Beam weapon performance

[p00fer]

So is there a mod out there that can reduce the amount of rapage that the LT's weps bring down on my pc every time a Q comes along?? i read the X-tended mod or some total conversion managed to work trough that but i'm not installing a total conversion yet...any ideas?

[jack775544]

Have you tried the Awesomefied Beam Weapons mod. It is a bit hard to install but it makes beams look better and have better framerates.

To install

• Unpack to X3TC directory (even if using AP)
• Open TBullets using X3 Editor 2. When the it asks you what to open the file with chose "T File Editor".
• On the side panel select SS_BULLET_PBC
• Under the general tab change the attribute in the "Model File" field to

  Code: Select all

  effects\weapons\bullet_PlasmaBeam

And you are done boot up X3 and enjoy better framerates.
Note: If you want nicer models for the other beam weapons (eg. Phased Array Laser Cannon) you just have to edit the it's bullet the same as before but with a different name based on what the file in "X3TC\effects\weapons" (The PALC is "effects\weapons\bullet_PhasedArrayLaser" in the the mod).

[TrixX]

The awesomefied beam weapons mod does use simpler meshes, but without removal/adjustment of certain other elements (on hit fx, launch fx) the FPS difference isn't much, thought the change to DDS from JPG is a large benefit due to speed of readin the DDS over a JPG image.

FYI all lasers and beams have new meshes and/or textures in X-Timelines with an emphasis on performance without sacrificing quality. These effects should be available soon via IR 2.0 too

[p00fer]

ah yes, timelines was the mod i was referring to...won't changing the bullet files mess with other mods/scripts?

i currently have installed:
cheat package
RRF
ROF
MARS
bonus pack
plugin manager
lv libraries

[jack775544]

No it won't. It just changes the look of the laser so it doesn't change stats scripts are unaffected. If you want a fire and forget solution just save the bullets file to a .cat and put it into your game directory as the next highest number (for AP that is 03). If you install another mod then simply install it as a higher number (eg. So if you used XRM it would be 04 and 05.cat).

[Requiemfang]

simply removing the on hit effect of weapons gives a nice increase to game performance, this is something I've tested myself.

[paulwheeler]

The main cause of the frame rate hit with beams is the fact that most are using models ported straight from x2, which just dont seem to play nice with the x3 engine.

Swap these for a proper x3 model (stolen from the repair laser), with updated material definitions and dds textures, and the frame hit is gone - you can even use impact effects with no problem as these only fire on the initial hit and when the beam stops hitting the target.

The Combat Mod 4 and the XRM does this and completely updates the textures so they look more impressive (the pic in my sig is an XRM beam firing). In fact, this has been in the Combat Mod for a long time now - well over a year.

The Combat Mod 4 is an established and seasoned mod which also improves on many other aspects of the weapons for both performance and playability.

A TC version can be found in the library and I am in the process of porting it to AP.

The XRM is a bit more of a total conversion so may change more than you want. But check it out by clicking on the link in my sig.


Both mods are available to download and install now.

[Jack08]

The main cause of the frame rate hit with beams is the fact that most are using models ported straight from x2, which just dont seem to play nice with the x3 engine.

This is directly because it is using a jpeg texture, and is also and older mesh format.

you can even use impact effects with no problem as these only fire on the initial hit and when the beam stops hitting the target.

This is untrue, the beam weapons continue to fire the on hit effect constantly until you stop hitting the target, its just not visible; which causes a nasty CPU overhead

As for XRM, removing On hit effects and trails from the XRM weapons file boosted performance in combat by over 5-20 frames (depending on circumstance, this value is rather significant when were talking about 15 fps) on my computer (which isnt slow btw), so somethings changed allot since CMOD. (had Requiemfang try it too, although i am unsure of his results he didn't tell me yet)

[paulwheeler]

Your constant efforts to discredit the xrm are really starting to get tiresome...

Why dont you focus on your own mod rather than telling the rest of us that we're doing everything wrong all the time.

[Jack08]

Your constant efforts to discredit the xrm are really starting to get tiresome...

Why dont you focus on your own mod rather than telling the rest of us that we're doing everything wrong all the time.

I am stating facts backed up by tested on multiple systems, nothing more nothing less, the fact that they are negative tword XRM is simply because that's what they returned. The only reason i even bothered testing it is because a couple of our alpha testers were playing XRM in there spare time between test cases and asked me to look into making XRM run better on there low end systems.

[TrixX]

Your constant efforts to discredit the xrm are really starting to get tiresome...

Discrediting vs giving Critical Feedback are very different things. We have on more than a few occasions attempted to assist you with findings from our own modding endeavours and you rejected those. I don't mind as that's your prerogative. But don't get it confused by claiming we are trying to discredit XRM.

Why dont you focus on your own mod rather than telling the rest of us that we're doing everything wrong all the time.

We are focused on our mod, we frequently test other mods to check performance comparisons between our mod, vanilla and other available mods. This has given us valuable data on many different mods as well as our own. If you take feedback as a personal affront, that isn't what is intended.

[Requiemfang]

The main cause of the frame rate hit with beams is the fact that most are using models ported straight from x2, which just dont seem to play nice with the x3 engine.

This is directly because it is using a jpeg texture, and is also and older mesh format.

you can even use impact effects with no problem as these only fire on the initial hit and when the beam stops hitting the target.

This is untrue, the beam weapons continue to fire the on hit effect constantly until you stop hitting the target, its just not visible; which causes a nasty CPU overhead

As for XRM, removing On hit effects and trails from the XRM weapons file boosted performance in combat by over 5-20 frames (depending on circumstance, this value is rather significant when were talking about 15 fps) on my computer (which isnt slow btw), so somethings changed allot since CMOD. (had Requiemfang try it too, although i am unsure of his results he didn't tell me yet)

I can report that there is a nice boost to FPS, I forgot to tell you the results. Without on hit weapon effects I noticed a drastic gain in FPS during fights, 5-20 FPS increase.

Also paul stop going off the deep end, I requested Jack08 to remove the on hit effects of weapons SO we could compare the performance between mods, I was having issues with XRM taking a huge chunk of FPS during fights, I couldn't even go into sectors with heavy fighting because they all turned into slide show battles, 2-3 FPS fights aren't good =_=;

[p00fer]

ok ima try the ABM as a fake patch then...will post results...and yeah, those beaming Lt's are dropping my fps to 2...from 60...i get 80ish on some sectors so i was

[p00fer]

ok so, to be clear

if i want fake patch:
-extract files to install folder
-open bullet file with x2
-edit
-save as .cat?
-...
-...profit?

[Killjaeden]

you can just leave any file you want to get priority loaded in your install folder (in the appropriate subfolders - so in your case \types) instead of putting it into a cat. extracted files are always loaded last.

Your constant efforts to discredit the xrm are really starting to get tiresome...

he could have brought xtc as example too no impact effect -> more fps
less beamweapons in use -> more fps. Applies to all mods or vanilla

[jack775544]

ok so, to be clear

if i want fake patch:
-extract files to install folder
-open bullet file with x2
-edit
-save as .cat?
-...
-...profit?

That is basically it. Effects and DDS files in TC directory and TBullets as fake patch.

[p00fer]

thx, will try ASAP.