

Easiest fix is just to buy a more powerful PC. 
Get a 4090 and your FPS will stay pretty high. 
it will still be terrible compared to what you should be expecting to get but you can buy yourself out of this awful technical debt the game has. 

Got a 12GB 3080, runs fine in 4K get 80-144FPS, lowest is at take off at around 40FPS.

[KincaidFrankMF]

2 hours ago, malleybo said:

Yeah I would have thought it might be an issue with the saved game, but I tried starting a new Campaing then tested with that, and it creates the same issue.

That's so strange! Definitely doesn't do that for me. Could try reinstalling the game I guess?

[Flush Foot]

I definitely find at times that if other processes run 'hard' on my C:\ (like an automatic/regularly running cloud-backup service) then my FPS plummets until it eases up on the C:\ utilization...

Which is why I was so irked that the game FORCIBLY uses the C:\ for saves/workspaces/etc., regardless of what drive you install the game to... I have a SATA-SSD for my C: but my game is installed on a higher-performance, higher-capacity NVMe-SSD

[malleybo]

7 hours ago, KincaidFrankMF said:

That's so strange! Definitely doesn't do that for me. Could try reinstalling the game I guess?

Fixed it, it was the Nvidia driver, did a clean install in safe mode, and it's working fine now

7 hours ago, Flush Foot said:

I definitely find at times that if other processes run 'hard' on my C:\ (like an automatic/regularly running cloud-backup service) then my FPS plummets until it eases up on the C:\ utilization...

Which is why I was so irked that the game FORCIBLY uses the C:\ for saves/workspaces/etc., regardless of what drive you install the game to... I have a SATA-SSD for my C: but my game is installed on a higher-performance, higher-capacity NVMe-SSD

Yeah, that's a pain, I've got mine store on another drive, just create a junction using mklink /J

Works fine.

[Flush Foot]

6 minutes ago, malleybo said:

create a junction using mklink

So that the C:\ path that the game 'needs' to use actually points to the better drive? 

I'll explore that tonight before booting up the game <fingers-crossed>

[Flush Foot]

I did start after work with a 'Clean install' update of my Nvidia drivers (not going as far as 'safe mode' though, just checked Clean in the GeForce Experience updater) and then (I  believe) set up an mklink to a clone of my game data on the better drive (the copying of which definitely showcased the drives' relative performance)

I was about to report an amazing success (~2x performance in-game), but then I went back in as I realized that it might have been a 'fluke' and that the craft I loaded in on was 'simpler'... Switched over to my jumbo-sized crewed-Jool craft and the FPS was back around 17-20 ('as it was before' with that beast).

TBD