80 replies to this topic

[settingsons]

There are just a handful of tables that have ALWAYS given me stutter and/or micro-stutter with or without UVP. My PC is a Core i7 overclocked, GTX480, etc. I have thrown better RAM at it, a dedicated soundcard, only have 5 services running in XP and although most tables run like a dream on a 3-screen setup with UVP, there are just a few that don't.

The tables for me include Twilight Zone, Circus Voltaire (UVP version), Pinbot, Comet, Lethal Weapon, some microstutter on Freddie plus a few others. I really want Pinbot as it is a beautiful re-creation - therefore I spent a lot of time removing things from the script until I have stumbled upon a fix that sorts out my stuttering problem once and for all, for ALL tables.

The new pre-release version of UW superb BBB was also give me stuttering, but no more!

The following fix, fixes every table for me that I have had trouble with. I have absolutely no stutter anymore and I use UVP. I hope this might work for others.

Search for the line in the script where you see an interval setting for the Lamptimer.Interval, and increase the number by about 10ms to 15ms...

eg:
Lamptimer.Interval=35

and increase by 5, 10, or 15ms. I usually end up adding 10ms.

Lamptimer.Interval=45

Save and run the table. Not every table has this code in the script but it does appear in all the tables I have fixed.

From my understanding this simply means the interrupt to refresh the lamps will kick-in every 45ms instead of 35ms. I don't know if there are any consequences in doing this - someone else may know but I haven't had any issues so far.

My PC is super-fast so I am surprised this makes a difference. It will be interesting to hear if this makes a difference for anyone else, so please do try it on any tables you can't normally play smoothly.

Cheers

EDIT: It also FIXES Twilight Zone.

Edited by settingsons, 06 March 2012 - 10:27 PM.

[blur]

great find!!!
congrats!

[michaelinfurs]

defiantly will try this out \ i have a dedicated i3 \ gtx560 \ win 7 64 setup and most everything runs pretty smooth just a occasional micro studder on a few tables \ i am always game to get better performance


michael t

[JAM0]

This is very exciting Settingtons Can't wait to try it. Thanks for sharing this.

[chriz]

thanks for the info, can't wait to try this out

[Arcade4]

Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Lethal Weapon here I come.

[Rawd]

Very interesting find. Thank you, and I will test it also.

[Arcade4]

Well it worked.
However not in the small intervals you were talking about.
I started out on Lethal Weapon with a 35.
Moved it to 45 and nothing.
Moved it to 55 nothing.
Moved it to 85 nothing
Moved it to 150 finally a noticeable difference.
Had to go all the way to 200 before game play was smooth.
So far I do not see any problem with the lights on the game.
I'm sure someone will tell us why we should not be doing this, but so far so good.

Just tried in on Freddy Nightmare on Elm. Same thing had to go to 200 but gameplay is smooth as glass.
Confirmed on Scared Stiff but only had to go up to 45.
Tried it on Monopoly just for fun. I think it actually makes it worse if that is even possible. lol
What a great find this is.

Edited by Arcade4, 07 March 2012 - 02:32 AM.

[kruge99]

I'd like to see what the visual pinmame gods have to say about this... what's your opinion on this Destruk? Does it affect the "realism" of the emulation at all? Won't some kind of synchronization be "off" somehow?


Best Regards,
Todd.

[bladexdsl]

Tried it on Monopoly just for fun. I think it actually makes it worse if that is even possible. lol

that table is a demon!

i'm gonna try it with bbb it's pretty much the only table i get stutter with.

[Arcade4]

I'd like to see what the visual pinmame gods have to say about this... what's your opinion on this Destruk? Does it affect the "realism" of the emulation at all? Won't some kind of synchronization be "off" somehow?


Best Regards,
Todd.

I agree it needs more testing and input.
I did not pay that much attention to the actual game play, just the smoothness of the ball flow.
I will play more games later tonight when I have more time.
Really just Lethal Weapon was a big problem for me. It was so bad that I rarely played it.
Maybe there will be a happy medium here somewhere, so we can finally rid the world of micro stutter.

[Noah Fentz]

I don't see how this would create a problem. The lights update at .3 seconds, instead of .04 seconds.

Not sure the eye can tell the difference.

The only problem that may arise is it takes a full 1.2 seconds to turn a lamp from the on state to the off state. I would therefore suggest a max of 200, to keep it under 1 second.

[maceman]

Wow- This is extremely exciting!!!

Beautiful find man!

Maceman

[Arcade4]

I don't see how this would create a problem. The lights update at .3 seconds, instead of .04 seconds.

Not sure the eye can tell the difference.

The only problem that may arise is it takes a full 1.2 seconds to turn a lamp from the on state to the off state. I would therefore suggest a max of 200, to keep it under 1 second.

I will try an bump my Lethal Weapon down to 190 and see how it plays.
Edit-- Turns out the lowest I can get Lethal Weapon is 140. Any lower and the stuttering is just too bad to really want to play the table.
Thank goodness this is the only really bad table that I have in my cabinet.
I have never had a problem with Twilight Zone or Cirqus Voltaire.

Edited by Arcade4, 07 March 2012 - 02:44 AM.

[Aaron James]

IMO, you really can't go higher than 50...because even i noticed the difference in the lights not blinking properly/as they should like the real thing.
200 may make the stutter go away, but the lighting patterns and blinking intervals are horrible and not realistic for a pro pinballer.

My trial game i did this on was cirqus voltaire. (strike an arc multiball)

In the end, even if it takes ANY of the stutter away, it's a find, so thank you.

[Slydog43]

wow great find!!!!! I only had micro stutter on tables like Lethal Weapon 3, so I tried changing the LampTimer to 200 and It seems better, will try 50 and see if I see any change.

Edited by Slydog43, 07 March 2012 - 02:34 AM.

[Zablon]

I will try this on the 3 tables I still seem to get stutter on: Checkpoint (UVP), LW3 (no UVP), Bride of Pinbot (UVP). I am curious as to why would it fix stuttering? Is it because of not trying to play a sound and a light at the exact same time? You still have the same amount of lights flashing. An answer to this might help figure out where the stuttering is coming from to begin with.

[oooPLAYER1ooo]

the timer changes the animation of the fading light script, if you crank it too high the lights wont fire exactly as they should on fast sequences.
from my experience the time should not go higher than 50 and thats the extreme end
if you change the timer too low a value you dont see the fading effect as its going too fast.

[Noah Fentz]

While I certainly agree the lower, the better, if it comes down to being playable or not at all playable, I think the choice is obvious.

[KloggMonkey]

I have a similar PC and get stutter on a few tables, I always had a hunch it had to do with the insert lamps... thanks for the info gonna give this a try.


Edit: Tested and confirmed. Helps me eliminate my micro stutter. Thanks!

Edited by KloggMonkey, 07 March 2012 - 03:58 AM.