How to Improve Second Life Performance
This is a general guide to improving your Second Life PC performance. I will attempt to keep these instructions as simple as possible and as clear as possible. I hope this makes your experience on SL more enjoyable.
To begin by defragmenting your hard drive before logging on to SL. I recommend IObit Smartdefrag, there is a freeware version. See IObit Smartdefrag near the bottom of this blog for a link to their site.
Occasionally, clear the SL cache. This will depend on how many SIMs you've visited the more you visit the more you will need to clear the cache. This appears to be primarily a textures file. Less often is better then more often. If your lagging try this. The path is... "Edit" to "Preferences", then "Network". ( A path is a sequence of actions or steps that you take to arrive at a destination within the SL HUD.)
See the yellow arrow? That's the button you push to clear the cache. It will be cleared the next time you log on to SL.
Do you have a second hard drive? The SL program can be split to operate off two drives. The main program on one HD (usually C:) and the cache off another (maybe D:). Go to "edit" then "preferences" then "network", here see ...... "Disk Cache Location", click "set", find the second drive and click it. This will split the work load between the two drives.
Now for the Lag Meter. Take this path: Help>Lag Meter, click it. This one is simple. the first one Client is your PC. Network is your IP connection and Server is the SL server. The computer system SL maintains to run it's virtual world. We are concerned only with Client. If this button is yellow or red then an adjustment is needed.
Take this path: Edit>Preferences>to the "Graphics" tab.
See the yellow box? Within it is a slider, reduce the "Draw Distance" till the "Client" button turns green. If this fails to solve the problem or the other buttons within the Lag Meter are yellow or red search elsewhere for assistance. These unfortunately require more involved assistance then will be provided here.
Now for some more complex adjustments.
So how do we do this? First click the "Custom box" then take this path... "Edit", to "Preferences", then to "Graphics". We'll be dealing with the area within the yellow box. Here we want to use the sliders to reduce these settings and by doing so reduce the graphical demands upon your PC. This will reduce lag and to some extent system crashes. You will need to work with these items to set them to your visual preferences/tastes and the particular equipment within your system. Do this slowly, a little at a time till you see how they work. Each time you finish making changes you will need to press the "Apply" button then the "OK" button. To see if your making progress see the "Statistics bar" again and check to see if the amounts within "Objects" and "Textures" have been lowered. The lower you can go the better. If the images become too basic and bland for you then move the sliders up some till you reach a balance between performance and appearance. Only you can determine where that balance is.
That's it! Hope this helps.
Audio Play Problems?
Having trouble with intermittent Audio play on SL? Try these:
By pass the music in SL all together. Right click on the ground (grass, sand and the like), a floor will not do. Floors are objects/prims. Choose "about land" then go to the media tab, here see "media URL" then cut and paste this into your Internet web browser. This may take you to a web page where you can play the music off the web using a media players. Some times these will lead you on a wild goose chase. (Hey! I didn't put that bogus URL in there. Talk to the SIM owner. LOL) If no URL is present then no outside music connect is being provided for the music found on the SIM. Also, disable "voice" and "Video"while playing music. This is streaming media, real time media and takes loads of PC resources to run. In some situations a Sound Card might be needed to receive music in Second Life.
Edit (All times EST US) June 12, 2009 6:22 AM,
SIM Boarder Lag Anyone?
You know when you cross from one SIM to the next and your AV goes flying away all by itself. Try this ....... Edit> preferences>input and camera> too mouse sensitivity. Lower the slider some. (Note to advanced users: Lowering mouse sensitivity seems to have some effect at slowing down the flight speed of the AV allowing control to be more smoothly transferred from one server to the next as the AV crosses these boarders. This adjustment does not only effect the mouse but the keyboard input as well. )
PowerLinks7 cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of this information or other materials received through this web site is at your own risk.
Edits (All times are EST US), August 1, 2008 6:22 AM, August 17, 2008 2:02 AM, September 2, 2008, October 17, 2008 5:22 AM, February 13, 2009
So Who's Fault is it When Things Go Wrong on Second Life?
The rants go something like this .................. Those guys at SL have no idea what their doing. Has second life screwed it up again, today! Those programmers do sloppy work.; they are sooo lazy. Same song second, third, fourth verse ............ ad infinitum.
Nope!
The components necessary to connect your PC to a SIM are: Your PC, your IP connection, the SL server system and once your there on the SIM the SIM owner. If any of these four areas are not running or managed well you could be having problems. (By the way, do not expect the SL "lag meter" to help you much, if at all, with these problems but it will point you to possible problem areas then the solutions you must find.)
First, about your PC. Do you maintain it? Do you run your maintenance programs on a regular basic? When was the last time you did a "Check Disk" to insure your hard drive(s) are running correctly. How about that time consuming "Defragmentation" program in Windows? Are you running unnecessary programs and have loads of temporary files clogging up your system? These are your responsibility it's possible you are the problem.
Now for your connection, again if your connection speed is low or you have no idea how to fix it then again, you maybe the problem. Test your connection speed, if it begins to fall behind then contact your IP and request diagnostic test be ran on your connection. You pay for this service, see to it your getting your moneys worth.
Now for the SL part. SL runs an extensive group of servers that do all kinds of things for you. These servers can and do have problems. So how can you tell if it's an SL problem? See the "statistics bar", how is the FPS rate? If it is anything less the 36 FSP then there maybe a server problem. If it is less then this amount then do one additional test. Go to another SIM then another. Are you still having the same problem on all three SIMs? If yes, then better look at your PC first. If you do maintenance and your connection speed is where it should be and with a good strong signal then start ranting about SL.
But if you go to other SIMs and it's working fine then the last place to look is the SIM owner. If a SIM owner is running too many objects and scripts on a SIM then this too can effect the servers performance. Here's how to tell .............. go to some land, not a road, not the floor of a building. It must be land, something that can be terraformed. Right click it then choose "about land" then to the "objects tab" and compare the maximum number of objects allowed on the SIM to the number running. If this is more then 4/5ths of the allowable amount then there maybe too many objects running on the SIM and the owner maybe creating the problem. Lastly, keep in mind scripts can also effect SIM performance, so again, refer to the "statistics bar" for the "active scripts" rate. if it is above 4000 there maybe too many scripts running. Both of these problems are managed by SIM owners. (Servers do vary, Class 5 servers, that run on the mainland, can run more objects then Class3 servers also found on the mainland. Island servers run fewer objects then do Class 5 servers.) This is a rare problem on SL but at times too many AVs can cause serious server performance problems SIM owners can limit this over usage.
One last comment. See the SL wiki and search for "Avatar Rendering Costs". Keep these below 1000. This ones not a really big deal but again, we must do our part to keep SL running smoothly.
There you have it but.............. this is a complex system many, many things can go wrong. This is a general guide only but it will get you much closer to an understanding of SL problems and there sources.
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Second Life Combat Optimizations
Chances are the guy or gal with the $5,000.00 gaming PC with a 10 MB+ connection will do much (75%) better in most contests.
Too many AVs in battle. If your in a Raid battle with 40+ AVs and spectators expect lag and lots of it, this also applies to FFAs (free for alls). For best performance stick with Raids or FFAs with only a few (10-18) AVs in the contest or with bracketed Raid or FFA tournaments.
Spectators can have profound effects causing lag in a tournaments. Perhaps the number one offenders being flexis (hair) other objects and HUDS/AOs.
Note: Some servers may run more AVs then others. Class 5 servers are the best and run the most objects and are found on the Mainland. Class 3 servers also are found on the Mainland but run fewer objects (these are older servers predating 2006). Island SIMs run far fewer objects then Class 5 Mainland servers.
SIMs should be restarted/rebooted before each event.
The FPS (frames per second) rate should not drop below 36 FPS. 45 being the maximum with occasional but rare spikes in FPS rates over 45 FPS.
You must practice to win, so spar and spar and spar some more.
Hardware issues:
Quad verses Dual processors? Dual core and a fast one.
Get the best graphics card you can that is SL compatible with a physics chip. Repeat ... with a physics chip and that is SL compatible.
The more RAM your PC has the better .
Buy a second fast hard drive for the 'textures cache".
Use a PC not a laptop.
PC maintenance:
Maintain your PC. Do frequent, (I would suggest daily) defragmentation's and routine check disks of your computers hard drive(s). Keep unnecessary programs and junk files and folders out of your system.
A great free, third party defragmenter is available from here:
http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html?Str=download
Connection:
No matter what your connection speed, monitor it. There are various gadgets out there for this. Keep an eye on your connection. Learn how to spot and fix problems with your connection.
I use this wired network meter in the Windows Vista side bar:
http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?pl=1&bt=1&q=network%20meter
Indications you may have connectivity issues begin with log on. Slow appearance of the log on window or the photo can be an indication of poor connectivity. System crashes maybe indications of an intermittent connection. Also, slow inventory installation after log on and slow TP response times might also be signs of poor connectivity. This is complex so do not assume all of these problems are directly associated with connective, check your monitor/gadget for confirmation that connectivity is the issue or may be the issue. Connectivity can be a nightmare, so good luck with connectivity problems.
Wired connections are more reliable then wireless connections.
Preferences in SL :
During tournaments make these adjustments. **** Remember to reset them to there original location once the tournament is over. ****
Set graphics "quality and performance" in graphics preferences, to low.
Suggested combat graphics tab settings in preferences:
Advanced settings changes:
ctrl+alt+D > Advanced button in viewer HUD > Rendering > types > click these trees, clouds, water, particles. In Mage/wizard spell contests leave particles enabled (Do nothing).
ctrl+alt+D > Advanced button in viewer HUD > Rendering > features > fog, foot shadows
Others may also be disabled depending on the nature of the combat.
***** Remember to re-enables these after the combat. *****
Other important issues:
Scripted attachments - nope - drop those AOs and other non essential HUDs and gadgets.
The importance of removing Flexi's should not be overlooked, these consume lots of GPU resources. Keep your cloths on and drop the hair and flexible objects. The problem is not that there flexibility. The problem is they are made from many, many objects. Non-Flexi hair is available at most freebie stores.
Remove all unnecessary objects from your AV, whether flexi or not.
Keep AV rendering cost below 800 or less. Here's how to check -- Advanced > rendering > info displays > Avatar rendering costs. Reduce this amount by removing items from your Avatar. A naked AV has 1 or less rendering cost. Some SIMs will ban you for having a naked AV. Some AVs are just ugly so wear some cloths. :)
Weapons do vary. Buy the best weapons and take note of what the winners are using.
I believe weapons animations may have a profound effect on the outcome of battles but this needs to be proven.
What causes lag?
1 - To many AVs
2 - Moving objects - AVs including attached vehicles.
3 - To many objects
4 - To many scripts
5 - To many attachments
6 - To frequently updating objects
7 - To larger of textures (1024x1024 or larger)
In short, asking to much from SL's hardware along with many other causes.
Originated September 20, 2009 approximately 7:30 AM EDT US
PowerLinks7 cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of this information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.
