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[chadskin]

We’ve received a lot of feedback on the performance of ACU over the past week and we’re taking it very seriously. Ensuring that you get the best gaming experience is part of the reason we make games in the first place, so hearing that the game isn’t performing as expected for some of you is cause for serious concern. We know this is a very important issue to you and we want to see it resolved as much as you do.

We’ve been investigating this since launch, because this type of issue requires a great deal of attention and care in both finding the root causes and resolving them. It’s taken us some time to make progress on this front, but we’ve got some promising findings to share.

We can tell you that we have detected a distinct discrepancy between what we observed in the pre-launch versus post-launch environment. In spite of our testing, it looks like the instruction queue is becoming overloaded and impacting performance. We have several fixes we are exploring right now and will continue to update you with our progress of what is working and how quickly we can implement these fixes in the game in the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, we are looking at the following revisions that should improve framerate stability for all players:

• Streamlining some technical aspects of navigation: We’ve fixed a number of edge cases with our detection system to smooth certain behaviors during parkour. We’ve fixed a few objects which were improperly tagged to smooth navigation.
• Improving task scheduling: We’ve tuned the way the computing tasks are prioritized and parallelized by the processor cores to improve framerate in certain edge cases.
• Tweaking performance for Reach High Points: We’ve optimized the reach high points, during the camera swooping sequence to improve framerate a little bit.

Though crowd size was something we looked at extensively pre-launch, it is something we continue to keep a close eye on. We have just finished a new round of tests on crowd size but have found it is not linked to this problem and does not improve frame rate, so we will be leaving crowds as they are.

We’re working very hard to see these changes rolled out in Patch 3, but as we’re still testing our fixes we need to be conservative with any estimates as far as ETA is concerned. We hope to have further updates on this topic before the end of the week.

http://assassinscreed.ubi.com/en-US....aspx?c=tcm:152-185420-16&ct=tcm:148-76770-32

 

[Aces&Eights]

Well, at least I have Far Cry 4 to hold me over. By the time I am done with it Unity will hopefully be good to go. Really hope they do something about the locked chests needing the companion app but I doubt they will.

EDIT: So, if it isn't the crowd sizes then what the hell is making it run like ass? Could it be all the uplay stuff going back and forth?

 

[nelchaar]

So it wasn't the crowd size wrecking havoc on performance? PS4 CPU redeemed?

 

[Dahaka]

So how about fixing such things BEFORE LAUNCH

 

[Omni]

We have just finished a new round of tests on crowd size but have found it is not linked to this problem and does not improve frame rate, so we will be leaving crowds as they are.

So... it really is just poor optimisation?

That's a shame. I'm really enjoying this title. Reminds me of ACII. Too bad because of these bugs and whatnot people aren't able to give it a fair go

 

[BigTnaples]

Nice. Patch it up and maybe make the pop in a bit better and I am back in.

 

[nakedeyes]

Can "task scheduling" be anything other than NPC parallelization? Why at once say that that is a major improvement, while also saying crowd size doesn't affect performance.

I was starting to believe the whole CPU bottleneck thing before this confused me.

Full disclosure: haven't played the game yet myself ( for obvi reasons ).. just as a dev myself, can't see what the next major CPU bottleneck would be past a game that deals with on the order of 1000's of NPCs like that.

 

[Toki767]

At this point they just sound like they're shooting in the dark for an answer to the performance problems.

 

[dickgumshoe]

So how about fixing such things BEFORE LAUNCH

As long as people still buy it, why would they?

It's a despicable practice, but it might be right from a business point of view.

 

[demigod]

Ensuring that you get the best gaming experience is part of the reason we make games in the first place, so hearing that the game isn’t performing as expected for some of you is cause for serious concern.

Thanks for the laughs ubi

 

[Aces&Eights]

As long as people still buy it, why would they?

It's a despicable practice, but it might be right from a business point of view.

My opinion is it was really bad this time and like I am sure BF 4 affected future day one sales I suspect Unity will make people pause on the next installment. I know for me, anyway, that I will never again preorder or day 1 a Ubisoft title.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

Does Ubisoft not have the same XB1s/PS4s we have?

 

[liquidtmd]

So how about fixing such things BEFORE LAUNCH

Now now, they can't be expected to be able to test how the engine will perform when millions of people are bombarding aggressively their console to play the single player part of the game (?)

 

[Wolves Evolve]

- how about letting any online session end without crashes?
- how about getting AC initiates up?
- how about getting Uplay to behave?
- how about getting the companion app to tell the game about my unlocked chests?

I got more. You all know the list.

 

[dark10x]

Hmm, will be interesting to see if they actually CAN improve general frame-rates without a major overhaul.

I know the game is doing some pretty impressive stuff but they really should have taken a page from every other UbiSoft game this gen. For all the shit they receive their releases on consoles have been excellent this gen with either a completely stable 30 fps (in the open world games) or a completely stable 60 fps (in their UbiArt games). AC Unity is the only Ubi published title this gen that doesn't offer a consistent frame-rate.

 

[THRILLH0]

Obviously it would be preferable if these issues didn't exist in the final product but its good to see both Ubisoft and 343 being upfront about the issues in their products and committing to fixing them.

Gotta deliver now...

 

[AusRoachman]

This is some driveclub levels of spin

We can tell you that we have detected a distinct discrepancy between what we observed in the pre-launch versus post-launch environment

Unless it involves online connectivity overload i fail to see how it was not picked up before release.

 

[Jimrpg]

I think the difference between AC:U and Driveclub both which were botched launches is that Driveclub - they genuinely had no idea the online was broken, where AC:U they knew they weren't finished but they decided to launch it anyway broken and all. If the gaming community didn't complain as much as it did I don't think Ubi would bat an eyelid.

 

[Alienous]

Remove the female NPCs. Their breast polygons take up too much memory and their elaborate dresses take up too much CPU.

 

[ypo]

We have just finished a new round of tests on crowd size but have found it is not linked to this problem and does not improve frame rate, so we will be leaving crowds as they are.

lol oops. Da 10% CPU am cry.

 

[hunnies28]

the game isn’t performing as expected for some of you

Is this part true? I thought it was not perfoming well for everyone. Or is this PR diminishing the blow?

 

[mugurumakensei]

Is this part true? I thought it was not perfoming well for everyone. Or is this PR diminishing the blow?

eh, i can play at 1440p with everything on ultra at a locked 30fps.

 

[dark10x]

I think the difference between AC:U and Driveclub both which were botched launches is that Driveclub - they genuinely had no idea the online was broken, where AC:U they knew they weren't finished but they decided to launch it anyway broken and all. If the gaming community didn't complain as much as it did I don't think Ubi would bat an eyelid.

Yeah, I agree with that. The rest of Driveclub is rock solid from a technical standpoint. It's an extremely polished game. It's just the online stuff which, as you say, they didn't seem to expect at all. They screwed up by not testing it properly, of course, but it definitely seems to have blindsided them.

 

[Cyborg]

They should have done this before releasing the game

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

So it wasn't the crowd size wrecking havoc on performance? PS4 CPU redeemed?

There's no redeeming those CPUs.

In any case, Ubisoft fucked up somewhere if it really isn't NPCs taking their toll.

 

[bananafactory]

So will this patch move it from alpha to beta?

 

[VFX_Veteran]

Well if it's not the crowds, then it's probably the shading/lighting. That's my guess.

 

[Acorn]

I think the difference between AC:U and Driveclub both which were botched launches is that Driveclub - they genuinely had no idea the online was broken, where AC:U they knew they weren't finished but they decided to launch it anyway broken and all. If the gaming community didn't complain as much as it did I don't think Ubi would bat an eyelid.

Going off my experience with AC3, you're probably spot on.

 

[SolidChamp]

If they fix the game almost completely, and it's widely reported to be much better, then maybe I'll consider buying it....second hand...at $30 or less.

 

[Raist]

Just can 2,000 NPCs. No one will notice.

 

[Alienous]

Is this part true? I thought it was not perfoming well for everyone. Or is this PR diminishing the blow?

Some people don't expect framerates closer to 30fps than to 20fps, so it's technically true.

 

[sn00zer]

Sounds like the game really just needed 3+ more months but it got pushed out the door to meet the holiday

 

[HeelPower]

Are they going to fix the game or not ?

The game looks amazing from videos and screenshots ,but then everyone confirms its broken and bad

 

[Dartastic]

Well, at least they're working on it. It's obvious they need to. I picked up my copy for cheap, so I guess I just won't touch it until I see that these fixes are implemented. That being said, I don't understand how they saw a "distinct discrepancy between what we observed in the pre-launch versus post-launch environment." It sounds like bullshit to me. If anyone can actually explain how this might happen I would appreciate it.

Well if it's not the crowds, then it's probably the shading/lighting. That's my guess.

Mine too. The areas where I've seen the largest problems have always been in areas where the lighting/shading is more interesting/dynamic than other areas. Take the cathedral, for instance.

 

[Derp]

Now now, they can't be expected to be able to test how the engine will perform when millions of people are bombarding aggressively their console to play the single player part of the game (?)

To be honest I'd be really shocked if they never saw any of the bugs/issues that the game is currently having before they released it. I think you're giving them too much credit.

It makes no sense that they would've properly tested the game and not come across any of this shit.

Edit:

Spoiler

Wait were you being sarcastic... :/

Glad I waited. I'll buy it when you fix it Ubi.

 

[Maastricht]

I know it is an unpopular opinion but if you have played this game you have to be a bit cold-hearted to believe that this team wouldn't take great pride in making this incredibly ambitious and truly beautiful game. They likely mean what they said here.

And if you are a cynic, you can always believe that with the lowish metacritic scores their bonuses will be on the line ....

 

[tci]

Can "task scheduling" be anything other than NPC parallelization? Why at once say that that is a major improvement, while also saying crowd size doesn't affect performance.

I was starting to believe the whole CPU bottleneck thing before this confused me.

Full disclosure: haven't played the game yet myself ( for obvi reasons ).. just as a dev myself, can't see what the next major CPU bottleneck would be past a game that deals with on the order of 1000's of NPCs like that.

There are ways of optimizing how the NPC's animate and behave. Just because there are a lot of them on the screen, doesn't mean all of them uses the same amount of resources.

Although the task scheduling would make sense from what I have seen in the videos so far. Like glitches with NPC's and environment.

 

[dark10x]

Mine too. The areas where I've seen the largest problems have always been in areas where the lighting/shading is more interesting/dynamic than other areas. Take the cathedral, for instance.

You mean the massive stuttering/hitching that happens when climbing on certain cathedral windows? That is definitely a bug not just a frame-rate dip - that same bug exists in the PC version. I've run into it as well. The game is just seizing up every second or so for some reason. That's a completely different issue than the general low frame-rate on consoles.

 

[Kazdane]

Is this part true? I thought it was not perfoming well for everyone. Or is this PR diminishing the blow?

On my i5-4670/GTX 660 I'm yet to experience a single bug with Arno (such as hanging in the air, getting stuck in haycarts or falling through the world) and I'm playing at 30 fps with some dips (to around 23-24 fps) with everything on High.

The only performance issue is that ocasionally (once/twice per day) the game will hang for around 10-15 seconds like if it had crashed and then resume as normal.

 

[OuterLimits]

Hopefully their patches are more productive than Bethesda. I guess we can't get backwards flying dragons in this game though.

 

[EventHorizon]

Wait, what platform is this for? Surely the bugs aren't generic enough that the exact same ones are occurring on the PC, PS4 and XB1, but were subtle enough not to be noticed before launch. Oh and now crowd size doesn't affect FPS.

 

[quetz67]

So how about fixing such things BEFORE LAUNCH

Not enough time

 

[DOWN]

Do they realize they sound worse by saying all these things are visible to them in testing and yet they released it anyway?

 

[quetz67]

So it wasn't the crowd size wrecking havoc on performance? PS4 CPU redeemed?

I still think most framerate hickups are caused by bugs and fixing them will increase general performance too. If they are committed to fixing stuff for some month I am sure I will play a great looking and nicely performing game next year.

 

[orochi91]

The more I read about the game, I get the impression it's still a Beta.

Perhaps even Alpha?

 

[dickgumshoe]

My opinion is it was really bad this time and like I am sure BF 4 affected future day one sales I suspect Unity will make people pause on the next installment. I know for me, anyway, that I will never again preorder or day 1 a Ubisoft title.

I guess only time will tell how it's going to affect sales of future titles. My impression is just that the gamers at large are too forgiving with this shit.

 

[quetz67]

Do they realize they sound worse by saying all these things are visible to them in testing and yet they released it anyway?

Get over it - we, Ubisoft and the rest of the world know that they released an unfinished game. Bear with it or just wait until it is fixed. It won't change, Ubi will not delay such a game into the slow season.

 

[Blizzard]

Do they realize they sound worse by saying all these things are visible to them in testing and yet they released it anyway?

Where are you seeing this? In the OP I see:

We can tell you that we have detected a distinct discrepancy between what we observed in the pre-launch versus post-launch environment. In spite of our testing, it looks like the instruction queue is becoming overloaded and impacting performance.

Isn't that saying that behavior is different after testing and launching, compared to before? As in, it might have become a problem shortly before release, or an environment is different.

 

[Radec]

heh.. imagine they release a "remastered" AC:Unity mid 2015 with all things fixed and they just include some DLCs..

 

[Putty]

Fix it, and I'll buy. Simple.