Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) I take no credit for this tweak\mod. All credit goes to GTAForums member Belinda for showing me the commands and file. I don't know if this will work well with old or low to mid range hardware. You can always try it and then revert the changes if it doesn't work. I tested this method on an Intel Q6600, 3GB of RAM and an 8800GTX using Vista 32 bit. (One of my sticks of RAM died about a month ago so that's why I am using 3GB) You must have a mod-able GTA IV installation to use this. I have included the latest Magic.bat that is basically foolproof, simply follow the instructions. It also has a file verify system as well as an undo feature so you can't go wrong. There are others out there to allow GTA to be modded but they include hooking .dll's which open the possibility of your game becoming unstable. If you have a question about Magic.bat you can post it here or find the original thread HERE This is a simple tweak that will allow you to play GTA IV with your in game draw distance to 0 yet still allow you to see distant buildings. This is done by way of tweaking the timecyc.dat and the "FarClip" setting which I've already done and provided three different versions plus the default for backup purposes. FarClip 3500 - Longest View Distance before you can see the farthest reaches of the map (which show up a solid white). FarClip 3000 - Medium Yet Still Double The GTA IV Default Distance FarClip 2500 - Shorter Draw Distance But Still An Improvement FarClip 1500 - The GTA IV Default Unmodified timecyc.dat (Backup) There are two downsides to using this. The first is that the objects in the distance aren't as detailed at they would be using the in game draw distance. However you can balance this out by raising the detail distance. The second is that it will take about 5 FPS off the top. Again we can balance this out buy lowering the in game draw distance, freeing up some VRAM in the process. Before this tweak I was using the settings below and barely scratching 30-40FPS. During heavy action it was often in the low 20's The two screen shots below named Normal 7:00am and Normal 12:00am were using these settings. Video Mode = 1280 x 1024 Texture Quality = High Render Quality = Highest View Distance = 20 Detail Distance = 65 Vehicle Density = 50 Shadow Density = 0 After the Tweak using the settings below the game almost never went below 35FPS and was usually around 50-60FPS. During heavy action it was a steady 25-30 The two screen shots below named FarClip 3500 7:00am and FarClip 3500 12:00am were using these settings. Video Mode = 1280 x 1024 Texture Quality = High Render Quality = Highest View Distance = 0 Detail Distance = 35 Vehicle Density = 50 Shadow Density = 0 Play around with it if you want and see which works best for you. Instructions To install follow the instructions in the read me of Magic.bat or simply copy it to your main GTA IV folder and run it. You can use any method you want but the game must be able to be modified otherwise it won't start because of Rockstar's file check system. When it's done simply copy your choice of timecyc.dat to \Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto IV\pc\data\. Either backup the original or simply overwrite it. I've included a backup in case you want to return to the default setting. If you've already made your GTA IV mod-able then just drop it in the corresponding folder. Enjoy. Download Links http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=6d4f977...2db6fb9a8902bda Mirror http://www.sendspace.com/file/667oep Pictures NORMAL 7:00am In game draw distance 20 NORMAL 12:00am In game draw distance 20 FarClip 3500 7:00am In game draw distance 0 FarClip 3500 12:00am In game draw distance 0 Edited January 13, 2009 by Pixelated Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
nynth.plague Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 damn... not bad my son. the pictures say it all... Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873700 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 Thanks Son. Like I said though all I did was change a few settings. Credit goes to belinda. Here's the original thread if you want to take a look. http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=390643&st=0 Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873705 Share on other sites More sharing options...
nynth.plague Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 isnt it the same as setting DRAW DISTANCE to max without the detail? how bad does it lagg u? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873727 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) isnt it the same as setting DRAW DISTANCE to max without the detail? how bad does it lagg u? No it's not. There is less building detail using this FarClip tweak. If you try it you'll see what I mean. What do you mean lag? It doesn't lag at all anymore. Edited January 13, 2009 by Pixelated Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873736 Share on other sites More sharing options...
nynth.plague Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 isnt it the same as setting DRAW DISTANCE to max without the detail? how bad does it lagg u? No it's not. There is less building detail using this FarClip tweak. What do you mean lag? It doesn't lag at all anymore. does it give you better FPS to have FarClip... or Draw Distance 20? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873744 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 Much better to use the FarClip tweak. It's less resource intensive that draw distance. I think the in game options draw distance also adds some sort detail level to everything it renders. This also frees up VRAM where Draw distance uses more to get the same level of sight. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873752 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaboyle Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 whats that bag on Niko's shoulder???????? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873754 Share on other sites More sharing options...
nynth.plague Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 parachute sunshine. ahhh smart man... also freeing up VRAM = great. Im going to try it this evening. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873762 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) whats that bag on Niko's shoulder???????? http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=389897&st=0 parachute sunshine. ahhh smart man... also freeing up VRAM = great. Im going to try it this evening. Of course you have to install this tweak then lower your Draw Distance to free up VRAM. That's what I meant by that. Using this timecyc.dat tweak with your draw distance set to 0 will allow you to see more and farther then using the in game draw distance at 100 and the default timecyc.dat. It just won't be as detailed as it is using the in game draw distance. It's simply a trade off. Of course you can do both if your PC can handle it. Edited January 13, 2009 by Pixelated Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873770 Share on other sites More sharing options...
nynth.plague Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 whats that bag on Niko's shoulder???????? You know I'm not sure where this mod is from. My GTA IV is heavily modded with textures and clothing so I tend to forget where each mod came from. I know for sure it was from the Mod Showroom here at GTAForums.net. If you want I can upload it for you since I save all the mods to my hard drive. Or you can try searching the Mod Showroom. http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showforum=90 parachute sunshine. ahhh smart man... also freeing up VRAM = great. Im going to try it this evening. Of course you have to install this tweak then lower your Draw Distance to free up VRAM. That's what I meant by that. Using this timecyc.dat tweak with your draw distance set to 0 will allow you to see more and farther then using the in game draw distance at 100 and the default timecyc.dat. It just won't be as detailed as it is using the in game draw distance. It's simply a trade off. Of course you can do both if your PC can handle it. NO... my PC cant. lol Im going to do this mate... Belinda & yourself did good Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873798 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 whats that bag on Niko's shoulder???????? You know I'm not sure where this mod is from. My GTA IV is heavily modded with textures and clothing so I tend to forget where each mod came from. I know for sure it was from the Mod Showroom here at GTAForums.net. If you want I can upload it for you since I save all the mods to my hard drive. Or you can try searching the Mod Showroom. http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showforum=90 parachute sunshine. ahhh smart man... also freeing up VRAM = great. Im going to try it this evening. Of course you have to install this tweak then lower your Draw Distance to free up VRAM. That's what I meant by that. Using this timecyc.dat tweak with your draw distance set to 0 will allow you to see more and farther then using the in game draw distance at 100 and the default timecyc.dat. It just won't be as detailed as it is using the in game draw distance. It's simply a trade off. Of course you can do both if your PC can handle it. NO... my PC cant. lol Im going to do this mate... Belinda & yourself did good Neither can mine. I can bump the draw distance to 10 or 15 maybe but it really kills most of the positive effects this tweak offers. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873834 Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliTsai Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 you're instructions are piss poor do it again, but right Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873886 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamerzworld Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 you're instructions are piss poor do it again, but right Your (btw, you're is "you are") signature is piss poor. Try it again, but right. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873935 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 you're instructions are piss poor do it again, but right I can't help it that you don't understand English. 1. Make your game mod-able. Use whatever method you want. I've included the idiot proof Magic.bat that even you can't screw up. 2. Copy the timecyc.dat you want to use to \Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto IV\pc\data 3. Start the game. It doesn't get any easier than that. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873938 Share on other sites More sharing options...
xKingKaz Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 dis really works LOL!!!! my game play is smoother den before and my fps raised as well! and da game detail looks pretty good too! Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058873984 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 Awesome I'm glad it's working well for you. It really take a lot of stress of your system if you use this in conjunction with lowering your draw distance. The shadows and draw distance are what I've noticed that really hammer your PC. Now if we can find a way to disable the shadows. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874224 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoreMaster Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 This is what we needed from the get go. The major resource killers in the game is the Draw Distance tied in with the Detail Distance. The Shadows are the biggest resource hog but once set to 0 i get a 10 fps gain. Im going to try this when i get home! Good job with this Discovery and modification good job to the both of you! Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874239 Share on other sites More sharing options...
hristi Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Can you reupload the file somewhere else?? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874302 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) Can you reupload the file somewhere else?? Sure. I'll put a mirror there. Give me 5 minutes. *EDIT* Done. Edited January 13, 2009 by Pixelated Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874304 Share on other sites More sharing options...
hristi Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Can you reupload the file somewhere else?? Sure. I'll put a mirror there. Give me 5 minutes. *EDIT* Done. Thanks man.. I'm going to try it now. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874372 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlingShotUK Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 you're instructions are piss poor do it again, but right I can't help it that you don't understand English. 1. Make your game mod-able. Use whatever method you want. I've included the idiot proof Magic.bat that even you can't screw up. 2. Copy the timecyc.dat you want to use to \Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto IV\pc\data 3. Start the game. It doesn't get any easier than that. Your original instructions are spot on mate - detailed, clear and easy to follow. Some people. Great mod! I'll give this a go soon and see how it looks. I'm getting decent performance now but would love to try and up the textures to 'high' and stop it stuttering. Not sure if this will help that but it's worth playing with for any fps increase.. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874561 Share on other sites More sharing options...
badguy Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 What does the Maigc.bat change in GTA IV files? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874590 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkey82 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 What does the Maigc.bat change in GTA IV files? Nothing. It makes backups of original files and allows you to mod the game. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874666 Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuvip Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 this tweak will gain more fps? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874680 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kakashi_sensei Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Nice, I want to try this! Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874717 Share on other sites More sharing options...
badguy Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) I tried this. Only gave me and extra 3-5 fps. With view distance at 0 How can it give your nearly 20 fps and only extra 3-5 fps for me btw what we will do without the modding community? Good work to the both of you but I didnt get much gain. Edited January 13, 2009 by badguy Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874769 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelated Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 I tried this. Only gave me and extra 3-5 fps. With view distance at 0 How can it give your nearly 20 fps and only extra 3-5 fps for me btw what we will do without the modding community? Good work to the both of you but I didnt get much gain. You're using an under spec card. The 9500GT isn't really a gaming card. That's why I said it might not work for older or less powerful hardware. If either your CPU or GPU is holding you back that will definitely limit certain things. The idea is too have the best balance possible. Also If you're already playing the game with minimal draw distance then this tweak isn't going to help a whole lot. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874905 Share on other sites More sharing options...
babarian225 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) I tried this. Only gave me and extra 3-5 fps. With view distance at 0 How can it give your nearly 20 fps and only extra 3-5 fps for me btw what we will do without the modding community? Good work to the both of you but I didnt get much gain. This is the Case. BUT BETTER THAN ALL THOSE PERFORMANCE MOD TROLLS ON HERE Edited January 13, 2009 by babarian225 Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874984 Share on other sites More sharing options...
badguy Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I tried this. Only gave me and extra 3-5 fps. With view distance at 0 How can it give your nearly 20 fps and only extra 3-5 fps for me btw what we will do without the modding community? Good work to the both of you but I didnt get much gain. You're using an under spec card. The 9500GT isn't really a gaming card. That's why I said it might not work for older or less powerful hardware. If either your CPU or GPU is holding you back that will definitely limit certain things. The idea is too have the best balance possible. Also If you're already playing the game with minimal draw distance then this tweak isn't going to help a whole lot. Actually my draw distance was at 48 before I used your tweak. I know 9500gt isnt that good. Thought it was when I got my pc built since im not really a pc person. But meh at least it got me some more fps unlike other tweaks on here. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/391989-yet-another-performance-tweak-timecycdat/#findComment-1058874999 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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