Author Topic: Ns Troubleshooting  (Read 3748 times)

October 12, 2004, 11:40:16 AM
Read 3748 times

-Lancer-

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I've been having a problem lately with NS. When i had first started playing, i could play maps like agora, nancy, metal no problem.

But for the past two or three months, agora is unplayable due to tremendous amounts of lag, and so is bast and altair. There were also a few maps that wee partially affected (i.e. ns_nancy i only lag in port engine hive)

What i want to know is, has anyone had problems like this before? Has anyone heard of anything like this happening? How do i fix it???


 :help:

October 12, 2004, 12:14:03 PM
Reply #1

BobTheJanitor

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Too much detail? What sort of cpu and video card are you running on? NS is especially CPU intesive compared to a lot of other mods. The maps have three times the entities of a map for any other mod, and then you stack all the entities for team structures and dropped items on top of that.

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October 13, 2004, 09:00:31 AM
Reply #2

-Lancer-

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Quote
Too much detail? What sort of cpu and video card are you running on? NS is especially CPU intesive compared to a lot of other mods. The maps have three times the entities of a map for any other mod, and then you stack all the entities for team structures and dropped items on top of that.
[snapback]31099[/snapback]


I got a P4 2.2 Ghz, but if anything is the problem, it would have to be my integrated video card (asus graphics controller something or other).

But then again, if it was, how come I never had this problem before!? :blink:

October 13, 2004, 02:06:10 PM
Reply #3

BOZO

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rate 999999
cl_rate 999999

October 13, 2004, 02:55:30 PM
Reply #4

Keyser59

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Computer lag or internet lag?

October 13, 2004, 04:26:21 PM
Reply #5

That Annoying Kid

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integrated graphics?

that part makes me suspicious as integrated graphics usually can't hang compared to a decent card
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October 13, 2004, 07:33:51 PM
Reply #6

-Lancer-

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Computer lag or internet lag?
[snapback]31188[/snapback]


computer lag, i have high speed cable

October 13, 2004, 08:36:47 PM
Reply #7

devicenull

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Caused by integrated cards I would say, as I have the same problems.  Not much you can do, except avoid those maps (Not fun, I know.. but its that or a new card, and if you have an integrated card like I do, chances are you have no agp slot)

October 14, 2004, 11:43:52 AM
Reply #8

Necrosis

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Its your int card. I was using one for a while and it was lagged to hell.

Picked through my bits box and pulled out a Geforce II, bish bash bosh problem solved - my only lag now is due to my crappy ISP which acts up once a month. Other than that, plan sailing.


Note that Halflife really doesn't seem to like inty cards. My inty card played AvP2 ok, played MoH, BF, etc etc, all fine. Went nuts when I tried HL online WITH STEAM. Go figure. I blame Steam.
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October 14, 2004, 08:31:57 PM
Reply #9

Satiagraha

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Aye, when I ran off of an integrated chipset, my framerate dropped like a stone. I bought a Vid card and p00f, problem solved.

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October 20, 2004, 03:34:37 PM
Reply #10

Squats

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Quote
I got a P4 2.2 Ghz, but if anything is the problem, it would have to be my integrated video card (asus graphics controller something or other).

But then again, if it was, how come I never had this problem before!? :blink:
[snapback]31161[/snapback]

Well, everyone so far sez "it's the int vid card" without answering why it worked better before. I agree, it's probably due primarily to that. But with a p42.2 ghz and an integrated video card with dedicated video memory, you should be ok in 800x600 if your exact chipset handles d3d or opengl.

1) I'd scan for viruses and adware/spyware. I use http://housecall.trendmicro.com for virus scans and Adaware (www.lavasoft.de) for spyware. but whatever, if it's up to date and you like it ;) This is a shot in the dark, but if it finds something, it might fix it easy. I ALWAYS do this first to correct performance problems. Sometimes it works. :)

2) next I'd find out exactly what chipset it is, what it's specs are, especially:
       shared video mem:this is very bad. If you have it and are a gamer, you want to figure out something better.
       D3D/OpenGL: This is so important. If it doesn't do it, you need better.

3) now that I know what I have, If it is worth it, update drivers for it. This can sometimes be used to fix corrupted drivers too, but just being laggy doesn't sound like that.

4) next, newest directx. This I'd bet 99:1 you already have 9.0b or 9.0c, and either is fine. If you don't know, you can use Start-->Run-->dxdiag to tell you.

5) try running a benchmark, I like 3dMark2001 from madonion.com. If you can't get AT LEAST 1000 on that benchmark, you need to figure something out to play NS very well.

6) tweak time. If the integrated video is nvidia, you will get over 1000-3Dmarks easy. just go into the display properties-->settings-->advanced and set vertical sync always off and set all d3d/opengl settings to max performance/min quality. After that you should be able to play in 800x600 with good enough framerates. If it's an Intel chipset, you might be ok. You might be able to tweak other chipset drivers the same way. ATI integrated chipsets for sure. Some Intel ones can be tweaked the same way too. Other chipsets, maybe, maybe not. GL ;)

7) if any of this stuff actually helped and now you benchmark > 3000 3dmarks don't worry about your video too much. new hardware is always cool, but > 3000 3dmarks will be very playable.

8) now, lets assume you get > 3000 3dmarks and <20fps in places on certain maps still. your problem is half-life settings. (netlag doesn't kill fps much, it's different). lowering resolution is the obvious solution. You should be able to play well in 800x600 with that 3000+ 3dmarks, so if you have to go under 800x600 something is wrong. try switching from directx to opengl or vice-versa. Some chipsets do better in one some in the other. There are more half-life settings, if you get this far and still can't figure out why your framerate drops so bad, see

9) If I had decided it was just a poor performing chipset and I needed better, had the money and an agp slot, I'd go find a cheap card. <$50 for sure is enough. try gforce2-mx400 or gforce4-mx400 64mb agp, you can get one for like $35 if you look hard, and either is way better than any integrated I know of.

10) more money on a vid card is so worth it. I run a gforce ti 5700 I picked up for $89 new a month ago as an upgrade from my gforce2-mx400 (scored 3100 3dmarks with it) and it was so worth it. I now score 17900 3dmarks and run ns at constant max fps (I'm set at 60) in 1600x1200. NS looks so awesome now.....

I know most of this was really basic/general and probably not too much use, but I didn't have too much to go on in your in post....

Squats
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October 21, 2004, 11:26:16 AM
Reply #11

Necrosis

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The reason I say "get a video card" is because -

My int ran every other game bar Steam powered NS with no complaints.

STEAM games, and ONLY STEAM games, were lagged to hell. Non-Steam was fine.

My PC isn't exactly a slouch in terms of specs, its only problem was an int card.



And all my problems were fixed by getting a dirt cheap geforce 2 thinger. Sometimes the concise reply IS the right answer  :D
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Holy_Devil: cheater

October 21, 2004, 12:28:01 PM
Reply #12

-Lancer-

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Problem right now is that im saving for a car, and i dont really have the resource to invest in anything else. And since the problem kicked in a few months ago im sure its not hardware related.

As for adware/spyware, my comp is completely free of that. (i hate that ^^)

October 24, 2004, 11:35:58 AM
Reply #13

Malibu Stacey

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if it kicked in a few months ago I assume it happend with the release of beta 5 which means it is hardware related. Suffice to say not all maps are compiled equal, some have better vis blocking than others. Just adding a simple square block unconnected to anything else on the map can change the vis mapping for the entire map and consequently cause a performance hit which is most noticeable on lower end hardware like on board video chipsets.

It is your on board GPU causing the problem. Even if you don't want to believe it.