Multi-thread 64bit client

[Cheza]

I would like to have a multi-thread & 64 bit version of the client. I am sick and tired of the game's poor performance during large scale events, while 3 out of my 4 CPU cores do nothing.

If you want to keep legacy compatibility (although i do not see the reason, those machines perform horribly even in low stress situations) by all means do so, but don't gimp all the other people who have a modern computer.

So, you can keep the poorly performing 32bit single thread client for whatever reason you would like to, but also give us a proper one.

[Sabryn]

Seconded. No reason not to have 64bit and multithreading support in 2012.

[aux]

Software doesn't work that way. You can't just "add multi-threading" to improve performance. It's like trying to put one person in 4 cars at once to make him reach his destination faster.

[Cheza]

Software doesn't work that way. You can't just "add multi-threading" to improve performance. It's like trying to put one person in 4 cars at once to make him reach his destination faster.

Nowhere in my post do i ask for an addition. I am asking for a new client that will fully take advantage of a modern computer's multiple CPU cores and increased memory levels.
If you know of a better way to do this than having a multi-thread 64bit application then please suggest it in your own thread.
Otherwise you are just trolling / derailing this thread.

[Altered Tomorrow]

I am behind any motion to improve this game's performance and accessibility.

[Sariina]

Exactly how much performance do you expect from going from 32-bit to 64-bit? Exactly how do you know that the entirety of Rift runs on a single thread?

I'm not so sure you even know why you're asking for what you're asking.

[Arcshayde]

set "MainThreadCPU = 0" in your rift.cfg file to use more cores. There's no way Trion is going to rewrite the client for 64 bit. Blizzard hasn't even done that and they have much more cash to burn.

[Cheza]

set "MainThreadCPU = 0" in your rift.cfg file to use more cores. There's no way Trion is going to rewrite the client for 64 bit. Blizzard hasn't even done that and they have much more cash to burn.

F.Y.I.: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/4488638967

[aux]

set "MainThreadCPU = 0" in your rift.cfg file to use more cores.

This just makes the game automatically select a core to use for the main thread. It's still going to run on only 1 core at the same time. And it usually doesn't affect performance in any way.

[Sariina]

I'm not sure if you guys know, but according to the Steam Software survey, about 35% of steam gamers run on a 32-bit OS, and only about 30% of Steam gamers have more than 4GB of RAM anyway.

Multi-threading the main functions of something this size would take a complete re-write from the ground up. How sure are all of you that things like asset loading and unloading aren't done in their own threads already?

[Behindya]

@Cheza
It's not as straight forward as you think and the benefits are not linear and don't scale. 64bit applications give software access to a larger memory pool and multithreading is good for concurrent, indepedant tasks that can work asynchronously. How do you know that either of these things are what's causing the poor performance?

Maybe just stick with what you know and complain about the performance instead of giving a wrong solution for a problem you're having.

[Synovia]

As an IT Consultant who gets hired by clients to come in and help them with development, I can say with confidence that there are many benefits to moving into a 64bit, multi-threaded client but, I can also say with confidence that it is NOT at all straightforward to do properly with a client as large as an MMO.

[Kobayashi345]

64 or 32bit client aside, the issue is that there is poor coding in terms of how the client and server speak and it consumes more CPU cycles than it should.

I know some of "us" hate WOW but take the following example into consideration.
On my PC, WOW can handle Ogrimmar, on the highest population server, at peak hours, with countless people in one zone with the graphics all the way UP at 30+fps.
The same applies for other MMOs that I've played.
Rift, however, in Meridian, at night, with the graphics turned all the way DOWN and the "Low Quality Renderer" on gets 22ish at best. And you really can't argue that there's "too many people on the screen".

On an overclocked i2500 with two overclocked 6850s in CF and 8gb of ram, that's not correct.

It has nothing to do with whether the client is 32 or 64 bit or whether or not you have the client automatically select the "main thread" on a specific core. Infact the game itself does use more than one thread, therefore it is multi-threaded. It would be silly if it wasn't.
However, it would also seem that it has anything to do with the coding of the game itself outside of a "multiplayer" scenario. Think about how many FPS you get in say.. Scarwood with a few people in your area. I know I can get over 60.
I know it's not exactly the same but consider a torrent client can make thousands of connections at a time without crippling a PC.

The whole game doesn't actually have to be rewritten and I'm not even sure the client has to be, just the way the client handles more than one person on screen. The problem itself may even lay in a limitation in its base, the Gamebryo engine it was originally written on.

[Kobayashi345]

http://i48.tinypic.com/2isiftk.jpg
Just because. 30 threads in that screeny.

[elethon]

F.Y.I.: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/4488638967

Hehe this made my day.