I need help with a few basics in understanding performance optimization

[VAULTRENEGADE]

Ok, long story short- I'm totally new to modding and I've taken it upon myself to max my settings with fallout new vegas TTW. My end goal is to optimize the game fully, then run it in VR using Vorpx.

 

That being said... I have s#!@ load of questions and there are just too many different opinions out there for me to make sense of it all. I could really use the help of an experienced user.

 

I've succesfully installed TTW along with NVSE, NVAC, and RoyBatty's 4GB patcher, but that's about as far as I've gotten. My current framerate ranges from 60-90fps with microstuttering, and it's really, REALLY annoying. I want to install NVSR as well as Enbooster (I'm under the impression that these, including the mods I've already installed should suffice in terms of stability and optimization), but I need some questions answered...

 

My specs:

• GTX 1070 8GB
• Intel i7-8750H
• 16GB RAM
• 500GB SSD
• Windows 10

 

 

-what do "heap replacement" mods do? I've heard they're just placebos...

 

-I've heard NVSR has a number of problems running with windows 10, but works flawlessly with a few .ini tweaks. But I've also read that it's better to not use NVSR at all and just tweak the .ini on it's own, locking FPS to a certain value. I've seen an ENDLESS # of different posts where people SWEAR by their posted .ini tweaks, but none of them seem to provide consistent results for those who apply the aforementioned changes. Can anyone provide me with a solid solution for this matter?

 

-What's the tradeoff between using Enboost vs a traditional ENB? it's my impression that both of these allow the game to make better use of the GPU's memory. Are these compatible with RoyBatty's 4GB patcher and NVSE?

 

-What is/ are sweetFX?

 

-What's the best way to reconcile my graphics card settings (such as AA) with the MYRIAD of other settings presented with mods?

 

 

-Have I missed any other other mods/ settings tweaks that would noticeably improve my performance?

I would like to thank anyone in advance who takes the time to help me out... I'm overwhelmed by the seemingly INFINITE number of possible compatibility issues and required system tweaks that I've read about

 

[wfandrews]

If you created an account with TTW they have an excellent guide to maximizing your TTW game. If you have not created an account I would do so.

 

You are correct about all those ini tweaks that proliferate on the web. What those people seem to forget is that computers are as individual as the people who own them and everyone's mod load is probably unique as well. While the tweaks may work for one individual they may do nothing for another or even make things worse for another.

 

That does not mean that they are worthless, many are quite good at fixing specific problems. But when trying them out keep in mind the above and always, always make a copy of your ini file before making any changes to it.

[dubiousintent]

Okay, you asked for it. "Wall of text" coming, as this is not a simple subject. There are going to be links to other articles which cover specifics in more depth as it is.

Let's start with why I'm any better source than most of the others you've found, or we are both wasting our time.

I'm a retired IT Technical Support Specialist for an organization with 50,000 users for over 30 years. My first computer was a Radio Shack TRS-80 (8-bit Z-80 processor, maxed out at 16Kb of RAM and a tape recorder for "Data storage" with a teletype terminal machine rigged out as a printer through the serial port) when they first came out 1977, which means I've been through ALL the versions of MS-DOS and Windows since they were released (with two "non-business market" exceptions: CE and 8 ) as well as some experience with troubleshooting dedicated word-processors, Apple, Mainframe, DEC Mini-computers, and *nix systems. Job-wise I had to learn how they (and their various programs) worked in order to solve peoples problems with them, but most of my later career was focused on "Windows, the Operating System". Most of that (beyond various programming languages) was self-taught from the manuals, but I also got technical training not generally available in public schools or even college. I've been playing computer games the entire time. But I'm the first to admit I don't know everything; just more than the average user. My biggest advantage is experience and exposure to the problems of lots of different systems (hardware and software) and programs.

 

I spent more than a week researching the peculiarities of FNV before I ever starting installing any mods. As a consequence, I've never had a major problem since I started playing in earnest. I wrote the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article as a direct result of that experience, and started the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" article to record the results of that research.

Now I haven't gotten around to playing TTW yet, but my understanding is it's just FO3 ported to run on the FNV game engine, so that doesn't really matter as far as performance is concerned. The underlying game engine limitations are the same. FO3 just has different "worldspaces" and "interior cells" than FNV, so only one of either is active at a time. NVSE includes all the same functions added to the game as FOSE, plus more. If there are peculiarities specific to TTW, then their site is the place to take those questions. But those will be questions of compatibility rather than "performance".

With that you should have enough to decide if I'm going to be any help to you. If not, then you can quit reading right here.

Everything I've learned about improving FNV performance is in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" article which I'm been writing and updating for the last four years on a daily basis, so I'm not going to repeat it here. I will explain those of your questions that are not covered more in depth there.

Let's start with your concerns about your FPS fluctuations. Aside from the "micro-stuttering", the game is not designed for faster than 60FPS. It is always going to fluctuate up and down as various scripts run and actors get spawned and new "art assets" get rendered. Anything above 20FPS is playable. If your bottom FPS is 60, turn off the FPS display and enjoy the game. You aren't really going to see the difference.

Re: Stuttering or "micro-stutters". I've covered this before on the forum, but here it is again.

All visual stuttering problems are caused by the video stream having to wait for the "art assets" required to render the display OR the game writing something to disk (such as a save game file or logging). Mostly these are due to the hard disk drive being orders of magnitude slower than VRAM, with System RAM (e.g. "ENBoost") and "solid state drives" (SSDs) being in between. Keep in mind that this game was designed for older PC and XBox console systems, and it is now possible for your new "latest and greatest" gaming machine to be faster than it can handle. There are internal design choices that cannot be overcome. The following are "mitigations" that have been found to help some people.

Please see the following entries under the 'Solutions to Performance problems' section in the wiki Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide if you haven't already.
* 'Issue: "Full screen mode" exhibits CTDs and stutters or micro-stutters'
* 'Issue: Lag or "micro stutters" even with "New Vegas Stutter Remover" installed'
* 'Issue: Win10 Screen tearing in "Borderless Windowed Mode"'
* 'Issue: CTD without warning, "Out of Memory error", or stops responding after the Main Menu' for other settings that can indirectly affect micro-stutter.
* There are also some NVSR configuration suggestions under the 'Issue: Game in slow motion' and entries.
* The 'Issue: What's with these Solid Green billboard signs in the distance (LOD)?' entry under the 'Solutions to Mesh (Red "!" icon) or Texture (solid color) problems' section can also help if your problems started after you installed VWD/LOD texture packages.
* If you are using CASM or some similar "auto-save" mod to manage your save game files (recommended), try increasing the "time between saves" set in the "save frequency"; and reducing the number of occasions it saves to the minimum (e.g. disable most "Autosave Events" in CASM) and see how that impacts the game seeming to freeze temporarily.
* If you have "NVSE logging" enabled (see the 'Checklist Item #4' entry in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide), disable it until actually needed.

Reading from or writing to disk for any reason is the slowest thing the game does.

The size of your image files also has an impact. Larger/higher resolution is not always "better". Please see the wiki "Display resolution versus Image Size" article.

As you can see, there are a number of things that can underlie your problem. If one of these doesn't fix it, I would be interested to hear about any eventual solution that does.

If anything, your system falls into the "too good" category. "ENBoost" will reduce the micro-stutter and you certainly have sufficient system RAM so it won't be a problem. (More below.)

Re: "Heap replacement". It's not a placebo. It's a well established "fix" for many common CTDs. If you really want to understand the definition, then you have to also learn about "the stack". See this article on the StackOverflow site.

Re: NVSR. Every hardware system is different; even those from the same manufacturer. They acquire parts from various sources, in different lots, and what gets installed in one box may not be the same in the next. The same applies to the operating system. Each hardware component typically requires a "driver" to match the manufacturer of the device. These may be from yet another source, and they evolve over time. Various bundling deals change the mix of installed applications over time as well. So, some tweaks to NVSR will work well for one person, and not so for another. That is why you are given "options". That entry in the "Troubleshooting" guide has links to a couple of different configurations that others have reported works well for them. You HAVE to test them out for yourself. Anyone who tells you "there is one solution for all" has simply never encountered enough systems. The "Troubleshooting" guide includes a link to the TTW recommended settings for NVSR based upon the age of your processor.

Limiting the FPS to 60 is a viable solution. It doesn't HAVE to be done in NVSR (it can also be set in the INI files), but you should only do so in one place, so NVSR is simpler. However, given your situation, I would hold off on that until you see if other "micro-stutter" solutions don't solve the problem first.

"ENBoost" is an independent component of the "ENB Series Graphic Modification". It can be installed without using the rest of "the series" and provides a "buffer" in System RAM for "art assets" the game needs to be pre-loaded from the disk before getting sent on to the video card.

"ENB" and "SWeetFX" are graphic "post processors", which apply various "shading" effects to the image rendered by the graphics card just before it goes to the display. They are "alternatives" to each other, and others exist. Only use one. "Post processors" can alter the appearance of the game, do interfere with some game functions, and delay the display of the image slightly, but this is generally not noticeable. However, they are adding to the "processing overhead" and MAY cause some issue for some older or less powerful systems. This should not be an issue for yours. However, all "presets" are not equal and you can spend a lot of time and effort trying to find one you like and then tweaking it to work best with your system. There is a section of the "Troubleshooting" guide devoted to the subject, but it only covers the basics. It does link to other resources. There is no simple "best way" to tweak those settings for hardware. It has to be worth your time and effort if that sort of result is important to you. (Personally, I tried ENB and dropped the whole "post processor" concept as not worth the effort. But I long ago decided "this is a game, not a movie; so stop trying to make into one and start playing to enjoy it for what it is". YMMV.)

As I said up front: everything else performance related is in the "Troubleshooting" guide or linked from there. Those solutions were gathered from across the web, and "curated" by myself. Wherever possible there were at least two different people confirming the solution. Yes, there is a seemingly infinite number of possible compatibility issues and system tweaks. The point is: your system only has a finite number of solutions. Take one particular problem (generally starting with the most important to you), and resolve it. Then move on to the next. When you get tired of spending your time tweaking, then "it's good enough". The guide is there to help narrow down the possibilities.

 

-Dubious-

[VAULTRENEGADE]

 

 

The "Troubleshooting" guide includes a link to the TTW recommended settings for NVSR based upon the age of your processor.

 

Dubious, I want to start by thanking you for the in depth and detailed post; it's proven quite helpful! I'm having a problem with the link you're referring to, however. With the recent attack on the TTW website, I can't seem to access these "master ini tweaks" created by RoyBatty that I keep hearing about... This thread here:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20180306042446/http://taleoftwowastelands.com:80/comment/43365

 

is the closest I've come to acquiring the aforementioned fixes. Once again, the ini tweaks are mentioned, but the links provided are entirely broken... I've posted about this in a number of places but no one seems to know.

 

Update: I seem to have successfully installed NVSR, effectively locking my framerate right around 60 FPS after making a few basic changes to the ini on my own, but without the official links, I have no way of knowing if I really did it "right".

[dubiousintent]

The TTW site is apparently being rebuilt. (There are some placeholder pages. This suggests to me they may be preparing to the next release of TTW, or that they got hacked, but no official word either way.) Nothing to do on that front but wait. I've looked as well and everyone referred to their site. It was their specific configuration after all.

 

The "right" configuration for NVSR is one that works for you. TTW has some specific recommendations for newer and older CPUs based upon certain features of NVSR that generally work well with those types of CPUs. The specifics mentioned in the "Troubleshooting" guide should work for any system. Most of the settings given by redmaxblower here in the NVSR thread restore much of NVSR's stutter reduction functionality for Win10. The TTW configs (last I knew) preceded the Win10 problem with NVSR anyway. Give those a trial.

 

-Dubious-