Huge Game

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 12:12

Alright, I'm playing a huge map in civ3 (PTW) and the loading is horrible. to load the game, it takes 4 minutes and the loading between turns, without having animations, is SIX minutes. It's basically becoming unplayable now. too bad, because I enjoy the big games the best. my comp is 500 mhz with 96 RAM. anybody know how fast huge games go on, say, a 2 ghz computer? Here's a pic of where I'm at now:

[IMG]

[/IMG]

hope that worked...

Jaybe · January 11, 2003, 13:47

Quote:

Originally posted by bobbo008
...with 96 RAM....

You need AT LEAST another 128 MB! That is your primary problem.

alva · January 11, 2003, 15:40

96 mB is hardly enough to run XP (if it's that what you are using)

To play huge games nothing under 256 will do.

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 15:45

alright, thanks. so at 256, what could i expect the loading to be, if anyone knows (i currently have about 500 military units, but it would probably go well past 1000).

also, did the picture show up for you guys?

Adagio · January 11, 2003, 15:57

I used to have (Just upgraded yesterday) a P3 500 Mhz with 386 mb ram, but that was incufficient for large games. At the end of the game it took ~15 minutes for the AI's to finish their turn...

I haven't had time to try to play Civ3 yet, so I don't know how long time it takes now...

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 15:59

15 minutes, wow...

one final point, what takes so long to load in the game? comapared to other games, and this isn't coming from a "computer" person, but it doesn't seem like too much is going on, especially 15 minutes worth per turn.

Adagio · January 11, 2003, 16:11

Quote:

Originally posted by bobbo008
Here's a pic of where I'm at now:

[IMG]

[/IMG]

hope that worked...

Here's the picture:

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 18:02

doesnt work for me. i dont expect it to, however, since geocities sites wont work for me, and that s what i put it on... just want to make sure it works for everyone else, does it?

Adagio · January 11, 2003, 18:06

Ehhmm... did you just delete the file? Or is geocities down? It worked 5 minutes ago... Now it's dead...

EDIT: Now it works...

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 18:08

hmmm...didnt touch it... and the URL doesn't change..maybe it'll come back? anyways, is there some simple place i can store pictures, like for posting here, that don't change URLs?

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 18:15

ahhh just went back to AOE... its stupid, too short, too militaristic and too simple. leaves me "unfulfilled". at least the civs are slightly more different...

alva · January 11, 2003, 18:52

Could post the save? I'll check how long it's takes on my pc.

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 19:06

if you really want to, thanks.

...umm, how do i post saves?

Adagio · January 11, 2003, 19:11

How fast is your computer Alva? And how much ram does it have? I might want to try it out also... tomorow...

That way we can compare the times...

Mine is 2.4 GHz with 512 mb DDR ram

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 19:30

quick note if on rule changes. privateers have attack of 3. frigates upgrade to ironclads upgrade to destroyers. i think the later naval vehicles have increased movement. If you get further in the game, there might be something wrong with cruise missles (i'm currently in the later industrial age). Difficulty should be set at Regent. All civs have all 6 traits. workers and settlers have a movement rate of 2. temples and several other improvements also reduce corruption. optimal number of cities increased from 32 to 64, although I think I might have upwards of 80. Unfortunately, there are only 2-3 squares of silks, which i failed to catch. This is the only luxury I don't control, but I see two in Turkey if one really ones to invade for it. I think that's it.

my basic stratigies:
I created a nice straight western border

Northern Russia/Finland highly underdeveloped in favor of fully industrializing the original/western cities.
Unfortunately, you can't see a couple border squares, which you'll notice, so the AI has been trying to settle those, so I've created a nice blockade of cavalry along the border.
My privateers extend all the way down to Iberia, as I've been slowly sending them down, taking out weak ships where I could.
Population is happily at 111 million, thats doubled since the dawn of the industrial age and it has been increasing rapidly.

alva · January 11, 2003, 20:50

@ bobbo; When you use 'post reply', at the post it says attachment (or something like that, I always use 'quick reply')
You might have to zipped it first though.

@ADG; AMD2000+/768DDR-2100

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 21:19

...dont know how to zip

alva · January 11, 2003, 21:43

reap your PM, send it to and I'll post it

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 21:52

done

alva · January 11, 2003, 22:18

programs in the background:
mail
virus
brouwser
winamp
and euh something else

to load : 1.10
turn time (note: I didn't move any units, just pressed next turn. when the build queus came up, I just pressed ok)
3.20
I'm gonna do this a few times more

+3000gpt

corruption is too low

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 22:23

"+3000gpt"

big game, small military for empire size. I thought techs would cost a lot more, but cost must only be based on map size or something... with the 4 turn minimum "cap", i only need to set it to 30% research (no entertainment), when it's at 50%, it should be around 1200 I think...

"corruption is too low "

sorry, my first time with the editor. I thought temples and such, when picked to reduce corruption, would have a slight effect, like courthouses.

PrinceBimz · January 11, 2003, 23:51

On my Athlon XP1800 with 768mb ram the longest I wait is maybe 15-20 seconds between turns. This is if alot if going on on a huge map with every civ. Most of the time its just a few seconds each turn. Unless of course the AI is moving alot of units which are visible, then I just hold shift if I don't want to wait. Most of the time I just watch the AIs moves so I know everything they are doing and it still don't take long.

Master Zen · January 12, 2003, 00:09

15-20 seconds!! Damn... you just made me a very jealous guy!

bobbo008 · January 12, 2003, 01:50

...768 MB... 15-20 seconds... wow...

alva · January 12, 2003, 01:54

Oops, I seem to have forgotten to post the save.

@princeBimz

Could you load this one up too? Just press end turn and time it.
Could be interesting to have some different records to compare

Edit: can't get the file size small enough, so poly will not accept it

If anyone wants it, send me a PM, so I can mail it

PrinceBimz · January 12, 2003, 12:09

Go ahead and post up the save and I will load it up and give it a try. Anyway this is pc133 memory too so its not the fastest anymore. I have three 256mb sticks which barely cost me anything. I imagine pc2100 will be even faster. Also my computer is a custom system I built myself (i am a certified pc tech) for gaming. So obviously it is a well maintained computer

Adagio · January 12, 2003, 13:48

Loading: 50 sec
Before choosing what to build: 2 min
After choosing what to build: 50 sec

Not the fastest, but still better than the 15-20 minutes before...

bobbo008 · January 12, 2003, 13:56

anything wrong with my strategies?

VladTepes · January 12, 2003, 14:25

I cut and paste the source of the pic and saw the map. Then I went to the root site and found this link :

CLICK HERE TO SEE PEOPLE SCREWING PENGUINS!

I didn't click it - I don't even wanna know......

Adagio · January 12, 2003, 14:46

Quote:

Originally posted by VladTepes
I cut and paste the source of the pic and saw the map. Then I went to the root site and found this link :

CLICK HERE TO SEE PEOPLE SCREWING PENGUINS!

I didn't click it - I don't even wanna know......

Come on, admit it, you like such thing