Performance tuning in COD2

{uZa}Lonesome Eagle · Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:16 am Post subject: Performance tuning in COD2

These are some graphics settings for COD2 which can give you better performance
(with the tradeoff being less eye candy):

Enter the console with the Tilde "~" key and enter commands by typing
"/seta [command] [value]" This will write them permanently to your
config_mp.cfg file in ../main/players

Example:

/seta cg_brass 0

Graphics/Performance Commands

ai_corpseCount [0 - 64] - Determines the maximum number of corpses visible on
screen at any time. Usually determined by the in-game setting Number of Corpses,
you can set a specific value between 0 and 64 here, with the lower the number,
the greater your FPS in heavy combat scenes. Note, setting a value of 0 will
cause the game to crash.

cg_brass [0,1] - If set to 0, disables all ejecting brass, such as expended
shells from your gun. This can improve FPS slightly when firing your weapon.

cg_marks [0,1] - If set to 0, disables all marks made by weapons, explosions etc
- such as bullet impact marks and charring on the ground. This can improve
performance in heavy combat scenes. If set to 1, you can set the maximum number
of marks shown with the cg_markslimit command.

com_hunkMegs [80 - 512] - Determines the amount of memory (in MB) to allocate to
the game to help smooth out in-game loading. You should not allocate any more
than half your system RAM to this option (i.e. if you have 1GB of RAM, set this
cvar to 512).

com_maxfps [0 - 1000] - Determines the maximum frames per second (fps) possible.
If set to 0, disables the FPS cap. Any value higher than 0 caps your FPS to that
level. The main reason to use this command would be to smooth framerate
fluctuation, as framerate spikes can cause jerky gameplay.

r_aasamples [1-4] Determines the level of Antialiasing (AA) applied in the game.
You can set this using the Anti-Aliasing option in the in-game settings. Note
that a value of 1 turns AA Off.

r_anisotropy [0-16] - If Anisotropic Filtering is enabled in the in-game
settings, this cvar sets the level of Anisotropic Filtering used. The default is
8x, however you can set a value between 1x and 16x, with the higher the sample
rate, the better texture quality but the lower your performance. Anisotropy can
have a significant impact on performance on certain systems.

r_aaAlpha [0,1,2] - This setting determines the type of alpha blending used for
antialiasing (if AA is enabled). 0 is off, which gives the best performance, 1
is dither mode which is the default, and 2 is Supersampling which provides
better image quality but reduces performance.

r_autopriority [0,1] - I'm not certain what this option does, it may prioritize
objects in the z buffer. Regardless, when set to 1 (enabled) it seems to provide
slightly better performance without a noticeable drop in image quality.

r_drawDecals [0,1] - If set to 1, disables all decals - that is, marks on the
wall from gunfire, explosions, etc. Similar to the cg_marks command.

r_drawSun [0,1] - If set to 0, disables the sun effect in the sky - the sun
disappears. This can improve performance slightly, and also removes the
'sunblind' effect when starting at the sky.

r_gamma [0.5 - 3.0] - Sets the level of the in-game Gamma (brightness). Normal
gamma has a value of 1, 3 is very bright, 0.5 is dark.

r_glow [0,1] - If set to 0, disables the in-game 'glow' which certain bright
objects (such as the clouds) emit. This can noticeably improve performance,
especially for lower-end graphics cards, without a major reduction in image
quality. Some people actually prefer to disable the glow effect as they find it
annoying.

r_lodBias [-1000 - 0] - Controls the Level of Detail (LOD) Bias. The default is
0, and values below 0 progressively make distant models (e.g. soldiers) more
detailed. At -1000 the level of detail of all models is at its highest, but
performance also takes a signficant negative hit.

r_lodScale [1 - 4] - Determines the rate at which the LOD Bias value comes into
effect. That is, models closer to you will lose more details more quickly the
higher the lodscale value.

r_dlightLimit [0 - 32] - This setting corresponds to the 'Number of Dynamic
Lights' option in the in-game settings. However here you can specify a specific
a limit to number of dynamic lights. By default 8 is the maximum number allowed
in the game using the in-game settings (= High), however you can set it higher
here if you're willing to reduce performance in certain areas, or you can set it
at intermediate values such as 7 or 5 which are not possible using the in-game
settings.

r_displayRefresh [0] - Provides the possible refresh rate modes at your current
resolution, and is the same as the 'Screen Refresh Rate' setting in the graphics
options of the game. You can't specify the actual refresh rate in Hz here, only
the mode which corresponds to it. To use the maximum possible refresh rate on
your system for your chosen resolution, see the 'Refresh Rate Fix' section near
the bottom of page 4 of my Nvidia Forceware Tweak Guide or my ATI Catalyst Tweak
Guide. Once you've overridden the default 60Hz refresh rate on your system, you
should be able to choose a higher refresh setting in the in-game settings or
here.

r_multigpu [0,1] - This setting is the same as the 'Optimize for SLI' option in
the in-game settings. As such, you should set it there, however check to make
sure it is set appropriately for your system (i.e. 0 for single graphics card
users, 1 for SLI users). Also make sure to check the r_gpysync value (See below)
for optimal performance. Some single graphics card users note a performance
improvement when setting this option to 1, however this may induce
keyboard/mouse lag. There is further discussion of these settings in the
Conclusion section of the guide.

r_gpuSync [0,1,2,3] - This setting determines the synchronization of the GPU
(graphics processing unit) and CPU. The values for the various modes are 0 for
Off, 1 for Beginning, 2 for beforePresent, and 3 for Adaptive. Importantly, this
setting currently defaults to 3 for all users which is a conscious decision by
Infinity Ward to balance performance and responsiveness. This is because if set
to 0, you may gain performance however your control input (keyboard and/or mouse
input) may become laggy as the CPU and GPU go slightly out of sync in places
(See Conclusion section). If you are desparate for extra FPS, set this to 0,
however if you notice mouse/keyboard lag even at 30+ FPS, then reset to the
default value 3 (Adaptive) which keeps the CPU and GPU in sync.

r_mode [0,1,2,3-] - This setting is controlled by the 'Video Mode' option in the
in-game settings. As such you should set it there. However if you run into any
problems with the resolution, you can manually select one of the preset modes
here, with 0 being 640x480, 1 is 800x600, 2 is 1024x768, 3 is 1280x1024 and so
forth depending on your monitor's maximum possible resolution in COD 2. There's
no way to set custom resolutions in COD 2 - the only way is to set a custom
resolutions in your graphics card control panel, and it should appear in the
Video Mode in-game option for COD2.

r_skinCache [0,1] - If set to 1, caches model skins, resulting in smoother
gameplay. However caching takes up some memory, so for those with very low
system RAM, disabling skincaching may reduce loading times and improve
performance. For most everyone else, keep this enabled, or experiment to see
what performs best on your system.

r_zfeather [0,1] - If set to 0, disables zfeather smoke effects. These effects
are covered in the In-Game Settings section of this guide under the 'Soften
Smoke Edges' setting. Note that some graphics cards may not have sufficient
hardware support for zfeather smoke, and hence can't be forced to use it.

sys_SSE [0,1] - Should be set to 1 on all systems as it enables COD 2's SSE
Extension support on SSE CPUs (both Intel and AMD support SSE), which increases
performance. Just check this to make sure it is set to 1, and if not set it to 1
for optimal performance.

sv_framerate_smoothing [0,1] - If set to 1 this option should keep framerates
smooth, however you can experiment to see if disabling it improves performance
or overall framerate. I saw no difference on my system either way.

[Texture Settings]

r_picmip_manual [0,1] - Controls whether Call of Duty 2 automatically determines
the texture quality parameters, or whether your manual settings will be
implemented. This is the same as the Texture Quality setting in the in-game
menu. If you want to adjust the settings manually, make sure this is set to 1.

r_picmip [0,1,2] - Controls the mipmap level which affects texture quality. This
is the same as the Texture Resolution setting under the Texture Settings section
of the graphics options. A value of 0 seems to give the best image quality,
while 1 and 2 provide poorer image quality at better performance - see the
screenshot comparisons in the In-Game settings section. Note, if you change this
setting via the console in-game, make sure to use the r_applypicmip command to
apply it to the current game.

r_picmip_bump [0,1,2] - Controls the bump mapping on textures. This command
corresponds with the Normal Map Resolution setting in the Texture Settings
section of the graphics options. A value of 0 seems to give the best image
quality, while 1 and 2 provide poorer image quality at better performance - see
the screenshot comparisons in the In-Game settings section. Note, if you change
this setting via the console in-game, make sure to use the r_applypicmip command
to apply it to the current game.

r_picmip_spec [0,1,2] - Controls the specular light map used for textures. This
command corresponds with the Specular Map Resolution setting in the Texture
Settings section of the graphics options. A value of 0 seems to give the best
image quality, while 1 and 2 provide poorer image quality at better performance
- see the screenshot comparisons in the In-Game settings section. Note, if you
change this setting via the console in-game, make sure to use the r_applypicmip
command to apply it to the current game.

r_applypicmip - This command applies any changes made to the r_picmip_spec,
r_picmip_bump and r_picmip settings (see above) while in-game. Use this command
each time you alter these settings while playing, and see the Conclusion section
of this guide for a neat discovery which can boost your FPS when using this
command.

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:23 am Post subject:

Did you allow some of those settings on the server? By adjusting some of those setting you can get your game running better or make the game look better.

Thanks for posting the more technical commands, very few places have them explained like that. Smile

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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:27 am Post subject:

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:31 am Post subject:

i do not see that one seta_makerensping40orless Sad

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http://tinyurl.com/yobjfs

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:01 am Post subject:

Nice Thread Eagle... Just what i needed with my old machine... Maybe you guys wanna make it sticky so people wont need to look for it when needed...

Thx again LE
_________________

Who needs enemies,
when you have friends like France

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:12 am Post subject:

Great post eagle.............................................................................................................................I love you
_________________

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:49 am Post subject:

Thanks Eagle. Smile

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:18 am Post subject:

wow, was this just chapter #1? Razz

_________________

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:54 am Post subject:

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:46 pm Post subject:

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:54 pm Post subject:

Doesnt PB kick for this kind of stuff. I got kicked from a server yesterday for having my Maxfps set to 0. Had to have it between 59 and 350. So i set it to 150.

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 12:26 pm Post subject:

Here is my take on "tweaks"

/COM_maxfps and /CL_maxpackets
You may actually find how the whole fps thing works quite interesting actually. Because the Quake 3 engine, which CoD2 uses, bases its timings from your fps, certain rounding errors cause weird effects.

When you run on com_maxfps 125, and have your cl_maxpackets set at 60, the rounding causes your actual cl_maxpackets to be at 41.67. When you set it to 100, your actual cl_maxpackets is then 62.5

When you run on com_maxfps 250/333, and have your cl_maxpackets set at 60, the rounding causes your actual cl_maxpackets to be at 50. When you set it to 100, your actual cl_maxpackets is then 83.34

So basically, higher fps 'magic values' will result in your computer sending more packets per second.

Other effects are 250/333 give you faster shooting with nearly every mg, or gerand. 333 fps will reduce your recoil aswell. 125 and 250 are the same in jump height, 333 gives you even higher jumps. 333 fps will give you an appeared ping of 48, even at lan.

If you want a setting to "stick", even without your custom config file being run again, I recommend using the seta command in front of the command (e.g. seta r_glow 0). This makes the change permanent by inserting into your main config.cfg (or config_mp.cfg) file.

r_autopriority [0,1] - I'm not certain what this option does, it may prioritize objects in the z buffer. Regardless, when set to 1 (enabled) it seems to provide slightly better performance without a noticeable drop in image quality.

r_drawSun [0,1] - If set to 0, disables the sun effect in the sky - the sun disappears. This can improve performance slightly, and also removes the 'sunblind' effect when starting at the sky.

r_gpuSync [0,1,2,3] - This setting determines the synchronization of the GPU (graphics processing unit) and CPU. The values for the various modes are 0 for Off, 1 for Beginning, 2 for beforePresent, and 3 for Adaptive. Importantly, this setting currently defaults to 3 for all users which is a conscious decision by Infinity Ward to balance performance and responsiveness. This is because if set to 0, you may gain performance however your control input (keyboard and/or mouse input) may become laggy as the CPU and GPU go slightly out of sync in places (See Conclusion section). If you are desparate for extra FPS, set this to 0, however if you notice mouse/keyboard lag even at 30+ FPS, then reset to the default value 3 (Adaptive) which keeps the CPU and GPU in sync.

sys_SSE [0,1] - Should be set to 1 on all systems as it enables COD 2's SSE Extension support on SSE CPUs (both Intel and AMD support SSE), which increases performance. Just check this to make sure it is set to 1, and if not set it to 1 for optimal performance.

com_hunkMegs [80 - 512] - Determines the amount of memory (in MB) to allocate to the game to help smooth out in-game loading. You should not allocate any more than half your system RAM to this option (i.e. if you have 1GB of RAM, set this cvar to 512).

If any of you have questions or need help...just ask Smile