severe FPS spikes

[Missing_Minds]

i have had multiple antivirus programs overtime aswell.. who knows... thanks for readin my stress LOL let me know what u think? thanks

All on this same system? Could be remants screwing you over. You may need to reinstall your system utterly, honestly.

Also, that odd behavior of it accessing the dat files could very well be your cause of lag. You would need to figure out what is accessing it to learn more of what is going on.

At the current state of things, there isn't a whole lot more we can tell you.

[msdesign]

This is not client fault, I also notice that same symptoms in my computer.

I've been playing DDO for a year or so, in the same machine. Always ran fine, with 4 GB RAM, an AMD Dual Core and a Nvidia 8600 GT card. I maintain all my drivers updated, so don't ask me to check drivers, or Dx Diag and other hardware related details.

Sometimes in a 32 bit setup, sometimes a 64, as I reform my computer from time to time. In either case, always smooth. Then recently one of my paired memory modules had a malfunction, and as I can't afford a new one for now, I removed that pair of modules. So, my computer got working only with 2 GB, but DDO still ran ok, after I lowered one or two graphics options.

Now, after this, they give us Update 14. That ruined my DDO instalation. As I write this topic, I'm downloading DDO again and performing a clean install.

Since U14, my client has zoning crashes, freezes, huge loading times betwen cities and entering quests. Specially when loading a character, this takes an eternity, to a point I can get a few party invites and they all expire before I can use my toon. I'm having a lot of glitches as described in the initial post here. Just random and no-explanation out of nothing freezes, as in:

I'm in my guild's airship running to a NPC getting a buff, then everything stops in time. After a few seconds, people ahead of me are not there already, and I find myself a few inches ahead of the last place where I've seen myself moving.

I'm stopped watching my character sheet. Or exchanging a spell icon in a toolbar. Suddenly, I can't move icons at all. Not even the mouse. Some seconds later, and I can move again. This can happen pretty much everywhere, even inside Kundarak Bank, for example (one of the most high FPS areas around, as it is so simple in space geometry).

So please, do not tell me to check my disk, my USB device, or whatever you can remember to check, because it is not that. If so, every player with DDO client freezing or having performance issues after update 14, just happen to have the same type of computer related problem, when this is clearly not-hardware related?

This is much more likely a not so well implemented update to the game. And add the other patches before and after that. I'm not saying this as a game-hater or so. I do like DDO pretty much, this is why I'm writing this constructive critic. This game has excelent features, and we know bugs and glitches are just everywhere, on every piece of software (game, apps, operating systems, you name it).

[Missing_Minds]

This is not client fault, I also notice that same symptoms in my computer.

Depending it is probably the PC itself with nothing that can be done.

Were it not for him saying "and suddenly" I'd have just told him to upgrade stuff and be happy.

I suffer the same sort of stutter lag myself. And I know EXACTLY why.
1. I play on high level graphics.
2. my HD is SLOW.
3. the OS is on the same partition that the game is on.

The solution for me is to get a faster HD, preferable an SSD, and move the game to it.

[msdesign]

Depending it is probably the PC itself with nothing that can be done.

Were it not for him saying "and suddenly" I'd have just told him to upgrade stuff and be happy.

I suffer the same sort of stutter lag myself. And I know EXACTLY why.
1. I play on high level graphics.
2. my HD is SLOW.
3. the OS is on the same partition that the game is on.

The solution for me is to get a faster HD, preferable an SSD, and move the game to it.

I can't say this is my case:

1. I was playing perfectly fine before they released U14. My graphics options were still the same after that. No options were changed.
2. My hard drive had no type of change at all with the update.
3. My OS and the game have always been in the same partition.

I'm finishing DDO instalation right now, so I should know in a few minutes if this solved the problem or not.

[fco-karatekid]

...

So I am running a geforce ti 560 1gb, 32 gb ram, 8 core 3.9 ghz processor.

I see the same behavior when jumping into harbor and marketplace. I go from relatively sustained rate between 100 and 150 FP down to 35-45 occasionally (mostly on weekends).

I suspect this is normal and not on your end, considering my machine has similar bottom-outs in high volume areas.

I jumped into King's Forest the other day just to see if it's large maps causing it - it's not.
King's Forest behaved itself.

[xXioXx]

yes they were all on the same system but i had reinstalled windows before each type of antivirus program was used.. i keep reinstalling windows, reinstalling anti-virus, changing parts... ddo is just not properly functioning for me.. im gonna just have to suck it up and deal with it..

From what your describing msdesign that sounds like internet connection problems.. while this could be my issue aswell since i have had the same provider since i started i may just have a connection that doesnt hold constant for some reason.. but it sounds like your losing connection for small amounts of time. I could be wrong but maybe your internet is being screwy.. or the server your connecting to is having connection issues with people in your area? i dunno.

Its just sad that my card performs at the exact same fps on ultra high as it does on low and still experience the same spikes.. i understand the fps drop during congestion on high settings but when its just always stuttering its getting annoying..

I hope to switch to comcast soon i dont like century link.. never have.. never will.. so maybe the move from DSL and my crappy old phone line in this old ass house will make things work better.. i just dont get it anymore i cant really find anything else to try... ill let you know if anything i find works

[msdesign]

From what your describing msdesign that sounds like internet connection problems.. while this could be my issue aswell since i have had the same provider since i started i may just have a connection that doesnt hold constant for some reason.. but it sounds like your losing connection for small amounts of time. I could be wrong but maybe your internet is being screwy.. or the server your connecting to is having connection issues with people in your area? i dunno.

My internet connection is very stable. Ocasionally I have lag, but during that lag I can see my toon running animation without getting out of the same spot, and the other toons too, running in the same place without moving around. That is internet lag, and I understand it. I'm not complaining about that lag.

What I was talking about was complete screen freezes. Everything just stops: the sky animation, other toons, my own toon, visuals, just an authentic screen capture.

For this description, I would say, and all of you too, that the problem is on my computer. Agreed. But the thing here is, these symptoms only started after they updated DDO with MotU expansion.

One day I was running DDO just fine and smooth, I went to bed, the day after, waited for the servers to come back up after the update, logged in, and started to notice these problems one after another.

[xXioXx]

So I am running a geforce ti 560 1gb, 32 gb ram, 8 core 3.9 ghz processor.

I see the same behavior when jumping into harbor and marketplace. I go from relatively sustained rate between 100 and 150 FP down to 35-45 occasionally (mostly on weekends).

I suspect this is normal and not on your end, considering my machine has similar bottom-outs in high volume areas.

I jumped into King's Forest the other day just to see if it's large maps causing it - it's not.
King's Forest behaved itself.

I dont see the issue as much in a crowded area.. as i said i know thats why i jump from 65 down to like 20 sometimes but thats expected.. theres no reason i should be running in a private instance and every time it loads a section it lag spikes.. or evertime i kill something a minor one happens or everytime someone else kills something in a non-private instance (slayer) and count goes up i lag.. its minor almost ignorable but STUPID.. im going to go back to low res mode i suppose and see if it is just mostly the high res textures loading when im in close.... i could try installing on my other hd but thats a crappy hd with a bad sector on it.. i dont trust it for anything other then holding **** while i reinstall windows/format..

If your running something like that and still have congestion issues then DDO is seriously MESSED UP. theres no reason you shouldnt be able to run at like 105+ fps ALWAYS with a system like that.. 10 years ago i ran a piece of **** system that could atleast run every single game smoothly at low settings.. why the hell cant i even get my decent system to run crappily smoothly? thats ridiculous ddo obviously has compatability issues.. they need to go back in and re-write the programming organized not update ontop of update ontop of update.. theres just not enough compiled information that ANY computer can handle... theres no reason any graphics card shouldnt be able to run at a 30 fps range through-out the entire game (ie 50-80)

[fco-karatekid]

I dont see the issue as much in a crowded area.. as i said i know thats why i jump from 65 down to like 20 sometimes but thats expected.. theres no reason i should be running in a private instance and every time it loads a section it lag spikes.. or evertime i kill something a minor one happens or everytime someone else kills something in a non-private instance (slayer) and count goes up i lag.. its minor almost ignorable but STUPID.. im going to go back to low res mode i suppose and see if it is just mostly the high res textures loading when im in close.... i could try installing on my other hd but thats a crappy hd with a bad sector on it.. i dont trust it for anything other then holding **** while i reinstall windows/format..

If your running something like that and still have congestion issues then DDO is seriously MESSED UP. theres no reason you shouldnt be able to run at like 105+ fps ALWAYS with a system like that.. 10 years ago i ran a piece of **** system that could atleast run every single game smoothly at low settings.. why the hell cant i even get my decent system to run crappily smoothly? thats ridiculous ddo obviously has compatability issues.. they need to go back in and re-write the programming organized not update ontop of update ontop of update.. theres just not enough compiled information that ANY computer can handle... theres no reason any graphics card shouldnt be able to run at a 30 fps range through-out the entire game (ie 50-80)

oh sorry, I missed the single instanced thing!

What I have noticed for me is newer content (say, harbinger and newer) does very well, older content is more prone to graphics slowdowns. One exception is first 5 secs or so entering house C enclave. 35-45 for that time =, then back into low 100's.

I can't help but wonder if old development stuff has inefficiencies (extra vertices, or whatever).

I'm no graphics ex[ert at all, but when I was designing maps back in the day for doom and quake, I know infinity vertices would wreak hell on the video card.

[Missing_Minds]

From what your describing msdesign that sounds like internet connection problems..

Negative. Frame rate is all on client side and very little to do with network packets.

[Missing_Minds]

I can't say this is my case:

1. I was playing perfectly fine before they released U14. My graphics options were still the same after that. No options were changed.
2. My hard drive had no type of change at all with the update.
3. My OS and the game have always been in the same partition.

I'm finishing DDO instalation right now, so I should know in a few minutes if this solved the problem or not.

No options changed sure, but the Engine did change. What was is not what is.

I run with AMD and haven't seen any such issues on Win 7.
My wife is running XP and an nvida 210 and no such issues that she's complained about. (that isn't saying much either. Trying to teach her what to complain/inform me about is a different task.)

One other random thought. Sudden stops in frame rate. Could also be heat related, not saying it is, but I haven't seen it mentioned. I haven't been watching my GPU temp sense U14 to see if it is running hotter now or not.

edit: It is running hotter than I remember by about 8 degrees.

[msdesign]

No options changed sure, but the Engine did change. What was is not what is.

I run with AMD and haven't seen any such issues on Win 7.
My wife is running XP and an nvida 210 and no such issues that she's complained about. (that isn't saying much either. Trying to teach her what to complain/inform me about is a different task.)

One other random thought. Sudden stops in frame rate. Could also be heat related, not saying it is, but I haven't seen it mentioned. I haven't been watching my GPU temp sense U14 to see if it is running hotter now or not.

edit: It is running hotter than I remember by about 8 degrees.

So, I have an absolute average computer, runs Skyrim and DDO with no sweat. Now Turbine makes an update to the game and the same machine starts giving heat problems and its up to the user to solve it?

Sorry, I don't think so.

[Missing_Minds]

So, I have an absolute average computer, runs Skyrim and DDO with no sweat. Now Turbine makes an update to the game and the same machine starts giving heat problems and its up to the user to solve it?

Sorry, I don't think so.

You think that Skyrim and DDO are coded EXACTLY the same such that they run identical? Sorry, I don't think so.

Also, DDO has a long history of pushing graphic cards hotter than most other games, even the latest and greatest hotness. It has only been within the last 2 years or so that it stopped being the prime killer of cards due to heat generation.

[msdesign]

You think that Skyrim and DDO are coded EXACTLY the same such that they run identical? Sorry, I don't think so.

Also, DDO has a long history of pushing graphic cards hotter than most other games, even the latest and greatest hotness. It has only been within the last 2 years or so that it stopped being the prime killer of cards due to heat generation.

*sigh.... Please don't place words coming out of me, pretty please.

What I said was, my machine is good enough to run [insert heavy system requirements game here], and therefore, should not be over heated just because some company decided to update one of their titles.

In other words, if a game update causes that, I can only assume one thing: that update is not implemented the way it should, bearing in mind some game-design guidelines.

Don't forget that U14 also brough players many many real and unpleasant bugs, glitches, and other minor setbacks (free ship amenities, anyone?).

That last update brough more pain than joy to DDO, and I'm just refering to the bugs and glitches nobody can say that are not there (UI glitches, non-funcional options, shrinking toolbars, warforged class tottaly messed up, and more... [insert your favorite glitch here] ).

By your definition of the current problem, people will stop playing DDO in a few more updates because of the heat generation caused by each update... At least me, I can't afford to upgrade my computer right now, but it is not obsolete either. Graphics like DDO are simple and should not cause so much heat as you say. That is a faulty game engine. Skyrim doesn't cause problems here. Far Cry 2 doesn't cause problems here. I can try endless titles with much more degree in graphic details without smoke coming out of my tower. Why would DDO cause that? Beats me.

Get my point now?

[Missing_Minds]

Get my point now?

Oh I got it before, you are placing the blame on the wrong party. Many people do.

Game designers are told "this hardware is capable of doing _______" So that is what the designers do.
Then suddenly the hardware can no longer do so. Game designers are still following the same specs as before. The fault lies with hardware design/manufacturing that they either didn't spec the card properly or didn't provide adequate cooling. You'll find a big history of the later if you go look things up.

[msdesign]

Oh I got it before, you are placing the blame on the wrong party. Many people do.

Game designers are told "this hardware is capable of doing _______" So that is what the designers do.
Then suddenly the hardware can no longer do so. Game designers are still following the same specs as before. The fault lies with hardware design/manufacturing that they either didn't spec the card properly or didn't provide adequate cooling. You'll find a big history of the later if you go look things up.

Ok then, I'll stop playing DDO as the current update makes my computer freeze sometimes, I don't want to wait until they release the next patch....

/sarcasm off

[Stillwaters]

@msdesign you described the very bug/issue i'm having, complete lockup when not even mouse pointer moves...

I've noticed this way more when on the buff-ship than in quests but it does happen there too (and the login/zoning too)

Ive also noticed when i do a restart (i restart entire PC after such a bug, otherwise it happens again or i get massive UMD lag when restarting my client) that it takes sometimes 30sec to a minute longer to shutdown the pc.

I'm not saying it ISNT DDO related, DDO tends to load up a ton o crud in windows then leaves it running even after its closed, but its infuriating to try and isolate...

[xXioXx]

@msdesign you described the very bug/issue i'm having, complete lockup when not even mouse pointer moves...

I've noticed this way more when on the buff-ship than in quests but it does happen there too (and the login/zoning too)

Ive also noticed when i do a restart (i restart entire PC after such a bug, otherwise it happens again or i get massive UMD lag when restarting my client) that it takes sometimes 30sec to a minute longer to shutdown the pc.

I'm not saying it ISNT DDO related, DDO tends to load up a ton o crud in windows then leaves it running even after its closed, but its infuriating to try and isolate...

its funny that you say that because my computer was having the same issues on xp and thats partially why i switched to vista.. kept freezing on the shutdown screen. no reason. couldnt figure out why, i reinstalled xp 5 times before i gave up.. it would go away after every reinstall for like 2 months then it would happen again.. was strange.. but ya this update is definetly buggy and the fact theres so many previous un attended bugs means there focus is on nothing more then making the next big thing to earn the ddo turbine point sales. thats why things take forever to even get noticed.. they dont even play/test the game they make it and test on the public... beta access = everyone...

I cant even get the report a bug to work half the time just goes to show how many bugs dont get reported.. I see glitches 4-5 times a day and noone report them but me. Im sick of being a bug reporter and seeing none of them get fixed.. also sick of my comp not being able to handle. It may be a heat issue as my comp does run fairly hot compared to most.. I cant get it to stop tho theres like 10 fans in there.. im gonna cut a hole in the door and **** a 120mm in there see if that helps. It very well could be part of the issue but I should still be running at a reasonable temperature. Ill check zotac firestorm and get back to you guys later. I have full time work this week so might not be till the weekend but I will find out

[xXioXx]

firestorm says after a long hard run it was at 62 degrees (i beleive its fereignheight [cant spell that word xD]) and running in mid range (has temp bar that goes from red to green sits in low yellow). I tried tinkering and dropping the memory clock and the shader clock down to see if this would somehow effect the lag and it doesnt. Im thinking its just an overload of incoming information and my computer cant handle.. probly could use a new hard drive with even more cache, seen another person with similar drive and lag issues with a better system then mine on here complaining so maybe thats both our issues. I just dont know anymore, spikes definetly decrease after long period of use thinking paging file catches up? maybe disable page file next time i play see how it does off just ram.
hating my comp
hating ddo
the 1800 dollar computer with UPGRADES out the wazoo cant handle ddo im not happy. i **** on dell and there design and ddo and there bad compilation of files impossible for any computer to comprehend... and nvidia for making the most incompatable motherboard to give to dells incompatable case, thanks guys =D

[Smitey]

I did notice in resources even after uninstalling Pando media booster for some reason the bin file for ddo high res install was still being read by my hard drive and taking alot of resources (said it was by scvhost so possibly still sending?)

now i start my computer today and i couldnt figure out why my hard drive was reading so much after like 5 minutes of not doing anything.
So i checked resource monitor and it says the sound and animation dat files for DDO were being read taking over 50mb resources for like 2-3 minutes and again this was running on scvhost.exe, why would my internet need to read this file when i havent even got anywhere near ddo since ive started my computer.

From a clean boot DDO files should not be accessed if "load launcher when computer starts up" is de-selected.

Please be precise about what you posted (as you stated it twice) - was it svchost.exe (windows system) or scvhost.exe.. which is malware ?