Game is running painfully slow even when in an empty tile !

[MuddyFanta 6]

So I've tried everything under the sun 3rd party launcher software hardware rendering all the different setting the config file edits compatibility mode you name it. some of these have helped a small amount but even then my game still chugs when i am scrolling around a tile it is a nightmare. it seems to me after watching videos that my performance is significantly worse than others. figured id go out with a bang and make a post here to see what you guys think ! 

 

SPECS 

i7-4820K

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB

 16 Gigs of ram

  Edited October 30, 2020 by MuddyFanta  
reasons lol

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

Which OS are you running? What version of the game are you running? Have you applied the 4GB patch to it? Have you turned off shadows? What else do see running and hogging resources in the system process monitor? (Web browser, email etc can kill performance)

[MuddyFanta 6]

12 minutes ago, jeffryfisher said:

Which OS are you running? What version of the game are you running? Have you applied the 4GB patch to it? Have you turned off shadows? What else do see running and hogging resources in the system process monitor? (Web browser, email etc can kill performance)

windows 10 pro yes i am using the 4gb patch i have turned off shadows going to see how well it runs on my brothers pc today to see if its maybe my hardware for some reason 

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

Have you made the relevant additions to the graphics rules sgr files?

edit:- sorry, missed that in your opening statement.

Does your graphics card have a compatible DirectX 9.0(c?) driver?

[rsc204 21,836]

Your system specs are fine, more than sufficient not just to run SC4, but to do so optimally.

Almost certainly, just from the model number of your Nvidia GPU, you are suffering a compatibility problem between the GPU, OS, Drivers and DirectX. SC4 uses legacy DirectX functions and some of them must be supported by your card or performance suffers. However, a lot of the time, these problems can occur when SC4 doesn't correctly detect your hardware too.

Unless necessary to make SC4 run, you should avoid using Software Rendering, it's not a magic fix, just a last resort compatibility setting for users without the ability to run DirectX. After switching back to DirectX (Hardware) mode, run the game once, just to the Region View screen and exit SC4. Goto the install folder of the game, enter the Apps subfolder and look for a file MYCOMPUTERNAME-config-log.txt. Paste a copy of its contents here, we can then see if this is a hardware detection issue or if more drastic steps are required.

[MuddyFanta 6]

19 hours ago, rsc204 said:

Goto the install folder of the game, enter the Apps subfolder and look for a file MYCOMPUTERNAME-config-log.txt. Paste a copy of its contents here, we can then see if this is a hardware detection issue or if more drastic steps are required.

config-log.txt

Spoiler

Log generated on 10/30/2020, 11:14

Flags
-----
hardwareDriver = true
DXT = true
fullscreen = true
MMX = true
FPU = true
backingStore = true
forcedFSAA = false

Strings
-------
userName = chris
appName = SimCity 4
version = 1.1.641.0
osVersion = Windows NT 5.1
computerName = DESKTOP-0K8FM1E
CPU = GenuineIntel
sglDriverName = DirectX
sglDriverVersion = 2.0
driverName = nvldumd.dll
driverVersion = 0.0.0.0, GUID: D7B71E3E-5F42-11CF-F373-B1A50EC2CD35
cardName = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
cardVersion = Vendor: 10de, Device: 1c02, Board: 85b11043, Chipset: 00a1
cardIdentity = NVidia, GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
soundDriverName = 
soundCardName = Primary Sound Driver
buildType = Release

Numbers
-------
cpuSpeed = 3700
memory = 1024
freeMemory = 1024
screenWidth = 1920
screenHeight = 1080
screenBPP = 16
videoMemory = 2988
textureMemory = 2988
textureStages = 8
bogoFPS = 0
bogoMPPS = 0

Rules
-----
applying Sound
applying high sound detail
applying City Detail and Day/Night Settings
applying City Detail and Day/Night Settings>
applying high computer power
  option 9 = 3
  option 13 = 1
  option 15 = 3
applying Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings
applying Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings>
applying high memory
  option 3 = 3
  option 14 = 3
applying Variable Speed Automata
applying default
  option 10 = 1
applying Standard hardware
  option 0 = 1
  option 1 = 1
  option 2 = 1
  option 4 = 0
  option 5 = 1
  option 8 = 1
  option 7 = 1
  option 6 = 1
  option 11 = 0
  option 12 = 0
applying Standard hardware>
  option 1 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>
  option 0 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>>
  option 2 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>>>
  option 4 = 1
applying Standard hardware>>>>>
  option 11 = 1
applying Two stages
applying Lotsa vidmem

Options
-------
Visual Effects       current:   3 recommended:   2
Cars/Sims            current:   3 recommended:   2
Shadows              current:   3 recommended:   2
Atmospheric effects  current:   1 recommended:   1
Water effects        current:   1 recommended:   1
Software/Hardware    current:   1 recommended:   1
Cursor               current:   1 recommended:   1
VariableSpeedAutomata current:   1 recommended:   1
Translucent UI       current:   1 recommended:   1
Graphic Detail       current:   3 recommended:   3
Building Load Speed  current:   3 recommended:   3
Texture Quality      current:   3 recommended:   3

Properties
-------
forcesoftwaredriver = false
renderdynamicview = true
renderstaticview = true
renderwatereffects = true
rendercloudsandfog = true
forcepointsampling = false
forcebilinear = false
forcenoalphablend = false
forcenoalphatest = false
rendershadows = true
renderdecals = true
usesecondstage = true
forcedebugtexture = false
renderparticleeffects = true
renderflorashadows = true
renderterrain = true
showupdateregions = false
usecursoreffects = true
drawlottextures = true
drawlotfoundations = true
drawlotwalls = true
forcetexturerepeat = false
usescreenshake = true
renderui = true
useupdaterectclipping = true
usevertexbuffers = true
showboundingboxes = false
useoverlayculling = true
rendersnapshot = false
noaddsigned = false
nopartialbackingstorecopies = false
usescreenflash = true
renderautomata = true
preferopaque = false
displayalertborders = true
drawlotopaquetextures = true
useviewcleanup = false
doautozoomandrotationchanges = true

viewoffsety = 0
viewoffsetx = 0
texturebits = 32
lodoffset = 0
shadowdebug = 0
maxparticlestarget = 10000
particlelodoffset = 0
effectprioritylevel = 5
backingstoremaxzoomall = 5
backingstoremaxzoombuildingsprops = 5
backingstoremaxzoomterrain = 5
backingstoremaxzoomflora = 5
shadowquality = 2
minvehiclezoom = 3
minpedzoom = 4
cursortype = 1
depthoffset = 2
debugtexture = 0
dirtyrectmergeframes = 4
sounddetail = 2
buildingvariety = 2
buildingloaderspeed = 1
modellodoffset = 0
stringtexturecachesize = 1024

particleeffectslod = 5
splattexturescale = 50
texbindmaxfree = 8
particledensity = 1
particledamping = 0
particlescale = 1
lightingupdatedelta = 0.0001
shadowmodelthreshold = 12
demolishmodelthreshold = 12
rendermodelthreshold = 6
rendermodelthresholdscroll = 40
particlesizethreshold = 300
maxvehiclepct = 1
maxpedpct = 1
opaqueuialphavalue = 0.55

 

seems like it is detecting properly as i said i have edited the video cards and graphics rules to ensure this. it still lags quite a bit more than i see as normal when watching others play the game on YouTube maybe i can record a clip 

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

RenderShadows is true, renderflorashadows is true, ShadowQuality is 2, and Shadows is at level 3, so you can start by dialing back all of your shadow settings in the graphics rules.

You could also turn off variable speed automata (and anything else that is pure eye-candy).

[rsc204 21,836]

7 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

RenderShadows is true, renderflorashadows is true, ShadowQuality is 2, and Shadows is at level 3, so you can start by dialing back all of your shadow settings in the graphics rules.

You can, but given I can run them all with inferior hardware and all the bells and whistles of my GPU enabled too, I really think this isn't the source of the troubles in question. There is a general pervading slowness, even in smaller cities or when not much is going on, this is asymptomatic of a GPU compatibility issue and will not be solved by dialing back the settings. The inverse is true, these settings should be just fine, it's that we're trying to fix, a more general performance issue.

8 hours ago, MuddyFanta said:

seems like it is detecting properly as i said i have edited the video cards and graphics rules to ensure this. it still lags quite a bit more than i see as normal when watching others play the game on YouTube maybe i can record a clip 

So yes, the good news is, Hardware DirectX mode is working, your Hardware is properly detected, but actually it isn't... What's missing from the Config Log, the game is NOT applying "Fast Card" mode. So one of two things is happening, the game incorrectly thinks your GPU is not very good, so this has the effect of not properly utilising your GPU. Otherwise, the same end result, but brought about by a specific feature of DDraw, the API of DirectX which handles all this. The former is easily rectified, by telling the game to use Fast Card mode, by adding the card manually to the settings files. This can happen, because SC4's code is so out of date, it sometimes get's things wrong. The later is more difficult, but not impossible to fix, a number of settings exist in this area that can help where a specific hardware feature doesn't work. But if forcing Fast Card (i.e. it shows applying fast card in the config log), doesn't help the game run faster, you may find the modified DDraw method, recently discovered for enabling higher resolutions, can also help with such compatibility issues. That's exactly what its purpose is, to make older games using legacy DirectX, run better with modern GPUs that work differently.

If neither of these help, don't dispair, we're not out of options here either.

[MuddyFanta 6]

15 hours ago, rsc204 said:

You can, but given I can run them all with inferior hardware and all the bells and whistles of my GPU enabled too, I really think this isn't the source of the troubles in question. There is a general pervading slowness, even in smaller cities or when not much is going on, this is asymptomatic of a GPU compatibility issue and will not be solved by dialing back the settings. The inverse is true, these settings should be just fine, it's that we're trying to fix, a more general performance issue.

So yes, the good news is, Hardware DirectX mode is working, your Hardware is properly detected, but actually it isn't... What's missing from the Config Log, the game is NOT applying "Fast Card" mode. So one of two things is happening, the game incorrectly thinks your GPU is not very good, so this has the effect of not properly utilising your GPU. Otherwise, the same end result, but brought about by a specific feature of DDraw, the API of DirectX which handles all this. The former is easily rectified, by telling the game to use Fast Card mode, by adding the card manually to the settings files. This can happen, because SC4's code is so out of date, it sometimes get's things wrong. The later is more difficult, but not impossible to fix, a number of settings exist in this area that can help where a specific hardware feature doesn't work. But if forcing Fast Card (i.e. it shows applying fast card in the config log), doesn't help the game run faster, you may find the modified DDraw method, recently discovered for enabling higher resolutions, can also help with such compatibility issues. That's exactly what its purpose is, to make older games using legacy DirectX, run better with modern GPUs that work differently.

If neither of these help, don't dispair, we're not out of options here either.

see i was under the assumption it was reading my card properly because as i said i have edited the video cards and graphics rules to ensure this. 

 card 0x0259 "GeForce4 Quadro"
   card 0x025b "GeForce4 Quadro"
   card 0x02a0 "GeForce3 XBOX"
   card 0x1c02 "GeForce GTX 1060 3GB"
end

 

[rsc204 21,836]

Yes it’s correctly detecting your NVidia card, but what it is not doing is enabling the ‘fast card’ script on start-up, which explains the slowness. The same is true of almost all ATI cards, since if the system didn’t identify it as a particular ATI chip, it would (incorrectly) assume features of DirectX to make the game run better, wouldn’t keep up with the hardware. I’m quite sure if you get it to run as a Fast Card, defined in the .sgr files, you’ll find things running much better. 

[MuddyFanta 6]

2 minutes ago, rsc204 said:

Yes it’s correctly detecting your NVidia card, but what it is not doing is enabling the ‘fast card’ script on start-up, which explains the slowness. The same is true of almost all ATI cards, since if the system didn’t identify it as a particular ATI chip, it would (incorrectly) assume features of DirectX to make the game run better, wouldn’t keep up with the hardware. I’m quite sure if you get it to run as a Fast Card, defined in the .sgr files, you’ll find things running much better. 

as i was typing my last post i found that for some reason my edit on the graphics rules config did not save made the edit again going to see if it fixed it 

[MuddyFanta 6]

11 minutes ago, rsc204 said:

Yes it’s correctly detecting your NVidia card, but what it is not doing is enabling the ‘fast card’ script on start-up, which explains the slowness. The same is true of almost all ATI cards, since if the system didn’t identify it as a particular ATI chip, it would (incorrectly) assume features of DirectX to make the game run better, wouldn’t keep up with the hardware. I’m quite sure if you get it to run as a Fast Card, defined in the .sgr files, you’ll find things running much better. 

so no luck there it is still not running as fast card even with the hardware detection edits any ideas on how i can force feed the game to run fast card ?

[rsc204 21,836]

If you are following the editing process from here for the Graphics Rules.sgr file, then it should happen. Basically the file Video Cards.sgr, just links the device/vendor IDs to a named card, which either is working (or isn't necessary to work), because SC4 detects your GPU with the correct name. The Graphics Rules file is defining which cards should be ran with the Fast Card settings:

Quote

partialRule "Fast card" -any

         # We run well on these cards, so up the defaults.

         stringMatch cardIdentity "NVidia*Geforce*"

         stringMatch cardIdentity "NVidia*Quadro*"

         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*9700*"

         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*8500*"

 

         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*HD 4800 Series*"

         stringMatch cardIdentity "Matrox*Parhelia*"

I.e., if the information entered there is correct to match your name in Video Cards.sgr, then Fast Card will be active. Perhaps you've not matched the strings between the files correctly? 

38 minutes ago, MuddyFanta said:

as i was typing my last post i found that for some reason my edit on the graphics rules config did not save

Windows 10's security settings can prevent changes to files inside Program Files (x86), or even undo them if you try. Likewise you may have a third party security application installed setup to do the same thing. It's important before assuming it's changed, to verify your edits are still in place, because this may well be thwarting you.

[MuddyFanta 6]

36 minutes ago, rsc204 said:

If you are following the editing process from here for the Graphics Rules.sgr file, then it should happen. Basically the file Video Cards.sgr, just links the device/vendor IDs to a named card, which either is working (or isn't necessary to work), because SC4 detects your GPU with the correct name. The Graphics Rules file is defining which cards should be ran with the Fast Card settings:

I.e., if the information entered there is correct to match your name in Video Cards.sgr, then Fast Card will be active. Perhaps you've not matched the strings between the files correctly? 

Windows 10's security settings can prevent changes to files inside Program Files (x86), or even undo them if you try. Likewise you may have a third party security application installed setup to do the same thing. It's important before assuming it's changed, to verify your edits are still in place, because this may well be thwarting you.

here are my strings seems like these did stay when i opened the game still no performance change

 

partialRule "Fast card" -any
         # We run well on these cards, so up the defaults.
         stringMatch cardIdentity "NVidia*Geforce*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "NVidia*Quadro*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*9700*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*8500*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "Matrox*Parhelia*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "GeForce*GTX 1060 3GB*"
         partialRule 

 

   card 0x0258 "GeForce4 Quadro" 
   card 0x0259 "GeForce4 Quadro"
   card 0x025b "GeForce4 Quadro"
   card 0x02a0 "GeForce3 XBOX"
   card 0x1c02 "GeForce GTX 1060 3GB"
end

[MuddyFanta 6]

41 minutes ago, rsc204 said:

If you are following the editing process from here for the Graphics Rules.sgr file, then it should happen. Basically the file Video Cards.sgr, just links the device/vendor IDs to a named card, which either is working (or isn't necessary to work), because SC4 detects your GPU with the correct name. The Graphics Rules file is defining which cards should be ran with the Fast Card settings:

I.e., if the information entered there is correct to match your name in Video Cards.sgr, then Fast Card will be active. Perhaps you've not matched the strings between the files correctly? 

Windows 10's security settings can prevent changes to files inside Program Files (x86), or even undo them if you try. Likewise you may have a third party security application installed setup to do the same thing. It's important before assuming it's changed, to verify your edits are still in place, because this may well be thwarting you.

going to try the string NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB now 

[rsc204 21,836]

1 hour ago, MuddyFanta said:

         stringMatch cardIdentity "GeForce*GTX 1060 3GB*"

Try instead:

stringMatch cardIdentity "GeForce*GTX*1060*3GB*"

The asterisks represent spaces, since spaces probably aren't allowed. But this may well be why it's not being activated.

[MuddyFanta 6]

3 hours ago, rsc204 said:

Try instead:

stringMatch cardIdentity "GeForce*GTX*1060*3GB*"

The asterisks represent spaces, since spaces probably aren't allowed. But this may well be why it's not being activated.

Will do hopefully it works extremely close to formatting my SSD and fresh installing windows and trying everything again also going to try on my brothers setup if this isn’t it !

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

Hay @MuddyFanta,

I feel you pain. I had issues for awhile. I noticed when using one of the launcher programs, every time I used the launcher it was recreating the the graphics rules file and overriding my changes. Once I removed the launcher my entries would stay. But I still could not get the fast card settings to engage. So I gambled and edited the Graphics Rules file a little more. I removed the slow string "areas" from two places in the file. I don't know if this was the correct wat to go about it, but it finally enabled fast card settings. Here is a copy of mine, I would not recommend coping and pasting. Just use it for reference as I have no programing skills. AND always make backups!!! (and than back those up) LOL.

Spoiler

 

#############################################################################
#
# property groups for options set via the UI
#
#############################################################################

set VisualEffects             0
set CarsSims                  1
set Shadows                   2
set TextureQuality            3
set CloudsFog                 4
set Waves                     5
set Driver                    6
set Cursor                    7
set Translucency              8
set CityDetail                9
set VariableSpeedAutomata    10

set ScreenSize               11
set ScreenDepth              12
set DayNight                 13

set BuildingVarietyGroup     14
set BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup 15

#############################################################################

set Off 0
set On  1

set Low     1
set Medium  2
set High    3

set CursorBW    0
set CursorColor 1

set Software    0
set Hardware    1

set Screen_800x600    0
set Screen_1024x768   1
set Screen_1280x1024  2
set Screen_1600x1200  3

set Depth_16    0
set Depth_32    1

#############################################################################

optionGroup $VisualEffects
   option $Low
      property particleDensity       0.25
      property particleScale         2.0
      property maxParticlesTarget    400
      property particleDamping       0.0
      property particleLODOffset     2    # subtracted from the zoom.
      property effectPriorityLevel   1  
      property useScreenShake        false
      property useScreenFlash        false
      
      property demolishModelThreshold 24

   option $Medium
      property particleDensity       0.5
      property particleScale         2.0
      property maxParticlesTarget    1200
      property particleDamping       0.0
      property particleLODOffset     0    # subtracted from the zoom.
      property effectPriorityLevel   3
      property useScreenShake        true
      property useScreenFlash        true
   
      property demolishModelThreshold 18

   option $High
      property particleDensity       1
      property particleScale         1
      property maxParticlesTarget    5000
      property particleDamping       0.0
      property particleLODOffset     0    # subtracted from the zoom.
      property effectPriorityLevel   5
      property useScreenShake        true
      property useScreenFlash        true
   
      property demolishModelThreshold 12
end

optionGroup $CarsSims
# Sadly, we have no off
#  option $Off 
   option $Low  
      property maxVehiclePct    0.0
      property maxPedPct        0.0
      property minVehicleZoom   5
      property minPedZoom       5
   
#   option $Low
#      property maxVehiclePct    0.2
#      property maxPedPct        0.2
#      property minVehicleZoom   5
#      property minPedZoom       5
   
   option $Medium
      property maxVehiclePct    0.5
      property maxPedPct        0.5
      property minVehicleZoom   4
      property minPedZoom       5
   
   option $High
      property maxVehiclePct    1
      property maxPedPct        1
      property minVehicleZoom   3
      property minPedZoom       4
end

optionGroup $Shadows
# Sadly, we have no off
#      option $Off
      option $Low
      property shadowQuality 0 # off
      property shadowModelThreshold 40
      property lightingUpdateDelta 0.2
   
#   option $Low
#      property shadowQuality 2
#      property shadowModelThreshold 40
#      property lightingUpdateDelta 0.2
   
   option $Medium
      property shadowQuality 3
      property shadowModelThreshold 22
      property lightingUpdateDelta 0.05
   
   option $High
      property shadowQuality 5
      property shadowModelThreshold 12
      property lightingUpdateDelta 1e-4
end

optionGroup $CloudsFog
   option $On
      property renderCloudsAndFog true
   option $Off
      property renderCloudsAndFog false
end

optionGroup $Waves
   option $On
      property renderWaterEffects true
   
   option $Off
      property renderWaterEffects false
end

optionGroup $Cursor
   option $CursorBW
      property cursorType 1
   
   option $CursorColor
      property cursorType 3 # 256-color
end

optionGroup $Translucency
   option $On
      property preferOpaque false
   
   option $Off
      property preferOpaque true
end

optionGroup $CityDetail
   option $Low
      property renderModelThreshold 12
   option $Medium
      property renderModelThreshold 6   
   option $High
      property renderModelThreshold 2
end

optionGroup $BuildingVarietyGroup
   option $Low
      property buildingVariety 0
   option $Medium
      property buildingVariety 1
   option $High
      property buildingVariety 2
end

optionGroup $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup
   option $Low
      property buildingLoaderSpeed 0
   option $Medium
      property buildingLoaderSpeed 1
   option $High
      property buildingLoaderSpeed 2
end

optionGroup $TextureQuality
   option $Low
      property modelLODOffset 2
   option $Medium
      property modelLODOffset 1
   option $High
      property modelLODOffset 0
end

#############################################################################
#
# Configuration Rules
#

#<

   Current configuration sources, with example values:
    
   Flags (has, hasNo):
      hardwareDriver = true
      DXT = true
      fullscreen = false
      MMX = true
      FPU = true
      backingStore = true

   Strings (stringMatch, stringNotMatch):
      userName = Nicks
      appName = SimCity 4
      version = 1.1.641.0
      osVersion = Windows NT 6.2
      computerName = DESKTOP-EK0QDI6
      CPU = GenuineIntel
      sglDriverName = DirectX
      sglDriverVersion = 2.0
      driverName = nvldumd.dll
      driverVersion = 0.0.0.0, GUID: D7B71E3E-58C1-11CF-F25B-73710EC2CD35
      cardName = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
      cardVersion = Vendor: 10de, Device: 1b81, Board: 51733842, Chipset: 00a1
      cardIdentity = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
      soundDriverName = 
      soundCardName = Primary Sound Driver
      buildType = Release

   Numbers (atLeast, atMost):
      cpuSpeed = 1894
      memory = 1024
      freeMemory = 624
      screenWidth = 2560
      screenHeight = 1400
      screenBPP = 32
      videoMemory = 123
      textureMemory = 123
      textureStages = 4

   Processing stops after a rule if the rule matches. 
   Partial rules continue processing.
   A rule with -any is accepted if any of its conditions are 
   met -- the default is that all conditions must be met.
#>

# Sound 
partialRule "Sound"
   rule "high sound detail"
      atLeast cpuSpeed 1500
      property soundDetail 2
   end
   rule "medium sound detail"
      atLeast cpuSpeed 800
      property soundDetail 1
   end
   rule "low sound detail"
      property soundDetail 0
   end
end

partialRule "City Detail and Day/Night Settings"
   rule
      # Windows XP
      stringMatch osVersion "Windows NT 5.1"

      rule "high computer power"
         atLeast memory                      800
         atLeast cpuSpeed                    2400
         option  $CityDetail                 $High
         option  $DayNight                   $On
         option  $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup   $High
      end
      rule "medium computer power"
         atLeast memory                       600
         atLeast cpuSpeed                     1800
         option $CityDetail                  $Medium
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Medium
      end
      rule "low computer power"
         option $CityDetail                  $Low
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Low
      end
   end
   rule
      # Windows 2000
      stringMatch osVersion "Windows NT 5.0"   

      rule "high computer power"
         atLeast memory                      700
         atLeast cpuSpeed                    2000
         option  $CityDetail                 $High
         option  $DayNight                   $On
         option  $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup   $High
      end
      rule "medium computer power"
         atLeast memory                       500
         atLeast cpuSpeed                     1400
         option $CityDetail                  $Medium
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Medium
      end
      rule "low computer power"
         option $CityDetail                  $Low
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Low
      end
   end
   rule
      # Windows 98, or anything beyond Windows XP.

      rule "high computer power"
         atLeast memory                      500
         atLeast cpuSpeed                    1800
         option  $CityDetail                 $High
         option  $DayNight                   $On
         option  $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup   $High
      end
      rule "medium computer power"
         atLeast memory                       400
         atLeast cpuSpeed                     1600
         option $CityDetail                  $Medium
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Medium
      end
      rule "low computer power"
         option $CityDetail                  $Low
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Low
      end
   end
end

partialRule "Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings"
   rule
      # Windows XP
      stringMatch osVersion "Windows NT 5.1"

      rule "high memory"
         atLeast memory                500
         option $TextureQuality        $High
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $High
      end
      rule "medium memory"
         atLeast memory                 300
         option $TextureQuality        $Medium
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Medium
      end
      rule "low memory"
         option $TextureQuality        $Low
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Low
      end
   end
   rule
      # Windows 2000
      stringMatch osVersion "Windows NT 5.0"   

      rule "high memory"
         atLeast memory                500
         option $TextureQuality        $High
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $High
      end
      rule "medium memory"
         atLeast memory                 200
         option $TextureQuality        $Medium
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Medium
      end
      rule "low memory"
         option $TextureQuality        $Low
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Low
      end
   end
   rule
      # Windows 98, or anything beyond Windows XP.

      rule "high memory"
         atLeast memory                500
         option $TextureQuality        $High
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $High
      end
      rule "medium memory"
         atLeast memory                 200
         option $TextureQuality        $Medium
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Medium
      end
      rule "low memory"
         option $TextureQuality        $Low
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Low
      end
   end
end

partialRule "Variable Speed Automata"
   rule "default"
      option $VariableSpeedAutomata $On
   end
end

partialRule "Recommend Software" -any
   stringMatch cardIdentity "3D Labs*"
   stringMatch cardIdentity "*Kyro*"

   partialRule "Non-shared memory"
      stringNotMatch cardIdentity "Intel*"
      atMost videoMemory 15 # less than recommended
   end
   
   property forceSoftwareDriver $prefsFirstTime
end

# must come before software driver rules, after "Recommend Software".
partialRule "No backing store"
   hasNo backingStore
   
   property forceSoftwareDriver true   # need to force this immediately
end

rule "Standard software"
   hasNo hardwareDriver
   
   option $VisualEffects   $Low
   option $CarsSims        $Low
   option $Shadows         $Low
   option $CloudsFog       $Off
   option $Waves           $Off
   option $Translucency    $On
   option $Cursor          $CursorBW
   option $Driver          $Software
   option $ScreenSize      $Screen_800x600
   option $ScreenDepth     $Depth_16

   partialRule
      # Enable more visual effects if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          128
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1000
      option $VisualEffects $Medium
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable clouds and fog if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory       256
      atLeast cpuSpeed    2400
      option $CloudsFog  $On
   end

   property useSecondStage      false
   property texBindMaxFree       4   # Software now caches DXT.
   property dirtyRectMergeFrames 1   # software is pretty good about BS updates
   property TextureBits         32   # software hardwired for 32-bit internally.
end

rule "Standard hardware"

   option $VisualEffects   $Low
   option $CarsSims        $Low
   option $Shadows         $Low
   option $CloudsFog       $Off
   option $Waves           $On
   option $Translucency    $On
   option $Cursor          $CursorColor
   option $Driver          $Hardware
   option $ScreenSize      $Screen_800x600
   option $ScreenDepth     $Depth_16
   
   property useSecondStage       false  # Default, overridden below in most cases.
   property texBindMaxFree       4   # To stop thrashing, plus a little pad.
   property dirtyRectMergeFrames 6   # Default, for low-end card.
   property TextureBits          32  # mostly just for preview -- everything else
                                     # should be DXT

   partialRule
      # Enable more cars and sims if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          256
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1600
      option $CarsSims      $Medium
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable more visual effects if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          128
      atLeast cpuSpeed        700
      option $VisualEffects $Medium
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable more shadows if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          256
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1800
      option $Shadows       $Medium
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable clouds and fog if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          300
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1600
      option $CloudsFog     $On
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable higher screen resolution if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          256
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1600
      option $ScreenSize     $Screen_1024x768
   end

   partialRule "No DXT"
      hasNo DXT
      
      property TextureBits 16  # we'll need all the VRAM we can get...
      option $ScreenDepth  $Depth_16
   end
   
   partialRule "Two stages"
      atLeast textureStages 2
       
      property useSecondStage       true
      property dirtyRectMergeFrames 4
   end
   
   partialRule "Lotsa vidmem"
      atLeast videoMemory 100  # includes AGP
       
      property texBindMaxFree  8 # keep a little more round
   end
        
   partialRule "Poor color cursor" -any
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*128*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*Rage*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*Mach*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "S3*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "Trident*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "3dfx*"        # The banshee reportedly works, but this is simplest.
      stringMatch cardIdentity "Intel*"       # 815E is BW only.  845+ is unknown but to be safe....
      
      option $Cursor          $CursorBW
   end

   partialRule "NoAddSigned" -any
      # this shows up as odd zone colours.
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*128*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*Rage*"
       
      property NoAddSigned true
   end

   partialRule "Not Slow GeForce"
      # We don't want the 'fast card' rules to apply to these GeForce cards, though possibly to other GeForce cards.
      stringNotMatch cardIdentity "*GeForce 256*"
      stringNotMatch cardIdentity "*GeForce2 *"

      partialRule "Fast card" -any
         # We run well on these cards, so up the defaults.
         stringMatch cardIdentity "NVidia*Geforce*"
     stringMatch cardIdentity "Nvidia*Geforce*GTX*1070*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "NVidia*Quadro*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*9700*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*8500*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "Matrox*Parhelia*"

         partialRule
            # Enable 32 bit graphics if user has decent computing power.
            # Paul P: My tests have shown that my GeForce uses less memory in 16 bit mode than 32 bit mode.
            atLeast memory          256
            atLeast cpuSpeed       1000
            option $ScreenDepth   $Depth_32
         end

         partialRule
            # Enable more cars and sims if user has decent computing power.
            atLeast memory          256
            atLeast cpuSpeed       1400
            option $CarsSims      $High
         end

         partialRule
            # Enable more visual effects if user has decent computing power.
            atLeast memory          256
            atLeast cpuSpeed       1600
            option $VisualEffects $High
         end

         partialRule
            # Enable more shadows if user has decent computing power.
            atLeast memory       512
            atLeast cpuSpeed    2000
            option $Shadows    $High
         end
         
         partialRule
            # Enable clouds and fog if user has decent computing power.
            atLeast memory          256
            atLeast cpuSpeed       1000
            option $CloudsFog     $On
         end

         property dirtyRectMergeFrames 2
      end
   end
end

# For figuring out what kind of card we are
sinclude "Video Cards.sgr"

 

Hope that helps and good luck.

[MuddyFanta 6]

4 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

Hay @MuddyFanta,

I feel you pain. I had issues for awhile. I noticed when using one of the launcher programs, every time I used the launcher it was recreating the the graphics rules file and overriding my changes. Once I removed the launcher my entries would stay. But I still could not get the fast card settings to engage. So I gambled and edited the Graphics Rules file a little more. I removed the slow string "areas" from two places in the file. I don't know if this was the correct wat to go about it, but it finally enabled fast card settings. Here is a copy of mine, I would not recommend coping and pasting. Just use it for reference as I have no programing skills. AND always make backups!!! (and than back those up) LOL.

  Kloudkickers Graphics Rules file (Reveal hidden contents)

 

#############################################################################
#
# property groups for options set via the UI
#
#############################################################################

set VisualEffects             0
set CarsSims                  1
set Shadows                   2
set TextureQuality            3
set CloudsFog                 4
set Waves                     5
set Driver                    6
set Cursor                    7
set Translucency              8
set CityDetail                9
set VariableSpeedAutomata    10

set ScreenSize               11
set ScreenDepth              12
set DayNight                 13

set BuildingVarietyGroup     14
set BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup 15

#############################################################################

set Off 0
set On  1

set Low     1
set Medium  2
set High    3

set CursorBW    0
set CursorColor 1

set Software    0
set Hardware    1

set Screen_800x600    0
set Screen_1024x768   1
set Screen_1280x1024  2
set Screen_1600x1200  3

set Depth_16    0
set Depth_32    1

#############################################################################

optionGroup $VisualEffects
   option $Low
      property particleDensity       0.25
      property particleScale         2.0
      property maxParticlesTarget    400
      property particleDamping       0.0
      property particleLODOffset     2    # subtracted from the zoom.
      property effectPriorityLevel   1  
      property useScreenShake        false
      property useScreenFlash        false
      
      property demolishModelThreshold 24

   option $Medium
      property particleDensity       0.5
      property particleScale         2.0
      property maxParticlesTarget    1200
      property particleDamping       0.0
      property particleLODOffset     0    # subtracted from the zoom.
      property effectPriorityLevel   3
      property useScreenShake        true
      property useScreenFlash        true
   
      property demolishModelThreshold 18

   option $High
      property particleDensity       1
      property particleScale         1
      property maxParticlesTarget    5000
      property particleDamping       0.0
      property particleLODOffset     0    # subtracted from the zoom.
      property effectPriorityLevel   5
      property useScreenShake        true
      property useScreenFlash        true
   
      property demolishModelThreshold 12
end

optionGroup $CarsSims
# Sadly, we have no off
#  option $Off 
   option $Low  
      property maxVehiclePct    0.0
      property maxPedPct        0.0
      property minVehicleZoom   5
      property minPedZoom       5
   
#   option $Low
#      property maxVehiclePct    0.2
#      property maxPedPct        0.2
#      property minVehicleZoom   5
#      property minPedZoom       5
   
   option $Medium
      property maxVehiclePct    0.5
      property maxPedPct        0.5
      property minVehicleZoom   4
      property minPedZoom       5
   
   option $High
      property maxVehiclePct    1
      property maxPedPct        1
      property minVehicleZoom   3
      property minPedZoom       4
end

optionGroup $Shadows
# Sadly, we have no off
#      option $Off
      option $Low
      property shadowQuality 0 # off
      property shadowModelThreshold 40
      property lightingUpdateDelta 0.2
   
#   option $Low
#      property shadowQuality 2
#      property shadowModelThreshold 40
#      property lightingUpdateDelta 0.2
   
   option $Medium
      property shadowQuality 3
      property shadowModelThreshold 22
      property lightingUpdateDelta 0.05
   
   option $High
      property shadowQuality 5
      property shadowModelThreshold 12
      property lightingUpdateDelta 1e-4
end

optionGroup $CloudsFog
   option $On
      property renderCloudsAndFog true
   option $Off
      property renderCloudsAndFog false
end

optionGroup $Waves
   option $On
      property renderWaterEffects true
   
   option $Off
      property renderWaterEffects false
end

optionGroup $Cursor
   option $CursorBW
      property cursorType 1
   
   option $CursorColor
      property cursorType 3 # 256-color
end

optionGroup $Translucency
   option $On
      property preferOpaque false
   
   option $Off
      property preferOpaque true
end

optionGroup $CityDetail
   option $Low
      property renderModelThreshold 12
   option $Medium
      property renderModelThreshold 6   
   option $High
      property renderModelThreshold 2
end

optionGroup $BuildingVarietyGroup
   option $Low
      property buildingVariety 0
   option $Medium
      property buildingVariety 1
   option $High
      property buildingVariety 2
end

optionGroup $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup
   option $Low
      property buildingLoaderSpeed 0
   option $Medium
      property buildingLoaderSpeed 1
   option $High
      property buildingLoaderSpeed 2
end

optionGroup $TextureQuality
   option $Low
      property modelLODOffset 2
   option $Medium
      property modelLODOffset 1
   option $High
      property modelLODOffset 0
end

#############################################################################
#
# Configuration Rules
#

#<

   Current configuration sources, with example values:
    
   Flags (has, hasNo):
      hardwareDriver = true
      DXT = true
      fullscreen = false
      MMX = true
      FPU = true
      backingStore = true

   Strings (stringMatch, stringNotMatch):
      userName = Nicks
      appName = SimCity 4
      version = 1.1.641.0
      osVersion = Windows NT 6.2
      computerName = DESKTOP-EK0QDI6
      CPU = GenuineIntel
      sglDriverName = DirectX
      sglDriverVersion = 2.0
      driverName = nvldumd.dll
      driverVersion = 0.0.0.0, GUID: D7B71E3E-58C1-11CF-F25B-73710EC2CD35
      cardName = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
      cardVersion = Vendor: 10de, Device: 1b81, Board: 51733842, Chipset: 00a1
      cardIdentity = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
      soundDriverName = 
      soundCardName = Primary Sound Driver
      buildType = Release

   Numbers (atLeast, atMost):
      cpuSpeed = 1894
      memory = 1024
      freeMemory = 624
      screenWidth = 2560
      screenHeight = 1400
      screenBPP = 32
      videoMemory = 123
      textureMemory = 123
      textureStages = 4

   Processing stops after a rule if the rule matches. 
   Partial rules continue processing.
   A rule with -any is accepted if any of its conditions are 
   met -- the default is that all conditions must be met.
#>

# Sound 
partialRule "Sound"
   rule "high sound detail"
      atLeast cpuSpeed 1500
      property soundDetail 2
   end
   rule "medium sound detail"
      atLeast cpuSpeed 800
      property soundDetail 1
   end
   rule "low sound detail"
      property soundDetail 0
   end
end

partialRule "City Detail and Day/Night Settings"
   rule
      # Windows XP
      stringMatch osVersion "Windows NT 5.1"

      rule "high computer power"
         atLeast memory                      800
         atLeast cpuSpeed                    2400
         option  $CityDetail                 $High
         option  $DayNight                   $On
         option  $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup   $High
      end
      rule "medium computer power"
         atLeast memory                       600
         atLeast cpuSpeed                     1800
         option $CityDetail                  $Medium
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Medium
      end
      rule "low computer power"
         option $CityDetail                  $Low
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Low
      end
   end
   rule
      # Windows 2000
      stringMatch osVersion "Windows NT 5.0"   

      rule "high computer power"
         atLeast memory                      700
         atLeast cpuSpeed                    2000
         option  $CityDetail                 $High
         option  $DayNight                   $On
         option  $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup   $High
      end
      rule "medium computer power"
         atLeast memory                       500
         atLeast cpuSpeed                     1400
         option $CityDetail                  $Medium
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Medium
      end
      rule "low computer power"
         option $CityDetail                  $Low
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Low
      end
   end
   rule
      # Windows 98, or anything beyond Windows XP.

      rule "high computer power"
         atLeast memory                      500
         atLeast cpuSpeed                    1800
         option  $CityDetail                 $High
         option  $DayNight                   $On
         option  $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup   $High
      end
      rule "medium computer power"
         atLeast memory                       400
         atLeast cpuSpeed                     1600
         option $CityDetail                  $Medium
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Medium
      end
      rule "low computer power"
         option $CityDetail                  $Low
         option $DayNight                    $Off
         option $BuildingLoaderSpeedGroup    $Low
      end
   end
end

partialRule "Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings"
   rule
      # Windows XP
      stringMatch osVersion "Windows NT 5.1"

      rule "high memory"
         atLeast memory                500
         option $TextureQuality        $High
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $High
      end
      rule "medium memory"
         atLeast memory                 300
         option $TextureQuality        $Medium
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Medium
      end
      rule "low memory"
         option $TextureQuality        $Low
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Low
      end
   end
   rule
      # Windows 2000
      stringMatch osVersion "Windows NT 5.0"   

      rule "high memory"
         atLeast memory                500
         option $TextureQuality        $High
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $High
      end
      rule "medium memory"
         atLeast memory                 200
         option $TextureQuality        $Medium
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Medium
      end
      rule "low memory"
         option $TextureQuality        $Low
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Low
      end
   end
   rule
      # Windows 98, or anything beyond Windows XP.

      rule "high memory"
         atLeast memory                500
         option $TextureQuality        $High
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $High
      end
      rule "medium memory"
         atLeast memory                 200
         option $TextureQuality        $Medium
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Medium
      end
      rule "low memory"
         option $TextureQuality        $Low
         option $BuildingVarietyGroup  $Low
      end
   end
end

partialRule "Variable Speed Automata"
   rule "default"
      option $VariableSpeedAutomata $On
   end
end

partialRule "Recommend Software" -any
   stringMatch cardIdentity "3D Labs*"
   stringMatch cardIdentity "*Kyro*"

   partialRule "Non-shared memory"
      stringNotMatch cardIdentity "Intel*"
      atMost videoMemory 15 # less than recommended
   end
   
   property forceSoftwareDriver $prefsFirstTime
end

# must come before software driver rules, after "Recommend Software".
partialRule "No backing store"
   hasNo backingStore
   
   property forceSoftwareDriver true   # need to force this immediately
end

rule "Standard software"
   hasNo hardwareDriver
   
   option $VisualEffects   $Low
   option $CarsSims        $Low
   option $Shadows         $Low
   option $CloudsFog       $Off
   option $Waves           $Off
   option $Translucency    $On
   option $Cursor          $CursorBW
   option $Driver          $Software
   option $ScreenSize      $Screen_800x600
   option $ScreenDepth     $Depth_16

   partialRule
      # Enable more visual effects if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          128
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1000
      option $VisualEffects $Medium
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable clouds and fog if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory       256
      atLeast cpuSpeed    2400
      option $CloudsFog  $On
   end

   property useSecondStage      false
   property texBindMaxFree       4   # Software now caches DXT.
   property dirtyRectMergeFrames 1   # software is pretty good about BS updates
   property TextureBits         32   # software hardwired for 32-bit internally.
end

rule "Standard hardware"

   option $VisualEffects   $Low
   option $CarsSims        $Low
   option $Shadows         $Low
   option $CloudsFog       $Off
   option $Waves           $On
   option $Translucency    $On
   option $Cursor          $CursorColor
   option $Driver          $Hardware
   option $ScreenSize      $Screen_800x600
   option $ScreenDepth     $Depth_16
   
   property useSecondStage       false  # Default, overridden below in most cases.
   property texBindMaxFree       4   # To stop thrashing, plus a little pad.
   property dirtyRectMergeFrames 6   # Default, for low-end card.
   property TextureBits          32  # mostly just for preview -- everything else
                                     # should be DXT

   partialRule
      # Enable more cars and sims if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          256
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1600
      option $CarsSims      $Medium
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable more visual effects if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          128
      atLeast cpuSpeed        700
      option $VisualEffects $Medium
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable more shadows if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          256
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1800
      option $Shadows       $Medium
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable clouds and fog if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          300
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1600
      option $CloudsFog     $On
   end

   partialRule
      # Enable higher screen resolution if user has decent computing power.
      atLeast memory          256
      atLeast cpuSpeed       1600
      option $ScreenSize     $Screen_1024x768
   end

   partialRule "No DXT"
      hasNo DXT
      
      property TextureBits 16  # we'll need all the VRAM we can get...
      option $ScreenDepth  $Depth_16
   end
   
   partialRule "Two stages"
      atLeast textureStages 2
       
      property useSecondStage       true
      property dirtyRectMergeFrames 4
   end
   
   partialRule "Lotsa vidmem"
      atLeast videoMemory 100  # includes AGP
       
      property texBindMaxFree  8 # keep a little more round
   end
        
   partialRule "Poor color cursor" -any
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*128*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*Rage*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*Mach*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "S3*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "Trident*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "3dfx*"        # The banshee reportedly works, but this is simplest.
      stringMatch cardIdentity "Intel*"       # 815E is BW only.  845+ is unknown but to be safe....
      
      option $Cursor          $CursorBW
   end

   partialRule "NoAddSigned" -any
      # this shows up as odd zone colours.
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*128*"
      stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*Rage*"
       
      property NoAddSigned true
   end

   partialRule "Not Slow GeForce"
      # We don't want the 'fast card' rules to apply to these GeForce cards, though possibly to other GeForce cards.
      stringNotMatch cardIdentity "*GeForce 256*"
      stringNotMatch cardIdentity "*GeForce2 *"

      partialRule "Fast card" -any
         # We run well on these cards, so up the defaults.
         stringMatch cardIdentity "NVidia*Geforce*"
     stringMatch cardIdentity "Nvidia*Geforce*GTX*1070*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "NVidia*Quadro*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*9700*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "ATI*8500*"
         stringMatch cardIdentity "Matrox*Parhelia*"

         partialRule
            # Enable 32 bit graphics if user has decent computing power.
            # Paul P: My tests have shown that my GeForce uses less memory in 16 bit mode than 32 bit mode.
            atLeast memory          256
            atLeast cpuSpeed       1000
            option $ScreenDepth   $Depth_32
         end

         partialRule
            # Enable more cars and sims if user has decent computing power.
            atLeast memory          256
            atLeast cpuSpeed       1400
            option $CarsSims      $High
         end

         partialRule
            # Enable more visual effects if user has decent computing power.
            atLeast memory          256
            atLeast cpuSpeed       1600
            option $VisualEffects $High
         end

         partialRule
            # Enable more shadows if user has decent computing power.
            atLeast memory       512
            atLeast cpuSpeed    2000
            option $Shadows    $High
         end
         
         partialRule
            # Enable clouds and fog if user has decent computing power.
            atLeast memory          256
            atLeast cpuSpeed       1000
            option $CloudsFog     $On
         end

         property dirtyRectMergeFrames 2
      end
   end
end

# For figuring out what kind of card we are
sinclude "Video Cards.sgr"

 

Hope that helps and good luck.

 

 

Pog going to look into this as well ! I figured it was the launcher I was using that was resetting it it says at the top that it’s made by the launcher in the CFg file so 

[rsc204 21,836]

10 hours ago, MuddyFanta said:

extremely close to formatting my SSD and fresh installing windows and trying everything again

This is not a solution. Whatever is wrong with your setup, will not be magically fixed by such a drastic action, once things are correctly configured it should work. Doing this would simply mean you have to start the process all over again.

[MuddyFanta 6]

7 hours ago, rsc204 said:

This is not a solution. Whatever is wrong with your setup, will not be magically fixed by such a drastic action, once things are correctly configured it should work. Doing this would simply mean you have to start the process all over again.

after messing around a bit more in the config it seems to be running decently now how can i tell if it is using fast card ?

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

22 hours ago, MuddyFanta said:

going to try the string NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB now 

One of those SGR files detects the device ID and SETS the card name. The other file MATCHES the card name and then SETS the rules. You may edit BOTH files, and neither needs to ever run on any machine except yours, so you can CHOOSE your own card name; just make it the same in both files.

Your card's device code appears to be '1c02', so that is the line whose name you should set. You can call it MYCARD for all it matters, just as long as you use that same name in the other SGR file where you make sure that MYCARD maps to the fast-card rules. Then you may customize the fast-card rules to be whatever you want the game to do for you.

[rsc204 21,836]

3 hours ago, MuddyFanta said:

how can i tell if it is using fast card ?

That it's running better is a pretty good start.

See this part of the config-log,txt file:

On 31/10/2020 at 3:58 PM, MuddyFanta said:

 

Rules
-----
applying Sound
applying high sound detail
applying City Detail and Day/Night Settings
applying City Detail and Day/Night Settings>
applying high computer power
  option 9 = 3
  option 13 = 1
  option 15 = 3
applying Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings
applying Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings>
applying high memory
  option 3 = 3
  option 14 = 3
applying Variable Speed Automata
applying default
  option 10 = 1
applying Standard hardware
  option 0 = 1
  option 1 = 1
  option 2 = 1
  option 4 = 0
  option 5 = 1
  option 8 = 1
  option 7 = 1
  option 6 = 1
  option 11 = 0
  option 12 = 0
applying Standard hardware>
  option 1 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>
  option 0 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>>
  option 2 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>>>
  option 4 = 1
applying Standard hardware>>>>>
  option 11 = 1
applying Two stages
applying Lotsa vidmem

You should now see the message "applying Fast Card" somewhere amongst this data.