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Latest Comments by dubigrasu
BioShock Infinite Released For Linux, Thanks To Virtual Programming
19 Mar 2015 at 6:22 pm UTC

Power to you man!
Yeah, I have that need to collect Linux games too. Must be a virus of some sort.
Had no idea about the sale, thanks.

BioShock Infinite Released For Linux, Thanks To Virtual Programming
19 Mar 2015 at 5:00 pm UTC

Great :)

Edit: Still a bit undecided/confused, according to
;On PC, pool size only gets used if -ReadTexturePoolFromIni is passed in on the commandline. Otherwise it is auto calculated based on your video card memory.
I need to use the -ReadTexture....parameter if I want a custom PoolSize.

However, If I do that the usage never goes beyond 1000mb for me despite the PoolSize set to 3000.
While if I only set a custom (3000) PoolSize without using the -ReadTexture...parameter, the usage easily goes beyond 2000mb by the end of the level.

I played one level few times using both methods and it always seem to be somehow better without the -ReadTexture parameter, and even the stutter seem to go away.

Hm

BioShock Infinite Released For Linux, Thanks To Virtual Programming
19 Mar 2015 at 2:33 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: EKRboiWhen the game is not streaming in textures it is parked @ 60fps and utilizing 50-75% of my GPU on Ultra preset. There is an annoying stutter when it is streaming in textures, it happens very often and when it does it tanks FPS for a second or two.

Now on to my theory of why it is happening. It is hardly loading anything into VRAM. With the game running on one monitor, steam on another and a terminal(htop) and nvidia settings open on the other I have not seen it use use more than 900mb of my VRAM(200mb is desktop). It should be far more than that @ ultra settings. So I don't think it is pre-loading textures or even keeping textures from prior scenes around. So it has to pull those textures from disk every time a scene really changes.

If that is the case and not that for some crazy reason Nvidia-settings is reporting VRAM usage wrong for this game only, then I can't Imagine they did this on purpose and has to be a bug that slipped in not long ago. So hopefully it will get fixed quickly.
Well, some of the issues reported for the Linux port I've seen them (and can still do) reported by Windows users, for example the black screen at first boot, occasional hangs and stuttering, so I'm not sure if VP can do something about it.
I personally never had the hang issue in Windows, but I did had the black screen and the stuttering.

About VRAM usage:
Googled a bit about it and it seems that it boils down to increasing the PoolSize in the "XEngine.ini" file. The default for me was "400" and I raised it to 3000.
(it has to be a number lower than your card total VRAM memory with around 600MB.)
Previously I've never seen the VRAM going past 1000mb, now at times goes to 2700mb, but not higher than that. The textures are flushed every time a new level gets loaded.
The stuttering (still present) is also reduced.

It seem that this must be used in conjunction with the:
-ReadTexturePoolFromIni
parameter to the game's launch options.
Supposedly it reduces stutter, but I'm still undecided about this one.

There are a bunch of other tweaks (some old) floating around, but the "PoolSize"is the only one I've seen to has some positive effect.

Edit:
Found some interesting info about how memory is managed (in DefaultEngine.ini file):
[TextureStreaming]
UseTextureFileCache=TRUE
; We now auto calculate the texture pool size on PC.
; The equation is basically TexturePoolSize = Detected video memory - size of frame buffers - estimate for other resource useage like vertex buffers.
; TexturePoolSizeReductionMB is the estimate of how much we'll need for resources than the frame buffers
TexturePoolSizeReductionMB=40
;On PC, pool size only gets used if -ReadTexturePoolFromIni is passed in on the commandline. Otherwise it is auto calculated based on your video card memory.
PoolSize=400
; hard coded "safe" max texture pool size if running in low or very low
LowPCTexturePoolSizeMB=256

BioShock Infinite Released For Linux, Thanks To Virtual Programming
18 Mar 2015 at 10:26 pm UTC

Quoting: berillionsHum...

Bioshock Infinite is a d3d11 game which is ported to OpenGL4 to Linux, right ?
So, if The Witcher 3 is really coming to Linux, i think it's Virtual Programming who make the port.
What do you think ?
If they do, I think they better crank up their engine for W3, put some more mojo into it.
No matter how good BI or W2 are running now, from what I saw Witcher 3 will be a much more demanding game than these two.

BioShock Infinite Released For Linux, Thanks To Virtual Programming
18 Mar 2015 at 6:17 pm UTC Likes: 1

CPU/GPU *RAM usage and benchmark on SteamOS:

Overall score while recording: 86.55
Overall score running normally: 115.69
Overall score running fullscreen @1920x1080: 71.84

View video on youtube.com

Bioshock Infinite Early Linux Port Report
18 Mar 2015 at 4:40 pm UTC

Quoting: KristianHow is the port featurewise?
One thing I noticed missing/different is the "Alternate" Post Processing option.
Set Post Processing on "Normal" you'll get a nice depth of field, set it to "Alternate" you get nothing.

Other than that I think I've seen basically everything what is available in Windows too.
Gamepad is working too even with force-feedback.

Bioshock Infinite Early Linux Port Report
18 Mar 2015 at 4:07 pm UTC

Quoting: ricki42
Quoting: dubigrasu
Quoting: ricki42I only played for about half an hour last night, but I was impressed with how well it ran. With settings on high, I got mostly 120 fps (v-sync with monitor running at 120 Hz). Might try higher setting tonight.
Specs?
4790k @ 4.6 GHz, 16 GB RAM, GTX 770 4GB with 346.47 drivers. Running Xubuntu 14.10.
OK goody, thanks.
It must be a blast to play at 120Hz.

BioShock Infinite Released For Linux, Thanks To Virtual Programming
18 Mar 2015 at 3:48 pm UTC

Quoting: adolson
Quoting: dubigrasu
Quoting: adolson
Quoting: dubigrasu
Quoting: adolson
Quoting: dubigrasu
Quoting: adolsonNot a fan of these wrapped "ports" but if they bring the good BioShock games over, I may pick them up during a deep sale.

IF I buy Infinite, I will buy it from GameAgent [External Link] so that Aspyr gets paid instead of VP.
This is a bit twisted I believe.
So you're gonna play BI thanks to VP's efforts and work, but want to make sure they don't get paid for their eON technology, a technology which you are actually using it?
Exactly.

Except that I don't plan to buy it. I said IF. I already finished the game on PS3, and thought it kinda sucked compared to the first two.
Well, OK but the idea is the same, IF or no IF.
You want to manifest your resentment towards their technology by using it without paying.
There are lots of people who are now enjoying this "port" without having paid VP - they bought the game and played it on Windows before the Linux port was even announced. So what's the difference, really? I don't want to use their technology. What choice do I have? None.

I probably won't buy it anyhow, since I don't care to play it again. Frankly, it kinda sucks and I already finished it. I was just pointing out an option for like-minded people that they may not have thought of: supporting Aspyr, and not supporting the lazy port technology.

Do you work for VP? Just wondering if you're always on the moral high ground and never buy games in bundles or on sale, or if it's just for this particular case.
I think I understand now, is like telling the world how much you hate Windows by installing it and using it without Microsoft getting your money.

But I have a much better idea, something that'll put so much weight in your idea:
How about showing how much you dislike eON, by not using it?
I haven't used Windows since 2002. As I said, I don't plan to buy BioShock Infinite. How many times must I repeat that before you understand?
OK, I think that was enough for me.

Bioshock Infinite Early Linux Port Report
18 Mar 2015 at 3:38 pm UTC

Quoting: ricki42I only played for about half an hour last night, but I was impressed with how well it ran. With settings on high, I got mostly 120 fps (v-sync with monitor running at 120 Hz). Might try higher setting tonight.
Specs?