WinEQ2.x problems

[Harbinger]

OK, I've been putting off troubleshooting this for a while now since I haven't wanted to spend the time. I'm starting this thread in an attempt to begin the troubleshooting process.

WinEQ1.38 works fine, no problems. WinEQ2 has the following problems: random crashes when switching between sessions (possibly due to the multithreaded window options? I need to confirm that it crashes with it on/off/etc), video lag that seems to get worse during after each zone, until ultimately FPS drops to 1 and I'm forced to camp/relog, and I've noticed increased texture memory in WinEQ2 over 1 (on the order of 200+MB differences).


The following is from 2 running sessions immediatly after entering the game world.
-----

WinEQ 2 System Information
System:
-----------------------------------
Windows Version: Microsoft Windows XP/Service Pack 2/2600.xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158
System Physical RAM: 433/2047MB
Page File: 2374/3944MB
Virtual Memory: 1069/2047MB (Extended: 0MB)
CPU 1: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz @ 3207MHz
CPU 2: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz @ 3207MHz
Video 1: \\.\DISPLAY1/NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT
Video 2: \\.\DISPLAYV1/NetMeeting driver
Video 3: \\.\DISPLAYV2/RDPDD Chained DD
Monitor 1: \\.\DISPLAY1 (0,0,1280,1024) (1280x1024) PRIMARY
Sound: SB Audigy 2 Audio [A000]
DirectX: 4.09.00.0904
Internet Explorer: 6.0.2900.2180
WinEQ: 2.07

Loaded Modules:
-----------------------------------
Module 0: C:\Games\EverQuest\eqgame.exe
Module 1: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntdll.dll
Module 2: C:\WINDOWS\system32\kernel32.dll
Module 3: C:\Games\EverQuest\mss32.dll
Module 4: C:\WINDOWS\system32\USER32.dll
Module 5: C:\WINDOWS\system32\GDI32.dll
Module 6: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WINMM.dll
Module 7: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ADVAPI32.dll
Module 8: C:\WINDOWS\system32\RPCRT4.dll
Module 9: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WSOCK32.dll
Module 10: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WS2_32.dll
Module 11: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msvcrt.dll
Module 12: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WS2HELP.dll
Module 13: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DINPUT8.dll
Module 14: C:\WINDOWS\system32\IMM32.dll
Module 15: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHELL32.dll
Module 16: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHLWAPI.dll
Module 17: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ole32.dll
Module 18: C:\WINDOWS\WinSxS\x86_Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.2600.2180_x-ww_a84f1ff9\comctl32.dll
Module 19: C:\WINDOWS\system32\comctl32.dll
Module 20: C:\Program Files\WinEQ2\WinEQ2.dll
Module 21: C:\WINDOWS\Lavish.dll
Module 22: C:\WINDOWS\system32\PSAPI.DLL
Module 23: C:\Program Files\WinEQ2\WinEQ2-EQ.dll
Module 24: C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSIMG32.dll
Module 25: C:\Program Files\WinEQ2\WinEQ2-D3D9.dll
Module 26: C:\Program Files\WinEQ2\WinEQ2-D3D8.dll
Module 27: C:\Program Files\WinEQ2\WinEQ2-DI8.dll
Module 28: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mswsock.dll
Module 29: C:\WINDOWS\system32\hnetcfg.dll
Module 30: C:\WINDOWS\System32\wshtcpip.dll
Module 31: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DNSAPI.dll
Module 32: C:\WINDOWS\System32\winrnr.dll
Module 33: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WLDAP32.dll
Module 34: C:\WINDOWS\system32\rasadhlp.dll
Module 35: C:\WINDOWS\system32\uxtheme.dll
Module 36: C:\PROGRAM FILES\FRAPS\FRAPS.DLL
Module 37: C:\WINDOWS\system32\PGPhk.dll
Module 38: C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSCTF.dll
Module 39: C:\WINDOWS\system32\NTMARTA.DLL
Module 40: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SAMLIB.dll
Module 41: C:\Games\EverQuest\EQGraphicsDX9.DLL
Module 42: C:\WINDOWS\system32\d3d9.dll
Module 43: C:\WINDOWS\system32\d3d8thk.dll
Module 44: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VERSION.dll
Module 45: C:\Games\EverQuest\dpvs.dll
Module 46: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctagent.dll
Module 47: C:\WINDOWS\system32\HID.DLL
Module 48: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SETUPAPI.DLL
Module 49: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WINTRUST.dll
Module 50: C:\WINDOWS\system32\CRYPT32.dll
Module 51: C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSASN1.dll
Module 52: C:\WINDOWS\system32\IMAGEHLP.dll
Module 53: C:\WINDOWS\system32\usp10.dll
Module 54: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mslbui.dll
Module 55: C:\WINDOWS\system32\OLEAUT32.DLL
Module 56: C:\Games\EverQuest\mssmp3.asi
Module 57: C:\Games\EverQuest\mssvoice.asi
Module 58: C:\Games\EverQuest\mssa3d.m3d
Module 59: C:\Games\EverQuest\mssds3d.m3d
Module 60: C:\Games\EverQuest\mssdx7.m3d
Module 61: C:\Games\EverQuest\msseax.m3d
Module 62: C:\Games\EverQuest\mssrsx.m3d
Module 63: C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSACM32.dll
Module 64: C:\Games\EverQuest\msssoft.m3d
Module 65: C:\Games\EverQuest\mssdsp.flt
Module 66: C:\WINDOWS\system32\wdmaud.drv
Module 67: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msacm32.drv
Module 68: C:\WINDOWS\system32\midimap.dll
Module 69: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DSOUND.DLL
Module 70: C:\WINDOWS\system32\KsUser.dll

Direct3D9:
-----------------------------------
Driver: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT/nv4_disp.dll/6/14/10/6693
Adapter Display Mode: 1280x1024 D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8
Game Display Mode: 1280x1024 D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8
Current Adapter: 0
Available Texture Memory: 198MB
Direct3D8:
-----------------------------------
Adapter Display Mode: 0x0 D3DFMT_UNKNOWN
Game Display Mode: 0x0 D3DFMT_UNKNOWN
Current Adapter: 0
Available Texture Memory: (not currently available)
DirectInput8:
-----------------------------------

EverQuest:
-----------------------------------
Profile 1: Eityn
EQ Path: C:\Games\EverQuest
EQClient.ini: .\eqclient-eityn.ini
Patch: OFF Test Server: OFF Locale: us
Video Adapter: Application Controlled
Luclin models: 29 (+145 min RAM)
Texture Compression: ON (+0 min RAM)
MipMapping: ON (+4 min RAM)
Sound: ON (+22 min RAM)
Dynamic Lighting: ON (+4 min RAM)
Texture Quality: HIGH (+32 min RAM)
Sky: COMPLEX (+10 min RAM)
Calculated minimum RAM: 500MB (BASE+217MB)
Level of Detail: 1
MaxFPS: 100
Additional setting: VertexShaders=1
Additional setting: 20PixelShaders=1
Additional setting: 1xPixelShaders=1

[Harbinger]

WinEQ1, two sessions up: Texture Memory 390; System Memory 604(2047) 30%

Camped to desktop, exited WEQ1, loaded WEQ2, loaded two sessions. Texture Memory 203; System Memory 427 (2047) 21%

I'd imaging that varying the number of players in a zone would effect the above, but at the time of day this was done I can't see that accounting for the differences.

-Harbinger

[Lax]

similar setup, slight differences:
CPU 1: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2600+ @ 1913MHz
Video 1: \\.\DISPLAY1/NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700
Video 2: \\.\DISPLAY2/NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700
Monitor 1: \\.\DISPLAY1 (0,0,1280,1024) (1280x1024) PRIMARY
Monitor 2: \\.\DISPLAY2 (-1280,0,0,1024) (1280x1024)
Sound: SB Audigy Audio [9000]
and the same video driver
Driver: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700/nv4_disp.dll/6/14/10/6693

I tested both WinEQ 1 and WinEQ 2, with one character in POK and one in POT.

I used the same eqclient.ini file for all, with these settings shown in sysinfo.txt
EverQuest:
-----------------------------------
Profile 1: WinEQ 2.0 Default Profile
EQ Path: c:\program files\everquest
EQClient.ini: .\eqclient.ini
Patch: OFF Test Server: OFF Locale: us
Video Adapter: Application Controlled
Luclin models: 29 (+145 min RAM)
MipMapping: ON (+4 min RAM)
Dynamic Lighting: ON (+4 min RAM)
Texture Quality: MEDIUM (+30 min RAM)
Sky: COMPLEX (+10 min RAM)
Calculated minimum RAM: 476MB (BASE+193MB)
Level of Detail: 0
MaxFPS: 100
Additional setting: VertexShaders=TRUE
Additional setting: 20PixelShaders=TRUE
Additional setting: 1xPixelShaders=TRUE

EQPlayNice was running with WinEQ 2, but not with WinEQ 1.

WinEQ 1: 346MB remaining texture memory, 450MB system RAM
WinEQ 2: 369MB texture (spinning each character around 360 degrees dropped this down to 346, same as WinEQ 1; I dont recall if I did that or not with WinEQ 1), 405MB system

I cant imagine what happened to 190MB texture memory in your test, but the 180MB system memory can probably be attributed to different eqclient.ini settings? Your profile shows a custom EQClient.ini file, so I would make sure that in your tests you're using the same settings on all characters.

I would definitely try closing all running software to see if any of it is causing issues with WinEQ 2. For example, FRAPS and PGP are both hooking into the process and could conceivably cause problems.
Module 36: C:\PROGRAM FILES\FRAPS\FRAPS.DLL
Module 37: C:\WINDOWS\system32\PGPhk.dll

As far as crashing when alt+tabbing, this behavior can be expected on some systems if you turned the multithreaded window option ON. It's OFF by default for this reason. With it OFF, it should work just like WinEQ 1.38 in that respect.

[Harbinger]

Repeated the test using the same eqclient.ini, although in the first test with two different eqclients.ini those files only differed in a few items that should affect memory usage (attackonassist, crits on/off, using 1 instead of true, etc).

So, same rough resulsts. Standing in PoT near PoS zone int, did a 360 on both sessions on both 1 and 2.

WinEQ2: Texture: 180 System Memory: 430(2047) 21%
WinEQ1: Texture: 382 System Memory: 626(2047) 32%

Next I'm going to confirm multithreaded window is off and check for the random crashing on alt-tabbing. I, as I'm sure everyone else who has come to these forums, appreciates your responsivenesss and eagerness to help.

-Harbinger


WinEQ 2 System Information
System:
-----------------------------------
Windows Version: Microsoft Windows XP/Service Pack 2/2600.xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158
System Physical RAM: 432/2047MB
Page File: 2385/3944MB
Virtual Memory: 1064/2047MB (Extended: 0MB)
CPU 1: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz @ 3207MHz
CPU 2: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz @ 3207MHz
Video 1: \\.\DISPLAY1/NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT
Video 2: \\.\DISPLAYV1/NetMeeting driver
Video 3: \\.\DISPLAYV2/RDPDD Chained DD
Monitor 1: \\.\DISPLAY1 (0,0,1280,1024) (1280x1024) PRIMARY
Sound: SB Audigy 2 Audio [A000]
DirectX: 4.09.00.0904
Internet Explorer: 6.0.2900.2180
WinEQ: 2.07

Direct3D9:
-----------------------------------
Driver: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT/nv4_disp.dll/6/14/10/6693
Adapter Display Mode: 1280x1024 D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8
Game Display Mode: 1280x1024 D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8
Current Adapter: 0
Available Texture Memory: 180MB
Direct3D8:
-----------------------------------
Adapter Display Mode: 0x0 D3DFMT_UNKNOWN
Game Display Mode: 0x0 D3DFMT_UNKNOWN
Current Adapter: 0
Available Texture Memory: (not currently available)
DirectInput8:
-----------------------------------

EverQuest:
-----------------------------------
Profile 1: Eityn
EQ Path: C:\Games\EverQuest
EQClient.ini: .\eqclient.ini
Patch: OFF Test Server: OFF Locale: us
Video Adapter: Application Controlled
Luclin models: 29 (+145 min RAM)
Texture Compression: ON (+0 min RAM)
MipMapping: ON (+4 min RAM)
Sound: ON (+22 min RAM)
Dynamic Lighting: ON (+4 min RAM)
Texture Quality: HIGH (+32 min RAM)
Sky: COMPLEX (+10 min RAM)
Calculated minimum RAM: 500MB (BASE+217MB)
Level of Detail: 1
MaxFPS: 100
Additional setting: VertexShaders=1
Additional setting: 20PixelShaders=1
Additional setting: 1xPixelShaders=1

[Lax]

I'm curious to know if your system has the same memory issue with Inner Space, which uses a much better design handling DirectX. Right now there's no way of grabbing texture memory information in it, but I'm working on adding this right now, along with a default hotkey for adding a memory indicator like WinEQ's.

The questions your memory/video issue presents to me are..
1) Is this directly related to EQ supporting the 6800?
2) Is EQ mismanaging DirectX resources when zoning?

And crashing when alt+tabbing .. how often does it happen? 1 in 10? 1 in 20? 1 in 100? 1000? I'm also wondering if maybe this issue is related to hyperthreading, since it doesnt happen for everyone and it certainly hasnt happened to me.

I might just have to fit a test system with a P4 3.2 prescott and GeForce 6800 GT into my budget pretty soon, since I dont have similar hardware in my other systems.

[Harbinger]

I'm curious to know if your system has the same memory issue with Inner Space, which uses a much better design handling DirectX. Right now there's no way of grabbing texture memory information in it, but I'm working on adding this right now, along with a default hotkey for adding a memory indicator like WinEQ's.

I'll check with Innerspace.

The questions your memory/video issue presents to me are..
1) Is this directly related to EQ supporting the 6800?
2) Is EQ mismanaging DirectX resources when zoning?

1) EQ did have some trouble with the 6800, requiring HardwareTnL=True in the ini, but forcing TnL is no longer needed.
2) Zoned into to BoT, killed a little with what I would imagine at least 50 session switches with no problems. Zoned out to PoT, zone back into BoT, back out to PoT. At this point, FPS dropped down to 2-3, zoned back into BoT, one session crashed. These slowdowns feel the same as when EQ wasn't enabling hardware TnL, although I'm sure it could easily be one of a dozen other things causing it. I never experience this behavior with 1.38.

And crashing when alt+tabbing .. how often does it happen? 1 in 10? 1 in 20? 1 in 100? 1000? I'm also wondering if maybe this issue is related to hyperthreading, since it doesnt happen for everyone and it certainly hasnt happened to me.

This is probably the the Multithreaded Window option, see my answer to 2 above. WHen it did crash, it happens using before 50ish alt-tabs, usually closer to 20ish. I'll disable HT in the bios and see what happens.

-Harbinger

[Harbinger]

2) Zoned into to BoT, killed a little with what I would imagine at least 50 session switches with no problems. Zoned out to PoT, zone back into BoT, back out to PoT. At this point, FPS dropped down to 2-3, zoned back into BoT, one session crashed. These slowdowns feel the same as when EQ wasn't enabling hardware TnL, although I'm sure it could easily be one of a dozen other things causing it. I never experience this behavior with 1.38.

I'm checking a theory that FRAPs is causing some problems. Here is what I'm working off of.

1) Multithreaded Window is causing the crashes when alt-tabbing. I will need to do some prolonged sessions with it off to ensure this is the cause.
2) With respect to the slowdown quoted above, I'm going to check if FRAPS is causing this. I noticed that FRAPs was encoding video after a crash, although I did not hit (AFAIK) the FRAPs record hotkey (End). Either I hit the ENd key or somehow FRAPs is receiving and End key event from something. I will need to do some testing with some longer sessions to see if this is the case.
3) The memory issue. No clue what's going on here. I did disable HT in the bios and zoned both sessions 16 times with no problems or reduction of memory.

-Harbinger

[Harbinger]

Innerspace:

Two sessions using same ini I think. All I did was install IS and modify the EQ path from program files\eq to games\eq. I'm not sure how to check memory in IS itself, and you previously stated that IS can't display texture memory yet. Using Task Manager, performance tab, under phsyical memory I show 662 MB available (I divided the available number by 1024).

If I should be checking memory usage under IS differently let me know.

-Harbinger

[Harbinger]

For what it's worth, I swear that more than once I've right-clicked on the FRAPs tray icon and chosen the Exit Fraps option, only to have WinEQ2 close FRAPs remain.

-Harbinger

[Lax]

For IS you can add a HUD element like this through the in-game console (hit ` key)
HUDAdd "Memory Indicator" 0,0 "Available System RAM: ${System.MemFree}/${System.MemTotal}"
(name, position, text)

It will have texture memory in the next build. It DOES have next/previous session keys CTRL+ALT+Z/X and most of the other main WinEQ hotkeys, but has some minor annoyances still for EQ1, mainly because of not auto-releasing the mouse during zoning (which will be implemented in the next release or two). So you could objectively test session switching with Inner Space and compare the crash rate to your WinEQ 2 experience. You can also check the framerate; to add a framerate HUD element do this:
HUDAdd FPS 20,35 "FPS: ${FPS}"
Then you can check for issues with zoning as well.

[Harbinger]

WinEQ2, Fraps off, Multithreaded Window off, HT on, EQPN off. Zoned into Dranik's Scar, ran a little ways, with FPS constantly declining until I go no longer move. Had to camp out. Texture memory down to 32MB. Once one session camped out, the other could move, texture memory jumped up to 380ish.

-Harbinger

[Lax]

Hmmm is this possibly related to specific new zones? I havent played EQ in over a year so my accounts dont have the last couple expansions.

[Harbinger]

Hmmm is this possibly related to specific new zones? I havent played EQ in over a year so my accounts dont have the last couple expansions.

OoW zones do require more mem and texmem, but under 1.38 I have no problems. I also experience this in PoP zones.

-Harbinger

[Lax]

Well, I'm aware that each expansion ends up requiring more memory in zones than previous, but what I'm asking is does this only happen in specific zones such as OoW, or will the same happen in Plane of Knowledge, Plane of Tranquility or Bazaar (usually my testing is in these 3 zones)