Non-steam game lags when launched through steam

[fildred13]

If I launch Pokémon insurgence (a nonsteam game) directly, it runs fine.

If I add the Pokémon insurgence .exe to steam as a non steam game, then run it that way, it runs awful, at something like 10fps.

I would love to be able to run it through steam, because then I can use steam in home streaming to stream it to my phone with a paired steam controller, and setup controller configs that get remembered for the game.

Any ideas why launching a game through steam would make it a laggy mess?

[RPG Gamer Man]

it could be something to do with the non-steam game. For example, it might be loading a game launcher or something, it will take time to load up the game. As for the game being slow in steam itself, i have no clue. It could be a compatibility issue between that specific game and steam itself. I suggest trying it without steam overlay first and see if that improves it.

[fildred13]

The .exe launches the game directly, so no launcher. How do I try it without steam overlay? Where is that setting for this shortcut? I don't think you can disable the steam overlay for a non-steam game? I don't have a "General" tab when editing the properties for the game, only a "Shortcut" tab.

Interestingly if I create a .bat file which launches the game, and register that bat file as a steam game, then the game runs flawlessly. But that's a problem, because in-home streaming thinks the .bat file is the game, and it doesn't retain the controller config when the bat file "switches focus" to the actual game.

[RPG Gamer Man]

Originally posted by fildred13:

The .exe launches the game directly, so no launcher. How do I try it without steam overlay? Where is that setting for this shortcut?

Interestingly if I create a .bat file which launches the game, and register that bat file as a steam game, then the game runs flawlessly. But that's a problem, because in-home streaming thinks the .bat file is the game, and it doesn't retain the controller config when the bat file "switches focus" to the actual game.

To turn off steam overlay, you need to go into steam settings. In top left of the steam app, click steam, settings, in game. You will see a checkmark items saying "Enable steam overlay in games". Uncheck it and see if it improves you non-steam game. This may or may not work. Good luck. If it does not work, come back and tell us please!

[fildred13]

Ah, I'm used to disabling it per-game rather than across all games at once.

Sadly, no dice. Even with steam overlay disabled, game is still completely laggy if launched via steam.

[7777nox]

Sorry for necro, but were you able to fix this? I have the same problem with the same game

[Elucidator]

Is it just the game lagging or everything?
It maybe an FPS limit issue.
The thing is, Steam burns something on top of the game that checks it. (the Overlay is basically always on, its just not visible)
That said, perhaps disabling the overlay for that specific game alone helps a bit at least. That said, you likely need the overlay for Streaming it over remote play.

Anyway, try figuring out what exactly causes the fps decrease.

Edit: here's how you could do it
Process Monitor + Process Explorer
(set it up to see GPU processing on the App)
(also keep an eye on ram filling see if there is a limit, stuff like that)
(take a look at all gpu cores and see how many the game uses at most, maybe they're just too busy and not all are used)
Figure out what phases it starts dropping fps down, etc.

[fildred13]

No, I never figured out why launching the insurgence exe file directly caused it to lag. Interesting to hear someone else experienced the same thing.

I used the .bat trick explained above in order to be able to launch the game via steam without lagging. Then I used an external controller key mapper (joy2key in my case) to map my controller.

It’s only a minor annoyance having to launch joy2key first, and then it works flawlessly. I bought a phone mount for my Xbox controller and now I can play Pokémon insurgence like a mobile game out on the porch!

[Hunt]

I found out what you need to do after searching for myself with the same problem, hit F1 in game and turn on the "Reduce Screen Flickering" option. It still spikes sometimes but according to the fourm i found its might just be the text speed and size of my window.