Hearing Seb describe the “Low Power Mode” during the Dev Q&A just now made me think there still is some miscommunication, so I did a quick graph of what happens on my machine when I run MSFS.
As you can see, the main menu uses 100% of my GPU for showing a mostly blurry hangar animation. But even more unbelievably, the static screenshot with a progess bar also uses upwards of 67% of my GPU most of the time, about the same as actually flying. I don’t think Low Power Mode is the solution here.
My PC temp and fans ramp up quick in the main menu because of that, even with vsync and fps limit enabled. I agree they don’t seem to understand the issue.
Why would they think that a global low power mode that cuts FPS in half or more is what people are asking for? Something that only works in dev mode? Which means peoples’ flights won’t get logged. Or to add a toggle for it?
Seriously, they really don’t understand what the problem is here and it’s painfully obvious.
EDIT:
And it’s not like we’d have access to either dev mode or the hotkey during the lengthy update process that for some people can be HOURS. During that time, their GPU is running full bore at 80+C and slowly killing itself. Not to mention the ludicrous amounts of electricity being wasted in the process. It’s both economically and environmentally irresponsible.
There is some sort of communication issue here. I agree with your point.
I don’t want any 3d stuff in the menu if I had my choice, but we’ll probably not get that. So if they can just auto enable that dev mode option in the menu then it’s probably good enough given the limited about of time/devs they seem to have.
I would have to make an assumption here about how MS tests the Sim.
I am going to assume they test on average machines that comform strictly to the requirements
laid down for the various simming modes.
That being the case they MUST be seeing this load also.
However I have no comparison with other games as I dont play games.
Only the Simulator.
If what Crunchmeister describes is ‘the norm’ then we have to accept they dont care about
how long our GPUs last.
But if these loads are an exception then they must do something about it as they are ‘stress testing’
users GPUs to a unacceptable degree.
They see the same we do - more or less - but don’t see the problem in it. They don’t have to sit on an install screen for 4 hours with their GPU sounding like it’s a 747 at takeoff thrust cooking itself while updates install since they get quick updates from their internal staging servers at multi-gigabit speeds. They don’t pay out of pocket for the electricity used by their overworked GPUs. They don’t care how much heat their GPUs generate in their nice air conditioned offices. And if a GPU dies from overstress, I’m sure the IT department at Asobo have plenty more sitting on a shelf for a quick swap.
They see the same thing we do, but don’t understand why WE think it’s a problem.
And the “solution” they’re putting in place is based on the premise that we don’t like that our computers are consuming so much energy while the sim is running. So they’re adding the option for low power mode which will chop performance by 75% while this mode is active.
I shudder to think the side effects and other bugs this ill-conceived “solution” will introduce to the rest of the sim.
I haven’t been very vocal about this, but I too am in strong support of reducing the energy consumption / GPU load on the download screen and in the menus.
Seb, we aren’t asking for a global “Low Power Mode”. We’re just asking for two things:
the ability to configure our sim settings as we wish for (including Vsync off for Gsync/Freesync etc, FPS unlocked), just as it is now
AND
an additional setting to limit the framerate in the menus. Those with a slow connection or server-related download issues spend many hours downloading stuff on the loading screen or in the content manager. There’s no point in wasting energy here, even if you aim to reach the best possible framerates during flight.
Those of us who want to be energy conscious while flying have had this possibility since launch - we can already limit the framerate to 20 fps, if we really wish to do so. We just want separate settings - one for the menu, and one for in-game framerate. Low power in the menu, high power in-game.
Or did you just forget to mention the word “menu” while talking about Low Power Mode for minutes, Seb?
although you are correct and we can also limit the framerate ourselves, I do think it correct that folks raise this issue with MS so they become more aware of these issues.
Personally I am concerned about a ‘low power’ mode as this must affect the Sim functions. So I dont think I would make use of that.
Neither do I want to reduce my framerate just because there is overburn during the menus.
So I think MS need to understand this is a concern and have a general look around to see what can be done. Indeed, it doesnt need to be overengineered but some tweaks would be appropriate.
A plain background menu option might be a choice for example. Not too difficult to do and leaves choice up to user.
I’m well aware that it’s kind of a convenience function that makes it unnecessary to turn the limiter on/off everytime I switch between the game and the menu. Probably 50% of any software with good usability standards can be seen as convenience function, so nothing wrong with asking for it.
I don’t want to turn Vsync on in-game because my monitor wouldn’t use FreeSync then. And in the menu I don’t see the point in maxing out my GPU at >100Hz.
Btw, when you’re patronizing others, but don’t even get the point, the joke is on you.
To me, I don’t see it as even asking for an additional frame limiter for the menu, I don’t think a “frame limiter for menus” is even a thing in most applications, it should be done by default, by design - to have the sim be more efficient, when it does not need the entire GPU performance; saving resources and power.
The idea in my view; would be to design the sim to be more efficient in areas where the full power of resources is not required. It’s a general design aspect that needs be considered, in consciousness of not wasting resources.
Yes, I agree. The point isn’t so much whether to use a frame limiter or something else. But it appears they decided to showcase the hangar in the menu background, and to run it in the main engine, and this can’t be done with low resources. Of course, in-game it makes sense to make good use of the resources, up to a user-defined point (e.g. 30 or 60 fps, or unlimited). But not in the menu or loading screens.
It will have to be seen what this new MSFS “eco mode” will bring to the sim and Seb did mention that depending on feedback, this would be included by default?.. see Q&A stream for details… so with effort, feedback and input from the community, maybe this could be pushed into the right direction.
I wonder if the background-rendering-GPU-intensity is actually designed to fail gpu’s before they get to flying… but that may be a bit of a dark thought…
Anyways… agree to the point made and analysed by the author… Make this a vote and you’ve got mine.
You’re technically correct here, but this isn’t an option for everyone. If you use the sim with popout windows, which is a good number of folks, limiting frames in either your GPU’s CP or via vsync in game has a crippling effect on performance of the sim. It the difference between running at 30-35 fps with popouts, or running at 10-15 fps.
For those running without popouts though, I agree. Limiting your fps to 60 in your control panel fixes this issue.
However, this is still a huge oversight on Asobo’s part, and the last 2 Q&As have demonstrated they’re completely missing the point of what’s wrong and oblivious to the concerns end users have about the issue.
OK causation isnt always what it seems more testing
The more I play with it the less FreeSync seems to do.
As far as I can tell FreeSync Premium will only operate between 47 and 165 regardless of refresh rate on my monitor. I was under the assumption it had some tie to the refresh rate and my testing seems to have proven me wrong, on monitors it just is what it is.
