I'm talking about the cap you can set via "Gametime.MaxVariableFPS" with a user.cfg file placed in the game folder.
Anytime I enter the menu it resets the frame rate cap, which leads to stuttering.
Hi @shearershedge,
You mean the "pause menu" you see when you click the ESC key? I'll try in my game to see if I can reproduce this, what FPS cap are you exactly using?
Yeah, the pause menu resets it. Here is what's in my user.cfg:
gametime.maxvariablefps 85 (it's best to set at your refresh rate)
PerfOverlay.DrawFps 1
perfoverlay.drawgraph 1
The last two entries help you see when the cap has been lifted. When you have a cap set, the CPU graph is a flat yellow line, but when it's lifted, the CPU graph starts jumping all over the place. Not good for smoothness in the game. Even with vsync enabled, setting the cap at your refresh rate will reduce input lag and eliminate mouse judder
EDIT: I'm also running two GPU's in crossfire, though I doubt that's what is causing this issue.
I can't reproduce this issue, works fine for me after entering the pause menu. I had similiar issues as you with the gametime.maxvariablefps and the PerfGraph with another Frostbite 3 game, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, the CPU is just a mess. Are you paying on Windows 7 or Windows 8/10?
Did you disable vsync? That makes it way more obvious when the cap resets. You also need to make sure your cap isn't too high, because then you'll have the GPU maxed out, which will make the CPU frame times inconsistent. Basically, you always want your GPU graph below your CPU graph (except with dual GPU's).
I'm on Windows 10.
Yeah, Vsync diabled and cap set to my refresh rate, no issues at all. You're using a CrossFire configuration, did you try disabling it to see if the issue persist?
Actually, I misspoke, you have to click "options" for it to reset. But it will immediately reset the cap, you don't have to mess with any video settings. I actually fist noticed it when I went in to only adjust my mouse sensitivity.
But yeah, it happens with crossfire off too.
Yeah, now I can see the option. The CPU line starts to get a bit "crazy" but I don't get inconsistent frame rates or sttutering.
Maybe it's a bug / engine limitation. Also, keep in mind that GW2 does not include free access to the console like other Frostbite 3 (BF3, BF4, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, NFS...) so maybe some config commands are not fully supported/test. This looks like a bug to me.
Yeah, that's why I submitted it to "bugs and issues". I'm hoping a PopCap dev will see it and fix it in next patch, and hopefully it's not a complex fix.
But yeah, I usually play with vsync enabled, and when you don't have your frame rate capped to your refresh rate, it throws off the game's internal frame pacing slightly and causes minor judder with mouse movment. With the cap enabled, mouse movement is very smooth. Capping fps to this value will also reduce input lag slightly, I learned that with Battlefield 4.
But if you're a person that plays with vsync off all the time and no fps cap, you wouldn't really notice this sort of thing anyway because you're always seeing some degree of stuttering.
