Low frames per second on steam deck?

[Schmaltz]

I remember seeing someone say that they could get 20 fps on 100 dwarves somewhere. I’m getting 9 with 40 so is that normal? Is there something i can do to raise the fps?

[Fel]

There are many things that can affect the frame rate, including things that are out of your control, like having fire spread through the caverns every few years due to some forgotten beast.

The size of the embark also matters and there are a lot of smaller points including how you designed your stairs that can have an effect.

There is a video out there from blindirl about various things like that which can affect the performances.

[Schmaltz]

Thanks for the response. I’ll check the video out and design my next fort with his video in mind (:

[Ottfried]

Make sure to downscale your caverndwellers in the difficulty. They really mess up the frame rate, when there are 100 of them just chilling.
They like to stay hidden and in the water. So you need to to get rid of them after the change

[CloudsInTheSky]

Originally posted by Ottfried:

Make sure to downscale your caverndwellers in the difficulty. They really mess up the frame rate, when there are 100 of them just chilling.
They like to stay hidden and in the water. So you need to to get rid of them after the change

I disable them completely, because there is a bug that does not despawn them. Also, disabling temperature and weather can improve the frame rate a bit. Another big issue with framerate death are worn out clothes and their accumulation in owned furniture. Every 1-2 years try to throw them into lava or in a refuse spot outside (they will either degrade or get stolen by various outside NPCs). Also, make sure not to create too many channels of water as everything is calculated non-stop in this game.

One solution is to get DFHack, and automate scripts that clean up various things in the base, but I am not sure if you can run that on steam deck. DFHack can also make things worse if you mess with it too much, so I usually avoid it and try to limit the amount of dwarfs (~30) and production. Heck, best way to trade in this game is cooked food, and you do not need a lot to get that going.