u/zoltan_87

I have just had a long (10+ hours) of game in Settlers 2 10th Anniversary through its Vikings add-on, and I want to report my findings regarding the hunting mechanics of the game: the original issue of the hunter becoming useless after the handful of nearby animals being hunt down has been fixed. Animals will never run out, if you have a sufficiently large forest next to the hunter shed. I even tested the size of the forest, and the larger the forest the higher the hunter's efficiency will be. Visually you won't see any animals in the forest, but the hunter will keep going out, go under a tree, and emerge with meet in its hands.

What I haven't tested yet is if this mechanic would work with planted forests too (through the forester) completely from the ground up, or in areas where there were no animals to begin with. It definitely works with small wooded areas where you use a forester to extend the size of the tree covered area.

I also just want to mention I have only had one play session so far on a user created map (I think it's called Beautiful World) where I actually noticed this mechanic, as normally I barely ever use the hunter, but I don't see why it wouldn't work the same for every other map in the game. Either way, if it turns out I was wrong, I will report back here.

The reason in the base game I barely ever used the hunters was that they became useless very quickly after the handful of animals were hunt down, but with this new mechanic it's now actually a very useful building: immediate food source without needing to spend a ton on infrastructure: for example for bread you need multiple really large and expensive buildings. For the hunter it's literally just the hunter building and a forest next to it.

The important part is you need to play the game through its Vikings add-on (there is an Englisht translated version out there), there in its menu you can play both the original campaign or the new Vikings campaign, and all the other fixes (like new military outposts having no gold coins sent to them by default) will be applied to the game too. Seriously this is the definitive way to play the game.

I have been reading posts on the problematic VRR (variable refresh rate) range of the MSI Claw devices for a long time now, about alleged fixes, how to extend the VRR range, and reading opinions from users who swear they have no problems with screen tearing even though they have never applied any fixes.

I am just really confused at this point. I personally was experiencing extremely bad screen tearing in certain games (notably in SWAT 4 and in Prey), and for me having VRR enabled wasn't enough to solve the issue, the only fix was to switch on V-sync as well. I tested these games at multiple framerates, sub 60 fps, 60 fps, 90 fps, 120 fps. With purely VRR on there was tearing at every framerate, more noticeable the lower the framerate was. V-sync solved the issue. I made a long post about this a while ago, feel free to have a look:

Finally figured out the solution to screen tearing! : r/MSIClaw

It's in the MSI Claw sub reddit, I can't comment there now as I was kicked out by the mod, who is apparently a complete bitch, but that's a whole different story:

A heads up about the state of the MSIClaw sub-Reddit : r/Handhelds

Anyway I have been using my Claw 8 AI+ happily ever since I have enabled v-sync, but after reading so many posts now about the dodgy VRR range on the Claw I started questioning whether the VRR is actually working properly on my device, or the screen tearing issue was purely solved for me by turning v-sync on, and maybe VRR is still semi-broken on my device?

I also want to mention that I used CRU to set a custom VRR range: I set the range from 28Hz to 120 Hz, and that's what is being displayed both in Windows Settings and in the Intel Graphics software (28Hz - 120Hz). But I am not sure if that is actually correct and the display VRR is indeed working in that range, or it just says it does (some people said CRU can't just override the range like that, it simply changes what is being displayed as VRR range, but that's not the reality).

I have been recommended to use the ufo vrr test website, but I simply don't understand how that works: when I run it there is a picture on the screen that is moving from right to left, and there is a dividing line horizontally at the middle. The simulated (?) framerate keeps changing from 120 fps down to 30 fps, then back up, then down again and so on. The upper half of the screen is nice and tear free (more choppy as the framerate gets lower as expected), but the lower half of the screen starts to experience tearing and that typical jitter that's typical when the picture starts tearing in games.

How am I supposed to read all this? I just don't understand how this test works: what should I see when the VRR is properly working in the full range, when only works let's say from 60Hz to 120 Hz, and when it doesn't work at all? There is no guidance on the webpage, and I haven't seen anyone actually explain how that test works, everyone just keeps saying "run the test". How am I supposed to read the results? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have been struggling with this issue ever since I bought my MSI Claw 8 AI+ handheld (it runs Windows 11, which is important in this case): I mainly play older games, that rely on the Windows DirectInput API to handle game controllers. The built in controllers on Windows handhelds can work both in XInput mode (the API that modern games use) and in DirectInput mode (on my MSI Claw the controller identifies like an old Xbox 360 controller in device manager).

If I play a modern game, it just picks up the controller as an Xinput controller, and everything works flawlessly. If I play an older game, that uses DirectInput, then the handheld's controller gets picked up as a DirectInput controller, and even in this scenario initially everything works fine. The problem arises after device sleep. In the case of DirectInput there is a major issue with device re-enumeration after sleep: when I put the device to sleep after longer periods of time (let's say being in sleep mode for an hour or more) when I wake up the device to carry on playing, the controller is usually lost, as for some reason it gets picked up as a different device ID. In fact you can even check Windows Device Manager, for some reason there are multiple entries for Xbox 360 controller, and after sleep the built in controller gets juggled around (seemingly randomly) and gets assigned to one of these controller IDs. And since the game that is being played has been set up with one particular controller/device ID, it simply loses the controller. As a side note I also want to mention if I use sleep for only a few minutes, then interestingly I don't experience this problem. But every time the handheld is in sleep for a longer time, the lost controller problem happens.

I want to make it clear, this is not a device specific problem, this is a Windows problem, more specifically a DirectInput device ID/re-enumeration problem that is present on all Windows handhelds/computers, basically an issue just in general using game controllers on Windows.

I have tried to use Hidhide, but it didn't work, and in fact I can't see how it could work for this specific issue: the controller still gets assigned to a new device ID after sleep, all Hidhide can do is make certain devices/device IDs invisible to applications. What I want to achieve is to stop Windows from re-enumerating/assigning the game controller to a different device ID. I simply don't understand why it keeps doing that. When it comes to XInput there are no issues like this, everything works there as expected, and the controller never gets lost.

I wish this issue was talked about more, but it seems like almost everybody either uses Steam OS, or the people why use Windows on their handhelds only play more recent games (that use XInput), so none of them encounter the described situation.

Is there simply no solution to this? Is playing older games on a Windows handheld on the go, where you put the device to sleep every now and then, and carry on playing later, is simply not possible in a reliable fashion, without randomly losing the controller every now and then? The Dosbox emulator is a good example: there are multiple old DOS games I would enjoy playing on the go, but I simply cannot, as I constantly lose controller after device wake up in Dosbox Staging.

If anyone has any ideas/suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. The only semi-fix I have been able to come up so far is to use a utility called Xidi (it's on Github), that translates Xinput to DirectInput. When this works it's reliable, but I haven't been able to make it work with every game (like in the mentioned Dosbox Staging emulator).

I posted about this problem a while ago, finally I have found the perfect solution. I am not going to write everything down here again, here is a link for the edited post, I have updated it with a step-by-step guide to the solution, it's right at the beginning of the post:

Controller/gamepad support has major issues in MW5 Mercenaries : r/Mechwarrior5

I am slowly going mad trying to achieve a very simple thing, which apparently is simply impossible with both the Intel Graphics software or any other third party app: I want to apply custom Saturation, Brightness and Contrast values to the built in screen on my MSI Claw 8 AI+ handheld when I launch and play certain games, and have those values revert back to the default values when I quit the games, and make all this happen automatically. The reason is that many games (for example Mechwarrior 5 Mercenaries, GTR 2, Grand Prix 4, gzdoom source port games) have really bad default contrast, brightness etc values, and they just look bad. But it's game specific, some games are perfect, others desperately need adjustments.

Here is the thing: all these screen values can be already manually adjusted in the Intel Graphics Software, but only as a global setting. I don't understand why these adjustments are not exposed to the already available game profiles in the same application. I can set custom fps limits, vsync and a few other things for individual games in those game profiles, and once set those settings get applied automatically when I launch a game that has a profile assigned to it, and it works amazingly well. But this software needs to have the capacity to have the mentioned screen values as well in these game profiles.

So I am wondering what would be the best way for me to request this feature from Intel? I would imagine this should be a fairly straightforward addition to the software, as all this functionality is already there, they just haven't been integrated into the game profile section of the app.

As of now I have a text file with all the different screen values for each game I need to adjust, and I have to mess around with all those sliders in the Intel Software every time before I can play, AND after I have played as well, to change those values back to the normal position, as for web browsing those settings are the best for my eyes. It's a nightmare.

I am having difficulty trying to achieve the following: I have a few games (namely Mechwarrior 5 Mercenaries and The Forest) that have really bad contrast settings by default, and unfortunately there is no way to adjust these settings in game. When I go into the Intel Graphics Software I can actually dial in the desired contrast values, and after this the games look as they should, but I can't seem to find a way to assign these custom settings to the game profiles. In the mentioned Intel Software in the game profiles I can adjust custom fps profiles and a few more things, but there is no setting there for contrast or any other screen related stuff. So basically contrast can only be set globally there, and have to be done manually.

This is really annoying and very limiting. Is there a way with maybe a batch file or something else that I could firstly automate the contrast settings when launching the games, and I could set different contrast values to different games? I would be even ok with using an additional application to achieve this. It's way too much headache to keep track of these values for each game in my head, having to adjust contrast every time I play a game, then after I played change it back. I want to automate all this. Any help and suggestions would be much appreciated.

I have just recently started playing Mechwarrior 5 Mercenaries on my MSI Claw 8 AI+ handheld. There is a lot I like about the game, performance is unfortunately not great (I suppose I shouldn't expect miracles from a heavily TDP limited CPU and GPU combo in a handheld), my major issue though is with how the game handles gamepads.

The built-in controller on the Claw corresponds to an Xbox controller, the layout is the same, and that's how it's being reported to the system. All the following issues I am about to mention are specific to this game, the controller works flawlessly in other games.

1. The first and biggest issue is the default deadzone for the thumbstick (specifically for the stick that is used for aiming/looking around) is way too high, and cannot be adjusted. This makes aiming extremely difficult an imprecise. I also can't see a way to adjust acceleration curve for the sticks, only a basic sensitivity slider.

2. The other issue is how the move forward/throttle and backward is being detected (by default that is on the left thumbstick y axis): it's not being handled in an analog way, where depending on how far you push the stick it would apply the corresponding amount of acceleration/speed for walking. For example when I push the stick up just a bit, the mech should start moving forward at a slow speed, and the more I push the stick upwards the higher the speed by which the mech is walking should be. Instead of this we have a fully digital way of handling the input for walking: it's either off, or on walking at full speed. I don't understand why it behaves this way, especially when gradual walking speed levels are already in the game, from the keyboard you can choose any speed you want from 0% to 100% by pushing the number keys, giving you a 10% granularity. Also steering the mech left and right with the left thumbstick's x axis is fully proportional/analog and works great.

Both of these issues are really deal breakers for me (but mainly the deadzone problem for aiming), but even after googling around I haven't been able to come up with a solution. Is there even a solution, possibly some mods or something? I am seriously thinking about using an application called AntimicroX to map the mouse to the right stick, then the number keys to the left stick's y axis. Then somehow make the game work with a mixture of gamepad inputs and the translated inputs for the mouse and keyboard. But it sounds like a massive headache and a huge amount of work just to make the game (hopefully) work as it should in the first place. If this is even doable.

This game was released years ago, so I am amazed these issues haven't really been talked about much (only saw a post for the deadzone issue from years ago, and there wasn't any conclusive solution mentioned there either) and such fatal flaws still exist in this otherwise amazing game.

I have to say this out loud now, as things are at the point where basic communication and usability of this sub-Reddit is just completely broken. I don't know who is in charge here, and who set the trigger words up for the sub, but basically anyone who wants to post here needs to walk on eggshells regarding what words they are using, as even the most mundane things can set off the automatic flagging system, and the whole post or even thread just gets removed.

I have seen now like a hundred posts removed, or people re-commenting with different phrasing, as their comments triggered the spam filter. It's like you need to do quantum calculations in your head every time you try to say something meaningful, and go about writing your actual thoughts in a roundabout, time wasting, ambiguous way to somehow get past the flagging bots. It's absolutely ridiculous.

I made a post a couple of days ago describing my experience with a faulty battery in my Claw, the exchange I had with MSI support, and the state of third party batteries for these devices online. The whole post immediately got flagged stating I didn't abide by the rules of the sub, probably because I wrote down how much a replacement battery costs straight from MSI. The post still is on hold stating it's waiting for moderator review. I even tried to message the mods, no response. Are there actually any mods on this sub that are active, or they just set up the flagging system when the Claw sub was created, then just left for good? I certainly has never seen a mod here say or post anything ever. It's infuriating. Makes me often just not even bother to respond or write anything, as what's the point? Chances are my post will never get through. It feels like a waste of time.

I was thinking about actually slightly changing my post, and try to re-post it, but I am afraid to do even that, as a few years ago my whole account was terminated, as I cross posted something to two different subs. It was a well written guide how to make older racing games that use DirectInput controller management reliably work on these modern handhelds. I posted it here and in a sim racing sub too, thinking more people would benefit from my findings that way. Reddit just nuked my whole account stating I was spamming. Of course no reply ever received for my appeal that time either. This whole site just f*cking s*cks ass.

So I wanted to make this as a poll where people could vote, but the geniuses running Reddit decided that you need to install the app for being able to create poll posts. Just an other reason why I hate this site and will never install anything from them.

Anyway back to the topic, as the Claw 8 EX release is getting closer I am wondering how much of a performance uplift do you guys expect from this refresh on average, specifically in the medium power envelope, so let's say at 17 Watts TDP (compared to the same 17 Watts on the Claw 8 Ai+)? To make it simpler let's have three choices:

5-25% performance gain

25-50% performance gain

50-80% performance gain

Obviously different games will have different results, so think this as an average value. I am going with 5-25%. What do you guys think?

So I am in a dungeon where there are multiple portals inside it, and most of the rooms/areas are only reachable through these portals, as there is no physical connection like corridors between them. I ended up in an area that's completely cut of from the rest of the dungeon, and there is one portal door that I assume should take me to an other area. But it doesn't work, I simply can't enter it. I tried it from both sides, jumping into it, squatting down, running, everything. There is simply no way to enter it. So I am completely stuck in this area (basically it's three rooms connected to each other), can't leave or do anything else. Funny thing is I have been to this dungeon before, and I am quite sure I managed to go through this exact portal with no issues. So I don't know what the problem is now. Has anyone ever encountered such a game breaking bug?

So after I have been struggling with insane lag spikes as I move across the map and new terrain tiles are being loaded I settled with draw distance set to 1 (max would be 4 in game settings), as this is the only setting where the lag is tolerable. It's still somewhat bad when I am approaching a large city and that's being loaded/drawn. I have a modern system, an MSI Claw 8 Ai+ handheld with core ultra 7 cpu (4 performance and 4 efficiency cores) and Arc 140V gpu, so I am puzzled how this game can have such performance issues. Sure I have some mods that improve textures, but nothing crazy. I don't have 3d trees, grass mod, 3d characters or terrain mods that would tax the system, and justify the performance issues. I have cpu turbo boost disabled (so the max clock speed is 2.2 GHz) as I want to have a tolerable battery life, but again, I don't see why the game is so badly optimized.

Is this just how the game works for everyone, or there is something wrong on my end, and the game should stay responsive all the time?