Slowdown after update to 4.2

IronAvocado

Hey guys, can we keep this thread on topic please?

BuZz

@IronAvocado You have video_frame_delay = 5 in your /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg - this affects performance and you should lower it or disable it for psx. It may be that retroarch changes have affected this, but this is the cause of the performance issue.

BuZz

@Dochartaigh Reading your posts is tiring. I tried to help you, but struggled, for the reasons that @dankcushions has illustrated.

You butting in on this thread was not needed, and helped no-one. Just FUD about the software.

IronAvocado

@BuZz

Goodness, if this is all it takes to get back on track I could hug you! Or buy you a beer, whatever floats your boat. I'm stuck at work for now but I'll be giving this a shot as soon as I get somewhere I can sit down and play.

BuZz

@IronAvocado I hope it is - it certainly made a difference on my machine.

Can go for beer followed by hugs ? ;-)

IronAvocado

@BuZz
Aw bbe I thought you'd never ask. <3 lol

For real though, thank you all for being patient with my dumb ass. I'm normally pretty OK with technology but this thing had me scratching my head.

dankcushions

@Dochartaigh said in Slowdown after update to 4.2:

@dankcushions said in Slowdown after update to 4.2:

i've also asked you for information before and after having you crap up multiple threads moaning about an issue that you and your 97 cousins have had with their identical retropie zero systems.. https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/6264/you-have-to-use-identical-controllers-for-multiplayer-games-please-prove-me-wrong/6, only to be met with silence.

Yes, that was one of those times, that after somebody made it abundantly clear that if my "crappy controller doesn't have any unique identifiers", that what I was looking to do was a lost cause, so why would anybody in their right mind still continue to pursue that if it's impossible? So I stopped. (p.s. that quote was from you, FYI :P

that quote was before i asked you for the information, as i reiterated to you here: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/1167/here-is-a-way-to-select-joystick-for-players-1-4-global-or-emu-specific/111 - between that and the issue on git, haven't myself and various others made enough inroads to try and solve it for you?

And dankcushions, I know it's tiring. Don't you think I know how tiring it is? Do you know how many HUNDREDS of hours I've tried getting this program to work correctly? How tiring do you think it is when I can repeat, over and over and f-ing over and over and over again, on multiple setups the SAME EXACT issues. Time and time again. To the "T". Identical results. Spreadsheeted numbers, error codes, FPS rates, version numbers, etc. etc. of results. No matter what brand SD card, what controller, how many brand-new Pi's I try, what 8 different USB hubs I use, etc. etc. etc. the same MULTIPLE problems keep coming up (which I've posted ALL over the place here and elsewhere, hoping, dreaming, wishing for a solution to any one of them), and the same reply (in essence) I get (most) Every. Single. Time. is "nobody else has this problem, therefore it isn't really a problem, you can't be helped". ...even the rare times I cross-post about other people I see with the same/similar problem it's still somehow not a problem to be solved...(bigger fish to fry - I get it). It's just tiring...that is also why I give up (like the above topic) if it's a lost cause...(and is why I'm still on 4.1.0 since it gives me the least problems).

Yet I still truck-on. Still post where I can with my small amount of knowledge if it'll help some other people. I am very sorry (honestly) if it bugs people like you and BuZz when I on occasion vent by reiterating my negative experiences I've had with this program. I will try my best (from here forward) to not do it again, ok?

you said moments ago, but that paragraph is exactly the sort of thing i'm talking about. it's not an elaborate conspiracy, and it is never appropriate to vent about a free, open source program.

anyway, sorry for crapping up this thread :P

IronAvocado

@BuZz

Welp, I'm an idiot. It was always assumed but it's been confirmed.

video_frame_delay = 5

That line was my problem entirely. At some point I must have changed it and forgotten about it completely. Changing it back to zero made Road Rash play as well as it did before. Very happy, thank you again.

spaaarky21

To be blatant, everything after 4.1.5 (or there about) has been much slower...

No it hasn't. Everything has not been slower. There may be some issues on some emulators, but not everything (and I need real test cases, not generalisations).

I hate to say it but I found this thread after experiencing the same thing. I when I first installed Retropie on a Pi 3 late last year (maybe October or November 2016,) it ran great with the exception of N64 games, as expected.

I updated in early 2017 and for the first time, I noticed performance issues emulating even relatively simple systems like the Genesis and NES. After updating again more recently, performance seems even worse. Playing through Sonic 2, the audio is sometimes garbled momentarily and at a few points, the gameplay seems to go into slow motion for a moment. I've experienced similar problems playing Mario 3 for NES – a system with a CPU clocked at just 1.79 MHz. Tonight, I went to play a PSX game for the first time since updating. I loaded my game from a save (saved to the emulated memory card slot, not an emulator state save) and the game is unplayable. It was being emulated perfectly when I created that game save prior to updating Retropie.

I really think this is a great project but honestly, performance really does seem to be going downhill when systems that used to be emulated perfectly are now inconsistent and PSX is nearly unusable.

With that said, I'm happy to help get more info if it might help address these performance issues.

Darksavior

@spaaarky21 I'm always using bleeding edge and never noticed slowdowns. Maybe it would be best to make a new thread with the info from https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

Sigmanutz

Not trying to be "that guy", because the "team" seems to have taken what I consider, a hostile attitude towards its' software's users, but @IronAvocado , is ANYONE but the "only person" to encounter this exact problem relating to "slowdowns" with the post 4.1.x updates. Before you continue to take the same attitude with me, I'll have you know I have worked on multiple systems with multiple builds, versions, settings, etc. I've ran 'top' and verified my CPU wasn't being maxed out.
To clarify: I am trying to run Final Fantasy VII. I have several backups/copies of this game, as I have purchased multiple copies of the actual game ~20 years ago. These include bin/cue, iso, and pbp. All copies run FLAWLESSLY on Retropie 4.1 and before. The music sounds great, theres no loss in animation, or frames per second. Once you update Retropie (whether by source or binary - doesn't matter) to 4.2 or higher, almost ALL psx titles begin slowdown, choppy, laggy emulation. I myself have spent 200+ hours investigating these issues, and to see folks like @BuZz and @dankcushions belittle and demonize eager, happy users is beyond off-putting. I have held great pride for this community ever since I started. But now. Now my stomach hurts. I feel like I actually need to throw up.

Was the problem ever resolved?

mediamogul

@sigmanutz said in Slowdown after update to 4.2:

Was the problem ever resolved?

Slow down can be caused by any number of scenarios. Please open up a new thread and include all the required information from https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first and we'll try to help you troubleshoot your issue. @Dochartaigh had been antagonistic regarding this issue for some time before this thread and it just boiled over here. I promise you that as long as you're civil, no one's going to belittle or demonize you.

Sigmanutz

@mediamogul Thank you for such a prompt and polite response. I am currently at the knee doctor with my grandmother. I plan to lower or disable video_frame_delay when I return home, and if that doesn't correct the problem, I will certainly get you any information you may need to address the problem. Thanks again - have a great day.

Sigmanutz

UPDATE

I'm back home at it. I check the video_frame_delay and it was set to 0. I decided to take @BuZz 's advice I saw earlier and opened up Retropie Setup and updated the Retropie script to 4.4 (I dont think I actually updated the platform, just the script). From there -> Manage Packages -> Manage Main Packages -> lr-pcsx-rearmed -> selected "Update from Binary". Rebooted. Final Fantasy VII seems to be working correctly now. I appreciate the help and advise other people experiencing slowdowns to follow the tips in this thread.