The A2A Simulations Community

BOBII 2.11 Performance Notes and Parameter Tuning Hints

BoB II WoV is a vastly improved remake of Rowans' BoB. Furthermore, BOBII is still being developed by the BDG (a volunteer force of freeware enthusiasts) who are adding new features, better aircraft models, better flight and ground models, and a lot of improvements/fixes in code that increase BOBII performance requirements for every major free update (2.04 through 2.12 and forward). It is highly recommended that you have a very powerful single core, a dual core, or a Quad core PC before buying BOBII.

BOBII is a very demanding Combat Flight Simulator as well as a BOB Strategy Commander and Single Player Campaign. It takes a good PC to run BOBII effectively (good processor and video card) and a good "gamer PC" to run BOBII at full settings. BobII does need a Directx 9c compliant external video card to run. We have had no success getting on-board video to run BOBII without errors and we do not recommend even trying it. If your processor is a single core and less than 2.5 GHz, I would not even recommend you trying BOBII.

BOBII has a built in FPS counter (shift+F). The key is the minimum FPS (not the average). If you’re minimum FPS get below say 10 FPS for an extended time your game play will be affected (performance delays) and you may see some skips or jumps on the monitor.


The BOBII FPS counter is Shift+F. Try to keep your average FPS in the mid-20's to mid-30's (25 to 35 as a minimum) but in the large battles in the campaign and historic Instant action with 100’s of A/C in the air may still over power your PC.

If you have a single core processor and get a CTD in 3D, you must set in your Bdg.txt:
LANDSCAPE_TEXTURE_SIZE = 1024 , the default is LANDSCAPE_TEXTURE_SIZE = 2048 and it may cause a CTD on single core processors (we had one on a single core 3.0 Ghz processor) or older video cards.

For our BOBII Version 2.12 and beyond the processing requirements have increased based on all the new opjects, new Bomber and Ju87 skins, AAA/Flak, and trees that have been added to BOBII landscape. In addition, our high res textures will take additional processor CPU/performance. The new Bomber and Ju87 skins are a new load on performance. If your PC is single core (not a 2.5 or greater Dual or Quad core), you may need to avoid the large IA Historic missions (BOB Day, etc.) that have 200+ A/C in the air and stick to the smaller IA Historic mission with less than 100 A/C in the air.

Here is a list of the Bdg.txt big performance impacts. You may need to trade quality for performance:

ENABLE_AUTO_GEN=OFF
MULTI_SKIN_MODE=DISABLE
LANDSCAPE_TEXTURE_SIZE = 1024
Do_You_Want_Flak_And_AAA_Fire=OFF
Collision_Detection_And_Avoidance=OFF

Here is a list of the GUI big performance impacts. You may need to trade quality for performance:

horizon distance = medium (saves 15%) or low
weather = medium or low
particle density = Medium or low
Object Density = medium or low
Object Quality = medium or low
Water = medium or low

Play with these and see if you can find the sweet spot and keep your FPS up to recommended levels.

The loading of BOBII files is a function of processor power, harddrive I/O, and memory speed. On my PC (a late model Quad) the missions load fast. If your loading times are excessive, you may have software blocking the BOBII loading of files (virus, firewalls, spyware, etc). We have nothing but problems with Norton and it is very hard to turn off or disable for our customers.

Here are some examples of loading times on my PC (measured by stop watch) with MutiSkin turned ON (You can turn MultiSkin off in the BDG.txt to save some loading time but the Skins are just wonderful ).

TakeOff mission (default) first load = 34 seconds
TakeOff mission (default) second load = 13 seconds

Historic London Mission (LUF, He111) first load =52 Seconds
Historic London Mission (LUF, He111) second load =35 Seconds

Here is an answer I gave a customer who ask the following question: Given my PC spec's (which he listed in detail) and my game play requirements (which he listed), what are the "best" setting for BOBII?

Simple question but I am afraid you will need to do some work to develop the best answer for you and your PC.

Your bottleneck will be processing power and slow memory speed. A processor speed of less than 2.5 GHz (you speed is 1.75 GHz) has a tough time running BOBII without very low setting but it is possible with low settings. I am not comfortable seeing a 1.75GHz processor run BOBII unless the customer is very experienced with BOBII and BOBII settings. The game is just too demanding for a 1.75GHz processor, IMHO. That said it is possible to run and enjoy BOBII on a 1.75GHz processor at low settings as we have seen before.

Start with these settings I think and then slowly change one at a time and test, test, and test.

Use the FPS counter (shift+F) as your guide to performance tuning. You need to try and keep your average FPS in the mid 20's to mid 30's with "no"minimums of 1,2,3 (the minimums will show up in the FPS counter (shift+F)). The "minimum" is the "key" and you want to prevent low minimums. Low minimums cause processing delays and unpredictable results. The average FPS is just a guideline (not all that valuable but OK as a guide) and the average's value is not all that significant but the "minimum" is important.


horizon distance = medium
weather = low
particle density = low
Object Quality = low
Object Density = low
Water = medium

Try to find the best sweet spot for your player requirements (both quality and performance) and the FPS counter. Only change one setting at a time and test throughly. This task could take days depending on your hobby time. The best sweet spot setting wise will ensure the best game play.

If you can not run 2.12 as the BOBII performance requirements are just too high for your PC, I recommend you give 2.09 a try (yes, look for it on the Gamershell site). With 2.09 you will get a lower processer requirement and the best AI for the FPS cost.

Good luck. Maybe someday with a gamer PC you can run BOBII on full setting and get all the eye candy and avoid processor delays which really hurt game play.

_________________
Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.

This game and forum is for BOBII (Battle of Britain Wing of Victory). It was developed by Shockwave (now A2A) and published by Tri Synergy.

We have had an examples of people trying load and run BOBI (Rowan's Battle of Britain) which was published by Empire.

The BOBI CD will not work. You must have a base BOBII game (either CD or download) to work with the BDG's new 2.10 update (or newer updates).

_________________
Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.

hello, a question that always me fact, is if not to have in the team a card you sound affects the yield of the program, I have an Intel core2duo 3.0Ghz, 2GB SDRAM, ati HD2600 Pro 512MB, I have had certain problems with other programs, I believe that they are due to the video card, I don't believe that it is good, I have already bought a very superior one, Nvidea 9600 512MB but not yet I have installed it.........


and excuse my English it is that I use a translator....

_________________
to fly to live and to live to fly........

Hi Darr,

We will be looking forward to your report on your new video card (Nvidea 9600 512MB ) and how it runs BOBII.

_________________
Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.

Here is Stalker's settings for his video card:




Just happen to come by this post. Do you have a Nvidia 8800GT buddy? It might not matter anyway and is worth a try.

Here are my settings on the Nvidia control panel.

anastropic 16 x / antialiasing/gamma on / antalising mod-override any application setting / antialising 16 x / antialising transparency off/ comformany tecture clamp use hardware / error report off/ extension limt off/ force mipmaps trilinear / prerendered frames three / single display performance mod / texture filtering anistropic off / texture filtering neg lod allow/ texture filtering High quality / texture filtering triliner optimization off / thread optomization on / triple buffering on / vertical synch on

Hope it helps you make some nice screenies..

_________________
Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.

I have tried to update "BOBII 2.10 Performance Notes and Parameter Tuning Hints" for 2.10 so Players can hopefully get some Advice/Hints/Tips for tuning BOBII on their specific PC environments.

_________________
Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.

...and how does BoBII run under later DirectX versions(as standard on Windows7)?

_________________

Hi Belgian,

Nice to speak to you for the first time.

BoBII does not use DirectX 10 or 11. I always recommend, when you load 2.11 on, to allow it to update your directX for you. This will update all versions of DirectX 9c. Buddye also gives a link to update your DirectX 9c but I personally have never been able to get it to work. Why I don't know.

If you have been away from BoBII for as long as you say. You are in for some pleasant surprises.

Good luck.

_________________
Prem.

Asus P6T Deluxe V2, Intel I7 960 3.2Gig, 6Gig Mem 1866 DDR3, Sapphire ATI 5870 Vapor-X OC 1Gig, 1000W PSU, Win 7 64bit, TrackIR3 Vector Exp & Track clip pro, Hotas Cougar with Uber NXT2 Mod & Simped F16 rudder pedals.

Yes, DX9, 10, and 11 generally play together nicely, essentially entirely
independent of each other, so you can have all 3 installed. My new
CPU came with a Civ V freebee, which when launching asks if I want
to run with 9, 10, or 11 graphics, as I have all 3 available.

hi,

could you help with my problem

recently i install this game, based on requirement (play in lenovo G450)

when i play in minimum setting there is some problem in display and english text dialog
-------------------------
before last error happen, i have try

-install update 2.11
-minimalize/OFF some parameter in game, including edit bob.txt
-set compatibility in game shortcut to win 98

below are dxdiag, screenshoot and crashlog

thank you for your help
=============================================================================


[spoiler=system dxdiag]------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 8/19/2012, 10:18:37
Machine name: RAFALE
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.120504-1619)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: LENOVO
System Model: 20022
BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBLI
Processor: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.10GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 984MB RAM
Page File: 694MB used, 1674MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A42&SUBSYS_3A0217AA&REV_09
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Mode: 1366 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: igxprd32.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.5002 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/21/2008 11:18:58, 57344 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: igxpmp32.sys
Mini VDD Date: 10/21/2008 11:17:58, 6048480 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-6902-11CF-9067-081AA8C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x8086
Device ID: 0x2A42
SubSys ID: 0x3A0217AA
Revision ID: 0x0009
Revision ID: 0x0009
Video Accel:
Deinterlace Caps: n/a
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Not Available
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
Description: Conexant HD Audio output
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_14F1&DEV_5051&SUBSYS_17AAC001&REV_1000
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: CHDAU32.sys
Driver Version: 3.83.0000.0000 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
Date and Size: 3/26/2010 18:20:26, 1774648 bytes
Other Files:
Driver Provider: Conexant
HW Accel Level: Full
Cap Flags: 0x0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 0, 0
Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
HW Memory: 0
Voice Management: No
EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No
Registry: OK
Sound Test Result: Not run

---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
Description: Conexant HD Audio input
Default Sound Capture: Yes
Default Voice Capture: Yes
Driver Name: CHDAU32.sys
Driver Version: 3.83.0000.0000 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Date and Size: 3/26/2010 18:20:26, 1774648 bytes
Cap Flags: 0x0
Format Flags: 0x0
[/spoiler]

i meet problem as
when loading


instant play


english text

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[spoiler=crashlog]
------------ Begin of section written with bob.exe, Build/Rebuild all date: May 4 2010 14:53:09 ---------------------------
bob.exe caused a EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION in module bob.exe at 001B:00488D3A, fastzero_I()+36 byte(s)
Exception handler called in int CMIGApp::Run().
Write to location 0da6b000 caused an access violation.
Code: 66 0f 7f 47 10 66 0f 7f 47 20 66 0f 7f 47 30 66
Stack dump:
Stack: 001B:00488D3A (0x0DA5FA70 0xFFFFFF80 0x057B0000 0x00000078) bob.exe, fastzero_I()+36 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00488DA3 (0x0DA5FA70 0x00000000 0xFFFFFFF8 0x00000005) bob.exe, _VEC_memzero()+54 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00488DEF (0x0DA5FA6B 0x00000000 0xFFFFFFFD 0x02D1BD18) bob.exe, _VEC_memzero()+130 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00595FA3 (0x0DA5FA70 0xFFFFFF80 0x057B0000 0x00000078) bob.exe, fixmanualdirnum()+185 byte(s), c:\merlin\bob\src\files\fileman.cpp, line 773+19 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00488DA3 (0x0DA5FA70 0x00000000 0xFFFFFFF8 0x00000005) bob.exe, _VEC_memzero()+54 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00488DEF (0x0DA5FA6B 0x00000000 0xFFFFFFFD 0x02D1BD18) bob.exe, _VEC_memzero()+130 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00595FA3 (0x0DA5FA70 0x00000000 0xFFFFFFF8 0x00000005) bob.exe, fixmanualdirnum()+185 byte(s), c:\merlin\bob\src\files\fileman.cpp, line 773+19 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00488DEF (0x0DA5FA6B 0x00000000 0xFFFFFFFD 0x02D1BD18) bob.exe, _VEC_memzero()+130 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00595FA3 (0x0DA5FA6B 0x00000000 0xFFFFFFFD 0x02D1BD18) bob.exe, fixmanualdirnum()+185 byte(s), c:\merlin\bob\src\files\fileman.cpp, line 773+19 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:00595FA3 (0xFFFFFFFD 0x06304E28 0x00000000 0x00009E00) bob.exe, fixmanualdirnum()+185 byte(s), c:\merlin\bob\src\files\fileman.cpp, line 773+19 byte(s)
Stack: 001B:005982B2 (0x00009E00 0x00595EEA 0x00000B98 0x00000000) bob.exe, fileblock::makefileblock()+767 byte(s), c:\merlin\bob\src\files\fileman.cpp, line 1654
Stack: 001B:00598666 (0x06302010 0x8133C909 0x02D1BD18 0x00009E3C) bob.exe, fileman::readfilelist()+96 byte(s), c:\merlin\bob\src\files\fileman.cpp, line 815+50 byte(s)
[/spoiler]

The key requirement that you missed or do not understand is:

128MB DX9 Compliant Video Card . Video Card means a you must have a DX9 compliant "external" video card.

Unfortunately you have a "internal" , Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family, BOBII we have had "no" success getting BOBII to run on a internal chipset video capability.

Here is the link to the "will MY PC Run BOBII" Sticky Thread:

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=12174

Your PC would be OK if you get a external Video card that is DX9C compliant with at laest 1 GB of Ram.

_________________
Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.

@ buddye

thank you or your info.

Also note you do not want to set compatibility to W98.
BoB2 was first issued in 2005 as an XP app, but it will also
run "natively" (without using compatibility setting) on
both Vista and W7.

Hi

I bought BOB 11 for my son and have installed it on my laptop. Unfortunately it won't start. Is there a simple solution as I'm not very sophisticated when it comes to computers. It would be a real shame if I can't get this game to work for him so I would be very grateful for any advice you can give.

Thanks

Hi Mike welcome to BOBII and the BOBII forums and community. Sorry for the problem.

Please post a DxDiag of your laptop that you have installed BOBII on. The following is the instructions for doing a DxDiag for XP (sorry I have no idea what you PC and OS are). If you have windows 7 then you can find out how to do a DxDiag with the windows 7 help.

DXDIAG Instructions

We now have 1000's of customers flying BobII 2.07 without major issues. Sorry about your problem.

When customers have your problem it usually a hardware problem, virus software issue, or a bad install. Virus software (we have issues with Norton and Bit Defender) also can prevent BoBII from loading.

Please post your PC spec's with a DXDIAG so we can review you computer and check a few things:

Here's how to create a DXDIAG:

DX Diag is a utility/report that dumps technical info to a text file. The file is fairly lengthy, and is divided into sections for easy management. The detail in this file may help us discover 'related issues' leading to the solution of problems users are having.

*Click on your "Start" button.
*Select "Run".
*Clear the "Open" box and type "dxdiag" (without the quotes).
*Click "OK".
*A box called "DirectX Diagnostic Tool" should open.
*At the bottom of this window, you will find a button called "Save All Information".
*Click this button.
*A box will pop up prompting you to save a file called "dxdiag.txt"
*Save this file to your "Desktop".
*Now you should see a text file called "dxdiag.txt" sitting on your Windows desktop.
*That's it!! Now we will have the info necessary to help you efficiently

Just cut and paste it into this thread and yes it is large.

_________________
Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.