assaultcube-/docs/performanceguide.html

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            <h1>
                AssaultCube: Performance guide</h1>
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            <h1>
                Performance guide
            </h1>
            <p>
                Getting the best performance possible from your hardware while running AssaultCube,
                without sacrificing too much quality is important to most players. A lot of newer
                hardware will run AssaultCube very well, with no changes neccesary, but some older
                hardware may need some optimisation to get a good result. This guide details some
                ways on how to do this.<br clear="none" />
                <b>Note:</b> Although many settings can be changed in-game, for ease of explanation
                and understanding, this guide only details the way to change the settings through
                configuration files <b>outside</b> of the game.
            </p>
            <ul>
                <li><a href="#drivers" shape="rect">Graphics drivers</a> </li>
                <li><a href="#gengraphics" shape="rect">General graphics</a> </li>
                <li><a href="#acgraphics" shape="rect">AssaultCube graphics</a> </li>
                <li><a href="#sounds" shape="rect">Sounds</a> </li>
                <li><a href="#mouse" shape="rect">Mouse</a> </li>
                <li><a href="#general" shape="rect">General</a> </li>
            </ul>
            <h2 id="drivers">
                Graphics drivers
            </h2>
            <p>
                The best way to get the best performance out of any 3D application is using the
                latest and correct drivers, with the correct settings. AssaultCube is no exception
                to this rule. If you have any problems running AssaultCube, always check your drivers
                first!
            </p>
            <p>
                To download and install the latest and correct drivers, follow these steps...
            </p>
            <ol>
                <li>Find out the correct name/make/model of your video card. </li>
                <li>Go to the driver/support section of your video card manufacturers website (e.g.
                    <a href="http://www.nvidia.com/page/drivers.html" shape="rect">nVidia</a>, <a href="http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html"
                        shape="rect">ATi</a>, <a href="http://downloadcenter.intel.com/" shape="rect">Intel</a>,
                    <a href="http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/support/drivers/" shape="rect">Matrox</a>,
                    etc) and download the latest and correct drivers for your model and operating system.
                </li>
                <li>Install and configure the drivers as per the instructions given to you by the manufacturer
                    (make sure previous versions of the drivers are uninstalled). </li>
            </ol>
            <p>
                Some operating systems and graphics cards have other special drivers and methods
                that you can explore for your drivers. Microsoft Windows users may benefit from
                <a href="http://www.omegadrivers.net/omega_drivers.php" shape="rect">Omega Drivers</a>,
                some nVidia Microsoft Windows users can try using <a href="http://www.nvidia.com/object/ntune_5.05.54.00.html"
                    shape="rect">nTune</a>. Linux users might like <a href="http://www.albertomilone.com/nvidia_scripts1.html"
                        shape="rect">EnvyNG</a>.
            </p>
            <p>
                <b>Warning:</b> If you're using a laptop, you may need to consult your laptop manufacturer
                for drivers, as laptop graphic drivers are heavily customised.
            </p>
            <p>
                <b>Note:</b> None of these links or drivers are endorsed, maintained or supported
                by the AssaultCube team.<br clear="none" />
                Use these links at your own risk. We highly advise it to be best searching the forums
                and support pages for your operating system supplier or graphics card manufacturer
                if you are having problems with 3D graphics rendering.
            </p>
            <h2 id="gengraphics">
                General graphics
            </h2>
            <p>
                <b>Note:</b> Where applicable, if there is a way to change the setting through the
                AssaultCube client, it has been mentioned (note: in most situations, the drivers
                need to be enabled in such a way for AssaultCube to be able to change these settings)
                but because graphics settings differ from card to card, there may be options mentioned
                which are unavailable on your card and many options can't be changed through AssaultCube.
                For these situations, please consult your graphics card manufacturer to find out
                how to do this. There are also many options for video card performance and eye-candy
                which are not covered due to the vast amount of them, in that case we suggest you
                check with your video card manufacturer for what else you can do to improve performance
                as this guide only covers some of the more common ones.
            </p>
            <h3>
                Resolution
            </h3>
            <p>
                Your resolution in-game determines the amount of detail on the screen. The higher
                the resolution you use, the more the graphics card has to work. If you are having
                problems with low frame rates, lag or stuttering, then lowering the resolution will
                yield the biggest result.<br clear="none" />
                Note: LCD panels typically work best at their native resolution rather than a bigger/smaller
                one.
            </p>
            <p>
                To change the resolution of your screen, open the settings menu in-game.<br clear="none" />
            </p>
            <h3>
                Refresh rate
            </h3>
            <p>
                Making your refresh rate happen at a higher level can generally help increase FPS.
                Ways to do this differ depending on your system and setup (consult online documentation
                for your operating system to find out how).
            </p>
            <h3>
                Colour quality
            </h3>
            <p>
                In most systems, you are able to change the colour quality which may boost your
                performance. Normally you have a range of 16/24/32 bit. The ways to change this
                differ depending on OS, consult your OS manual.
            </p>
            <h3>
                V-sync (AKA: Vertical refresh)
            </h3>
            <p>
                Vsync is a method of synchronising the frame rate of games to the refresh rate of
                the monitor. Turning on Vsync prevents a graphic phenomenon called "tearing" from
                occurring. Screen tearing can occur when the frame rate being output from the video
                card is higher than the refresh rate of the monitor and can make the screen look
                torn into sections and moved with the high speed motion of the game. Turning this
                off can help increase performance for many players, but if you experience tearing,
                it may be best to turn it back on.
            </p>
            <p>
                Visit the settings menu in-game to change the Vsync settings.
            </p>
            <h4>
                Triple buffering
            </h4>
            <p>
                If you use V-sync, enabling this can help improve overall performance in OpenGL
                games such as AssaultCube. However, if you don't have enough video RAM, this may
                cause lag and problems.
            </p>
            <h3>
                Anti-aliasing
            </h3>
            <p>
                Anti-aliasing is a process that attempts to smooth out the jaggedness of diagonal
                lines in a 3D game environment. Visit the settings menu in-game to change the Anti-aliasing settings.
            </p>
            <h4>
                Temporal antialiasing
            </h4>
            <p>
                Some graphics cards support "temporal antialiasing". It's basically a driver trick
                that gives the effect of a antialiasing, but with less work needed by the graphics
                card. Try it out, as it is a faster method of antialiasing, but if you don't like
                it, or it's still too slow, don't use it.
            </p>
            <h4>
                Adaptive Anti-Aliasing
            </h4>
            <p>
                This is an antialiasing technique which improves the appearance of transparent textures.
                The performance impact should not be significant over normal antialiasing, but if
                you don't like it, or it's still too slow, don't use it.
            </p>
            <h3>
                Catalyst A.I (ATi only)
            </h3>
            <p>
                If this is enabled, it allows ATi graphics cards to make graphics "shortcuts", normally
                with no noticable reduction in image quality. It is best to enable this to give
                yourself better performance.
            </p>
            <h3>
                Mipmap Detail Level
            </h3>
            <p>
                This helps determine how good textures generally look, when combined with AssaultCube's
                own texture settings. Changing this can help gain/loose some performance by making
                the textures appear duller or sharper.
            </p>
            <h3>
                Anisotropic filtering
            </h3>
            <p>
                Anisotropic Filtering helps make textures (the 2D images covering the surface of
                all 3D objects) at a distance appear clearer. Setting this lower may help improve
                performance.
            </p>
            <h3>
                Useful links
            </h3>
            <ul>
                <li><a href="http://www.tweakguides.com/Graphics_1.html" shape="rect">Tweakguide: Gamer's
                    Graphics and Display Settings Guide </a>- This link is extremely useful if you know
                    nothing about optimising your hardware. </li>
                <li><a href="http://www.tweakguides.com/NVFORCE_1.html" shape="rect">Tweakguide: Nvidia
                    Forceware Tweak Guide</a> - Information about optimising nVidia graphics cards.
                </li>
                <li><a href="http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_1.html" shape="rect">Tweakguide: ATI
                    Catalyst Tweak Guide</a> - Information about optimising ATi graphics cards. </li>
            </ul>
            <h2 id="acgraphics">
                AssaultCube Graphics
            </h2>
            <h2 id="sounds">
                Sounds
            </h2>
            <h2 id="mouse">
                Mouse
            </h2>
            <h3>
                The mouse input is delayed when trying to rapidly fire in linux
            </h3>
            <p>
                This is a common problem on Linux and is not specific to AssaultCube. Edit your
                xorg.conf and set the value of <i>Emulate3Buttons</i> to off.
            </p>
            <h3>
                Aiming is difficult
            </h3>
            <p>
                If you're using Microsoft Windows, deactivate mouse acceleration.<br clear="none" />
                If you're using a cheap optical mouse, you may find at quick movements it may stop
                moving.
            </p>
            <h3>
                Jitters and choppy images after upgrading to Microsoft Windows SP3
            </h3>
            <p>
                After upgrading to SP3, mice with overclocked USB ports get their polling rates
                stuck at 125hz. This can be fixed:
            </p>
            <p>
                Download the <a href="http://files.filefront.com/mouseraterar/;10969699;/fileinfo.html"
                    shape="rect">mouserate checker</a>. Then download the new <a href="http://files.filefront.com/hidusbfzip/;10969768;/fileinfo.html"
                        shape="rect">USB port overclocker</a>. Unrar them both. Go to the driver
                folder and then install executing "setup".
            </p>
            <p>
                Then, open the USB port overclocker. Tick 'Filter On Device'. Choose the polling
                rate you want. Keep "Mouses only" ticked to save yourself from confusion. Make sure
                you've clicked/highlighted your mouse. <b>Install service</b>. Then restart.
            </p>
            <p>
                Then check your hertz with the mouserate checker. If it doesn't read out that its
                been altered you'll probably have to restart. Also if you change what port you plug
                your mouse into you'll have to repeat the process.
            </p>
            <h2 id="general">
                General
            </h2>
            <p>
                Physical ways to increase your computers performance for AssaultCube are: Upgrading
                RAM, CPU power, Graphics cards, use a more powerful power supply, overclocking,
                use PCI express instead of AGP, etc, etc.<br clear="none" />
                If you wish to upgrade your systems hardware, please seek advice elsewhere. There
                are plenty of resources available online!
            </p>
            <p>
                When running AssaultCube, it would be wise to turn off any un-needed applications,
                especially those that suck down CPU performance and graphics rendering. For example:
                Turn off compiz, music players, windows defender, etc. Also try turning down the
                graphics settings used by your operating system for everyday tasks.
            </p>
            <p>
                Turning off power saving features (for example: on laptops) may help improve performance.
            </p>
            <p>
                If using Microsoft Windows, defragmenting your hard drive may speed up loading,
                as the data will be arranged on your hard drive in a way that will make it easier
                to find and read by your OS. Also, ensuring that viruses and spyware are absent
                from your machine will ensure they aren't taking up any extra resources.
            </p>
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