Jet
No, no, please. Please.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2006
- Messages
- 2,431
Have somebody roll a save for you. You'll get your new machine just as we finish debating where to move the starting warrior.
ALC Game 21: Zulus/Shaka
- Thread starter Sisiutil
- Start date
Have somebody roll a save for you. You'll get your new machine just as we finish debating where to move the starting warrior.
Daedal
Prince
Sisiutil
All Leader Challenger
I could always load up good ol' Civ II and play the next ALC on that.Or at least start a thread ALC Game 21.5: Intermission
Guardian_PL
Emperor
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2006
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- 1,231
Congrats Sis, especially to Your dedication - I stopped playing Civ in January after like year-and-a-half streak and I feel tad better now, but still shaky xP
It's a great game, however this "attention to detail" was killing me. There's no way to win on higher levels without spending a LOT of time on builds, cities, population, worker actions, diplomacy, trade... Eeeeevery turn. It's fun when one has like six cities. But when it's sixteen... Or twenty-six...
On top of that there's a score issue (ooooh, I want more than 100k points!) - when game progresses and it becomes clear that this time I won't beat the score - I quit and start over. And over. And over again...
So once again - congratulations.
Now,
@popejubal
Do I understand correctly? You've disabled Windows Page File and Your PC runs... Faster? I got 2GB myself, and always thought that without large page file I won't be able to do much.
I think I'm going to try that... Still confused a little...
It's a great game, however this "attention to detail" was killing me. There's no way to win on higher levels without spending a LOT of time on builds, cities, population, worker actions, diplomacy, trade... Eeeeevery turn. It's fun when one has like six cities. But when it's sixteen... Or twenty-six...
On top of that there's a score issue (ooooh, I want more than 100k points!) - when game progresses and it becomes clear that this time I won't beat the score - I quit and start over. And over. And over again...
So once again - congratulations.
Now,
@popejubal
Do I understand correctly? You've disabled Windows Page File and Your PC runs... Faster? I got 2GB myself, and always thought that without large page file I won't be able to do much.
I think I'm going to try that... Still confused a little...
If you don't give Windows a chunk of your harddrive to use as an extension of your memory, it will be forced into keeping itself and all running programs in RAM.
This is obviously faster. But a kind of luxury - after all swap files were invented because programs historically need more memory than you can afford.
As for the question "why doesn't Windows keep off the harddrive by itself?", well, let's just say Windows wasn't designed with top efficiency in mind... but world domination...
[@Sisiutil: this is the kind of discussion you get when you don't throw us a new map to agonize over...
]schwartz
King
Good luck with the new PC Sisiutil.
I can't stand windows, I'd never use my PC if not for BtS, I wish it was on Mac
.
I can't stand windows, I'd never use my PC if not for BtS, I wish it was on Mac
.Gliese 581
Your average civ junkie
If you don't give Windows a chunk of your harddrive to use as an extension of your memory, it will be forced into keeping itself and all running programs in RAM.
This is obviously faster. But a kind of luxury - after all swap files were invented because programs historically need more memory than you can afford.
As for the question "why doesn't Windows keep off the harddrive by itself?", well, let's just say Windows wasn't designed with top efficiency in mind... but world domination...
[@Sisiutil: this is the kind of discussion you get when you don't throw us a new map to agonize over...
Sorry for going off-topic with this but I just wanted to point out that I've read in several places that forcing windows to use the RAM is a myth, it doesn't work that way. A large swap file is always going to be beneficial. Look at the tweaguide's tweaking companion for example: http://www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html
Once again, sorry about being off-topic but I think you could seriously lower you ability to play civ4 at an enjoyable level without a swap file!
popejubal
Emperor
'Snews to me. I definately noticed a performance increase, but it could also be the fact that I cleaned up some garbage at the same time and one of those other changes made the difference. I didn't do a lot at the time and nothing should have made a significant difference, but I guess something must have.
manu-fan
Emperor
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2006
- Messages
- 1,005
I am on a Mac. I wish I had BTS.Good luck with the new PC Sisiutil.
I can't stand windows, I'd never use my PC if not for BtS, I wish it was on Mac
Cheers.
Put science slider to 0% for a turn or two so that you get enough gold to upgrade the video card to at least Radeon 3850.
Seriously, that X1300 Pro is so weak when compared to the rest of the system that it hurts my head to even think you're getting one. It's got to be one of the weakest cards still available.
Guardian_PL
Emperor
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2006
- Messages
- 1,231
That's Dell for You 
Sisiutil
All Leader Challenger
Whatever. I'll try it out and if it gives me problems I'll upgrade it. Keep in mind that Civ IV is the ONLY computer game I play, and the Radeon 9600 128 MB card in my previous system served me well, so I didn't see the need to spend a bundle on a more expensive card.
That being said, any recommendations if I discover I need a better card? (If you want to try to sell me a Rolls Royce when all I need is a Prius, though, please don't bother.)
Gliese 581
Your average civ junkie
Well if I get an excuse to discuss something I spend alot of time thinking about I'm going to take the chance..
I recommend you check out Tom's Hardware as they have excellent reviews and benchmark comparisons. Here is a very recent article that lists the best cards for your money in several price ranges:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/03/05/the_best_gaming_graphics/
You can also just search for the latest VGA charts and choose which cards to compare.
While we're waiting ... in an earlier ALC (I think that's where it was), there was a discussion of calculating the number of farms a city needed to reach full capacity--there was even a screenshot with math (incorrect math, IIRC) msPainted onto it. Could someone review the logic of that and/or point me to a discussion of it? I seem to keep settling under-nourished cities.
Sisiutil
All Leader Challenger
I think I've got a handle on this now:
Count up all the "surplus" food you have without farms (unless it's a food resource such as wheat or rice; count its value with a farm). A flood plain, for example, counts as a +1. (Remember that the city tile itself gives you +2--I forgot about that, which is one of the reasons my calculation in the update you referred to was incorrect.
) If you'll be able to irrigate a wheat/rice/corn tile once you have Civil Service, count its irrigated value. Don't count what you'll have with Biology, though; that's too far off. Now count up all the food "deficits" you have. Plains are -1, a plains hill is -2. Don't count unworkable tiles like desert and peaks. You're only concerned with tiles that citizens will actually work.
Grasslands are "neutral", by the way, since they produce 2 food, exactly the amount required to support the citizen working that tile.
Add the two numbers together. If you have a deficit (which is usually the case), that's the number of farms you'll need to support the city at full size. Notice that it doesn't matter which tiles are farmed. I usually prefer to put farms on plains tiles and leave grasslands and floodplains for cottages (unless I'm running a SE, in which case everything is farmed).
If you plan on having any workshops (handy if the city has low production otherwise), those are -1 food, so you'll have to adjust your values (State Property alleviates this, but like Biology, it's a long ways off, and you may choose not to run that civic). I try to avoid windmills whenever possible, because mines give you the chance of striking a mineral of some type.
Thanks for the guide, as well as giving me a reason to clarify my post!
That post you quoted wasn't intended as a technical comment, only a friendly explanation of why a large pagefile isn't always the answer.
Now, let's see what the guide you yourself provided suggests. Page 114 in summary:
1 GB RAM - Set the pagefile to 2 GB
4 GB RAM - Set the pagefile to 0,5 GB
Best Regards,
kazapp
A good decision.
In fact, I haven't quite forgiven Firaxis for making Civ IV require such comparatively high graphics performance.
It's a turn-based strategy game, for chrissake.
(I understand Civ needs a fairly zippy CPU for its AI cycles, but there's absolutely no excuse why you can't run it on integrated graphics or on a laptop)
Gliese 581
Your average civ junkie
Thanks for the guide, as well as giving me a reason to clarify my post!
That post you quoted wasn't intended as a technical comment, only a friendly explanation of why a large pagefile isn't always the answer.
Now, let's see what the guide you yourself provided suggests. Page 114 in summary:
1 GB RAM - Set the pagefile to 2 GB
4 GB RAM - Set the pagefile to 0,5 GB
Best Regards,
kazapp
Hmm you had me confused there for a moment. Then I realised you looked at the Vista guide, I looked at the XP guide. I probably should have made sure I knew which OS Sisiutil is running! The XP guide has totally different advice with regards to the size of the pagefile.
Anyhow, anyone interested in this kind of stuff, read the guide, it's worth it.
