Vice City Still No Smooth Framerates?

[frodo098]

It's already cold enough that Rockstar makes PC gamers wait almost a year for a pc version even though it was pc gamers that supported GTA when it was a small franchise, now they only give us direct ports. GTA runs just fine and I still commend them for how little slowdown I receive with the limiter off, but it's like all the same problems with gta3 for pc. Will Rockstar ever make a patch that will let pc users get the 50 or more steady fps depending on how good your hardware is?

 

There should at least be a .cfg file that would let user manually set the fps limit. It's almost scary how closely this port is to the last, even that weird bug that makes you slides off cars you jump on is still there and other weird things. I just hope Rockstar pays attention to these forums and doesn't forget some people want to get high framerates without doing all kinds of weird tweaking and stuff. I pray every night I will wake up one day and visit the Vice city site and see a new patch and a list of the bug fixes and right at the top it will say "framerates issues resolved" but to no avail only small problems are addressed.

[Jaxen]

I get really smoothe framerates(most of the time), it's wierd even when i am flying. I really shouldn't because i have precisely the minimum specs!

It is kinda sad though but they are up against an enormous problem: imagine how many different cards there are for sound and graphics, then how many different types of configurations there are, then the different processor speeds then the operating systen and it's different configurations. I agree with your dispute with the crappy port. Why can't they just add some extra content like new cars, features or skins... Hell if they published a skin making program that would be awesome. Like bri-skin with loads more legs,heads,etc.. and for the different models.

I like the car surfing so i am kinda disapointed about the sliding off of them. You seem to do it much less though and the main problem is finding a driver who isn't so damn chickenass that he gets out and runs away

 

(hint- use a melee weapon to attack the car - they drive off slowly so you can stay on, they avoid the cops and break the speed limit where sensible - perfect for riding and shooting, you can get up to 4/5 stars easy without incurring much damage)

 

 

[frodo098]

Yeah I get good framerates too, but this is just not becoming for a company like Rockstar. I have seen a ton of other pc games like Morrowind, Postal 2 and Arx Fatalis chug out much better frames and GTA:VC is even easier on your system because as soon as you turn around the npcs and cars are removed from ram giving your system a huge break unlike the other games I mentioned which disappoints me even more. I'm surprised no reviewers have complained about them basicly using the same code as the last pc port. Whatever is making VC have trouble keeping a steady framerate should be so simple to fix, most of the ports always go patchless and unsupported.

[Kurgen]

I'm not sure whether you guys are complaining about low frame-rates, or the fact that you can't "tweak" any specific parameters to achieve more FPS, but I'm amazed at the smooth frame-rates I get on my meagre 1600XP/GeForce3 setup.

 

The point you made about NPCs and cars vanishing as you turn around may well have a large bearing on this, and it is something that really annoyed the sh*t outta me about GTA3. I suppose the price we're paying for consistent FPS is this discarding of "redundant" characters & vehicles, but it's most irritating to see a nice car approach, think about jackin' it, then get distracted for a second, only to turn back to the car and discover the mofo has vanished...

 

IMO, this game has very few faults, and while that one is a real b*tch, the "drowning in 2 feet of water" problem is totally inexcusable, and MAJORLY annoying.

 

K.

[noVa]

i think for the next gta rockstar should seriously try and get away from the technology they are using now.. there system is abit :-/.

 

but this would mean less modifying. i duno which one i wud prefer

[Oblivious]

I think the removal of npc's and vehicles when you turn around is taking the easy way out for them.  What you can't see on your screen has little or nothing to do with your fps.  Anyone who's played Mafia knows it's possible to allow them to exist even when you look away.  In fact, I'd say that Mafia has sharper models too, and it runs just fine on my un-pimpified pc.

 

Tommy can steal/operate any car, truck, boat, motorcycle, plane and helicopter known to man.  Hell, he can even operate a tank. But can he swim?  The water may as well be sulfuric acid.

[MAUSER]

I dont see what everyone is moaning at, as VC plays perfectley on my system.

 

AMD XP 1600 1.44Ghz

256mb DDR ram

40Gb Matrox HDD

Geforce 2 MX 200 64mb (Newest Drivers)

SoundBlaster Audigy 5.1 (Newest Drivers)

Win98 SE

DirectX 9.1

 

I run the game with 800 x 600 x 16 framelimiter on (as this does not affect my fps) and draw distance set at 6. My average fps is 45/50 and only drops down to 35/40 when on bike in the rain at high speed. So whats wrong with that, my system is an average system yet plays VC very very well.

 

Yes the cars may disappear to soon and yes it does get annoying but at the moment your gonna have to live with it or not play the game and get a refund if you think its that bad, but please stop posting new threads on this topic as there is about 5 or 6 on this now.

[Kurgen]

"...but please stop posting new threads on this topic as there is about 5 or 6 on this now."

 

Eh?

 

He (frodo098) did not start this thread to complain about disappearing cars - read his post properly. I mentioned it simply to describe how it annoyed me, and I also stated that it was one of very few faults with the game.

 

Don't try to tell people what they can or can't discuss on a forum over which you have no authority, it'll make you look even sillier than when you accused Vice-Playa of being a liar with his "I can swim", screenshots.

 

K.

[TiTaN_KGB]

mafia, although doesnt run exceptionally well, plays well and i have a steady 40-50 fps at all times.

 

But, mafia's graphics are alot sharper and alot more complex than those of gta.

[Kurgen]

Yep, Mafia had higher resolution textures, and the vehicle poly-counts are also much higher, so it isn't too surprising that I didn't get the kind of consistently smooth frame-rates as I do in VC.

 

I'd have to say that of the two (GTA3 & VC), the only complaint I have/had was with GTA3. When it was initially released, the game had quite a few game-killing bugs, like the menu graphics, which I think I rectified with newer drivers, and the save-game corruption bug, which if I remember right, was fixed with a patch, or by enabling the frame-limiter. All things considered, this monster game & its prequel have fared remarkably well considering their ported origins. The only problems I have with VC are (IMO) game design faults, the inability to swim, or even wade thru shallow water, and the occasional, or inevitable 3D glitch.

 

K.

[Dreakon]

My VC for the PC runs fantastic, not a single slowdown so far, no bugs or anything.  I am extremely happy with the way this turned out.

[darknyt6]

VC runs great on my PC as well - 850/geforce 3.  

 

What I find amazing is that cars and people dissapear so quickly, but that cars I've interacted with will stay in memory for SO LONG.  

 

I'll ditch a car at a light, snag a bike and be driving around for like 5 or 10 minutes and just happen to accidentally drive by the same spot and see my ditched car STILL there in exactly the same spot. I usually think "Hey some guy ditched a car, how cool" , then "Oh wait - that's MY car I left here 10 minutes ago!"

 

So if they can do it for that, why can't they do it for everything else?

[Kurgen]

"So if they can do it for that, why can't they do it for everything else?"

 

Thing is tho' - the reason for removing redundant objects from the game is sound enough - if too many entities are left lying around, the game has to render those, plus all the new things that come into view, NPCs, cars etc, cluttering up RAM, and generally slowing things down. When the player looks in any particular direction, then looks away, the game dumps whatever objects the player saw initially, and loads the stuff that the player sees in the "new" direction. Trouble is, it seems a bit heavy-handed in the way it does so - in that any interactive object seen initially will be gone, even if the player averts their view only for a split-second.

 

Ain't a huge problem tho' - it's just annoying when you think about jackin' that nice Infernus you just saw, only to have it vanish as soon as you turn your back on it...  

 

K.