River framerate drop... Why? | Forums

[ShotFlare]

Hi! i have an issue with the River level. While i was playing, after you get in the boat, i was killed because the framerate dropped un-expectly. The game would play at the usual framerate when it would pause for half a second, before resuming and repeating. I restarted my computer, turned all graphics settings to low, looked for latest drivers, and looked for a late patch than what i already have. None of these fixed the problem. Because of the framerate i have not been able to complete the level.

BFG Teck Nvidia 6800 OC
512 Ram
2.4 Ghz Intel Celeron

[johns1234]

I've seen this plenty. I think it is an AI loop of some kind that gets loaded
and hogs cpu time. I have cleared it by merely firing a few shots.. making
me think it is a weapon AI loop. AI in this game is doing a lot of testing
for what-ifs, and there is apparently a biggie in the River level ... if you
did something weird that loaded it, and has it pending. You can kill it
by selecting a couple of weapons and firing them. Something else. Note how
that problem goes away as soon as you walk down the path towards the PDA-truck
and Doyle tells you to take out whats-his-name. If I had to bet money on
the source of the "loop", I think it might be the patrol boat that comes
after you when you get near the plane that is parked on shore. Note how
irregular that is. Sometimes it comes out. Sometimes it don't. But it is
right in there that the frame rate drops. I think there is a missing Q-point
that enables that boat segment, and it gets weird. I think the AI is watching
how you come down the river trying to estimate if you are not paying attention
to what is coming at you. Maybe you turned back to fire at the heli ??? And
that boat is meant to sneak out and get you ... so the "sneak out" loop is
pending, and taking up way too much cpu time. Fire the patrol boat guns
down the river and see. I'll try that too. There's another "sneak loop"
at the end of Factory. If you don't stand in the long hallway until Doyle
tells you to "get out", the Mercs at the far end of the hall will spawn
right beside you and Whamo! Restart. I stand in the middle of the hallway
watching the far end through the rocket gun binoc. Those Mercs never come
out, and I can end the Factory level fairly easy if I cleared the Mercs
from the nearby room before I went out in the long hallway. I cause that
weird loop problem by taking the time to push heavy boxes in front of both
doorways where the Mercs come out. Then they can't get out, and the AI goes
bananas unless you know how to "watch" and block the loop trigger. "Watching"
in this game is one of the AI triggers bigtime. And the game is watching you
... like: If Turned == Back; Path == SneakPath( MapPos, LastLook, LastRock );