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Tip for increased performance - Use second PC as server!!!


SW0RDF15H

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Just FYI

 

ED have finally fixed AI problems when taking off from airfields in multiplayer / online, so it's now possible to use a second PC as a dedicated server to offload some of the work to, which allows massively increased performance (something I used to do in ARMA).

 

Any of you who have a second PC, give it a go. Just tested it with the F15 Red Flag campaign - Works brilliantly - no stutters, despite the huge number of objects.

 

You're welcome! :thumbup:

 

Thank you for finally fixing this ED.

 

PS - Make sure V-Sync is OFF: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=182659


Edited by SW0RDF15H
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This would only work for the "HOST" correct?

 

Not sure I understand you. You use a secondary PC to host a mission and connect with your main PC as a client (yes you do need two copies of the game now). By doing this, the host PC is forced to do some of the work, like AI (a big performance hog), which frees up a lot of headroom for your main (client) PC. This is a huge advantage when using VR, which I always do.

 

As an example, I was very disappointed when trying to play the F15 Red Flag campaign after buying it, because every few seconds / CPU cycle(s), I would get a momentary stutter, simply because of the huge amount of objects and AI being processed, despite my overclocked 6700k. With using the 'server method', that stutter is completely eradicated which means 90fps VR consistently in the Red Flag campaign, and any large, object heavy missions.

 

Try it and see. I would imagine even a laptop would serve as a good host machine, as it doesn't have an awful of work to do to host a game instance.

 

Obviously your main (client) PC needs some serious power, but the host machine really shouldn't require much.

 

Hope that helps

Check out my F15C BFM & ACM Training Missions:

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2167735/

 

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Not sure I understand you. You use a secondary PC to host a mission and connect with your main PC as a client (yes you do need two copies of the game now). By doing this, the host PC is forced to do some of the work, like AI (a big performance hog), which frees up a lot of headroom for your main (client) PC. This is a huge advantage when using VR, which I always do.

 

As an example, I was very disappointed when trying to play the F15 Red Flag campaign after buying it, because every few seconds / CPU cycle(s), I would get a momentary stutter, simply because of the huge amount of objects and AI being processed, despite my overclocked 6700k. With using the 'server method', that stutter is completely eradicated which means 90fps VR consistently in the Red Flag campaign, and any large, object heavy missions.

 

Try it and see. I would imagine even a laptop would serve as a good host machine, as it doesn't have an awful of work to do to host a game instance.

 

Obviously your main (client) PC needs some serious power, but the host machine really shouldn't require much.

 

Hope that helps

 

Will try asap : thanks !

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IIRC there's also a way of turning the graphics rendering off altogether if you're running the thing as a server, but I can't remember how. Anyone?

 

 

 

Absolutely:

 

C: - Program Files - Eagle Dynamics - Alpha 2.0 - Config - graphics.lua - change 'Render3D = true' to 'false'.

 

 

 

 

 

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Check out my F15C BFM & ACM Training Missions:

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2167735/

 

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Thanks for the heads up.

 

Besides using up 2nd copy/license is there any other draw back of playing the game like this?.

 

Like many there is little i wouldn't do to gain more fps, especially with the VR headset on.

 

I can answer this:

 

Up until very recently, there was a huge drawback - AI units in your own group (wingman) would not take off from airfields, and any 'late activated' units starting from an airfield would not spawn in at all. I tested this with my 'server method' every time a new update came out for months and tried literally everything.

 

But now ED have fixed this bug finally and everything works flawlessly.

 

In particular, the F15 Red Flag campaign was the one thing I was desperate to run on a host server, because there is so many objects in the missions that I would get consistent stutters when running if on a single PC, even if the CPU wasn't missing the 11ms render target required for smooth 90fps. Now that the bugs I reported are fixed and can run it on a server ( without anything in the mission breaking ), everything is so, so much smoother. It's like night and day.

 

I've been in the best mood since yesterday after discovering this!!! :D

Check out my F15C BFM & ACM Training Missions:

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2167735/

 

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Hi

Forgive me for the stupid question.

I have just tried this and am a little confused :(

I have downloaded DCS on a second PC and created another DCS login. I obviously have the free content that comes with the download.

 

If I want to use this method to host my downloaded Campaigns and other modules do I need to buy them again ?

 

Thanks

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Yes, I'm afraid you do. You need two separate accounts on DCS, each with bought copies of the modules that you're using in your missions. It wasn't too bad for me, as I only fly the F15 on Nevada. So I had to buy the Nevada terrain twice, the f15 module twice, and the f15 red flag campaign twice. Worth it for those extra frame though lol

 

 

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Check out my F15C BFM & ACM Training Missions:

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2167735/

 

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Hi Swordfish, any guesstimate on the % increase you are likely to see with this method?, or do you have numbers?

 

 

 

I really can't say for sure. It removed an awful lot of hitching and stuttering for me on the larger, more complex missions. But I couldn't give you numbers as I'm using VR which is capped, obviously.

 

A while ago, I tested me theory by using DCS 1.5, which of course is free, so both computers could run it without me paying for extra copies of modules etc. I simply used the free SU-25t for testing and did so on standard monitors, not VR, and no vsync. I found that even without any other units or AI on the map (so just me in free flight), using the server method gave me something like 20 - 30% additional frames, at certain points. It's not necessarily a constant. It's when the power requirement is upped because of a given situation, like banking the aircraft at an angle that reveals more of the geometry at a distance, requiring more CPU effort, as an example.

 

This isn't a great indicator as DCS 1.5 is a completely different game, essentially. But it goes to show that you can save a lot of processing power by using a server.

 

Bear in mind though guys:

 

Anyone who doesn't have the absolute latest hardware will almost certainly be wasting their time regardless (I even spent £230 on the fastest RAM I could find, just to afford me an extra half-millisecond in frametime). You really do need the best of the best, with ovclocking on the CPU. No need to overclock the 1080gtx though - you can't get enough additional power to do anything meaningful with.

 

 

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Edited by SW0RDF15H

Check out my F15C BFM & ACM Training Missions:

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2167735/

 

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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Maybe I am missing a point here, but if you run DCS on two PCs - one as server and the other one as client - you need only module licenses for the client PC. The server PC running the mission just have to assign "Client" to the aircraft instead of "Player".

 

edit:

the exception probably being map modules, obviously.

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I tried this, but I was having all sorts of connection problems between the two PCs if I hadn't bought two copies of the modules. It could have been my error, but I doubt it. You used to be able to use the same account on both PCs, but ED changes something late last year to stop this from happening. I can assure you, you definitely need two copies of the Nevada map!! That one I can be certain of! Bit annoying!

 

 

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Check out my F15C BFM & ACM Training Missions:

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2167735/

 

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I'm wondering, if this is possible using two physical machines communicating each other on top of a TCP/IP connection, wouldn't it be possible for the devs making this type of off-load in the same machine using spare CPU core(s)?

 

Wouldn't it be so much faster?

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As of now, technically, one can have multiple installs of DCS with one account on multiple PCs, but only as long as two computers do not run and log in the game at the same time. Which takes us to square one.

 

Flagrum, what You say makes sense for the aircraft, but still, the second computer needs a map and the campaign and there are no "server" versions of these. There is no such thing as "server account" anyway, that's why people have been hammering ED with ded server requests for years.

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I'm wondering, if this is possible using two physical machines communicating each other on top of a TCP/IP connection, wouldn't it be possible for the devs making this type of off-load in the same machine using spare CPU core(s)?

 

Wouldn't it be so much faster?

 

It could be faster. It definitely would require a major overhaul of the code, which would take a very long time.

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My DSL is such that I can't see the server PC from the one I want to "fly on". Tell me what to fix and can it be done without buying an additional router device. (Be advised: I can obtain the admin login credentials for DSL modem if I have to for advanced settings).

Don't ask, here's the answer: 95% of my posts are edited because I have OCD.

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My DSL is such that I can't see the server PC from the one I want to "fly on". Tell me what to fix and can it be done without buying an additional router device. (Be advised: I can obtain the admin login credentials for DSL modem if I have to for advanced settings).

 

 

 

Sounds strange. Shouldn't need a second router at all. I personally had to give each PC its own unique IP, rather than use DHCP.

 

Then you just connect via the local IP rather than finding it on the multiplayer browser window. Also, you can then uncheck the 'public match' box so you're running a LAN instead of being online for everyone to see.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Check out my F15C BFM & ACM Training Missions:

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2167735/

 

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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