11 réponses à ce sujet

[Soretooth]

GRAPHICS

Problem: Graphics pausing & stuttering

Solution: Disabled Physx in Nvidia Settings (SLI enabled)

Result: Smooth as butter with Video Options settings set to Very High & 8x AA (much, much better than the auto detect settings).  Don't be afraid to push the envelope if you know you have a good CPU and graphic card(s).

DLC

Problem: Could not see DLC content in main screen Downloadable Content section.

Solution: Disabled Windows Firewall (XP SP3).

Result: DLC listed immediately and downloaded successfully

CRASHING

Problem: DAO is CPU intensive!  System must meet at least Minimum Reqs and must be in tip top shape.

Solution: Besides upgrading H/W if needed, make sure you do the following before playing DAO:
1) Defrag the HD!!!  I have a free program that defrags any time the system is idle.
2) Turn off the Anti-Virus program!!!  This could bring the system to its knees if running in the background while playing DAO.  I set mine to Game Mode which pauses all scans.
3) Exit any TSR in the background (icons shown in the Taskbar) not currently in use while playing DAO!!!
4) Make sure your GPU (graphics card) is properly cooled!!!  I use EVGA Precision (free) that works with any brand and set the fans to automatically run at 85% constantly (don't have to remember to turn them on).
5) Make sure your Power Supply can handle the load, especially if you have more than one GPU!!!

Result: Worry free gaming

DAO

Problem: Only 40 hours of gameplay??!!

Solution: Really...  Tackle all the quests, and engage your party member NPCs in conversation while in camp.  You'll learn more about them and may even increase their approval rating of you.  Lavish them with gifts (you'll know when an item is a gift, because it will be labeled as a gift).  Pause while exploring, especially if you have Alistair and Morrigan along (listen to their verbal sniping); also, I fully expected to see Morrigan and Wynne get into a cat fight.  Purchase the Soldier's Peak (Warren's Keep) DLC since it will grant you some permanent goodies!  Upgrade your slotted weapons by having Sandal enchant them with runes while in camp -- the runes are swapable and not permanent (nice touch Bioware!), plus they have nice graphics effects.

Result: DAO is the best game (RPG, FPS, you name it) I've ever played.  Most of that is based on the story line, the back stories, the lore, and the emotions portrayed by your party members, etc.  This is the only game in which I have smiled, giggled, laughed, and have been totally surprised.  Your created character looks exactly like he/she does in the Character Creator, and your char is seamlessly inserted into cut scenes.  Bioware has built subtle little niceties into DAO, for example, when I accidentally deleted Morrigan from the party in the selection screen, she dropped her arms to her sides and exclaimed, "Damnation!"  That is too funny.  This is the only game in which I have a feeling of nostalgia while revisiting screenshots, as if I had the experience, not my char.  Bioware has hit a home run with DAO.  It is FUN and terribly ADDICTING!!!

My PC Specs (below mid-level compared to most CPU charts):
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Motherboard
AMD Opteron 185 Dual-Core (Overclocked to 3.0GHz while maintaining bus speed "sweet spot")
Zalman CPU cooler (monstrous size) with 120mm fan
Corsair 4GB RAM (PC3200)
BFG 8800 GT 512MB (2 in SLI) (Fans are set to 85% speed via EVGA Precision GPU tool)
850W Modular Power Supply
XP SP3 (32-bit)

[NewYears1978]

I have no sympathy for the only 40 hours people.

My game clocks 60 hours right now..and I just got to Denerim where about 20 quests have opened up...and I still have whatever happens in Redcliffe and beyond..

Nice post BTW.

Modifié par NewYears1978, 17 novembre 2009 - 02:18 .

[Soretooth]

NewYears1978: Thanx for the compliment.



I forgot to add something. You should have a good Registry cleaner that also searchers for and eliminates junk files. I consider this a "must have" for any PC.

[DeViLmAn_Niteshade]

What cleaner might you recommend? I like keeping my rigs in smooth working order

[Zamav]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I'm at 43 hours and game only shows 35% completion for me. I've finished every single side quest I found including companion quests. Currently doing Dalish elf village main quest (last one).

[WanderingIdler]

Sorry, but anyone suggesting disabling their firewall and shutting down their anti-virus scanner is just asking to have their PC hijacked (the average survival time for an unprotected system is about three and a half minutes according to the Internet Storm Centre). This can have devastating consequences if a trojan is then able to pick up passwords for financial sites like online banking.



If your PC is online, you need to have at least basic protection in place always. That means taking time to learn how to use a firewall (not hard) and using a top-class AV (see AV Comparatives for some recommendations - there are alternatives to AV scanners but these require more technical knowledge to use effectively).



If you really must disable security software, disconnect from the Internet first.

[nennafir]

Hmmm...  I have been having troubles with the game crashing to desktop when loading new areas.  For what it is worth, I have a PC that absolutely crushes the specs of this game and that is top of the line.

Also, as a bit of editorializing, I have had many systems over the years and have sometimes had problems with games and sometimes not.  In general, the sort of fixes the original poster is mentioning are irrelevant.  They might help a little bit here and there but are unimportant in the larger scheme of things if your PC is fundamentally sound and you run a pretty tight ship already (without lots of memory resident programs.)  These sorts of fixes generally tend not to make an unplayable or buggy game significantly more playable or less buggy.

As a perfect example, defragging the hard drive is absolutely and utterly pointless 99% of the time.  I know people will tell you differently, but try it out for yourself.  See?  It gave you no performance increase at all.  I told you so.

Your experience may differ though.

If some find it useful though, I am happy to hear that.

Modifié par nennafir, 18 novembre 2009 - 03:35 .

[Rifter0876]

Disableling your firewall is a bad idea as stated above, if you dont want to run windows firewall which i hate and almost everyone else i know hates then run either a hardware firewall(expensive) or protect your computer behind another computer which is running a good software firewall. I run all my computers at home behind a linux box which runs a firewall and acts as a router. Its not really that hard to learn how as there are many howto's out there. Also the computer acting as your router/firewall does not need to be powerful, mine is a AMD Duron 900 with 1GB of RAM and a 10GB HDD(about 6 or 7 years old). and runs about 10-20% resources used even with all 4 of my computer behind it in use.

[Allan Schumacher]

Also, as a bit of editorializing, I have had many systems over the years and have sometimes had problems with games and sometimes not. In general, the sort of fixes the original poster is mentioning are irrelevant. They might help a little bit here and there but are unimportant in the larger scheme of things if your PC is fundamentally sound and you run a pretty tight ship already (without lots of memory resident programs.) These sorts of fixes generally tend not to make an unplayable or buggy game significantly more playable or less buggy.

This is true, though the first solution has solved a lot of issues for people. There are issues with PhysX. However, I believe there is a better fix than outright disabling it. Check out the FAQ page for more information.

[Soretooth]

DeViLmAn_Niteshade wrote...

What cleaner might you recommend? I like keeping my rigs in smooth working order

There are several excellent registry cleaners available.  I use two that I pay for annually: Advanced System Care Pro and Uniblue.  I'm not pushing these, you understand, nor am I saying these are the best.  I'll probably get sniped either way.

Also, for defrag, I use IObit's Smart Defrag (free).  It runs in the background when the system is idle.  If you don't defrag often, the hard drive(s) will get bogged down and you will suffer a performance hit.

[Soretooth]

For Graphics, I forgot to mention something else:



I use Nvidia driver 191.07, along with Nvidia's SLI Profile Update 3 that provides performance boosts for some games, including DAO. The SLI Profile Update 3 is designed specifically for 191.07, and will most likely be rolled up into the next driver update. There's a link to the SLI Profile Update 3 download on Nvidia's driver site.



As I mentioned earlier, DAO scanned my system and recommended the High video setting with no AA. Hogwash -- I have two 8800 GT GPUs (512MB each) in SLI, and an AMD dual-core CPU OC'd to 3.0 GHz. So I manually selected the Very High video setting with 8x AA, and never looked back. However, DAO auto selected Vertical Sync as a result, and I left it that way. I saw in the forum here (sorry, I forgot who posted it and where I read it, but I'm trying to give credit to that individual), that if Vert Sync is selected then you should have Triple Buffering selected in Nvidia properties. I adopted that recommendation -- thanx for that tip! (I'll try to find it.)



Happy gaming.



BTW -- I'm not a techie. I'm just simply going on my own experience. I've upgraded the H/W in my rather dated PC twice now, and hope to build a much better rig in the near future. Anyone with a little S/W experience/knowledge can run circles around me in that department.

[Soretooth]

WanderingIdler wrote...

Sorry, but anyone suggesting disabling their firewall and shutting down their anti-virus scanner is just asking to have their PC hijacked (the average survival time for an unprotected system is about three and a half minutes according to the Internet Storm Centre). This can have devastating consequences if a trojan is then able to pick up passwords for financial sites like online banking.

If your PC is online, you need to have at least basic protection in place always. That means taking time to learn how to use a firewall (not hard) and using a top-class AV (see AV Comparatives for some recommendations - there are alternatives to AV scanners but these require more technical knowledge to use effectively).

If you really must disable security software, disconnect from the Internet first.

I'm certain what you say is true.  However, the only way I could even see DLC is by disabling the firewall, then it popped up.  This is a tip I read on another forum.

If you know of another way to manipulate the Windows firewall in order to see/download DLC, then please share your knowledge.  There are many DAO players who could benefit from that.  Thanx in advance.