Better Than Wolves Forum

Version 4.68 of Better Than Wolves is ready for download!

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This release contains the following changes:

-Added Hardcore Performance Enhancement to the mod, which is made up of several optimizations to how Minecraft works that are listed individually below. Note that these are particularly targeted towards low end systems and the stutter which tends to occur on chunk load for some. If you're already running at a decent frame-rate, you're unlikely to see significant improvements, but on low end systems the difference should be notable. I will likely continue to add further such optimizations to the mod in the future, as time allows, so this should be considered a first pass.

-Added hooks to the pathfinding code so that add-on authors can specify pathing weight values for custom blocks.

-Added light value to redstone blocks for the sake of consistency.

-Changed (optimized) block rendering in general. Note that this impacts add-on authors as I've replaced the Modloader method of registering custom block renderers with my own system. Further details on this can be found on the BTW forums, in the add-on sub-forum.

-Changed (optimized) block rendering so that grass and regular block renders are special cased and handled separately.

-Changed (optimized) the way fluids render and update.

-Changed (optimized) the way mob pathfinding works.

-Changed (optimized) the way the Detector Block and Lens work internally to decrease the number of client/server messages they generate.

-Changed Minecraft's sound system so that sounds that move outside of audible range automatically stop playing. This was done as a workaround to an outstanding vanilla bug that was responsible for a lot of the stutter that occurs when numerous sounds are playing, and was particularly noticeable as the primary source of framerate stutter when in the nether.

-Fixed problem with the Mill Stone sometimes not changing its sound state based on its contents.

-Fixed problem with the Block Dispenser not being able to combine clay and snow balls into blocks.

-Fixed problem with player names still getting displayed when players are crouching with Hardcore Player Names enabled.

-Fixed problem with string instantly popping off when placed on a Stake.

-Fixed problem with powered and detector rails popping off of moving Platforms.

-Fixed problem with Hardcore Spawn being centered around 0,0 rather than the actual original spawn.

-Fixed problem with Boats and Minecarts falling through upwards facing Block Dispensers.

-Fixed problem with not being able to place the mod's mushroom items in flower pots, and pots containing mushrooms dropping the old mushroom blocks.

-Fixed problem with the Block Dispenser not being able to place brewing stands.

-Fixed problem with the spider targetting code where they would occasionally aim for portions of the target's body to which they didn't have a clear line of sight.

-Fixed problem with snow resting in the same block as tall grass, flowers, and other similar blocks, appearing on top of any blocks placed in the same area it occupies.

-Fixed a few visual glitches when snow rests on slabs or other partial blocks.

-Fixed problem with the Hibachi not relighting automatically if the flame above it was extinguished.

-Fixed problem with blocks occasionally triggering oddly when rotated on Turntables with a redstone torch attached.

Enjoy! :)

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If you'd like to say thanks for this release and help contribute to the further development of Better Than Wolves, please consider making a donation:

Just a note: would love to hear about the impact the various optimizations has on performance for you guys, particularly if you're running on a low end system.

Also, I'd be particularly interested in hearing about the differences between this release and the 4.68T test version I put out earlier in the week, as that will help me determine which optimizations had the greatest impact on overall performance.

FlowerChild wrote: -Added Hardcore Performance Enhancement to the mod

Hehe, couldn't pass up an opportunity like this, I see! :P

Thanks for another great release, and especially for taking the time to work on performance issues. They weren't affecting me very much, but I know that there are lots of others that were having trouble with them.

darahalian wrote: Hehe, couldn't pass up an opportunity like this, I see! :P

Of course not :)

darahalian wrote: Thanks for another great release, and especially for taking the time to work on performance issues. They weren't affecting me very much, but I know that there are lots of others that were having trouble with them.

You'd be surprised man. Even though I'm running on a fairly high end system, everything just feels a heck of a lot smoother for me. It's subtle, but quite addictive :)

Thanks again for another great release FC. I think its safe to say the community loves you (each in their own way).

As for the improvements: seems to me that there is a little bit of improvement. its better than before, but i didn't notice a whole lot of a difference since I play without sounds generally. Unless there is only supposed to be an improvement by 5-10 FPS. It does feel quite a bit smoother though. :)

matty79321 wrote:Unless there is only supposed to be an improvement by 5-10 FPS. It does feel quite a bit smoother though. :)

a) These kinds of improvements aren't generally measured by "frames", what's significant is the percentage. In your case, you're talking about 25-50%, which is rather large in optimization terms. I haven't been chasing some kind of magic bullet that suddenly puts your frame-rate into the hundreds with a couple of lines of code.

b) The optimizations largely target chunk load, not general frame rate, as that's basically your worst case scenario, and what winds up making the game feel jerky.

c) If it feels smoother, and you say it is, that's the goal here.

I used to get bad FPS spikes (the screen would freeze for a few seconds) when approaching and leaving my BTW machines on Lifeiwater's server; now it's completely smooth! That's really nice. Also, thanks for fixing the stake. I could not figure out what i was doing wrong with that. Maybe I can get it to work now.

FlowerChild wrote:

matty79321 wrote:Unless there is only supposed to be an improvement by 5-10 FPS. It does feel quite a bit smoother though. :)

a) These kinds of improvements aren't generally measured by "frames", what's significant is the percentage. In your case, you're talking about 25-50%, which is rather large in optimization terms. I haven't been chasing some kind of magic bullet that suddenly puts your frame-rate into the hundreds with a couple of lines of code.

b) The optimizations largely target chunk load, not general frame rate, as that's basically your worst case scenario, and what winds up making the game feel jerky.

c) If it feels smoother, and you say it is, that's the goal here.

OK, thanks for clearing that up.

I was just calling it a night, said I'd check the forums and what do you know but there's a new release out!

I played around on 4.68T with a slightly improved fps (from 18-25 up to 20-30) in comparison with 4.67. I still got some spikes when loading new chunks.

Just tried out this latest release and it's very very smooth. Much better than I've ever had before. I did notice that some chunks weren't loading for a couple of seconds but this had no effect on my FPS whatsoever, and they quickly loaded as I approached them.

TL;DR

4.67 - 20fps
4.68T - 24fps
4.68 - 26fps

I'm running a 2.3GHz dual core, 2GB RAM.
These rates were on fast settings, normal render distance, all particles & during the rain! Not a single spike, even near my cow pit.

I think it's safe to say that this update has definitely helped lower end systems big time, thank you very much!

Rich131 wrote: Just tried out this latest release and it's very very smooth. Much better than I've ever had before.

Awesomesauce :)

Rich131 wrote:I did notice that some chunks weren't loading for a couple of seconds but this had no effect on my FPS whatsoever, and they quickly loaded as I approached them.

Yeah, I should have mentioned that actually. What I suspect is happening with chunk load, is that MC has some kind of throttling system in place that if chunk load takes too long, it drops chunks and you get those visible holes until you approach them.

I haven't dug into that code yet (I plan to because if it works the way I think it does, I suspect it's really in need of some kind of queue to reschedule those dropped chunks to later instead of dropping them entirely), but that's consistent with everything I've seen so far. It seems like the more I sped up the chunk load process, the fewer chunks were getting dropped, while the frame-rate remained relatively unchanged (which supports my throttling theory above).

I still see the occasional one get dropped, but I'm finding it MUCH rarer than before. It might be something for you guys to also look out for in terms of the potential improvements coming from this release.

All tests SMP.
ATi Radeon 9600, GNU/Linux, latest Free Drivers in Debian Stable (which means, ancient.) S3TC enabled.

Short Draw Distance, Fast graphics, occlusion culling on. Sound off. Walking around a semi-complex area. (Fancy doesn't really subtract much FPS, tbh.)

4.67: 7-10 FPS, spikes into 10.
4.68T: 9-13 FPS, spikes into 15.
4.68: 9-13 FPS, spikes into 15.

Seems like most of the graphical improvements were in the T version, and since I don't play with sound, I didn't take advantage of the enhancements you made in this version. I haven't gone into the nether. I expect it to be a lot better.

Thanks, FC. Things are smoother and the game's more playable on Short. The game was always playable on Tiny, but... yeah it's Tiny. :)

I didn't see any kind of FPS boost in the sunny overworld, which is fine since I generally get around 28-30 FPS anyways. My FPS used to drop down to 15-18 in the rain, but now stays 24-26, and even better if I turn down the particles. This is a really nice improvement!

The most significant difference thus far has been chunk loading. I'm noticing my world loading substantially better. I settled down in an extreme hills biome, and I always assumed the increased density of non-air blocks in this biome caused chunk loading to slow down. I have no idea whether that is true, but I can definitely report smooth-as-butter chunk loading on a laptop with an integrated graphics card. No more holes in my mountains make me a happy camper!

Smooth as a babies bottom. Eliminated all the stutters for me. Thanks so much FC

Benanov wrote: Seems like most of the graphical improvements were in the T version

Hmmm...what may have happened there is that the CPU has been pushed to the point on your system, where the GPU is now the dominant bottle-neck.

I'd be surprised if what I did between the 'T' version and this release wouldn't have an impact otherwise.

Also, if you're in an area with a lot of BTW machinery (you mentioned densely populated, so not sure if that's what you meant), you might want to see what the differences are in more vanilla-style areas.

I have plans to reduce the poly-count on a few of the BTW blocks to reduce GPU load in the near future (I have a marked difference in framerate on my system, from about 30fps to 60fps depending on whether I can see my machinery or not, with the exact same chunks loaded, so that's got to be almost all GPU), so areas with an already lower poly-count might give you an indication if there's anything to what I'm theorizing about above.

So I have my hut at the edge of a chunk. Before this patch, I used to get a 1 second stutter as I went in the door. Now it's smooth as can be. Thanks FC

As one of the many people that play mc on a laptop, I'm very grateful for this release. Thanks very much!

FPS statistics on my ancient, and very much low-end, laptop:

Vanilla 1.4.7: 6-10 fps
Vanilla 1.5.1: 6-8 fps (I was surprised the apparent "optimizations" did nothing)
Better than Wolves 4.65: 6-9 fps
Better than Wolves 4.66: 7-9 fps
Better than Wolves 4.67: 7-10 fps
Better than Wolves 4.68T: 14-20 fps (very large and much appreciated jump :) )
Better than Wolves 4.68: 16-22 fps

However, even better than these figures was the smoothness of it all. The move from the test version to the full release of 4.68 had a huge boost to how generally smooth chunk-loading was. Thanks again, FC!

Sweet, 100% increase on that one, going from slide-show to playable :)

Been getting some pretty whacked out figures over on the MCF thread as well, with some people that were getting good frame-rates already experiencing some pretty huge jumps. I'm going to take a look at their specific hardware tomorrow to try and get an idea of why their systems in particular benefited so much from it.

I think there are some GPU-centric optimizations coming from Mojang in 1.5.2 as well, which I think is going to be released Thursday (I think it's the same stuff the Forge recently did), so hopefully that combined with my CPU-centric optimizations will make an even larger difference.

EDIT: Hmmm...actually, it doesn't sound as hopeful as I thought for 1.5.2. This is the note:

FPS issues when using high-resolution textures

Not sure if that's the same thing that was done for Forge or not.

I tested the update on two of my systems, my high-end desktop and my ancient laptop. Results:

Laptop, pre 4.68: 3-8 FPS
Laptop, post 4.68: 13-20 FPS


Desktop, pre 4.68: 270-300 FPS
Desktop, post 4.68: 320-360 FPS

There is a rather extreme difference between the stats of these two machines, but both get an improvement in fps post 4.68. It certainly seems as though BTW on my laptop will be feasible now though. Thanks for the update!

Ok look. stats are meaningless from someone like me who doesn't understand benchmarking like some of you veterans. But good god I will tell you this. I'm running a 6 core 3.2ghz 10gb ram 2gb gpu and was getting stutters and drops in framerate while in my very largely built up npc village. I have tons of villagers and golems running around and when I jot around, I would drop quite low in framerate.

The bastard is running like butter now. Steady 60 to 45 frames per second. I had to literally stop playing to come rave to you about how much I appreciate your work.

Holy optimisation batman!

Pre 4.68T around 40-42 fps, a lot of sticking and stutter
4.68T max 44-46 , still lots of stutter
4.68 50-52 fps. Smooth. Smooth as hell. Hell is as smooth as hell.
The rain also used to make the game pretty unplayable to me, it still hits performance but tons better than it was.

Also this is on a system that was running 20 ish fps on a clean vanilla 1.5.1 install. Thats a crazy increase.

On the performance, the latest version of BTW definitely runs smoother on my machine.

On my current world, I have a long wooden road I'd built between two bases. When moving down it, all the chunks down the right side would fail to load until I got close. With the latest version of BTW installed, I didn't get a single chunk error, even when sprinting down the road.

I tried again with a 32x and 64x texture pack (just BTW and Modloader, not using MCPatcher or Optifine). While my FPS did drop as expected with increasing the texture resolution, I could still sprint down that same road and get no chunk errors.

Bravo, Flowerchild.

Well. well well well well well.

Being the lazy kind of guy I am, I havn't got this installed on the desktop yet (somehow a new pile of boxes has ended up in front of it again) so I figured I'd test out my laptop's cooling fan again and test this on here.

It's smooth. Real smooth.

And so, I....umm...decided to stress test it. In creative. With chicken spawn eggs. Just to see what could happen. After seeing my FPS dropped by 25% by the time I had 400 of the blighters in a 1x1x3 hole with water in the bottom, I thought it was time. I walked away. And my minecraft? It didn't crash. It didn't arbitrarily close. It didn't even bloody stutter when I passed the 16-block threshold.

Like, yay!

Wow Flowerchild, just wow
with 4.67 i would get a smooth average of 20-25 FPS with Occlusion culling off and a heavily movement staggered 20-35 FPS with Occlusion Culling on
Now with 4.68 I get an average smooth 38-45 FPS with Occlusion Culling off and a much smoother FPS of 40-60 (yes 40-60 no joke) with occlusion culling on. This is amazing

Does the rain sound higher-pitched to anyone else in the new version?