DMD Chapter 4 won't load, gives "Performance Warning" error message

[neonemesis]

Trying to get DMD chapter 4 v0.31 to work on my win8.1 32 bit PC (nVidia GEForce GPU). Not sure what fixes there are, searching didnt give me any results.

Whenever I try to load the game it comes up with a gray screen saying "Performance Warning" Ive looked thru the documentation provided with the error message but doesnt seem to help. Ive fiddled with the settings menu also provided with this error screen, but no changes. Also after about 5 or so minutes I get a windows error saying that program has to close.

What do I have to do to fix this? Or is there a different version I can download? Any info would be helpful, I've never finished the game and I would really like to....

 

[MissFortune]

It's been quite a long time since I've picked up DMD, but I remember the early portions of the game being surprisingly heavy for a game made with Ren'py, though that could just be my shit memory playing tricks on me. What are you other components, exactly? Windows 8/32-bit/Nvidia GPU doesn't really say a whole lot. What GPU are you running? CPU? How much ram is in the system? I'm assuming you're on a desktop system here, seeing how you phrased it, but I suppose a laptop is possible here as well.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you're system is likely the culprit. Windows 8 is nearly a decade old at this point, which would lead one to assume that the parts in it are about the same age. So, provided you're not working off a laptop that old, I can only assume you're running a GTX 690 or perhaps something slightly newer (though I doubt this is the actual issue). 32-bit isn't helping much either, which I feel might be your problem with DMD, though I could be wrong. More specifically, the ram/memory.



32-bit, if I remember correctly, can only take advantage of/utilize 4GB of ram. Depending on the system, it may even be less. That's not a lot at all, especially when you're running on Windows 8, which is awfully optimized and big reason why they moved on so quickly from it. Whereas 64-bit systems (at this point in technology) basically require 8GB to even open up Chrome and run your OS. Even running 64GB of ram in Windows 10/64-bit with just a pair of Edge tabs and a few folders open is already using 7GB (above image). So, if you assume your operating system is taking up a fair chunk of system memory to run, then add in a fairly heavy package in DMD, your system will probably start struggling. A spike happens anywhere else, and things likely end up crashing. Which is what you're essentially seeing currently.

Looking at the system requirements for DMD, at least what I found with a google search says you likely don't meet the minimum requirements.

System Requirements
OS: 64-Bit Windows 7/8/10
Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 @ 3.1 GHz or AMD FX-6300 @ 3.5 GHz or equivalent
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or analogue with 2GB VRAM
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 10 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX®-compatible

You're likely below spec in all of the first three. 64-bit with 8GB ram is, again, the bare minimum. The CPU listed above was released in either 2016 or 17, which makes it relatively recent. 64-bit is the mainstream now, especially seeing as you can get a 64-bit Raspberry Pi for about $30 (if not cheaper now). There isn't really any other way to say this besides saying you're system is showing it's age.

So, yeah, this was basically a verbose way of saying that you're due for an upgrade if you can afford it. DMD likely won't run on your current system, but hey, someone may know a little more about this than I do myself. I could easily be wrong.

 

[neonemesis]

Chapters 1 thru 3 work fine on my computer, I'm exclusively having issues with only Chapter 4.

Its a desktop. (32 Bit) AMD Sempron 2.7 ghz CPU, nVidia GeForce 7025, 4 GB RAM, and the OS is Windows 8.1 (If there's anything importantly different between 8 and 8.1) , DirectX 11, OpenGL 2.1 is supported.

If I run in comparability mode for Win7 or Win8 the program doesn't crash but I still get the Performance Warning, and none of the renderers I can select seem to change anything.

In the render options menu of the performance warning....

If I select the GL2 renderer, I get a "Could not get pygame screen: error('Could not create GL context: \xd2\xb4',)" in the log.txt

If I select the ANGLE2 renderer, I get a "Could not get pygame screen: error('Could not initialize EGL',)" in the log.txt

If I select "Automatically Choose" I get this:

UGUU couldn't find glBeginTransformFeedback: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glBindBufferBase: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glBindBufferRange: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glClearBufferfi: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glClearBufferfv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glClearBufferiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glClearBufferuiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glEndTransformFeedback: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glGetFragDataLocation: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glGetStringi: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glGetTransformFeedbackVarying: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glGetUniformuiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glGetVertexAttribIiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glGetVertexAttribIuiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glTransformFeedbackVaryings: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glUniform1ui: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glUniform1uiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glUniform2ui: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glUniform2uiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glUniform3ui: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glUniform3uiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glUniform4ui: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glUniform4uiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glVertexAttribI4i: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glVertexAttribI4iv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glVertexAttribI4ui: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glVertexAttribI4uiv: No OpenGL context has been made current
UGUU couldn't find glVertexAttribIPointer: No OpenGL context has been made current

Ive done some various checks, drivers are up to date, fixed any registry issues, everything required for this as up to date as it can be. Short of trying another computer (which I don't have) I am unsure how to fix this. Everything I've tried so far has not fixed the issue.

 

[anne O'nymous]

32-bit, if I remember correctly, can only take advantage of/utilize 4GB of ram.

This doesn't matter.
The system can not use RAM block higher than 4GB, but it can perfectly handle more RAM that this. As for Ren'py, until the version 7.0, it was using a 32 bits version of Python anyway. Therefore it isn't impacted by the limitation, and this never really impacted Ren'py capabilities.

What is more surprising is that he use a 32bits version of Windows on a 64 bits CPU, and what is effectively limiting is the fact that he only have 4 GB of effective RAM. Even with the OS cache enabled, Windows can probably only free up to 3GB, to the price of a general slowdown.
But in the same time, Ren'py itself is caching the images, and generally limit itself below the GB, what let it run on old system without real problem, whatever the game. At most, the loading time of each image will be sensible, because they can't be cached, but it's all.

Looking at the system requirements for DMD, at least what I found with a google search says you likely don't meet the minimum requirements.

The requirements are those of Ren'py, and his computer meet them. It's on the low side, but still on the range.

[...] DirectX 11, OpenGL 2.1 is supported.

What let Ren'py 7.4.x works with its legacy renderers. As said the configuration is short, but still should works with Angle. This unless MrDots started to mess with Ren'py, trying to add an optimization that isn't needed.

If I select the GL2 renderer, [...]
If I select the ANGLE2 renderer, [...]

It's "Angle" that you've to choose.



All this being said, your computer is now reaching the limits of Ren'py. While you shouldn't encounter this kind of issues yet, it will happen more an more often, and it's to expect that when the version 8.0.0 will be released, Ren'py will not anymore be able to run on your computer.

 

[neonemesis]

I don't have an "Angle" option to select. All it gives me for selections is

Automatically Choose
Force GL2
Force ANGLE2

Those are the only render options available on the menu.

My computer is a Frankenstein that I put together with spare parts from other PC towers, even more surprising it's a ASROCK N-68S mother board running Windows 8.1 and it doesn't even lag. Supposed to be not possible for this mother board but it runs brilliantly. Can even run Minecraft with little lag. This is the first ever issue I've run into with anything on this computer. It can also run Windows 10 flawlessly but I like Win8.1 better, personally.

 

[anne O'nymous]

I don't have an "Angle" option to select.

Yeah, seeing the warning message on another thread, I figured it in between. The game activated GL2, reason why you get the warning and not the usual renderers selection.

What also mean that you are relatively stuck, there's no way out of this issue. The game need GL2, and your GPU driver can not run GL2.

Try updating the said drivers, just in case, but I have few hope.

 

[neonemesis]

What also mean that you are relatively stuck, there's no way out of this issue. The game need GL2, and your GPU driver can not run GL2.

Try updating the said drivers, just in case, but I have few hope.

Nvidia GeForce 7025 is a GL2 GPU....

Driver is up to date, as I already stated....

I am starting to think that the issue may be something in the Ren'Py side of things that is not universally or compatibly coded in Chapter 4, as I stated above, Chapters 1 thru 3 work fine....

 

[neonemesis]

UPDATE

I searched for and downloaded Chapter 4 v0.30, if I run it in compatibility mode for Win7 I still get the performance warning, but v0.30 has more render options, if I choose "Force GL" the game works, on v0.30.

The current version of Chapter 4, v0.31, does not seem to work tho.... I'd like to figure it out so I can continue to play as v0.32 is due to be released in a few weeks...

 

[anne O'nymous]

Nvidia GeForce 7025 is a GL2 GPU....

You understand that there's a reason why I have wrote "GL2" and not "openGL 2.0", right ?

"GL2" do not mean openGL 2.0, it mean "second generation of openGL support". According to the name of the API primitive that are missing, it need at least openGL 3.0 to works. And, no, it's not Ren'py fault if your GPU driver do not have near to 30 API primitives.

[...] but v0.30 has more render options, if I choose "Force GL" the game works, on v0.30.

It rely on Ren'py 7.4.3, therefore, a version prior to the introduction of "GL2", while the chapter 4 0.31 use Ren'py 7.4.5, that is the version where "GL2" have been introduced.

 

[neonemesis]

Well then I am more of a hardware guy, that being said, if I were to get a newer more capable GPU that plugs into the PCI, then I should be able to run the newer versions of Ren'Py? Ive been wanting to get an AMD GPU...