Nec: New York - Trenton Is A Performance Nightmare, Even On High-end Pcs

Put it in the Launch Options (Steam game properties)

 

Oops sorry....I should have put that in my post, as above in the Steam TSW4 properties

An additional argument I put in was -THREADS 16 (as I have a 16 core CPU, i7-13700KF), change the number to match how many cores your CPU has to get the full benefit

 

Loaded into the NJT 3821 (NY - Trenton) service, and the first minute or two was promising. As I was "loading passengers" (but not really cause the platforms are empty lol), it was pretty smooth with only a micro-stutter or two every 10-20 seconds. But once I got moving, even as I was crawling below 5mph away from the platform, it started the long 1-2 second pauses every 3-5 seconds or so again, seemingly just as bad as before I input the "-USEALLAVAILABLECORES -THREADS 16 -DX12 -HIGH" startup launch option in the steam properties for TSW4.

I just don't know what to do at this point. I really hope this can be looked into by the devs next week. Waited so long for this timetable and I and many others just simply can't enjoy it, and we should be able to considering (from what I've seen), we all have high-end rigs.

 

Well it was worth trying, nothing to lose and everything to gain and all that...

I hope it gets addressed once Matt and Co see this thread. Even if we only get acknowledgement the issue exists and will be looked into, that's a start.

I suspect they know the route has optimisation issues hence why they maybe cut the freight layer. I think also the Frankenstein nature of this route (essentially reused parts from TSW1s NEC NY also has alot to do with it)

 

yeah i wouldn’t be shocked if it was more than just scenery that was recycled over to this route (tracks, signals, etc.). *rolls eyes

 

Wow, just watched your video and I can see why you are complaining about your performance. I ran a couple of services and had nothing like what was shown in your video. I did have one or two micro stutters as the timetable finished loading, but after that was maintain 58 -60 FPS while in the station then up to over 100 once our on the run to Trenton. I do have a decent system with a Nvidia RTX 3090 and 64 megs of RAM and running off a SSD. No tweaks to my engine.ini, DX11 and running on Ultra settings running 2560 x 1440 geosynch curved monitor for what that is worth.

 

that’s what’s so weird about this. someone else mentioned earlier they were having the constant stutters and had the an even newer gen RTX GPU (4090)… What CPU and DDR/speed is your ram if you don’t mind me asking?

 

on my IPad at the moment ~ will get the specs in the morning and post rather than try and recall …. Don’t want to misquote my system - goes with nearly 70 years of keeping specs in one’s head


EDIT ---

CPU 12th Gen Intel Core 19-12900KF
RAM 32G DDR4
Nvidia RTX 3090TI - pushing two monitors - Primary 2560x1440 (TSW4 Full screen mode) Secondary 1920x1080 (used for Email, Browser ect while playing TSW4
Storage NvMe SPCC M.2 PCIe (SSD)

 

I notice that the OP video has a custom livery. Each custom livery adds a new train to the already high workload this route seems to have. Is that what is causing the performance to be so bad?

 

I don't believe liveries add a new train as it's just a skin for an existing train which is already loaded. In any case, I dont run any custom liveries for the ALP-46 or Amtrak stock and I get the same stuttering with the new TT. Schnauzahpowahz was also runnign no custom liveries in his video and the perf was abysmal

 

I'm using one of the JetWash tweaks - "1 Beyond Ultra v2.1" on this page:

https://www.trainsimcommunity.com/m...ini-tweaks/i3889-tsw4-to-d4-lighting-overhaul

My PC specs are:
i9-12900KF (24 CPUs)
32GB DDR5 RAM
GeForce RTX 3080
Samsung 980 PRO 2TB M.2

I'm playing in 4k on Ultra settings (with sky turned down to Very High). I might see a micro-stutter every minute or so, but nothing more than that.

 

That's really annoying, because the route actually ran quite smoothly under TSW3 (for me).

With a full schedule now I have a maximum of 40 FPS and constant stuttering in the NY Penn station. On the open road the FPS never calms down, there are always ups and downs to be noticed. As a result, nothing runs really smoothly.

Then I tried the reduced schedule and there (NY Penn) I had my target 60 FPS again, as usual.

i7 12.700 (20 CPUs)
32 GB DDR4
RTX 3070
SanDisk SSD Plus 2TB

Most settings are on high, some on medium. I play on QHD.

 

What about LIRR? If you disabling this DLC(with M3) do it perform better?

 

I saw Pixelade’s video where he removed the LIRR layer and it actually seemed it ran worse.
on my side I initially didn’t have the LIRR layer on steam the route stutter just as bad or even worse. So I don’t think adding or removing the LIRR layer makes a difference.
I’m finding the route runs much better on my Xbox X where I do have the LIRR layer but not the M3 DLC.
Hopefully they can sort all this out but reading through the forums they might have their hands full of all set of issues with other routes.

 

I run NEC without them. so definitely not.

 

The PS5 version is much better, It doesn't have the skipping issue I have in the PC version. But.. it does have the occasional hitch (not too distracting)

 

On the flip side, the wishes to fulfill US routed for people and tidy up a route continually complained about for missed layers at released has now become a case of "damned if you do (add requested traffic) and damned if you dont (add in all layers)"

 

Not using any custom liveries here.

 

I don’t have any custom liveries either on PC on Xbox X. But there’s something definitely on PC that’s causing it and is not really affecting PS5 or Xbox X as much. Now you do have others in console that do have issues even loading the route so is very hard to figure out.

 

So I've had issues with the timetable where I'm routed into occupied platforms at Penn and cannot finish the service! I don't know what is wrong here.

 

Do you know the service number so I can give check it. What I have seen especially in the morning rush hour the south tunnel going into sunnyside yard gets backed up. So the train at the station might be waiting for the path to clear. I you look some services from Penn to sunnyside yard take an hour to complete. It might not be the case on your service but is a possibility

 

After a quick look, there is a lot of npc's loaded in every train in the station at NY-Penn. No idea how they are loaded or kept in memory with their animations. Some timetables are also pretty big 150mb, so who knows what impact this has if it has a problem/bug.

 

Why scale back? Other timetables that are larger don't run with the same stuttering/hitching as others have said. Surely there is something else at play here.

 

Can confirm what you’re saying about PS5.

NY Penn is a slideshow as expected. Similar to London Victoria on BML tbh. FPS is fairly skittish up to Secaucus, similar to areas near London Victoria on BML. Gets slightly better with some stuttering up to Newark Penn. But beyond Newark Penn, everything seems business as usual, besides all the AI trains’ alerters going off.

Also it’s semi-hilarious that this timetable is about to get scaled back because pC mASteR RaCE can’t run it at 7 trillion fps while console players are just kicked back on the couch enjoying their 15-30 fps route.

Anyway if you guys can hurry up and figure your fps problems out so we don’t lose the timetable, uh, that’d be greaaaat. Like just download an fps mod or something lmao (I’m just kidding you guys- but no really, the TSW community depends on you)

 

Please, please do not scale back the new timetable. It's working well on my system and I'm enjoying the route much more than before.

My specs are not as high as some others here, so, as cActUsjUiCe said, there is something else at work here, other than memory. According to your figures, players with 32/64 GB RAM shouldn't be having a problem. They may have things running in the background, mods or virtual memory issues. Unlike consoles, every PC has a different DNA.

If necessary, simply advise people to use the reduced timetable. Isn't that why it's included as an option in the settings?

 

But they have. Even on 5th run.

 

It's 3706 Jersey Ave. to Penn, that is likely to be the cause, but I don't know what is up with the timetable to cause me to not have a free platform for several minutes after the schedule.

 

Matt I’m not sure if is a ram issue. I’m only using about 12GM of the 48GM that I have . On Xbox X the timetable runs good getting about 100FPS . On PC I’m getting similar FPS but do you get a lot more stuttering. I have the LIRR layer on both.Difference is . on PC have the M3. Not sure if you saw I even filled the west side Hudson yard will M7 on Xbox and the FPS stayed the same.
So not sure why if my PC is more powerful that Xbox X would I have more stuttering. And Matt just want to help,Im not complaining as I’m really enjoying the new timetable.

 

It's not a RAM issue. I have 128GB of DDR4 3600MHz memory in my system.

 

I've been having some stuttering issues on TSW 4 on some routes (even on replay, so it's not shader caching), especially when encountering AI trains in the opposite direction. And this despite 32GB of ram, which doesn't seem to be the bottleneck keeping my eye on task manager.
I've been thinking it might be running at 1440p.

But I just tried using the the launch options posted in this tread and it dramatically improves the performance across the board, and makes the new Trenton timetable quite manageable, even at NY Penn. From FPS in the single digits, to generally above 30-40FPS. (I do have some INI tweaks too so your mileage may vary)
I think it's quite fair to expect such a large timetable perform worse in dense locations, but stutters when encountering individual passing trains, makes me agree with others saying this seems to be an optimisation issue with some rolling stock (and worsened by some PC hardware configs?).

I would hate to loose out on timetables that feel so alive like this one, and keeping "reduced" timetables for those who need it I think is a good compromise.

Spoiler: PC Config if needed

• AMD Ryzen 5700X with PBO enabled
• AMD Radeon 5700XT
• RAM 32GB DDR4 3000Mhz
• Monitor 1440p FreeSync (up to 165hz)

 

I have " only " 32GB of 3466MHz DDR4. Playing at 4k and Ultra settings. Doing just fine on all routes I've played so far on TSW4.

 

22GB RAM is more than the PS5 has available so how does that compute?

 

I don't know the ins and outs of RAM management in unreal, but most modern PC software will tend to use more RAM when it's available. Open the same tabs on google chrome on two pcs with different amounts of RAM, and you'll see chrome use different amounts.
I suspect Unreal does this too, but on consoles is likely different cause you know ahead of time that everyone has the same ram, and on top of this, not much runs in the background. So it's not directly comparable.

 

The pausing is a different issue then the shader caching stutter. And isn't it better to use seperate single timetable files instead of one huge database? And RAM available and needed is a difference.

 

But not all of us -- see my specs posted above and my comments -- runs well on my system and I am enjoying the enhnaced timetable. So it isn't a black and white problem that needs an all or nothing solution.

As others have pointed out PC's are very diverse - even with the same or similar hardware, what drivers are present, what services have been enabled, what background app are running, which antivirus suite is installed, which version of the OS and at what patch level can make a huge difference.

I do hope they (DTG and the community) can pinpoint the cause and find an acceptable solution short of removing the new enhanced timetable.

 

Which timetable do I use if I'm not happy with the alerter constantly audible in AI trains and no passengers on platforms? Or trains clipping through the platform and no marker lights on AI trains?

 

I just did a run on Acela 2107 from Penn to Trenton. It was mostly smooth, but had some stuttering and hitching here and there. I am running the .ini tweaks that phil.elliott posted, along with a couple DX12 specific ones that generate a shader cache. Also using DX12 as the renderer.

i7-12700K, all cores at 4.8GHz
RTX 3080Ti at 1845MHz core clock
128GB DDR4 3600MHz 16-19-18-37-2T timings (all other timings tightened manually)
Samsung 980 PRO NVMe SSD
Windows 11 x64 build 22H2

I play at 3840x2160, highest settings. FPS didn't drop below 60 at any given time.

My system didn't exceed 19GB of total memory usage throughout the entire service.

 

Yeah i have noticed also a diffrent way of quality than other routes. But what Matt already written there is a reduced timetable for lower spec pcs.

 

So just want to give some information to hopefully try to find out what’s is happening on the background. I have been playing the new NJT timetable since it launched on Tuesday. I have been playing longer on Xbox X since it two 8 hours after launch to get it on PC. I want to be clear to say that I’m enjoying the new timetable. It has brought this DLC back to life. Now with the issues that has been reported have been different all around. Some are having success , others no so much. I have been lucky to have been enjoying it very. Now the experience has been much better on Xbox X than on my PC. I played both system on the same LG UK ultraHDTV 48C1pup with G-sync. On my Xbox X I’m getting around 118 steady FPS with minimal stutter and the FPS are steady.
Below are my PC specs.. I’m currently running TSW4 on -DX12 on are getting more stuttering that’s on my Xbox X andFMS are fluctuating from 100FPS to 50FPS. I don’t hav he stutter issues that some are getting from their PC but I do notice the experience is much better on Xbox X which shouldn’t be the case. Also as you can see what Ram I’m actually using is only 13.1 while I was driving at 8am at Penn station.

Below is the FPS on my Xbox X

below is the FPS from my PC

 

My experience is almost exactly the same as Schnauzahpowahz, the only difference is that I'm not recording a thing. Also I and Cygnific have stated we don't use custom liveries on NEC, and personally I can also say I'm just running DX11. Not that a few liveries or streaming should be causing this even if considering the specs some people have here. But simple fact is there are those of us who like me who ain't doing anything crazy and yet are having these issues.

 

Let's not scale back the timetable. It's literally what's been the topic of upset since the route's release. Instead of escaping the problem, how about some real work is assigned to the issue. For example we know that there is an issue with the AI trains as the alerter is heard on them. Has the root of that issue been looked into, as it could potentially open the door to a wider issue? Has any further work gone into optimisation on this route? Why is the go to response one that will make gameplay worse for us? Where's the hunger to achieve a middle ground where we have better performance, and maximum gameplay? Is it not possible that you guys at DTG may solve an issue here that will help bring fuller timetables in the future with better performance?

What launch options are you using exactly?

 

I guess this will be issued with the other bugs that this route have... There is someting that caused this stutters... I have the same diffrence between 70 and 50 FPS that is going crazy up and down.... And it is issued by the Double-decker trains. So my idea is the alerter bug is maybe the problem! Its very known for other games with a game log if you red lines in a log by every red line (a bug) the game gives stutters.

 

So far I only knew the -DX12 argument, thanks for sharing the others. Just one question, isn't it the same using -USEALLAVAILABLECORES and -THREADS (no.of cores)?

 

I made it through the video! And I can only say, "owee."

 

Or you know, actually try to figure out what the issue is? This is an obvious sign that the game is in big need of optimization.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that simulating hundreds of train services at the same time is no easy task. But we know for a fact that the game is full of unoptimized areas. There were many threads through the years highlighting optimization issues, be it Unreal Engine settings, scenery problems or rolling stock issues.

Best example that comes to mind is the box cars on Clinchfield Railroad - they cause a quite bad framerate drop every time they are on the screen. This issue has even been acknowledged by Matt, but never has been looked into and fixed. Can you imagine how many more issues like that are present in the game? Slowly, one by one, they add up. And then you get problems like this... This will only become worse and worse as time goes on, unless you actually change your way of producing content ("rush it out the door, then forget about it").

 

I had that thought too, removed it and all liveries, restarted PC & game and just as bad. :/
I was really hoping this was the issue too. Cause i don't know what else to tweak at this point.

in my video in the OP, the Long Island railroad layer was disabled. it was actually a tad worse with performance too. Maybe in part due to recording with OBS, but usually I get no performance hit recording in OBS.

Yeah, this isn't an issue of RAM at all. 64GB at 3600 mhz on my system, and that should most certainly be enough to not Sutter and freeze every few seconds.

DTG Matt you mention RAM, but could this be in regard to GPU VRAM? Those of us with 64GB of system RAM should not be receiving this if it truly is a RAM issue... and in my own tests, the game isn't using more than 8-12GB of that at a time while I'm running the application, even during the busiest times of the timetable (~7-9am at NYP)

No, I don't want the timetable to be reduced, that's not fair for those who don't have any issues with stuttering, but that's not the answer and that's not gonna solve the problem at its source. This has to go deeper into the rail vehicle itself, or the the issues with passengers not loading/offloading. Maybe even the alerter beeping in all the AI trains which I think is actually the Acela alerter sound.

Doubt this will be possible, but since I'm one of the affected I'm happy to be a part of testing things if that's possible.

 

Preliminary feedback coming from My PC and this might be different for others. I went ahead and used the old timetable operating service 3821 Penn station to Trenton 7:13am . I’m was getting about 105 FPS /10ms. At Penn station, and guess what, I’m getting the same stuttering and pausing and as when I was using the new timetable. Mind you the old time table has 1/5 less of activity with no LIRR and Im getting not just the same stuttering but the pausing and lagging.. Must of us probably haven’t played this for months so probably haven’t noticed it.. Or maybe this is just happening on TSW4. I removed TSW3 so I can’t provide any feedback for that. Now I’m still playing the service and will repot back. But I don’t think is fair to Joe as all the stuttering issue don’t seemed to be timetable related. As I stated before I placed 30 M7 LIRR trains on the west side yard, and around 8 ALP-46 /multi cab cars on the Hudson yard that’s located after Harrison station with the new timetable and my performance didn’t change. I will continue to investigate and try to help find the cause which might be related to TSW4 and not the new time table.