Slow down problems on mac

#1 We have some fixes for Macs that will go out on the 1.4 release. They might help a bit. Do Torque games run OK on your system? Are you running a debug or a release build?

#2 Im running a clean 1.3 HEAD and using the different games that come with that, ie: starter.fps, and the racing one etc. i just can't get it to run with any sort of speed without reducing the frame size. im looking into graphics drivers tho, maybe that's it

#3 I am seeing the same thing on my Mac (OSX2.3.8 Dual G5, GeForce 6800 Ultra). I was running the fps starter prog and it is virtually unplayable (in all modes I tried), whilst on my PC it works very smoothly. I have just run them (on Mac and PC) "straight out of the box".

#4 Make sure xcode is creating a release exe not a development exe.

Try the xcode optimizations for your processor as well (optimizig for g4 or better will get you some boosts). I'll have to check the other build settings, but they are along those lines, the default project seems to just have default settings, get to know command-I on the project tab and experiment :)

That being said, the altivec stuff and the GG supplied things also have significant boosts.

#5 Can you guys check if the Torque demo you download from the site here and Torque game demos (eg Marble Blast and Think Tanks) run okay on your systems? Let us know.

#6 OK. I recomplied the example version of the Torque Demo using the Xcode G5 optimizations suggested in this thread:

www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=6393

After that the fps was just playable at 600*800 resolution (but still not as good as the PC version). I also re-compiled the code but with the OGL call glFinish() commented out of the guiCanvas.cc file as suggest in this thread:

www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=20011

This seemed to make a litle difference but I am not sure. If I knew how get the frame rate displayed I could make a more objective determination as to how much the above changes improved things (can anyone tell me how to display the frame rate?).

I will download Think Tanks on to my PC and compare its preformace with the Mac version.


Cheers,
Richard

#7 In console type metrics(fps); to get the frames.

#8 Ok - I just compared Think Tanks on my Mac and my PC and the responsiveness of the graphics was essentially the same at low res 600*800 and the highest 1920*1200 on the Mac and 1280*1024 on the PC ie Mac and PC are the same.

The main speed problem with the fps demo is when your character is changing direction very fast - the screen is updated in a jerky fasshion. This sort of motion isn't being tested by the Think Tanks games with the rate at which you can change direction is restricted (becase the tanks can't turn fast).

Cheers,
Richard.

#9

Quote:In console type metrics(fps); to get the frames.

Great - thanks! I'll repeat the tests over the weekend and note the frame rates.

Richard.

#10 I haven't had any problems on my dual G5 (Radeon 9600) but I noticed that the Mini will stutter when long distances through terrain are rendered.

For my project playground, I haven't noticed this because I've killed the terrain completely and am using DIF shapes and DTS decorations (or in some cases, invisible DIF's for collision and DTS "levels"). Think about Devil May Cry's level style (small detailed areas), but with really, really crappy programmer art.

Marble Blast Gold runs fine, but I can't remember seeing any terrain in the levels. I haven't played TT on my Macs, but I used to play Lore on my G5 without any problems, and that's right after it came out.

#11 David: You were one of hte few. Try Lore again and see if yo ucan see the difference :)

between those xcode changes, and the stuff that GG is about to release, we're getting PC performance out of the mac now, even on lower end systems like hte Mini.

Oh, we also use the video card profiling, but i htink that has been in head for a while.

#12 I like being in the next-to-no-one percentile!

Perhaps I was confusing the performance problems with my dial-up connection at the time. The test missions to get the gameplay down didn't have a problem, but going online did. I figured it had more to do with not having broadband at the house than anything else. I need to get back on. I loved the game, but I haven't seem to have had any time to even play games lately, let alone try to make them!

EDIT:
Actually, if I remember right, I did have a problem with the GUI's being slow, but nothing really in-engine. Of course, that was the same week I packed up the G5 and moved it to another house to work on our film stuff. It hasn't been networked since. ;-(

#13 OK - here is a rough summary of speed different between Mac and PC with difference compiles running the fps. I basically switched on fps and stood at the campfire in the centre of the orc village and spun around while looking horizontally. This mode of motion gives the low frame rate (eg looking straight up at the sky dramatically increased the frame rate as you would expect). All are at 600*800 res, the frame rate changes so a rough average is given below.

Mac (2Ghz Dual G5, GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB)

- No compiler optimizations: 20 fps
- "Full" G5 optimized: 80fps

Mac G4 Powerbook (1Ghz, GeForce FX 5200 32MB)

- "Full" G5 optimized: 40fps

PC (2.8 Ghz P4, GeForce FX 5200 128MB):

- Out of the box code: 40fps


I ran the optimized compile with and without the OGL glFinish command on the G5 - there was no obvious difference between the framerates in this case. So, my recommendation is that GG ships the initial product with the full XCode G5 compiler optimizations and then new Mac developers won't notice any speed problems :-)

Anyhow, I am now happy with the Mac (vs PC) speed and will get on with getting to grips with doing something constructive with Torque!

Thanks for the input,
cheers,
Richard.

#14 We have some (hopefully) significant upgrades for Macs coming in 1.4... Between those and updated XCode projects there ought to be some good speedups!

#15 Looking forward to the release!

#16 There are lots of updates coming yep, Torque 1.4 has some nice performance improvements.

Plus, Tiger is only a couple weeks away, and XCode 2.0 is ****awesome****. We'll be shipping the default Torque build with the excutable output from XCode 2.0. Anyone that owns XCode 2 will be able to make their own builds really nice as well.

But even for the current generation of XCode, the new OS X performance improvements coming in Torque 1.4 will help a lot.

#17 Now you are just teasing :-) Is'nt, there an alpha of 1.4 available on CVS or is it too early for that?

cheers,
Richard.

#18 Man, I can't wait for this stuff to come out! I want my Mac version to kick butt ... although I must admit it's really not bad on this Mini right now.

#19 There is a very early RC of 1.4 in CVS but the mac upgrades aren't in yet.

#20 Josh,
this might be a little late to matter, but i downloaded the demo of dark horizons lore, and had the same problems. the game ran slowly and my computer crashed the first time i got shot. the second time it crashed at loadup. maybe its my computer. iv moved development to my pc and im up to my eyeballs with my final project so i havent gotten round to testing fps or anything like that. i think im going to have to leave it for a few months, maybe wait until 1.4 and upgrade to tiger.

sorry about not replying for so long, but thanks to everyone who did reply.
thanks