ComEd causing screen tearing

[Anna]

Hello everyone,

   The ComEd client has some good features and is useful, but it causes major screen tearing/input lag for me. Maxfps 1000 doesn't help (not a framerate issue), vsync is off, and any other client works fine. I'm using the nightly build package. Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.

[frosty]

i think this problem can be addressed depending on whether you are an editor or a fragger.

if you are an editor i would simply type the following command without the quotations: "/vsync 1; resetgl" to verify that it worked load any map and check your fps. if it is capped at 60 or lower then it should be working and you should have no screen tearing.

however, if you are a competitive fragger like me, turning on vsync is a bad solution, vsync will cause mouse input lag meaning there is a delay between your hand moving the mouse and the player looking around on the screen, making it very difficult to aim. i would firstly ask what fps you generally get when loading a map. for me my fps has to be well over 200 for me to fix the screen tearing. i would try lowering certain graphics settings to see if u can increase your framerate, these are the settings i use http://i.imgur.com/bbUtFxm.jpg . you dont have to follow exactly my settings but i'd encourage you to experiment with them a little bit. also in the display tab try changing z buffer to 24, it helps me with a tearing bug.

also what graphics processor do you use?

hope this helps.

[Anna]

Hi Frosty,

   Thanks for your reply. I'm a competitive player (trying), so I don't use vsync. For my gfx config, I keep most things sharp but texreduce and get rid of all unnecessary things like glare/motionblur. I'm not sure what is the parallel between framerate and screen tearing (if any) but I noticed that the use of ComEd alone drops my framerate by more than 80 (won't reach 100). Also, when many particles are being rendered, fps drops to around 40 (making the input lag even worse). With the vanilla Sauerbraten client, fps regularly exceeds 160 and barely drops, with the same gfx cfg as used with ComEd, and there's no input lag. I have an AMD a8-5500 (integrated graphics) which is pretty lame but I've used some Sauer mods which are much higher on gfx and cpu requirements, and although my fps stays around 80, there is no input lag like here. Could perhaps sdl2 have something to do with it?

[frosty]

i dont know if this follows for all games but in my many years of experience playing sauer i've found that lower fps causes more visual tearing, hence why i think you should try increasing your framerate. i researched your video processor and compared it to mine, and the results show that your card should perform moderately better than mine. my fps ranges from about 250-350fps. if you dont mind, could you please take 3 screenshots for me of your settings like this?: http://imgur.com/U5hA9kW,e8wqXcl,l59l40D#1     

the reason im asking for this is so i can understand what kind of setup you have. if you dont know how to take screenshots, simply type /screenshot and a .png file will be saved in Documents/My Games/Sauerbraten

the only other issue i can think of is that a setting in the amd catalyst control center is affecting something. i highly doubt sdl2 is the issue because the majority of the competitive community uses an sdl2 mod and have not reported these problems. also if it's possible to capture the tearing with a screenshot that would be helpful as well so i can see exactly what the issue is. also can you please tell me your operating system and whether you are on a 32 or 64 bit machine? lastly, you claim "I've used some Sauer mods which are much higher on gfx and cpu requirements". what kind of mods are you talking about here?

[Anna]

Screenshots of my gfx setting:

http://imgur.com/LMXc9qy
http://imgur.com/Nw297uI
http://imgur.com/AA0crcr

A lot of the buttons are wrong (like the texture quality one) because I usually set vars with the command line or cfg file.

Sauerbraten vanilla client (with ComEd content):

http://imgur.com/1c0h88W
http://imgur.com/1c0h88W

ComEd client (same gfx configs as above):

http://imgur.com/bzM52sG
http://imgur.com/uBYLTuF

I don't change AMD catalyst control center settings at all really (set most by application).
My OS/arch is Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon 64 bit.
The sauer fork I play is Adrenaline Cube 2, in which my fps maxes out at 90, but still has no input lag.

[frosty]

on the display page, try setting all of the values with sliders back to their default value except for z-buffer depth (it says right on the name). if that doesnt work try disabling shaders and/or a combination of both. if that doesnt work i might have to refer you to a different client mod using sdl2 to see if the problem is comed or sdl2. also can you share with me this "adrenaline cube" mod that you have? i've never heard of it before

[Anna]

   I did as you said with the sliders in the display page, still no help with input lag (although fps is higher). I've been playing with the vanilla sauer client using ComEd content, and it's working ok. Some stuff I miss like frags on ctf scoreboard. About Adrenaline Cube 2, this is very much a different game from Sauer and incompatable (a fork like Revelade Revolution or Red Eclipse), and our developer has restricted its distribution to people in our clan until a public release is made. I could ask permission for you to have it but it's probably best to wait until a public release.

[frosty]

dont worry about the mod, i thought it was a modification to replace sauer, not a standalone mod. im unsure of why you would still notice input lag, but im confused what that has to do with screen tearing? what exactly is your problem again?

may i ask that you try a different mod instead?: http://wc-ng.sauerworld.org/builds/nightly/b/list

i would try the sdl2 installer for 64bit linux first, because the whole point of sdl2 is to fix the mouse input lag caused by your video card, it might feel a bit different from a vanilla client which you might perceive as input lag but i cannot judge because i cannot come visit you at your computer and see for myself. if the sdl2 one is still causing you trouble then i would try the sdl1 installer. this mod is a bit different than comed but generally contains similar features. also the menu download link is also necessary so i'd grab that too 

[Anna]

   So my problem shows in 3 ways: input lag, fps drop for no reason, and screen tearing. I'm not sure how exactly to describe it. Incidently, I occasionally have this problem with Source engine games, but I found some odd ways to fix it, such as minimizing then maximizing the window, or restarting my pc. These things don't seem to work with ComEd.
   I tried the mod you posted, it seems quite interesting. I'm using the sdl2 version and have no input lag. Also really nice features like viewing all players on servers. The packaging doesn't work though, sauerbraten_unix.sh won't find the new executable. I'll try it for a bit and see how it affects my playing.
   Edit: this mod still caused input lag, I just didn't test it long enough to see it.

[star]

fpsdrop reason is: that we use sdl2
try setting /vsync 2 and adjust /jitvanticipate to a level that feels comfortable

as you are on arch, i experienced problems myself untill i reinstalled the whole system (no comed wasn't the reason). it often happened when i had the browser open in the background. restarting comed or restarting the whole system helped for a moment, but it always came back.
haven't had any problems since the reinstall, though.

[Anna]

   Thanks Star for the suggestions. Vsync 2 reduced the input lag, but screen tearing was still there. I can't figure out what jitvanticipate does yet.

[frosty]

from what you appear to be asking it looks like you want zero input lag and zero screen tearing. in my experiences these two things are unfortunately like finding a girl who is both pretty and smart, its just impossble 

the reason for this is because vsync delays frames from being shown on screen, making the time slower between when you look around and when it appears on screen. but the amount of input lag can vary from game to game because of the different rendering engines but this is pretty much universal no matter what game you play.

the reason for the tearing when vsync is off is because your graphics card and monitor do not update at the same speed. so your graphics card could be updating at 150 frames per second but you most likely have a 60hz monitor which means it only updates at 60 frames per second. thats how tearing is caused in a nutshell i believe

there might be more to it then that but if you need to understand it better i think google would be your friend. however there is no reason you should have both input lag and screen tearing so i dont think it's a comed/sauer/sdl2 issue. also did you happen to try the wc-ng nightly build for sdl1 as well? vanilla runs on sdl1 as well and i believe you said it works perfectly for you

also it appears your not the only one to have problems with source games https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Source-1-Games/issues/431

[Anna]

   Ok I see what you mean Yes my monitor refresh rate is 60hz, that probably contributes to screen tearing. I'll stick to sdl1 clients for now. Thanks guys for all the help