Hey , new here so apologies if this has been asked a million times Just bought the game and it’s fantastic , except the Fps stutter , I can handle blocky graphics but the stuttering totally breaks the immersion and it’s so annoying I wanted to buy all the dlc packs and really enjoy the game , but I just can’t play it for longer than ten minutes I noticed some threads about a patch late 2018 but I can’t find anything about new patches , or even if the game is still being worked on If anybody can shed some light , thanks a lot !
The game is still being worked on and will be supported for a long time (hopefully). Their previous game called Train simulator just celebrated 10 years of development and support and it's nowhere near the end of it's life cycle. edit: it's also quite entertaining to look at their anniversary livestream here to see how much their content evolved over the years.
This may refer to what is called "tile stutter" and this is due to route tiles being loaded only just before you enter that tile in game. The problem isn't just about the way the game is written and rendered, but also due to Sony putting the slowest cheapest hard disks in the PS4 (Microsoft did similar on the basic X boxes) So to increase the loading speed and thus reduce tile stutter you would need to upgrade the hardware. Not sure what HDD interface the PS4 is using but you might have to wait for the PS5 to see any discernable decrease in loading issues.
It's most likely 2.5" a 5400 rpm Seagate hard drive connected using SATA interface. I would recommend to replace it with a 7200 rpm hard drive or an SSD. Easiest way to do a hard drive update is by cloning the hard drive using a PC or a special hard drive duplicator. The duplicator method only works if your new drive is same size or larger than the old one. edit: you can repurpose the duplicator and use the old drive as if it was external.
I'm not certain that you can clone drives for the PS4 - I'm pretty certain it notices the drive has changed and reformats anyway. There are lots of articles online on how to do it. Make sure you've got all your save games in the PS Plus cloud (or copy them to a USB stick, or even better, both). I've done it a couple of times, and an SSD is definitely the way to go.
I decided to do a bit more research on this and it looks like the exFAT file system is used for external drives only. PS4 has it's own file system for it's internal drive that the drive duplicator can copy but it won't change the reported drive size, which can't be fixed with a partition manager because of a non standard file system.
It’s a Samsung 860 evo ssd in a PS4 pro , even with it running 720p it still does it Upgrade is easy on PS4 , no cloning needed just stick the new drive in and add the os
So i’ll Try asking again , any fixes on the horizon ? I can see that there are many expansion packs and extra things that you can buy being worked on , but nothing for the frame rate stutter ? Been a couple of patches since I purchased the game and still it’s the same , do devs even read this forum ? Please don’t take me the wrong way , I like the game immensely but I won’t be buying any more until it works smoothly and I can find absolutely no address to this stutter situation on the forum Did I waste my hard earned money on this title ?
Since it was released there have been a large number of patches to fix issues. When DLC relating to routes has come out they have put a lot of effort into improving things. The stutter might be a limitation of the game on console, I am not sure, but it has been talked about on this forum. The Devs do read the forum, but there are official channels for reporting bugs and issues, which many of us use. It is the top thread in the 'Known issues' section. Maybe raise a ticket and see what they say. I have had a response to all that I have raised. Maybe not spending money on it until you are happy is the right way to go. I for one am very happy with the improvements being made, and fully believe that both players and issues are not being ignored. Everyone has different priorities and opinions but DTG is a business at the end of the day and has to release content that they have spent time and money working on already.
Thank you for your detailed reply ! I guess if it’s already been brought up then I’ll just have to wait to see what happens down the line .... I really don’t want to speak bad about the game nor the devs because like I said , I love the game...but..☹️ Maybe I’m just particularly sensitive to the stutter , I just can’t deal with it for long , and that’s a shame for such an addicting game ! Cheers...
Fixes and improvements are developed over time and released alongside new DLCs. Performance improves slightly with almost every new update (at least on PC). Just wait until Thursday when the SW1000R gets released and see if the game becomes more playable for you. I can't confirm this (I hope that someone else will) but MSB and TWL should run better due to the fact that they are using the third and newest route building technique.
Have you got your Pro's Boost mode enabled Alanakko? Since there's no specific Pro support in TSW having boost on will enhance performance. It's not going to fly along like a top end PC but every little helps. How do you rate the Samsung SSD? I was thinking of upgrading to one sometime.
Yeah boost mode is permanently on , tried on and off and there’s no difference there.. As far as the ssd goes , it’s great in so much as it gives a nice snappy desktop ui and some small benefits in load times but it’s not the major improvement you might think it would be , say compared to Upgrading a pc I wouldn’t really say it was worth it tbh , but I wanted to spec up as much as I could afford I’d far rather have a decent pc setup but that’s too expensive plus I can’t use the keyboard / mouse for the battlefield games...lol
One other thing I thought of Alanakko, if you're only playing the base game the 3 routes with it tend to be more stutter prone. The latest routes have been created in a more optimised way allowing for more AI trains with better draw distances and, while not totally stutter free, are smoother running. I always think if possible they should update the base routes as a priority since this is what people get their first impressions from. And they count for a lot. Better impression = more chance of DLC purchase.
Matt P has said a few times on various devstreams that in the beginning they tried to do too much with routes and assets which ended up in "bloated" assets, which can cause these issues. Not sure if going back and making things less good so as to optimise framerates and loading times for low spec consoles is the way to go though. There are already enough howls when short consists and reduced AI were implemented on consoles so they didn't just bomb...
Yes I've head Matt say that and I actually doubt that the routes will be "updated" since it's probably time consuming and they have their priorities set on new development. But still there's a huge console market to tap into and if, like the case of the OP, some are put off by the appearance / performance of what they first encounter DTG may well loose further sales. I don't know about less good, I think the "new" way of doing things on the latest routes is pretty darn good.
Personally I would prefer they take GWE off sale and remake it for 2019 (ie with electrification, class 80x, HST, 166, 387 and 66) but that's probably even LESS likely EVEN better would be if they could do line substitution in the same manner as they have loco substitution so whole map tiles could eb swapped out dependant on the period, but that's a pipe dream
Well I did buy the West Somerset and the trans pennine dlc’s when they were on sale and yeah they are slightly better , but it was the Base game content that I bought it for in the first place , that’s the one I wanted to be right But it is what it is I suppose , just leaves me extremely reluctant to invest any more and eventually I’ll just stop trying to live with the stutter , uninstall and consider it wasted money . C’est la vie
I agree the software has some issues, but I'd offer two suggestions: 1.Do FULL reboot of your system, clear the RAM. Don't use hibernate mode, shut it all the way down after each session. 2. Try creating a new profile and restart your efforts. Possible that original save file has corrupted data. I see a little stutter as well, but not enough to be much if a bother. Enjoy
So it turns out that if I use the front camera view instead of cab view , and don’t move about , I get a far better , almost bearable (almost) experience , which you’d think would be strange given there’s more trees and things on screen... ? I just wish I could hide the center screen dot now ... lol
Press the right button (R3) and then move the resulting cursor down to the bottom of the screen. It's almost clear then. You'll need to enable it again to use the reverser.
Alternatively just plug in a cheap USB keyboard to your PS4 and press CTRL+8 which cycles the centre dot transparency (off, 50/50, white).
I have a keyboard attached but didn't know of that key combination. There's probably more I haven't found yet! Anyway very useful, thanks for that.
Doesn’t seem to do anything to the centre dot on a PS4 , maybe like the motion blur ctrl f2 doesn’t work either But having a keyboard attached is great , I don’t know any shortcuts yet but just to cycle the camera is a massive bonus
Oh yes it does. Edit: Well it works on mine anyway. So does the centre dot toggle! Strange Yeah the keyboard is a great help in controlling everything. Just the tab key to open the doors is great.
Haha I definitely need glasses I read ctrl B ! ... lol So brilliant now centre dot , motion blur off and keyboard controls , this game just got a whole load better !
Wait, so it is possible to turn the motion blur off on consoles? is that right? I'm buying another keyboard right now if so
Yes indeed, ctrl F2 is your friend for this. You just need to know the stop stutter key combination now. Here's a few I've found to be going along with.
Haha I guess I’ll just end up like everyone else , put up with it because it’s such a good game if you can learn to look past it ! Ps please fix obvs ...lol
Yeah its possible but it looks really bad around objects that are in front of moving scenery. Edges of windows & doors for example get a weird ghosting effect with motion blur off.
Well, I guess that already happens with the motion blur on, I have this issue, it's more noticeable on the HST for me. Btw, -PjM- thanks for the letting me know!