Project Reality Forums

I made a small spinoff PR-mod, named "pr_fpstest". It loads all PR 1.0 files, but is not using the PR Launcher. Instead it's using the old "pr.exe". I'd like you guys to try this out, see if FPS is better than what you get in 1.0.36.0.

I'd like to know if the launcher is somehow eating performance away. If there's no change in performance, then it must be something else, but at least we know for sure.


Download and "installation"

Download this file: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/104 ... pstest.rar (8 MB)

It contains a folder "pr_fpstest". Place this folder inside the mods-directory of BF2. In most cases, this is something like:

Windows XP: C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\mods\
Windows Vista/7/8: C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games\Battlefield 2\mods\

Launch "pr_fpstest" using pr.exe, this file is located inside that folder.

Note: If people don't "understand" how to "install" this, or have issues somehow, I'll make a simple installer later. But I first need to know if everything loads OK.


Weird visual things

Some things may look a bit odd. You'll see some unused launcher space in your screen, which looks like the screenshot below. Also, your compass marker (for move, attack, etc.) won't display properly. But that doesn't matter, this is just to see what FPS is like anyway.




Dedicated server

I tried running this mod on a dedicated server. It works fine on a local dedicated server, so I'm pretty sure it works on a real dedicated server as well. If a server admin is willing to host "pr_fpstest" on a dedicated server, feel free to do so.

If you see a dedicated server running, please join it. It should work as far as I know.


Do all maps load OK?

Well, first of all, I made this spinoff quite fast, so I may have made a typo here and there. For example, all levels are still being loaded from your PR installation (mods/pr/). I've tried a couple of maps and they worked fine. If I made a typo, you'll CTD when you try to run the map. Please let me know and I'll fix that up asap (or simply not load that map anymore). If a map loads fine, it counts for all layers, so if you test just one layer of a map, it'll work for the other layers too.
Please report back if you could succesfully load a map that didn't have a "yes" yet. Then I'll update this list.


What to test?

1.
Run a map in normal PR 1.0 and see what the FPS is like. You can check the FPS by opening your console (default is ~ or END-key). Then type: renderer.drawfps 1
This will display a little red text on the topleft of your screen. This is enabled by default in pr_fpstest however.
Anyway, check if there are differences in FPS when running both mods.

2.
Loading times, are they any different? I don't think so, but always good to compare some numbers.

3.
Play a COOP game in PR 1.0 and then pr_fpstest and see what it does to performance.

4.
If someone runs a dedicated server, join it and play some games.


If you've tried all or some of the above, please post back here and share your findings.

operation archer - crashed

Well, I did a fast test on Fallujah with 32 bots and I didn't notice any noticeable fps raise. It was higher +5 fps than usually but mostly because it was not 100p server.

Started Fallujah - crashed right when loading ended (back to desktop with no message)

Started Yamalia - loading ended, pressed the button - saw some weird yellow textures for a sec - then it went to normal, freezing like crazy - after few seconds the freez started to go off, and the overall framerate seemed to be much much better (around 70 fps where I had like 30 in 0.36 for no reason in empty areas) - pressed escape - crashed

Started operation archer - crashed as fallujah

I'll try this back after a defrag

All the maps crash. There's no way I can't start any of them.

I believe the loading is quite faster tho.

Asad Khal, Ia Drang, and Beirut load fine.

Asad Khal does, Beirut doesn't. I mostly tried to open maps known for having big issues so I ignored these ones, which seem to work fine, at least Asad Khal for sure.

off topic :
- There's a flying arrow between the center of screen and the compass (which actually seems to be the arrow supposed to be On the compass pointing out the marker, as there's no arrow on the compass right now).
- I noticed you fixed the reload animation canceled by prone animation, good work.

The compass arrow is known, I mentioned that in the OP .

I didn't change anything to the files. All files are loaded from normal PR. It's just not using the launcher.

Will have a look at the maps that crash. Probably just made a typo.

Beirut runs fine for me too. And Archer loads normal as well.
Could you try to load those maps again, if you have issues with 'em?

Just tried Beirut, and it really looks like it won't start.

Try to run in windowed mode, see if you get an error.

Tested fps on ramiel coop inf with 48 bots. There was no difference in between the 2 versions. Actually the fpstest one felt like it needed longer to load.

Got this on Beirut :



Restart (middle button) turned PR off and a new window appeared saying "ERROR : Unable to open BF2 process".

Got this on Fools Road :



And got nothing on Operation Marlin.

Btw I believe the loading time is still slow after all. It's stuck at 15% for few secs, then it grows slowly to 62%, there it's stuck for few secs, and finally goes to the end slowly.

EDIT - Fixed the problem.

Kashan Desert ALT- 48 bots all on my side.
Same fps as in the normal version, loading times aren't any different either.

Yeah, using the launcher or PR.exe doesn't seem to have difference in performance. All comparisons I did had the same results. And some others that contacted me about this (and/or posted here) share the same ideas.

For now I think it's safe to say the launcher doesn't cause it. I'll try to whip up another test somewhere this week (hopefully), see if that makes any difference.

Thanks to all that participate in finding the cause(s).