The Continued Ignorance of Performance Issues Continues to Hamper Player Fun

Pulsar

Recently, it's been getting more and more difficult to enjoy this game and to look over the glaring issues. The Console port of DBD has shown that the game is extremely poorly optimized, and performance will continue to get worse unless BHVR addresses the issues now.

I fear that soon, the game will become unplayable for us on current-gen Consoles. Resident Evil broke the game for a month, and it still hasn't fully recovered. What this shows is that the issue is built into the game itself, and will likely continue to worsen if it is not resolved. Likewise, we are seeing the return of bugs long thought patched, which makes me suspect that the entire code is starting to crumble under the weight of the game. I hope BHVR takes the time to do this correctly and fixes their game. If they do not, I fear we will soon lose the ability to play it at all.

Here are some videos demonstrating my points, please note that these were all taken PRIOR to the RE patch in June of 2021. These issues have been plaguing Console players since the game was ported in 2017. I doubt there will ever be an official confirmation from BHVR, but it is important that we do not let these issues go silently. The only thing we can do is continue to talk and spread awareness about them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl7zIxwMUn0&ab_channel=PulsarGaming360 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7p_8C649Rs&ab_channel=PulsarGaming360 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSa8yNir8wU&ab_channel=PulsarGaming360 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlwQc0rdiM0&ab_channel=PulsarGaming360 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tQaee-Od90&ab_channel=PulsarGaming360

August Edit: Well, we are nearing 100 pages. Congrats everyone. We still haven't gotten an answer from BHVR about what happened to Optimization, but we have inspired others to start to question it. I've furthered clarified the purpose of the thread and adjusted some of the language used in this opening statement to better reflect that.

Thank you.

Pulsar

@QwQw said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2190971#Comment_2190971

Well then should we try tagging Mandy or somebody?

Maybe.

I dunno if it'd help.

Mat_Sella

The saddest part is there is NO negative to improving optimization. getting the older gen consoles closer to 60 means that PC players with higher frame rate monitors get to enjoy an even smoother experience.

Microstutters are the worst.

Pulsar

@Mat_Sella said:

The saddest part is there is NO negative to improving optimization. getting the older gen consoles closer to 60 means that PC players with higher frame rate monitors get to enjoy an even smoother experience.

Microstutters are the worst.

Correct. There is no downside.

All it would take is a lot of effort.

Pulsar

Can we get graphics settings on Console?

I couldn't see this Claudette at all

ShinobuSK

@Pulsar said:

Can we get graphics settings on Console?

https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/OT08PU4LG6Y8/e9c3346a-88bf-4bd7-91c9-3d8d17f3a284.png

I couldn't see this Claudette at all

Theres a claudette on that picture?

Pulsar

@ShinobuSK said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2191469#Comment_2191469

Theres a claudette on that picture?

Sure is. She had Iron Will and was crouching there. She shifted and I swung blindly because I heard grass move.

Whenever I see PC DBD videos, the brightness is always cranked up.

This Claudette was literally invisible.

Slickstyles

@Pulsar said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2191504#Comment_2191504

Sure is. She had Iron Will and was crouching there. She shifted and I swung blindly because I heard grass move.

Whenever I see PC DBD videos, the brightness is always cranked up.

This Claudette was literally invisible.

If you play on low settings, they're much easier to spot. Hopefully, you guys get graphics settings soon. I play on Ultra just to enjoy seeing the game in HQ with Nvidia filters and Claudette's look like black figures. I wouldn't mind if they slightly brighten this map up.

dspaceman20

Literally over 400 comment on this issue of optimization and no dev or mod have commented yet.

Let that sink in

Pulsar

@dspaceman20 said:

Literally over 400 comment on this issue of optimization and no dev or mod have commented yet.

Let that sink in

I'm trying.

Pulsar

@Slickstyles said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2191513#Comment_2191513

If you play on low settings, they're much easier to spot. Hopefully, you guys get graphics settings soon. I play on Ultra just to enjoy seeing the game in HQ with Nvidia filters and Claudette's look like black figures. I wouldn't mind if they slightly brighten this map up.

https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/OWZKVL0AOAFG/darkness.png

Claudette's are literally borderline impossible to see on Autohaven and MacMillan

Yords

@Pulsar said:

Can we get graphics settings on Console?

https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/OT08PU4LG6Y8/e9c3346a-88bf-4bd7-91c9-3d8d17f3a284.png

I couldn't see this Claudette at all

That's just tires.

Pulsar

@Yords said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2191469#Comment_2191469

That's just tires.

SHE MUST BE IN THE TIRES

Yords

@Nebula said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2191014#Comment_2191014

Running near a fire barrel is no longer an option unless you want to freeze for a solid second

*Running the game

Yords

@Pulsar said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2191550#Comment_2191550

SHE MUST BE IN THE TIRES

What if... she is the tires?

EngineerDispenser

Performance issues has been off-and-on since the start of the game's lifespan, but as the infamous quote has went around in gaming communities. "A developer fixes one issue, several bugs pop up right afterwards." This issue has been poorly handled and I have a computer that's slightly older than the game itself. (Only upgraded the GPU, but it still runs beautiful.) Yet, I have started to receive issues with running the game in the past month or so.

The biggest issue I can't wrap around my head is the constant CPU-strain the client has, regardless if I'm on Low or Ultra settings, and still retain 60~100 FPS on both settings. (I've locked my frames at 60 FPS, while 20 FPS in the background, in NVidia Control Panel.) I only managed to suppress some of this strain by limiting settings in NVidia Control Panel and tweaking some lines (like ensuring FPS stays locked at 60 FPS, VSync is off, etc.) in the GameUserSettings.ini file. Unfortunately, console players don't get this luxury and this should be a priority for optimization.

Overclocking my GPU runs at the risk of my client crashing, since the current Unreal Engine version can't handle overclocking for some odd reason. The servers have issue with some games disconnecting off-and-on, which this could be with Steam or the host network, and racking up penalties for no reason. (If I recall correctly, DBD's servers are with Amazon.)

My game has started to crash on the Saloon map recently for unknown reasons and resorted to technicians finding out the specific issue. (Friends that played DBD with me in the past have moved on.) I'm having to task manager the game, if someone offers the Saloon map, because I don't want to rack up DC penalties.

zombitehdeath

Good news everyone.

I got a new controller.

my experience will now be less frustrated

onemind

@zombitehdeath said:

Good news everyone.

I got a new controller.

my experience will now be less frustrated

Nice now you just have to pay 500 for your optimization

Yords

I wonder how long it will take for a dev to notice, if they are even looking at this thread.

Nebula

@zombitehdeath said:

Good news everyone.

I got a new controller.

my experience will now be less frustrated

Are you sure it wasn’t the headphones or the gaming chair that was your problem??

zombitehdeath

@Nebula said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2191920#Comment_2191920

Are you sure it wasn’t the headphones or the gaming chair that was your problem??

Well there was drifting in my right stick, and my triggers weren't working as properly and it was a wired controller.

Also I sit on a wooden chair so I don't know if you could consider it a gaming chair and my headphone did help with lessen my frustrations as it was better then my previous and I didn't have headphone to use before I got them.

@onemind said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2191920#Comment_2191920

Nice now you just have to pay 500 for your optimization

I'm too poor to get that and I would rather get a pc

QwQw

@Yords said:

I wonder how long it will take for a dev to notice, if they are even looking at this thread.

We have 15+ pages of reply's. Something tells me they've already seen this thread.

onemind

@zombitehdeath said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2192300#Comment_2192300

Well there was drifting in my right stick, and my triggers weren't working as properly and it was a wired controller.

Also I sit on a wooden chair so I don't know if you could consider it a gaming chair and my headphone did help with lessen my frustrations as it was better then my previous and I didn't have headphone to use before I got them.

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2192230#Comment_2192230

I'm too poor to get that and I would rather get a pc

That's the point we would have to re buy the game and reprogress everything because no cross progression

ShinobuSK

@Yords said:

I wonder how long it will take for a dev to notice, if they are even looking at this thread.

Pretty sure they already looked at it, read some, and then slowly walked away

Pulsar

@ShinobuSK said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2192269#Comment_2192269

Pretty sure they already looked at it, read some, and then slowly walked away

It's highly likely.

That really should tell us all we need to know, tbh.

Shdw_Void

@onemind said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2192363#Comment_2192363

That's the point we would have to re buy the game and reprogress everything because no cross progression

That is the sole reason I am not moving to PC. I have a PC that is more than capable of running dbd. I'm not going to throw away my 2000+ hours of progression and the money I have already spent buying licensed DLC just for a better feel. As great as it feels on PC compared to consoles, its just not worth it for me

Pulsar

@QwQw said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2192269#Comment_2192269

We have 15+ pages of reply's. Something tells me they've already seen this thread.

More than likely.

I suspect that if they were going to respond, they would have.

RepostRiposte

@Yords said:

I wonder how long it will take for a dev to notice, if they are even looking at this thread.

They only respond to really really misinformed complaint posts to take a quick W or really really positive we-love-the-devs posts

Pulsar

Alright, I'm going to do it.

@MandyTalk

Is there any comment you can give about Console and low-spec PC Optimization discussed in the Dev post below? I promise you, I mean no insult when I say this, but hearing the the team is aware or that "we are working on it" isn't good enough anymore. The game has become much worse on low-mid end PC's and Consoles since that post was made. The evidence mounted in this thread clearly displays that.

People are becoming more and more disenfranchised with the state of the game on Console's. The last three Killers were vastly worse on Consoles upon release, with Blight only becoming playable EIGHT months after his release.

If BHVR is no longer working on 60 FPS for Console's, we deserve to know. Likewise, if you have anything to share, it would go a long way in restoring hope for the game on our platform.

Thank you.

@not_Queen said:

Over the past six months, we have allocated strike teams with the mission of improving the overall health of the game. As announced last December, we have developers working on a new matchmaking algorithm which we are actively testing and are almost ready to deploy. We are also targeting to migrate the game to dedicated servers by the end of summer 2019.

This blog post is meant to update you on the efforts put on optimization, which aim to enhance the overall game’s performance.

When we first released Dead by Daylight back in 2016, we targeted 30 FPS on our minimum spec. Up until recently, we optimized the game in bursts; for the console launch and before releasing a new Killer. We are now ready to set a new performance target: Dead by daylight will run at 60 FPS on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and minimum spec PCs.

Reaching 60 FPS on Dead by Daylight is not an easy task. It is a multifaceted iterative process that started six months ago and will be ongoing for months. Our strike team of programmers dedicated to optimizing the game has their hands deep into the game code. To summarize, optimization improves the frame rate by using less CPU and GPU cycles to update and render the world faster without any apparent loss of quality.

See below for a high-level view of our optimization roadmap.

STEP 1: UPDATE TO UNREAL ENGINE 4.20

Target: Chapter 10 and incremental changes with every engine update (update to 4.21 is planned for chapter 11)

The engine update was a necessity to move forward with the optimization process.

All the Unreal engine features below gives us additional tools and means to enhance the performance of the game: the new Apex integration (dynamic mesh simulation), RHI/Render thread split, Epic’s mesh reduction tool & improved animation thread tooling are just a few examples.

STEP 2: CPU, GPU AND CONTEXTUAL OPTIMIZATIONS

Target: Chapter 11 and ongoing

This is the core of the work to improve the performance and the game’s frame rate.
There are many opportunities for optimization, but here are the three main pillars overarching our efforts:

CPU optimizations: improving the game’s baseline systems

This is where the game world is simulated (interactions, character navigation, perks and powers). We will be converting our slowest gameplay blueprints to C++ which should, in specific cases, run ten to two hundred times faster. We are also moving from a tick-based system to an event-based-system. A tick-based system is much more demanding, as it constantly pokes the CPU to know when to trigger an action, while an event-based system can enable an event only when necessary and therefore reduce the stress on the CPU.

GPU Optimizations: Overall Graphic Optimizations

The GPU is where the game world is rendered into an image which is then drawn on the screen. The optimization actions listed below mainly affect the game’s visual representation. The objective is to render the world faster without sacrificing quality. We will be updating our anti-aliasing system to TXAA and moving the SSAO to a compute shader, simplify our shadow pass, optimize character outlines, improve LODs, slim render passes, bake more lights, use imposter rendering for specific objects (trees, grass) and more.

Contextual Optimizations: Performance Spikes for Specific Actions

We are working on optimizations that pay at any given time when you play (as mentioned above under GPU/CPU) but we also know there are specific actions and/or Killers that will need extra optimization. These are problematic cases where we see major hitches in performance. Here are a few examples: multiple characters moving in close quarters, specific Killer slow down, perks combination, etc.

STEP 3: UPDATING OUR GUIDELINES AND PROCESSES

Target: Chapter 12 and ongoing

While we optimize the existing gameplay and graphic systems, we develop better tools and methods to implement new features. When we have a new process figured out, it is documented and shared with our development team who can then apply these learnings for the creation of new content.

Our objective is to offer a better performance on all platforms, making the game look smoother and the controls more reactive. Still, doing such majors changes all at once (game engine update and rewriting game code) is bound to briefly disrupt things and require some adaptation time. We hope you understand that this is a transition period and an investment to improve the game.

Don’t hesitate to share your feedback on our forums or social media if you encounter an issue. Our objective is to keep you updated on our progress in the coming months. The upcoming Dead by Daylight anniversary will be a great timing to give you additional visibility on our progress.

See you in the fog,
The Dead by Daylight team

(original Dev post from March of 2019 detailing the plan for Console Optimization)

JPLongstreet

An hour of silence. Add it to the years I guess.

I don't really know how, and it don't make a lick of sense, but somehow opening the forum dropped frames on my DBD. And I'm not even playing right now. Strange.

QwQw

@Pulsar said:

Alright, I'm going to do it.

@MandyTalk

Is there any comment you can give about Console and low-spec PC Optimization discussed in the Dev post below? I promise you, I mean no insult when I say this, but hearing the the team is aware or that "we are working on it" isn't good enough anymore. The game has become much worse on low-mid end PC's and Consoles since that post was made. The evidence mounted in this thread clearly displays that.

People are becoming more and more disenfranchised with the state of the game on Console's. The last three Killers were vastly worse on Consoles upon release, with Blight only becoming playable EIGHT months after his release.

If BHVR is no longer working on 60 FPS for Console's, we deserve to know. Likewise, if you have anything to share, it would go a long way in restoring hope for the game on our platform.

Thank you.

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/49456/status-update-optimization

(original Dev post from March of 2019 detailing the plan for Console Optimization)

Whelp, the deeds been done.

I guess all we can do now is hope for any sort of response.

Pulsar

@QwQw said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2193340#Comment_2193340

Whelp, the deeds been done.

I guess all we can do now is hope for any sort of response.

Hope is all we have.

Yords

It's all up to you....mcote

JPLongstreet

@Pulsar said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2193477#Comment_2193477

Hope is all we have.

Who actually runs Hope ffs...

JPLongstreet

Dang nothing. Not a peep from anyone.

Sadface :(

QwQw

@JPLongstreet said:

Dang nothing. Not a peep from anyone.

Sadface :(

Yeah, just came back to see if anyone has responded.

Still radio static.

Phasmamain

@Pulsar said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2141698#Comment_2141698

It is false.

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War looks leagues better than DBD and has more going on. On my Xbox One X, it runs at a stable 45. I have never experienced a frame drop.

Battlefront II looks LIGHTYEARS better than DBD and has WAY more going on. It also never dips below 30 FPS, even in the most hectic 32v32 moments.

There is no reason that DBD shouldn't be able to hold a consistent 30 FPS save for incompetent porting or terrible optimization.

Can’t forget red dead’s solid 60 even though it’s one of the best looking games of all time

OniWantsYourMacaroni

@JPLongstreet said:

Dang nothing. Not a peep from anyone.

Sadface :(

I mean,what do we expect at this point.

I'll be surprised if it's anything more than nothing

JPLongstreet

@OniWantsYourMacaroni said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2194548#Comment_2194548

I mean,what do we expect at this point.

I'll be surprised if it's anything more than nothing

How is it possible that porting this game over to console was the best and worst decision all at the same time?

Pretty please devs, show us all how much this concerns you with something substantial, a plan, a timeline, hope, anything. Or tell us it aint coming so we can go.

PaintChipsInTeeth

It's pretty telling as to the level of respect BHVR has for the community when you see the page count of this thread and zero response from them.

Nebula

Seeing mods comment on every post this morning besides this one just makes my heart sad

Mandy

@Pulsar said:

Alright, I'm going to do it.

@MandyTalk

Is there any comment you can give about Console and low-spec PC Optimization discussed in the Dev post below? I promise you, I mean no insult when I say this, but hearing the the team is aware or that "we are working on it" isn't good enough anymore. The game has become much worse on low-mid end PC's and Consoles since that post was made. The evidence mounted in this thread clearly displays that.

People are becoming more and more disenfranchised with the state of the game on Console's. The last three Killers were vastly worse on Consoles upon release, with Blight only becoming playable EIGHT months after his release.

If BHVR is no longer working on 60 FPS for Console's, we deserve to know. Likewise, if you have anything to share, it would go a long way in restoring hope for the game on our platform.

Thank you.

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/49456/status-update-optimization

(original Dev post from March of 2019 detailing the plan for Console Optimization)

I actually don't have an update on this yet at all I'm afraid. I can try to find out some information - but no guarantees.

And FYI to peeps on this thread, I'm not around on the weekends - as I work office hours, and I try to respond to as many threads as possible - I don't ignore threads as most of you already know that. Just because I've not responded to something, usually means that I've not seen it yet. I had 300 plus notifications when I came online this morning, and am still working through them!

Pulsar

@Mandy said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2193340#Comment_2193340

I actually don't have an update on this yet at all I'm afraid. I can try to find out some information - but no guarantees.

And FYI to peeps on this thread, I'm not around on the weekends - as I work office hours, and I try to respond to as many threads as possible - I don't ignore threads as most of you already know that. Just because I've not responded to something, usually means that I've not seen it yet. I had 300 plus notifications when I came online this morning, and am still working through them!

Thank you for the response!

I think we would all really appreciate it if you could try to find some information for us.

If you need more videos or clips, I'm sure I and a few others can grab and post some real quick, if that would help.

bm33

@Mandy said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2193340#Comment_2193340

I actually don't have an update on this yet at all I'm afraid. I can try to find out some information - but no guarantees.

And FYI to peeps on this thread, I'm not around on the weekends - as I work office hours, and I try to respond to as many threads as possible - I don't ignore threads as most of you already know that. Just because I've not responded to something, usually means that I've not seen it yet. I had 300 plus notifications when I came online this morning, and am still working through them!

Thanks Mandy for checking in and trying to get a response for us.

🤞Hopefully they give an update that gives us information on where they currently stand and are past just looking into it.

Pulsar

@Nebula @PaintChipsInTeeth @OniWantsYourMacaroni @JPLongstreet @QwQw

Response is in.

QwQw

@Pulsar said:

@Nebula @PaintChipsInTeeth @OniWantsYourMacaroni @JPLongstreet @QwQw

Response is in.

Damn I missed it.

Well it's a tad disappointing to know that there's no updates at all on the situation, but at least we got a response.

onemind

@Mandy said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2193340#Comment_2193340

I actually don't have an update on this yet at all I'm afraid. I can try to find out some information - but no guarantees.

And FYI to peeps on this thread, I'm not around on the weekends - as I work office hours, and I try to respond to as many threads as possible - I don't ignore threads as most of you already know that. Just because I've not responded to something, usually means that I've not seen it yet. I had 300 plus notifications when I came online this morning, and am still working through them!

Thanks sorry for the slight spam

But I'm sure many of of are will to cooperate if it helps

PaintChipsInTeeth

Hey, I'm happy we got a nod from Mandy.

But to be clear, and with no hostility- when I said I'd be happy with a response, it would be for a direct response to the point of this entire thread- the optimization and general stability for console. Either an honest yes or no to us waiting for a fix. Just don't piss on my back and tell me it's raining.

Yords

I am waiting ever so patiently for this to get a response.

Chilli_man2400

@Yords said:

I am waiting ever so patiently for this to get a response.

We got it all ready from Mandy

Yords

@Chilli_man2400 said:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/comment/2195183#Comment_2195183

We got it all ready from Mandy

I saw that, but Mandy is just a mod. I thought that mods could only enforce rules on the forums? Can they also tell us what the devs are saying?