F-14 and improving FPS...

It is no secret that the F-14 takes an incredible amount of CPU and GPU power. With my setup listed in my signature, there are times where I see FPS drop into the 50's-60's on a busy airfield, carrier deck, or flying over some of the Persian Gulf cities.

60 FPS is my threshold for acceptable FPS and I would like to maintain at least that at all times. DCS and especially the Tomcat look incredible at high graphics settings, so it is hard to choose what to sacrifice.

I have most everything maxed except shadows on low, terrain object shadows flat, civ traffic low, and MSSA x2.

Which settings would everyone suggest be sacrificed to improve FPS while also maintaining visual quality...if it's even possible. I am a little concerned that FPS will drop even further with the new more detailed carriers.

I did do a quick test earlier...I lowered MSAA to off and lowered visib range to ultra but did not see any increase in FPS on a busy carrier deck or airfield ramp. The increase in FPS was only noticeable away from everything. This is not unique to the F-14 though, I saw the same results with the Viper and Hornet.

Tried without mirrors?

Tried without mirrors?

Well, of course turning off mirrors will improve FPS, but it would be a shame though if I could not enjoy the Tomcat to the fullest. With a 4.8GHz CPU a 1080 Ti which I have overclocked, 32GB of RAM, and an SSD...I didn't think I would have to turn down anything to maintain 60 FPS at a minimum. I already have shadows and MSAA turned down.

DCS will eat everything you put against it, just give it enough units and AI. If you can't live without mirrors try reducing their quality - "Res of cockpit displays" ex. to "512" :)

Try to set your world shadows to max. Usually, for some reason, that gains performance.

DCS will eat everything you put against it, just give it enough units and AI. If you can't live without mirrors try reducing their quality - "Res of cockpit displays" ex. to "512" :)

I reduced them to 512 and there was no change in FPS.

Try to set your world shadows to max. Usually, for some reason, that gains performance.

I tried setting both shadow settings to max, one at a time and both together, and noticed no change in FPS.

This is all very strange. I made sure to exit DCS and delete the fxo and metashader folders after each graphics setting change. I wonder why I am not seeing any change...either a decrease or increase in FPS. There is no frame limiter being used and I see the FPS fluctuating.

I am using the mission Defender of the Fleet as my test and looking straight ahead in the cockpit, my FPS is in the mid 60's and will drop to the high 50's when I look to the left towards the tower. My FPS is the exact same even with trying the above graphic setting changes.

That would mean you're CPU limited in this scene. One last try - textures medium and/or SSAA 1.5 instead of MSAA.

That would mean you're CPU limited in this scene. One last try - textures medium and/or SSAA 1.5 instead of MSAA.

Thank you for the help...

I tried both of your suggestions and FPS stayed the exact same. I see the changes take effect in game, but in the same scenario(Defend the Fleet, in cockpit looking straight ahead) there is absolutely no change in FPS.

CPU limited at 4.8Ghz? That is terrifying...

CPU limited at 4.8Ghz? That is terrifying...

You'd think that you have high-end rig? :)

Here is a screenshot just after I landed on the carrier. I used the Caucasus Case I Instant Action Mission.

You can see my CPU and GPU usage as well as my FPS being 56.

I have also attached a screenshot of my DCS settings.

Ok, try changing terrain object shadows from flat back to default, I think this could be the root of your issues, iirc Mustang once told me that flat shadows cause FPS loss especially on or close to the ground. Try that, while cranking all your settings back to max, turn civ traffic off.

Below are my settings. Then see if it makes a difference and start tweaking from there again, with terrain object shadows always set to default.

Ok, try changing terrain object shadows from flat back to default, I think this could be the root of your issues, iirc Mustang once told me that flat shadows cause FPS loss especially on or close to the ground. Try that, while cranking all your settings back to max, turn civ traffic off.

 

Below are my settings. Then see if it makes a difference and start tweaking from there again, with terrain object shadows always set to default.

Thank you so much for the help.

I tried your suggestion but saw no change in FPS.

I also tested FPS using an empty mission...Tomcat starting on the runway at Nellis, looking straight ahead I get 82 FPS. That seems really low for an empty map...

Same starting location at Nellis but with 15 aircraft scattered up and down the ramp, FPS drops into uppers 50's.

I tested the same scenarios with the F-16 and saw around 100 FPS on a clean map and a drop into the 80's with aircraft.

I really don't remember the Tomcat being this FPS hungry at first. It has been a while since I last flew the F-14, so who knows what has changed with DCS. I normally use a frame rate limiter to limit FPS at 60 for a smooth TrackIR, but I noticed my FPS dropping below 60 for the first time ever, hence all this testing and investigating on my part.

.... I normally use a frame rate limiter to limit FPS at 60 for a smooth TrackIR, but I noticed my FPS dropping below 60 for the first time ever, hence all this testing and investigating on my part.

I had serious frame drops with the last 2 updates (really heavy).

I then read about in the another forum that this might has to do with GFX driver.

So I update to latest NVidia. I have to test in deep the next days, but I think I got it sorted out.

Anyway: The F-14 is (at least on my humble rig) the most fps hungry beast, and I can't give you tips how to improve this. :noexpression:

I had serious frame drops with the last 2 updates (really heavy).

I then read about in the another forum that this might has to do with GFX driver.

So I update to latest NVidia. I have to test in deep the next days, but I think I got it sorted out.

 

Anyway: The F-14 is (at least on my humble rig) the most fps hungry beast, and I can't give you tips how to improve this. :noexpression:

I upgraded to the latest Nvidia driver that came out yesterday, made no difference unfortunately. I always make sure to do a clean install of each new driver and of course do the ceremonial deletion of the fxo and metashader folders. I am all out of ideas on my end...

I haven't flown the Tomcat in a few months since flying again this past week, but I don't remember FPS being an issue before. Sure, FPS in the Tomcat has always been a bit less compared to other aircraft, but this past week is the first time I have ever seen FPS dip into the 50's in any aircraft, in any situation. I have kept all the in game and out of game settings the same. The only things that have changed are DCS, Windows, and GPU driver updates.

Maybe this is just the new reality for DCS and the Tomcat...does anyone else out there have a similiar system? What FPS are you seeing?

Tomcat starting on the runway at Nellis, looking straight ahead I get 82 FPS. That seems really low for an empty map...

 

Same starting location at Nellis but with 15 aircraft scattered up and down the ramp, FPS drops into uppers 50's.

That doesn't sound too unnormal, btw, in a way you also have fairly high expectations, I'll say carefully. Unfortunately everything comes at a cost, which often gets forgotten. Everything around 60 in a sim, even with a high end rig, is quite normal. The Tomcat of course stacks against DCS differently, if you compare the early F16 textures, cockpit, systems etc etc with the Tomcat that frame difference is normal I would say. However if you compare with the F18 you should be pretty close up, according to our tests they are pretty equal.

The Tomcat in fact is very much optimized for performance (if you think what is all in it), but it still ofc is quite an abundent module, so if other things stack on top, this combination can result in performance loss, too. DCS also has some areas where looking at just drops your fps, although nothing is there, etc... Why, I have no idea.

Try to set your world shadows to max. Usually, for some reason, that gains performance.

Wait, what? Why? How? EEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!DDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!1

If only that trick worked in VR. Shadows totally DESTROY VR frames.

WHat happens if you either convince Jester to eject, or fly with a human RIO? Remember, there's a whole fairly beefy AI sim running in the Tomcat's back pocket.

Speaking of, is Jester on his own CPU core?

WHat happens if you either convince Jester to eject[...]

Haha!

:music_whistling: - "Sorry Jester, you have to leave!"

:cry: - "Why?"

:D - "My frames dropped. Bye, bye!"

Here is a screenshot just after I landed on the carrier. I used the Caucasus Case I Instant Action Mission.

You can see my CPU and GPU usage as well as my FPS being 56.

I get around 40fps here if that makes you happier :)

My settings attached - differences against yours are yellow.

Starting at Nellis means very close to a big city - don't forget that.

Speaking of, is Jester on his own CPU core?

no

Thank you for the feedback everyone. It looks like the FPS that I am seeing is normal then. Well, it's time to stop worrying about all this and just fly then!

Try to set your world shadows to max. Usually, for some reason, that gains performance.

Jesus man! This just bought me 5-10 more FPS! Thanks........ i never would have know :joystick:

I mean...... it's totally counter intuitive!

Jesus man! This just bought me 5-10 more FPS! Thanks........ i never would have know :joystick:

I mean...... it's totally counter intuitive!

Are you using monitor or VR? I tried doing this but did not see any improvement on a 1440p monitor. Maybe I will try again.

Are you using monitor or VR? I tried doing this but did not see any improvement on a 1440p monitor. Maybe I will try again.

Try in combination, both object shadows to default instead of flat and general to max, and cockpitshadows etc all on etc, too.

However, this trick might just not work for VR. Mustang took a look at your thread and he told me additionally you can try lower your MSA, maybe try a combo of all 3.

But again, you are in the very high end of FPS here, slight drops below 60 being nothing of the unnormal, especially in VR. The FPS that you report are beyond what the majority enjoy. Now, not saying you shouldn't strive for more, just noting that you are already scratching at the upper ceiling.

It is also possible that a hardware and/or software update (nvidia driver) changed something on your end, hard to say. If you remember which nvidia driver was released back when you remember having higher FPS, you could roll back to it and see if that changes anything, too.

Try in combination, both object shadows to default instead of flat and general to max, and cockpitshadows etc all on etc, too.

 

However, this trick might just not work for VR. Mustang took a look at your thread and he told me additionally you can try lower your MSA, maybe try a combo of all 3.

 

But again, you are in the very high end of FPS here, slight drops below 60 being nothing of the unnormal, especially in VR. The FPS that you report are beyond what the majority enjoy. Now, not saying you shouldn't strive for more, just noting that you are already scratching at the upper ceiling.

 

It is also possible that a hardware and/or software update (nvidia driver) changed something on your end, hard to say. If you remember which nvidia driver was released back when you remember having higher FPS, you could roll back to it and see if that changes anything, too.

I tried all of your suggestions...increasing shadows lowered FPS even more. Turning MSAA off had no impact on FPS, only made everything look worse.

Through all this, I have noticed that shadows have the highest impact on FPS. If I leave terrain object shadows set to flat, and lower shadows from low to flat, I get a 20 FPS increase. Unfortunately, flat shadows in the cockpit looks terrible and ruins immersion.

Thank you again for all the help. I may fiddle with things a bit more, but the FPS I am seeing may just be reality and my expectations on perfomance needs to be adjusted if I want to maintain a high level of graphics quality. My main concern was to make sure that the FPS I was seeing based on my settings and hardware was normal.