FPS drops to under 10 and Ping Rate over 180 in major cities

onlinegamer1 · April 2015

My ping and FPS are fine anywhere else, but in any major city (major being defined as having lots of players. i.e. Rawlka, Wayrest, Elden Root, etc.) I get consistent 30-45 seconds of nearly 0 FPS (fluctuates from 0-10, then finally stabilizes around 20ish) and constant high-ish ping (over 180) until I leave the area.

ZoS, you can't blame Meteors here. Players aren't even causing much in the way of server-side calculations here (no PvP, no AoE spell calculations at all), they are literally just moving around and talking to NPCs (merchants, pledges, bankers, etc.)

FIX THIS LAG.

DogFaceInBananaPatch · April 2015

Never went over 80ms latency in this game personally. Don't know why other then I live close to the servers, perhaps? As for FPS I have no idea. It's locked on 100 for some reason though I have seen the occasional 90-something.

utbackpacker911b14_ESO · April 2015

I turned my graphics down from ultra to high and I haven't had any lag or DC problems.Even in the high traffic areas.

Scamandros · April 2015

I wish I had 180 ping

Dudis · April 2015

Sounds like it's on your end mate, I've never had or heard of such issues before.

I sit at a comfortable 60 fps and < 100 ping in wayrest/daggerfall etc and my computer is decent but far from amazing...

Settings are "high" btw.

onlinegamer1 · April 2015

Dudis wrote: »

Sounds like it's on your end mate, I've never had or heard of such issues before.

I sit at a comfortable 60 fps and < 100 ping in wayrest/daggerfall etc and my computer is decent but far from amazing...

Settings are "high" btw.

Ping is not "on my end" its Ping.

And FPS is fine in the rest of the game, it just drops when there are lots of players around, which is, again, a game issue.

Elsonso · April 2015

Is this another EU problem? The OP did not specify megaserver, but I was in NA non-vet Rawl yesterday and had no problems, even with 200+ people in and around the bank. I run Ultra and FPS was >60 and latency was normal for me (100-120). I was not feeling like I needed to watch it closely.

maryriv · April 2015

onlinegamer1 wrote: »

My ping and FPS are fine anywhere else, but in any major city (major being defined as having lots of players. i.e. Rawlka, Wayrest, Elden Root, etc.) I get consistent 30-45 seconds of nearly 0 FPS (fluctuates from 0-10, then finally stabilizes around 20ish) and constant high-ish ping (over 180) until I leave the area.

ZoS, you can't blame Meteors here. Players aren't even causing much in the way of server-side calculations here (no PvP, no AoE spell calculations at all), they are literally just moving around and talking to NPCs (merchants, pledges, bankers, etc.)

FIX THIS LAG.

Easy fix, don't go to rawl'kha.

Rune_Relic · April 2015

agreed. is this EU or NA ?

Kahrgan · April 2015

onlinegamer1 wrote: »

My ping and FPS are fine anywhere else, but in any major city (major being defined as having lots of players. i.e. Rawlka, Wayrest, Elden Root, etc.) I get consistent 30-45 seconds of nearly 0 FPS (fluctuates from 0-10, then finally stabilizes around 20ish) and constant high-ish ping (over 180) until I leave the area.

ZoS, you can't blame Meteors here. Players aren't even causing much in the way of server-side calculations here (no PvP, no AoE spell calculations at all), they are literally just moving around and talking to NPCs (merchants, pledges, bankers, etc.)

FIX THIS LAG.

Sounds like you need a better computer. Your FPS has nothing to do with "server side calculations" Stop being ignorant and educate yourself before you go spouting about stuff you have no clue about.

bbritton8883525_ESO · April 2015

I have similar issues. When I port into Shornhelm or log from one character to another, I spend the next 20 seconds not even moving. I will usually have a ping over 500 and my fps down to around 6.

wrlifeboil · April 2015

These types of complaints are too vague. If you know how to ping, you can do a traceroute and pathping. Post the results and then people here have a little more to work with. Crowdsourcing might help you fix the problem. Otherwise, be content with venting to the forums.

daktary2001 · April 2015

Kahrgan wrote: »

onlinegamer1 wrote: »

My ping and FPS are fine anywhere else, but in any major city (major being defined as having lots of players. i.e. Rawlka, Wayrest, Elden Root, etc.) I get consistent 30-45 seconds of nearly 0 FPS (fluctuates from 0-10, then finally stabilizes around 20ish) and constant high-ish ping (over 180) until I leave the area.

ZoS, you can't blame Meteors here. Players aren't even causing much in the way of server-side calculations here (no PvP, no AoE spell calculations at all), they are literally just moving around and talking to NPCs (merchants, pledges, bankers, etc.)

FIX THIS LAG.

Sounds like you need a better computer. Your FPS has nothing to do with "server side calculations" Stop being ignorant and educate yourself before you go spouting about stuff you have no clue about.

Don't be all aggressive on someone when he's fed up about something that clearly is a problem for LOTS of people, for about a year now.
You need better computer ??? Come on just look at the forum and the amount of people complaining about lag issue. Don't tell him he just need a better computer.
There clearly is a big problem here.
Educate yourself ? I would bet he is far more educated than you on multiple subjects as you must be more educated than him on others. Don't act all mighty when you are the one apparently having no clue as to how address properly someone else. I may look like I am acting with you the way you responded to OP and that is exactly what I am doing to show you how rude you sounded.

I clearly understand the frustrations about this lag. Take another example. You buy a brand new coffee maker and after a day it doesn't work that well. What do you do ? You go to the customer service and ask for reparation. When you get it back tadaaaa it still does not work ! What do you do ? You go back since you don't have any idea as to how to repair a coffee machine.
Now after that it still doesn't work. What happens ? Don't you dare tell me you act all calm and cool at the customer service. You are pissed off and demand results or refund.

onlinegamer1 · April 2015

I'm on NA, fyi.

And its not my computer or connection, already eliminated those. Its the game/game servers.

Audigy · April 2015

onlinegamer1 wrote: »

Dudis wrote: »

Sounds like it's on your end mate, I've never had or heard of such issues before.

I sit at a comfortable 60 fps and < 100 ping in wayrest/daggerfall etc and my computer is decent but far from amazing...

Settings are "high" btw.

Ping is not "on my end" its Ping.

And FPS is fine in the rest of the game, it just drops when there are lots of players around, which is, again, a game issue.

This can have several issues, most likely however CPU related and not in the power of the Devs sadly.

Your CPU can only process a specific type of "commands" a time and since we use DX 11 we can only use one core for this.

That means any player with low single core performance will suffer, as the CPU is unable to address the necessary "input" from your connected hardware, like the GPU. In theory that means that your 4 or 8 cores are unable to "talk" to your GPUs at the same time, but 1 single core does.
What we get is a 25% from what we have (4 core example). Mantle fixes this, that's why it gave low end CPU´s such a massive boost. Unfortunately ESO does not use Mantle and most likely never will and if it will use DX12? Who knows... The ESO devs would need to rewrite their game code so that it supports multi core "chatting" with your GPU (s) and I honestly don't know how much work this would be, but I imagine its sadly too late for that.
Blizzard did it with DX11 (from9) and this changed the single threaded to a single cored communication and we all know what a massive impact this had to the games performance. That said, it made the game more instable too so there are also downsides.

Running an external soundcard will also help your CPU a bit, so will having a better cooling system with a slight overclock.

If the problem is related to the ESO file structure, then running an SSD could help. This for instance was the case with D3 for 3 years, the necessary game files were cached so poorly that a lot of effects made the game lag. This is fixed in a future patch now, but if this is also the case at ESO, I don't know.

The severs are not the problem here, its the game itself and how your own hardware utilizes the game code. I am sorry to say this, but I doubt ESO can just "hotfix" this. Its a limit in the API that we use, just like many don't have dedicated soundcards or SSDs. You can try to fix it on your end, but it wont help you much unless its really the fault of ESO as I explained with the caching. If its the CPU overhead as I assume, then nothing will fix this except lowering your details so that less information from your GPU must be processed by your CPU.

daktary2001 · April 2015

wrlifeboil wrote: »

These types of complaints are too vague. If you know how to ping, you can do a traceroute and pathping. Post the results and then people here have a little more to work with. Crowdsourcing might help you fix the problem. Otherwise, be content with venting to the forums.

It's not our job to do that ! We are paying for a service. I clearly do not want to pay to be a beta tester and a bug/problem finder.

onlinegamer1 · April 2015

Audigy wrote: »

onlinegamer1 wrote: »

Dudis wrote: »

Sounds like it's on your end mate, I've never had or heard of such issues before.

I sit at a comfortable 60 fps and < 100 ping in wayrest/daggerfall etc and my computer is decent but far from amazing...

Settings are "high" btw.

Ping is not "on my end" its Ping.

And FPS is fine in the rest of the game, it just drops when there are lots of players around, which is, again, a game issue.

This can have several issues, most likely however CPU related and not in the power of the Devs sadly.

Your CPU can only process a specific type of "commands" a time and since we use DX 11 we can only use one core for this.

That means any player with low single core performance will suffer, as the CPU is unable to address the necessary "input" from your connected hardware, like the GPU. In theory that means that your 4 or 8 cores are unable to "talk" to your GPUs at the same time, but 1 single core does.
What we get is a 25% from what we have (4 core example). Mantle fixes this, that's why it gave low end CPU´s such a massive boost. Unfortunately ESO does not use Mantle and most likely never will and if it will use DX12? Who knows... The ESO devs would need to rewrite their game code so that it supports multi core "chatting" with your GPU (s) and I honestly don't know how much work this would be, but I imagine its sadly too late for that.
Blizzard did it with DX11 (from9) and this changed the single threaded to a single cored communication and we all know what a massive impact this had to the games performance. That said, it made the game more instable too so there are also downsides.

Running an external soundcard will also help your CPU a bit, so will having a better cooling system with a slight overclock.

If the problem is related to the ESO file structure, then running an SSD could help. This for instance was the case with D3 for 3 years, the necessary game files were cached so poorly that a lot of effects made the game lag. This is fixed in a future patch now, but if this is also the case at ESO, I don't know.

The severs are not the problem here, its the game itself and how your own hardware utilizes the game code. I am sorry to say this, but I doubt ESO can just "hotfix" this. Its a limit in the API that we use, just like many don't have dedicated soundcards or SSDs. You can try to fix it on your end, but it wont help you much unless its really the fault of ESO as I explained with the caching. If its the CPU overhead as I assume, then nothing will fix this except lowering your details so that less information from your GPU must be processed by your CPU.

What kind of CPUs are people running who claim they get no FPS or Ping issues?

mhmfrogub17_ESO · April 2015

Stop downloading *** in the background.

onlinegamer1 · April 2015

mhmfrogub17_ESO wrote: »

Stop downloading *** in the background.

As soon as you stop posting *** on the forums.

mhmfrogub17_ESO · April 2015

Background processes take up resources, the more you have going in the background the slower your system goes.

bluxwaverwb17_ESO · April 2015

Im running 4k stable 40-60 fps

ping 300-450ms

half way around the world to servers

decrease your graphics settings

nerevarine1138 · April 2015

Ping is separate, but visual stuttering and lag is 100% on your end.

How can I be so sure? Because if it were on ZO's end, it wouldn't only happen at entirely predictable times for system lag to hit (entering an area with higher population, etc.). Cities aren't separate zones, so if there were server-side issues, they most likely wouldn't be exclusive to cities.

onlinegamer1 · April 2015

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

Ping is separate, but visual stuttering and lag is 100% on your end.

How can I be so sure? Because if it were on ZO's end, it wouldn't only happen at entirely predictable times for system lag to hit (entering an area with higher population, etc.). Cities aren't separate zones, so if there were server-side issues, they most likely wouldn't be exclusive to cities.

My Ping is usually 80-100 using Wykkyd's Toolbar.

Upon entering a major city, it goes to at LEAST 180, usually 2000+ for a few seconds, then 300-400 for a few seconds, then somewhere over 180. It stays there until I ride out of the city a bit, then returns to 80-100.

As far as FPS drops, yes, its separate, and I'm trying to figure out what CPUs people run who claim no FPS drops in major cities or high population areas.

bluxwaverwb17_ESO · April 2015

i5 4460 or greater

Audigy · April 2015

onlinegamer1 wrote: »

Audigy wrote: »

onlinegamer1 wrote: »

Dudis wrote: »

Sounds like it's on your end mate, I've never had or heard of such issues before.

I sit at a comfortable 60 fps and < 100 ping in wayrest/daggerfall etc and my computer is decent but far from amazing...

Settings are "high" btw.

Ping is not "on my end" its Ping.

And FPS is fine in the rest of the game, it just drops when there are lots of players around, which is, again, a game issue.

This can have several issues, most likely however CPU related and not in the power of the Devs sadly.

Your CPU can only process a specific type of "commands" a time and since we use DX 11 we can only use one core for this.

That means any player with low single core performance will suffer, as the CPU is unable to address the necessary "input" from your connected hardware, like the GPU. In theory that means that your 4 or 8 cores are unable to "talk" to your GPUs at the same time, but 1 single core does.
What we get is a 25% from what we have (4 core example). Mantle fixes this, that's why it gave low end CPU´s such a massive boost. Unfortunately ESO does not use Mantle and most likely never will and if it will use DX12? Who knows... The ESO devs would need to rewrite their game code so that it supports multi core "chatting" with your GPU (s) and I honestly don't know how much work this would be, but I imagine its sadly too late for that.
Blizzard did it with DX11 (from9) and this changed the single threaded to a single cored communication and we all know what a massive impact this had to the games performance. That said, it made the game more instable too so there are also downsides.

Running an external soundcard will also help your CPU a bit, so will having a better cooling system with a slight overclock.

If the problem is related to the ESO file structure, then running an SSD could help. This for instance was the case with D3 for 3 years, the necessary game files were cached so poorly that a lot of effects made the game lag. This is fixed in a future patch now, but if this is also the case at ESO, I don't know.

The severs are not the problem here, its the game itself and how your own hardware utilizes the game code. I am sorry to say this, but I doubt ESO can just "hotfix" this. Its a limit in the API that we use, just like many don't have dedicated soundcards or SSDs. You can try to fix it on your end, but it wont help you much unless its really the fault of ESO as I explained with the caching. If its the CPU overhead as I assume, then nothing will fix this except lowering your details so that less information from your GPU must be processed by your CPU.

What kind of CPUs are people running who claim they get no FPS or Ping issues?

I don't think that anyone runs ESO on Ultra with everything maxed out on a CPU at stock core.

Those that don't have issues most likely run overclocked systems, have their settings lowered or they simply put just lie / have a much bigger tolerance to what lags are.

For a lot of players, running on 30 FPS is fine, they don't need those magical 60 FPS that others want. To just have the FPS counter active makes a player much more aware of slow downs than when its disabled.

I once played a game it was perfectly fine, then I checked the FPS and was shocked that it only had 33 FPS

Right now, AMD CPU´s suffer most under the current limitations of our API, Intel CPU´s have it better there as the single core performance is so much better. This however is a very complex topic and I am sure there are some experts in this forum who can analyze this much better than I do after only talking to some Devs on a convention.

I also always felt its laziness by the Devs and maybe it is to some degree (why make games so big, if you know it wont run perfect everywhere?), but then again they can only work with what they got. I am not here to hype Mantle or DX12, but ya it seems to definitely revolute gaming on PC´s in the next few years, similar to the first 3Dfx cards in the 90s.

SienneYviete · April 2015

I get some pretty hefty fps drops in the major cities or around decent keep sieges, running an fx8350 8 core cpu and gtx970's in sli. This games optimization is pretty bad, I used to get similar frames on my old i5 2500k and 7850's crossfired. CPUID HWMonitor gives a pretty good indication of the performance while running eso.

utbackpacker911b14_ESO · April 2015

I use an I5-3570k 3.4 GHz and 1 GTX 660 Ti,with I believe 2 gig of ram in it..I also have 16gig of ram

Locust115 · April 2015

when i started was running a solid 60+, but FPS jumps all over the place now, in big cities it goes down to 20...15 for me, which is atrocious.. i run a 6704gb with an i7 with 16gb of ram. i run bf4 on ultra no problems. but i get serrrious fps drops in eso sometimes.

mhmfrogub17_ESO · April 2015

Just a basic system.

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black CPU (not overclocked) water cooled
16gb Ram
nVidia GeForce 2 gb GTX 550 Ti Video Card
4 hard drives (1 500gb SSD for System and Games, 3 WD 1tb black drives for storage)
850w Power supply

Palidon · April 2015

Two things that could be causing the problems. One all the vanity pets players are using and two the influx of new players when the game went F2P. ZOS's answer to the lag in Cyrodiil was to take out all the deer and bugs that were adding to the server load. So in PvE now the same thing is happening and it's just going to get worse.

Valymer · April 2015

Palidon wrote: »

Two things that could be causing the problems. One all the vanity pets players are using and two the influx of new players when the game went F2P. ZOS's answer to the lag in Cyrodiil was to take out all the deer and bugs that were adding to the server load. So in PvE now the same thing is happening and it's just going to get worse.

But Palidon, that would imply that the problem was inherent to to the game's design and not the fault of the players.