So I'm trying to play F.E.A.R. on a newer system...

[AnthrSolidSnake]

And it's not going well. I know it's an older game, and that incompatibilities are inevitable, but there has to be some way around it.

Okay, my problem is, I'm getting around 32 FPS constantly, with vsync turned off both in game, and in the Nvidia control panel. I have the game maxed out, but that shouldn't even be a problem since I have:

A GTX 670
An AMD 8350
8GB of RAM
Windows 8 Pro 64-bit

I've tried looking this up myself, and the only issue I've seen is people with Logitech mice and keyboard. I do not have a Logitech mouse and KB. I have some sort of keyboard from a company called DBTech, and a mouse by Utech Smart. I read that it's possible to fix it anyway with the same solution, which is to disable all HID-compliant devices in the Device Manager, but what exactly is that doing? Is it disabling some of my devices? Will I need to turn it back on after I'm done? What is that?

I was going to post in the Steam forum for FEAR, but the Community section is apparently down, or at least I can't access it for some reason. Can someone please help?

EDIT: So, at this point I've given up. I mean, sincerely, thank you everyone who has tried to help. I've got the game to the point where it at least has never dropped below about 45 FPS, but it's only at certain points. Otherwise it stays at a steady 80, which is still low for the hardware I have, but it's obviously playable. So thank you again. If people still want to help with the problem, I'm still open for it, but at this point I think I'll just play through the game. If someone figures out the problem along the way, more power to them! I'm sure I'll appreciate it, and maybe someone else that comes across this thread.

 

[Weaver]

I'm going to the grocery store to get some stuff but I'll install it and see if I can get it to work. I need to find the disc lol.

I have windows 8 and an nVidia GTX 780 so we're in similar circumstance. However, I'm using an intel i7 not an AMD CPU.

 

[shrekfan246]

I read that it's possible to fix it anyway with the same solution, which is to disable all HID-compliant devices in the Device Manager, but what exactly is that doing? Is it disabling some of my devices? Will I need to turn it back on after I'm done? What is that?

That's what I read too. The F.E.A.R. engine bugs out because of modern mice or something. It should only be one or two of the specific HID-compliant devices listed in your Device Manager, and disabling them will reduce some functionality depending on what exactly is causing the problem (for instance, if your mouse has extra buttons or custom DPI scaling, those won't work properly after disabling the corresponding HID-compliant device), but I don't believe it would completely disable the device (I'm not positive on that though; I'll do a lot of tweaking to get PC games running, but something I have to do manually every time I boot up or shut down a game is going a bit too far for me to continue caring, because yes you would have to re-enable it after you're done playing).

After taking a quick gander at the Utech Smart website, the mice look rather similar to Logitech gaming mice anyway, so that might be what's causing the problems even if it's not Logitech.

If that's not what's causing the problem, then I'll sadly be of no further help.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

I'm going to the grocery store to get some stuff but I'll install it and see if I can get it to work. I need to find the disc lol.

I have windows 8 and an nVidia GTA 780 so we're in similar circumstance. However, I'm using an intel i7 not an AMD CPU.

I'd really appreciate it. I remember playing FEAR on a AMD 6770 just a few years ago on Windows 7 and it worked perfectly fine then.

Also, I disabled Threaded Optimization in the Nvidia control panel, and it seemed to work for a little while, getting back up to 80 FPS, but then when I started the game back up again, it dropped back down to 40, which with the hardware I have, just doesn't make much sense with a 2005 game.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

I read that it's possible to fix it anyway with the same solution, which is to disable all HID-compliant devices in the Device Manager, but what exactly is that doing? Is it disabling some of my devices? Will I need to turn it back on after I'm done? What is that?

That's what I read too. The F.E.A.R. engine bugs out because of modern mice or something. It should only be one or two of the specific HID-compliant devices listed in your Device Manager, and disabling them will reduce some functionality depending on what exactly is causing the problem (for instance, if your mouse has extra buttons or custom DPI scaling, those won't work properly after disabling the corresponding HID-compliant device), but I don't believe it would completely disable the device (I'm not positive on that though; I'll do a lot of tweaking to get PC games running, but something I have to do manually every time I boot up or shut down a game is going a bit too far for me to continue caring, because yes you would have to re-enable it after you're done playing).

After taking a quick gander at the Utech Smart website, the mice look rather similar to Logitech gaming mice anyway, so that might be what's causing the problems even if it's not Logitech.

If that's not what's causing the problem, then I'll sadly be of no further help.

Well, when I first disabled the HID devices, it made no difference. However, I thought disabling Threaded Optimization in the Nvidia Control panel fixed it, since I was getting 80-90FPS on average when I booted up the game again, however after configuring my controls, and starting, I was back down to around 40 again.

This is when I noticed that the tray icon for my mouse settings was still open, and I closed it, and now my game is running butter smooth again, regardless of how many times I close and restart the game. I can still configure the in game controls based on my mouse's previous settings, however when I reopen the driver settings for my mouse (which still doesn't seem to make the FPS go back down) I can no longer change the settings. All my mouse buttons still work, I just can no longer change what function they can do, or the color of the mouse lights or anything. I assume (hopefully) once I reenabled the HID settings, that I can begin changing the mouse settings again, but I suppose I'll try that after I enjoy my game.

 

[shrekfan246]

I assume (hopefully) once I reenabled the HID settings, that I can begin changing the mouse settings again, but I suppose I'll try that after I enjoy my game.

So long as you don't delete or uninstall anything, it should work just fine as soon as you start everything back up again (in this instance, software/drivers related to the mouse).

Hopefully that does fix the problem, it's quite obnoxious how bad that bug in the game's engine is, and it's not an isolated incident that only happens to a few people either.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

I assume (hopefully) once I reenabled the HID settings, that I can begin changing the mouse settings again, but I suppose I'll try that after I enjoy my game.

So long as you don't delete or uninstall anything, it should work just fine as soon as you start everything back up again (in this instance, software/drivers related to the mouse).

Hopefully that does fix the problem, it's quite obnoxious how bad that bug in the game's engine is, and it's not an isolated incident that only happens to a few people either.

It still seems that the problem is taken care of so long as I don't mind keeping my mouse light green for a while. I usually change the color every week just for fun, but I guess I can survive without that until I'm done with the game. Plus, all the buttons still work regardless, so I can still play my other games in between, so everything seems to be a win-win so far. Thank you for the attention and help with my problem!

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I had a similar problem with F.E.A.R. 2, the performance was pretty unspectacular despite me having a computer build that should have been able to run it on maximum settings no problem. I thought the game was weird and floaty because of the actual engine though.

Set the .exe to High in Task Manager? All other options I think of have already been previously attempted.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Well, I thought the problem was fixed (again), but when I got to the next level, it dropped back down to 40FPS. At this point, the game seems to just be doing it at random, with no real reason for it that I can see. This time, when I try solutions, I'm going to exhaust everything until I sure it works. I should have done that to begin with, but I got too eager.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

I had a similar problem with F.E.A.R. 2, the performance was pretty unspectacular despite me having a computer build that should have been able to run it on maximum settings no problem. I thought the game was weird and floaty because of the actual engine though.

Set the .exe to High in Task Manager? All other options I think of have already been previously attempted.

I tried that, but it didn't help. I just now noticed that the game drops in framerate whenever it autosaves, however I don't see any option to turn off auto-saving

 

[Ender910_v1legacy]

A random idea, but have you tried setting the game to use one core? Some older games don't really like multi-core cpu's.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

A random idea, but have you tried setting the game to use one core? Some older games don't really like multi-core cpu's.

That only dropped my FPS by about 8.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

What resolution are you trying to run it at? That engine is /insanely/ resolution bound, for some weird reason, and it may just be that if you're trying to run it at 1080P or better, it's so poorly optimized for that resolution that it's throwing a hissy fit. Also make sure you're not running it in Direct X 8 mode. Newer hardware uses software emulation for pre-DX9 stuff, and that can really kill your framerate on some of the more impressive DX8 games.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

What resolution are you trying to run it at? That engine is /insanely/ resolution bound, for some weird reason, and it may just be that if you're trying to run it at 1080P or better, it's so poorly optimized for that resolution that it's throwing a hissy fit. Also make sure you're not running it in Direct X 8 mode. Newer hardware uses software emulation for pre-DX9 stuff, and that can really kill your framerate on some of the more impressive DX8 games.

I'm running it in 1366X768 since I play on an HDTV and that is its native resolution. But that wouldn't explain why sometimes the game runs perfectly fine, but when it loads a new level it drops back down to 40 again.

 

[oplinger]

What resolution are you trying to run it at? That engine is /insanely/ resolution bound, for some weird reason, and it may just be that if you're trying to run it at 1080P or better, it's so poorly optimized for that resolution that it's throwing a hissy fit. Also make sure you're not running it in Direct X 8 mode. Newer hardware uses software emulation for pre-DX9 stuff, and that can really kill your framerate on some of the more impressive DX8 games.

I'm running it in 1366X768 since I play on an HDTV and that is its native resolution. But that wouldn't explain why sometimes the game runs perfectly fine, but when it loads a new level it drops back down to 40 again.

The game is optimized for 1024x768 or 1280x960 something. Any higher and it bottlenecks. The game also only uses one core, but it does ask for 3 GHz for that single core. So offset it to something other than core 0?

other problems could be things in the background. It doesn't do it for FEAR 1, but something like Xfire causes massive drops in FPS for FEAR 2.

Does your framerate change playing on lowest settings and highest settings?

Maybe it has a memory leak? That used to also be an issue.

Otherwise, disabling HID devices is kind of the only fix people talk about.

The only other things I can think of off the top of my head are graphical settings. Like AA is really poorly done for FEAR, so that brings down your FPS a lot, the other is soft shadows, because their "soft" shadows, are just 3 extra shadows on -every shadow- offset by a little.

I say try changing resolutions and see what sort of results you get. The TV should allow for some up scaling depending on how it handles that sort of thing.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

What resolution are you trying to run it at? That engine is /insanely/ resolution bound, for some weird reason, and it may just be that if you're trying to run it at 1080P or better, it's so poorly optimized for that resolution that it's throwing a hissy fit. Also make sure you're not running it in Direct X 8 mode. Newer hardware uses software emulation for pre-DX9 stuff, and that can really kill your framerate on some of the more impressive DX8 games.

I'm running it in 1366X768 since I play on an HDTV and that is its native resolution. But that wouldn't explain why sometimes the game runs perfectly fine, but when it loads a new level it drops back down to 40 again.

The game is optimized for 1024x768 or 1280x960 something. Any higher and it bottlenecks. The game also only uses one core, but it does ask for 3 GHz for that single core. So offset it to something other than core 0?

other problems could be things in the background. It doesn't do it for FEAR 1, but something like Xfire causes massive drops in FPS for FEAR 2.

Does your framerate change playing on lowest settings and highest settings?

Maybe it has a memory leak? That used to also be an issue.

Otherwise, disabling HID devices is kind of the only fix people talk about.

The only other things I can think of off the top of my head are graphical settings. Like AA is really poorly done for FEAR, so that brings down your FPS a lot, the other is soft shadows, because their "soft" shadows, are just 3 extra shadows on -every shadow- offset by a little.

I say try changing resolutions and see what sort of results you get. The TV should allow for some up scaling depending on how it handles that sort of thing.

Changing the resolution, whether to "optimized" or otherwise, doesn't seem to have any effect at all on the framerate. Also, changing everything to all minimum, and all maximum offers no difference either.

The game does seem to make use of at least two cores, as when I switched to one core, the framerate does drop by about 10FPS, but if I enable only two cores, I'm back to the same performance as if I had it "use" all cores.

 

[oplinger]

What resolution are you trying to run it at? That engine is /insanely/ resolution bound, for some weird reason, and it may just be that if you're trying to run it at 1080P or better, it's so poorly optimized for that resolution that it's throwing a hissy fit. Also make sure you're not running it in Direct X 8 mode. Newer hardware uses software emulation for pre-DX9 stuff, and that can really kill your framerate on some of the more impressive DX8 games.

I'm running it in 1366X768 since I play on an HDTV and that is its native resolution. But that wouldn't explain why sometimes the game runs perfectly fine, but when it loads a new level it drops back down to 40 again.

The game is optimized for 1024x768 or 1280x960 something. Any higher and it bottlenecks. The game also only uses one core, but it does ask for 3 GHz for that single core. So offset it to something other than core 0?

other problems could be things in the background. It doesn't do it for FEAR 1, but something like Xfire causes massive drops in FPS for FEAR 2.

Does your framerate change playing on lowest settings and highest settings?

Maybe it has a memory leak? That used to also be an issue.

Otherwise, disabling HID devices is kind of the only fix people talk about.

The only other things I can think of off the top of my head are graphical settings. Like AA is really poorly done for FEAR, so that brings down your FPS a lot, the other is soft shadows, because their "soft" shadows, are just 3 extra shadows on -every shadow- offset by a little.

I say try changing resolutions and see what sort of results you get. The TV should allow for some up scaling depending on how it handles that sort of thing.

Changing the resolution, whether to "optimized" or otherwise, doesn't seem to have any effect at all on the framerate. Also, changing everything to all minimum, and all maximum offers no difference either.

The game does seem to make use of at least two cores, as when I switched to one core, the framerate does drop by about 10FPS, but if I enable only two cores, I'm back to the same performance as if I had it "use" all cores.

Alright, so since we've covered just about...everything recommended. Let's do something crazy.

First, run the game in a window at 640x480, or 1024x768.

Second, if that doesn't work, unplug every USB device from your computer. Give that a go and see what it does. FEAR had a terrible framerate when I had my gamepad plugged in, but disabling HID-compliant devices fixed that. Who knows though?

Third, if that doesn't work, try restarting your computer in a Selective start up mode, where you disable all non-essential services/application. Start up programs are usually...all non-essential, but leave your anti-virus up. You know, for safety. See if that does anything (Disabling all services will just make the game not run at all.)

And if that doesn't work, try just defragging the game files?

 

[Ritualist]

This is going to be the least helpful post of all: Just don't. F.E.A.R. was barely better than Doom 3. Go with number 2. Stay away from number 3, and enjoy.

 

[Waffle_Man]

Are you using a logitech keyboard? I don't know exactly what causes it (I think it has something to do with how the game handles polling, though don't quote me on that). I had that problem back when I had a logitech keyboard and I never solved it because I gave up and plugged in a crappy ten dollar keyboard, but you can read about it here. [http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1279444]

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Are you using a logitech keyboard? I don't know exactly what causes it (I think it has something to do with how the game handles polling, though don't quote me on that). I had that problem back when I had a logitech keyboard and I never solved it because I gave up and plugged in a crappy ten dollar keyboard, but you can read about it here. [http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1279444]

I am not, however I tried the fix for it anyway. It did help, but very minimally. The fist few levels I was getting around 70-80FPS, but then I get to the part where you crash out of a windows after you see Alma, and now I'm getting 40 with the fix, and about 30 without it. Which neither make sense, since I should be getting well into 100+