Huge Map Computer Specifications....

[CraigDN]

Q.1 Does anybody know what the reccomended computer specifications are for playing on a huge maps with say betweeen 11-15 nations? my computer currenltly has 1024 ram and 3.0mhz is this going to be good enough or will it just go way too slow in the later ages? i ask this as i have replaced my old pc with this one and i dont have a clue what its capable of..

 

[thetrooper]

You have a better comp than me and I can play very well on mine (even huge maps).

Edit: Oops! You mean 3GHz?

 

[CraigDN]

K thanks for letting me know, i would have hated to have been close to a victory and it started to go mega slow....

 

[thetrooper]

People have reported problems even though they have super comps. But this isn't really my field of expertise. The only thing I know is that you have a better comp than me.

 

[k-a-bob]

If you turn off all AI animations, the interturn speeds up dramatically. I do recommend leaving the battle animation on, otherwise you could blink and miss your battleship getting destroyed.

 

[Zakharov]

1GB of RAM and a 3GHz cpu will definitely be able to cope with huge maps. You will probably have to wait up to about a minute between turns late in the game, but that is nothing compared to machines with lower specs. I have heard of 1 hour waits between turns.

 

[Cruelsader]

My comp is 1,2 Ghz, 512 MB ram. Modern era turns on huge map with 15 civs took about 3-6 minutes (all animations turned off). With my laptop 1,5 Ghz, 512 MB RAM, the waiting time was about minute less. So I think you should be fine, although be warned that it can be very annowying to wait even 1 minute

 

[vmxa]

Memory is not an issue for Civ as it only uses about 400MB on even a very huge map. I played a 250x250 way back with 24 civs on max water. I played it on my 1gb 3gh box and on my 512mb 1.6gh. It was played to allow civs to survive to see how bad it got.

Both systems never used more than 384MB, one was XP the other was 98SE. Turns took about twice as long on the slower system. Worse times were almost an hour. This is because every time a town was founded or razed or captured, all trade routes had to be checked. The animation for building a town had the settler squat for up to 2 minutes on the 1.6. The next turn may go as fast as seconds, if no wars, no new towns.

 

[Zakharov]

Memory is not an issue for Civ as it only uses about 400K on even a very huge map.

That's not true. I was playing a game on my 2.4GHz 256MB laptop that was slowing down to a crawl, so I transferred the save to my 2.5GHz 1GB desktop and it ran smoothly. As I have said in other threads I think 512MB of RAM is the level above which civ3 performance becomes cpu bound.

 

[vmxa]

I do not see anything you said to conflict with my statement, so why do you call me a liar?

256 is way below 400MB, sorry that K should be 400MB, I think that was obviously a typo. Surely you did not really think I meant 400K?

 

[Zakharov]

I do not see anything you said to conflict with my statement, so why do you call me a liar?

You said memory is not an issue. From what I have read on these forums a lot of civ players have less than 512MB of RAM, so for them memory most certainly is an issue. I'm sorry if you took my comments to heart. I was just trying to correct you, not discredit you.

 

[vmxa]

Naw, I was only teasing you, I do not get offended that easy.

Yes anyone with less 512MB will have a problem with huge maps, no doubt as the OS will eat a lot of it. I said it used about 400 MB, so if you do not have that much, it is a source of delays.

Why do they have less than 512, mem has been dirt cheap for years. For the price of a new game they could get another 256 and be out of danger.

Anyway it is only for big maps that they need be concerned.

My response was to the thread starter, who has a gig of memory. Sorry if I dismissed those with under 512, I in fact don't get it. They go out and spent lots of money and will not go the extra 50 bucks to make it useful? Kind of like putting a govenor on a car engine.