Battlefield2

[Kurtis]

It is almost 5am, and I just figured I would post that I think benchmarking Battlefield 2 sucks. :-P

I'll explain tomorrow, er... later today... if you care 8-)

[Nick]

I think as an employee I am contractually obliged to care...

But since I play BF2, or attempt to sometimes, then I care on my own as well. :)

Problems with BF2 though? Whoever heard of such a thing? I know ive never had any problems with crashing to the desktop, a non-responsive server browser, the Play Now! function that connects me, i mean other people, to full servers multiple times and certainly never have I connected only to find that everyone, EVERYONE EVEN MY OWN DAMN TEAMMATES, showing up RED so that when I kill someone I think is the enemy, I get TK punished for it!!!!!!! DAMN YOU TO HELL EA!!!!!

umm...ya...what problems?

[Kurtis]

lols

well the problem is that recording a demo was much more complicated than it needed to be. you have to record a demo, which in reality saves everything that's happening on the entire map rather than what a normal timedemo would do where it follows your movements. THEN you have to record a camera file, which, in conjunction with the actual demo file, ends up giving you the timedemo. if you don't do the camera file, then you just have a big flyby demo basically, which is useless for benchmarking of this nature.

so, once you have recorded the demo and camera file, you have to edit some config files in the BF2 directory, which Brian had to help me wit... then you have to go to start>run>cmd and type in some code such as:

cd c:\program files\ea games\battlefield 2
demo.cmd +timedemo +nosync +1280x960 thetechlounge thetechlounge

and THEN BF2 will start up and it will load the game and map, and then you will have to click READY in order to start the demo.

The demo will play pretty normally once you get to that point, although there is an occasional hiccup for some reason where sometimes when the demo plays it will stop at one point andgo black screen, but will return to normal after like 5 seconds, and apparently it doesn't affect the fps result...

once you get to the end of the demo, a TimeDemoResult window pops up in Windows, but the demo doesn't quit. instead you have to hit ControlAltDel when you know the demo is at the end (it isn't moving, and you should know what the last part of your demo looks like). Once you hit Ctrl Alt Del it will take you to the desktop, then you can hit Alt Tab to get to the TimeDemoResults window, which will tell you your "average fps" however the number it displays is incorrect.

so you hit ok to close it, and then BF2 will close along with it, and the command prompt will tell you you're done. so THEN i have to look in this directory:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2
...to find a timedemo_results.csv file, which I then open in excel.

Well, here's another annoying thing. When you open it, there are at least 600 rows (i've seen up to 2000, but it can be higher still) of fps readings that are like 300+. These are all readings that were taken while the game was in the MENU SYSTEM and while the MAP WAS LOADING! So what this means is you have to manually filter out that crap to get to the good numbers.

To do that, you have to separate the data into columns, because it appears like so:
188;0.00257826;387.858
...after an hour last night i figured out how to separate these stupid values so i can do an Average on the 'good results.' In case you don't know how, you select the entire column, then you go to Data>Text to Columns, and it's pretty self-explanatory from there.

And let's see, I'm benchmarking this game at 1280x960, 1600x1200, and 2048x1536, all with NoAA/NoAF, 2xAA/4xAF, 4xAA/8xAF, and 6xAA/16xAF. And I repeat every benchmark 3 times. That is 36 total times that I have to go through this annoying process - PER CARD! Ugh. I hate you EA.

[Nick]

sounds like fun, wish i could help out, but ummmm..is that the oven timer? my biscuits are done, gotta go!

[IronSight]

Yeah... GF4 owner :(

[Rich]

And that is why I benchmark networking gear.......

[PsychoSnowMan]

You know I'm really trying to feel sorry for you, but when I'm running at fairly low res with medium quality it's tough.
And let's see, I'm benchmarking this game at 1280x960, 1600x1200, and 2048x1536, all with NoAA/NoAF, 2xAA/4xAF, 4xAA/8xAF, and 6xAA/16xAF. And I repeat every benchmark 3 times. That is 36 total times that I have to go through this annoying process - PER CARD! Ugh. I hate you EA.

[Kurtis]

You know I'm really trying to feel sorry for you, but when I'm running at fairly low res with medium quality it's tough.

true. it is nice getting to play with the latest graphics cards on the market, but i tell you, it ain't easy. worthwhile, sure, but a pain in the ass nonetheless

[Dyrewolph]

I think as an employee I am contractually obliged to care...

But since I play BF2, or attempt to sometimes, then I care on my own as well. :)

Problems with BF2 though? Whoever heard of such a thing? I know ive never had any problems with crashing to the desktop, a non-responsive server browser, the Play Now! function that connects me, i mean other people, to full servers multiple times and certainly never have I connected only to find that everyone, EVERYONE EVEN MY OWN DAMN TEAMMATES, showing up RED so that when I kill someone I think is the enemy, I get TK punished for it!!!!!!! DAMN YOU TO HELL EA!!!!!

umm...ya...what problems?

Thought you might be interested in this Nick...



http://games.internode.on.net/

Quote: A Message from EA/DICE about Battlefield 2

Hi everyone. Thanks to all of you, Battlefield 2 has seen great success around the world.

Since its launch, we've tried to give Battlefield 2 all the support it deserves by releasing patches with the fixes and improvements you've asked for. Unfortunately, we haven't lived up to the standards we've set for ourselves. So all of us at EA and DICE are working extra hard to make sure that your Battlefield 2 experience improves dramatically in the coming weeks.

Towards the end of August, we will be releasing a new patch called 1.03. This patch is currently underway and will undergo thorough testing to avoid the problems that have occurred in the past.

ere are just a few of the fixes you can expect to see in the 1.03 patch:

* Server and Client performance improvements.
* Improved Server Browser – added Favorites and History Lists.
* Point-farming prevention - game will stop Support/Medic/Engineer point farming exploits.
* Squads - locked squad leader will get a message if someone wants to join.
* Many HUD improvements - see the names of others in your vehicle, zoom level changing depending on vehicle, map zoom depending on map setup (16, 32 or 64 player map) etc.
* Teamkilling changes – the logic of how teamkills are tracked will be changed.
* Gameplay tweaks - the way transport helicopters work will be tweaked.
* Additional scoring changes - players who destroy an enemy commander's assets will be given points.

There are over 140 fixes and improvements in the 1.03 patch and we're looking forward to everyone moving to 1.03 to get the best Battlefield 2 experience on a level, cheat-free playing field.

We also know that there is still an issue with availability of slots on Ranked Servers. We're all delighted that this new feature has been so popular, but we know that many of you are finding it hard to get onto a ranked server, especially at peak times. We are taking big steps and investing heavily to ensure that everyone can experience this side of Battlefield 2. New official servers have gone up in Europe and the U.S. this week and you will see many more going up in the coming weeks. Our vision is to make sure you never have to wait to get onto a ranked server.

Thanks for being such great fans of Battlefield 2. We've been listening to you and we're determined to make Battlefield 2 the best online shooter experience out there. We hope you like the changes that are coming.

[Nick]

Yah, I got an email about that.

"This patch is currently underway and will undergo thorough testing to avoid the problems that have occurred in the past."

Really? QA on something you plan to release to the public? Is this going to be the same 'thorough' testing that the game went through? Because we all know how well that went...

Its kinda funny actually because by saying that basically admit that they half-assed the last patch and maybe even the game itself.