Re-open issue regarding FF!! terrible frame rate on laptop

[BobbinT]

Reissuing the problem I've posted in this thread several years ago:
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/52653-Struggling-to-get-30FPS-on-modern-laptop

I'm quite surprise the thread got moved into resolved while just now after updating client on same laptop I'm using still got me into terrible frame rate.


Granted, I did tried solution from reddit which is using dgvoodoo2, & it did worked for a time. But, when I came back months later replaying it, the game just continuously crashed, forcing me to make fresh install again & running it vanilla.


And now, I came revisiting this laptop & updated client to latest, & found it still has terrible frame rate. I get it that the Optimus driver somehow forces this game unable to utilize NVidia GPU & need to have 3rd party app like dgvoodoo to help pass it through, but that same apps created another problem with stability, not to mention extra complicated setup that I could bear to remember each time I'm coming back to play the game.


I'm in dire to have a solution that's not requiring unofficial 3rd pt software or advice for replacing laptop nor exclusively playing on desktop PC.

[Alhanelem]

How terrible are you talking? Without external tools the game caps at 30 and is usually less than that. That's 100% normal.

[BobbinT]

I'm guessing you haven't played this on laptop with dual GPU, hence didn't know situation really well...


Just by staying at east Adoulin alone, fps dips into 20 or lower. Just joined Domain Invasion and it even dips by 10 fps averagely. Even staying at mog garden only get slightly above 20 fps.


The only true 30 fps I can gain only when in small space with only few animated object like mog house, or when just zoning into area & game still slowly loads characters inside it.


Please research before answering. This issue already persist for more than 5 years. There's already some posts over reddit or other forums to name a few.

[Alhanelem]

Just by staying at east Adoulin alone, fps dips into 20 or lower. Just joined Domain Invasion and it even dips by 10 fps averagely. Even staying at mog garden only get slightly above 20 fps.Sounds pretty normal to me.



Please research before answering. . Please don't insult my intelligence or talk to me in the condescending manner of your post. Your numbers really aren't far out of the ordinary. But since you, as you said, are talking about a dual GPU seystem, why haven't you disabled the intel / whatever generic graphics device in device manager (sometimes you can also disable it in BIOS) to force the "real" GPU to be used?

I mean, the reality is, even today's basic integrated graphics run the game as well as PCs that were new when FFXI came out. And this is because the game barely uses the GPU at all.

[Zehira]

I have my Optimus laptop with GTX 1060 and FFXI played fine with dgvoodoo2 but I still use my desktop computer to play.

FFXI uses DirectX 8 (like any other old games) which doesn't know how to call the Geforce dedicated graphics via Nvidia Optimus. There is no way to get it fixed unless you have to have dgvoodoo2 installed or downgrade your operating system to Windows 7 which has compatibility with Optimus.

Nvidia haven't solved the issue since then.
https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3733/~/games-based-on-directx-8-and-older-versions-of-directx-will-only-run-on

[Alhanelem]

How old is that system for the IG not to be able to run a 19 year old game at its normal frame rate?

[BobbinT]

@Zehira pretty much reiterate the problem in 1st place. In case you still didn't understand, most modern laptop with dual GPU will have to pass through its base-low energy cost Intel GPU before passing to NVidia, hence the problem FF11 unable to utilize NVidia GPU without 3rd pt help like dgvoodoo2 just to cut that Intel GPU interference, which I really want to avoid if possible... "as I said in 1st post".


And no, how much you would like to defend, it's not normal not having constant 30 fps. Me playing on desktop PC can achieve this, but only because desktop PC usually relies on main GPU. I even have a decade long laptop, also has dual GPU but has force switchable between Intel & the old NVidia 210m, & it even ran way better frame rate since I can force toggle to NVidia GPU all the time, too bad this laptop atm being used by someone else for business purpose. Heck, even running FF14 on potato specs I have can still run on much better frame rate, even on crowded cities like Limsa or joining rank A hunt tours on congested hours such as tuesday's weekly reset.




Please don't insult my intelligence
... and you're just being oblivious. -_-


Do try play on laptop with Optimus settings and come back when you actually have a solution. A GTX 1050/1060 should way-wayyyyy outperform a mere 210m, no? :p


And I do really like having option to play FF11 mobile as well, so please don't throw suggestion like play on desktop PC only (which I already did most of time), or cloud-remote it. lol

[Zehira]

How old is that system for the IG not to be able to run a 19 year old game at its normal frame rate?

Way more powerful than you think. Common problem for FFXI to run on an Optimus laptop is Intel and Nvidia as how they designed it to be. Nvidia doesn't care for any DirectX 8 game. FFXI should run fine on my Intel UHD Graphics 360 but it doesn't so I have to use the d3d8.dll and d3d8.ini (Direct3D8 to Direct3D9 Proxy.)


But, when I came back months later replaying it, the game just continuously crashed, forcing me to make fresh install again & running it vanilla.

This is what I don't understand. The d3d8.dll and d3d8.ini don't impact on the system like you think it would. Maybe bad settings? Even though, you don't need to reinstall the game. You remove the d3d8.dll and d3d8.ini and FFXI will run vanilla.

You can keep trying without any meaningful third party tool. Good luck with that.

[Alhanelem]

Way more powerful than you think. Common problem for FFXI to run on an Optimus laptop is Intel and Nvidia as how they designed it to be. Nvidia doesn't care for any DirectX 8 game. FFXI should run fine on my Intel UHD Graphics 360 but it doesn't so I have to use the d3d8.dll and d3d8.ini (Direct3D8 to Direct3D9 Proxy.)That's not what I was asking. The reason being given is that the game is being forced to run on the integrated graphics instead of the discrete chipset. But even integrated graphics from the last several years ought to have no problem with this game.

[Catmato]

But even integrated graphics from the last several years ought to have no problem with this game.

You're right, it ought not to, but it does. The game was very poorly coded. The experiences of the people in this thread are not unique. Many, many people have problems perfectly maintaining 30fps on even modern hardware with discreet GPUs. Please stop discounting the experiences of people in this thread based on your misinformed assumptions. Telling people they shouldn't have any problems really doesn't help.

[Zehira]

That's not what I was asking. The reason being given is that the game is being forced to run on the integrated graphics instead of the discrete chipset. But even integrated graphics from the last several years ought to have no problem with this game.

To be honest, we knew we love FFXI since 2003 but most of time it's all about the software issues rather than the hardware issues. The modern programmers are too lazy to keep the old games alive. FFXI works fine on a desktop but if you play it on an Optimus laptop you need a special something.

Are you still acting an angry Galka? Always an angry Galka when I say FFXI is still DirectX 8. :p

[Alhanelem]

To be honest, we knew we love FFXI since 2003 but most of time it's all about the software issues rather than the hardware issues. The modern programmers are too lazy to keep the old games alive. FFXI works fine on a desktop but if you play it on an Optimus laptop you need a special something.

Are you still acting an angry Galka? Always an angry Galka when I say FFXI is still DirectX 8. :p
I'm not angry about anything? I'm both well aware of and couldn't care less w hat tech the game runs off of as long as we can still play it.

[BobbinT]

anyhoo.....

can forum admin explain why this thread:
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/52653-Struggling-to-get-30FPS-on-modern-laptop
marked closed, while issue are still not resolved, which they put into "Resolved Issue" section?

I purposely referencing that thread on my 1st post, which I also participate, expecting answers, and still none. :?

[Balduran]

Sounds pretty normal to me.


Please don't insult my intelligence or talk to me in the condescending manner of your post. Your numbers really aren't far out of the ordinary. But since you, as you said, are talking about a dual GPU seystem, why haven't you disabled the intel / whatever generic graphics device in device manager (sometimes you can also disable it in BIOS) to force the "real" GPU to be used?

I mean, the reality is, even today's basic integrated graphics run the game as well as PCs that were new when FFXI came out. And this is because the game barely uses the GPU at all.

Please stop posting.

[Alhanelem]

Please stop posting.
Please use the block list if you don't like another poster.

[edsports1]

If the OP would post his complete PC setup details, it might help provide some better feedback and get us out of this flame festival. I'm curious to know your technical support feedback as well.

Also, I'm not sure mentioning a 4-year old post to use as a hammer to the human souls that still roam SE's halls is the right method. As my tech friend said, Windows has added so many instruction sets to the OS in recent years that it makes it harder for integrated graphics or any overall setup to run like it did back then. It may still be Windows 10 in name, but the service releases continue to change the environment all of our applications run in, not just FFXI.

Hence, yes, close old post, please start a new one for the new situation so it can be tested and commented on properly, even if it's just from the community. It's the right call.

[BobbinT]

if you must know, & sorry haven't checked again:


https://gadgets.ndtv.com/asus-rog-strix-gl503ge-8195


That's pretty much specs on my laptop, except I replace SSD with old SATA 1TB.


& no, it's still pretty much same situation, but the old post were closed without official explanation & even marked as "Resolved" when it's clearly not. I do get what you guys said, but I do really want to hear from dev's own typing words. I mean... how hard is it to reply? Does idling a topic for certain amount of time automatically marks it as "Resolved" even thought it's still not?

[edsports1]

Alright. A couple things you're going to need to try first.

#1 it helps to re-register the game with system registry as sometimes that will cause certain crashing issues. This will involve a command line interface script. Search command in your circle "Cortana" search button to find and launch the Command App. Once done, drop these two scripts in and hit enter on these, one at a time.

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\FFXi.dll"
regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\FFXiMain.dll"

Make sure that is where the two files are before you do this.

#2 telling Windows to prioritize the Nvidia graphics instead of Intel

Right-click on the desktop
Click on Display Settings
Scroll all the way down and click Graphics Settings
Choose an app to set a preference > Desktop App
Browse
Locate your pol.exe file in C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\PlayOnlineViewer, then click on add
Options will pop up - Choose High-Performance (assuming it shows your Nvidia card for this option)
Locate your polboot.exe file in C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI, then click on add
Options will pop up - Choose High-Performance (assuming it shows your Nvidia card for this option)

After the above, run the game and check your frame rate in Windows button + G Xbox Game bar and see how it goes. Beyond that, I won't be able to help, but at least this will solve the community help portion of this deal and provide a solid path away from people who want a post count instead of helping you out. And also help to not crash during your first A.M.A.N. Trove back (with two more kills on the next two attempts lol).

[BobbinT]

sorry, was only able to check recently...




Alright. A couple things you're going to need to try first.

#1 it helps to re-register the game with system registry as sometimes that will cause certain crashing issues. This will involve a command line interface script. Search command in your circle "Cortana" search button to find and launch the Command App. Once done, drop these two scripts in and hit enter on these, one at a time.

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\FFXi.dll"
regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\FFXiMain.dll"

Make sure that is where the two files are before you do this.

#2 telling Windows to prioritize the Nvidia graphics instead of Intel

Right-click on the desktop
Click on Display Settings
Scroll all the way down and click Graphics Settings
Choose an app to set a preference > Desktop App
Browse
Locate your pol.exe file in C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\PlayOnlineViewer, then click on add
Options will pop up - Choose High-Performance (assuming it shows your Nvidia card for this option)
Locate your polboot.exe file in C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI, then click on add
Options will pop up - Choose High-Performance (assuming it shows your Nvidia card for this option)

After the above, run the game and check your frame rate in Windows button + G Xbox Game bar and see how it goes. Beyond that, I won't be able to help, but at least this will solve the community help portion of this deal and provide a solid path away from people who want a post count instead of helping you out. And also help to not crash during your first A.M.A.N. Trove back (with two more kills on the next two attempts lol).


tried your solution & i think it works! at least i didn't experience heavy lag anymore. Thx. :D


btw, i didn't do your #1 though, just #2. ;)

[Alhanelem]

sorry, was only able to check recently...



tried your solution & i think it works! at least i didn't experience heavy lag anymore. Thx. :D


btw, i didn't do your #1 though, just #2. ;) I've had to do that once before, it's only really necessary if your registry gets messed up. Though sometimes this can be caused by having backed up your FFXI install and re-copying the backups over a new install of the game.