Community MetaSteam | July 2022 - Stray(t) out of Kowloon.

[Amzin]

I just checked and all graphical settings are basically maxed out, including all the ray-tracing options, and DLSS is on quality mode. I'm downsampling with DLDSR, which I think is supposed to be less demanding, yeah. Maybe give that a shot to see if it makes any difference for you? Other than that, I'm on a 3080 with a i9-12900K. What CPU do you have? Perhaps the game is CPU bound somehow?

edit: I should mention I'm not getting a constant ~100fps. Most of the time it's closer to 90 and it regularly drops into the 80s and 70s depending on what's happening. I have a g-sync monitor, though, so as long as it stays above 60fps I don't really notice the drops.

edit2: Actually, I've been playing some more and I started getting serious drops after setting level streaming distance to 4 (I had it at 1 before).

I have an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X which was the best CPU I could find when I was building it (outside of something in the 4-digit range for just the chip). I messed around with it more and I didn't try the downsampling yet, but changing it from Quality to Balanced made a huge difference. However, I remembered another reason I turned RTX off - no matter what the other settings, I'll just randomly get massive frame drops for 10-20 seconds (even in menus) and just have to pause and wait it out. Happens semi-randomly every 8-10 minutes. I had already forgotten it did that, according to the internet it just is a thing some people have to deal with I guess. I'm tempted to try on my other PC too and see if it is hardware dependent.

It does suck because the RTX adds a nice level of depth to the game - it looks great without it but it looks ever better with it.

Edit: Odd, most optimizations showed the streaming distance having next to no impact, so I set it to max and didn't see any FPS loss myself. Maybe it doesn't play well with RTX

 

[toxicitizen]

Edit: Odd, most optimizations showed the streaming distance having next to no impact, so I set it to max and didn't see any FPS loss myself. Maybe it doesn't play well with RTX

Yeah tbh I just don't know anymore. I started having performance issues tonight. You jinxed me...

I tweaked my settings a little but maybe I just hadn't unlocked enough of the map for the issues to crop up yet. The weird thing is when my framerate starts to tank, reloading seems to fix it. The drops seem kinda random, though, and I didn't experience any for my first 10 hours or so of playtime.

 

[C-Dub]

I know it’s probably going to unlock at the usual 5/6pm time, but I keep checking my Steam Deck to see if Stray is available to download.

I want it ready to play as soon as I finish work today.

If it’s not ready to download by 3.20pm I might just do a flex build after my shift so I can scurry off early tomorrow.

 

[Prodigy]

These shoddy ports is a big reason I still have consoles as an option. I'm just fed up with it and it feels like it's happening more and more often with no end in sight. Has epic even commented on the stutter issue their engine is causing after all this time?

Yeah, I personally don't get it. I can't imagine devs playing their own game and don't notice stutter, or don't see complaints for other games and think hey we can be better than that.

I can't imagine Epic hasn't heard of the issue and just leaves it. I'm surprised there are no people asking these questions. Where are those hard hitting Metro interviews like the past, there is no accountability so everyone just carries on as normal.

 

[ezodagrom]

These shoddy ports is a big reason I still have consoles as an option. I'm just fed up with it and it feels like it's happening more and more often with no end in sight. Has epic even commented on the stutter issue their engine is causing after all this time?

In one of the digital foundry weeklies, it was mentioned that Epic has responded and is currently developing a precaching system for unreal engine, but I guess this is only going to affect future games. :/

At 41:29 (in case the link's timestamp doesn't work):

 

[Mivey]

Precaching system does sound nice. No idea why that didn't ship a lot sooner.

 

[ZKenir]

Where is my digimon store page…

 

[Le Pertti]

I kept reading precaching as preaching and thought everyone had gone crazy.

 

[Knurek]

Precaching system does sound nice. No idea why that didn't ship a lot sooner.

Were you really expecting anything but contempt for PC platform from Epic?

 

[Mivey]

Were you really expecting anything but contempt for PC platform from Epic?

While the company is run by an idiot, I generally had the impression their engineering team is one of the best in the industry. And this problem will surely affect all platforms, having ways to handle shader compilation benefits everyone.

 

[Li Kao]

Who the fuck is awake between 10 and 12 am with this heat ? Not me.
I guess this solves the temptation to buy an useless PS5.

Not bothered, bothered, not bothered… well, in all honesty I don’t give a fuck.

On a related note, is the steam pre chaching thing also available on regular desktop linux ? Do we live in a bizarro world where, EAC excepted, it could be interesting to have a linux partition for gaming ?

 

[curi0usBystander]

The funny thing is, IIRC steam introduced shader pre-caching (sure only for OpenGL and Vulkan) like 5 years ago, one would think that in 5 years the big engine makes would have reacted (I mean sure they seem to be reacting NOW).

 

[FunnyJay]

Oh yeah...

#GuessTheGame #66 🟩 GuessTheGame - Your daily video game guessing puzzle!

 

[prudis]

The funny thing is, IIRC steam introduced shader pre-caching (sure only for OpenGL and Vulkan) like 5 years ago, one would think that in 5 years the big engine makes would have reacted (I mean sure they seem to be reacting NOW).

maybe the fact that Valve did it for specific APIs already ..... is the exact reason why Sweeny is so against doing it

 

[MomoVideo]

Oh yeah...

#GuessTheGame #66 🟩 GuessTheGame - Your daily video game guessing puzzle!

Same result here.

#GuessTheGame #66

🟩

 

[Derrick01]

In one of the digital foundry weeklies, it was mentioned that Epic has responded and is currently developing a precaching system for unreal engine, but I guess this is only going to affect future games. :/

At 41:29 (in case the link's timestamp doesn't work):

Ah nice that's the first I'm hearing this. Hopefully they can get it out sooner than later

 

[Knurek]

While the company is run by an idiot, I generally had the impression their engineering team is one of the best in the industry. And this problem will surely affect all platforms, having ways to handle shader compilation benefits everyone.

The problem doesn't affect platforms that Epic makes most money on because they have fixed hardware and as such its easier to just provide precompiled shaders. Same reason stutter is pretty much a solved problem on Deck.
The issue with PC is that there are several IHVs on the platform with several generations of hardware from each to support and the shader compilation tools provided by them, in general, suck.
And remember, it's Epic. They left PC once because we were all pirates in their eyes, I genuinely believe the platform is below Xbox One on their priority list.

 

[jads653]

On a related note, is the steam pre chaching thing also available on regular desktop linux ? Do we live in a bizarro world where, EAC excepted, it could be interesting to have a linux partition for gaming ?

It's not exclusive to SteamDeck. I frequently get 100 mbs shader cache "updates" downloaded from Steam for several games. It's not a 100% solution but it does significantly decrease stuttering. I wouldn't install Linux for just it though, since you can use DXVK under Windows (Works miracles in GTAIV and Elder Ring for example).

 

[ezodagrom]

 

[PhaZZe]

LETS GOO IM PLAYING LAD AND ITS AMAZING GIVE ME MOREEE

 

[C-Dub]

While the company is run by an idiot, I generally had the impression their engineering team is one of the best in the industry. And this problem will surely affect all platforms, having ways to handle shader compilation benefits everyone.

The skills and experience of their engineers is not important.

What matters is leadership does not give a solitary fuck about PC. Even less so now their PC store failed and is basically on life support.

What the industry needs is quality middleware that isn't made by Epic or Unity. But that's difficult because anytime anyone comes that might compete with Epic, they throw cash around to bury them. Just look at what they did to Unity, who are now so far up shit creek they are merging with a malware company.

 

[Panda Pedinte]

Oh yeah...

#GuessTheGame #66 🟩 GuessTheGame - Your daily video game guessing puzzle!

#GuessTheGame #66

🟥 🟩

GuessTheGame - Your daily video game guessing puzzle!

I got confused with the first image and I guessed the wrong entry

 

[Li Kao]

If On a Winter's Night Four Travelers - Free on Steam

Is incomprehensibly done by two people. Is jaw dropping gorgeous. And overall the writing is acceptable.

That being said, and because I'm a bitch, I will be harsh.
First the game could have used a game designer. Art, code, writing, it's all well and good but the game is seriously lacking in any sort of puzzle or interactivity. Not a fatal flaw if you go for a narrative experience, but it wouldn't have hurt.
The character animation and speed is unbearably slow. It doesn't become apparent until chapter 2 as the first one is comprised of two screens.
I said the writing is acceptable because I'm not cruel. It's using heavy themes and obviously aim for something they didn't have the chop to achieve. You can see the ending coming in the first minute of the game, and if the moment to moment narration is good, it feels quite underwhelming once all is said and done. Like a potentially great author that would botch the landing.

For a stunningly gorgeous horror pixel art with mature themes, it's seriously good. As a whole, meh, it comes short.



Now if you will excuse me, I may very well play the Spongebob 3d plateformer. After Hill House final episode and IOAAWN4T, I'm not sure I'm ready to combo all that with The Last Door s1 right now. I have my limit on gut punches.

 

[Arc]

Power Wash Simulator is the first simulator game where I can say I get the appeal of the genre. It's extremely cathartic (especially when playing in bed).

The skills and experience of their engineers is not important.

What matters is leadership does not give a solitary fuck about PC. Even less so now their PC store failed and is basically on life support.

What the industry needs is quality middleware that isn't made by Epic or Unity. But that's difficult because anytime anyone comes that might compete with Epic, they throw cash around to bury them. Just look at what they did to Unity, who are now so far up shit creek they are merging with a malware company.

I wish Epic didn't care about PC. They seem to be going out of their way to actively harm the platform.

 

[Li Kao]

Oh by the way I would be remiss to not mention Steam can eat shit and the dev of IOAWN4T too.
Would it hurt to have an auto save ? At least at the start of a chapter ?
Can we not ghost update the Deck while a game is running and just decide to, yeah, reboot ?

I know it's on me for being in the beta channel, but still. Chapter 2 which was emotionally draining and super slow ? Why not play it two times for added fun ?

 

[Alexandros]

Guys, guys! Leave Tim Sweeney alone! His stutterfest of an engine will push even more people towards Linux and Steam Deck, therefore making his shit platform even more irrelevant than it already is. The man is playing 4D chess against himself.

 

[FeedMeAStrayCat]

If On a Winter's Night Four Travelers - Free on Steam

Is incomprehensibly done by two people. Is jaw dropping gorgeous. And overall the writing is acceptable.

That being said, and because I'm a bitch, I will be harsh.
First the game could have used a game designer. Art, code, writing, it's all well and good but the game is seriously lacking in any sort of puzzle or interactivity. Not a fatal flaw if you go for a narrative experience, but it wouldn't have hurt.
The character animation and speed is unbearably slow. It doesn't become apparent until chapter 2 as the first one is comprised of two screens.
I said the writing is acceptable because I'm not cruel. It's using heavy themes and obviously aim for something they didn't have the chop to achieve. You can see the ending coming in the first minute of the game, and if the moment to moment narration is good, it feels quite underwhelming once all is said and done. Like a potentially great author that would botch the landing.

For a stunningly gorgeous horror pixel art with mature themes, it's seriously good. As a whole, meh, it comes short.



Now if you will excuse me, I may very well play the Spongebob 3d plateformer. After Hill House final episode and IOAAWN4T, I'm not sure I'm ready to combo all that with The Last Door s1 right now. I have my limit on gut punches.

........and apparently this is Deck verified, too?

 

[Li Kao]

........and apparently this is Deck verified, too?

Played on Deck actually.
I like the combo of right touchpad as mouse and R2 as left click. It's not ideal, can become annoying with a long session, but it's surprisingly great.
Oh, while I'm talking specifics, there is a moment when you need to invoke the keyboard.

 

[Panda Pedinte]

 

[ezodagrom]

 

[Yoshi]

Stray is out now.

Over 60,000 concurrent players:

https://steamdb.info/app/1332010/graphs/

 

[Stevey]

 

[madjoki]

https://eu.alienwarearena.com/ucf/show/2164613/boards/contest-and-giveaways-global/Giveaway/moo-lander-steam-game-key-giveaway

free game, maybe not total trash.

 

[Li Kao]

Well, as expected they were out of Maneater keys.

Free Maneater Steam Keys from SteelSeries

Follow the instructions and get a free code for the game!

gg.deals

On the bright side they have Multiversus keys so, maybe a bigger win.


Oh and nice PnC bundle for super cheap. I don't know how they aged, but this is a good selection.

LucasArts Adventure Pack | PC Mac Steam Game | Fanatical

Ready for some adventure? Grab four classic LucasArts games...

www.fanatical.com

 

[fantomena]

Really good first impression on Stray. Don't notice any stutters at least too. I know what stutters are, I remember them from Limgrave in ER (however Limgrave in ER was the only place I had stutters in ER and it was only in the "starting" area of Limgrave too).

Overall, very happy that Annapurna (and other pubs and devs) abandoned EGS exclusivity. As Stray is really good.

 

[mastemas]

alas, i have achieved it, but i have forgotten to post it because i am probably senile (as i had originally written this yesterday evening)

an almost 1:1 scale of my room in half life alyx, almost completely similar when i had done a photogrammetry of my own room in terms of size, it's so close that i could load it up, calibrate myself into the same position as vr, and literally walk around my room in real life, touching things i see in vr, but feel in real life

 

[Amzin]

Yeah tbh I just don't know anymore. I started having performance issues tonight. You jinxed me...

I tweaked my settings a little but maybe I just hadn't unlocked enough of the map for the issues to crop up yet. The weird thing is when my framerate starts to tank, reloading seems to fix it. The drops seem kinda random, though, and I didn't experience any for my first 10 hours or so of playtime.

Oops I did some more searching and a few people said that texture streaming set to auto helps (which might be why you saw a difference when you set yours to 1). Some people have to restart it but I just wait it out. I will maybe try tweaking it more tonight but it's annoying because I have to just wait for the frames to drop. Wondering if it's DX12 and how it runs (if it runs?) forcing DX11

 

[jads653]

Really good first impression on Stray. Don't notice any stutters at least too. I know what stutters are, I remember them from Limgrave in ER (however Limgrave in ER was the only place I had stutters in ER and it was only in the "starting" area of Limgrave too).

Overall, very happy that Annapurna (and other pubs and devs) abandoned EGS exclusivity. As Stray is really good.

Yes Stray is really really good, played for 1 hour now. The only stuttering so far is from the autosave for like half a second. Game is deck verified and so far zero issues on Linux.

 

[mastemas]

have i ever said i'm friends with Duncan Jones from the Yogscast on Facebook

yeah, i'm THE GUY.

 

[Le Pertti]

I think my most famous « connection » was working on same tv production as Dynamit Harry, only swedes will know.

 

[fantomena]

Stray at 60k.

Would be 100k if it was EGS exclusive.

 

[Li Kao]

Jesus, Battle Chasers : ‘Some in-game movie content may be missing’. VERIFIED.
I see now Valve is as difficult to please as ProtonDB. That legit angers me.

 

[lashman]

HEY EVERYONE!!!

guess what:

Another Hitman 3 start for us today! We'll probably bounce around to other stuff later on. Fingers crossed for no crashes this time!

 

[Ascheroth]

Jesus, Battle Chasers : ‘Some in-game movie content may be missing’. VERIFIED.
I see now Valve is as difficult to please as ProtonDB. That legit angers me.

It's marked as "Playable", not "Verifed".

 

[Li Kao]

It's marked as "Playable", not "Verifed".

Brainfart. Still not in love with the decision.

And just for fun, ProtonDB. ‘Movies play upside-down’. Green thumb.

 

[Panda Pedinte]

 

[prudis]

 

[Li Kao]

Back at square one. I planned to play Spongebob but, while it’s nice and I don’t want to drop it, collectathlons have aged something fierce. Hmm, Shadowman, The Last Door… Penumbra ?

 

[dex3108]

More i think about it makes more sense, Valve should make their version of PlayStation Home. And no it wouldn't be metaverse just simple hub. They are into VR and now into various Steam Events. now imagine if you actually could watch The International inside virtual arena or for Steam Next Fests walk through convention center with booths (in VR or first person/3rd person view)? Where dev talks could actually be similar to those at PAX... It could be interesting.

 

[fantomena]

Fucks sake. I haven't use the Xbox App (game pass) for months, but now I actually wanna use it (to see if I like As Dusk Fall), the game won't download. I press the download button, game shows the download bar, a few seconds later I get a pop-up of Visual C++ or whatever it is called having been installed, but the download progress for the game isn't moving and it is download at 0 bytes.

Fuck PC game pass. Can't rely on it ever to work. Im so happy I didn't pay money for 3 months of ultimate. Hopefully the game shows up at some Jack Sparrow site.