Hunt: Showdown performance patch is now live and here are the details

Crytek’s latest co-op, competitive horror shooter Hunt: Showdown has received a major patch with improvements on overall performance of the game. Since the Early Access launch of the game, players had been experiencing major performance issues. Even though the visuals were incredible, there were a couple of issues with the system requirements as many players with a high-end rig were also having problems. Other players with a mediocre system were in a really bad shape to be honest.

I personally had the chance to test the game during its closed alpha period and believe it or not, even if it had major performance problems, the game was playable and enjoyable IF, of course, you don’t mind playing at medium FPS range. However, this is a competitive game. So it requires a better performance. Now, we can have a better Hunt experience thanks to this new patch. Let’s have a look at the patch notes:

Performance

CPU optimization and utilization

  • Optimized a number of CPU heavy processes within the game that would lead to Hunt being CPU bound (especially on lower end hardware)
  • Optimized rendering cost when particle effects are filling the screen space
  • Optimized off-screen particle updates in most cases
  • Optimized interior lighting volumes significantly
  • Optimized a number of expensive engine calls (e.g GetWaterLevel)
  • Reduced particle overdraw when many large particles in view
  • First round of optimizations on CPU job manager (improves efficiency of thread queues)

Memory optimization

  • Reduced Hunt’s overall memory footprint 
  • Enabled animation DB streaming to reduce memory usage
  • Improved object streaming to reduce memory usage
  • Fixed a memory leak in the AI proximity grid
  • Reduced memory usage in various Hunt subsystems

Server/Backend

  • Improved dedicated server allocation manager to be more reliable, especially if back end slows down
  • Upgraded backend technology to pave the way for further improvements to debugging user reported issues (slow response times etc)

Bug fixes

Developer note: In this section we will be using the word “stall” a lot. In these cases, this term is being used to describe one of 3 possibilities – micro stuttering (small freezes that do not crash the client), frame drops and spikes

  • Fixed a stall when using lanterns for the first time (slight micro stutter when picking up the lantern)
  • Fixed a stall that could occur when using dark sight for the first time after loading into the match
  • Fixed a stall that occurred when aiming fuses at the sky
  • Fixed a number of stalls that could occur due to some shaders being loaded during gameplay. This was especially noticeable when aiming down sights
  • Fixed a stall that could occur when the banishing phase completed
  • Fixed a number of invalid file accesses during gameplay which was resulting in some stalls
  • Reduced stalls that could occur with cloth simulation on hunter clothing
  • Fixed a number of uncached resources
  • Fixed a deprecated asset that could cause the game to freeze at Stillwater Bend (or as it has been affectionately called by the community “Crashwater Bend”)
  • Fixed a bug that would cause the Depth of field to be triggered when others in the match were aiming
  • Partial fix implemented for some objects not rendering correctly (e.g. large amounts of vegetation missing at the start of the match) **

** Developer Note – We will have a number of fixes coming soon that relate to invisible objects. Keep an eye on future hotfix/patch notes for details.

Known Issues

  • We are aware of an issue that relates to the audio of gunshots not playing correctly. When this occurred, it would lead to the assumption that your hunter would drop dead without warning. This is currently under investigation and we will provide updates when we have more information
  • We are aware of some geometry being invisible in certain circumstances (missing walls etc.). We are currently investigating the cause of this and hope to have a resolution soon
  • In certain cases, when moving or aiming, you may notice objects fading and LOD (level of detail) popping. We have been actively working to resolve this and should be able to address this issue in a subsequent content patch
  • We are aware of a potentially large stall that can occasionally occur when in game. In some cases this can cause your client (as well as others in the vicinity) to disconnect from the server. We are aware and currently working to resolve this as a priority
  • We are aware of a FPS drop that can occur when rapidly switching through your inventory or when entering the mini map
  • We are aware that in some cases, players will not receive the 5 minute warning towards the end of a match

As you can see fellas, the patch focuses on CPU and Memory usage. The developers also indicated that the patch should improve the overall performance for ‘all players’ regardless of their system. We can easily say that this patch is basically a life saver for people with a mediocre hardware. On top of the technical CPU and Memory usage tweaks, we can see that every single bug fix is addressed for more or less performance related issues. Believe me, those ‘stalls’ were annoying for sure…

Hunt: Showdown had received many negative reviews on Steam just because people (including me to be honest) thought it was too early for it to be released on Early Access. Yes, maybe it was a bit early. However, don’t forget that Steam Early Access is the best way to actually support the developer and to provide feedback in some cases. And I am happy to see that Crytek is taking important and careful steps forward to make this game better and better with the help of their community.

So, expect more improvements in the future fellas. Also, an overall performance analysis is on its way and we will publish it in a couple of hours. In that article, we will be able to share our personal post-patch experience with you guys.

So, stay tuned!

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in:News

0 %