• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Modder 'fix' Tales of Zestiria on PC, it's now running at 60fps

You can find the tool here.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/351970/discussions/0/490123938441506815/

Thanks to the brilliant work of DrDaxxy, we pretty much have 60 FPS working now. None of this speed doubling nonsense; animation speed is doubled, everything else runs at proper speed.

It is amazing how simple this fix actually is when applied, and I really, really hope that BANDAI Namco sees this and realizes it's perfectly reasonable to add an option for 60 FPS back into the game.

The only thing that remains to be fixed now is aspect ratio on menus, I have basic support for this but it's unpolished. Nevertheless, this is such a significant change that I'm prepared to bump the version up to 1.0.0!

I also integrated a few render tweaks from my Fallout 4 performance project in order to make it more likely for you to sustain 60 FPS. There are some visual issues if your framerate falls significantly below 60 FPS, so triple buffering, VSYNC override and pre-render limit options have been added to d3d9.ini. You can trade input latency for framerate as needed with those settings (-1 mean means driver/application default).

Additionally, there is a new MinimizeLatency setting in tzfix.ini. This setting is intended for people who for whatever reason need to run the game at 30 FPS but find the stutter fix increases input latency. If you set this with TargetFPS=60 I can guarantee you the experience will not be a pleasant one -- leave that off unless you're running at 30!

It's still the early version, so expect to see some minor issues.
Kudos to the modding community, nonetheless.

 
Hmmmm I thought I read that it wasn't possible because some things in the game were tied to the framerate?

Tempted to pick this up now
 
Hmm, the lack of 60fps was a huge disappointment for me when they finally announced the PS4 and PC version. I was sure they could have added it, Tales Of games seems so tied to 60fps battles at least that it really stuck out as strange to me. So even though I would've liked to get this game on PS4, I may have to buy it on PC.

Here that Namco? 60fps is a selling point. Since a modder could do it, I honestly don't think it would've been impossible to implement themselves.
 

Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
There are some minor audio issues but I havent seen something game breaking yet. I havent played much tho.
 

hesido

Member
OK, the one place I can safely call out "lazy devs" on the subject, is probably here, a modder being able to fix a game to run at 60fps.
 
There are some minor audio issues but I havent seen something game breaking yet. I havent played much tho.

Thanks for the info. I'd have bought it for sure if there weren't any issues. Would be awesome if you could provide more updates if you manage to test/play more with the patch.
 

cwistofu

Member
Speed isn't doubled... but animation speed is doubled? Is there a video of this in action because I'm frankly confused as to what this looks like.
 

Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
Thanks for the info. I'd have bought it for sure if there weren't any issues. Would be awesome if you could provide more updates if you manage to test/play more with the patch.

Sure. I shall play a bit more and I will report in a bit.
 
I think the game is still awesome at 30, so that's funny that it's now "fixed." I'd like to try this nonetheless, PS4 though.

That's why I use the apostrophe 'fix'. It's an issue for some, but definitely not for me. Had a blast with it and beat it after 40+ hours last week.

Ultimately, this is a good thing. With this, I hope Bamco can see that people are expecting 60fps for PC, and modders can actually fix that for them. As mentioned above, 60fps on PC is indeed a selling point.

Speed isn't doubled... but animation speed is doubled? Is there a video of this in action because I'm frankly confused as to what this looks like.

It seems he made the wordings wrong,

Oh, no. What I meant to say is that rendering runs at twice the rate, everything else that needs to run at its original rate is unaffected. So you get an extra frame of animation, which is the only thing you actually want when you go to 60 FPS =P You don't want sound running at twice the speed or the AI doing twice the work, etc.
 

Tizoc

Member
OK, the one place I can safely call out "lazy devs" on the subject, is probably here, a modder being able to fix a game to run at 60fps.

ToZ released on PC alongside the PS4 ver. in the west
They worked the past year to get this game released on PS4 and PC, but they're still 'lazy devs'?

Best to wait for more impressions as some games that that are 30 FPS but are made to run at 60 can result in some weird stuff happening.
 

Foffy

Banned
I was pretty bummed to hear that the game was capped on PC, and kind of forgave it like Way of the Samurai 4: the series in question and perhaps the team in question have never worked on PC ports like this.

If this fix works without issues, then the PC is once again home to the definitive version to a console franchise, which is a growing trend.
 
I think the game is still awesome at 30, so that's funny that it's now "fixed." I'd like to try this nonetheless, PS4 though.

Yeah, I've heard it is at a pretty well locked 30fps, but it doesn't seem like it would have been hard to match their past outputs being at 60fps. On PS3 sure, they won't be able to improve the performance, but on PS4 and PC I was saddened that they couldn't bring the whole game into 60fps, let alone getting battles back to the same standard the rest of the series has. AFAIK, only Tales of Symphonia DotNW and the PS2/PS3 ports of the original are at 30fps in battles. So not "correcting" the framerate drop seemed odd to me.

Edit:
I was pretty bummed to hear that the game was capped on PC, and kind of forgave it like Way of the Samurai 4: the series in question and perhaps the team in question have never worked on PC ports like this.

If this fix works without issues, then the PC is once again home to the definitive version to a console franchise, which is a growing trend.

I'm both glad for the trend, because it means the games get preserved much better because no real loss every "generation" of playability, but also I'm somewhat sad that consoles seem to be becoming a little more obsolete over time. I guess physical media is the main advantage consoles have over PCs still, less easy to revoke licenses or software.
 

Shinjica

Member
ToZ released on PC alongside the PS4 ver. in the west
They worked the past year to get this game released on PS4 and PC, but they're still 'lazy devs'?

Best to wait for more impressions as some games that that are 30 FPS but are made to run at 60 can result in some weird stuff happening.

Yes if a mod can add 60 fps where the devs didnt
 
Hmmmm I thought I read that it wasn't possible because some things in the game were tied to the framerate?

Tempted to pick this up now

IIRC, Dark Souls 1 was also hard-coded to 30 fps and it was still hacked to run at 60 fps without doubling the speed of the game, but I don't know the details and I'm sure it's pretty different from what they had to do here. Still, getting an FPS hack on locked-framerate games isn't unheard of so it's very exciting to see it happen with this game.
 

LewieP

Member
Here that Namco? 60fps is a selling point. Since a modder could do it, I honestly don't think it would've been impossible to implement themselves.

I agree that it would have been worth dedicating resources to supporting 60fps, but the costs associated with professionally developing enhancements like this, pushing them through QA, and testing on a wide configuration of hardware are not to be underestimated.

Clearly plenty of amateur modders produce work of a very high quality, but they are doing so free from many of the burdens of professional development. If this mod results in problems in some circumstances, people can just opt to not use the mod. If a game ships with similar problems, customers might want refunds, and the publisher is risking damage to their brand and reputation.

I think despite these issues, the returns on investment on doing the best ports of games possible is usually worth it, but I can understand why a publisher like Namco might feel differently.
 
That's why I use the apostrophe 'fix'. It's an issue for some, but definitely not for me. Had a blast with it and beat it after 40+ hours last week.

Ultimately, this is a good thing. With this, I hope Bamco can see that people are expecting 60fps for PC, and modders can actually fix that for them. As mentioned above, 60fps on PC is indeed a selling point.,
Yeah, I got what you were going for there.
 

cwistofu

Member
I agree that it would have been worth dedicating resources to supporting 60fps, but the costs associated with professionally developing enhancements like this, pushing them through QA, and testing on a wide configuration of hardware are not to be underestimated.

Clearly plenty of amateur modders produce work of a very high quality, but they are doing so free from many of the burdens of professional development. If this mod results in problems in some circumstances, people can just opt to not use the mod. If a game ships with similar problems, customers might want refunds, and the publisher is risking damage to their brand and reputation.

I think despite these issues, the returns on investment on doing the best ports of games possible is usually worth it, but I can understand why a publisher like Namco might feel differently.
A post of reason. A rarity these days!
 

Dio

Banned
IIRC, Dark Souls 1 was also hard-coded to 30 fps and it was still hacked to run at 60 fps without doubling the speed of the game, but I don't know the details and I'm sure it's pretty different from what they had to do here. Still, getting an FPS hack on locked-framerate games isn't unheard of so it's very exciting to see it happen with this game.

Dark Souls 1 did have a few issues, namely small glitches like going down ladders makes you sometimes fall through the ground at 60fps.
 
A post of reason. A rarity these days!

Yes, I want to say that I chose to say it wouldn't be impossible, not that it would be perfectly easy. I just hope awareness builds for this. Still, I'm pretty sure Berseria has been confirmed to be 60fps, right? So I'm sure this won't really be much of a problem in the future and hopefully their PC sales warrant another port.

Obviously there is also the market for framerates of 60+, but I wouldn't expect much work in that area, even if it may be worthwhile (never experienced 120hz myself).
 

Lain

Member
ToZ released on PC alongside the PS4 ver. in the west
They worked the past year to get this game released on PS4 and PC, but they're still 'lazy devs'?

Yeah, I don't get it. Obviously modders don't have to make sure things work as perfectly as the original developers have to, so if aspect ratio or sound gets fucked, or if the mod works for some but not for others, it's not as much of a problem.
Can you imagine the rightfully cries if the official product did it? Modifications are held to different standards.

It's cool that someone managed to hack 60fps into the game and given time most side issues will be solved I'm sure, but calling the devs lazy over it? I disagree.
 

Layell

Member
Battles feel great, overworld feels smooth, everything is better, and I haven't had any issues with my brief test so far.

Feels good to have the definitive edition.
 
Yes, I want to say that I chose to say it wouldn't be impossible, not that it would be perfectly easy. I just hope awareness builds for this. Still, I'm pretty sure Berseria has been confirmed to be 60fps, right? So I'm sure this won't really be much of a problem in the future and hopefully their PC sales warrant another port.

Obviously there is also the market for framerates of 60+, but I wouldn't expect much work in that area, even if it may be worthwhile (never experienced 120hz myself).

Is it?
That would be great, then.
 
Dark Souls 1 did have a few issues, namely small glitches like going down ladders makes you sometimes fall through the ground at 60fps.

That's true, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are the occasional glitches like that on Zestiria.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
Well, I just started my playthrough so good timing.

I was probably right on my call months earlier when I said it wasn't a technical reason they didn't do it, but a costs or manpower one.
 
Dark Souls 1 did have a few issues, namely small glitches like going down ladders makes you sometimes fall through the ground at 60fps.
I had no idea that was the case. I must have gotten lucky since I didn't experience any issues (besides not being to jump as far).
 

MegaPanda

Member
Wow. I wonder how he did that.

DrDaxxy said:
The game internally has a "speed multiplier" that is set to 2 for 30 FPS. I just found this multiplier and set it to 1.
Slightly more in-depth version: Looked for 1/30 in the game's memory, traced through the code that sets this value, found the above-mentioned multiplier.
Really in-depth version: Look at the fix's code and my (now merged and thus closed) pull request.
And I'd like to express my thanks to Kaldaien for TZFix. It really cleans up everything there is to clean up with the port. And without it, I probably wouldn't have made the 60FPS tweak, since without TZFix's general stutter improvements, it's really not an enjoyable experience (and this is probably what BANDAI Namco were talking about when they said 60 FPS wasn't practical.)

ie, the ability to unlock the framerate was already tucked in the code by Bamco and they couldn't get it working properly for release. Enabling 60fps though and utilizing adjustments from TZFix (which was created to address a different problem with the port) manages to make it more than playable though.
 

Momentary

Banned
My GOD! Playing this at 60 is a whole new experience. Game just looks so good and responds so much better during combat. Hot DAYUM!
 

Tagyhag

Member
I had no idea that was the case. I must have gotten lucky since I didn't experience any issues (besides not being to jump as far).

It's usually because people keep saying "ladders" instead of "ladder". There's only one ladder that makes you glitch through.
 

Foffy

Banned
Yeah, I've heard it is at a pretty well locked 30fps, but it doesn't seem like it would have been hard to match their past outputs being at 60fps. On PS3 sure, they won't be able to improve the performance, but on PS4 and PC I was saddened that they couldn't bring the whole game into 60fps, let alone getting battles back to the same standard the rest of the series has. AFAIK, only Tales of Symphonia DotNW and the PS2/PS3 ports of the original are at 30fps in battles. So not "correcting" the framerate drop seemed odd to me.

Edit:


I'm both glad for the trend, because it means the games get preserved much better because no real loss every "generation" of playability, but also I'm somewhat sad that consoles seem to be becoming a little more obsolete over time. I guess physical media is the main advantage consoles have over PCs still, less easy to revoke licenses or software.

As they become more obsolete, the least that can happen is emulation. That assures preservation.

Hell, even piracy does. Didn't the handheld scene finally get around to preserving the DSi catalog?
 
Cool to hear. I'd also like some youtube videos of a 30 vs 60 comparison

Yes, I want to say that I chose to say it wouldn't be impossible, not that it would be perfectly easy. I just hope awareness builds for this. Still, I'm pretty sure Berseria has been confirmed to be 60fps, right? So I'm sure this won't really be much of a problem in the future and hopefully their PC sales warrant another port.

Obviously there is also the market for framerates of 60+, but I wouldn't expect much work in that area, even if it may be worthwhile (never experienced 120hz myself).

Berseria is the one I'm waiting for. Felt burned out on Tales after Xillia 1 so I feel like it'd be the perfect time to jump back in.
 

panzone

Member
Just tried and uh... it's like a different game. It's so much responsive in everything: menu, battle, exploration... I'm almost glad I gave priority to SC so that I can now enjoy Zestiria this way.
 

hesido

Member
ToZ released on PC alongside the PS4 ver. in the west
They worked the past year to get this game released on PS4 and PC, but they're still 'lazy devs'?

Best to wait for more impressions as some games that that are 30 FPS but are made to run at 60 can result in some weird stuff happening.

I won't at all be surprised if weird stuff happened. It's a modder doing the fix vs people who knows the game inside out.

Anyway, tying game systems to frame rate is archaic practice at best, even coding for a console. Devs need to get with the times.
 

CheesecakeRecipe

Stormy Grey
I thought Durante confirmed 60 wasn't possible. What's going on in the world if you can't trust the big D!

Well, he didn't say it was impossible, just that his own attempts weren't fruitful:

I spent around three hours looking into how the game performs its frame pacing and regulates animation speed. That’s not a lot of time when it comes to reverse engineering, but at this point I’d say the odds for a simplistic framerate unlock are rather bad. I did get the game to run at different framerates, both lower and higher than 30, with a lot of unstable and ill-advised hackery: changing the results of various Windows API functions which report and measure time, preventing the game threads from sleeping, and other heavy-handed adjustments which could just as well break a program entirely. Zestiria didn’t break during my short testing, but as expected everything I tried affected the number of frames delivered as well as the speed of animations and gameplay equally, with no sign of any possibility to independently adjust the two.

Someone should get some footage of the game running at 60FPS so we can see what sort of issues crop up as a result!
 

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
Just tried and uh... it's like a different game. It's so much responsive in everything: menu, battle, exploration... I'm almost glad I gave priority to SC so that I can now enjoy Zestiria this way.

Yeah, I wasn't sure whether it was a placebo effect or not, but things feel far more fluid and swift. I haven't checked out a battle yet but running around the Hyland Capital didn't feel like a slog anymore.
 

Ascheroth

Member
Well, I just started my playthrough so good timing.

I was probably right on my call months earlier when I said it wasn't a technical reason they didn't do it, but a costs or manpower one.

Well, to be fair, everything comes down to a question of cost/manpower in the end.

I'm happy the 'fix' exists, but I'm not gonna call the devs lazy.
Talking about the fix: Just tried it for a minute, running araound a bit and fighting some battles, and it works like a charm so far. The only bad thing about this is that I don't have much time this week, haha.

Nicely done. It was that easy? For shame, Namco.

Glad we have people like Durante and DrDaxxy.

Don't forget to credit Kaldaien for his tzfix. Since his tzfix is what laid the groundwork for 60 fps.
 
Top Bottom