Raft Stuttering, Lags, or Freezing Constantly: In 2018, Redbeet Interactive and Axolot Games launched an open-world survival multiplayer game called ‘Raft’ for Windows and Linux. The game has garnered largely positive feedback on Steam for its PC version; however, a number of players have begun to report issues such as stuttering, lag, and freezing during gameplay.
To ensure optimal performance, Raft requires a specific level of hardware capabilities, which may not be feasible for all players. This is a common challenge among many PC games, which often demand significant system resources to run smoothly, particularly at higher resolutions and frame rates.
Unfortunately, some players on PC are encountering various performance-related problems, including stuttering, lag, crashes, and frame rate drops. The severity of these issues can vary based on individual system compatibility. Therefore, it’s advisable to address these concerns to achieve a more enjoyable gaming experience with stable frame rates. There are multiple potential causes for these performance issues, and this guide aims to help players troubleshoot and resolve them effectively.
Check System Requirements
Review the system requirements for the Raft game listed below to determine if your PC setup aligns with the necessary specifications for optimal gameplay.
Minimum System Requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7 or later
- Processor: 2.6 GHz Dual Core or similar
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 500 series or similar
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 6 GB available space
- Additional Notes: 64-bit operating system is required
Recommended System Requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7 or later
- Processor: Intel Core i5 2.6GHz or similar
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 700 series or similar
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 6 GB available space
- Additional Notes: 64-bit operating system is required
Raft Stuttering, Lags, or Freezing constantly: How to FIX
Addressing issues like lag or frame drops in games can be quite challenging due to a variety of influencing factors, including your computer’s hardware specifications, the game’s display resolution, the maximum frame rate settings, and any conflicting third-party applications.
To effectively tackle these issues, we suggest exploring all potential solutions until you see a noticeable improvement. Often, simply adjusting the graphics settings within the game or lowering them can lead to significant enhancements.
Key settings to consider include the game’s screen resolution, texture resolution, shadow quality, maximum frame rate, and the number of characters displayed, as well as other visual effects that demand higher graphic processing power or memory.
By following the steps outlined below, you can potentially mitigate lag and frame drop issues to a certain degree, depending on the resolution and quality settings you are using, in addition to the frame rate limit.
1. Use Launch Options
- To configure your Raft game settings, begin by launching your Steam client.
- Navigate to your Library and locate Raft in your game collection.
- Right-click on the game title to bring up a menu, then select “Properties.” In the Properties window, switch to the General tab where you’ll see an option labeled Launch Options.
- Here, you can input the command “-fullscreen” to ensure that the game launches directly in fullscreen mode.
2. Update Graphics Drivers
- To access the Quick Access Menu, perform a right-click on the Start Menu. From the options presented, select Device Manager.
- Next, locate the Display adapters section and double-click it to reveal the available devices.
- Find your dedicated graphics card from the list and right-click on its name.
- Choose the option to Update driver, then select Search automatically for drivers. If there are any updates, the system will automatically download and install the latest version.
- After the installation is complete, it is important to restart your computer to apply the changes effectively.
3. Run the game as an administrator
To prevent any user account control issues related to permissions, it’s important to execute the game’s executable file with administrator privileges. Additionally, ensure that the Steam client is also launched as an administrator on your computer. Here’s how to do this:
- 1. Locate the Raft executable shortcut on your desktop or in your file directory and right-click on it.
- 2. From the context menu, choose Properties.
- 3. Navigate to the Compatibility tab in the properties window.
- 4. Find the option labeled “Run this program as an administrator” and check the box next to it.
- 5. Finally, click Apply and then OK to confirm and apply your changes.
By following these steps, you can help ensure a smoother gaming experience.
4. Set High Priority in Task Manager
To ensure your game operates smoothly, you can adjust its priority in the Task Manager on your Windows system. Here’s how to do it:
- 1. Right-click on the Start Menu and choose Task Manager from the list.
- 2. Navigate to the Processes tab and locate the Raft game in the list of running tasks.
- 3. Right-click on the Raft process and select “Set Priority,” then choose High.
- 4. Close the Task Manager.
After completing these steps, launch the Raft game to see if the issue has been resolved.
5. Verify Integrity of Game Files
In the event that you encounter problems with your game files, such as corruption or missing elements, follow this straightforward method to diagnose and resolve the issue. Here’s how to proceed:
- 1. Open Steam and navigate to your Library.
- 2. Locate Raft among your installed games and right-click on it.
- 3. Select Properties from the context menu, then go to the Local Files tab.
- 4. Click on the option to Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- 5. Allow the process to run until it finishes completely.
- 6. Once the verification is complete, restart your computer.
This process will help ensure that your game files are intact and functioning properly.
6. Change GPU Settings
To determine if the issue has been resolved, please adjust the graphics card settings on your computer by following the instructions outlined below.
For Nvidia:
- To adjust settings for optimal performance in Nvidia’s Control Panel, start by right-clicking on your desktop. From the context menu, select “Nvidia Control Panel.”
- Once the Control Panel opens, navigate to the “Manage 3D Settings” section. Here, you’ll want to switch to the “Program Settings” tab. If the game ‘Raft’ isn’t listed, you can add it manually.
- For the best experience, consider the following configurations:
- – Set Monitor Technology to G-Sync if your setup supports it.
- – Adjust Maximum Pre-rendered Frames to 2.
- – Enable Threaded Optimization.
- – For Power Management, choose the option to Prefer Maximum Performance.
- – Finally, set Texture Filtering – Quality to Performance.
These adjustments can help enhance your gaming experience.
For AMD:
- Monitor Tech: G-Sync (If available)
- Maximum Pre-rendered frames: 2
- Threaded optimization: On
- Power Management: Prefer Maximum Performance
- Texture Filtering – Quality: Performance
7. Disable Fullscreen Optimizations
By default, Windows applies full-screen optimization and DPI settings that may affect your gaming experience. To enhance your performance in Raft, consider disabling these settings by following these steps:
- 1. Navigate to the directory where the Raft game is installed.
- 2. Locate the Raft.exe file, then right-click on it.
- 3. In the context menu, select ‘Properties‘ and proceed to the ‘Compatibility’ tab.
- 4. Tick the box labeled ‘Disable Full-Screen Optimizations.’
- 5. Next, click on the ‘Change high DPI settings‘ button.
- 6. In the new window, check the option ‘Override high DPI scaling behavior‘ and choose ‘Application’ from the dropdown list.
- 7. Finally, click ‘Apply‘ and then ‘OK‘ to confirm and save your adjustments.
By making these changes, you may improve your gaming experience in Raft.
8. Update Raft
If you haven’t updated your Raft game recently, you can follow these instructions to check for and install the latest patch, if one is available:
- 1. Launch the Steam client.
- 2. Navigate to your Library and select Raft from the list on the left.
- 3. The system will automatically search for any available updates. If an update is found, be sure to click on the ‘Update’ button.
- 4. The update process may take a few moments. Once it’s complete, you can close the Steam client.
- 5. To ensure all changes are applied, restart your PC before launching the game again.
We hope you find this guide helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below!