London Commuter: Very Poor Performance

I just remember when my FPS in Train Simulator in a busy London Victoria were 10-15 and I'm very happy now with 22-30. A lot of traffic comes with FPS drops.

 

Help needed, please!

I think London - Brighton is an excellent route, but I suffer badly from low FPS and stuttering. I have some money to spend on upgrades to make it playable. My system details are:

Desktop
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6400 CPU @ 2.70GHz
8GB RAM
Windows 10
64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

Looking at what others have posted, it looks as if RAM is a problem, but is there anything else I need to be looking at? I don't want to spend money on RAM and then find there's something else causing a bottleneck which I can't upgrade and that I'd have been better off binning it and starting again.

I'm not great on IT so please keep it as simple as possible! Thank you in advance for your help!

 

Does your CPU boost up above 2.7GHz or does it always run at that speed? Also, i think more RAM would help anyway.

 

I’ve checked in the BIOS and Intel turbo boost mode is enabled, so I assume that gives it the capability to boost above 2.7GHz?

 

These days, 16GB of RAM is a minimum for just about anything you want to do, certainly for gaming. Your CPU is a little weak but not a complete bottleneck. Your GPU is adequate but an upgrade to at least a 20XX might help. Upgrades somewhat depend on your motherboard and PSU. And, of course, your budget. This is not the best time to upgrade price wise.

 

My specs are way lower than yours except for ram.
I recommend 32gb, depends on your cash.
Even more important is an ssd device. Hdd would struggle.

 

My PC is similar, same graphics card but more memory and a faster processor. I also have a fast SSD which helps in loading. For me I see some lagging in building the scenery for the first time when driving a service. It also makes a huge difference if I stay inside the cab or use an external camera.

It looks you PC is a bit low end for this route. You may need to reduce the graphics quality a bit. Also the screen resolution may have impact.

 

It's clear that game optimisation is very poor. Some of the systems that have been posted on the forums still reporting frames below 60 and stuttering, is silly for this day and age. I wonder how far up the priority list this is for DTG, but I'm certain sorting out this issue would make a noticeable difference in gameplay. It sucks for people who have mid-low range PCs, as they suffer ever more whereby it really shouldn't be like that. Not sure of any other game released post 2020 that's had this level of poor optimisation, except cyberpunk, but even that has greatly improved since it's been released and is now a lot more playable.

 

My specs from my earlier posting;

i7 9700k 8 core
RTX 2080 Super
32GB Ram
2TB HDD
480 GB SSD

TSW installed on my SSD. All settings on Ultra playing in 4K

Brighton-East Croydon hardly any FPS issues a constant 60FPS, with the occasional drops to 45-50 in busy places.

East Croydon / Selhurst are the FPS weak points, Clapham Junction isn’t too bad. Victoria, I’m surprised I’m getting really good FPS there. There are noticeable stutters throughout the route, so even though it’s probably the worst performing route in TSW2, it’s not unplayable.

 

As mentioned, it’s isn’t the FPS itself which is the issue, but it’s the constant stuttering I seem to be getting with this route. It’s especially noticeable when panning the camera around. If you do it fast, it can freeze the game for 1-2 seconds.

I think a little optimisation wouldn’t hurt. This route is still fresh, so it’s not surprising that there are a few performance issues. Hopefully DTG can resolve this.

 

After the initial disappointment from playing the PS5 version (which is more of a train wreck than a train sim), I switched back to PC. I'm not really experiencing any significant performance issues.

My Gaming Desktop, I wouldn't expect to.

i9 10k, 32gb, 3080, Win11, game installed to same SSD as windows. Running 1440p at 150% on Ultra capped at 60fps - This is running really nicely. Occasional stutters but have always had this with TSW2. Nothing that spoils the gameplay.

So I tried it on my laptop.

i5 11k (4 core), 16gb, 3060 mobile, Win 10, game installed to a separate SSD (a cheap slow one), Running 1080p at 100% on High capped at 60 fps. This is running pretty well. There is noticeably more stuttering but it's still not excessive and the frame rate is pretty solid with occasional dips to 45. This is pretty standard behaviour across all routes in TSW2. The performance is far worse in Munich Augsberg and Hamburg Lubeck than it is for this route. It does run the laptop very hot though, my legs are toasty now.

 

I turned the settings to low and I can run services from Victoria now. Not ideal but it'll do for now.

 

Open task manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and go to the performance tab. You should see somethign like this:

Launch the game and watch the 'speed' (actually this is with just TM, Teams and Firefox open),a nd as you can see mine is running at 4.1 (which is roughly what it says it boosts up to), despite the base speed (which is what manufacturers will quote) being just 2.6. If it doesn't go above 2.7 GHz then it means your CPU will not boost. 2.7 is a little slow for TSW.

 

Thanks Cam. I gave it a go and it does seem to go above 2.7. I’ll get some more RAM and see whether that makes a difference.

I’ve also done the -DX12 thing and that’s made a massive difference. I’ll see over time whether it gives me any stability problems, but none so far.

Thank you to you and to everyone who responded for your help.

 

Your RAM may be an issue, I have 16GB RAM and London Commuter is using 10GB which is more than you have. I have a laptop, 16GB, i7 10th Gen 1660TI, and running all settings max at 1080p I get 60FPS, drops a little around Victoria but only slightly, still over 50FPS

 

So a niche game, with a niche gaming audience, is making it difficult to play enjoyably on anything other than rather modern (and rather expensive) equipment. Interesting.

 

Run the game under all high settings with 1080p resolution. When playing Brighton Mainline The fps is maintained at 50fps for most sections and drop to 30- at London Victoria and East Croydon. GPU load is quite low, only 50-60%. I guess the reason is because the CPU runs at default frequency. If it boost to 4.0GHz the temperature will reach 100°C quickly

Computer spec.
CPU: Intel i7-10750H @2.59GHz, boost up to 5.0GHz
GPU: Nvidia GTX1660Ti 6G VRAM
RAM: 16GB dual-channel

 

I have exactly same set up as you, I never understood the CPU speed, 2.59 boost to 5. What's the boost bit I always assumed it would just boost itself if it needed to I didnt know you could force it. I leave it alone and it runs TSW on highest settings at about 85 degrees.

 

Looking at my task manager I really think the issue is loading speeds from my SSD drive rather than limitations with GPU, RAM or CPU.

When running either Brighton or Dresden my CPU never goes over 70%, my GPU runs at 90-95% , RAM (8GB - yeah I know its low) 85-90% but when my game stutters freezes or crashes completely my SSD is at 100%.

Now Im no IT boffin so if some one knows better let me know

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 4 core 3.6GHz
GPU: Radeon RX 480
RAM: 8GB
SSD: Adata SU630

Pre London Commuter coming out I ran Ultra graphic settings with TAA anti aliasing on all routes with no issues,
Pre Boston I used my HDD but switched to my SSD to improve Boston. But with London Commuter & now Dresden (post Meissan branch update & file compression update) even on the lowest settings these 2 routes will not run for me. Pre Meissan Dresden ran fine on the above settings.

Can anyone recommend a better SSD drive or let me know if Id be better off doubling my RAM?

 

RAM will certainly help as Windows will be swapping data between RAM and virtual RAM on the SSD less - I've witnessed 12GB in use whilst on that route. That SSD is also SATA, so has lower performance than NVMe drives. Normally that shouldn't be noticeable, but if you're seeing 100% utilisation then it will more than likely be causing an impact.

Without knowing what motherboard you have it's hard to recommend a SSD, though most boards that support Ryzen 3000 should have an NVMe slot for a SSD.

If you can hold out to the end of November there may be Black Friday deals you can take advantage of.

 

Generally a ton system memory doesnt help with much aside editing. 16gb should easily do the trick. Vram from your gpu on the other hand, the more & the faster the merrier.

This stuttering/lag and low fps is just a product of TSW and its lack of time spent on optimization as they're always pushing for the next addon to keep that financial fountain flowing.

I've noticed it prominently from Hamburg Lubeck and on

Even with a brand new PC it still occurs.
Ryzen 3700x at 4.4ghz
Ryzen 6700xt w/ 12gb vram
16gb DDR4 sys mem
Liquid cpu cooler
Enough intake/exhaust fans to make an eskimo cold
2 TB nvme m2 ssd

Even on my older sys with lower specs TSW ran pretty much the same, yes i get higher avg fps now but the stutters, lag spikes and sound issues remain

 

Well I have run the complete route in both directions (Gatwick express run) and have to say I've encountered very few problems runs a smooth as silk on my modest PC, will do a few more runs just to make sure.

 

Normally it boosts automatically. But my PC is hot when playing games (temperature often hits the Tjmax threshold) and I turn off the “Turbo boost” option in BIOS so it runs at default speed (for 10750 is 2592Mhz).

 

Pc players are lucky they get 30fps around London , that is luxury to a last gen console player . We tend to get 5-10fps

 

OK, so i think in this case my laptop went into throttle/low battery mode (though can't remember).
I put it on the SSD and after a bit of testing, if I drive a train into VIC, and then drive one out, the frame rate is fine, but spawning at VIC, it's an absolute slideshow.

 

Thanks for the tip! I tried this with both BML and Dresden and both saw massive improvements when taking a service into London/Dresden first.
I've also found that performance is equally as good if I spawn on foot in the station and start a service that way.

Its convinced me that it isn't solely my PC at fault/lacking enough fire power but something inherently wrong in the game possibly conflicting with my hardware.

 

Just a quick note to say ‘thank you’ to all who helped and made suggestions (and also possibly useful information for others) - I increased my RAM to 16GB and it made a huge difference. I can now play in DX11 and it runs very smoothly, including in busy areas.

 

I5 10400f gtx1650 16 gb ram
1080p at 130% screen res highest graphics settings. Plus ini tweaks that extend the draw distance.
It runs fine, dips around 25fps at Victoria once out Im on 35-45 fps.

 

So looking up your cpu its base is 2.7 and will boost to 3.3.
Just for a quick comparison the PS5 is rated at around 3.5

 

I've done a video this morning. I'm running on a 2080ti and i9 -10900k. As you can see I get some drop offs, not sure if its traffic related.

This said since I have done this video I have turned all AA off and booted it into DX12 and I seem to be getting a much better frame rate now so I know its a bit needle in the haystack looking for improvements.

I cant grumble though, frame rates all right, just the load stutters.

 

Turning off anti-aliasing in any game makes it look so damn ugly, with all the jagged lines everywhere. I’d rather a lower FPS than to look at that eyesore.

DTG stated that they are aware of the performance issues on this route. It seems the different types of trains are also causing performance issues, which they are investigating.

 

Yeah I’m on the fence, turning it off seems to improve catenary but everything’s so sharp