Very slow portions in Grandia

sinedeviance · February 29th, 2012, 02:47

Hi all!

I've been trying to run Grandia in ePSXe with a decent framerate to no avail. The game runs at a steady 60 (30) fps most of the time, but there are places in-game that become a slideshow. Cutscenes are especially affected here; for example, when the camera pans and pulls outward to reveal a large portion of the town of Parm at the very beginning of the game. In these sequences my framerate drops as low as 10-15fps. Not unplayable, but definitely unacceptable for my system spec (see below.)

For reference, every other game I've been running (Vagrant Story is one of those) plays smoothly in ePSXe.

To work around this problem, I have been playing Grandia in pSX and getting a perfect 60fps. Everything is working great, in fact. I'd just like to see if any of you know what could be going wrong with ePSXe here?

Okay, so now that I've described the problem, let me delve into my configuration and setup.

My system specs:
*Rosewill Destroyer case with lots of 80/120mm fans.

*Seasonic M12II 80PLUS Bronze 620w modular PSU. Plenty of power for this beast.

*Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 mainboard

*Intel Core i3 530 dual-core @ 2.93ghz

*Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro HSF; keeps my CPU at a frosty 32C.

*XFX ATI HD5850 1GB

*2x2 (4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600, dualchannel

*1TB WD Black HDD

So, as you can tell from my spec, it's quite a nice rig and I have no problems running every game on the shelf at max settings. This includes the likes of Crysis, Skyrim, Just Cause 2, Deus Ex: HR, etc. etc., as well as PS2 games in PCSX2 using 3x internal render at perfect framerates, and same settings for Gamecube games in Dolphin. My point being, this rig tears up everything I throw at it so it really should have no trouble running Grandia at full speed in ePSXe.

Okay, now emulation setup:

*Tested in ePSXe 1.5.2, 1.6.0, and 1.7.0. All had same results in Grandia.

*Using ePSXe CDR WinNT/2k Core, Eternal SPU 1.41, Pete's OGL2 2.9. Pete's and Eternal SPU configs below:

*I have tried using just about every other GPU, SPU, and CD plugin available with no changes; it seems to be a core problem?

*I am running Grandia from the original NTSC two-disc set. I also tried making an ISO of disc one and running from that; the slowdown problem persists.

*Google turned up nothing, Grandia is listed as good on ePSXe compatibility lists.

As I stated before, the game has been running absolutely perfect in pSX so I don't think it's my copy of Grandia.

So... anybody got any ideas?

__________________
http://www.nodanites.com/

Last edited by sinedeviance; February 29th, 2012 at 03:04..

KrossX · February 29th, 2012, 04:09

It's en emulator issue I'm afraid. Use another emulator that supports plugins like PCSXR, if you want to keep the pretty look.

__________________

Muscab · February 29th, 2012, 06:35

What happen when you disable Shader effects?

sinedeviance · February 29th, 2012, 06:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by KrossX

It's en emulator issue I'm afraid. Use another emulator that supports plugins like PCSXR, if you want to keep the pretty look.

I figured it was an emulator issue. That's a shame, but thanks for the heads up. I'll just keep using pSX to play Grandia; it honestly does look pretty good with bilenear interpolation turned on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muscab

What happen when you disable Shader effects?

Nothing changes. I've tried every GPU plugin under the sun and no amount of config tweaking or swapping plugins seems to help.

__________________
http://www.nodanites.com/

KrossX · February 29th, 2012, 06:40

http://forums.ngemu.com/showpost.php...&postcount=159

Don't use SSSPSX though, or you'll get some hangs in other places. There's now a nice PCSXR at least. XD

__________________

sinedeviance · February 29th, 2012, 06:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by KrossX

http://forums.ngemu.com/showpost.php...&postcount=159

Don't use SSSPSX though, or you'll get some hangs in other places. There's now a nice PCSXR at least. XD

Wow, I googled and googled and that post never came up! Thanks for pointing that out to me.

I might give PCSX-R a try. The builds from late 2010 are pretty good?

__________________
http://www.nodanites.com/

KrossX · February 29th, 2012, 07:34

The last change was today, so I think you should pretty much get a newer build. XD

__________________

sinedeviance · February 29th, 2012, 07:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by KrossX

The last change was today, so I think you should pretty much get a newer build. XD

You mean the SVN releases? I'll give em' a shot, thanks

__________________
http://www.nodanites.com/

Genius_GZA · February 29th, 2012, 15:35

Well that game tends to do that, i recommend using epsxe 1.7 with epsxe_shark - it fixed all kind of slowdowns for me in Grandia and other games

__________________
My specs: Core i7 3930k, GeForce 660Ti, 16GB RAM

sinedeviance · March 1st, 2012, 12:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genius_GZA

Well that game tends to do that, i recommend using epsxe 1.7 with epsxe_shark - it fixed all kind of slowdowns for me in Grandia and other games

Thanks, but I've switched to pSX and the latest SVN release of PCSX-R. Everything is working well now

__________________
http://www.nodanites.com/

Hoptap · January 8th, 2013, 23:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinedeviance

Thanks, but I've switched to pSX and the latest SVN release of PCSX-R. Everything is working well now

I had the same problem and I switched over to PCSX-R but It didn't change anything. Care to share what you did to fix it?

gmtash · January 9th, 2013, 00:22

I'm not getting any FPS drops here with ePSXe 1.8.0 (Retro GF2Ti, 1.5ghz, WinXP).

Well, there are the "emulated" slowdowns that actually happen with the real PSX, but FPS remain stable.

sinedeviance · January 9th, 2013, 16:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoptap

I had the same problem and I switched over to PCSX-R but It didn't change anything. Care to share what you did to fix it?

I'm honestly not sure. It 'just worked' no matter how high the visual settings were cranked up to. I remember I was using Pete's OGL2 and whatever the stock PCSX-R audio plugin was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmtash

I'm not getting any FPS drops here with ePSXe 1.8.0 (Retro GF2Ti, 1.5ghz, WinXP).

Well, there are the "emulated" slowdowns that actually happen with the real PSX, but FPS remain stable.

Same speeds I had with pSX and PCSX-R.

__________________
http://www.nodanites.com/

the_randomizer · March 1st, 2012, 00:18

If only that fixed the BOF4 slowdown issues (some towns would get extremely sluggish, like the one where you have to find the kids playing hide n' seek).

__________________
CPU - 3rd Gen Core i5 3570 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz Turbo Boost)
Extensions - MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EIST,
AVX, Hyper Threading, Intel VT-x, AES-NI, Turbo Boost 2.0, TXT, Smart Cache
GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 660 2 GB GDDR5
RAM - 8192MB DDR3 SDRAM 1333
OS - Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
HDD - Western Digital 1 TB

"If you call up your local hardware store and ask them how you can put tractor tires onto a 1990 Honda, well there's gonna be some laughter, a visit from the cops, maybe a psychiatric nurse." - Red Green

the_randomizer · January 9th, 2013, 17:03

Guess ePSXe 1.8.0 fixed the emulator core issues, as Breath of Fire IV no longer slows down to <15 fps in large dungeons or towns.

__________________
CPU - 3rd Gen Core i5 3570 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz Turbo Boost)
Extensions - MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EIST,
AVX, Hyper Threading, Intel VT-x, AES-NI, Turbo Boost 2.0, TXT, Smart Cache
GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 660 2 GB GDDR5
RAM - 8192MB DDR3 SDRAM 1333
OS - Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
HDD - Western Digital 1 TB

"If you call up your local hardware store and ask them how you can put tractor tires onto a 1990 Honda, well there's gonna be some laughter, a visit from the cops, maybe a psychiatric nurse." - Red Green

February 29th, 2012, 02:47	#1
sinedeviance The Great Oppression Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Posts: 6	Very slow portions in Grandia Hi all! I've been trying to run Grandia in ePSXe with a decent framerate to no avail. The game runs at a steady 60 (30) fps most of the time, but there are places in-game that become a slideshow. Cutscenes are especially affected here; for example, when the camera pans and pulls outward to reveal a large portion of the town of Parm at the very beginning of the game. In these sequences my framerate drops as low as 10-15fps. Not unplayable, but definitely unacceptable for my system spec (see below.) For reference, every other game I've been running (Vagrant Story is one of those) plays smoothly in ePSXe. To work around this problem, I have been playing Grandia in pSX and getting a perfect 60fps. Everything is working great, in fact. I'd just like to see if any of you know what could be going wrong with ePSXe here? Okay, so now that I've described the problem, let me delve into my configuration and setup. My system specs: Rosewill Destroyer case with lots of 80/120mm fans. Seasonic M12II 80PLUS Bronze 620w modular PSU. Plenty of power for this beast. Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 mainboard Intel Core i3 530 dual-core @ 2.93ghz Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro HSF; keeps my CPU at a frosty 32C. XFX ATI HD5850 1GB 2x2 (4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600, dualchannel 1TB WD Black HDD So, as you can tell from my spec, it's quite a nice rig and I have no problems running every game on the shelf at max settings. This includes the likes of Crysis, Skyrim, Just Cause 2, Deus Ex: HR, etc. etc., as well as PS2 games in PCSX2 using 3x internal render at perfect framerates, and same settings for Gamecube games in Dolphin. My point being, this rig tears up everything I throw at it so it really should have no trouble running Grandia at full speed in ePSXe. Okay, now emulation setup: Tested in ePSXe 1.5.2, 1.6.0, and 1.7.0. All had same results in Grandia. Using ePSXe CDR WinNT/2k Core, Eternal SPU 1.41, Pete's OGL2 2.9. Pete's and Eternal SPU configs below: I have tried using just about every other GPU, SPU, and CD plugin available with no changes; it seems to be a core problem? I am running Grandia from the original NTSC two-disc set. I also tried making an ISO of disc one and running from that; the slowdown problem persists. Google turned up nothing, Grandia is listed as good on ePSXe compatibility lists. As I stated before, the game has been running absolutely perfect in pSX so I don't think it's my copy of Grandia. So... anybody got any ideas? __________________ http://www.nodanites.com/ Last edited by sinedeviance; February 29th, 2012 at 03:04..*

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February 29th, 2012, 04:09	#2
KrossX クロッスエクス Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Argentina Posts: 3,716	It's en emulator issue I'm afraid. Use another emulator that supports plugins like PCSXR, if you want to keep the pretty look. __________________

February 29th, 2012, 06:35	#3
Muscab The Phantom Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Toilet Posts: 309	What happen when you disable Shader effects?

February 29th, 2012, 06:40	#5
KrossX クロッスエクス Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Argentina Posts: 3,716	http://forums.ngemu.com/showpost.php...&postcount=159 Don't use SSSPSX though, or you'll get some hangs in other places. There's now a nice PCSXR at least. XD __________________

February 29th, 2012, 07:34	#7
KrossX クロッスエクス Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Argentina Posts: 3,716	The last change was today, so I think you should pretty much get a newer build. XD __________________

February 29th, 2012, 15:35	#9
Genius_GZA GameCube Player! Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Shaolin Temple , The Tibet Mountains Posts: 1,290	Well that game tends to do that, i recommend using epsxe 1.7 with epsxe_shark - it fixed all kind of slowdowns for me in Grandia and other games __________________ My specs: Core i7 3930k, GeForce 660Ti, 16GB RAM

January 9th, 2013, 00:22	#12
gmtash T'Ash Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 135	I'm not getting any FPS drops here with ePSXe 1.8.0 (Retro GF2Ti, 1.5ghz, WinXP). Well, there are the "emulated" slowdowns that actually happen with the real PSX, but FPS remain stable.

March 1st, 2012, 00:18	#14
the_randomizer The King of Dinner Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Posts: 2,653	If only that fixed the BOF4 slowdown issues (some towns would get extremely sluggish, like the one where you have to find the kids playing hide n' seek). __________________ CPU - 3rd Gen Core i5 3570 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz Turbo Boost) Extensions - MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EIST, AVX, Hyper Threading, Intel VT-x, AES-NI, Turbo Boost 2.0, TXT, Smart Cache GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 660 2 GB GDDR5 RAM - 8192MB DDR3 SDRAM 1333 OS - Windows 7 Professional 64-bit HDD - Western Digital 1 TB "If you call up your local hardware store and ask them how you can put tractor tires onto a 1990 Honda, well there's gonna be some laughter, a visit from the cops, maybe a psychiatric nurse." - Red Green

January 9th, 2013, 17:03	#15
the_randomizer The King of Dinner Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Posts: 2,653	Guess ePSXe 1.8.0 fixed the emulator core issues, as Breath of Fire IV no longer slows down to <15 fps in large dungeons or towns. __________________ CPU - 3rd Gen Core i5 3570 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz Turbo Boost) Extensions - MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EIST, AVX, Hyper Threading, Intel VT-x, AES-NI, Turbo Boost 2.0, TXT, Smart Cache GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 660 2 GB GDDR5 RAM - 8192MB DDR3 SDRAM 1333 OS - Windows 7 Professional 64-bit HDD - Western Digital 1 TB "If you call up your local hardware store and ask them how you can put tractor tires onto a 1990 Honda, well there's gonna be some laughter, a visit from the cops, maybe a psychiatric nurse." - Red Green