GZDoom 4.4.2 freezing for short periods with no explanation.

[VanaheimRanger]

I've searched online but I can't seem to find anyone with the exact issue I am having.  Within the past month or so GZDoom has started freezing up during gameplay for around 5-6 seconds at a time.  Nothing else on the PC seems to be affected while this is happening, it doesn't happen in any other games.

 

It happens whether I'm recording or not.  The recording program (OBS) isn't affected when these freezes occur, the program keeps recording at the same bitrate and FPS and the CPU usage doesn't change.  Me speaking on the mic when it happens is also not affected.

 

It appears to happen quite randomly, I have had it happen 3 times in less than a minute, and I've had long 6 hour sessions when it only happened once...

 

I have tried reinstalling GZDoom.  Updating my graphics drivers.  Playing with no mods running.  And changing the render mode between OpenGL and Vulkan.  I have not tried playing in any other render modes, yet, as I prefer the hardware rendering over software simply for mouselook.

 

This happens whether I am playing basic 90s vanilla maps or UDMF monstrosities.

 

I've been using 4.4.2 since it released and have only had this issue in the last month or so.

 

I hope someone knows the issue and has a solution because it's hindering my ability to enjoy the game.  When one of these freezes occurs during a fight, I know I am going to take damage and possibly die because of it as soon as the freeze ends, and this is very frustrating.

Edited September 2, 2020 by guitardz

[Dark Pulse]

Maybe it's swapping to/from the pagefile? Do you know if the HD access light is on when it's happening?

[VanaheimRanger]

No idea.  But it seems like that is something that would affect everything happening on the PC and not just one program, right?

[Dark Pulse]

Depends on what programs it swaps the RAM out of. It tends to do it on the more memory-hungry programs first.

[m8f]

May be related to this: https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=69055

If this is the case, the solution would be to restart GZDoom regularly, and/or wait for the next version (or try devbuilds).

[VanaheimRanger]

2 hours ago, m8f said:

May be related to this: https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=69055

If this is the case, the solution would be to restart GZDoom regularly, and/or wait for the next version (or try devbuilds).

Ah, well.  I guess I'll start rebooting it after each map until the next version releases.

[drfrag]

Most likely is something running in the background like your antivirus or the web browser or something else. Close everything you don't need.

[VanaheimRanger]

1 hour ago, drfrag said:

Most likely is something running in the background like your antivirus or the web browser or something else. Close everything you don't need.

I have actually tried running with GZDoom being the only thing open on the system.  This still occurs.  Also, i believe if that was the issue it would also affect all the other programs that were running during the freeze, like OBS, but it doesn't.  I think the memory leak issue that m8f mentioned is a likely culprit.

Edited September 2, 2020 by guitardz

[drfrag]

Try a recent devbuild then. But if it was the leak it would run well until it ran out of ram and then the entire system would freeze unless you're quick enough to press alt+f4 i think. And does it happen only after a while?

https://devbuilds.drdteam.org/gzdoom/

[VanaheimRanger]

On 9/2/2020 at 6:19 AM, drfrag said:

Try a recent devbuild then. But if it was the leak it would run well until it ran out of ram and then the entire system would freeze unless you're quick enough to press alt+f4 i think. And does it happen only after a while?

https://devbuilds.drdteam.org/gzdoom/

I tried the latest devbuild from Sep 2 (5pre-125-g58f5c030f) and it wouldn't even start up on my system.  For now I have decided to just use LZDoom, which works with all my mods nicely :)  I used it for a 6 hour session last night and had no issues.  Will stick with it until a new full release for GZD comes out, and if GZD still gives me this issue then I will probably just make LZDoom my primary port.

 

EDIT: Honestly I'll probably just make LZDoom my primary port, anyway, for the resource usage.  So far it has all the features I need and runs my mods fine.

Edited September 3, 2020 by guitardz

[mammajamma]

nvm

Edited September 5, 2020 by mammajamma

[Contmotore]

I'm having the same issue here. I noticed it happens when it tries to load in new things. For example, I open a door and there's a new monster behind that door it freezes or stutter for a sec, once loaded in it doesn't stutter anymore.

[Redneckerz]

2 hours ago, Contmotore said:

I'm having the same issue here. I noticed it happens when it tries to load in new things. For example, I open a door and there's a new monster behind that door it freezes or stutter for a sec, once loaded in it doesn't stutter anymore.

Try the latest 4.5.0 and see if the issue persists.

[Contmotore]

3 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

Try the latest 4.5.0 and see if the issue persists.

I'm using 4.5

[Contmotore]

Think I found the issue. I had my mods turned off and there was no more stutter. I believe it had to do with the HRRP Mod (ver 0.12). The HRRP Performance version (ver 0.13) seems to work better.