Questions about NoLimits

Hello all. I want to get NoLimits, but I have a couple questions. I know there are already threads like this, but I would like to have somebody actually talking to me, not just reading through other people's questions, so that's why I started a new thread.

1. I have the demo. It seems like a lot of fun to ride the coasters, except that on anything with scenery, the FPS goes way down. It gets down to 7 or 8 fps on Kumba, and down to 4 fps on Olympia Looping. Is this something I can fix (in-game options or otherwise), or do I just need to wait until I get a new computer to make it work? Because if it runs that slowly, it just isn't worth it for me.

2. My main reason for getting it is to enjoy the creations of others. When I do make my own coasters, they won't be anything fancy. So...will I need a bunch of other programs to run the scenery, environments etc. that other people have made, or only if I want to make my own? Basically, are there any other things I need to download to make any exchange track work?

Both of those probably sound like completely idiotic questions, but oh well. It's only the internet.

The FPS problem is your system's fault. You can lower the graphic settings or turn off scenery and it will improve the fps. Otherwise, I would recommend waiting for your new CPU (You are getting a new one, confirmed, right?)

On the scenery, you don't need another program to RUN it, NoLimits does that itself, but you do need something like Sketchup, anim8or, or 3DSMax to MAKE them. A lot of coasters with scenery use the Track Packager, so you will need that and the Patch.

I just tried lowering the settings...I've decided that my ancient computer just can't handle NoLimits. Thanks for the advice though. As soon as I get a better system, NL is going on there.

And thanks for the help on the second question. It seems like most people on this particular site have been using the NL for a while and make their own stuff all the time, so I was a bit overwhelmed as someone who doesn't even own the game yet.

For advanced trackwork you can use Newton2.

Usually the trains are what cause extensive framerate issues on computers with lower-end graphics adapters. Generally, "scenery", trees and few 3D objects, have little effect on framerates, though a forest type ride can slow down if the graphics can't keep up with basic polygon rendering.

Make sure you're running it in OpenGL 1.5. Other adjustments can make things look much better (such as setting to 32-bit textures) with usually no cost to system resources. (NL's default settings are stupidly adjusted; 16 bit textures look ugly and provide no framerate benefits on even the oldest of graphics cards.)

If your computer isn't that old; built within the past 4-6 years or so, then the most likely issue is that you got a computer with onboard graphics. While most modern onboard graphics should work ok, most onboard graphics, especially those 2 years or older, are complete garbage for any kind of 3D applications or high resolution video.

Even though NL benefits considerably from having a modern graphics card (at least a medium end Radeon 3000 or Geforce 9000 series) due to faster geometry rendering and water reflections, older graphics cards should still be able to run NL ok. There may be framerate issues with more trains and heavy scenery, but it should be playable.

Even if you decide to forgo NoLimits, I would still recommend a graphics card upgrade, if not a whole new computer, for various reasons, unless you hardly use the computer for any tasks anyway.

coasteragent99 hit that on the dot. I had the same problem and then upgraded to a Radeon x1900 and then a GForce 9800 and it works great for the most part. Only lots of trees and super heavy 3ds will slow my frame rate. And I can only run 600x800. But I can run Thunderhead Falls, which has lots of 3ds.

An x1900 or GeForce 9800 should have no problem running most NL rides at full or close to full settings at full framerates. For most graphics cards, lowering the resolution will do little or no help in this case, as the performance limitation here is polygons. Custom 3D objects in NL are very poorly optimized and can bog down most cards, but NL2 should improve upon this and will also allow for LoD. The biggest issue here by far is modelers who don't clean up their 3D objects, leaving hidden polygons and unecessary double sides all over the place which add up to the already polygon-heavy NL trains.

Polygon optimization is very well needed, as well as increased use of shaders for better detail. At some point, using shaders is much less computationaly expensive than using more polys, though I suppose the fact that no roller coaster program/game exists that has an up-to-date graphics engine could also account for performance issues.