FEAR (FEAR 2 & Condmened) Mircostuttering due to card based Vsync

[BigMcLargehuge]

Years ago I made a post about microstuttering across all lithtech games that wasn't related to the well known HID problem. I incorrectly believed the "volumetric lighting" setting in game was the culprit. I figured this might help some unaware players so I thought I'd make a new discussion.

If anyone is still having a microstutter issues after the HID device fix, hardware set Vsync basically destroys lithtech games from what I can tell.

Here's a few steps you can try:

-First, install the known HID fix if you haven't already.
[https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/789-directinput-fps-fix/]

(This is great because you won't have to disable HID devices manually in device manager)

-Turn off ALL video card based Vsync (adaptive or otherwise) in your card's control panel

-DON'T use addtional Vsync options like Gsync (and I assume FreeSync though haven't tested)

-Turn Triple Buffering on via your video card's control panel

-I'd recommend locking to 60fps refresh rate. (Yes technically the game can go well beyond that, but things like physics and damage states don't seem to work right above 60fps)

-Turn on Vsync in game

-Enjoy a perfectly smooth FEAR with no micro stutter and all settings max

These exact steps also worked for me on other lithtech games like Condemned and FEAR 2

Hope this helps and isn't old/fake news!

[sgtCooper]

Is this the problem related to or being same as the following one?

http://youtu.be/c563frrNxHQ

[BigMcLargehuge]

Hey SgtCooper. Yes and no.

The problem in the video you posted is more directly related to the HID compliant device bug. So yes, without disabling those HID compliant devices or installng the .DLL file I listed above, you WILL experience a slow framerate in FEAR (and other lithtech engine games) locked to about 30-45 fps. This issue has been well documented and fixed by FEAR players way smarter than I :P

The issue I was having was less to do with slow framerate and more to do with constant stuttering and mirco stuttering before scripted events (like scare sequences) or when combat gets really crazy.

[Just Chill]

I've recorded this one with 60 FPS, but had around 100 FPS while playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BGQwbL4Hkw

The only thing which bothers me is that harsh lag while creating a checkpoint save.
Game is located on my SSD, similar as my whole Steam folder.
So I am unsure why this lag happens as normally it's an indication that something except the video is written onto my HDD.
Simply as recording a 4K video takes a lot of capazity and then writing something different onto the same drive might produce a lag.

But I am totally unsure why this happens as the checkpoint save shouldn't be written onto the HDD but my SSD (where I also find it when I look for the save).




The frame time also seems a bit odd, which probably is because of the higher frames I play during recording. So 60 FPS is actually a downgrade to how I actually play the game, which results in some frames being seen longer than others.

Addition:
Anyways, it seems I somehow ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up the dynamic shadows.
Guess I am gonna restart, since I don't want to record the game without that feature. Maybe the fault is using AA. Gonna recheck today and start from scratch.

Shouldn't take that long getting back to the point I am right now.


Addition:
Just restarted.
Looks A LOT better now. :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpnrekIHQQw