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, add these parameters to your AssaultCube launcher:<br clear="none"/>
      <span class="code">
        -h<b>X</b>
      </span> - Replace <b>X</b> with your new resolution height.<br clear="none"/>
      <span class="code">
        -w<b>Y</b>
      </span> - Replace <b>Y</b> with your new resolution width.
    </p>
<p>
      (Instructions on editing the AssaultCube launcher can be found <a href="commandline.html#launcher" shape="rect">here</a>).
    </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>
      To turn Vsync off, add this line to <a href="../confg/autoexec.cfg" shape="rect">autoexec.cfg</a>.<br clear="none"/>
      <span class="code">vsync 0</span><br clear="none"/>
      (<span class="code">vsync 1</span> enables vsync).
    </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.
      To turn anti-aliasing off, add this line to <a href="../confg/autoexec.cfg" shape="rect">autoexec.cfg</a>.<br clear="none"/>
      <span class="code">fsaa 0</span><br clear="none"/>
      (<span class="code">fsaa 1</span> enables anti-aliasing).
    </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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              Rabid Viper Productions 2008/03/07
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