A20 Settings to Help Performance

[FT]

I'll add more as I find it, but so far a lot of the game reacts pretty similar to A19 for graphic options BUT cities (even in Navezgane) have a noticeable performance hit to the CPU (or non-GPU) that reacts to the following settings:


-ViewDistance MEDIUM gives a tiny boost, NEAR gives a little boost.

-ShadowDistance LOW gives a little boost, OFF gives a HUGE boost.

-ObjectQuality gives a decent boost each step lower, but I don't like going lower than MEDIUM/HIGH because each step lower makes "pop-in" more noticeable as things/decorations aren't visible until you get closer.


-Turning the newly added DynamicMesh option OFF (or at least making sure it's left to LandClaim YES) can help...and lowering the DynamicMesh distance to 500 may also help.
This is in the top/right-most tab of the graphic options.


-The Boot.INI file tweak from A19 still works and still helps performance in cities a LOT.

Fixed the framerate by going into: "7 Days To Die\7DaysToDie_Data\boot.config" right-click and choose to "open with" NotePad and change the settings to this:

gfx-enable-gfx-jobs=1
gfx-enable-native-gfx-jobs=1
wait-for-native-debugger=0
scripting-runtime-version=latest
vr-enabled=0
hdr-display-enabled=0
gc-max-time-slice=3

They were originally:

wait-for-native-debugger=0
hdr-display-enabled=0
gc-max-time-slice=3

Clicking the game in your Steam Library and choosing to Open Launcher, then turning OFF EasyAntiCheat and GameSparks analytics may help FPS in cities and smooth performance when moving...though leaving it on doesn't seem to hurt nearly as much as it used to.

[FT]

Unlike a lot of the CPU (or non-GPU) related performance issues which can also be helped greatly by disabling TREES or GROUND or POIS in the F1 menu...all of these combined seem to help surprisingly little compared to normal.
Instead, it looks like BENTS OFF (even when most of its changes aren't visible on-screen) has a HUGE performance increase.

Of course, all of these are basically useless for most players (who wants to turn off trees or bents of distant terrain?), but it probably means some of the decorative BENTS items could really use an optimization pass.

EDIT:
Looking how BENTS OFF acts when ShadowDistance is also OFF, it seems that both BENTS and Shadows are hitting performance separately...as in, two separate issues where solving either will help a lot but won't inherently fix BOTH at once.
It looks like BENTS is a much bigger issue, potentially adding hundreds of FPS or tripling FPS OFF VS ON, while ShadowDistance OFF VS NEAR merely gives a 40-80fps boost.

I hope the devs can figure out some tricks to improve BENTS performance. It should help cities a LOT.

[FT]

It looks like some of the updates improved performance (not sure if it was the latest or the update from a week ago). The forest and rural areas already performed really well, and now I think even the largest cities performance improved up to 120-130% although half of that improvement still comes from the Boot.INI tweak. Without that tweak, performance is roughly 10%-15% better.
Less VRAM is being used too, which I think was mentioned in the patch notes. Still using a boatload of system RAM though.

I'm also really enjoying the new F1 command "gfx lodbias 2" (or whatever number you want, numbers below 1.0 are usually lower than default while numbers 2 and above are higher than default).


Lowering ObjectQuality from Ultra to HIGH can give large cities a huge performance boost for a small cost to visuals (slightly closer rendering of some decorations and lootables). Simply dropping ObjectQuality from ULTRA to HIGH can sometimes give +30fps.

[Xins Ruby]

Damn nice, this really helped. Turning off shadows gave me like +30 fps on high quality settings.

[FT]

Did a little testing with zombies and cities and zombies-in-cities. Mostly in a skyscraper where I realized a specific part has some rough performance:

Pregen10K, Skyscraper#3, 375West/2400South, 5'th floor up. Standing near outside corner of little break/lunch room, facing NorthWest.

Settings not mentioned are Default/UltraPreset. Stock Ryzen1600 settings and default RAM 2133mhz settings.


..everything default. UltraPreset.
~32fps, 22-25fps w/25zeds

ShadowDistLOW, ObjectQualityMED, DynamicMesh 500 (landclaimYES)
~46fps, 28-32fps w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings:
(AA-LOW, TextQual-HALF, TextFilter-HIGH, UMA-LOWEST, ReflectQuality-LOW, ReflectShad-OFF, ShadowDistance-LOW, WaterQuality-HIGH, Particles 0-30%, ViewDistance-MEDIUM, LOD-0%, TerrainQuality-LOWEST, GrassDistance-HIGH, ObjectQuality-MEDIUM, Occlusion-OFF, Bloom-OFF, DOF-OFF, MotionBlur-OFF, SSAO-ON, SSReflections-OFF, SunShafts-OFF....DynamicMesh 500/LCByes)
~50fps, 28-32fps (sometimes 32-35) w/25zeds

Lowering most graphics settings,
~51fps, 32-35 w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, EAC+GameSpark OFF
~54fps, 34-36fps w/25zeds

All graphics and mesh and audio off/lowest except ShadLOW, ObjMED, ViewMED
~55fps, 32-35 w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, RAM XMP/3000mhz
~56fps, 34-36fps w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, EAC+GameSpark OFF, RAM XMP/3000mhz
~57fps, 35-40fps w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, RAM XMP/3000mhz, BootTweak
~70fps, 44-47fps w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, EAC+GameSpark OFF, RAM XMP/3000mhz, BootTweak
~75fps, 50-53fps w/25zeds

All graphics, mesh, audio off/lowest except ShadLOW, ObjMED, ViewMED
EAC+GameSpark OFF, RAM XMP/3000mhz, BootTweak
~80fps, 52-55fps w/25zeds


All graphics, mesh, audio off/lowest except ShadLOW, ObjMED, ViewMED
EAC+GameSpark OFF, BootTweak
~75fps, 50-53fps w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, EAC+GameSpark OFF, BootTweak
~70fps, 45-50fps w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, BootTweak
~68fps, 44-46fps w/25zeds

ShadowDistLOW, ObjectQualityMED, ViewDistMED, OcclusionOFF, DynamicMesh 500 (landclaimYES) BootTweak
~65fps, 42-45fps w/25zeds

ShadowDistMED, ObjectQualityHIGH, ViewDistMED, OcclusionOFF, DynamicMesh 500 (landclaimYES) BootTweak
~48fps, 36-40fps w/25zeds

ViewDistMED, OcclusionOFF, DynamicMesh 500 (landclaimYES) BootTweak
~42fps, 35-38fps w/25zeds

OcclusionOFF, BootTweak
~40fps, 32-35fps w/25zeds

ShadowDistOFF, OcclusionOFF, BootTweak
~67fps, 49-53fps w/25zeds

ObjectQualityLOWEST, OcclusionOFF, BootTweak
~72fps, 39-44fps w/25zeds

All graphics off/lowest except ShadULT, ObjHIGHEST, ViewDistHIGH, BootTweak
~42fps, 33-37fps w/25zeds

All graphics off/lowest except ShadULT, ObjHIGHEST, ViewDistHIGH, BootTweak
AudioOptions OFF...and then back ON
~42fps, 36-39fps w/25zeds

All graphics off/lowest except ShadULT, ObjHIGHEST, BootTweak
~48fps, 39-42fps w/25zeds

ViewDistanceLOW, OcclusionOFF, BootTweak
~42fps, 36-39fps w/25zeds

OcclusionOFF, ObjectQualityLOWEST
~55fps, 33-37fps w/25zeds

OcclusionOFF, ShadowDistanceOFF
~50fps, 33-35fps w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, EAC+GameSpark OFF, BootTweak
~65fps, 50-54fps w/25zeds

My prefered LowGraphic settings, BootTweak
~65fps, 47-50fps w/25zeds



My prefered LowGraphic settings, BootTweak, CITY OUTSKIRTS BY TRADER
~130fps, 70-74fps w/25zeds

ViewDistanceMEDIUM, OcclusionOFF, BootTweak, CITY OUTSKIRTS BY TRADER
~110fps, 57-62fps w/25zeds

ViewDistanceMEDIUM, OcclusionOFF, CITY OUTSKIRTS BY TRADER
~98fps, 55-59fps w/25zeds


Realized there's several deep FrameTime dips (big stutters) whenever I'm circling or kiting the zeds out in the feild...even with all graphic options and DynamicMesh options OFF/Lowest and even with extreme in-game tweaks (no trees, no distant terrain, no distant POIs, GFXppEnable, BentsOFF)...the stutter remained.
It would lessen in frequency after I'd been kiting the same group of zeds around for several seconds (maybe 20-30seconds?), but it'd still happen pretty often while trying to bob'n'weave forward and back to attack and retreat/kite.

Then I turned the BootTweak ON and EAC+GameSparks OFF...and the same situation could run smooth...even with defaultMESH and UltraPreset(OcclusionOFF).
Turned EAC+GameSparks ON (leaving BootTweak ON), and it still seems to be running smooth.

Turned the BootTweak OFF and EAC+GameSparks OFF, and it still seems to be smooth...now I'm getting confused. Start goofing with TextureQuality and Mesh settings back'n'forth in-game because it can force VRAM and RAM usage unusually high..now I'm seeing some stuttering like I expected.
Not 100% sure if it's VRAM-RAM-PF overspill or BootTweakOFF or the combination, or something else.
Closed the game and re-opened, leaving the same settings..and it runs smooth. Must've been the VRAM-RAM-PF overspill.?
Orrrr not. Even making sure the end result is only about 5.5gbRAM and 1.8gbVRAM, toggling the TextureQuality around while paused in-game seems to result in stutter while dodging zombies (even long after the setting has been adjusted).

[gorillaCHEEZ]

thanks!

[UnDeadDemon]

Is anyone else getting massive stutter when sleeper zombies wakeup? My game goes from 100 fps to literally 0 when they wake up sometimes.

This was after the fps fixes have been applied as well.

[FT]

Originally posted by UnDeadDemon:

Is anyone else getting massive stutter when sleeper zombies wakeup? My game goes from 100 fps to literally 0 when they wake up sometimes.
This was after the fps fixes have been applied as well.

Yeah, I've noticed it gets pretty bad too. I'll have to focus on testing against it more specifically, but I don't have much hope...the hitching/stuttering seemed pretty rough, and performance drops from zombies have been really stubborn.

Originally posted by gorillaCHEEZ:

thanks!

You're welcome.

[Kai]

I seemingly manage to get 90~100 fps outside of cities (which you normally might not get depending on the setup) by turning off Object occlusion (where it does not render stuff you don't see).

The reason why the FPS is higher is that the I/O to reload everything outside of your field of view will reduce overall CPU strain when you turn really fast, when you have a suitable CPU that isn't fully utilized.

Since you keep the CPU load higher with all objects rendered ingame regardless of being blocked off or not, you reduce the strain on other components needing to feed your CPU and in turn GPU, by keeping all the data of said objects rendered in VRAM (most people should have 8GB GPU VRAM by now) and RAM.

My reasoning is that keeping objects rendered will heat up your CPU sure, but it reduces repetition on having to unload and reload objects rapidly when you move from building to building in a city.

Unity is GOD AWFUL at processing the game at the engine level as it seemingly single threads at that level, so keeping your data / objects and stuff rendered or accessible for the rest of the hardware without going through making the engine reloading everything, will probably keep your FPS higher more often in cities, so long as you adjust other settings that it doesn't kill your FPS from unneeded view distance rendering.

Make the game load your area once, and be done with it until you leave that area basically.

[FT]

Originally posted by Bleep:

Nice findings. The BootTweak I tried before and after a bunch of minutes, the framerate actually gets worse and unstable so I don't recommend it.

I wish the devs added more shadow options to tweak like shadow map resolution, shadow view distance, soft shadows toggle, etc...

I've noticed many places can change performance depending on time-of-day, and change performance depending on what direction you're facing. ...And, of course, the amount of zombies nearby and spawning in/out at that exact time can also affect performance.
It can be a bit of a pain, but after controlling for those variables does the Boot.Config Tweak still hurt performance?

Or, if that's too much, can you tell me what map/seed, location (coordinates), and situation you were in while comparing them..so I can try to see if the same thing happens to me (so I can try to narrow down and report back what specific things seem to hurt the BootTweak's performance) or if it's a bit more rare than that?

[FT]

Originally posted by Bleep:

I really didn't test it throughly. I first tested on a newly created map and saw a big jump in framerate even with a bunch of zeds was great. Then I went back to my main save where I have a custom base and inside after a while, I noticed framerate was actually worse and unstable. I have plenty of electrical stuff wired up, forge, chem station, farms, generator, storage boxes, spike traps... Don't know if that stuff affects it.

Ooh, I've never tested/tried it with really elaborate bases (I usually just make a pretty small elevated walkway or barbed-wired tunnel).

Would it be possible for you to describe it in pretty gross detail, or take a few screenshots and share them here?

[UnDeadDemon]

Just tested it with the fix off and it still lags so the issue is the game when the sleeper zombies wake up, or new ones spawn pathing to you causes massive stutter at least thats what i think it is idk.

[Ankido]

2560x1440 (16:9)

• 120+ FPS Single Player
  
• 60-80+ FPS Multi-Player

Settings

• Anti-Aliasing - Temporal
  
• AA Sharpening - 0% (never sharpen a screen period)
  
• Texture Quality - Full
  
• Texture Filter - Medium
  
• UMA Texture Quality - Medium
  
• Reflection Quality - Low
  
• Reflected Shadows - on (optional)
  
• Shadows Distance - Low
  
• Water Quality - Low
  
• Particles - 50%
  
• View Distance - Low
  
• LOD Distance - 50%
  
  
• Terrain Quality - High
  
• Grass Distance - High
  
• Object Quality - High
  
• Occlusion - Off (never on in any game)
  
  
• Bloom - Off (never on in any game)
  
• Depth of Field - Off (never on in any game)
  
• Motion Blur - Simple ( My preference ... Off (never on in any game)
  
• SSAO - Off
  
• SS Reflections - Off
  
• Sun Shafts - Off (never on in any game)

[se05239]

Disabling Dynamic Mesh and reducing values on its tab in the options gave me a massive performance boost.

[FT]

Originally posted by se05239:

Disabling Dynamic Mesh and reducing values on its tab in the options gave me a massive performance boost.

I haven't noticed a huge performance boost from it, but I have gotten a nice little boost from lowering the MESH distance to 500.
It performs better lowered to 100, but that looks really bad.

I also got a little boost turning MESH OFF so it didn't try to render every little hole I'd knocked into a distant building...but then I realized I had (LandClaim set to NO)...setting it to YES (the new default, where only LandClaimed areas will render your changes at distance) made it so MESH ON performed about the same as OFF. Though I'd expect that to change if I built a really large or elaborate base.

[FT]

Also tested some extreme RAM-use cases and found some really interesting results.

Playing a 10km map at 4K UltraPreset can use as much as 11gb RAM plus ~6gb VRAM with a 6gb GPU...mostly because the 4K resolution wants more VRAM than I have.
BUT that 10km map at 4K UltraPreset can also squeeze down to 3-5gb RAM if it needs to..seemingly without constantly hitting the PageFile.

Playing an 8km map at 480x600 with TextureQualityEIGHTH, UMAtextureLOWEST, ViewDistance NEAR and super low MESH settings can use ~7.5gb RAM and less than 2gb VRAM.
These same lowest-memory-use settings can also squeeze the game down to 0.5-1.5gb RAM if it needs to. I even tried it again with default MESH settings..and could still get it to 0.5-1.5gb without crashing or breaking.


Basically, as long as your GPU has enough VRAM for your chosen resolution (which it almost always will), you can crank the settings and the game can run using only 1.5gb RAM.
I guess this explains why I was able to play it on a laptop with only 4gb memory.