25 réponses à ce sujet

[Mordigan]

I haven't posted on these forums for quite some time, so forgive me if this has already been mentioned..

I had stopped playing Dragon Age about 2 months ago because I became frustrated that I couldn't use the texture mods without experiencing instability and texture corruption due to the game's inefficiency when it came to memory usage.  The game's default textures are absolutely UNFORGIVABLE, and Bioware should be ashamed of themselves that they released a game with such poor graphical quality in 2009!

Anyway, I have come across a good work around for those that are having issues (especially if you are using texture mods) such as long loading times, crashes, texture corruption etc which are due to memory leaks or the inefficient use of memory by the game....providing you have 4GB+ of memory in your PC.

It involves using a handy little app called CFF Explorer, which allows you to raise the amount of memory that 32 bit applications can use..

Instructions:

First download CFF Explorer

Open daorigins.exe (in bin folder) with CFF (make a backup of original first)

On the Left Click "File Header"

On the Right side Click the [Click Here]

Check the "App can handle >2GB addressest"

Click OK

File -> Save & Exit.

Apparently, this work around can also be used for the toolset to help open save games as well.

After using this work around, I can now run Dragon Age at 2560x1600, 4xAA with max settings and the JB textures 2.1 with no crashes, increased loading time or texture corruption. 

Just make sure you have enough memory, as I've seen the game use as much as 1.6gb in the task manager after applying the fix, which is quite ludicrous given that the game's graphics are totally subpar for this day and age even after the texture mod.

Levels and areas will load faster though, and you shouldn't experience any more slow downs after extended periods of play unless you start to run out of memory..

[DargonBlak]

i've noted the memory leak, but i doubt i'll fix it. i'm rather close to done with the game...

i haven't done any of the DLC, but may give it a go if a decent expansion comes along...

by then i should have an upgraded system...

what OS are you running ?

[Hizoka003]

umm sorry to be the one to inform you but game play > all other aspects of the game including graphics.





Just becasue a game does not look like its real life does not make it bad, if you cannot see beyond that then you will not enjoy bioware games

[Mordigan]

DargonBlak wrote...

i've noted the memory leak, but i doubt i'll fix it. i'm rather close to done with the game...
i haven't done any of the DLC, but may give it a go if a decent expansion comes along...
by then i should have an upgraded system...
what OS are you running ?

I'm using Widows 7 x64 Professional..

This fix will only help you if you play for extended hours, modify your save games, or if you're using a texture mod like me.. 

If these things don't matter to you, then it won't really matter.

[Mordigan]

Hizoka003 wrote...

umm sorry to be the one to inform you but game play > all other aspects of the game including graphics.


Just becasue a game does not look like its real life does not make it bad, if you cannot see beyond that then you will not enjoy bioware games

Game play is the most important aspect I agree, but don't tell me that graphics aren't important....especially since Bioware themselves said Dragon Age had "next gen" graphics.

I can tolerate bad graphics to a degree, but Dragon Age has some of the worst textures I've ever seen..  The textures are so bad, that they look like putty in many cases.

And to add insult to injury, this game uses far more resources than even Crysis, which is ludicrous seeing as Crysis is the best looking PC game of all time.

[DargonBlak]

Figured you were running Windows 7... those are the people that talk casually above 2GB...

I've only got 2GB of ram, and i'm about 1.5 full with this game running (i've got a few shields and such).

i also have texture mods, (new bodies and such), but see no reason to run with AA, let alone 4xAA; but i do run with high details and a well populated widescreen... super duper graphics have never been worth the hit to me (sort of agree with Hizoka)...

but as far as memory usage goes, of all the games i've played, only The Witcher abused memory this badly... and yes, after extended plays, with lots of location changes, i certainly notice increased load times and delays...

but truth be told, all this pales in comparison to how stable the game is... (comparatively)

i have to commend Bioware on how well they allow the transition back and and forth to and from Windows without shutting down the game (or crashing)... a very nice touch that couldn't have been easy.

[traversc]

4 gigs is a bare MINIMUM, nowadays. I had 2 gigs 3 years ago.. on my laptop. And what do you mean by "those people"? Windows 7 is much better than vista, and the upgrade was cheap.

[YourFleshIsMine]

Meh, I've just started playing the game last week and even though I really like it, I can't stand the loading times. Whenever I go through to the next area or movie clip, loading times are like 2 minutes each time. Drives me nuts. And yes my computer has what it takes with a quad core 2.2 Ghz, Geforce 9600 GT 512MB and 4G RAM....I can run games like Aion online no problem but this game can get really laggy and like I said the load times are horrible.

[Mordigan]

YourFleshIsMine wrote...

Meh, I've just started playing the game last week and even though I really like it, I can't stand the loading times. Whenever I go through to the next area or movie clip, loading times are like 2 minutes each time. Drives me nuts. And yes my computer has what it takes with a quad core 2.2 Ghz, Geforce 9600 GT 512MB and 4G RAM....I can run games like Aion online no problem but this game can get really laggy and like I said the load times are horrible.

If you are having these problems, then the work around should definitely help especially if you have 4GB of memory.

From what I've experienced, I believe the long loading times occur because the game isn't swapping out textures properly after using them, and instead is holding them in memory; so if you're visiting a new area, the data has to paged from the hardrive which is much slower.  If your pagefile is disabled, you may even see texture corruption.

And using texture mods simply compounds these problems and makes them worse. 

You'd think that a machine like mine with 6GB of memory would never have these problems, but since Dragon Age can only address a certain amount of memory, it doesn't matter how much memory you have.

With this work around though, you force the game to use more memory thus correcting the problems.. 

It's definitely an engine flaw though, and probably explains why we have such craptacular default textures.  If Bioware had given us more detailed textures, the game would have suffered from ridiculously long loading times and instability..

[Elanareon]

I thought textures used vcard memory? Frankly i have 1 gb vram 2 gb ram and a dual core and i seldom experience long load times if not at all... Maybe im just lucky...

[Mordigan]

Textures need both system memory and VRAM. The system memory stores textures and other data so the CPU can access them whenever it needs to and feed them to the GPU for processing (unless the game is DX10/DX11, then the CPU is bypassed).

I guess it depends on your settings, and the length of your gaming session. If you're playing at max settings with 4xAA etc, then you will use more memory. Also, if you're playing the game for hours and hours and going to different areas and levels, then memory usage will also increase..

Personally, I never had loading time issues, even after the texture mod because I have a very fast system:

Core i7 @ 4ghz
6GB of DDR3 1600
GTX 285 SSC 1GB
WD Caviar Black x3 RAID 0

On the other hand, I did experience corrupt textures with the texture mod installed, which I think was due to my pagefile being turned off.

Modifié par Mordigan, 04 mars 2010 - 02:08 .

[Unrefined-Nemesis]

Graphics is not the most important aspect of a game, would you still play dragon age if it had the latest graphics but pisses ale in other aspects. Heck the game could just use stick man models and people would still play it.



Story + Gameplay pawns over Graphics.



If you want to play dragon age based on graphics, go back to mass effect 2 seriously. I don't see why people can be such graphic w-h0r3s

[Mordigan]

Unrefined-Nemesis wrote...

Graphics is not the most important aspect of a game, would you still play dragon age if it had the latest graphics but pisses ale in other aspects. Heck the game could just use stick man models and people would still play it

You make it seem as though a game can't have both great graphics and great game play   Dragon Age could have been one of these games, but Bioware got lazy...

Story + Gameplay pawns over Graphics.

Yeah, and graphics don't matter one iota eh?  Of course it doesn't, since I'm obviously dealing with a Bioware fanboy..  If Dragon Age had PS1 graphics, you'd probably smile and ask them for more. 

To customers like me however that demand excellence in all aspects, superficial, washed out and blurry textures just don't cut it....especially since this is a AAA title. 

If you want to play dragon age based on graphics, go back to mass effect 2 seriously. I don't see why people can be such graphic w-h0r3s

And you can go back to playing Pac Man on your Atari..

[YourFleshIsMine]

Unrefined-Nemesis wrote...

Graphics is not the most important aspect of a game, would you still play dragon age if it had the latest graphics but pisses ale in other aspects. Heck the game could just use stick man models and people would still play it.

Story + Gameplay pawns over Graphics.

If you want to play dragon age based on graphics, go back to mass effect 2 seriously. I don't see why people can be such graphic w-h0r3s

Well Bioware/;EA are not small names. Mass Effect has great graphics and a great storyline. I don't see why other games can't do that. Sure, the story and gameplay are key, but good graphics make it brilliant. I find the Dragon Age graphics acceptable but it could've been better.
I will try this solution here because 2 min. load times definitely will keep me from investing more into this game. The should check with NcSoft and Arenanet how they can make games like Aion and Guild Wars where characters look  very nice and the general artwork especially in GW is beautiful and yet, the specs are minimal.

[TaHol]

I had to sign up just to thank you for this fix. I noticed overal improvement at once when I first loaded my game. I have 4 gb memory (32 bit Win 7) and 1 gb memory in graphics gard, and was always wondering why the game still lagged, sometimes more and sometimes less. All lagging was gone now, game run like knife in warm butter. I have some graphics mods installed, not major ones like those you use, and lots of other mods.   So thank you!

[Rokushi]

I'm not really complaining about the graphics, they could be better ofcourse, and can be fixed with mods with which I have had no problem. In the end, the gameplay and the intense experience make me not even think about the graphics. And taken in consideration that I ought graphics to be very important, it isn't so bad.

Modifié par Rokushi, 04 mars 2010 - 12:56 .

[YourFleshIsMine]

I tried this but when I try to save at the end it says I cannot overwrite the original file. Is this a vista issue perhaps?

[TaHol]

Disable UAC.

[Eurypterid]

Unrefined-Nemesis wrote...

Graphics is not the most important aspect of a game, would you still play dragon age if it had the latest graphics but pisses ale in other aspects. Heck the game could just use stick man models and people would still play it.

Story + Gameplay pawns over Graphics.

If you want to play dragon age based on graphics, go back to mass effect 2 seriously. I don't see why people can be such graphic w-h0r3s

No need for a post like this. If graphics don't matter to you, then that's fine. But for those that want better graphics if they can get them, let them be. It's quite possible to enjoy a game without fantastic graphics, yes, just as it's possible to enjoy a good cake without icing. But add in some stellar icing (good graphics) and the cake tastes just that much better to many people.

[YourFleshIsMine]

yeah I switched to admin and then it worked.

[Bronxboy]

I will be trying this tonight to see if it helps me - assuming I do it correctly. Hopefully it works because I love the game, but the constant slowdown and load times drive me crazy!

[appleyum]

Mordigan wrote...
Just make sure you have enough memory, as I've seen the game use as much as 1.6gb in the task manager after applying the fix, which is quite ludicrous given that the game's graphics are totally subpar for this day and age even after the texture mod..

Actually people have similar problem with WoW and their graphic isn't any better.

[stonehead227]

I have an issue with this fix. When I try to override using CFF Explorer, it can't override the file.

[Gaxhung]

Doesn't the long load times issue happen only on AMD multicore cpus?

[Muzicman55566]

stonehead227 wrote...

I have an issue with this fix. When I try to override using CFF Explorer, it can't override the file.

I had the same problem - just create the file in a different location, then manually copy and paste it into the bin folder.  You won't technically be overwriting the file then, just creating a new version of it.

Thank you to OP for posting this - this solved my performance issues completely.  Fantastic !