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View Full Version : " A Slow Giant " - Turn Speed



Drakkz
02-06-2008, 03:26
First of all i'd like to say what a rgeat mod this is, and a wonderful job the EB team did in making this game. Although I am currently in my first campaign as the romans, I am really into the game. The historical accuracy is really good and the campaign map is really ncie to look at as they are really huge, perhaps total war games will be more challenging.Yet, I must question the unusually long wait times for turns to end/start :furious3: . Sometimes it takes what seems nearly a minute to load a new turn.I have looked into that FAQ thread on improving the load times, but it didnt help much. Perhaps you community people could assist me in improving the speed of the turns and campaign map.

My system specs are as follows :
-Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.1GHz (2 CPUs)
-3GB RAM
-NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT
-Windows XP service pk 2

I have a pretty good computer and can run new games at ease, yet this game runs slowly.

PershsNhpios
02-06-2008, 04:35
I have a computer about half as productive as yours.

Don't cry for me.

The problem is that not only are the units in EB three times more detailed than the old units that were pretty well created in a certain blank hue, and not only that the campaign map has barnhouses, treadmills, and all other little pieces scattered around it -
but also that the script run in the background flies so many little words and keys around to pressure and manipulate gameplay that it may as well be an entirely new game.

You will also probably find battles will crash after the post-fight screen, this is due to memory leaking - if it's as bad as mine you will have to restart EB every hour or so.

This made me quit EB after a while and play MTW for the first time instead.

They are two completely different games, something drew me back here - I put up with the leaks and only play for short periods.

Dhampir
02-06-2008, 05:38
I have an E6850, 3gb ram and a GeForce 8800 GTX (756mb) and big battles and sieges with EB make it cry.

It's a wonderful kind of crying, though. Like when a baby is born and the mother is weeping both from agony and from joy and from a desire to commit infanticide.

Megas Methuselah
02-06-2008, 05:45
The AI turns on my computer take about, in average, a minute to get from end to start. Nonetheless, this rather short wait is well-worth it, if you ask me. I usually have a history book by my side when I press the 'end turn' button.

As for the memory leakage, I have to restart EB every 2 hours or so. It's not much of a pain(for me, anyways). Besides, it's good to get a break every now and then.


It's a wonderful kind of crying, though. Like when a baby is born and the mother is weeping both from agony and from joy and from a desire to commit infanticide.

Dude... what...?!
:inquisitive:

PershsNhpios
02-06-2008, 06:36
I think Dhampir, somehow, has experienced something very special in his lifetime.

eadingas
02-06-2008, 09:28
I play on a laptop. Not a gaming laptop, too.
I usually turn EB on before I leave for work, to have it loaded when I come back ;)

LorDBulA
02-06-2008, 09:39
Sometimes it takes what seems nearly a minute to load a new turn.
This is made so on purpose, so you can do a series of push-ups every turn.
EB is good for your health.

zooeyglass
02-06-2008, 09:54
This is made so on purpose, so you can do a series of push-ups every turn.
EB is good for your health.

does anyone actually do that? because the world would be facing a new breed of gamers, if every game, like EB, gave slots for reading history and working out - 2 things i do while waiting for turns to load also.

weirdly, i always found the game excruciatingly slow, and then i started a new campaign as macedonia, and it was fine....much faster end turn time, and rarely any lag on the campaign map.:laugh4:

PershsNhpios
02-06-2008, 10:40
Ha ha ha.. That is a very coincedental comment!

Especially when my computer's memory begins to slow, because I have a routine consisting almost solely of push-ups, (Push-ups for upper strength, the Horse gives me lower strength), I will most often finish a good 50 whilst I wait for a battle to load.

Sometimes I am finished before it gets to the loading screen, and that isn't a complement to my own fitness...

Otherwise, when I am less energetic, I will read my Classical findings and - most often - lose myself in them, and then become ashamed I would even appear to re-enact such marvellous events on a computer, and close EB to continue reading.

mcantu
02-06-2008, 13:30
Try is script mod:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=96967

It reduced my turn wait by 70%

Pezlu
02-06-2008, 15:07
I never measured how much time it takes between my turns, but that's because I just don't think it's too much. Yeah, it's at least a minute, probably more, but I've seen worse... and this way I have time to rearrange all my plans based on my previous turn (and on the AI movements while time passes).

One thing EB is very slow at, for me, is loading time when you start the game, before you get to the main menu. Also loading save games takes a bit too much. But I don't have problems with turns.

Moros
02-06-2008, 15:30
I'm playign EB on a laptop (not a gaming one, but a new and fairly good one) and on a 4 year old pc. And Though I can't say I don't have to wait while loading or during AI turns. I usually don't need to wait that long. I've yet to see a AI turn that takes more than a minute. (without following AI characters that is. lol) Are you guys like running a bunch of other programs while playing or something?

Barbarian
02-06-2008, 16:35
I play on fairly new laptop, with "follow AI movements" turned on. Although the turns take longer than in RTW, I have rarely had 1 minute to go after some additional food, or do push-ups. :laugh4:

What annoys me is random CTD's. Especially, when I have a heroic victory, and the CTD happens, during the returning to the campaign map. :wall:

The Wandering Scholar
02-06-2008, 17:57
OK, I have EB downloading as we speak, from this thread I will make sure I have the following:

*Good book, I'm reading Desperation by Stephen King at the moment, a bit weird and sick but good in a strange way.

*open space for a short workout

Probably will be best to alternate them one turn on, one turn off.. thanks guys. Oh i might just look at that script!

Drakkz
02-07-2008, 00:33
:balloon2: Alright i actually found a way that can descrease the time the takes the turn to change by 50%. Its simple before you click to go to a new turn, click on the very bottom part of the south west portion of the map( the Indian Ocean), and it should go faster. I think its probably because all those factions moving their pieces slows it down a lot.:laugh4:

Its a crude method, but it seems to work really well at least with my computer.

overweightninja
02-07-2008, 11:54
:balloon2: Alright i actually found a way that can descrease the time the takes the turn to change by 50%. Its simple before you click to go to a new turn, click on the very bottom part of the south west portion of the map( the Indian Ocean), and it should go faster. I think its probably because all those factions moving their pieces slows it down a lot.:laugh4:

Its a crude method, but it seems to work really well at least with my computer.

Make sure you untick "follow AI moves" too then (although that would make scrolling off map irrelevant anyway I think? Not sure I play with it enabled).
Cheers

The Wandering Scholar
02-07-2008, 12:12
I have never been able to stomach the wait for a diplomat or two to pass through your lands. I downloaded EB fow on and its 25 seconds max between turns, for what the game is ie a complete gift fom god that wait is more than tolerable. Infact i quite enjoy it.

Theodotos I
02-11-2008, 17:58
Of course, you could just try destroying your enemies. That's bound to cut down the endturn wait some. :yes:

zooeyglass
02-11-2008, 18:27
Of course, you could just try destroying your enemies. That's bound to cut down the endturn wait some. :yes:

true...the early annihilation of at least 2 factions (i.e. epeiros/kh) normally speeds things up. :)

Theodotos I
02-13-2008, 19:08
does anyone actually do that? because the world would be facing a new breed of gamers, if every game, like EB, gave slots for reading history and working out - 2 things i do while waiting for turns to load also.

weirdly, i always found the game excruciatingly slow, and then i started a new campaign as macedonia, and it was fine....much faster end turn time, and rarely any lag on the campaign map.:laugh4:

Yes, didn't you know that EB was designed by an evil conspiracy of parents and phys-ed teachers? :yes:
Seriously, though, if more games were like EB, gamers would have a better reputation in society.