Gameplay slows down/accelerates

Mati9319 · Aug 18, 2015

First of all: I really tried to find similar thread before posting this to avoid unnecessary repetition, but it seems there's no such discussion yet and makes me worried that I may be the only person with such issue :/

So yeah, sometimes (less or more frequently) game tends to slow down horribly for about 3 to 10 seconds. It's not a very big issue, as it makes somewhat more time for reactions in combat. Then, game usually enters Benny Hill Mode and everything fastens up to crazy speed (for about 3 to 5 seconds), which makes combat much harder.

To make things funnier, game runs really smooth on my computer (with all graphics settings set on minimum though). The only issue with performance is the one mentioned above.

El Maco · Aug 18, 2015

I believe this is indeed a performance issue, your CPU cannot keep up with the physics simulation. See e.g. here.

I used to experience this issue too, but it has become less frequent with the recent patches. I think it has been mentioned that they might be able to optimize the physics engine even further. In the meantime there's probably little we can do about it I'm afraid.

Tottel · Aug 18, 2015

Does it happen when you go to a new zone (opened a door, just stepped through a new door, ..)?

Mati9319 · Aug 18, 2015

So I can't do much about it right now, aside from trying to maximize exanima.exe's priority. I'm gonna post my PC's detailed specs later when I get back home.

Also, I'm using Windows 10, so I'll try disable autorun fon every useless crap that runs in the background.

Actually, I would prefer to lose some FPS from time to time, rather than having gameplay speed affected.

Tottel said:
Does it happen when you go to a new zone (opened a door, just stepped through a new door, ..)?

Yes, but it happens while exploring single room/corridor as well.

EDIT

My PC's specs as promised:

processor: Intel Core i3 CPU M 380 2.53GHz
RAM: 3 GB
system: 64-bit, processor x64
video card: AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series

If someone's hungry for even more info, here it is:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 8/18/2015, 18:47:42
Machine name: MATI9319
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit (10.0, Build 10240) (10240.th1.150729-1800)
Language: Polish (Regional Setting: Polish)
System Manufacturer: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
System Model: R540/R580/R780/SA41/E452/E852
BIOS: BIOS Date: 12/16/09 17:58:05 Ver: 08.00.10
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 380 @ 2.53GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.5GHz
Memory: 3072MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 2986MB RAM
Page File: 2614MB used, 1083MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: 11.2
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
Miracast: Not Available
Microsoft Graphics Hybrid: Not Supported
DxDiag Version: 10.00.10240.16384 64bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Chip type: AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x68E0)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Type: Full Device
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_68E0&SUBSYS_C07F144D&REV_00
Display Memory: 1783 MB
Dedicated Memory: 503 MB
Shared Memory: 1280 MB
Current Mode: 1366 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: unknown
Monitor Id: CMO1592
Native Mode: 1366 x 768(p) (59.989Hz)
Output Type: Internal
Driver Name: aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,amdxc64.dll,aticfx32,aticfx32,aticfx32,amdxc32,atiumd64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atidxx32,atidxx32,atiumdva,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll
Driver File Version: 8.17.0010.1404 (English)
Driver Version: 15.200.1046.2
DDI Version: 11.2
Feature Levels: 11.0,10.1,10.0,9.3,9.2,9.1
Driver Model: WDDM 1.3
Graphics Preemption: DMA
Compute Preemption: DMA
Miracast: Not Supported
Hybrid Graphics GPU: Not Supported
Power P-states: Not Supported
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 7/16/2015 02:11:50, 1445224 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-2BA0-11CF-8172-75E0BEC2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x68E0
SubSys ID: 0xC07F144D
Revision ID: 0x0000
Driver Strong Name: oem7.inf:cb0ae414d0268c22:ati2mtag_ManhattanP:15.200.1046.2

ci\ven_1002&dev_68e0
Rank Of Driver: 00D12001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C
DXVA2 Modes: DXVA2_ModeMPEG2_IDCT DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_NoFGT DXVA2_ModeVC1_VLD
Deinterlace Caps: {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
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{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
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{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{3C5323C1-6FB7-44F5-9081-056BF2EE449D}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{552C0DAD-CCBC-420B-83C8-74943CF9F1A6}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(S340,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
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D3D9 Overlay: Not Supported
DXVA-HD: Not Supported
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

MathieuG89 · Aug 28, 2015

I have the very same issue.

Once in a while the game slows down to a crawl (FPS stays the same and are well above 60). And then, a few seconds later it suddenly speeds up to twice or thrice the normal speed as if I was fast forwarding a movie. It can turn a fight into a real nightmare when it happens as the adversary starts swinging his weapon like a bat out of hell and you hardly have the time to react.

My PC specs:

processor: AMD A8-4500M 1.90GHz
RAM: 8 GB
video card: AMD Radeon HD7640G

Deityfierezy · Aug 28, 2015

try to enable vsync

MathieuG89 · Aug 29, 2015

Deityfierezy said:
try to enable vsync

I will try that. Thank you for the advice!

Elaxter · Aug 30, 2015

Find Exanima's .cfg file located in the hidden APPDATA/roaming/exanima folder and set a new line FPSLimit = XX, with XX being the cap. I have mine set at 30 and it fixed all of my slowdown/speedup problems. Also turn on Vsync

Madoc · Aug 30, 2015

The slowing / down speeding up is caused by the CPU not being able to run the simulation fast enough. The sim runs completely independantly from the graphics and changing graphics settings shouldn't really affect it, in practice though limiting the framerate may free up more CPU time for the physics. The FPSLimit setting is definitely the best way to reduce CPU load from the graphics.

That said the physics should be able to run just fine on any modernish CPU, usually if someone experiences this issue it's because some naughty background process is eating up CPU time. I'd have a look at what processes are running in task manager.

There are some big physics optimisations coming though so if your PC really isn't fast enough to run the game it will work just fine when we get those in.

MathieuG89 · Aug 30, 2015

I don't know Madoc. There aren't any background process that could affect the game as far as I'm aware of. My laptop isn't state of the art but it handles the game pretty good. Everything is maxed out except supersampling and anti-aliasing. I still get pretty consistant FPS through out. The issue I am describing above seems to be random. Some playthrough it doesn't happen at all. And when it does it is totally random. It could very well happen in an empty corridor or a room full of objects. The slowing down is not really the problem. The problem is what happens right after, everything speeds up twice or thrice the normal rate seemingly to compensate with the slow down. Very hard to describe. As if I'm playing 60 FPS then it slows down to 15 FPS for a few seconds and then it jumps back to 180 FPS for a few seconds afterward. The game suddenly turn into turbo mode.

Tony · Aug 31, 2015

This problem has been reported quite a while ago and how it behaves is well known, MathieuG89. Several people have been able to fix it by stopping whatever other programs/processes were using their CPU cycles (like Madoc suggested). Virus scanners, recording software and hundreds of other applications that start up automatically with Windows could all be causing this issue. If your laptop is quite old or actually too slow to keep up despite having no other applications eating up CPU cycles then hopefully the optimizations Madoc spoke of will solve it.