All new slowdown in 2.08

[asabahi]

I was wondering when this thread was going to pop up. The samething happens to me also. I have well equiped computer (Pentuim D, 256 MB Video card, 1Gb RAM), and before the patch I had no problem. Now in the late game, idustrial and above, annoying slow downs, when in the city viewer, or messing around with a big stack, etc. They probably test the game on a top of the line alienware before releasing it.

 

[Greybriar]

Give me back the old patch, so I can play the game again. Right now, the game is unplayable.

I concur!

 

[Charles 22]

Agreed on the graphics front. I've modded mine, so that I have dozens of Star Destroyers and Hundreds of fighter squadrons in Tactical battles. No slowdown at all, despite complex graphics... I wouldn't advise buying the expansion yet (EaW: Forces of Corruption). It's hideously buggy. Doesn't crash, but there are so many gameplay bugs in it, it beggars belief. Planets blow up by themselves, in half the battles, you end up fighting your own forces, etc... I sincerely hope a new patc comes very soon...

Thanks on the tip. I have been over at Lucasarts and came to the same conclusion. Apparently the planets being detroyed are by some super-powerful spy from the FOC. I'm considering not buying it also, largely based on it just seeming like too much fiction to the Star Wars universe to me, as though an excuse just to grab more of the masses money. I only paid $20 for STEAW, some I have no ambition for maying 'more' for a lousy expansion ($29 at the same store). If I buy it at all I will wait till it's below $20.

 

[rlohmann]

FWIW, I thought I was the only one having slowdown problems with Warloards 208, but I seem to have a lot of company.

One problem I have that no one else has mentioned is the intervals of mad disk-churning at random intervals. Everything stops, sometimes for two or three minutes, while the hard drive spins furiously and nothing happens on the screen. Like Brancaleone reading a book, I can read a large chunk of the newspaper waiting for things to move on.

Could there be a memory leak somewhere?

 

[jray]

It's especially bad on a laptop. I can tolerably play until about 1900 on a small map with all the usual dumbing down (lowest possible graphics settings, unpacked assets, low-detail terrain replacements, selective process killing, no concurrent programs such as resident antivirus or anti-spyware, etc.). Then everything starts coming with the 2-second-or-so delay, and that delay becomes 10 seconds or more by 1950.

This is even a decent laptop (Dell XPS, dual 3.4GHz cpu's, 2GB RAM, 256MB video, cooling pad, etc.). Problem is, Civ4 cranks up the heat so much that I only get a fraction of that performance. Maybe if I started playing in my refrigerator... .

I just ordered a new dell xps DESKTOP and will let you know if it's any better.

 

[spiralx]

FWIW, I thought I was the only one having slowdown problems with Warloards 208, but I seem to have a lot of company.

One problem I have that no one else has mentioned is the intervals of mad disk-churning at random intervals. Everything stops, sometimes for two or three minutes, while the hard drive spins furiously and nothing happens on the screen. Like Brancaleone reading a book, I can read a large chunk of the newspaper waiting for things to move on.

Could there be a memory leak somewhere?

I don't think there's a memory leak, as I made a point of checking the memory usage when I first loaded a save game, and then later on after a marathon 12 hour session - it was pretty much constant, a slight increase which I'd expect given all the new cities, units and stuff that's been built during the game.

However... the trouble is that the amount of memory it's using is greater than my physical RAM (1 gig), and so about a third of it is swapped to disk, and so when it needs it it has to keep loading and saving stuff to disk, hence the hard drive thrashing that occurs every so often.

More RAM is basically the answer, can't imagine the game is keeping much stuff in memory that it really doesn't need - and if it did, that would just stay on the disk anyway and not cause a problem.

 

[JMaltman]

The inter-turn freeze is hitting me too.

 

[rlohmann]

However... the trouble is that the amount of memory it's using is greater than my physical RAM (1 gig), and so about a third of it is swapped to disk, and so when it needs it it has to keep loading and saving stuff to disk, hence the hard drive thrashing that occurs every so often.

I had a bad feeling that that might be the problem.

More RAM is basically the answer, can't imagine the game is keeping much stuff in memory that it really doesn't need - and if it did, that would just stay on the disk anyway and not cause a problem.

About a year ago I added more RAM--from 250 to 500 megs--and figured that would be enough.

Well....

 

[MetHimPikeHoses]

Meh. Just buy a comp that's good enough for Oblivion, and then you're set until the next TES release. =)

Oblivion looks good on my new comp too...

 

[Artosoft]

About a year ago I added more RAM--from 250 to 500 megs--and figured that would be enough.

You need at least 1GB. Some say 1.5GB or 2GB is very smooth.

I watch my memory while playing Civ4(warlords), and it can take 850MB of my 1GB memory (of course, system and all running program). While the swap file increase for about 300MB.

Regards,
Arto.

 

[dino_schoen]

For me it has most probably nothing to do with the amount of RAM. My machine has 1G and the freezes start from the first turn on.
Also when it frezzes there is no disk activity at all, that would indicate some memory swapping. It just hangs.
I think there is just a big ugly bug in v2.08

 

[spiralx]

What size and type of map are you running? How many civilisations? Larger maps can start off using a lot of memory.

There are some definite hangs though, as I said earlier most noticably between the very start of your turn and when you can first interact with the game.

 

[Pellanor]

I haven't noticed any slowdown with the new patch, not even when I'm watching Battlestar Galactica on my 2nd monitor.

 

[kettyo]

It seems my game is now as fast as before the patch.
I just made a hdd-defragment. Maybe that's matter that much???

 

[Melchizel]

It's especially bad on a laptop. I can tolerably play until about 1900 on a small map with all the usual dumbing down (lowest possible graphics settings, unpacked assets, low-detail terrain replacements, selective process killing, no concurrent programs such as resident antivirus or anti-spyware, etc.). Then everything starts coming with the 2-second-or-so delay, and that delay becomes 10 seconds or more by 1950.

This is even a decent laptop (Dell XPS, dual 3.4GHz cpu's, 2GB RAM, 256MB video, cooling pad, etc.). Problem is, Civ4 cranks up the heat so much that I only get a fraction of that performance. Maybe if I started playing in my refrigerator... .

I just ordered a new dell xps DESKTOP and will let you know if it's any better.

That is odd.... I only have an Inspirion 9300 and I am not having any problems. I do have 1.5 gigs of ram and my laptop is always cool.

 

[rlohmann]

You need at least 1GB. Some say 1.5GB or 2GB is very smooth.

I was afraid of that.

 

[Artosoft]

Indeed, I saw improvement on loading a game with v2.08. Previously it can take more than 1 minute to load a game (huge map). Now with v2.08 it take less than 1 minute.

Still the same problem with wonder movie...

Regards,
Arto.

 

[Charles 22]

Indeed, I saw improvement on loading a game with v2.08. Previously it can take more than 1 minute to load a game (huge map). Now with v2.08 it take less than 1 minute.

Still the same problem with wonder movie...

Regards,
Arto.

The speed at which it loads games is the least of our worries.

 

[jray]

That is odd.... I only have an Inspirion 9300 and I am not having any problems. I do have 1.5 gigs of ram and my laptop is always cool.

Glad to hear that!

Weird though... maybe I have some some vagabond piece of hardware or software that's creating a major bottleneck.

I just got my new desktop last night, and Warlords runs so smooth it's unbelievable!! No jerkiness, no delays upon issuing commands, no stuttering wonder movies... this is awesome! I even have graphics cranked up to max settings too. What in the world was wrong with my laptop, I wonder! Pretty pathetic for a top-of-the-line Dell bought in 2005.

 

[Melchizel]

Glad to hear that!

Weird though... maybe I have some some vagabond piece of hardware or software that's creating a major bottleneck.

I just got my new desktop last night, and Warlords runs so smooth it's unbelievable!! No jerkiness, no delays upon issuing commands, no stuttering wonder movies... this is awesome! I even have graphics cranked up to max settings too. What in the world was wrong with my laptop, I wonder! Pretty pathetic for a top-of-the-line Dell bought in 2005.

Congrats!!