Game advice...

[AstroCat]

Ok I started this game as my first EB game:

Game config: EB 1.2 + Fixes. Campaign as Romani M/M, Huge unit size, using the RTW.exe
Mods added: Win conditions, Force Diplomacy, RS map textures, Naval Start add on (only trade cart), No big trees, New quotes, MC player formations

It was fun and I was learning the game well but I started getting a lot of crashes after big city assault battles, which was really starting to wear on me. So I used the ntcore patch and waited a good 20-30sec after these big battles.

Seemed to be working but sure enough it happened again! So, I decided upon forum research to move to this configuration:

Game config: EB 1.2 + Fixes. Campaign as Romani H/M, Huge unit size, using the alex.exe (ntcore applied)
Mods added:

Europa Barbarorum 1.2 submod pack 3.1 (which includes)
* ALEXANDER.exe; thanks to maksimus for the wonderful instructions on how to make the swap between exes.
* AI Battle Formation Mods* ; by --Sinhuet and special thanks to Lysander13 for the compilation
* Spoils of Victory; by V.T. Marvin
* Some trait changes (command stars & cursus honorum) by konny.
* Win Conditions; originally by JRMC and special thanks to konny for making a new 1.2 version
* Roman Allied Legions; by konny
* Aquilifer unit; by lt1956, creator of the SPQR mod
* Force Diplomacy Minimod; by DimeBagHo , update byJarardo
* Darth Stalin's 1.1 Romani Fix with "corrected" Gallic Helm
* MP Swapper; by ||Lz3||

Custom script update for minimod

Phalanx mod
RS Textures
Naval strat map add on (trade carts only)
Getting rid of the giant trees mod
New quotes
MC player formations

Questions and advice...

1. Will this be a more stable game, especially after city assaults/big battles?

2. I realize with this setup I get AI retraining which means I should go ahead and retrain as well, correct?

3. Any concerns with any of my mod choices or settings (difficulty, unit size, mods used, .exe, etc...) I am looking for a reasonably realistic, fun and stable game, but with all the minimods added I was a little concerned of any issues.

Thanks a ton for the help. It was a drag starting over but if it makes a better experience in the end it was worth it.

System info:

Q9650~3.6Ghz
GA-X48-DQ6
G.SKILL 4GB
GTX 480
SB X-fi
WD6400AAKS 640GB
SAMSUNG DVD±R SH-S203B
dualboot Vista64-XP (Total War games on Vista64)

[Fluvius Camillus]

Hello AstroCat,

I don't think I can help much (you figured out waiting till the song finishes after the battle, which is the only remedy I know of). I don't want to hijack your thread but I experience quite the same problem. If it bothers you that I post it, I will delete it.

I usually play on my desktop computer at home. Which is VERY STABLE. I play Arche Seleukeia currently (but also played many other stable ones).

System Info:
Windows XP Home edition, version 2002 with Service Pack 3 applied.
Intel Pentium 4 3.00Ghz Clockspeed(?) 3.00Ghz, 1.00GB
Also some huge Nvidia Graphics card with everything on it.
160GB Harddrive

My install:
EB 1.2 RTW.exe with all fixes, new quotes, FD, new historical battles and RS textures.

It works PERFECTLY, it almost never crashes.

Laptop

But about a year ago I got a new laptop, and gave EB on it a shot, this one however, crashes quite frequently at random points (so probably no game related bug doing this). It happens when doing random things, starting a battle, ending a battle, loading a savegame etc.... I gave the Koinon Hellenon a shot on this install.

System Info:
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
Nvidia 9600 something something.
(will edit it here)
1TB harddrive

My install:
EB 1.2 ALX.exe, fixes, Lz3 minimod pack with RS textures, naval map strat, FD, extra historical battles, new quotes, Atraphoenix offices mod and phalanx mod.

As I said before, it is quite unstable and it bothers me that I usually have to see EB CTD every hour or more.

Thanks in advance!

~Fluvius

[AstroCat]

Hmm, interesting that your XP install is stable and Win7 is not... Wonder if it would work better under my XP install?

Definitely still interested in game setup advice though, mod choices, etc....