|
Post by cplampman on Dec 26, 2019 14:22:58 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by b101 on Dec 26, 2019 14:47:04 GMT -5
Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of PC designing. CiB0RG helped me out with my PC selection at the start and, honestly, I haven't changed anything since. The only thing that I do is in-game. In the designer itself, press start (FYI, you can still just plug the PS4 controller in via USB and it works perfectly) and go to settings -> graphics -> custom graphics. Then bump up object detail to 80 or so, as well as some of the other settings if you want. I then tone it down again when playtesting as my swing is abysmal if I leave the graphics high due to lag.
|
|
|
Post by ErixonStone on Dec 27, 2019 10:58:44 GMT -5
Unfortunately, that machine doesn't include a dedicated graphics card which limits its ability to process high-res graphics quickly. When it comes to TGC, the dedicated graphics card is the single most important component.
With that said, you're not going to achieve both smooth gameplay and high quality graphics, so you need to decide which one is more important, and exactly how important it is.
To get better performance, turn down water detail and draw distance. This will cause some pop-in with trees, but will allow you to still display some good looking trees close to the camera lens. Once you get those settings down to just what is acceptable and going lower makes the game look appreciably worse, then start dropping the object details until your refresh rate is acceptable.
Also turn down the resolution and target frame rate, You may discover that the game looks and runs better in a slightly smaller window that you can live with.
Lastly, turn Depth of Field OFF. DOF is a photography trick that focuses sharply on the main object of focus, but renders the rest of the image blurry. This is how artsy photographers get you to focus on a particular part of a scene in a photograph. You want this OFF so that the entire screen renders a sharp image.
|
|
|
Post by cplampman on Dec 29, 2019 8:15:15 GMT -5
Thank you guys! I’ll play around with those settings some. Being able to run the game would have been a bonus as the computer was more of a work/home thing. Hopefully I can get it running smoothly enough to design some and play test!
Thanks again
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2020 13:52:00 GMT -5
Did not know about the depth of field thing, will try that right now I have no idea how well the new IGPs will handle this game, but based on the stats from my computer's resource monitor last night, you're most likely going to have a somewhat significant RAM bottleneck with 8GB shared between CPU and GPU. My RAM usage started around 6200MB and ended at around 7500 or so (but was streaming as well), with another 3300 on standby (I have 16GB and the less powerful but still 'good' mobile GTX1060 version with 3GB dedicated RAM, not the 6GB one). If this is approximately what to expect, then 8GB RAM is an ideal minimum for a computer with a separate GPU and probably more like 10-12GB for shared w/ IGP (if the IGP has enough power and the computer enough cooling in the first place).
Very slim laptops more often than not struggle with cooling, so a lot of the time no matter how well the machine can perform that is the ultimate system bottleneck. Downside is that adding more cooling more often than not adds a noticeable weight penalty. Whether it's more copper to move heat, a taller case, a second fan, etc. it all adds weight to the computer in exchange for attaining more of the components' maximum available performance without having to throttle back to prevent overheating.
|
|
|
Post by b101 on Jan 1, 2020 14:13:48 GMT -5
To be honest, you'll likely be fine to run it on laptop with no issues. Mine currently has a corroded motherboard and is struggling for life a bit, but is still able to run the game half-decently for the designer. Actually playing rounds on my laptop requires me to lower the graphics way down to medium, but for designing it's no problem and still waaaaaaay better than PS4, both in terms of graphics and plant time. As Patrick says though, the lack of graphics card may limit you a little more.
For comparison, this is my laptop (https://laptopmedia.com/laptop-specs/msi-pl62-7rc-7/) - about 2 years old now.
|
|