Xenoblade random stuttering with D3D9 and OpenGL

Hitoshura · 02-01-2014, 03:12 AM #1

Hihi, sorry, I have yet another thread. Same build as before, i7 4770k @3.5~3.9Ghz, 1GB GTX 560, Windows 8.1, etc. This time, I'm trying to play Xenoblade and it works well for the most part but I get little spurts of FPS drops during cutscenes sometimes and nearly every battle has sudden stuttering. I heard the stuttering was an issue with D3D and to use OpenGL, but that seems to actually make it worse. I'm running Dolphin 4.0.2. I can post my config if need be, but I'm using what seems to be pretty standard settings, along with what's recommended on the Wiki like setting EFB copies to RAM and whatnot. Any idea what the problem may be? Thanks!

**ExtremeDude2** · 02-01-2014, 04:10 AM #2

Have you tried the latest version with OpenGL? (make sure your drivers are up-to-date)

Hitoshura · (This post was last modified: 02-01-2014, 07:20 AM by Hitoshura.)

The latest public/stable build? I think that's 4.0.2 according to the site, so yes. It actually runs worse in OpenGL. Also, if it helps, it gets kinda choppy on the title screen as well.

**DJBarry004** · 02-01-2014, 07:19 AM #4

Try with the latest development build, with the same backend.

Hitoshura · 02-01-2014, 10:48 AM #5

Latest build (4.0-765) just gives me a black screen with OpenGL and crashes with an error about drawing the vertex shader on Direct3D.

**KHg8m3r** · 02-01-2014, 10:53 AM #6

Do you have the latest drivers installed from Nvidia?

Hitoshura · 02-01-2014, 11:10 AM #7

I got the latest drivers and now it does work in OpenGL, but I still get random stuttering and some of the text textures don't load properly, like the Level Up and Landmark text.

**DJBarry004** · 02-01-2014, 11:15 AM #8

Are you using Cache Display lists? I had lots of issues with that thing activated when under OGL.

***MayImilae*** · (This post was last modified: 02-01-2014, 12:31 PM by MayImilae.)

DJBarry004: Cache Display Lists isn't in the latest dev builds, if was removed yesterday.

Hitoshura: Stuttering is a common problem with Xenoblade and a few other games, most notably the Prime games. No one really knows why it occurs, but apparently it has to do with loading in some fashion, as Xenoblade and the Prime games have forms of dynamic loading. An SSD or Ramdisk appears to help with the issue, and OpenGL is much better about it than D3D, but there's no way to completely eliminate it. At least, once a cache has built up, it stops being a significant issue. After exploring an area if you return to that area the game won't stutter there, thanks to the cache.

Hitoshura · 02-01-2014, 01:30 PM **#10**

Ah, okay. Thank you! Luckily I have an SSD, so hopefully that'll fix it!