Stuttering (FPS drops), what's the effective cure?

[LS Chiou]

I was wrong that saying 1080 has similar smoothness as 720p in the previous post. They are quite different. So much that it turns me back to 720 But, ah, in those not so dynamic views, 1080 is so nice. It's a hard choice.

As to normal and sharpen, I can't say where's the difference, TBH. Don't tell me! I don't want to pay attention to it.

 

[HuskyGT]

Delete

NOTE: Edit and Reply button are kind of easy to confuse.

 

[HuskyGT]

I don't know how you people notice all this. I play at 720p in a 32 inch LCD exclusively on cockpit cam. Maybe my tv is too old to notice frame rate drops. GT5 and GT6 are still the smoothest and most consistent games I've ever played for the PS3. People say that FPS drops a bit in 1080p. My tv has that option, but I won't bother to try since it's just a 32 inch. I wouldn't notice a difference in definition at all.

Have you played Skyrim prior Patch 1.9? If not, then trust me; you do not know the real meaning of frame rate drop. and I'm talking about game breaking, migraine inducing frame rate drop. That thing dropped down to single digits (I could literally count how many times the frame changed within a second) after just 20 minutes of play and stayed like that until you restarted the whole thing. And we are talking about a game that when it runs smooth, it's around 15 to 20fps at the most.

So no. Generaly speaking, GT6 is perfect in this aspect. Not being a fan boy. Just comparing with video games in general.

 

[Metfanant]

I don't know how you people notice all this. I play at 720p in a 32 inch LCD exclusively on cockpit cam. Maybe my tv is too old to notice frame rate drops.

age of a TV has NOTHING to do with noticing framerate issues...

GT5 and GT6 are still the smoothest and most consistent games I've ever played for the PS3.

absolutely not lol

People say that FPS drops a bit in 1080p. My tv has that option, but I won't bother to try since it's just a 32 inch. I wouldn't notice a difference in definition at all.

your TV is only one resolution...it can only display its native resolution

Have you played Skyrim prior Patch 1.9? If not, then trust me; you do not know the real meaning of frame rate drop. and I'm talking about game breaking, migraine inducing frame rate drop. That thing dropped down to single digits (I could literally count how many times the frame changed within a second) after just 20 minutes of play and stayed like that until you restarted the whole thing. And we are talking about a game that when it runs smooth, it's around 15 to 20fps at the most.

yes, there are games worse than GT6 in terms of framerate...but that doesnt make GT6's good...

So no. Generaly speaking, GT6 is perfect in this aspect. Not being a fan boy. Just comparing with video games in general.

there is nothing remotely "perfect" about the framerate of GT6...its not horrible...but its very far from perfect

 

[xSNAKEx]

lol GT6s frame rate is the opposite of whatever "perfect" is for me.

In fact I never would have guessed this before release, but its so bad for the first time ever in a gt game I find this is becoming a dead end obstacle to playing the game.

I started loving the game with the new physics, I couldn't care less about missing features or livery etc, but now with 1.03, the more I play it the more I start to feel sick and annoyed with the constant second by second screen tearing, bad fps, and just plain juddering.

It has put me of from playing the game many times, and when I do, 1 minute into the race i get fed up with the crap that is meant to be a moving image and just turn it off. Many online races feel like a slideshow where I can count the frames in crucial moments on my hands. Sometimes turning a corner the screen tears and judders so hard I don't know whats going on and spin out.

This from the same developer that stated 60fps is an important target to hit in a racing game. Mine seems to drop to 10-15fps or so sometimes.

 

[HuskyGT]

age of a TV has NOTHING to do with noticing framerate issues...


absolutely not lol

your TV is only one resolution...it can only display its native resolution

yes, there are games worse than GT6 in terms of framerate...but that doesnt make GT6's good...


there is nothing remotely "perfect" about the framerate of GT6...its not horrible...but its very far from perfect

I just love it when people multi quote

But anyway, some little details like these can be more annoying for some than it is for others. I'm just saying what I've noticed in this game so far. I honestly don't find it bothersome at all, and I'm sure some people agree with me. I can barely notice frame rate drops or screen tearing, unless I really try.

Is it perfect? Well, thinking it twice, maybe not. But the game is definitely very smooth and easier on the eyes than many other PS3 games. Especially when it comes to racing games. Take in mind the console limits and capabilities. Then compare it to what the game achieves. Some things can't just be fixed or added to the game just because people request them. Who knows; maybe the sounds I keep whining about cannot be fixed because of some hardware limitation, and not because PD doesn't care. Same goes for frame rate drops.

 

[Metfanant]

I just love it when people multi quote

your point? helps separate the discussion points...

But anyway, some little details like these can be more annoying for some than it is for others. I'm just saying what I've noticed in this game so far. I honestly don't find it bothersome at all, and I'm sure some people agree with me. I can barely notice frame rate drops or screen tearing, unless I really try.

thats different however from calling the game "smooth" or "perfect" in terms of framerate...

it is very true that some people are more susceptible to framerate drops or screen tears than others...however, the framerate issues are proven fact, so trying to pass them off as not that bad just doesn't fly...they may not bother you specifically, but they are there

Is it perfect? Well, thinking it twice, maybe not. But the game is definitely very smooth and easier on the eyes than many other PS3 games. Especially when it comes to racing games. Take in mind the console limits and capabilities. Then compare it to what the game achieves. Some things can't just be fixed or added to the game just because people request them. Who knows; maybe the sounds I keep whining about cannot be fixed because of some hardware limitation, and not because PD doesn't care. Same goes for frame rate drops.

im not arguing that these things should, or even can be fixed...however i would argue that PD, and more importantly Kaz himself has borderline horrible project management, and makes decision after decision that are detrimental to the development process of Gran Turismo...

For instance, after the massive development time associated with GT5...a game that suffered from screen tearing, framerate drops, and horrid rendering artifacts..what did PD do?...they completely re-write the rendering engine for the game and decide to RAISE the native resolution...Now, there were surely some positives associated with these decisions, they introduced a whole host of their own...

a complete rewrite of the rendering engine and a bump in res would have best been saved for GT7 on the PS4..

things like sound being hardware limited is a real crap excuse...however it wouldnt actually shock me to learn that PD's game engine is written in a way that prevents the sounds from being improved

 

[hognhominy]

Ok, installed a SSD yesterday here's what I think

currently @ about 8.3G gamedata file, no replays or pictures
GT6 on BR disc
1080
12gb Super slim 4XXX console
120gb Samsung 840 EVO SSD
~17-20M/s internet connection
HDMI deepcolor: off
RGB Range: limited
Image quality: sharpen

I am not seeing the same issues when in a nearly full room and someone enters track/pits.
Load speeds are up, menus seem faster
car purchase animations are smoother
Stutter/glitchyness still exists @Bathurst

I don't know if the 12GB internal flash memory is now being used for system functions or was completely abandoned(12gb has no HDD)

Do I think the SSD improved FPS, probably not
Was the SSD worth the cost for improvements other than capacity, definitely

 

[eSZee]

I wonder how bad the frame rate will be on the new track they're releasing next month. It looks great which makes me think it'll be as bad if not worse then Bathurst in term of poor frame rate BUT all the "junk" that's on the sides of Bathrust probably hurts the frame rate most.

 

[SillyBillyP]

I wonder how bad the frame rate will be on the new track they're releasing next month. It looks great which makes me think it'll be as bad if not worse then Bathurst in term of poor frame rate BUT all the "junk" that's on the sides of Bathrust probably hurts the frame rate most.

With memories of the downloadable Spa track in GT5 which looked a bit rubbish, I was wondering the same thing. That new track looks too good, very long draw distances too. I reckon that's gonna have an impact on performance.

 

[Lion-Face]

I was wrong that saying 1080 has similar smoothness as 720p in the previous post. They are quite different. So much that it turns me back to 720 But, ah, in those not so dynamic views, 1080 is so nice. It's a hard choice

I use 1080i for gt5 and 6. Because i use a capture card and it doesnt accept 1080p, 1080i is a nice compromise. You get the resolution benfits of 1080p while introducing interlacing artifacts as a compromise. On the whole I believe it gives a mich nicer image than 720p while being smoother frame rate wise than 1080p

 

[LS Chiou]

@ hognhominy, Thanks for the update. My SSD is on the way.

@ Lion-Face, Thanks for the tip. I tried 1080i last night and it seemes better frame rate than 1080p in the view of driving position. For example, in the 16 cars race of Apricot hill, things are improved. However in the replay (Spa, rain, 16 cars), the stuttering is still very bad around the first corner. I'll see more to compare.

And, is it real or my illusion that the problem in twisty downhill of Bathrust is improved after 1.04 update?


OK, in that new seasonal event, there's only one car on track, but it wasn't smooth even with one car before. Can someone else go see and confirm?

 

[LS Chiou]

I swapped the OE HDD to an SSD last night. It's not as simple as I thought (and what I've read). The console didn't detect the stored backup data in the USB device and start the procedure of formating the new SSD. What I saw on my screen just didn't match what the user's instruction says and there's no more detail available. Both the hardcopy and on-line manual are just useless on this.

I searched around and finally realized there's a so-called "safe mode" by prolonged pressing the power button to turn it on and off and on again to get double beep. And then some more options finally appeared, so I could get the procedure start.

The previous backup data measured 32G, I have no idea why it's so large. (I've read quite a few articles on the net, in which they got away with 1.xG or something.) It took more than 1.5 hr to backup and even longer to restore.

It's already 1:30 am when it started restoring the system, so I left it running and went to bed. This morning I turned it on and it seems everything's OK.

Set to default 1080p, I feel it's a bit smoother in the replay of the 16-car rainy Spa event. Still stuttering but it's not that bad as before. I'm not 100% sure but that's my impression. Normal view of driving is not tried yet, we'll see.

And, with this new SSD, there's no WOW effect, TBH. It's an Intel 530 series SSD which is said to have the latest techy stuff, 6G/s interface and the fastest read/write speed blah blah blah... However, I've read somewhere that the PS3 itself would never reach that speed, oh well.

More update later.

 

[fifomaniak]

My tv has that option, but I won't bother to try since it's just a 32 inch. I wouldn't notice a difference in definition at all.

What? If your TV has that option, it's native resolution probably is 1080p, so it'd look better, since rest is just up/downscaling of the picture on the screen. My screen is 26 inch and I see huge difference between 1080p and 720p both in game and in menus, but I also see big difference in performance between them. Hence why I play in 720p most of the time.

I use 1080i for gt5 and 6. Because i use a capture card and it doesnt accept 1080p, 1080i is a nice compromise. You get the resolution benfits of 1080p while introducing interlacing artifacts as a compromise. On the whole I believe it gives a mich nicer image than 720p while being smoother frame rate wise than 1080p

Well, it doesn't. Ok, for static images 1080i will be nicer than 720p, but with dynamic scenes 720p is better, it actually gets more data through. Look for some YT videos on that subject, I'm not lying.

 

[xSNAKEx]

No shiet 1080 will look better than 720. If the monitor supports it it means its displaying that resoluion regardless of that size. On top of this native resolution on LCD is always better than non native in terms of quality. Duh. Some people.


Anyway, stuttering and fps problems are really down to poor coding of gt6. Looks like they went with a newer rendering engine in preperation for gt7 on the ps4 but it just isn't optimised for the ps3. Thats why there reducued qulaity, pop ups, weird dark issues, worse fps etc compared to gt5. GT5 engine was perfect for ps3.

The only thing you can do is turn of the advanced HDMI options in your ps3 XMB, run the game on sharpen image mode and try a newer ps3 etc.

 

[Proud_God]

I'm someone who was already put off by the framerate of GT5, so needless to say, I didn't buy GT6 when I heared it got even worse fps.
However, there is one trick that will give you a few frames that worked in GT5 and no doubt also in GT6:

- Set the screen size in the game's options screen to the smallest possible value.

Black edges are a good compromise for better FPS, as FPS is the very core of the gameplay of any game.

 

[LS Chiou]

Looking closer and longer, 1080i is still unacceptable

Back to 720p again. Sigh~

 

[VBR]

I've noticed that there are more frame rate issues after the 1.04 update with my set up. I'm running GT6 in 720p, with Sharpen on, & use the Drivers Eye view. Before the update the frame rate was silky smooth, but now I'm getting judder when turning long corners, I can really notice it when looking at the sky or tree line. The only way to cure it is to use Normal View, aka Bumper Cam. I've also noticed frame drops when there are other cars on track, never had them before.

 

[Allek]

If you own any Philips LED tv with "Pixel Plus HD" menu you can turn "HD Natural Motion" on. This increases frame rate displaying smoother movements as a result. And set everything else to maximum and you'll notice some difference.

 

[OdeFinn]

Improves a lot smoothness.

 

[HKS racer]

That's what happen when people buy a game only because of the name.
And no, it's not your PS3 fault nor your TV fault.

 

[andryush]

If you own any Philips LED tv with "Pixel Plus HD" menu you can turn "HD Natural Motion" on. This increases frame rate displaying smoother movements as a result. And set everything else to maximum and you'll notice some difference.

And controller input lag becomes veeery noticeable wit this natural motion hd. Not good solution.

I think this stuttering is related to bad network connection. GT5 had same problem. In online lobby, game often freezes for few seconds if there's bad connection and somebody is entering the track. GT6 stutters all the way, even in menu maybe it's because game synchronizes data in background and weak connection causing stuttering.

And i'm not talking about the fps drops.