Problems with Fallout Stutter Remover

[Kelmych]

Fallout Stutter Remover has been a great help reducing problems with the Fallout 3 game engine (and Fallout NV and Oblivion) but several users have recently reported problems with some of the recommended settings for the associated INI file.

 

iDefaultMode = 3 (under Critical Sections)

Audley mentioned recently when using the new Fall Creators Update for Win 10 that setting this parameter to any value other than 1 caused constant crashes

GeneralJohn reported recently in a Fallout 3 Nexus FSR post that setting this parameter with the Fall Creator's Update to any value other than 1 caused freezes

 

bHookLightCriticalSections = 1 (under Master)

Gopher's suggestion is to set this to 0

Audley previously mentioned in the STEP guide form that setting this to 0 caused a drastic reduction in FPS on his system

 

bReplaceHeap = 0 (under Master)

 NVSR creator's recommendation is to use 1, but it's a tradeoff between performance and stability

 

fMaximumFPS = 0 (Under FPS_Management)

 In the Fallout 3 FSR Nexus page Loveblanket mentioned the possibility of setting this to 30 to reduce FPS and allow using higher resolution textures on his system (I'm not sure whether other users will find this useful).

 

iHeapSize = 250 (under Heap)

 In the Fallout 3 FSR Nexus page Loveblanket mentioned the possibility of setting this to a larger value (between 250 and 450) to accommodate the increased memory provided by the LAA fix. This assumes, of course, that the heap is enabled.

 

 

The FO3 guide will be updated for at least the iDefaultMode comments. It would help if other users test this and other FSR parameters mentioned that seem useful to change.

 

[GamerPoets]

Do you know what the proper way to test iHeapSize would be? ... and how to see the performance/stability trade off? Never really had to test anything like this much other than Skyrim way back when. Can't even remember what I did.

[Kelmych]

The biggest issue will be testing stability since it is affected by many things and isn’t easy to measure. Performance testing is fairly straightforward. I don’t have any performance problems with FO3 soI leave the heap off for better stability.

[zilav]

iHeapSize doesn't work if heap manager is not replaced when bReplaceHeap = 0

[Audley]

Personally I would 100% avoid the heap replacement features in the Stutter Remover mods. Especially for New Vegas. I value stability above all else. Yes, it could potentially improve performance for some, but at the cost of greatly destabilizing your game. I'd rather remove some demanding mods and/or turn down graphic settings for more FPS rather than rely on something unstable like that. Perhaps it would be different if Skyranger had spent more time with the plugins and optimized them more, but he seems MIA at the moment, and probably won't likely be coming back. 

 

What's more is that there is a link between the Stutter Remover mods and the latest Windows 10 (Fall Creators Update) update. I am not knowledgeable enough about this kind of thing to understand how the Fall Creators Update plus the Stutter Remover (with bHookCriticalSections set to 1) will cause constant crashes. What's more is that the crashes seem to get worse the larger your save gets. I have now confirmed the Stutter Remover causing crashes by several of my modding friends.

[GamerPoets]

I use windows 10 but haven't gotten to the point of testing the Stutter Remover's settings out yet. Will be in a week or so. 

So is consensus, at the moment, that some of the features still work well or none of them?

[GamerPoets]

Hey Folks,

I have my windows 10 updated via auto updates up until it's most recent point (checks every day). Just installed Fallout Stutter Remover and the stutter that I previously had is gone and I have no crashes. I use the latest main file of the mod and I apply what Kelmych has in the Clear and Present Danger guide. Would some people (me) miss the Fall Creators Update somehow? I am having no issues with it at all.

[GrantSP]

Check your OS build in: Settings - About. If it is Version 1709 with the OS build of 16299.64 then you are on the absolute latest build. (It may be possible to have 16299.xx and still be classified as the latest. Not entirely sure about the numbers after that decimal place.)

[GamerPoets]

Nope. I have an old one. Strange. Not going to mess with it though lol. Appreciate the reply Grant. 

 

Any way that people can role back? ... hopefully a fix is  coming.

\

EDIT:.. and if you ever get bored... https://discord.gg/qe5FmZR

[GamerPoets]

So I was curious and had to update my OS. Fall Creators Update. OS Build 16299.64 .... Fallout Stutter Remover works like it always did for me. I ran from Paradise Falls to TennPenny tower without any crashes or oddities (12 minutes real time). No mods only .ini Tweaks.  Version 1709 (it literally says Welcome to Fall Creators Update after you install it). 

[GrantSP]

Welcome to the dark side @GamerPoets. From here there is no going back.

[GamerPoets]

... i wouldn't have it any other way lol

[Kelmych]

I recently changed FO3 to use the GOG FO3 GOTY version vs. the Steam GOTY version.  I use Windows 10 and it was updated a little while ago with the Fall Creators Update. I am using INI files based on the values that BethINI sets for FO3, the additions in the FO3 guide, and some of the INI recommendations in the recent GamerPoets video on INI changes. I'm not using ENBoost since ideally I shouldn't need it with the gaming system I am using.

 

I have a problem with FSR. If I leave it out I don't have any stability problems. If I include it I typically get crashes after ten minutes or less playing FO3. I started with the Roy Batty FSR INI file that GamerPoets included in the Fallout 3 My Way Nexus page. I changed iDefaultMode (under Critical Sections) to 1 and I still have the same problems. I tried several different sets of Fallout.ini and FalloutPrefs.ini parameters, running with and without ENBoost, but the stability problem doesn't change.

 

Any suggestions?

[baronaatista]

I just went through this with New Vegas, the only thing that helped was removing NVSR completely.  It appears to be broken with the Creators update - I found a thread or two on Reddit  where people were describing the same issue, and a TTW guide author here, Adonis seems to confirm as well.  As for what to do - play a stuttery game, unfortunately has been my solution.  I've been waiting too long for mod updates that never came, and watching Gopher too much to wait more.

[GamerPoets]

Try turning the Heap management on and set the Heap value to 450. Tell me if anything changes Kelmych?