KNOWN ISSUE: Performance Issues/Audio Stuttering After Path of Redemption Update

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Technical Support
133

Will check what’s been written since last time soon, but in the meanwhile this is the patch notes (that I’ve written as a dev so sorry if they might be technical).

This will be set live later today unless we encounter some issue with it.

fixing priorities for file reader queues, meaning audio will have higher priority than other file reads.
[audio system] removing code for cancelling a read request since it could stall/deadlock for some users
[audio system] making open and cancel async so the audio thread is blocked if open is slow.
Improved reporting of stalls.

You can access them through properties->betas->private beta

type this and check code, to access the experimental branch
cTYPtKTsfMDsLHAV

switch branch in the Beta Participation dropdown

Also I would tryout with default direct storage settings first.

edit: it’s now LIVE

edit. note that running without direct storage is currently untested, I see some crashes that might be related to that which I know will look into.

134

could be that launcher or gameplay is overwriting the config of some reason.

this is out of my expertise since I would want to be able to modify the config manually. I can check if I can repro this behaviour.

135

We probably have very different config files. So this wont help.

136

The experimental branch is now live.

137

Yeah,

The config files are VERY different.

I have had the most luck messing around with the texture streaming settings.

At least for me with my AMD 7900xtx a combination of these settings + HAGS disabled + AMD SAM (Resizable BAR) disabled, and FINALLY the direct storage tweak to move to HDD settings has removed all my stuttering, even when hordes of enemies spawn in.

streaming_buffer_size = 32
streaming_max_open_streams = 64
streaming_texture_pool_size = 448
surface_properties = "application_settings/global"
texture_streamer_settings = {
	streaming_buffer_size = 128
	streaming_texture_pool_size = 896

Still experimenting with different values, but at least for me, these ones have definitely given the best experience.

Not sure if this will help you guys at all, but at least with my last 2-3 weeks of testing this is what works best for me

138

When altering the default direct storage settings, does this need to be added every time I boot the game. I noticed that when I paste any direct storage modifications, it will dispensary after I boot the game.

Is this value being stored elsewhere, or does it need to be either replaced at the top every launch, or in the direct storage config further down the ini file?

Sorry for nagging, im just desperate to get this game working on my AMD GPU

139

for me the direct storage value has been kept as it was when i was trying it out, but as I stated.

The launcher or the game might modify the config file, not a behaviour i would expect but I dont have much control over that. Pretty bad behaviour since I then can’t help in situations like this.

But please try out the experimental branch using direct storage and let me know how it goes.

1 Like
140

I live in Australia and its late for me so I can’t test everything to report back to you right now.

I’ll be doing more testing on this experimental branch when I get home from work. Anecdotally, the game felt better. But i haven’t had a a chance to test with all the different configurations and combinations (Resizable BAR, HAGS, different Direct Storage configurations, texture streaming settings etc.).

When I have a full grasp on all the variables I’ve been using to test so far I’ll report back to you here.

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141

I’m pretty sure direct storage disabled is currently broken on the experimental branch.

I will fix this ASAP, so eta tomorrow for a fix, but main goal is that you should run the game with direct storage.

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142

Guys it fuc***g worked!

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143

Thank you so much Axloss! New update finally runs the game normal again thank you so much!

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144

I don’t know if it’s already been brought up but I keep getting extreme frame drops when I spin the camera around, like from a pretty steady 100-ish fps down to 1-10 fps, then comes back when the camera stops moving, it also looks pretty choppy on the graph when I move the camera around slowly, it hasn’t done this before so I don’t really know what changed to cause this behavior.
One of my friends says he’s getting the same issue of frames crashing when spinning the camera around as well.

145

this is likely a unrelated issue to this thread sorry! For example texture streamer will be activated when moving camera, and motion blur. Please create a new thread instead!

1 Like
146

woop woop :smiley:

Now I just need to fix the crashes i introcuded in when direct storage is disabled :sweat_smile:

1 Like
147

On the 4th of December, the wonderful @Axloss pushed an update to the experimental build to address the remaining issues around audio and performance stuttering since the Path of Redemption update.

Part 1: How Do I Switch to The Experimental Build?

  1. Open the Steam client
  2. Right-click Darktide in your Steam library
  3. Select ‘Properties’
  4. Select ‘Betas’
  5. Enter the password cTYPtKTsfMDsLHAV
  6. Select ‘Check Code’
  7. Select the ‘None’ dropdown, and experimental - Experimental Builds should now be within the list
  8. Select experimental - Experimental Builds
  9. Close the pop-up window
  10. A download should now start

Part 2: Remove Feature Flags

Have you set Feature Flags in the past? Perhaps your user_settings.config already includes changes like this from our previous recommendations:

direct_storage = {
    enabled = true
    disable_bypass_io = true
    force_file_buffering = true
    force_mapping_layer = false
}

or

direct_storage = {
    enabled = false
}

If you have added these changes to your user_settings.config in the past, it is necessary for you to now remove them!:

  1. Navigate to your Darktide AppData by:
  • Press the Windows key + R
  • Enter %appdata% within the search input and select ‘OK’
  • Navigate to AppData\Roaming\Fatshark\Darktide
  1. Open the user_settings.config
  2. Remove the Feature Flags mentioned above
  3. Save your changes
  4. Play!
  5. Post here to let us know the outcome

But I’ve Never Made Any Changes to the user_settings.config!

Great! You can ignore this section (‘Part 2: Remove Feature Flags’) entirely. :wink:

3 Likes
148

I have mirrored raid on 2 very fast SSD.

I didn’t have any stuttering whatsoever before that patch that tweaked a load of gfx settings (the one that removed full screen mode and messed with AMD AI tech).

The stuttering 100% happened since one of those patches that were very close to one a other. Even path of redemption worked perfectly until that patch.

149

Sure thing, I figured out that lowering my polling rate of my mouse to less than 8000Hz fixes the stuttering

150

What was it specifically that worked? The experimental build?

I have an RTX GPU so I wonder if it’s still fixed by it. It’s not purely an AMD fix I hope

1 Like
151

My audio stuttering/stalling + fps drops finally were fixed after the recent experimental build patch I cant even believe it lmao

2 Likes
152

@Axloss

Do you think the fixes from this experimental build will make it into a vanilla patch any time soon? If not then I’ll likely give the experimental build a go soon.

Being lazy though and hoping it’s due for a wider release :laughing: