My Computer Specs are as follows.
4 GBs of Ram
2.5 GHz Dual Core
ATI HD Radeon 5570
Also Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.
Not sure if anything else affects this.
I have a Steam account with about 200 games and none of those lags or spike as much as this game and I could really use some advice.
From Cat 8.2 up to now its been kind of buggy, but I think the current (or was it the beta?) have been doing better so far. The thing you need to keep in mind about SK is that its built on Java, and there are some general performance issues with the JREs since its not really meant for kind of game its being used for it.
You can boost performance slightly by tweaking JVM parameters, but it takes a little bit of insight on how programs run to understand what your getting into. I lost the bookmark, but a forum search for "java tweks" should pull up a detailed thread on how to fuddle with the settings..
If you're talking about low FPS (frames per second), I know what you mean. Spiral Knights is just ridiculously demanding hardware-wise. Think about it: my Team Fortress 2 runs at 200-300 FPS, mostly around 270-299 (its maxed at 300) at max settings, 2560x1600, while Spiral Knights runs at 40-60 fps in 1280x720 in MINIMUM settings. Funny thing is it runs with approximately same fps in 1440x900, maxed settings, 2560x1600 maxed drops fps some 20-30% compared to minimum in 1280x720. In some zones it jumps up to 110+, in Vanaduke fights its usually around 40s (reason why I play with minimum settings - can't stand low fps in boss fights, lags make my game very dependent on good timing).
COD: MW2 and COD: BO run perfectly with first one being maxed around 90 fps 99% of time, second having 60 fps minimum in 2560x1600 with max settings. Hell, even Crysis won't lag as bad as SK with my current video card (nvidia gtx 560 Ti).
In short: Vanaduke fights and some spots in Roarmulus factory levels drops my FPS (frames per second) to very low values (game looks laggy), even though I have a very good PC and high-end graphics hard, fresh drivers, minimum settings.
Um, 200-300 FPS? Dude, your looking at the wrong number I think, or TF2 is exaggerating. No monitor in the world can do 300 FPS. That translates to the monitor changing through 300 pictures every second. Human eyes would probably not see any difference between 100 and anything higher anyway.
Anyway, back to the topic. Ya, Iron Claw factory is notorious for lagging. Even with the settings on their lowest, it still lags at some parts. This is mostly because the smoke is still rendered. If turning on compatibility mode would turn all the smoke in that stage off, that would fix it, I think. I've never had any trouble with FSC though.
@Starlinvf
You can tweak settings like that? Idk that.
Most games can generate the data needed for a frame pretty quickly, but the monitor can't output full frames faster then its refresh rate. The end result is the video card generating the frames as fast as it can, and actually swaps frame data in and out faster then the video output subsystem can retrieve it.
Depending on how the engine decides to handle this, you usually get an effect called "tearing", where the screen is drawing 1 frame, and then suddenly switches to the next frame in the middle of a pass. The top of the screen would be showing 1 frame, and the bottom would be showing a different frame, with a visual "tear" horizontally across the screen since the objects on the 2 frames don't line up properly. If it renders frames fast enough, you can have parts of multiple frames drawn on the screen, giving a top to bottom swaying effect if you turn your character left and right fast enough. At extremely high frame rates its harder to notice since the images will line up better, but its still there.
People think higher frames rates = smoother, but its a psychological farce in a way. The human eye can't perceive changes above a certain rate, so there is an upper limit were the brain can no longer tell the difference. But at the same time, a monitor physically can't exceed a certain refresh rate, so any FPS above that rate can not be physically perceived in its entirety, and tearing would be the only evidence its even occurring.
Heck... you have better qualifications than I do. But I feel your pain of excessive lag in the Munitions Factories. It also takes a long time to load (around 5 minutes just to load the initial levels. Then while in the level, it runs like a slide show.). Sometimes it takes so long, that I get disconnected from the server. Luckily I can log back in and return to the level I got disconnected from.
I blame the thousands of missiles being shot around, all the lasers, and static floor pads. (not to mention the levels in general are very cluttered with side objects)
I'm lucky I can even play the game in the 1st place. My computer settings barely(if not even) meet the system requirements.
I've the same issues.
I noticed it doesnt happen all the time. But when it does, the game is completely unplyable, i get freezes every five seconds, sometimes the freeze last for 10 seconds or more -.- I had to leave in middle fight many times because of that. It's def not the internet, cause I've constant 3 bars. And I dunno if my pc is the problem, cause sometimes it's smooth enough to play. If indeed the pc was too weak, Id have these issues all the time, not once every two runs.
The weirdest thing is that the laggs/freezes usually stop at the bosses depth, well I stil get freezes, but no every damn sec so its playable. I really dont get it.
I dont get the loading issues the poster mentioned above tho.
Depth concerned: Twins, 15-16 FSC 24-27
I've also read up that Catalyst Drivers are not compatible with this game that well.