I just returned home from a two week trip to visit family in California. While I was out there, one of my friends had gotten a brand new gaming computer. i9 cpu, 32 gbs of ram, rtx series 20 graphics, ssd…the whole 9 yards.
I noticed immediately after loading Conan Exiles on to it that the game plays with the same performance issues and bugs as it does on my two year old high end gaming PC at home. But it has added features such as now my character makes noises like she’s getting bent over a rock by a hillbilly from the movie Deliverance and she incessantly coughs like she has COPD and emphysema. Gotta tell ya…that’s not immersive, it’s annoying. Then there’s the standard new dungeon and more DLC eye candy etc…etc… The new movements when the character is idle are a nice touch.
Anyway…as the title asks, doesn’t anyone from Funcom remember this thread:
Look, I appreciate the fact that new content is added and Funcom is making an effort to keep the players engaged, but I have to ask…exactly how much effort is being put into fixing the base game’s performance and bugs? This is a direct question to Funcom and I’d really like a direct and detailed explanation which has never been offered. Unless I missed a post somewhere, all I’ve seen in the way of offering information on the subject is the standard, “We’re aware of it and we’re working on it.”
The above thread was made by Funcom 10 months ago, this game was officially released 17 months ago, yet many of these problems remain. I haven’t bought any DLC because of these issues and I won’t until they’re resolved. Are these issues ever going to be fixed? I hope it’s squared away before the mounts are added, because based on the explanation we got a while back as to why the mounts couldn’t be put in, how would this not become a disaster? The game stutters enough just with the character on foot…add more speed with mounts and mounted combat without fixing it first…wow. What could possibly go wrong…right?
Yes, I remember the thread. My take is the engine performance cannot cope to what it would be desirable performance for CE. I always thought, and still do, that the level of complexity that CE tries to achive is too much for current engine. I have spoken much of this with many players in the servers I’ve played since EA, and I’ve come to think that is not entirely a Funcom’s issue, rather we as gamers are in the early stages of these sandbox type of do-whatever-you-want games. It may take better engines, better coding languages, I don’t know, maybe just the industry is not fully ready to develop a game like this. Do you remember Castle Wolfenstein?, that was the baby, nowadays there is what, Fortnite? (No idea which is top now, not into those games).
Edit: also, there are issues since latest update, so might give you the impression that game is not improved since, and to be fair, performamce has gotten a bit better since that thread.
I was thinking about you the other day, Dave, good to see you! This is great feedback, that another PC is experiencing your reported issues with the game. If it’s not too much trouble, some game capture from the same server on both PCs would be very beneficial. That would include DebugHUD. After that I’ll simulate the virtual PC environment of each spec and see if I can’t find the common link. Glad you’re staying with it.
That would be a perfectly good and logical explanation. What ever the case may be, I’d have liked some honesty and transparency from Funcom from day one.
Getting footage on my friend’s computer wouldn’t be practical. It’s in California and I’m home now on the other side of the country. Plus, she doesn’t own the game…it was downloaded on that computer via my Steam account and as much as I like her, she’s not getting my login information…lol.
Over the past two days, I’ve had a chance to play more of CE and check things out after the update and subsequent hotfix. I’ve found a few other things going on such as now the sound is off. Sometime’s it’ll not make sound at all or the sound will be delayed and broken up (stutter, if you will) after a given action. I’m also still getting unexplained crashes. There’s more, but I’ve come to a point where I can no longer put energy and time into this. The seasons are changing and so must my priorities outside of gaming, thus, I really won’t have much time to sit down and make videos. And to be honest, I don’t want to. I’m socking the game away for now.
After some consideration last night, when I have the time to game over the next few months, it won’t be Conan Exiles unless an update or patch comes out…then I might check things over. Before my trip to California, I purchased a new game and when I do have the time to game, which won’t be much for a bit, I’m going to focus on that one for a while. After nearly 18 months of pounding my head against the wall and never getting any real detailed answers from Funcom for questions such as the ones I’ve posed in my original post, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to step back for a while.
I’ll still be checking these forums to see what, if anything has been changed or improved…might even chime in from time to time. But for now and through necessity, I need to focus my time and energy elsewhere.
Figured I’d check back after a few days concerning the direct questions I posed to Funcom in my OP. As expected…nothing. Typical. I see someone from Funcom taking time to comment on other posts…they must not like the tough questions…or just have no answers for these ones.
No biggie guys. I’m sure this thread will go away soon and everyone can go on ignoring the larger issues as usual.
Without actually saying “bump,” I do try to help raise the visibility of your claims, Dave. You’re a good chap, polite with good feedback. I would help you if I could. Truly, I can simulate almost any PC setup and almost any situation of desync with my assembled kits of tester tools, but without actual footage in feedback I’m at my personal limits. I implore you to capture just a bit of your issue with DebugHUD on the screen – I already have your system specs. If you tell me your monitor’s refresh rate, that’s the only extraneous item.
I appreciate the offer. I decided to scrub Conan Exiles off my hard drive. I really like the new game I bought before my trip and I’ll be focusing on that one when I have time to play anything. Plus, there’s two more I’m chomping at the bit waiting to come out in early 2020. As much as I like the concept of CE, after nearly 18 months of frustration, few results, broken updates, patches and hotfixes, as well as no good explanations from the devs about the poor performance issues and bugs, I’m no longer willing to have a 75GB buggy resource hog that won’t run smoothly taking up space on my high end gaming PC. It’s the only game I’ve ever had on any of my gaming builds where I’ve experienced these sorts of issues in nearly 20 years.
I’ll be keeping my eye on the forums to see if there’s any reason to believe it’ll be worth reinstalling and giving it a run, but in it’s current state I can’t be bothered with it and I don’t expect anything different from Funcom at this point. Actions, or inaction, speaks way louder than words. I hope they do get it right some day. I really liked it.
For the record, you can use Family Sharing to (temporarily) lend her your Conan license while you’re not using it, though it would’ve likely been a lot easier to set up had you done so while “out there”. Family Sharing is (despite the name) perfectly fine for friends’ use also.
Anyway, just wanted to share that in case it’s helpful at some point.
I appreciate the input. Suffice it to say that there are too many variables to make that happen long distance…her schedule being at the top of that list.
This just taken from Multigun’s Developer Stream Recap: Oct. 10, 2019 post:
Twitch Comment: Game is unplayable, please improve performance.
Robert: I wish I could say anything else but a generic answer but: “We’re always looking to improve performance”.
That’s pretty lame and is exactly why after nearly 18 months of poor performance, frustratingly broken updates, patches, and hotfixes that usually cause more problems than they solve, I just scrubbed this game from my PC. There’s still people who can’t even play it because of performance issues.
Why can there be no detailed explanation?
Oh well…I’ll still be checking the forums just on the off chance that Funcom decides to give this issue it’s due diligence and takes it seriously. I’d think having a well running game would bring more players back and attract new ones than putting mounts and more eye candy over a bug ridden performance problem, but what do I know.
How detailed would satisfy you? Many people, myself included, have not suffered any performance issues for many months now. The performance issues seem to be isolated cases, rather than pandemic, so the level of detail they’d need to go through might actually be checking the hardware compatibility of those individual PCs, which isn’t cost-effective. If the vast majority of computers are running the game without issues, there isn’t much Funcom can do about it.
Apparently the latest patch introduced some new lag to some people. This is something Funcom can identify and maybe fix more easily, because they have a more limited context, ie. the new code introduced in the patch, to go through, rather than checking every variable put into the game since the beginning of time.
With Barnes’s generous help, maybe you guys could figure out what exactly is the matter in your specific case, which in turn may help Funcom figure out if that’s something applicable more widely.
You’re not being helpful in either identifying the cause of Dave’s problem, or anyone else’s. I’m sure all of us acknowledge that the product isn’t perfect - the biggest problem in finding solutions is that in the PC world, just about every rig is different in some regard, and consequently, what works perfectly on someone’s computer may not work on the guy next door’s computer.
Heck, I’m currently installing identical software packages onto half a dozen identical factory-standard Fujitsu laptops with sequential serial numbers, and I’m experiencing random deviations in performance and success.
Pretty detailed. Every bit as detailed as the information they ask for when we report bugs. They built the game, they should know it inside and out. Yet they remain silent. Some explanation other than “we’re aware of it and are working on it” would have been nice. Generic responses to problems like this just anger people…common sense.
You’re lucky. Many people still do including everyone I’ve played the game with and I’ve read countless forum posts (not only on this forum) where people have left the game due to the performance issues. Ignoring it won’t make it go away for all those players. Funcom wants to bring back players, fixing the game would go a long way to making that happen.
Based on all the information I’ve gathered to date I’m not buying that. You can read about it on other sites rather than just this forum.
That’s been done and redone. It seems there’s plenty Funcom can do about it.The patches, updates, and hot fixes have been the only variables that have made any difference and this is the only game I and my cohorts have that we have these issues with. Early on even Funcom ruled out my rig when they bothered to respond. I’d say that narrows it down. The vast majority? Poppycock. Maybe the vast majority of people who still play the game. Do you even know how many people have walked away from CE due to performance issues and bugs? Do some research.
“The latest patch introduced some new lag to some people.” Are you even listening to yourself? As we all know, many of the patches have come with new issues, performance and otherwise. It’s a matter of record. Our computers didn’t change. I remember one patch actually had a lot of the problem fixed for me. I praised Funcom for that. The patch after that screwed it all up again. Do the math.
Like I’ve said many times, the patches, updates, and hotfixes have been the only variables that have had an impact on these issues. And these issues have been present since the beginning. So I’d say they do need to dig pretty deep to figure it out. As far as I know, all they’ve done is put a bandaid on a much larger wound, hence my request for more detailed explanations. I want them to prove me wrong. They’ve chosen to be evasive and/or silent on this which doesn’t help assuage suspicion that either they know what the problem is and aren’t willing/able to address it or they just don’t know what they’re doing.
Did you bother to read the other comments? I’m not interested in reinstalling the game to make a couple of videos and I’m focusing on other things and other games when I have time to game. I’ve already put far too much time and energy into finding answers and that’s only because I had a passion for this game. That passion has left the building. As I’ve said, I’m merely checking back on these and other forums from here on out to see if Funcom has bothered to tighten up the performance and bug issues in their game. If/when I feel convinced that they have, I’ll considering reinstalling. After nearly 18 months it’s become crystal clear to me that the problem does not reside in my or my friend’s computers.
Barnes is indeed generous. Maybe someone else is willing to put forth the effort and make some videos for him to inspect.
Thanks. As you are the arbiter of this particular “hitch” as you called it or “stutter” terminology as you later adopted, it’s truly up to you whether you want to help out a large number of players, or whether you’d like me to continue stabbing away at it. I know and can simulate almost any style of bottleneck or exogenous loss of fps, and through interaction can often isolate or help identify it. There is apparently a larger playerbase involved, from your description. I’m always willing to hold up my end of the deal, player to player.
Whichever way you go, pleasant journeys. If you get the Cone bug again, I’ll be here, breakin rocks.
Actually, I don’t know. If you can provide me with the numbers and a source, I’ll be happy to check them out.
I’m stating what I’m seeing. The latest patch did not introduce any new lag to me (although it did reintroduce the “vertical aiming bug” that had been gone for several months), and if it bothered a significant majority of people, the number of reports (and rants) on these forums would indicate that. Frankly, I’ve no idea how bad it is for some, even though some video captions of reportedly “unplayable stutter” seems to me more like a minor annoyance rather than anything game-breaking, leading me to think that some people are exaggerating their problems to get more dev attention (which tends to be counter-productive).
The bottom line is: I don’t have all the evidence necessary to say anything about the general state of the game. I don’t see the whole picture. I suspect neither do you. Funcom might have a better idea, or they might not, in which case we’re all screwed sooner or later.
That’s the nature of patching. Redoing the base game code from scratch sounds like a pretty unrealistic endeavor at this point, so bandaids is probably what we’ll be getting till the end of time. (By the way, that’s what Microsoft is doing with their OS and major software, too, so it’s not like this is a Funcom-specific problem or applicable to only small companies.)
“More detailed explanations” would probably require that someone who has done a significant part of the game’s original programming came and gave us a lengthy lecture in techno-jargon. I’ll be the first to admit that I wouldn’t understand much of that. It’s also possible that they don’t have an explanation. If they knew what was wrong with your game, they may have said so already, even if they had been unable to fix it.
Yes, I did. It’s your choice whether you still want to participate in helping to find solutions. I understand you’re frustrated. I understand you’re ready to throw in the towel after all this time. But you started this thread, so it seems you’re still interested enough to at least discuss the matter. So I would request that you tone down your hostile tone a little - believe it or not, we’re on the same side here. We want the game to be good and successful. But to do that, we need to provide Funcom with all the facts we can - not only facts about what’s not working (I’ve never doubted the accuracy of your reports, you’re a competent enough fellow to know what you’re talking about) but also facts about what is working. The latter will help Funcom to narrow down the variables that might cause your issues. It’s not being a fanboy, as some people seem to think - it’s providing accurate data from all sides.
I have to chime in as a software developer and say the only way to have a stable software is stopping the development. While you are adding functionality there will aways be bugs, even using automates testing.
On a game of this scale even more, you simply can’t regression test everything again after each patch.
The problems with performance after some patches started because CE is maxing the unreal map size and it involves so much processing, not only graphics but I think the bottleneck is actually processing power here and maybe even the engine.
Just look how the AI bugs when there are many players on the server, there is just too much gping on for the current technology.
That is why I say Conan exiles is a game ahead of its time. To fully realize the original vision we need more computation power, more efficient engine, etc. Maybe in some years that will be possible, but don’t expect it to run on today’s hardware then.
The team is actually looking for performance improvement wherever they can, the latest testlive imrpoved loading times and reduced stuttering for me, basically they optimized textures and 3d objects. They must make those performance improvements to be able to further implement systems like mounts because the overall system is getting overtaxed with so much it already has. It’s very delicate balance to be able to maintain it playable and new features enjoyable.
To what end? Sorry, I’m not going to search for, then copy and paste every forum thread I’ve read concerning this over the past 17 months.
If you have no idea, then perhaps you should refrain from commenting on the topic. It’s no minor annoyance. I’m not saying at least some people may be exaggerating, but I can tell you from first hand experience that I was unable to play this game for a spell. I can’t remember exactly which one did it…it may have been the big patch from last December…but I was unable to play the game until the patch that came after. You’d clearly be surprised at the lack of hyperbole when people are describing the issues.
Which is exactly why discussing this with you is going to remain a pointless circular discussion and why I posed these questions to Funcom.
I didn’t buy a game from Microsoft.
Not so. Something like what Agnusthemagi posted below, if that’s the case, would be an acceptable explanation…if it came from Funcom.
Hostile tone? I haven’t felt hostile toward anything in a very long time. I don’t know how you came up with that unless you’re mistaking my forthright approach as hostile. Most people aren’t used to it. These days people like to beat around the bush or yell at each other. Nor am I being pretentious.
Probably because your posts seem to leap to Funcom’s defense. (I said “seem” not that you actual do…I wouldn’t know) Angry people want answers, not opinions from people who don’t work at Funcom. Having a game 17 months post official release that plays like a game still in early access is indefensible and, at least in my purview, inexcusable without some reasonable explanations from the developer.
Funcom has received plenty of true and accurate data from myself and other users in forum threads and the myriad of crash reports that have been sent.
Sounds like a perfectly reasonable explanation and it makes sense. Too bad we can’t get Funcom to confirm this or offer something else. Thanks for that input.
