At my wits end about what is causing this...

[Legacy_lordofworms]

               Hello quick rundown.
I run my own PW and have for about 2 years now...its running on an old HP dc5000 series pc with windows XP 2ghz processor/4gig ram

no problems except it was a little slow and bulky and the fan was busted sound made a horible noise all the time.

so I get a new PC
dual core cpu  3.4ghz , i transfer everything and it all works but an annoying aspect is presenting itself.

on the new machine running nwnserver...

if a PC runs in a straight line for instance ,(clicking continuosly to move forward) he will go two steps forward then start running back towards you, then turn and run back contiune to where you point-clicked!!! it gets REALLY aggravating... (you can test yourself if you have ever visited Arbor Falls before, just log in and run around for a few minutes, you will see what I mean)

also I notice when you get near someone you could talk to...they are roughly invisible even if your standing RIGHT in front of them.....then they will fade in to view  and all is well....

it REALLY seems almost like the CPU is TOOO fast?? meaning my in game toon is moving before the actual server can 'catch up' that seems to be the problem I am seeing...I could be wrong...

I set affinity to server running on one CPU, but still same issue.

anyone else run into this when migrating to a more ronbust server?
as it is I am going to have to power back on my old crap PC just so the game is playable.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               Does this same performance issue occur on all other servers that you connect to with this machine? Are all players experiencing this same issue when connecting to your server?  I would also sample a few that use just the vanilla resources, as a sanity check.

Overclocking could indeed be causing some problem.  However, I get this EXACT same situation when there is extreme latency on a server... and I have a very pedestrian graphic card and basic CPU installed.  I attribute it to the inability of my connection to grab enough bandwidth to process the graphic input properly AT THAT MOMENT.  And in my case, it is probably a combination of low-speed connection, server latency AND less-than-adequate graphic card.  Yet, most of the time all the servers I frequent play just fine.  I seriously doubt, at least in my case, that the processor speed has anything to do with the observed anomaly.  Of course, just because our mutual observations are similar does not necessarily imply the cause is the same.

But for what it's worth to you... there it is, lordofworms.

edit:  I would test it myself if your server is a vanilla one. But I seriously doubt that is the case, knowing nothing about Arbor Falls' resource requirements (most require some sort of override or hak).
               
               

               

                     Modifié par HipMaestro, 02 avril 2011 - 01:47 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_ehye_khandee]

               What did you set the cpu affinity to? ZERO is the best choice ime. It is indeed a timing issue as I understand it.

Be well. Game on.
GM_ODA
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Dark Defiance]

               If running NWN/Server on Windows you may also want to try running setting the compatibility mode to XP. You never know. Right click and go to properties for the exe itself, not sure if the shortcuts handle that feature too.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ehye_khandee]

               Setting the properties on the exe will impact the performance of a shortcut which is nothing more than a pointer to the exe.

Be well. Game on.
GM_ODA
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Knight_Shield]

               I dont know if this is similar to what your experiencing but I have Vista and played next to someone on an XP machine.The person with XP would see Monsters way before I would.Sometimes I wouldnt even see them all until directly in combat with them.We were on a map where you would get atleast 10 monsters around you.My machine was way faster than his.Just thought I would add this weird graphic experiece to yours.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ehye_khandee]

               Each version of windows is more bloated than the last, resources to run a prior version will often not suffice for a newer version. Windows is not known for elegant management of resources. Have you tried making the vista system a dual boot system? Linux runs rings around any contemporary windows version, and it can be enlightening to see the difference the OS makes on the same hardware.

Be well. Game on.
GM_ODA
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_lordofworms]

               well what i am talking about is my server which is running XP. yes I experience these issues from my own pc(vista) but all my other players experience the same thing. I am about to go back and hook my old one back up as I just dont understand it.

I am running server on XP service pack3
i am running game on vista, others are on XP and win7. same issue across the board.

if i go back to my ancient clunker of a mchine for my server i can play fine (vista) as well as my other players (xp and win7)

I have changed affinity to 0, then to 1, then to both..
same crap.
it shouldnt matter about the graphics card should it (for a server since its not actually displaying anything but nwnserver...but I could be wrong? does it ? my old crap machine DID have an nvidia card in it and this new one I am just using the intel on-board grfx..but again? I dont see why this would have anything to do with nwnserver and the issues I and others are having?

ughhh...I just might try learning linux just for the server aspect of this headache....i really dont want to have to keep my old crap running (try sleeping with that thing humming along) and I dont want to take my servr down no way!...

any other suggestions?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Calvinthesneak]

               Hmmmm.

Sounds like people are crossing client side and server side issues here.

Please post the specs of the server machine (include how many cores please).
Please post the contents of your nwplayer.ini (on your server machine! please remove any sensative data such as your password/user name).

I suspect it might be a 2da caching problem combined with the server machine needing some compatibility tweaks.

If I'm horribly misunderstanding and this is your client machine please correct me.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Dark Defiance]

               You could also try forcing the NIC of the server to the exact speed of your network. So if you are running a 10/100 backend force the NIC to 100 Full Duplex, etc. NIC transmissions are typically handled by the CPU(s) unless you have one of those "Killer NICs".

If your server setup is identical (like copying the old nwnserver folder over) look at a possible driver issue. Like the mainboard and NIC drivers. Try not to use generic windows drivers, although some have stated over the years the generics work better.

Your mileage may vary.

And if you need to move to the old server, just replace the fans. It's a cheap fix.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Dark Defiance, 02 avril 2011 - 09:34 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_lordofworms]

               old machine

HP dc5000
pentium4 - 2.8ghz - 4gig RAM - singlecore
160-GB 7200 rpm SMART III Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive.
Its nots just the fan,the noise,the age but also the uneccessary bulk of this thing taking up space

New server specs:
HP DC8000 Elite Ultra-slim Desktop PC
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3GHz Processor with 6MB L2 Cache
4GB DDR3 SDRAM
250 GB HDD
Integrated Intel GMA 4500 Graphics - VGA and DisplayPort
Integrated HD Audio
Gigabit Network Connection


nwnplayer.ini on my server machine:

[Game Options]
Memory Level=1
Memory Access=1
Max Memory Usage=1024
TooltipDelay uSec=100000
Enable FloatyTextFeedback=1
Hide SecondStoryTiles=1
Single Player ItemLevelRestrictions=0
Single Player Enforce Legal Characters=0
Client CPU Affinity=0
ClientEntireChatWindowLogging=1
LogMyEmoteUsage=0
In-game Text Swear Filter=0
Visible Cloaks=1
Heartbeat Logging=0
Difficulty Level=4
Log Model Errors=0
Death Logging=0
MouseoverFeedback=1
TextBubbleMode=1
TargetingFeedbackMode=2

[Control Options]
Zoom Speed=3.000000
CameraTurnSpeed=1.000000
Enable ScreenEdgeCameraTurn=1
CameraMode=1
EnableDialogZoom=0

[Profile]
ShowMessageOfTheDay=1
Client Port=5120
Player Name=[REMOVED]
Password=[REMOVED]
Remember Password=1
ShowPregenChars=1
JournalPage=0
[Server Options]
One Party Only=0
MaxCharLevel=40
MPEnabled=1
Server Name=LoW ArborFalls vSQL
Max Players=20
DMPassword=[REMOVED]
PlayerPassword=
PVP Setting=2
Game Port=5121
GameSpy Enabled=1
Game Type=3
Disable AutoSave=0
CD Banned Behavior=0
Suppress Base Servervault=0
Disallow Shouting=0
ShowDMJoinedMessage=0
Saving Throw Automatic Failure On 1=1
BackupSavedChars=0
Validate Spells=1
Examine CR On Creatures=1
Examine Effects On Creatures=1
Max Hit Points=0
Hide Hit Points Gained=0
Restore Spell Uses On Login=0
Always Reset Encounter Spawns=0
Master Server Authentication Required For Player Login=0
Account validation required during Master Server down times=0
2DA Cache Size=10
Reload Module When Empty=1
PauseAndPlay=0
Auto Save Interval=0
AllowLocalChars=0
Game Region=0
ServerDownTimer=180
Enforce Legal Characters=0
ItemLevelRestrictions=0
[Trap Colors]
FriendlyColor=0,255,0
HostileColor=255,0,0
[Script Options]
Enable Profiling=0
Enable Logging=0
[Banned Ips]
0=
[Banned Players]
0=
[Banned CD Keys]
0=



as for my clientside machine that I play on which is vista I have my player.ini set to use port 5122 and have set all my settings accordingly (I already went down the wierd glitches from playing and hosting same client port..so I am not currently using that port for anything else.
and I know somehow its this new CPU that is flaking out on me...everything is just 'odd' in game...from the really wonky walking (imagine like extreme lag but its not lag) and the invisible creatures and such..

thanks for the time with this and the suggestions...really helps me not throw this new rig out the window.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par lordofworms, 03 avril 2011 - 03:44 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Pstemarie]

               I used that get that stutter effect in single-player mode on Vista - never in XP. I was never able to track it down, but upgrading to Windows 7 resolved it.

According to some techie friends of mine, the issue was mostly caused by a hardware accelleration issue with Direct X (assuming I understood them correctly). I could get the game to perform better by turning down some of the graphic settings - not sure if this would work for clients logging in.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_lordofworms]

               Well I figured it out. I was running the motherboard intel netextreme gigabit card with the latest drivers. but after rooting around on the web I found that that particular brand was prone to packet loss and dropped connections. in other words crap.I obvioulsy wouldn't have seen myself as its just my server and I dont 'surf the web' or 'play multiplayer games' where I would prob. immediatley see issues.

I grabbed a cheap usb2.0 to 10/100/1000 ethernet adapter , installed and tried.
logged in and ran around and YAY! smooth and happy once again.
logged in again, called my cousin to log in and we both ran around and saw creatures when we should! so for now I consider this fixed!

I also noticed that on the older network card (the one I have since disabled for now) had like a slew of new and weird options and configs for the adapter (Vlan and primary?Rx & Tx transmit?etc?  whereas this usb one has the standard typical configs.)

I am guessing I could have prob. fixed the original if I was a network guru but for now anyone with similar issues getting laggy results on new machines playing multiplayer can maybe look into just testing a usb to internet to rule out network card issues.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Calvinthesneak]

               Glad to see you got it resolved LoW. I was suspecting issues with the game itself rather than hardware. Lemme know how that processor runs. I have the  E8600 (6M L2 Cache, 3.33 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB) and it's handled NWN fairly well.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Calvinthesneak, 04 avril 2011 - 03:38 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_lordofworms]

               well I am not much for "wow what a difference speeches' but wow, WHAT a difference!

now that the network issue is resolved this rig is nice and smooth, I tested with myself and 4 other players (5 total) and this new rig held up to a full on mass attack with spell flings left and right...never a hiccup or stutter.
All in all I am extremely pleased with this setup.
not only is it MUCH smaller and can now fit hidden from view under my desk, its QUIET, and SUPER fast, hell a reboot only takes 2 minutes from shutdown whereas my old one took upwards of 10 minutes to finish its 'boot up'

so yeah, that processor is nice!