Fallout 4 Optimization and Performance Systems Explained

[SMB92]

How exactly are you generating the new precalc. Please list your methodology so we can troubleshoot where you went wrong.

 

If you are generating near Monsignor plaza, be sure to disable the rogue occlusion box there (I uploaded a file for this on my nexus account).

[thatoneguy1337]

This is what I'm doing:

 

I'm playing Fallout 4 on a laptop and I've had to mod the game to increase performance - I've removed all special effects through INI edits, have 512x512 textures and locked the framerate at 30. However I still have FPS issues in urban areas. I made a merge patch of some performance mods and use that, along with my 100 other mods centered around Horizon and Sim Settlements.

 

I've been trying to rebuild my Previses and Precombines for the last month, with all 100 plus mods loaded in the CK. It takes just an hour to load them all, on an SSD!

 

I've tried many methods and it seems to only randomly work. There's no surefire way that I know of.

 

What I've been doing is Precombing for the loaded area and then Prevising the loaded area, but I've also tried Going Generate Visibility>Precombine Geo>Precombine Visibilty, and doing Precombine and Previs per cell. It seems to only work randomly, but when it does i get a huge boost in FPS.

 

Am I doing something wrong?

 

Edit: I hope this was enough information. I can add more if it will help.

Edited June 4, 2018 by thatoneguy1337

[Trosski]

Yes. You don't generate precombines with your entire Load order loaded. First off... Not everything is going to work well together right out of the box even if you generate precombines. You're going to need to do some merging, and patching first. You need to figure out which mods edit the exterior zone. Those are the only ones that need to be loaded, but even then, you shouldn't just load all of them, because if multiple mods edit the same area, or areas close enough to share Precombines, and Previs... You may need to resolve unforeseen conflicts. Generating Precombines, and Previs isn't a cure all for FPS issues. you need to take the time to get everything set up properly, and know what mods need new Precalc, and what doesn't.

[Zzyxzz]

Even with a beast PC you get FPS drops down to 30. Thats how the game was made. Bad. Shadows are an absolute killer. If you want an improve in FPS, the only chance you have is a good PC. Redo precombined meshes and previs won't help you.

[SMB92]

Basically what Zzyxzz said, and if you have that bad a potato for a PC, dont use mods that alter/break precalc

[SKKmods]

^ this. The only mod I have made that messes with pecombine for statc scrapping had to be published with two builds: 50kb no static pecombine changes for performance and 20mb regenerated precombine for .... vanity. Even with regeneration, fps is affected during heavy combat loads on a sensible i7/1060 reference system.

[thatoneguy1337]

Well, one less thing to do lmao.

[thatoneguy1337]

Nevermind - i just played some Fallout and I need the Prevising for it to run smooth. I wanna play Horizon, man!

 

Tell me what i need to do - what mods to load in the CK, how to fix conflicts...I need that extra FPS gain.

[Frozzyman]

Question for all you knowledgeable fellows.

 

I’m attempting to precombine the mod Better Goodneighbour, the concept has worked perfectly IF smooth FPS is only considered. But one problem remains for me, I'll explain.

 

I’ve followed the steps, I load the mod as active *Done*

Then I “Precombined geometry for current cell” to all desired cells. *Done*

Then Generate precombined visibility for all loaded cells. *Done*

 

I then save over the original esp, followed by saving the archive which is two files due to the added textures. One I label MODNAME – Main, the second MODNAME – Textures.

Make sure I switch back to my original Data folder so any files the creation kit has modified will not be used. Load up the mod and voila, smoother FPS!

 

But here is the problem I’m having with textures (see below). Several of them seem to be battling for supremacy. Upon inspecting the file in Xedit I’ve noticed that most textures effected are actually part of the “Material Swap” in the esp. (Photo of FO4 Edit below)

 

Does precombining effect material swaps? Is there another way for me to perform these swaps in order for them to be included properly in the precombine? Any helpful information is appreciated.

 

(Some words on what I’ve tried. I’ve tried removing the original textures and materials folders and relying purely on the BA2 Files I created, also tried the opposite and leaving them. Same problem persists. I’ve utilized a separate esp as a patch and left the original mod intact and same problem.) On a side note I am also experiencing some disappearing walls that have been added by the mod which are reverting to vanilla upon getting close. But I figure one problem at a time.

 

PHOTOS

 

 

 

 

FO4 Edit Material Swaps

 

Before PreCombine

 

After PreCombine

 

Before PreCombine

 

After PreCombine

 

Before PreCombine

 

After PreCombine

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2018 by Frozzyman

[MissingMeshTV]

Generating precombines does break custom material swaps as you have found. If the material swaps are set up as a custom swap in the model window of the base object, they will revert to the default material defined in the .nif when you regenerate. That's what xEdit is showing you.

 

If you create a new material swap under the Misc. section then apply it to the reference from the Extras tab the swap will be retained when you regenerate.

 

There was a discussion of this a few pages back I believe.