Server now at 50 FPS compared to 32

[darkpeace 0]

WTF ?

Your saying if All Seeing Eye [ASE] is installed the server 'runs' at 50fps ?

Is this consistant ?

Is the client also running ASE ?

Being from UDPSoft it might do 'strange' things with the timing functions.

I am aware of their work with Counter-Strike (during the late Betas, before it went Retail and downhill fast)

Running Linux Servers now anyway so resource usage is lower, security is (generally speaking) better and server FPS is 50 unless running a heavy mission, even in CTI it can stay around 25 (20-30 fps) so she does well now.

Needs some minor tweaks here and there, but she does well.

[TfouTfou 0]

I saying if All Seeing Eye [ASE] is installed and RUN the server 'runs' at 50fps ?

i think when running ASE it tweak some server value !!

Did someone has answer for my question ?

[darkpeace 0]

I still don't believe it.

You might want to try emailing the guys over at UDPSoft and ask if it does anything strange to the timers.

[suma 8]

You might want to try emailing the guys over at UDPSoft and ask if it does anything strange to the timers.

I would not be much surprised to learn something like ASE uses timeBeginPeriod(1).

[RN Malboeuf 12]

yep, I can Confirm as we speak our server Does Show 50 FPS with ASE running, Since no one will have an Idea of how the server will react, we will do major test and post the results

for us it is hard since our server will not lag with 9v9, but some one else may have a lower end server that may see a difference

Im going to test ASE running as a FireDeamon Service to see if the FPS remain at 50......

yea, ASE running as a Service also allows the server to run at 50 FPS

soooooooo, can any one explain this or can some one creat a question we can pose to UDP soft to explain this?

[darkpeace 0]

If your interested just email UDPSoft.

They ain't stupid people, they will know what is going on.

[RN Malboeuf 12]

we need a real techno geek like Suma or MR. Frag to pose the question so the other Techno Geeks at UDP Soft understand, then who ever wants can email it. or post on thier forums

[kegetys 2]

I would not be much surprised to learn something like ASE uses timeBeginPeriod(1).

Looks like thats exactly what it is doing:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">

0043B975   6A 01            PUSH 1

0043B977   FF15 CCA05300    CALL DWORD PTR DS:[<&WINMM.timeBeginPeriod>]  ; WINMM.timeBeginPeriod

Assuming that fixes the server FPS problem, it should be really simple to do a small program that just calls this...

edit: Here's something I put up quickly if someone wants to try it out, run it and with the dialog open run the ofp server

[RN Malboeuf 12]

i'll give it a test when i get home (just at work rebuilding a 79 GMC Jimmy 4x4 with 38" tires in one of our shop bays top to bottom  she is designed to drive over traffic)

[RN Malboeuf 12]

beer is involved so I may add a 20" turret for some real fire power

[sergeant rock 3]

@Kegetys: It appears to work, but interestingly I'm getting 48FPS instead of the full 50FPS.  Even in the lobby.

I'll try with ASE running instead of your program and see if there is a difference.

EDIT: With ASE running it tops out at 48FPS as well. You can start and stop ASE or Kegetys prog and see the server FPS in the game drop to 32FPS or go up to 48FPS in real-time.

Nice find gents!

[RN Malboeuf 12]

our runs at 50 fps, but that would be CPU speed, I have notice more of a fluild motion with AI and Players running, but not by much, lesser servers may see more

My picture above show 48 fps 30 mins in game of a MFCTI with just me on

[zinco 0]

This conversation is above my paygrade but I have to ask what exactly does it mean for the server to have 50fps. Clients connected to our server routinely get up to 60 fps according to fraps and fury.

Are you guys saying that the clients never get above 32 fps without this little tweek?

Not sure what it means for the server to get 32fps. Is there a way to monitor it?

[grayghost 0]

32fps doesn't have to do with graphics - it's how many 'simulation iterations' the server can run through in a second.

Your client maybe *running* at 60fps for graphics, but if the server's running at 7, you'll see it.

[cain2001 0]

So you say, if the server have 7FPS my game will run at 7FPS? But fraps shows 60FPS on my screen but real speed is only 7?

I really dont think The server FPS have any effect on the players FPS, maybe on the players ping but never on his abillity to move around and fire.

[zinco 0]

How can one monitor server fps 'simulation iterations' on a ded ofp server?

[RN Malboeuf 12]

actually you wont see, if your game on your machine is running 25 fps and the server is running 10, your client machine fills in the spaces

so if the last know position of a guy was behind a house, and he is moving forward just before he stoped, but on his machine he stops and the server chugs it wont supply you information, so on your machine you see him walk out ifrom behind it

(a side effect to this are the bandwidth limiters - ppl using them will see players lag and move out from behind objects, even tho on thier end they are not moving or you can call it the reason why a lagger shot you even tho you never moved - is it a cheat? no, but when used for gian it is)

[RN Malboeuf 12]

How can one monitor server fps 'simulation iterations' on a ded ofp server?

#monitor 20

to turn it off

#monitor 0

the number 20 is in seconds, set it too what you feel comfortable with

you have to be logged in as Server Admin (not voted admin)

[darkpeace 0]

Not that it matters, but a voted in admin can use the #MONITOR <time in seconds to average over> command.

Eg: #MONITOR 1 gives very fast readouts and can see the spikes if any, #MONITOR 15-60 are good for load checking during game, #MONITOR 300 is if you want averages over 5 minutes, if you get 15fps or less using #MONITOR 300, then your pushing the server wayyyy to hard with the current map, players, bandwidth, (flashpoint.cfg) settings as per DS-ADMIN.RTF, or a player is desyncing badly and you may want to consider banning them.

When they say SEVER FPS, what is really meant it "simulation cycles" on the server.

DS-ADMIN and DS-USER relate (if you have the server download packages).

They are .RTF (RichTech Format) files, so any decent document reader (MS-Word) can view them.

A "simulation cycle" on the server does not draw any video at all, it only really does physics calculations based on information that players send the server.

If load on server increases this is basically what happens:

Server gives 50fps when at 99% CPU load or less.

Server hits 100% CPU, it gives under 50fps.

Lets say it would hit 200% load if possible, thus it gives 25fps.

If server would hit 333.33% load (if possible) it would give 15 fps.

If the server is running under 25 fps, I would start looking for an upgrade, a map optimization, checking players are not the cause of desync (there are other causes), and try again, failing that the server CPU lacks grunt. (Thus I use 3ghz P4, with 1ghz FSB as MFCTI server).

If server CPU is hitting (even just deep spikes to 15fps) you need a faster CPU (and Dual DDR memory interface) in your server.

So long as the physics engine (on the server) is running at 25fps (so 200% load so to speak) no player will notice in general, esp if their 'client' frame is 40,50,100, or even higher.

If one player has a dodgy link, and causes desync, the server needs to work in 4 dimentions, not just 3, as it needs to keep track of where everyone is "in time" relative to one another. This of course does not use much bandwidth at all, but will cause the server CPU to hit 100% load, and thus the server gives under 50 fps.

On high end servers this can be 'worked around' just via having a 3 or 4 ghz CPU. Personally I would have made it more like Quake III and just lagged the fool out of the game.

This is why entering vehicles is delayed if the DRIVER, GUNNER or COMMANDER has a slow link.

The slow link players insist they use no bandwidth and don't affect performance - THEY ARE WRONG, as no CPU can process what we do in 4 dimentions and somehow keep the slow link players from dropping forever, eventually it has to reach a "break point". Which I am sure many people have seen on low end MFCTI servers with 5 players on dial-up.

As you can start to understand, server FPS has little bearing on client (player) FPS.

Heck if my server ran (or even had long spikes) at 160fps during MFCTI like my client sometimes can I would by damn happy indead.

There is a point where the server load becomes far higher than the client load. This is why the old "Battlefeilds" single player map required a 1ghz PC for its day, or better yet host it on a dedicated server and join it.

The server takes the load of the clients, so long as there is never any client related desync.

Thus admins like all players to have sub 85ms pings with 512kbps downstream, and 128kbps (if not higher) upstream to the servers. It really does not work like other games, and is FAR, FAR, FAR to friendly towards those on dial-up, or playing internationally IMHO.

Heck, it was made for LANs as far as I can see, just with an excellent (too excellent) system for keeping players in sync. (for its day anyway).

[RN Malboeuf 12]

Server gives 50fps when at 99% CPU load or less.

Server hits 100% CPU, it gives under 50fps.

Lets say it would hit 200% load if possible, thus it gives 25fps.

If server would hit 333.33% load (if possible) it would give 15 fps.

If the server is running under 25 fps, I would start looking for an upgrade, a map optimization, checking players are not the cause of desync (there are other causes), and try again, failing that the server CPU lacks grunt. (Thus I use 3ghz P4, with 1ghz FSB as MFCTI server).

that is basically corect, the OFP server is telling it could use more CPU power since the server must run in RT (Real Time) but those #s are a little high

[cain2001 0]

Its funny how AIs and warp when playing a coop with 50FPS on the server. I belive OFP should be played with a maximum of 12 Players. In every game, execpt BF,JoinOps, they do 60+.

Most ofp servers are 2.8GHz ones playing 10vs10 games all day. Their severs is running at 20fps and no one have lagg. Just hte normal doubble kills. But infact these games are unbelivible  laggy. A server should stay at 50FPS minimum for the whole game.

So a server with 25FPS will effect the desync on the players. I can myself feel the diffrence playing 4vs4 and 10vs10. / 25FPS and 50FPS (on server)

[zinco 0]

Thank you for the detailed explanation darkpeace.

We use dual P4 2.4 Ghz CPU's with affinity balancing the load on them. MFCTI with loads of addons will effect it though.

[zinco 0]

Hotel server is running at 48 49 at set up screen.

Thank you Mal good find.

Thank you Kegetys.

Thank you all.

Good night.

[RN Malboeuf 12]

im not exaclty sure if it works

I may make a map script that adds AI and AI Movement to the server

and have it post results every 10 seconds for 5 minutes and then a filnal result

basically the server would continulay create AI and have them move away and perform some functions, as the AI increase the server load will pick up

it will take some tweaking to gain a good idea of server load, the only thing is that the line out put would vary from server lines, so two tests would be needed, one with 1 client and 1 with 10 clients mabey

who knows

[blackdog~ 0]

Was playing with about 10 players on two different C&H maps tonight on my Red Hat 9 server, the FPS of the server got up to 64 multiple times but mostly idled at 50 - now explain that!