Game occasionally freezes for 10 seconds

[tkullander]

Hi there!

I could really use some help fixing a issue with OFP/CWA. Just installed it on my laptop, but i am having some strange issues. Without warning the game freezes for about 10 seconds (while the current sound, if any, just repeats), then it starts running again. I'll post some aspects of the problem;

• I have not been able to find certain actions that triggers the freeze - sometimes when firing a LAW, sometimes while just standing still.
• Something i have noticed though, is that objects seems to be reloaded / redrawn when the freeze is over. Stuff like trees and bushes disappears and pops up again very quickly right after the freeze.
• The intervall between freezes vary between 15 minutes to 15 seconds, but it seems like the game is freezing more often the longer you play.
• This is not a performance issue - i have a very stable framerate, sometimes for 10 minutes or so, until the game freezes 10 seconds again.

These are the things i have tried;

• Tried GOTY 1.96 and CWA 1.99, same problem on both. (of course i use legal versions)
• Autodetect for graphics gives me pretty high settings (which actually works fine), but when adjusting down the graphics to extremely low settings there is slightly less freezing, but still at a unplayable rate. Raising the values impose regular lag.
• I run the game in 'Direct 3D HWTL', since it runs smoother and the freeze problem persists in plain 'Direct 3D'.
• I have tried running mods (FFUR 2008 1.05, TonalRedux) and of course clean installs of Resistance and even Classic Flashpoint. Results are about the same (Tonal had less freezes, but it feels like it's a coincidence)

I have played OFP on alot of different computers, and never had this problem before. It is quite disturbing since it's the only computer i own, and the only game i really play these days is OFP. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

[Günter Severloh]

Hi,
Welcome to the forums.
Let me just say this a laptop is not a computer in the sense of the word where
you want to run a full pc game meant for proper hardware such.

You have either 2 problems happening for you:

1. Your CPU does not have enough processing power for the game

2. Your CPU/gpu is overheating

3. not enough ramm

TBH with you when OFP was the only BIS game we were all playing back in the day, I had the same exact issue
as you til I had upgraded my computer using a better cpu,a nd gpu, then I had no issues at all.

Play the game on a proper computer that has the power to render, and process, a laptop can be powerful no doubt
but I'm doubting your laptop is meeting the demand of the game, just my 2 cents on it.

Also provide your specs right away as folks will ask, your information is nice and detailed, but if we can rule out
the computer then we would know its something else.

[tkullander]

Welcome to the forums.

Thank you!

Sorry, forgot to include the specs on my laptop. Though i really do not think it is the performance on my laptop which is the problem. I have played OFP from time to time since it's release in 2001, and i remember the trouble to make it work somewhat playable on my 500mhz with 128mb ram.

My laptop is a HP Pavilion DV6064ea, which means;

• AMD Turion 64 X2 1,6ghz
• 1GB of RAM
• Nvidia GeForce Go 7200 128mb
• Running good old Windows XP

It is certainly not top of the line, but definitly enough. I can play Swat 4, Rainbow Six: Raven Shield and Delta Force Xtreme, all on higher settings. I also play ArmA Combat Operations on low settings, and it runs very smooth. Maybe i have bad luck (compability issues with hardware or something) but as i said i do not believe it to be a performance related problem. Of course, i may be wrong (but i would certainly be surprised!)

---------- Post added at 02:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:48 PM ----------

Oh, by the way - when i crank down the settings to the config my old 500mhz could handle (running classic flashpoint), the freezing issues remains.

[JdB]

Since you didn't report any graphical glitches I think that overheating isn't the problem (when the CPU or GPU overheats, you would see mostly gray colored lines all over the screen).

Are you sure you aren't running terrain detail on high or very high? Or Lod settings that are either very high or very low?

[ProfTournesol]

Are you using some parameters in your shortcut ?

You may have a look here.

[tkullander]

Since you didn't report any graphical glitches I think that overheating isn't the problem (when the CPU or GPU overheats, you would see mostly gray colored lines all over the screen).

Correct, i have also checked the CPU temperature, and it is within normal rates.

Are you sure you aren't running terrain detail on high or very high? Or Lod settings that are either very high or very low?

Terrain detail is set to low (i have also tried normal), i avoid high and very high since it supposedly creates glitches. I don't know what LOD stands for, but the settings are as follows;

Max Objects: 256 (highest)
Objects LOD: 0,019 (about 75% on the scale)
Shadows LOD: 0,050 (about 60% on the scale)

What is LOD, and how does it affect the performance?

[tkullander]

Are you using some parameters in your shortcut ?

When i have tried with mods i use the normal parameters, plus the -nosplash parameter. I have also tried running it with no parameters at all, with the same result.

You may have a look here.

Yes, i did check it out earlier. Problem is that the game freezes for about 10 seconds, while the interval of the freeze may vary from 10 seconds to about 15 minutes. In other words, i don't think it's the same issue. Also, that solution is obsolete since nvidia removed the option of alternate depth buffering in their drivers years ago.

Hmm, this is a really strange problem. Why does issues always occur to the most important games..?

[ProfTournesol]

What is LOD, and how does it affect the performance?

LOD is Level Of Detail, ie how detailed objects will appear. The lowest lods are the most detailed. I've got the same settings as yours IIRC.

When i have tried with mods i use the normal parameters, plus the -nosplash parameter. I have also tried running it with no parameters at all, with the same result.

Try the -nomap one.

Hmm, this is a really strange problem. Why does issues always occur to the most important games..?

That's Murphy's law.

[JdB]

I've got the same settings as yours IIRC.

Me too, I think they are the default value. So they should be ok.

[Anguis]

Any chance there's some process for some other program going on in the background that screws up OFP? Maybe something like an AV scan?