Sober's mega mod increase the system requirements?

[mariokartjkl]

hi guys i have not a recent pc so with no mods i can run good the game at low graphics now im installing the mod of the sobers pack and i see that there are a lot of graphic mod. If i install them i will have lag problems? How can i avoid the risk?

[volodya61]

Almost all the mods increase the requirements on system specs, not only graphic..

[BigWalleye]

Yes, there are mods on Sober's list which definitely increase the graphics load. Try it first, YMMV. If you have trouble, two things you can try:

1) Download and install http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=2871
Not a JSGME mod, so RTD!

2) Use Sober's Mod list lite http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=3979
Again RTD. You'll need different versions of some mods. Sober's posts have the download sites for them. And JSGME will tell you if you try to activate the wrong version.

If your system still can't do it, post again on this thread and you'll get help.

[Bathrone]

The real problem is not so much modern hardware or the mods its poor architecture by Ubisoft.

With GPUs there is no SLI support. However latest gen proper cards like the GTX 680 pretty much gobble up SH5 with mods at most HD resolutions. Generally each generation of new GPUs significantly improves performance.

The modded game is mostly CPU limited. CPUs between generations dont improve much per core for the same clock the industry has tended to scale out with more cores to workaround the problem. With SH5 the way the CPU load is executed its not done very well in parallel and thats the main limitation.

[TheDarkWraith]

The modded game is mostly CPU limited. CPUs between generations dont improve much per core for the same clock the industry has tended to scale out with more cores to workaround the problem. With SH5 the way the CPU load is executed its not done very well in parallel and thats the main limitation.

The SH5 code is highly inefficient. Let me give you an example that is littered ALL OVER the SH5 code:

at the beginning of functions right after the stack frame is made the code usually places ECX (the this pointer) into a stack variable. It then loads that same stack variable (ECX) into another CPU register. It NEVER uses that stack variable! Basically a MOV xxx, ECX instruction (where xxx is the CPU register) would be more efficient (and use a lot less CPU cycles).

The code does the same thing with floating point variables. It first puts them on the floating point stack (from a CPU register), then it creates a temp variable, then it pops the top of the floating point stack into the new temp variable, then it loads the temp variable into a new CPU register, then it adds 4 to ESP to get rid of the temp variable. It would be much more efficient to do a MOV xxx,xxx instruction to transfer the value between CPU registers, especially since the temp variable is NEVER used!

These are just a few of the things that make SH5 so CPU intensive. There are worse examples than this, and I mean MUCH worse :nope:

[Bathrone]

Yes thanks for that insight. Instantiating into memory what isnt needed, lack of optimisation on register use etc all reeks of of a general rush job the software house did to ship it out the door. I'm sure the apologists for the poor overworked minions that Ubisoft probably sweat shopped into meeting wrong deadlines on the project would blame the compiler but even stillI thought post release revisions 1.1 and 1.2 were supposed to be optimisation releases and bug fixes.

What would be nice is if Ubisoft did a John Carmack and released the source. I'd assume its in C++. It would be easier than the work your doing, which I greatly applaud by the way. All that time you must have spent reverse engineering dissassembled code and fiddling with assembly :arrgh!: My hat off to you sir for the work youve done. :salute:

While Im dreaming of source, perhaps a more realistic fantasy is one of those poor exploited Devs taking on the passion from the community and releasing an official 1.3 build with a new compile to fix broken functionality in 1.2 and add threading for proper SMP. I know the publisher has classed this software as abandonware but it wouldnt be the first time some passionate ex-Dev has done some work anyway, if for nothing more than personal professional pride and some resume nicety with showing he/she cares for the user base.

[BigWalleye]

SH5 is really abandonware? You're not just mocking Ubisoft? 'Cause if it is abandonware, somebody might be able to wheedle the source code out of them. At least, it would be worth discussing.

[THE_MASK]

Use the light version
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=3979