Help! .....Soooooooo Slow!

[ckweb]

Hi!

I've been playing Civ3 on Marla's Huge World Map with 16 civs. Between turns I wait nearly 15-25 minutes (no joke!) while the computer cycles through the other civs and works on the automated aspects of my civ. Is this normal??? I get maybe two turns in after an hour of play. I have a Dell P3 500 Mhz with 256 MB RAM.

Any help to speed up the game would be great. I use version 1.21f.

Ken.

[Ethelred]

Turn off animation of enemy units

Turn off animation of friendly units

Turn off Auto Save

TURN OFF THE MUSIC - its MP3 and that takes CPU cycles

Turn off all uneeded apps - you don't need anti-virus software running if you are just playing the game. You don't need a firewall running if you aren't connected to the Net and you don't need a connection for Marla's map. Don't run ANY MP3 players to replace the game music you turned off either for the same reason. Play a CD instead those don't eat up as many CPU cycles. Don't download stuff. Don't have IE running in the background to post here. NOTHING should be running that doesn't absolutely have to for Marla's HUGE ASS MAP.

Get a faster CPU 500MHZ is kind of slow for even normal huge maps.

Get more ram - CIVIII uses a lot even with smaller maps and Marla's is literally beyond huge.

Play on a lower difficulty level - that way the AI won't have as much stuff to move around

Win faster - that way the AI won't have that much stuff as there won't be a Modern Age

Don't play Marla's map without a 10 GHZ machine and two gigs of Octuple data rate UberRam.

Read War and Peace - or Shogun its longer

Practice Meditation

Watch the History Channel between moves for strategy tips.

Channel surf over to the Discovery Channel when the History Channel has the History of Lint on.

Cultivate patience

[Nym]

Originally posted by Ethelred
Read War and Peace - or Shogun its longer

Practice Meditation

Watch the History Channel between moves for strategy tips.

Channel surf over to the Discovery Channel when the History Channel has the History of Lint on.

Cultivate patience

But it's sometimes so true...

[ckweb]

Thanks

Ethelred, hey thanks for the tips. Most of them I've taken advantage of already but I haven't shut off the music yet.

I liked your more humourous tips at the end. In fact, while I was playing this past Sunday, I was translating 1 Chronicles (of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible) from the original Hebrew between turns. I got alot done!

I take it from your reply then that long waits on Marla's Map are pretty normal, eh? At least with an older computer like mine?

[Ethelred]

In fact, while I was playing this past Sunday, I was translating 1 Chronicles (of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible) from the original Hebrew between turns. I got alot done!

I only debate the debate the Bible in the Off Topic part of the forum. However the original Hebrew isn't really the original Hebrew. Early Hebrew had no vowels.

I take it from your reply then that long waits on Marla's Map are pretty normal, eh? At least with an older computer like mine?

A few claim that it doesn't but I suspect they have the AI in a position that it can't build much so the AI turns are short. They mostly have lots of RAM and 1.5 GHZ and up machines as well.

I have fiddeled with that map but I kept the dificulty low and haven't got out of the Ancient Era in anycase. I was mostly just looking at it.

The larger the map the slower the game goes. The main slow down is the pathfinding algorithim. The time it takes increases exponentialy with the size of the map. Double the map area and you quadruple the time. Also if you double the map area you also double the number of decisions that use that algorithim which means it takes EIGHT times longer when the map is filled with units.

[Willem]

Re: Thanks

Originally posted by ckweb

I take it from your reply then that long waits on Marla's Map are pretty normal, eh? At least with an older computer like mine?

Anytime you're playing a huge map with 16 civs it takes a long , long time. I gave up on it myself, I play 256 X 256 maps, and went to 8 civs. Still long turns, but better. So yes, it is normal.

[ckweb]

Originally posted by Ethelred


I only debate the debate the Bible in the Off Topic part of the forum. However the original Hebrew isn't really the original Hebrew. Early Hebrew had no vowels.

Let me know where there is a thread on the Bible and I'll pop by. Incidentally, I know Classical Hebrew texts (such as the DSS) had no vowels; the pointed text of the Hebrew Bible is the work of the Masoretes. In fact, modern Hebrew also rarely uses vowels in media/print.

Why did you make the assumption I was translating from a pointed (vocalic) text?

Anyways, point me to an appropriate thread in Off-Topic if you want to continue this discussion (I'm new here so I don't really know all the tricks yet).

On-Topic Thoughts

Can you direct me to a top quality World Map of a smaller scale that allows the civs to start in their historical locales?

[Ethelred]

Anyways, point me to an appropriate thread in Off-Topic if you want to continue this discussion (I'm new here so I don't really know all the tricks yet).

None active at the moment. They occur fairly often. Not as often as the Israel threads but now and then.

Can you direct me to a top quality World Map of a smaller scale that allows the civs to start in their historical locales?

All the ones I know of are huge to get the detail needed to look much like the real thing. Perhaps after the expansion pack comes out or when the new editor comes out, supposedly this month. Its supposed to support fixed starting positions.

[Raion]

Nothing else to to but get a faster computer.
I have a 500mH and only play with 5-6 Civ's until Civilization makes a faster computer I can afford, -- probably next year!

[ckweb]

Ethelred

Hi!

I read some of your work in Off-Topic threads that related to the Bible. I thought I'd let you know that I posted a new thread in Off-Topic to address some issues you raise in those threads.

Thanks again for your help in this thread.