Tips for running this on a low-spec computer

[gibbousmoon100]

I have a modern CPU and plenty of RAM, but only a GTX 980. (Actually two of them, in SLI.) That is equivalent to a 1060 except for the VRAM: only 3 GB.

This is below the minimum requirement for this game, I know. I regularly drop below 30FPS and even 20FPS. What are the settings that are most impacted by not having enough VRAM? I'll experiment and try to find out, but there are many settings. If someone knows, please give me advice. :)

[gibbousmoon100]

Thanks! I was able to get 50-60 fps by dropping most things to low except foliage and shadows (since they make a huge difference to the visuals). I'll play around a bit more, and if I learn something I think will be useful to others, I'll share it here.

My MB and CPU are both super modern; I have the 980s because I have 3 3dvision monitors (for 3dvision surround), which is pretty amazing with games old enough not to make the system choke, and I'm not willing to give that up.

[gibbousmoon100]

GFN is garbage for any game that doesn't let you save anywhere. It has a really short timeout and will quit your game after 8 minutes if real life happens to interrupt your gaming. Bye-bye progress.

I found a YouTube video that explains which settings have the highest impact on performance and the lowest impact on actual visual fidelity. It's not bad at all.

[Shabutie]

Originally posted by zen:

A user named Youshou posted settings for their steam deck which should be relevant for you. This game uses a lot of VRAM and CPU, especially when transferring items from inventory to storage. The GTX 980 is from 2014 and in computer years that's practically 2 millenia ago. I'd recommend looking for a used RX6600 or better as it will work well enough on PCIe 3.0 and you won't have to upgrade your mainboard, yet.

Borderless Window
Screen Percentage = 100
VSync = Off
Max FPS = 30
Motion Blur = 0
AA Method = TXAA
Quality Settings
Everything Low Execpt:
AA = High
View Distance = Medium
Textures = High
Foliage = Medium
Headlight and Screen Space Shadows = On
Everything Else Low / Off

Hardware today ages much better than it did 20 years ago, people like me are still able to game just fine on hardware thats nearly 15 years old. In 2005, that would have been literally impossible.

I personally have an i7 970 paired with 48GB of ram and a 4GB GTX680 founders edition and while it wont get me 60fps in most games, I can usually manage 30fps and thats good enough for me.

All personal preference though. Im getting a stable 30fps with:

Fullscreen 1920x1080 (using anything other than fullscreen reduces performance, so not sure why youd use anything other)

Vsync = off
Max FPS = 30
Motion Blur = 0
No AA
View = medium
Textures = high
Foiliage = medium
Effects = ultra
Post Processing = ultra
Shaders = medium
Headlight shadows = on
No screen space shadows

Everything else down the list set to medium and on.

[gibbousmoon100]

Thanks, Shabutie, that helps a lot. Your setup is far more similar to mine. I'll experiment with turning certain settings back up.

[10,000_Miles]

Originally posted by gibbousmoon100:

Thanks! I was able to get 50-60 fps by dropping most things to low except foliage and shadows (since they make a huge difference to the visuals). I'll play around a bit more, and if I learn something I think will be useful to others, I'll share it here.

My MB and CPU are both super modern; I have the 980s because I have 3 3dvision monitors (for 3dvision surround), which is pretty amazing with games old enough not to make the system choke, and I'm not willing to give that up.

Have you tried the 3DFix Manager? Apparently it can be installed on cards as new as a 1650 Super. The driver 452.06 has support for up to an RTX 2080 btw.
The 980 has come and gone, I picked up a 1080 for $50 last year. The man was going to throw it away and just thought of listing it on FB market.

[gibbousmoon100]

You can actually go as high as 2080 ti without losing 3dv driver support. I just haven't bothered yet.

One thing I need to confirm is that the DP-out will work the DVI-in on my monitors. Passive (unpowered) cables won't work for this, so compatibility can be finicky. (The 980 has both DP and DVI, so it's easy enough to test on my current setup, but I haven't bought the necessary adapter to test yet. Also, they are expensive.)