Need help deciding whether to install the patch

[Dirk]

A request for assistance......

I still play without the patch although I have it downloaded and still can't decide whether I'll actually do the install or not. On the different forums the comments are both positive and negative and I dread ruining the present status quo.
Important factors:
1- I only do (rather fanatically) the SP custom and historical battles (although in the future I no doubt will try the campaigns.
2- I really love the editor for mapmaking (has become a real addiction ).
3- I do presently not have problems with lag as long as I keep the size of my armies in line with the type of battlefield (on the steppes a unitsetting 'huge' is no problem but when lots of trees and other objects occupy the battlefield a 'small'-setting is realy the only option.

Will my homemade maps still be playable after installing the patch ?
Any definite problems with lag in SP battles ?
If I don't like the outcome of the install...can I uninstall the patch and return to the original state ?

Thanks a lot for your reactions.

[GilJaysmith]

The question of battle slowdown appears to vary wildly, and not in a way that we can yet diagnose. So you may just have to bite the bullet.

Custom maps will still be playable; the map format hasn't changed.

The worst-case scenario if you don't like the patch is reinstalling the game. Folders you might want to save are "CustomGames", "SaveGames", and "SaveMaps", which respectively contain custom battle setups, saved campaign games and replays, and custom maps. Copy those somewhere, uninstall and reinstall, then copy them back in, and you should be OK.

However, there are only a few changes in battles themselves, and some tweaks to unit balancing. I'd say you needed the patch if you were playing the campaign, but until you do that, you can probably do without installing the patch.

Gil ~ CA

[Dirk]

Gil,
Thanks for your speedy reply to my posting concerning my install dilemma. I will take your musings most seriously.
As for the lag: I have a number of experiences with that that may help point you in the right direction.
I have created a map where the top half is covered in thick forest. The bottom half is flat (steppe). Playing as the defender the camera faces the forest and from the word go there is a huge lag (5 seconds before my pointer responds to mouse movements). Playing as the attacker I face the steppe with the defending troops...no lag...until I move the camera behind the defenders and face my own attacking forces.....lag
Another example: A home made map with a hill and castle. Using the bare hill everything moves like lightning. After building the castle up comes the lag again.
Last example: Home made map with a waterway running from right (top right) to left (bottom left). On the left I've taken away big chunks of shore so it really looks as if this river opens up into the sea. In the middle of the map there is a peninsula with castle sticking out into the river. Far to the east (topleft) a bridge crosses he river.
This map worked a treat although my defenders did not get beamed into the castle (?). No noticable lag.
Yesterday I added a bridge next to the peninsula (a very long bridge it was &#33http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif and put an extra artillery tower on the peninsula next to the castle especially to control access to this bridge........enormous lag Even with just a few units fighting...unplayable After removing the extra bridge and tower.......still lag
(by the way: I understood that although in the editor you can lay down a bridge...it is only in he game itself that this bridge actually will span the stream as it should. That is exactly what happened untill now. The bridge I mentioned earlier however immediately stretched across this wide waterwayeven in the editor itself)
Are these kind of reports helpful ?