time between turns

[Mithris]

I first started playing this modmod a few RoM patches ago, and I noticed a drastic speed increase in regard to turn turnaround, but I recently updated to the most up to date version and am a bit disappointed with the huge increase in time between turns.

I have a quad core@2.67ghz, 8gb ram, latest gfx card and yet my game is unplayable BEFORE I reach AD times on huge maps? Even large maps take 20-30 secs between turns after 300-400 AD. This didn't used to be the case.

I guess my question/comment is if anyone knew of the best options for decreasing time between turns? I have no problems with the graphics slowing down when there is a lot going on.

Thanks

 

[vincentz]

KILL KILL KILL ALL YOUR ENEMIES TROOPS... BURN THEIR CITIES.... SINK THEIR SHIPSSSSS MUAHHAHAHAHA!!!

No seriously. It works

AND 1.73 has a lot of armies per civ, especially on Ruthless AI.

 

[Killtech]

this is the reason why i think all military units of an AI should move to a position after they're a build and sleep there until the AI decides to go to war or war is declared upon it. so the units count should only make a difference in turn times if the AI is at war.

and when i mean they are put to sleep i mean that they are erased form the AIs unit list and moved to a sleep list which isn't so there is no chance a for loop will notice them. this is the most efficient programming for this case as i know that each for step takes a little bit of time and each unnecessary function call takes 10 times as long (except it is inlined by the compiler which is usually not the case) or even 100 times if it's a virtual function...

 

[Sonereal]

this is the reason why i think all military units of an AI should move to a position after they're a build and sleep there until the AI decides to go to war or war is declared upon it. so the units count should only make a difference in turn times if the AI is at war.

As long as it still takes cares of barbarians and mobilizes on the border before wars, I wouldn't mind.

Then again, my computer is handling things decent but I'm more patient. Gigantic map, Eternity, 600 AD, and the turn times are between 20-40 seconds and this is with Ruthless AI but it's probably longer during huge wars.

 

[Mithris]

I can be patient, and I have been through this game since I updated to the latest patch version, BUT I've played similar settings in the past at a much quicker pace. That is why I am here asking. I KNOW the game has run faster in the past with RoM:AND, yet the latest iteration is slower than it used to be.

So I take it there are no additional modmods/tweaks to help speed up turns? I think I spend 10% playing, 90% on turns waiting on Large

 

[NotSoGood]

Then again, my computer is handling things decent but I'm more patient. Gigantic map, Eternity, 600 AD, and the turn times are between 20-40 seconds and this is with Ruthless AI but it's probably longer during huge wars.

I envy you. My computer would never be even able to handle that. With huge map epic, on 600AD it could take about 5-10 min depending on how well I managed to kill my enemies. So your turns are actually pretty fast. (or mine are extremely slow, but anyway..)

 

[Sonereal]

I envy you. My computer would never be even able to handle that. With huge map epic, on 600AD it could take about 5-10 min depending on how well I managed to kill my enemies. So your turns are actually pretty fast. (or mine are extremely slow, but anyway..)

To be fair, I am using a new computer (relatively speaking). Just got it at the end of last year. Don't envy me because by 1800 AD, turn times should probably triple to three minutes which, again I don't mind.

Turn times don't bother me. Sure, I wish they were faster but as long as my game doesn't crash in between turns or freeze up, I'm fine.

I need to run Vanilla BTS on a huge map in the late-game to see how long turn times are then. Probably not too huge of a jump but I haven't played vanilla on my new computer yet (who can with all these mods to play?)

@Mith

I don't think there would be. CAR is installed by default when you installed AND and that's the only thing I can think of that would make it run faster. Static leaderheads, lower graphics, and installing less of the optional modules may speed up the game for you.

 

[Stelmack]

Turn time dont really bother me either, but I just got to 1800's and turns are 10 mins plus atleast, so i play some cod inbetween turns. im sure as soon as I drop a peacemaker turn times will take half as long..>

Vanilla takes a fraction of the turn time at any setting really (the ancient game i played before i discovered mods) and my settings are on the lowest graphics possible so other people should consider themselves lucky. although i did installl every module...

 

[Sonereal]

Turn time dont really bother me either, but I just got to 1800's and turns are 10 mins plus atleast, so i play some cod inbetween turns. im sure as soon as I drop a peacemaker turn times will take half as long..>

Vanilla takes a fraction of the turn time at any setting really (the ancient game i played before i discovered mods) and my settings are on the lowest graphics possible so other people should consider themselves lucky. although i did installl every module...

I watch TV sometimes or read a bit of The Wastelands by Stephen King if turn times get long enough. So, besides AND being so completely awesome, it can also make our youth (like me) read more.

 

[Arakhor]

I have Pillars of the Earth, the Earth's Children series, various Falco novels and a couple of Brother Cadfael novels too. I'm perfectly set for 10 minute turns each minute or two

 

[Afforess]

Netflix instant movies & TV + 2 screens = Awesome.

I'm rewatching the X-Files.

Anyway, to address the OP, Turn Times are always an issue, especially with how old the Civ4 engine is (circa 2003). Some of the patches in 1.73 fixed the interface lag for cities, but I know from profiling that there is one spot in particular that is taking an extreme amount of time for turns, and I just need to dedicate a few hours to figuring out why. (For the curious, it's the AI resource valuation)

 

[crossclayton]

Look, i dont know much about modding and such, but i play with being able to view my friendly and enemys moves and so far the only reason it takes 3-5 mins between turns is because the AI chooses to move every damn unit one by one, sometimes moving the same unit back and forth between the same two tiles until its move points are used up!!! Is there no way we could teach the AI to move a stack of units? and also not waste time moving a unit back and forth over and over between the same tiles every single turn!!!???? This would make turns go sooooo much faster. You can imagine when you have 50 civs with hundreds of units each and moving each one, one at a time, thats a hell of a lot of time wastage.

Also, please refer to my military cap thread and tell me how hard it would be to implement this.

 

[Afforess]

Units already move as stacks.

 

[crossclayton]

Units already move as stacks.

Im not sure they do, i have never seen the AI move any army all at once, when i have the option on to view enemy moves and friendly moves, the AI is moving everything one at a time. It takes like 15 secs to move 30 units from one tile to the next, all one at a time instead of all together as a stack, i am absolutley positive about this, i have been specifically looking out for it and never has the AI moved a stack. Is there something i am missing here?

 

[Afforess]

The AI moves units as stacks. Trust me, it's all in the source code. In the early game, most stacks are only 1 or 2 units, but in the later game or during wars, they can get huge.

 

[crossclayton]

The AI moves units as stacks. Trust me, it's all in the source code. In the early game, most stacks are only 1 or 2 units, but in the later game or during wars, they can get huge.

Im not saying its not and please dont take this as im trying to argue or anything, but i have civ running right now and have the option to see all enemy and friendly moves and i have world-edited my spies all over the world map, im in the medieval era and when i hit the end turn button, every single unit is being moved by the AI one at a time. Im actually watching it right now, and its taking about 3.5 mins for my turn to come round again. Its not sitting waiting or anything, as soon as all the AI civs have moved all it units back and forth one at a time, and whole armies one at a time, its my turn again. From what i am seeing, the reason the turn wait is taking so long is because the AI civs have so many units to move. Could it maybe be moving stacks when you have the option to view everyones moves turned off???(default) and if you have them on it decides to move units one at a time???

 

[Afforess]

Graphically, it shows units move one at a time, but the AI considers them to be in stacks. Don't take those options to be reality.

 

[crossclayton]

Graphically, it shows units move one at a time, but the AI considers them to be in stacks. Don't take those options to be reality.

Ok, so the AI is calculating the moves as if it has moved a stck, but it is happening one at a time graphically, yeah i kind of get that, but then if we could have the graphical movement be in a stack, like when i move my stack, they all move at once and i dont have to sit there waiting for all my units to move to the next square one at a time, they all just move together. Why cant we make it the same for the AI, if the AI units were moved as a stck graphically, then wait time would be drastically reduced.

I timed with seeing everyones moves on, and with the option off. With the option off it takes roughly 20 secs shorter to complete the wait.

from watching the amount of units being graphically moved one at a time, if they were moved as a stack, then the wait time would be like 30 secs! Instead of watching a hundred units moving, i would just have to watch about 10 stacks moving.

 

[Arakhor]

Try Quick moves then. That cuts out the animation altogether.

 

[crossclayton]

Try Quick moves then. That cuts out the animation altogether.

Already have that on. Its not the animation that is the problem, its the shear amount of units every AI is moving one at a time. If the AI was not graphically moving every unit one at a time and simply moved the whole stack together, than the wait time would be drastically reduced.

There is also the units that the AI is moving back and forth between 2 tiles every turn for no apparent reason. If its not actually moving it anywhere, why does it bother moving them at all.