Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:02 pm Post subject:
Alternate Fix For TS Lag Issues
Subject description: Works with Windows XP SP3, Vista and 7
Everyone knows about the DirectDraw DLL floating around that forces software emulation, but it does not work on Vista and 7, and that line of operating systems does not allow to you to disable DirectDraw and Direct3D through DxDiag.
Because m7 had horrendous lag issues that prevented him from even playing Tiberian Sun at a manageable level, I went out looking for a cure. After an hour of nothing, I stumbled on a usable fix.
Without further ado, here is how to perform that fix.
Download the Toolkit and install it. Just default it and don't worry about anything with databases, you won't need any.
After the toolkit is installed, navigate to \Program Files\Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit\Compatibility Administrator (32-bit). Double click on Compatadmin.exe.
The following screen should appear:
Highlight New Database(1) [Untitled_1]. Right click on it then select Create New > Application Fix as indicated by the image.
The following screen will appear:
Fill in the text fields with the appropriate information. In this example, I was using Twisted Insurrection.
Verify the information, then click Next.
The next screen will appear where you can select the Compatibility Mode. Set it to Windows 98/Me and then click Next.
The Compatibility Fixes screen will follow. Leave the preselected options checked. The important part here is making sure that ForceDirectDrawEmulation is checked then click Next.
The Matching Information screen follows. Don't change anything here and click Finish to create the Application Fix.
You will be brought back to the Compatibility Administrator window, but you will see an Applications dropdown with your new application underneath it.
The name of the Application Fix is the text from the Program Information screen's "program to be fixed" text field so make that something useful.
After this is finished, click File > Save As to save the Appfix. When saving as, I named the SDB after the exe I was fixing, just for sanity. When that's done, you will have an SDB file in your directory.
Right-click on the database underneath Custom Databases and select Install. This should apply the patch to your EXE. To verify, open your Add/Remove Programs Wizard and search for the name of your SDB.
In this instance, I named it TI.sdb and it appears as TI in my Wizard.
That's all there is to it.
Additional thanks goes to m7 for initial testing. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. Last edited by High Templar X on Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:01 am; edited 3 times in total QUICK_EDIT
That's the idea. It doesn't require any extra DLLs and doesn't modify the EXE as far as I can tell. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. QUICK_EDIT
Also. Updated the tutorial with some additional requirements. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. QUICK_EDIT
Dude when I found this thread my first internal reaction was: ztyping yes!
I gotta say, when I first tested the DDraw fix and watched as Win 7 displayed nothing but a black screen I was so disappointed and saddened.
I reeaally gotta try this fix. I'll post my results.
EDIT: Ok, I tried it out and um, couldn't notice any changes to performance whatsoever. The major slowdown when you build a low-cost structure such as the silo is still there, as well as the stealth-field super slowdown.
I did everything this tutorial said, and everything checked out. The install is there in the add/remove list. The database was installed to the .exe with no problems etc. Still, the performance issues remain.
I am running Windows 7, x64 (I did use the x32 version of the compatibility administrator, so there shouldn't be any problems there) and I run TS at the resolution 1280*960 (my native resolution is 1920*1200).
If you got any suggestions as to what might be the cause to this, please let me know. Last edited by Elite_Pirate on Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:09 am; edited 1 time in total QUICK_EDIT
I tried using the compatibility administrator to force directdraw emulation a while ago and it made no perceivable difference to the slowdown/lag. I'll try it again now, perhaps I was doing something wrong... QUICK_EDIT
Strange, Aro didn't get it to work either, but m7 and I have it working just fine.
Do you have the .NET Framework 3.5 installed? W7 should have it already, but check anyway. That's a requirement for this to work correctly.
[EDIT] Tested it on my brother's Win7 PC and it works for him too. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Dordrecht, the Netherlands
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:35 am Post subject:
Same here as for Pirate. No change in performance. I'm downloading the .NET framework now. Also, for TI, must I fix game.exe (the TI unique one) or SUN.exe (the original one)? QUICK_EDIT
TI doesn't has a sun.exe anymore.
Sun.exe is just a launcher for the real executable game.exe. It's afaik completely useless. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Dordrecht, the Netherlands
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:52 am Post subject:
Well, 'fixing' both exes doesn't do a damn. I really begin to wonder if my PC ain't cursed or something, with the increasing list of games that refuse to work properly... QUICK_EDIT
It's installed for sure now. Framework 4.0 for Win 7. Still not working.
Are you making sure to actually Install the fix after saving it? You should have an SDB file in your TS directory.
Dutchygamer wrote:
Same here as for Pirate. No change in performance. I'm downloading the .NET framework now. Also, for TI, must I fix game.exe (the TI unique one) or SUN.exe (the original one)?
I just applied the fix to game.exe and it worked fine for me. I even have it working on my brother's W7 PC.
Tore wrote:
This causes the same old black screen issue as the ddraw.dll.
That's new. You sure you don't have ddraw.dll still in there?
What are you guys naming your SDB? Same as the EXE you're patching or something else entirely? I name my SDB identical to the EXE. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. QUICK_EDIT
It's installed for sure now. Framework 4.0 for Win 7. Still not working.
Are you making sure to actually Install the fix after saving it? You should have an SDB file in your TS directory.
What are you guys naming your SDB? Same as the EXE you're patching or something else entirely? I name my SDB identical to the EXE.
The SDB was there in the SUN directory, it was in the add/remove list and it said that it had been installed after following the tutorial.
I previously named it Tiberian Sun Fix.sdb and it got saved like that to the SUN directory. I tried renaming it to Game.sdb and then booted up the game. Still not working.
Could you elaborate on what you think might be wrong? _________________ QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Dordrecht, the Netherlands
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:21 pm Post subject:
1) Downloaded and installed the Toolkit and .NET Framework
2) Created new application fix
3) Selected game.exe
4) Set compatibility mode to Win98/ME
5) Selected ForceDirectDrawEmulation
6) Saved database as TI
7) Installed it, got message install was complete
This is what I see in my Add/Remove list:
It seems it doesn't have the TI icon like you have, nor do I have a size or a notice of when I used it QUICK_EDIT
The SDB was there in the SUN directory, it was in the add/remove list and it said that it had been installed after following the tutorial.
I previously named it Tiberian Sun Fix.sdb and it got saved like that to the SUN directory. I tried renaming it to Game.sdb and then booted up the game. Still not working.
Could you elaborate on what you think might be wrong?
I made sure to name it game.sdb as the original file name, although technically it should work with any name. I just do that for sanity. I'm not sure why it's not work for everyone else - I've had it work successfully three times already.
Dutchygamer wrote:
1) Downloaded and installed the Toolkit and .NET Framework
2) Created new application fix
3) Selected game.exe
4) Set compatibility mode to Win98/ME
5) Selected ForceDirectDrawEmulation
6) Saved database as TI
7) Installed it, got message install was complete
It seems it doesn't have the TI icon like you have, nor do I have a size or a notice of when I used it.
That's the exact steps. Not quite sure what you're forgetting or what's different between configurations.
The TI entry I had ended up being a coincidence. If done correctly, Add/Remove will look like yours since this application creates a patch. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. QUICK_EDIT
That's new. You sure you don't have ddraw.dll still in there?
There have never been any ddraw.dll on this computer, except the one in the Windows folder...
I use Windows 7 64-bit. C&C1, RA and RA2 had this problem too, but I solved them by disabling "Backbuffer in video memory" through CCSETUP and RASETUP, and placing "VideoBackBuffer=no" under [Video] in ra2.ini. _________________ QUICK_EDIT
Since .sdb remind me of Visual Studio .pdb,I was wondering if maybe the missing thing could be Visual C++ runtimes or something like that (I see that as a requirement on some programs).
Could be what's missing? QUICK_EDIT
Possibly, but it would throw an error somewhere saying they're not installed. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. QUICK_EDIT
Just want to add some interesting info. I played TS with using Wineskin (with XQuartz) in Mac OS X. This virtualization works much perfectly instead of playing TS natively. Strange thing. In my Windows XP TS has a lags with power bar animation, but in Wineskin not... Runs perfectly good and smooth. QUICK_EDIT
or you can just call me Fen or Doctor Destiny cause I had to start using other names at /ppm/. _________________ KGR | AT
AZUR
Discord: theastronomer1836
Steam QUICK_EDIT
I registered at this forum specifically while scouring the vast depths of the internet for a fix to my horrific slowdown problem when building cheap objects.
I'm using Windows Vista on a dual-core laptop and have always had this problem. cheap buildings cause my game to slow to a crawl until they finish. no other unit or expensive building does this.
I've followed the steps in this thread to a T.
I verified at each step and at the end.
I've got .netFramework 3.5 SP 1
and yet nothing.
it doesn't seem to work. pavement and silos still cause my game to slow down to an unbearable pace for several seconds. so I'm officially giving up without further suggestions. I think I've tried at least 10 different approaches to fixing the problem, and this thread was the last one I found. and still no cigar.
I'm simply going to have to stop playing Tiberian Sun until perhaps I go buy a used Gateway from 1997 that I keep in the basement strictly for playing C&C and nothing else. I've lost all hope of recapturing my childhood gaming memories.
Download and set up a virtual machine. In this VM install winXP. Then run TS in this VM.
Your laptop should be powerful enough to have a fast VM and this way also a fast TS.
Or scrap Vista and install a better working OS like Win7 or WinXP. There is a tiny chance that this will help too. WinXP would be preferable, since you can use ddraw.dll to disable directdraw and this way make TS render on the CPU instead. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
It sounds like everything you'd need would be a different darken.shp (the graphic that gets placed on top of sidebar structure icons when you're building something). I don't have one available right now as I'm at school; I might upload one when I get home though. That problem is common and disabling the structure graying-out effect fixes it.
Quote:
Or scrap Vista and install a better working OS like Win7 or WinXP
I'd never install XP anymore as its official support will be dropped in 2 years. Even a VM would be a better solution, but disabling the graying-out effect of structure icons should be tried first since a VM requires hard drive space and some time to set up, and the performance will in most cases be lower than when running TS normally. _________________ CnCNet Client | CnCNet TS patches | More Quality-of-Life Improvements for RA Remastered
cheap buildings cause my game to slow to a crawl until they finish. no other unit or expensive building does this.
Like Rapastrein mentioned, a blank darken.shp file would fix this.
When you build a structure, the game places a transparent image (darken.shp) over all other structures to make it easier to tell that you can't click on any of the other buildings until the one you're building has either been constructed or canceled. Unfortunately TS has an issue with transparent things, which is why the slowdown occurs.
So to fix this, just download the zip file below and extract ecache00.mix (this contains a blank darken.shp) into your TS folder.
hey thanks for the quick responses everybody.
I'll try using this ecache00.mix tonight when I get home and let you know how it goes.
also I'm curious; why exactly does this issue occur?
I mean, how does a game that's like 15 years old cause itself to lag like that on a modern, powerful machine?
because obviously I never had this problem when the game was new and being played on an old Dell with WIN98. it's so weird how an overpowered machine causes it to run worse than an old box of junk would. QUICK_EDIT
also I'm curious; why exactly does this issue occur?
If only we would knew. Many modders, exe coder and others attempted to find that out, but afaik no one ever found the real problem.
Imo it's an incompatibility between the old graphics engine and modern systems. If you force TS to do software rendering on the CPU via the ddraw.dll for WinXP it works, so it's surely a problem with the old graphics engine.
If someone would find a way to really force TS in software rendering mode on Vista and Win7 too, i guess the issue would be solved for many others too. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
keep in mind that you now don't see anymore if a unit/building with a buildlimit is still buildable. e.g. if you have already a Mammoth MKII, the icon won't be greyed out anymore, thus it looks like you can build another one. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
IIRC in addition to transparency issues like mentioned by Bittah, it's got to do with the darken.shp being drawn over every building icon other than the one you build. TS is extremely inefficient in memory usage, and even loads some animations several times. Why this problem persists in newer, faster softwares, I don't know. _________________ QUICK_EDIT
naeco06, please test your system and see what happens, if you have 10 or more gasclouds (e.g. fire on a veinhole monster with a minigunner)
It would interest me if these transparent animations lag as well that horrible for you.
It would also interest me, if only one gascloud is already enough for some noticeable lag, or if there is a certain limit of them that shouldn't be exceeded. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Download and set up a virtual machine. In this VM install winXP. Then run TS in this VM.
Your laptop should be powerful enough to have a fast VM and this way also a fast TS.
Or scrap Vista and install a better working OS like Win7 or WinXP. There is a tiny chance that this will help too. WinXP would be preferable, since you can use ddraw.dll to disable directdraw and this way make TS render on the CPU instead.
I've wanted to set up a VM with XP for a while now and you have just reminded me, thanks! QUICK_EDIT
IIRC in addition to transparency issues like mentioned by Bittah, it's got to do with the darken.shp being drawn over every building icon other than the one you build.
^^you guessed correct. But in addition is darken.shp not only drawn over the few visible icons in the sidebar, but actually over all buildable buildings that exist in a kind of invisible dummy sidebar. (Best noticeable since the slowdown is the same on a tiny and huge resolution with only 4 visible cameos or 15 cameos in the sidemenu)
An alternative might be a reduction of the gclock2.shp frames.
If this has only 2 frames, it wouldn't cause darken.shp to be updated every few microsecond.
But i'm not sure if the amount of frames for gclock2 is hardcoded to 55. (But if it works, it would be a work-reduction for the game of up 90%)
\EDIT
btw, using the ddraw.dll from hifi, i was astonished to notice that it also allows TS to run in a window mode under Win7. (and no stupid 16bit desktop necessary)
Unfortunately does it has some small bugs, like the mouse cursor being slightly off from the click-location or that menus don't really work.
But it can load already fine the intro video and the main menu.
Thus i think with a bit more work done by hifi, he would be surely able to enhance the dll to even support TS.
Since it allows the game to render with the gdi software renderer, this should also make an end to incompatible graca-hardware and lags caused by this.
TIwindowed.jpg
Description:
in ddraw.ini make sure mhack=false is set (default is true), else it gives a black screen with an exception
Yea, me and hifi tested its compatablity some time ago, but there is something he cant work out. Something to do with GDI rendering and how TS uses it. QUICK_EDIT
An alternative might be a reduction of the gclock2.shp frames.
If this has only 2 frames, it wouldn't cause darken.shp to be updated every few microsecond.
But i'm not sure if the amount of frames for gclock2 is hardcoded to 55. (But if it works, it would be a work-reduction for the game of up 90%)
I'm pretty sure most would agree that (even if it works) using a 2-frame gclock2.shp is a lot less practical than using a blank darken.shp... _________________ QUICK_EDIT
Well, you can use 8 frames, which would be enough to show the progress of the construction and still reduce significantly the amount of cameoupdates.
You could also enhance this by some special new timer image, instead of a simple rotating thing showing for example a percentage number.
the blank darken.shp simply has the big problem that you can't see if a buildlimited object is still available or not.
\EDIT
reducing the gclock frames doesn't work. the game seems to be hardcoded to use 55 frames.
It plays through the frames and then simply stops at the last frame until the construction is done. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
(Best noticeable since the slowdown is the same on a tiny and huge resolution with only 4 visible cameos or 15 cameos in the sidemenu).
For me it doesn't seem to be so. I'm not sure if it's just because lower resolutions are much less demanding though (giving the game more time for drawing the darken.shps). The slowdown is very significant at 1280x1024 but at 800x600 it's nearly unnoticable. _________________ CnCNet Client | CnCNet TS patches | More Quality-of-Life Improvements for RA Remastered
naeco06, please test your system and see what happens, if you have 10 or more gasclouds (e.g. fire on a veinhole monster with a minigunner)
It would interest me if these transparent animations lag as well that horrible for you.
gasclouds from a tiberium vein also cause lag, but not anywhere near as bad as the construction of cheap buildings.
and it only starts to lag when then are a bunch of clouds. anything past 6-8 clouds causes some stagger. like I said though, it's not half as bad as the building lag was. QUICK_EDIT
I have tested the Compability Administrator with countless settings and I can not get any improvements.
I also manually added the regkeys in Win7 registry to control the DirectDraw force emulation and they worked but blackscreen followed as result.
But then I used the Command & Conquer Graphics Patcher - http://www.stuffhost.de/files/cnc/CnCPatcher.html and the lag issue totally disappeared.
This patch forces the game to not allocate surfaces in VRAM in the first place. QUICK_EDIT
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Alternate Fix For TS Lag Issues
(and no stupid 16bit desktop necessary)
