Strange lag?

[Th3MaN1]

Ok so...I bought a new fresh,unused copy of GTA 3 a while ago:

1.Because the CD wasn't working.

2.The game was lagging.

I was thinking that the lag is caused because the CD is scrached badly.

When I got my new CD,the game was working perfectly on 800x600x32 resolution.Fluid 30 fps everywhere.But the third time I loaded a game,it was lagging pretty bad.

Now,my PC is not good for gaming,but it is good enough for the game,because I could run at a medium resolution on a very good fps rate.After noticing the lag,I deleted the gta3.set file and started the game again.Still,lagged a lot.The weird thing is that after I reinstalled,I tried to play at the lowest resolution possible(640x480x16) and still the same lag.After setting it to 800x600x32 the game was running perfectly again.But after entering the game after that,again,the lag came.What could be the problem?

My PC(in short):

Intel® Celeron® 2.66 GhZ

512 Mb Ram

128 Mb Intel Graphics card

Now I know the Pc sucks alot in every category,but as I said,I could get the game to run surprisingly well.I also defragment daily,I have no viruses(I use AVG) and bigger games run a lot better(VC,SA,FIFA 07,08)

What can I do?I'm helpless.

P.S:I use Windows XP Service Pack 2.

I welcome any reply.

Edited June 30, 2012 by Th3MaN1

[Dr. John]

Try turning off the Frame Limiter.

[Th3MaN1]

I already tried.Not working.

[TomJK]

I think i have the same problem, i had Gta III and it ran without no lag but when i deleted it and installed it again after 2 months the game became laggy.

[DEALUX]

When do you get this lag? When driving, on foot or at random times? Also, what version is your game? I suggest you update to v1.1 if you haven't already, and copy all the audio contents on the second CD in the installation folder\audio. That should make the game load the audio from the hard disk, CD loading might be the source of the lag.

[Th3MaN1]

I get lag constantly.I have version 1.0.I'll try what you suggested,let's hope it works.

[DEALUX]

That doesn't make much sense then, but I would still update to v1.1 for convenience. That is why I play the Steam version and keep the disc version just as a collectable, I used to get short freezes from disc loading.

[Th3MaN1]

Damn.I'm getting even lower fps with 1.1.Going back to 1.0.Any more tips?

[Dr. John]

and copy all the audio contents on the second CD in the installation folder\audio. That should make the game load the audio from the hard disk, CD loading might be the source of the lag.

His PC is badly outdated. If he tries to put the audio file in the Directory, then the audio maybe unbalanced. I know this as I played GTA 3 once in my XP and there were no lags. Try updating the drivers for now. In Win 7, it does has audio problem but once copy pasted audio file in the Directory, it get's fixed.

[Th3MaN1]

I'll do that.

[Arsen Vitiuk]

My suggestions:

 

1. Delete the Settings File (gta3.set) - this could be the source of the problem. I had the same situation once.

 

2. Copying the Audio Files to the game directory will improve performance, no matter what everyone says.

 

3. Using version 1.1 patch surely doesn't fix this bug, as it deals with other aspects.

 

4. Make sure the Frame Limiter is on, and that the resolution is of 32-bit depth. Whatever the size - you select yourself.

[Th3MaN1]

Never tried 640x480x32.Will try it right now.

 

EDIT:With the lower resolution,I got a slightly better performance,but even deleting the gta3.set file didn't work.Going to sleep now,but tomorow will re-install the game and run it directly on 640x480x32.

Oh and I already did the 2nd step,Arsen.

Edited July 1, 2012 by Th3MaN1

[Arsen Vitiuk]

If your PC allows you to, try 1280x760x32 - for optimal experience or 1440x900x32 - for superb performance.

 

For PS2-like experience pick up 640x480x32.

 

Some head up here!

[DEALUX]

If your PC allows you to, try 1280x760x32 - for optimal experience or 1440x900x32 - for superb performance.

 

For PS2-like experience pick up 640x480x32.

 

Some head up here!

It depends on the aspect ratio of his monitor, or more like the native resolution. You will always get the best image quality in the native resolution of the monitor.

 

I have a similar PC, only worse CPU but better video card (AMD Radeon 9550 256 MB) and 768 MB of RAM, and I also get some lag on GTA III. I don't get as much lag on Vice City and San Andreas strangely.

 

By the way, how horrible is the lag? Do you have Fraps or something to measure the frame rate? I get frame rates between 15 and 30 at times, but usually between 20 and 30.

 

Have you tried turning trails off? It seems to improve performance on my PC, but only slightly.

 

 

@Dr. John13 What do you mean unbalanced? His PC is surpasses the recommended requirements for the game, and I have a similar PC and I get slowdowns from CD loading, when I enter cars or switch radio stations.

 

@Arsen Vitiuk You have to update to v1.1 in order for the game to load the files from your hard disk, you can copy them on v1.0 but the game will still load them off the CD.

[Arsen Vitiuk]

You have to update to v1.1 in order for the game to load the files from your hard disk, you can copy them on v1.0 but the game will still load them off the CD.

Oh that's where the point is? You mean, if I install the Version 1.1 patch, I can play without the DVD? Cool, thanks for that!

 

On-topic: trails is what, in fact, caused lags for me back then... Turned them off, deleted gta3.set - and volia!

[MrMateczko]

Disable Trails! They are lagging my computer too! Kinda weird for a 10 years old game. But SA is lagging in my computer as well. Somehow VC is running good.

[Th3MaN1]

Already turned trails off.Still didn't work.I'm going to mess with the resolutions.Also,in the audio options,I noticed an option which says:"dynamic acousting modeling" or something like that.Does turning it off help?I don't seem to get better performance.

 

EDIT:After hours of trial and error,I got the following result:

I downloaded a timecyc that limits the draw distance a lot:

Turned off visual themes in compatibility mode:

Ran the game with 1.0 version on 640x480x32

And FINALLY got the game to work the way it used to.Let's hope it stays that way.

Still,any mods,don't lock this topic,will probably still need it.

Thanks for all the help people!!

 

Edited July 2, 2012 by Th3MaN1