Key Buffering problem with timed puzzles

[Pipsissiwa]

Dont really know what to suggest here, some thoughts tho, the movement system in Grim does feel very different to DM etc, took some getting used to, i am 46 and my brain was hardwired with DM`s way of moving, not helped by playing the original intensly while waiting for Grim to unlock.
I havent found a timing puzzle yet i could not complete(only just hit lvl 6) but a couple took some figuring out, the sidestep move does seem to be the way to do it on a lot of em but its counterintuitive to not look where you are going.
My machine runs it fine fully maxed out but i would suggest anyone on a wireless keyboard and mouse to get wired soon as, there is a measurable (albeit tiny) lag on any wireless system,fact, its the way of the world so ive never used wireless for gaming, its not optimal, had players in WoW express their thanks when i pointed this out to them, their reactions sped up in raids for example,
As for those on laptops or slower older systems turn down some settings experiment with computer settings in background maybe, anything else running in the background will slow you down a bit ( do you really need that facebook page open all the time?).
Not being funny but youd be amazed how many people have all kind of apps open so they can tab out and browse stuff,or just dont realise how much of a system hog some things can be, frinstance i cant leave Steam running in the background while playing WoW online it just kills my bandwith.

I am not suggesting the Op or any others of you with the problems your describing are not pc aware etc but if it helps someone a lil bit i will be happy for you.

Also this is version release 1 of this game, no patches so far on PC, name me a PC game from the recent past that didnt benefit a few weeks down the line from release from a few tweaks and patches.
And have patience this team seem very good but there are only 4 of them and they have a lot to do.

Some really good suggestions there - I now always run on a fresh boot with nothing else running - even Steam - I got the Steam code + standalone option but decided to use the standalone after noticing this issue. Doesn't seem to help for me tho . I've never used wireless mouse/keyboard either - as a gamer i find that tiny bit of delay noticeable too. My laptop runs EQ2 flawlessly on some reasonably high settings even with Firefox running (and over wireless but this game is totally offline w/o Steam so thats not that important) so I would be surprised if that was the issue, but I'm doing everything I can to help myself fix the problem.

For my current problem (the room of pits) I've been busily drawing maps and numbering things and writing out key sequences. Now its just a case of hoping my carefully timed key presses take properly - its still hit and miss) and hoping hehe.

I'm happy to be patient - I support the team who have made this awesome game 110% - I know if there is a bug/issue they'll get to it as soon as they can. Hubby runs his own 3 man software dev company, so I know what its like . In the meantime I'll keep stubbonly and determinedly falling repeatedly in the pits and drinking a lot of calming tea (yeah, I'm a Brit) hehe.

[Rig]

I don't want the game to be easy, but if the timing puzzles are going to be this tight then making the game more responsive to key presses would help.

I haven't noticed anything like what you've described and I've played all of those older dungeon crawls. The only way timed key presses are going to present a problem is if any of your chars are overloaded or the PC you are running just isn't fast enough/enough free ram to keep the game running smoothly. I'm on level 11 and there was only perhaps one time where I had to run unmanageably fast after hitting a button.

If I ever move slow it's because my chars are overloaded.

[Pipsissiwa]

I don't want the game to be easy, but if the timing puzzles are going to be this tight then making the game more responsive to key presses would help.

I haven't noticed anything like what you've described and I've played all of those older dungeon crawls. The only way timed key presses are going to present a problem is if any of your chars are overloaded or the PC you are running just isn't fast enough/enough free ram to keep the game running smoothly. I'm on level 11 and there was only perhaps one time where I had to run unmanageably fast after hitting a button.

If I ever move slow it's because my chars are overloaded.

First thing I checked was overloading, and they aren't - not even close - I mentioned it in one of my posts.
And I don't see how my PC isn't fast enough / have enough RAM - its not especially high spec'd but runs everything else I've ever asked it too just fine (and in any case I've been trying it with all options to minimum/off and it only helps a teeny tiny bit). The game itself runs beautifully smoothly on every setting option - its the key press unrelaibility (doesn't take, or takes twice etc) thats the issue. My party moves perfectly well, its telling them to do so thats the issue.

My setup (as mentioned before):

Acer Travelmate 5720
Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 3 Gig Ram
32 bit Windows Vista Home Premium, SP2
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400XT


I find this so odd - people are either noticing this significantly and getting really frustrated, or everything is absolutely fine and they don't get what we are on about. Something is going on, just what?

[jfunk]

I suspect this is going to turn out to be a performance problem. So far the two people experiencing this that have posted their specs are either right at or below minimum requirements on both CPU and GPU.

One user actually mentioned command inputs not registering sometimes even when standing completely still. Something's obviously wrong here. It's not puzzle design and it's not UI, there's a technical problem.

[Kektimus]

For me, it won't buffer more than 1-2 key presses.
I have Windows 7 64-bit, 8 GB RAM, 4-core cpu, Radeon 6870.

Hardly low spec

(What I dislike, though, is that it actually does buffer anything.)

[regomar]

For me, it won't buffer more than 1-2 key presses.
I have Windows 7 64-bit, 8 GB RAM, 4-core cpu, Radeon 6870.

Hardly low spec

(What I dislike, though, is that it actually does buffer anything.)

It's not SUPPOSED to buffer more than 1 keypress, if you're trying to queue up keys that's why you're having problems. Hit one key at a time and you'll be fine like everyone else.

[Pipsissiwa]

I suspect this is going to turn out to be a performance problem. So far the two people experiencing this that have posted their specs are either right at or below minimum requirements on both CPU and GPU.

One user actually mentioned command inputs not registering sometimes even when standing completely still. Something's obviously wrong here. It's not puzzle design and it's not UI, there's a technical problem.

It could be. A new machine would be lovely. Sadly, as I'm sure you understand given the world economic situation and without getting into how my family finances are structured (before everyone tells me to go get a new laptop), not everyone is in a position to afford that right now.

Plus the point of a 'minimum spec' is that the game should work as intended on it/be fully playable, even if you have to turn (esp graphics) settings down to their lowest values. If it doesn't, then it isn't a true minimum spec. The other poster who is on minimum spec has tried that and still has the problem.

I'm personally stunned that a game of this design, however lovely it looks, needs such a high spec. It genuinely never occured to me that I'd be below minimum. Its not like (esp on minimum settings) its actually throwing that many polygons around compared to most these days. I play many 3D/up-to-date games on my laptop, about the only thing recently it couldn't manage even on low settings was Skyrim, understandably I think lol.

Plus it doesn't explain why when on mine (especially on everything minimum/off) it is smooth and beautiful, mouse-look smooth and beautiful, animations smooth and beautiful, monsters move suitably quickly and scarily. Mouseclicks to fight/cast/open bags etc happen quickly. The whole game plays perfectly, responsively and quickly EXCEPT my party being told to move. Then sometimes they will, sometimes they won't and sometimes they move twice when I only presssed once. It doesn't feel like the usual machine-not-quite-coping - I know what that feels like all too well. I was actually impressed at how smoothly and beautifully it ran. I'd expect the whole thing to feel slightly sluggish not just the movement response. OK, we have no idea how it has been coded etc, but if the UI key press detector (or whatever) is being affected this much when the rest of the game really isn't, it still feels like something else isn't right.

Hey ho.

[jfunk]

Plus the point of a 'minimum spec' is that the game should work as intended on it/be fully playable, even if you have to turn )esp graphics) settings down to their lowest values. If it doesn't, then it isn't a true minimum spec. The other poster who is on minimum spec has tried that and still has the problem.

I'm personally stunned that a game of this design, however lovely it looks, needs such a high spec. It genuiney never occured to me that I'd be below minimum. Its not like (esp on minimum settings) its actually throwing that many polygons around compared to most these days. I play many 3D/up-to-date games on my laptop, about the only thing recently it couldn't manage even on low settings was Skyrim, understandably I think lol.

I understand, I'm not implying that you should just go get a new laptop. I'm just thinking that performance is going to turn out to be the root issue here. Some sub-routine's timing could be being affected, despite the fact that it doesn't impact your screen updates. It could be something as specific as a certain CPU line. For example, perhaps older Conroe Core2 Duo's exhibit this problem where newer Penryn Core2's do not. A full DXDIAG from people experiencing this could shed some light (spoiler tags please if you post them for brevity's sake). A team of this size cannot test on every iteration of hardware from every manufacturer, those minimum specs are quite simply guesses based on the hardware they've been able to observe. No matter how diligent their efforts they don't have the resources to do more than that.

Interestingly enough, the one game you mentioned not being able to play (Skyrim) has nearly identical minimum specs to Grimrock. It's easy to say "this game shouldn't have as high of requirements as Skyrim based on its looks", but it's not that simple under the hood. Many of the other modern games you play are also probably produced by much larger game studios too. There's one single coder on this project, he's unlikely to produce optimizations on par with a team of 20, regardless of how talented he may be.

The bottom line is, based on your more thorough descriptions (single keypresses being ignored, noticeably different timing when watching Youtube videos vs. what you experience), I don't think there is some "trick" you're going to find to correct this. Something isn't working properly with Grimrock on your system. Once that's established, the next step is finding out exactly what the individuals experiencing this phenomenon have in common.

[Kektimus]

For me, it won't buffer more than 1-2 key presses.
I have Windows 7 64-bit, 8 GB RAM, 4-core cpu, Radeon 6870.

Hardly low spec

(What I dislike, though, is that it actually does buffer anything.)

It's not SUPPOSED to buffer more than 1 keypress, if you're trying to queue up keys that's why you're having problems. Hit one key at a time and you'll be fine like everyone else.

I assumed it wasn't supposed to buffer anything either. Like I said before, it moves an additional step if I hold a key and release.

Thus, I'm not fine ;o)

[Melvoid]

one other thing occured to me which may have no bearing at all.

How many people use the Steam service to run game and how many use the standalone from Almost Human.

Just be interesting to see wether Steam is causing any lag for people.
I myself have both but run on the standalone ( i preordered ofc to get both just in case).