Performance using console. broken covernodes, spawn cams etc

[11_HARLEY_11]

Apoligies if everyone knows this info already but here goes.

So, I'm not sure if this is just my setup or not but when I run maps using the console command (with bots) eg. 'OpenTE-mymap?minplayers=50?' my map runs pretty badly (terrible hitching, large fps drops from 60 to 27 to 15 and sometimes slide show performance toward the end of the map, it seems as the objectives are taken the worse it gets) Now some of this will definitely be that my map needs optimizing but this happens with stock maps and other custom maps also. When I run the maps without bots its very smooth. Also online MP is always very good (even with bots) I even tried a cull volume of 20 feet and the performance was still bad.

So out of pure frustraion of not knowing what the main cause was, I decided to make a lan server on my second machine (Old quad xp 32bit 4gig ram) and join my map from my main Puter. (specs below) Well let me just say the performance is a lot smoother. No hitching, slide shows and frame rate is way better (50 - 80). Now I can optimize with greater confidence. I guess my cpu isn't being overloaded with bot calculations?

Also, the main point of this thread is - things that don't show up when testing with the console command is the dreaded cover nodes bug (throwing players in the air), broken spawn cams, dodgey mantling etc. In the LAN, at least I can experience these bugs before making the map public. Unfortunatley for Drecks, Lord Gleedo and others it was a public discovery I think. ? Correct me if I'm wrong.
So if you guys have an old machine laying around give it go. (might even work on the same machine, haven't tried it. Probably the same as using the console command though).

Anyway once TW find and destroy these groovy bugs I'm hoping we'll all be able to check them thoroughly without having the public test it for us.
Also getting a better idea of performance and being able to optimise confidently is a big bonus in my book. yay!

Again sorry if this is already common knowlege...searched but didn't find anything about it.


My puter: i7 950 @3.07ghz
12 gig ram
nvidia gt560ti (fail card of the decade)
win64 bit
Everything on high in game.


ps. Also just noticed the bots rifle and mg firing sounds are silent in my LAN tests..weird

[-=}WoLvErInE{=-]

same thing happened to me testing on my machine. it's a gpu and ram hug. test it with about 40 bots and you should be ok. also once you cook the map and host it on dedicated server you'll have about an avg. of 20fps increase. all covers , spawns, cameras ,etc should work correctly in LAN or starting map in console.

[11_HARLEY_11]

Originally Posted by -=}WoLvErInE{=-

all covers , spawns, cameras ,etc should work correctly in LAN or starting map in console.

That's just it Wolvy they don't seem to work on the LAN for me only in console.

I'll try 40 bots too from now on, thanks man.

[Xendance]

Covernode bug throwing people in the air? I'm quite sure the covernode just is hovering above ground :P
They don't sometimes auto adjust correctly.

[11_HARLEY_11]

yep some peeps are getting thrown away from cover. And some of mine are catapulting me straight up at which point I fall to my inevitable doom. It's kind of fun...

Drecks quote from his ColdSteel thread. "One will slide away from the cover or even get catapulted. Weird thing is the bot have no problems with the covers."

[[TW]Swag]

Originally Posted by 11_HARLEY_11

yep some peeps are getting thrown away from cover. And some of mine are catapulting me straight up at which point I fall to my inevitable doom. It's kind of fun...

Drecks quote from his ColdSteel thread. "One will slide away from the cover or even get catapulted. Weird thing is the bot have no problems with the covers."

The cover problem has been finally recreated in the office so we are on it's trail finally. I suspect the rest of the reported problems will now be able to get recreated in the office as well. I further suspect we will get it sorted out pronto. It is strange, but we were able to get it to happen, actually, on a stock map first but then moved the method out to community maps with fairly reliable results.

[11_HARLEY_11]

That's great news Swag, thanks for the heads up!

[Drecks]

It's nice to discover I'm not a total idiot.

[Le0]

great news

[-=}WoLvErInE{=-]

Originally Posted by Le0

great news

Indeed!

[Calumhm]

Hurrah for custom maps! So has everything been fixed yet??

[Nightingale]

I'm glad I read this thread when I did because I could not for the life of me figure out how to get the cover to work. My guy would just stick to it, and then blind fire straight into the wall he was attached to.

[[TW]Swag]

Originally Posted by Nightingale

I'm glad I read this thread when I did because I could not for the life of me figure out how to get the cover to work. My guy would just stick to it, and then blind fire straight into the wall he was attached to.

What you are describing sounds less like a cover functionality problem then a setup problem. Essentially the bots will only shoot from positions you (the level designer) tell them to. If the bot is popping up and shooting in the wall, it's because you told it to. You can disallow the AI attached to the CoverLink to PopUp then they will not shoot into the wall.

Here is a brief explanation of how to do that: If the CoverLink is set to Auto (denote by the big A on the link) set it to manual RMB->Manual. All the CoverLinks will now have a big M on them. Select the node that the AI is popping up and RMB -> Can Pop Up on the cover link. The icon with the vertical bar and a circle on top should be gone on the CoverLink. Now the AI will not pop up there and shoot into the wall.

The same method holds true for lean left and lean right. If you find your bots leaning into a wall and shooting at enemies, disallow that lean or nudge the node over until the lean marker is appropriately out of cover to fire and hit enemies.