Stutters in Multiplayer Research

[JG1_Pragr]

I experience horrible microlags or stutters now. Every second there is a microlag and then the picture jump a bit. It is working this way on TAW as well as Jasta 5 server. I'm not noticing such feature while watching replays. FPS dropped from about 140 down to 40 to 50 though. I experienced all these issue since the second minor patch after the 4.005 patch was released.

 

EDIT: I have now software to make videos so I upload just the pictures to show the fps difference (graphical settings are still the same), both taken from replays

patch 4.005; server: TAW; players: about 80; heavy clouds (fps upper right corner: 134)

 

 

last mini-patch; server: TAW; players: about 80; heavy clouds (fps: 64)

 

My PC:

Ryzen 5 2600

Radeon RX 5600XT

32GB DDR4

Windows 10 Pro 64 build 1909

Edited April 19, 2020 by JG1_Pragr

[JG1_Pragr]

OK, I pretty much "solved" my stutters as well as FPS issue. I just turned off the HUD in game (H-key) and suddenly I got 50 % FPS boost and stutters disappeared completely. Still I would prefer to have HUD turned on since now I'm without the chat and compass (specific issue to some planes). Btw the stutters are worst there are more players on the server.

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

Got stutters, more like microstutter and sometimes stops for a fraction of a second. Microstutters easily seen if you fly low and look out at about 45deg left or right.

[ECV56_Lubermatz]

Hi everyone. I was testing MP with 4.006 and I am having many stuttering, at considerably constant frequency. Tested on WOL and CB training. It don't appears to be related to the amount of players. I don't experience this on SP. Anyone else having issues??

[JG1_Pragr]

5 hours ago, ECV56_Lubermatz said:

Hi everyone. I was testing MP with 4.006 and I am having many stuttering, at considerably constant frequency. Tested on WOL and CB training. It don't appears to be related to the amount of players. I don't experience this on SP. Anyone else having issues??

I've fought with that issue pretty much from second mini patch after 4.005. Try to turn off the HUD (H-key by default). It solves the problem almost completely in my case, though chat and other in-game messages are lost as well this way. But it's minor issue in comparison with permanent microlags that otherwise makes the game unplayable. Hope it helps. 

Edited June 2, 2020 by JG1_Pragr

[ECV56_Lubermatz]

Thank you. Already tried and seems not doing anything. 

[RedKestrel]

11 hours ago, ECV56_Lubermatz said:

Hi everyone. I was testing MP with 4.006 and I am having many stuttering, at considerably constant frequency. Tested on WOL and CB training. It don't appears to be related to the amount of players. I don't experience this on SP. Anyone else having issues??

Playing on Combat Box the last couple days, I did notice that I was getting slightly more stutters than usual on occasion. Nothing close to what I was getting a while back though, just odd hiccups a few times a flight. Where pre patch I get one or two stutters a flight, in this patch I got maybe 5 or 6? I haven't flown enough to really see.

I'm running on Ultra presets, medium shadows, complex mirrors, normal reflections, extreme clouds, Sharpen on, Vsync with frames locked at 60 hz. I use 4X FXAA. I haven't tried MFAA yet.

When I have tested these settings in the past I haven't managed to max out my GPU, a 1660 Super. Your rig should run the game much better than mine but I imagine running it in VR is also a lot more intensive. 

Have you tried looking at resource usage on your machine to see what is happening with your GPU, memory, etc? Previously the stutters appear to have been linked to texture loading and were especially common online. You could see frametime and GPU usage spikes and these would correspond to times with lots of stutters. Are you seeing frametime spikes or spikes in your GPU usage beyond the norm? It might be this issue has returned somewhat for some people with the fixes to deferred shading.

[Privet]

I've noticed this as well on WoL. Occasional frametime spikes with a fairly constant frequency when they happen. It's not as heavy as it was when this thread was started but it is there. I can't tell if it started with 4.006d or e, as I was focusing on issues with zoom and I haven't tested the former online.

[SzWaJ]

 

Since patch 4.005, multiplayer causes me to stutter, helps turn off HUD. Single player mode works without any problems.

[garlic]

reporting stuttering in MP too, and here's what i found:

 

Combat Box Server, ~20 players on both sides (200ping):

the stuttering has this consistent frequency, even when not moving the camera.

turning off the hud removes that consistent stuttering.

------------------------------------

Wing of Liberty server, ~20 players on both sides (250ping):

consistent stuttering too, but with some randomness

turning off the hud removes that consistent stuttering as well, but random minor spikes still occur which is normal i suppose

------------------------------------

JP shooting stars, empty server. (22ping):

even with the HUD on plus moving my camera around there is no stuttering at all

------------------------------------

the stuttering definitely seems to be related to the HUD, but im not sure if it is caused either by the amount of players or my ping to the servers or both.

 

on single player quick mission, with maximum amount of AI planes, during a dog fight, there is no spikes/stuttering at all

 

it seems very minor, but causes the camera to not be completely smooth when looking around with head tracking which messes with my eyes and im sure its even worse for VR users. even panning with the hat switch has noticeable stuttering

------------------------------------

specs: Ryzen 5 3600, GTX 1060 6GB, 16GB DDR4@3000mhz. 144hz gsync monitor

settings: https://pastebin.com/4gksh0zn

 

----------------------------------

EDIT: just found a post by the producer from 2017, he notes that drawing a 2D image (the hud) on a 3D scene hurts performance

he also notes that the calculations made for the HUD hurts performance too, but they have improved on this by disabling the calculations when hud is turned off. 

hopefully they can further improve on this

 

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by JoshGG
clarification

[ACG_Orb]

23 hours ago, JoshGG said:

reporting stuttering in MP too, and here's what i found:

 

Combat Box Server, ~20 players on both sides (200ping):

the stuttering has this consistent frequency, even when not moving the camera.

turning off the hud removes that consistent stuttering.

------------------------------------

Wing of Liberty server, ~20 players on both sides (250ping):

consistent stuttering too, but with some randomness

turning off the hud removes that consistent stuttering as well, but random minor spikes still occur which is normal i suppose

------------------------------------

JP shooting stars, empty server. (22ping):

even with the HUD on plus moving my camera around there is no stuttering at all

------------------------------------

the stuttering definitely seems to be related to the HUD, but im not sure if it is caused either by the amount of players or my ping to the servers or both.

 

on single player quick mission, with maximum amount of AI planes, during a dog fight, there is no spikes/stuttering at all

 

it seems very minor, but causes the camera to not be completely smooth when looking around with head tracking which messes with my eyes and im sure its even worse for VR users. even panning with the hat switch has noticeable stuttering

------------------------------------

specs: Ryzen 5 3600, GTX 1060 6GB, 16GB DDR4@3000mhz. 144hz gsync monitor

settings: https://pastebin.com/4gksh0zn

 

What software did you use to create these graphs?

 

Has there been any headway on this issue? I'm suffering microstutters in VR, even on graphics settings lower those I had pre 4.006.  FPS is 60-70 but at times the image judders like it's 30odd.

[garlic]

@ACG_Orb,

RTSS RivaTuner Statistics Server is the software I used. Basically hook it to the game and enable on-screen display. if u have problems setting it up feel free to PM me and such, but there are alot of tutorials on youtube etc

[TWC_Ace]

Recently I noticed very subtle microstutters when looking around with my tracker in MP. Whe I turn off HUD its much better but still not as before. Its interesting that from time to time (sometimes after big update) I experience such problems and then after a while everything is OK again. This game engine or netcode is very strange. All other games, 3d and 2d render programs are working fine.

In february I plan to get new PC and monitor so we will see If something will be better but Im not super optimistic.

Edited December 25, 2020 by =VARP=Tvrdi

[ITAF_Airone1989]

14 minutes ago, =VARP=Tvrdi said:

Recently I noticed very subtle microstutters when looking around with my tracker in MP. Whe I turn off HUD its much better but still not as before. Its interesting that from time to time (sometimes after big update) I experience such problems and then after a while everything is OK again. This game engine or netcode is very strange. All other games, 3d and 2d render programs are working fine.

In february I plan to get new PC and monitor so we will see If something will be better but Im not super optimistic.

I had the same problem some time ago and I solved that in this way:
nvidia pannel -> increase the value of "frame for virtual reality" (not sure about the name cause it's not in english.)

I hadn't the VR, but the game was much much better..

[-DED-Rapidus]

On 12/26/2020 at 5:26 AM, =VARP=Tvrdi said:

Recently I noticed very subtle microstutters when looking around with my tracker in MP. Whe I turn off HUD its much better but still not as before. Its interesting that from time to time (sometimes after big update) I experience such problems and then after a while everything is OK again. This game engine or netcode is very strange. All other games, 3d and 2d render programs are working fine.

In february I plan to get new PC and monitor so we will see If something will be better but Im not super optimistic.

Hi, see what power settings your computer is working with(it may well be Eco mode).

[TWC_Ace]

Good old IL2 tradition is back! After big update stutters in MP are back.

[-DED-Rapidus]

@=VARP=Tvrdi, Would you explain this, please?

[Traz]

Currently unplayable with these stutters.

Cycling HUD off helps to about 80% of the stuttering.( doesn't completely go away) does help though. 

 

 

Cpu:FX9590

Gpu:6900XT

Ram:16GB

M.2 Hard drive

 

Noticed gpu clock and utilization fluctuates from 37% down to 2%, Cpu holds around 40% Utilization.

I did notice that turning the hud on that gpu utilization and clock goes to like 0. Almost as though the game isn't in 3D mode to enable GPU.

 

[TWC_Ace]

On 12/29/2020 at 12:00 AM, -DED-Rapidus said:

@=VARP=Tvrdi, Would you explain this, please?

After some big updates (not after every one) I have microstutters (only in MP, SP is fine). These are not big but very subtle small and can be felt when looking around but also in flight (but less). I tried all graphic settings in game, power option in windows, tried new nvidia drivers. Nothing. Like updater something messes up. I also deleted content of update folder and reinstalled the update. I even reinstalles the Win 10 completely and the game itself.

[TWC_Ace]

In short, alot of ppl, even in direct chat reported that MP is not much less smooth (microstutters, lag stc.) I noticed that to. Some servers are better some worse but in all of them a lot of ppl are reporting issues lately. Something must be done with optmisation of MP in this game, be it netcode or game engine or whatever. What will be if we would get more demanding PTO etc....I can noly imagine the collapse of MP.....Its sad...

[WheelwrightPL]

Do you have V-Sync turned on in the sim, and also have a monitor without Freesync or G-Sync with a standard refreshrate of 60Hz ?

If the answer is yes to both questions then it might be the monitor's fault, because such a regular monitor will chop your framerate in half if it is fed anything less than 60fps (so if it is fed 59fps by the GPU it will effectively display 30fps). Needless to say that's a major problem.

The solutions is to disable V-Sync (so you will have image tearing), or buy an inexpensive Freesync monitor, and then configure it properly.

I just bough a freesync monitor and it made a huge difference to me, possibly even greater than going from 1080 Ti to 2080 Ti with the upgraded 5800X CPU.

I am guessing not many people are looking at a monitor as a culprit, but it can definitely be.

 

[TWC_Ace]

On 1/8/2021 at 2:26 AM, WheelwrightPL said:

Do you have V-Sync turned on in the sim, and also have a monitor without Freesync or G-Sync with a standard refreshrate of 60Hz ?

If the answer is yes to both questions then it might be the monitor's fault, because such a regular monitor will chop your framerate in half if it is fed anything less than 60fps (so if it is fed 59fps by the GPU it will effectively display 30fps). Needless to say that's a major problem.

The solutions is to disable V-Sync (so you will have image tearing), or buy an inexpensive Freesync monitor, and then configure it properly.

I just bough a freesync monitor and it made a huge difference to me, possibly even greater than going from 1080 Ti to 2080 Ti with the upgraded 5800X CPU.

I am guessing not many people are looking at a monitor as a culprit, but it can definitely be.

 

Yes, I have vsync since Im using Dell dtp 60hz ips monitor without freesync/gsync. Thank you for your info I will check that. Though game was running smooth before.

[TWC_Ace]

I made some further research. It seams that stutters are not server dependant but mission settings dependant. Same server, full or not, one mission is super smooth (stutter free) and some mission has them (subtle in my case, but noticable). Also some missions have a lot of net lag (not connected to microstutters).

A stronger PCs are probably more capable of neutralising bad netcode (aggresive AI on CPU etc.) and game optimisation.

[SShrike]

If you have not already, try

Antialiasing - Transparency

Off

in game it seems that the trees are affected by this. I used to get all sorts of micro stutters of different levels on and offline. Some servers seemed smooth and others not so smooth. I started tinkering with settings one at a time. When this setting is off, ALL my stutters were fully eliminated. 

[THERION]

On 1/9/2021 at 2:04 PM, =VARP=Tvrdi said:

Yes, I have vsync since Im using Dell dtp 60hz ips monitor without freesync/gsync. Thank you for your info I will check that. Though game was running smooth before.

 

Hi,

 

having a similar monitor setup, try this:

 

1. Nvidia Control Panel: Leave all default (Application controlled), except "Power management mode" which should be "Preferred maximum performance".
    Make sure that V-Sync is set to "Use the 3D application setting".

2. IL2 GB graphic settings:

    - Fullscreen off

    - V-Sync off

    - FPS limiter set to off

 

With these settings I get most stutters eliminated and NO screen tearing! I run the game in 1920x1080 and use a TrackIR. And if I encounter stutters, then

it's most likely due to the server being overloaded - usually you will see a message warning about some erratic behavior. But otherwise, I do not encounter

stutters anymore in MP with my settings.

 

Cheerio

[FTC_Dadnar]

MP stutterer here.  The severity of stutters seems pretty server specific and/or perhaps mission based as well.  I play on a private server(ACG) that hosts detailed historical missions with about 60-70 players mixed in.  My stutters are worse on this server, but present to a lesser degree on the Finnish MP server.  Combat Box is pretty silky smooth, but generally has fewer players.

 

The strange thing to add is it doesn't appear to matter if I play with 70 players on the ACG server or by myself.  The stutters are only marginally worse with more players.  It only happens when a mission is running(some AI units involved).  If a general dogfight scenario is running, there is no stutter.   

 

Now if I load that same mission that caused significant stutters in the ACG MP server on my machine in a MP server I host, no stutters present.

 

Hope this helps track things down.

 

Here is a link to download track and mission files.  There is no stutter noted when watching the track.

 

Many thanks,

 

Dadnar

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1fqwzegzmp61c27/AACwH51s6wIDfQUH0Y-VyJ8Da?dl=0

[RossMarBow]

Random improvement in performance and visuals for amd users
make sure you have an il-2 profile in amd settings thing
and disable all the things
surface format optimisation disabled
and tessellation mode override x64

doing this gave me better spotting and higher smoother fps

[LP1888]

On 1/28/2021 at 1:25 PM, THERION said:

 

Hi,

 

having a similar monitor setup, try this:

 

1. Nvidia Control Panel: Leave all default (Application controlled), except "Power management mode" which should be "Preferred maximum performance".
    Make sure that V-Sync is set to "Use the 3D application setting".

2. IL2 GB graphic settings:

    - Fullscreen off

    - V-Sync off

    - FPS limiter set to off

 

With these settings I get most stutters eliminated and NO screen tearing! I run the game in 1920x1080 and use a TrackIR. And if I encounter stutters, then

it's most likely due to the server being overloaded - usually you will see a message warning about some erratic behavior. But otherwise, I do not encounter

stutters anymore in MP with my settings.

 

Cheerio

How do you stop screen tearing then ?

[THERION]

11 hours ago, LP1888 said:

How do you stop screen tearing then ?

 

As I already said - there IS NO screen tearing with this setup/configuration - well at least on my system.

Did you try these settings point for point?

[VR_Dogfighter]

This may or may not be related, but I experience severe stuttering when playing Bergola East dog fight area in VR. I can play West in VR smoothly at medium graphics settings, and East in 2D on max settings without a problem, but when on East in VR there's something about the lakes or trees around the lakes causes major problems. I have tried with minimum graphics settings in VR ,which helps a bit, but does not eliminate it. The problem is worse the more popluated with other planes in view and the lower altitude.

 

 

[ickylevel]

Hello,

 

I made a mission with planes and tanks designed to be multiplayer (rheinland).

When the AI tanks pass through a city, the stutters appear. They are independent from the player's position. Even if the player is in a forest in a tank he will have stutters. As soon as the AI tanks exit the city, stutters disapear. In this city, tanks have a tendency to bump into eachother or into buildings (not enough path nodes).

 

 

Well after further testing (deleting AI), I couldn't confirm it was the AI. Neither it is the buildings (I deleted the buildings).

Edited April 7, 2021 by ickylevel

[-DED-Rapidus]

@ickylevel, do you still have the first mission where there were stutters?

[ickylevel]

16 hours ago, -DED-Rapidus said:

@ickylevel, do you still have the first mission where there were stutters?

Hello,

I realised the stutters are still there after vehicules exit the city, so my point isn't relevant.

If you want a mission with heavy stuttering, there is that koln level that is running on the advance and secure server. If you join allies as tanks you should definitely see heavy stuttering. On that attached file, moving the buildings away don't seem to have an effect.

aas_koln_winter_us_v13.zip

[-DED-Rapidus]

@ickylevel,Thank you, I'll look at it on the weekend.

[302sqkolliber]

Hullo Pilots

I am having problems playing IL-2 Sturmovik online.

The malfunctions that occure are freezing,stuttering of the monitor image and this only happens when there is a very large number of online players,while when there are few,everything works fine!

How could I improve these faults and what is causing them?

My computer is:Intel Core i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 16.0 GB RAM, NIVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB.

And broadband internet access with the speed of: Ping delays * 12 ms Download download speed * 513.57 Mb / s Upload upload speed * 29.72 Mb /

Of course, my single player works perfect!

Please Help

Here is my video with 69 players online on Finnish viritualpilots server.

 

Il-2 Sturmovik. Stutter and Bugs - YouTube

PS. For everyone who has similar issues , if you turn ( HUD ) off it helps much!

Regards!

Edited April 11, 2021 by 302sqkolliber

[SzWaJ]

Hello, I had the same problem, I replaced my seven-year-old internet modem from my provider, reinstalled the game and went back to flying. Internet speed has not changed Ping delay * 20 ms Download speed * 300 Mb / s Upload speed * 24 Mb /

[ickylevel]

Hello,

 

I have another theory, with reproductible results. I can turn the stutters on and off by modifiying the weather:

 

We are running a server where the weather is modified by a script from time to time, so you can play one day a map with a particular weather , and the next day a different weather. There was a map where I had stutters. After the weather changed the stutters were gone. On another map, it was the other way around. At first no stutters, then with a different weather, stutters.

 

I decided to try checking if the weather had an influence on the Koln map I uploaded here earlier, and IT DOES.

 

On the attached file, the map "copy" has the stutters , the other hasn't. The different is that the weather is cloudy. When it's cloudy , there are less stutters.

 

The stutters seems to be linked to a sunny weather with the HDR bloom effect.

AAS_Koln_winter_US_V9 .zip

[ickylevel]

Actually, the presence of clouds is a factor. A completely clear days will have less sutters than a day with volumetric clouds (partially cloudy). It has nothing to do with AI nor buildings!

Edited April 25, 2021 by ickylevel

[l3VGV]

11.04.2021 в 12:58, 302sqkolliber сказал:

Hullo Pilots

I am having problems playing IL-2 Sturmovik online.

The malfunctions that occure are freezing,stuttering of the monitor image and this only happens when there is a very large number of online players,while when there are few,everything works fine!

How could I improve these faults and what is causing them?

My computer is:Intel Core i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 16.0 GB RAM, NIVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB.

And broadband internet access with the speed of: Ping delays * 12 ms Download download speed * 513.57 Mb / s Upload upload speed * 29.72 Mb /

Of course, my single player works perfect!

Please Help

Here is my video with 69 players online on Finnish viritualpilots server.

 

Il-2 Sturmovik. Stutter and Bugs - YouTube

PS. For everyone who has similar issues , if you turn ( HUD ) off it helps much!

Regards!

 

 

I have same experience. All good offline, totally smooth. But online - more players on servers, more stutter there is, and yes, disabling HUD make it noticeably better.

 

Was ok before new year, problem appear in march-april. Hardware is same, dont know what happened.

 

HW: intel 9600k, 32gb ram, nvidia RTX 2060.

 

With disabled vsync, i have 100+ fps, but with stutters. Changing resolution makes no difference. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by l3VGV

[-DED-Rapidus]

On 4/17/2021 at 7:36 PM, ickylevel said:

Hello,

 

I have another theory, with reproductible results. I can turn the stutters on and off by modifiying the weather:

 

The problem with the weather and the stuttering of the game is still present?