╰⚡fps-optimisation

[shadow pivot]

💡Baseline Assumptions

• YOU ACCEPT WE TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU MESS UP.
  Every bit of advice was extensively tested by multiple people and was confirmed to be working. However, following the advice to a tee is ultimately up to each individual. If something breaks, that's on you.

• YOU'RE NOT DOING BACKGROUND ACTIVITIES.
  Streaming, recording, screensharing, listening to music, procrastinating on background projects, and other things that take resources away from your game will be recommended to be turned OFF.

• YOU'RE USING WINDOWS 10.
  None of the testers used Windows 11 or Linux, so some of these concepts will not be relevant to different OS users.

• THE GUIDE IS PRIMARILY DESIGNED FOR NVIDIA GRAPHICS CARDS.
  The advice in this guide is primarily based on NVIDIA cards and may not be applicable to AMD users. Unfortunately, Anomaly prefers NVIDIA over AMD; this does NOT mean you cannot follow along with the guide, simply keep in mind advice pertaining to drivers is only relevant to NVIDIA users.

• YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT POWER CONSUMPTION.
  The guide will not take into account hardware temperature, saving money on your electricity bill, or saving battery life on your laptop.

• YOU WILL ONLY FOLLOW THROUGH WITH STEPS THAT YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND.
  _ _- 🔵 / 🔹 Easy steps are relatively low-risk and don't require you to download any external software. You should be able to follow these steps simply through existing in-game settings, MO2, or the Windows control panel.
  _ _- 🟧 / 🔸 Intermediate steps require more careful consideration, and might require you to download and use additional programs or plugins.
  _ _- 🛑 / 🔺 Advanced steps require very careful consideration, and run the risk of voiding your warranty, or potentially causing issues across the system if not followed closely. They may also require extra knowledge about how your computer works. If you are unsure about an Advanced step, skip it.

_ _

• SYSTEMS USED FOR TESTING:

+---+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|   |    #1    |    #2    |    #3    |    #4    |
+---+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|GPU| GTX 860M | GTX 1080 | RTX 2060 | RTX 3060 |
+---+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|CPU| i5-4210h | i5-7600k | i7-10700 | i7-11800h|
+---+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|RAM|   12GB   |   16GB   |   16GB   |   16GB   |
+---+----------+----------+----------+----------+

🗨️ Please note all references to exact FPS numbers are based on specific PC configurations and WILL be different on a per-user basis.

🎮 Game Settings

🔵 Easy

🔹Set up the Anomaly Launcher properly.
_ _- Set Shadow Map to 1536. This will lower shadow quality, in turn boosting performance, and once the in-game settings are tweaked in the next section, this drop in visuals will not be noticeable.
_ _- Enable Prefetch sounds. This might increase load time slightly but should in turn help alleviate in-game stuttering.

🔹Set up Visual Settings properly.
See image for details

• Use DX11 as base for best visual fidelity and option availability. (See "Other Tips" if too laggy)
• Use your native resolution as well as Fullscreen mode, no V-Sync.
• Try AVX (!avx in #🤖bot-commands). ~0-2 FPS gain for some.
• Rendering Distance at MAX except for World. No object, foliage, or NPC pop-in. Texture Detail can cause issues with PDA or weapon sights if lowered. ~13-15 FPS loss.
• Anisotropic Filtering at MAX for ground texture quality. ~2-3 FPS loss.
• Do NOT use Anti-Aliasing or SMAA, the effects are taxing on the game and can be substituted with ReShade to conserve framerate.

• Grass Density and Distance at DEFAULT for a lush zone effect. Can be lowered for performance (~10-13 FPS gain on lowest settings).
• Grass Height at 1.0 for the full non-stretched flower and weed texture. Can be lowered if play becomes annoying. ~3-4 FPS loss.
• Grass Shadows ON. NO effect without SSS Grass Shadows, which can be turned up to Medium for working Grass Shadows at ~7-10 FPS loss.
• Sun Shadow Quality MEDIUM / LOW (NO performance difference). Diminishing returns at higher levels, do NOT go up to High/Ultra.
• Sun Rays at VOLUMETRIC, can be disabled to gain ~2-3 FPS. No performance impact from different Quality or Intensity settings.
• All Effects ON except Motion Blur (NO impact on performance). Depth of Field has to be disabled from SSS Settings.

_ _

🟧 Intermediate

🔸 Set up your CPU core affinity.
If you're using a CPU with 4 cores, launching the game then unticking 'CPU 0' from under Set Affinity... in Task Manager should suffice. However, with more cores, a script can be used to tell the game to only use the physical ones. This is done by downloading the Anomaly CPU Affinity script from here: https://discord.com/channels/912320241713958912/1126229088567304243

1. Extract the folder and choose the Automatic version.
2. Place SetAnomalyCPUAffinity.py file into the plugins folder in the GAMMA directory.
3. Launch MO2, then launch the game.
4. Alt-Tab out the game and click 'Unlock' in MO2.
5. Select 'Anomaly CPU Affinity' from the puzzle icon in the toolbar.

🔸 Use Meatchunk's Prefetcher if you can afford to.
If you have 32GB of RAM or more, enable the mod Meatchunk's prefetcher for G.A.M.M.A from MO2, and have it fetch all models and assets for you during level load. Significantly increases load times and RAM use, however may alleviate performance issues and stuttering. Natively incompatible with mods that add new assets (UGP, KVMAS).

_ _

🛡️ Windows Settings

🔵 Easy

🔹Activate Windows.
The "Activate Windows" overlay forces the game to run through the DWM compositor and prevents you from running it in true Fullscreen mode, introducing input delay and potentially lowering framerate.

🔹Log out of your Microsoft account and switch to a local Administrator one.
The telemetry inherent to the online Microsoft features uses CPU power and network bandwidth, however negligible. An Administrator account allows to run programs with elevated permissions, and many guides (including the GAMMA installation one) rely on Administrator privileges.

⚙️ Settings > 👤 Accounts > 🪪 Your info > Sign in with a local account instead > Next > [Choose username] > Sign out and finish

Control Panel > 👥 User Accounts > 👥 User Accounts > 🛡️ Change your account type > ⦿ Administrator > [⇦] > 🛡️ Manage another account > [Remove other accounts if any]

🔹 Turn setting syncing off.
You don't want Windows Backup working in the background and consuming CPU resources and network bandwidth while you game.

⚙️ Settings > 👤 Accounts > 🔁 Sync your settings > Sync settings [OFF]

🔹Turn Xbox Game Bar off. Turn Game Mode on, enable HAGS if applicable (RTX graphics card users).
Xbox Game Bar has a reported performance hit on Valve's Source games, and might affect other games too. Game Mode suspends background activities like notifications and updates when a DirectX or Vulkan application is running. HAGS is meant to take load off the CPU by shifting it to the GPU, potentially improving performance.

⚙️ Settings > 🎮 Gaming > 🎞️ Xbox Game Bar > [OFF]
⚙️ Settings > 🎮 Gaming > ⏱️ Game Mode > [ON]
⚙️ Settings > 💻 System > 🖥️ Display > Graphics settings > Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling [ON]

_ _

🔋 Power Options

🟧 Intermediate

🔸Use the "Bitsum Highest Performance" power plan.
This plan is native to software like Process Tamer, Process Lasso, or ParkControl, and tells different devices how to throttle and conserve power. It can be installed using the powercfg -import "[filepath to the .pow file]" (without brackets) CMD command after the file has been downloaded (right-click the .pow file while holding the shift key and select Copy as path).

🔵 Easy

🔹If you don't want to download anything, use the native High Performance plan instead:
Control Panel > 🖨️ Hardware and Sound > 🔋 Power Options > ⦿ High performance

🔹Disable "fast startup". Never use Sleep or Hibernate.
Fast Startup can cause stability issues, particularly on overclocked systems. It should be disabled from the BIOS as well as the Windows option below. Additionally, untick "Sleep" and "Lock" under the following settings, as the machine hibernating overnight is not equal to it fully shutting down and cleaning up processes and RAM.

Control Panel > 🖨️ Hardware and Sound > 🔋 Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do > 🛡️ Change settings that are currently unavailable > Turn on fast startup (recommended) [OFF] // Sleep [OFF] // Hibernate [OFF]

_ _

🧩 Background Apps

🔵 Easy

🔹Turn Background Apps off in Settings.
You don't need native Windows apps to decide to run in the background while you game. You also don't need to allow them access to your data. This does NOT prevent custom user programs from running.

⚙️ Settings > 🔒 Privacy > Background apps > Let apps run in the background [OFF]
⚙️ Settings > 🔒 Privacy > [Disallow access for device and apps in each setting except Camera and Microphone]

🔹Turn unnecessary Windows Features off.
Windows runs services (and sometimes programs) in the background that the end user doesn't need, such as printer and fax services, Linux utilities, online folder synchronization etc. These can be safely turned off from:

Control Panel > 💾 Programs > 🛡️ Turn Windows features on or off > [Untick everything that is not .NET Framework / Legacy Features]

🔹Turn background programs off.
Running other software on top of the game takes away from its resources. This includes, but is not limited to: browsers, social media, music, game launchers, recording and streaming software, third-party antiviruses, torrent clients, game "optimizers", peripherals driver software etc.

🔹Don't use app integrations, particularly Steam and Discord.
Injected overlays and notifications again take away from the game's resources, such as the ones Steam, Discord, or GeForce Experience use. Closing these programs entirely also helps free up resources. Disable Hardware Acceleration features wherever possible.

🔹Close windows on secondary monitors.
Do not keep windows open on your other monitor(s). Rendering visual elements and images/text consumes resources in the background.

_ _

🖼️ Graphics Drivers (NVIDIA USERS ONLY)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _➡️ AMD USERS: >>[CLICK HERE]<<

🟧 Intermediate

🔸Update your graphics driver the RIGHT way (may void warranty).
Download NVCleanInstall, run the program, select your desired driver version and proceed with the installation of the driver from NVCleanInstall by using the image guide (See DDU guide further down if you have an old PC that has had many updates):

_ _

🛑 Advanced

🔺 Clean your old graphics drivers (DDU).
Download Display Driver Uninstaller. Boot into Safe Mode (WinKey + R > msconfig > OK > Boot > Safe boot > OK > Restart). Once in Safe Mode, launch DDU, select "GPU" under "---Select device type---", then "Clean and do NOT restart". Set Boot back to Normal Mode via msconfig, THEN restart manually. After cleaning your drivers, return to the step above and use NVCleanInstall to install a new display driver.

🔺If you didn't use NVCleanInstall, put your GPU into MSI mode (may void warranty).
MSI mode improves latency and performance by alleviating IRQ sharing between different PC components. If your graphics card is of the 20XX series or lower, it is not in MSI mode by default. Download the MSI Utility Tool and check the box in the graphics card row. Restart to apply changes.

Do NOT check or uncheck ANY other boxes, this WILL break your PC.

_ _

🟧 Intermediate

🔸Tweak the NVIDIA control panel settings.
Right-click on an empty space on your desktop, then select NVIDIA Control Panel. You will be making changes to the following settings:

Adjust desktop size and position > ⦿ No scaling
Adjust desktop size and position > Perform scaling on: Display

Change resolution > [Select resolution under PC] > [Select highest Refresh Rate available]

Manage 3D settings:
[GLOBAL SETTINGS]

_ _
[PROGRAM SETTINGS]
In the dropdown list, navigate to your AnomalyDX executable, and set these settings for the game:
_ _- Anisotropic Filtering: APPLICATION-CONTROLLED
_ _- Triple buffering: ON (Increases input delay)

Do NOT set Low Latency Mode to Ultra unless you're already stuttering.
This will actively HINDER performance if the GPU is not overburdened.

🛑 Advanced

🔺Apply a default overclock over your GPU (may void warranty).
Download MSI Afterburner, then install and launch it. Press Ctrl + F and click on the OC Scanner option. The process will run for about 20 minutes and choose an optimal VFU power curve and clock speed for you. You can close out of the program now; if you wish to continue tuning settings to your liking, make sure to do so with a stress testing software, as choosing a bad boost will lead to game instability and crashing.

_ _

🔬 BIOS Settings.

🛑 Advanced

(WARNING if you fuck this part up too badly, it can break your PC, feel free to skip the BIOS stuff, go to "Other Tips")

🗨️ Please note that BIOS settings can vary based on the manufacturer - if you can't find something, look up your motherboard model.

_ _
🔺 Enable Resizable BAR for your GPU.
Please experiment with this, check game performance before and after.
If you can't enable it, don't worry, there are many reason why and if you can't figure them out yourself then we are in no position to help.
If your NVIDIA GPU is of the 30XX+ series, AMD GPU of the 5XXX+ series, and your Intel CPU is of the 10XXX+ series, or AMD CPU is of the 4XX+ series, you are applicable to use the Resizable BAR technology; you must ensure support for it is enabled in your BIOS, then use NVPI (or AMD Adrenalin™️) to manually enable the setting.

First, go to BIOS:
ReSize BAR > ON, OR Peripherals / Advanced > Re-Size BAR Support > Auto / Enabled (Requires Above 4G memory/decoding to be Enabled)

Then:
_ _- NVIDIA USERS:
nvidiaProfileInspector > 5 - Common > rBAR - Feature > Enabled
_ _- _ _ AMD USERS:
AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition > Performance > Tuning > AMD SmartAccess Memory > Enabled

🔺 Ensure Intel®️ TurboBoost™️, or AMD Core Performance Boost (experiment with PBO also), is enabled from your BIOS.
Note that Precision Boost Overdrive specifically WILL void the 3 year AMD limited warranty
These modules allow modern CPUs to dynamically raise clock speeds when a demanding task is being executed. This setting is usually enabled by default, however to ensure so, go to:

BIOS > Ai/OC Tweaker / Performance / Advanced > TurboBoost™️ / Core Performance Boost + Precision Boost Overdrive > Enable / ON.

_ _
🔺 Ensure XMP is enabled from your BIOS (EXPO for AMD systems).
The Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) sets improved frequency parameters for your RAM to improve system performance. This setting is usually disabled by default for memory compatibility purposes.

BIOS > Ai/OC Tweaker / Memory > Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.) / XMP Profile > Choose EXPO profile, or highest advertised speed.

🛠️ Other Tips

🔵 Easy

🔹 Modlist:

_ _- Update GAMMA to the latest version by launching G.A.M.M.A. Launcher.exe and clicking "Install / Update".
_ _- Bring your modlist back to its default state. A guide on doing so can be found by using !default in #bot-commands.

🔹 Textures:

_ _- Disable the Mask Overlay under Settings > Visual > Player. This will net a ~5-7 FPS gain while wearing gas masks.
_ _- SSR can be disabled from under MCM > SSS to gain an increase of up to ~10 FPS. Simply drag all bars to the left.
_ _- Some users may notice an increase in FPS by reinstalling SSS from MO2 without the Terrain Upgrade bundle. If you decide to do this, disable SSR, as its effects will still lower performance. See #╟🔰☢newbies-chat message for details.
_ _- Low spec users can try using Classic Textures v0.4; with all optionals included this can result in another ~4-7 FPS gain.
_ _- Change DX-version (lower visual quality), you can lower your DX version. Do NOT use DX10. This change must be accommodated with certain modlist tweaks, see !dx8 or !dx9 commands.