1.1.3.2 CPU performance run high...

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Jorgen_CAB
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1.1.3.2 CPU performance run high...

Post by Jorgen_CAB »

Right now when I start a new game my CPU goes to around 35% of capacity doing nothing in the game, even when paused.

In my current test game where I run an AI test in the previous version my CPU was cruising along at 5-10% on a 700 star map with 12 empires running at 4x speed after about 60 in game years of automatic play.

The GPU also seem to be slightly more taxed just doing nothing...

When I switch to any version of the DXVK just to test that I just get a small window in the top let corner of my monitor. So I have to restart using DX11 again.

I don't think I can run the new version at all right now as the game seem to tax the CPU in an unreasonable way and my PC is fairly strong.
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Erik Rutins
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Re: 1.1.3.2 CPU performance quite bad...

Post by Erik Rutins »

Jorgen_CAB wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:11 am Right now when I start a new game my CPU goes to around 35% of capacity doing nothing in the game, even when paused.

In my current test game where I run an AI test in the previous version my CPU was cruising along at 5-10% on a 700 star map with 12 empires running at 4x speed after about 60 in game years of automatic play.

The GPU also seem to be slightly more taxed just doing nothing...

When I switch to any version of the DXVK just to test that I just get a small window in the top let corner of my monitor. So I have to restart using DX11 again.

I don't think I can run the new version at all right now as the game seem to tax the CPU in an unreasonable way and my PC is fairly strong.
That's not actually a problem. In past versions, the multithreading was not working as well and not as much was getting done, which was over time leading to simulation lag. Now that's not the case in the performance beta. The end result is higher CPU usage, but it is actually working. The low CPU usage in the past was a sign of a problem, not an indicator of better performance.

Modern CPUs and GPUs are also designed to be able to run even at 100% constantly if needed, so it's really not a problem that you're CPU is getting used a bit more. In exchange you'll get much better performance and a much more active galaxy. DW2 is a demanding game - simulating a living galaxy is not a trivial task.

If you are still concerned about this, you can use the new game settings to reduce your FPS cap and system Load to reduce both GPU and CPU usage further, but it's not necessary to do so.

Regards,

- Erik
Erik Rutins
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Jorgen_CAB
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Re: 1.1.3.2 CPU performance quite bad...

Post by Jorgen_CAB »

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:19 am
That's not actually a problem. In past versions, the multithreading was not working as well and not as much was getting done, which was over time leading to simulation lag. Now that's not the case in the performance beta. The end result is higher CPU usage, but it is actually working. The low CPU usage in the past was a sign of a problem, not an indicator of better performance.

Modern CPUs and GPUs are also designed to be able to run even at 100% constantly if needed, so it's really not a problem that you're CPU is getting used a bit more. In exchange you'll get much better performance and a much more active galaxy. DW2 is a demanding game - simulating a living galaxy is not a trivial task.

If you are still concerned about this, you can use the new game settings to reduce your FPS cap and system Load to reduce both GPU and CPU usage further, but it's not necessary to do so.

Regards,

- Erik
I just reduce the load from 60 to 1 and that seemed to "fix" the CPU problem entirely as now it is cruising along at around 10-11% load at 8x speed in my test game.

In another bigger test game the CPU is zipping along at 13% load on a 1500 star map with about 14 other empires, mid game or so. Using 8x speed...

If it turn up the load dial all I see is the CPU work much harder but see not performance drop if I lower it to "1"... is this as it should be... why should I turn up the load?

Should the CPU really be using 35% when I fire up a new 500 star map with 5 empires?!?
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Erik Rutins
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Re: 1.1.3.2 CPU performance quite bad...

Post by Erik Rutins »

Jorgen_CAB wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:33 am I just reduce the load from 60 to 1 and that seemed to "fix" the CPU problem entirely as now it is cruising along at around 10-11% load at 8x speed in my test game.

In another bigger test game the CPU is zipping along at 13% load on a 1500 star map with about 14 other empires, mid game or so. Using 8x speed...

If it turn up the load dial all I see is the CPU work much harder but see not performance drop if I lower it to "1"... is this as it should be... why should I turn up the load?

Should the CPU really be using 35% when I fire up a new 500 star map with 5 empires?!?
It will use less CPU because less is getting done in the galaxy. You can certainly run the game that way, but between that and 8x speed you've picked the best combination for a galaxy that lags behind in terms of the real-time simulation. If it makes you happier to have low CPU usage than a fully up to date galaxy, well that is what the slider is there for, but there's a cost to pay for that in terms of how alive and up to date the galaxy will be. Our goal was to try to eliminate simulation lag in the galaxy and make it as alive as possible. Yes, DW2 can use 35%, 50%, 100% and more on even more powerful CPUs because of how much there is to do in the galaxy.

Personally, I crank my slider up to 100 with no issues, just the benefit of a more zippy galaxy.

Regards,

- Erik
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Jorgen_CAB
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Re: 1.1.3.2 CPU performance quite bad...

Post by Jorgen_CAB »

Ok... but I don't notice any difference other than the CPU using less or more... I do notice the CPU increasing in load as the game grow as I expect it to do.

This is why I wonder what the practical difference is as I don't notice any difference at all. The simulation seem to run just fine and very smooth no matter how I set the slider. Should there not be a noticeable difference?

I will start a 2000 star game and do some tests and see how it goes. But I do find it very odd that the CPU load is about 35% while the game is not even started in a small galaxy at 500 stars with a few empires from starting position and the game is paused.

I do expect there to be a noticeable difference between the settings at some point. How can I inspect if the simulation is lagging behind in this case so I know the difference in practical terms?

From my point of view it just looks as if the game is reserving the CPU not actually using it as I have a hard time believing that it use 35% of the CPU just starting a game at 500 stars with a few empires all in Pre-Warp positions. It also does not matter if I start a game with 2000 stars and max number of empires, still using 35% of the CPU apparently.
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Erik Rutins
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Re: 1.1.3.2 CPU performance run high...

Post by Erik Rutins »

First, this is an experimental performance beta build, so it does include some code that is meant to do more in order to find performance issues. That's part of why the baseline usage is higher.

However, there's also rendering, garbage collection, GUI elements and visual (active in view) data gathering that goes on all the time. There are also other tasks that proceed even when paused and even when you're not looking at anything in particular that will use some of your computer hardware. There are also some basic architectural issues with DW2 that became clear after release which we've been working to fix. This build is a major step in the right direction, but there are issues which remain. At a future date, I'm sure baseline usage will be lower and also that performance will improve even beyond what we have here. For now, with this build, the increased baseline usage is the price to pay for the performance benefit.

Regards,

- Erik
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Jorgen_CAB
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Re: 1.1.3.2 CPU performance run high...

Post by Jorgen_CAB »

All my testing so far seem to at least indicate that the performance is much improved... although I have not seen much difference on performance due to setting the slider to max or lower, but I will do more heavy testing as I run allot of AI versus AI due to modding at the moment.

The 8x speed is great... :)
Jorgen_CAB
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Re: 1.1.3.2 CPU performance run high...

Post by Jorgen_CAB »

After running many hours of AI test games I must say that the game run really well, even on the really large maps of 1500 or 2000 stars and even on 8x speed.

I only have one issue which present itself no matter the load on the processor. The whole game freeze for a very brief half second roughly every minute or so. It is quite noticeable when I write in a text box as the game suddenly jump a few characters or if I interact with a UI element.

There are no specific setup combination that I seem to be able to contribute this to. I also remember having a similar experience some time ago.
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