Soback Posted November 22, 2001 Report Share Posted November 22, 2001 ASUS P4T motherboard (1005) ASUS V8200 GeForce 3 Deluxe T2 (21.82a) P4 1.6 processor Creative Soundblaster Live 5.1 (3227?) W98SE with all service packs DX 8.1 Windows Media Player 7.1 Desktop resolution 32bit Screen Area 1024by768 Game settings all 3 options are set for 32bit depth Game screen set to 1024by768Here's the problem. After I play for about 20 to 35 minutes the game starts slowing down and after about 45 to 55 minutes becomes horribly slow. The only aid I found for this is to restart the whole system, restarting just the game doesn't help. So I save the game, restart the system, quit all the programs in the background, turn off virus protection, reload the game from where I left off and play it for another hour or so. So far I only played continuously for 2 hours (that's the longest I survived so far ) Don't know if it's a problem with BCM or just my computer, but if anyone has any type of fix or something that can either take care of this all together or maybe extend the time between restarts a bit it would be great. Well, ok, gonna go continue playing for the 3rd hour, hope I survive.[ 11-22-2001: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallion Posted November 22, 2001 Report Share Posted November 22, 2001 quote:Don't know if it's a problem with BCM or just my computer, but if anyone has any type of fix or something that can either take care of this all together or maybe extend the time between restarts a bit it would be great. Well, ok, gonna go continue playing for the 3rd hour, hope I survive.The problem is yur computer. BCM will use all of the mips that any CPU can dish out. The more unnecessary fluff (anti-virus, find, winamp, etc.) one has runing in the backround will definately slow BCM down. Plus the more regions that you have active due to probe(s), SC, IC, OC, and MD deployments also increase CPU utilization. Wait until you really get into a furball engagement (20+ craft) then watch your computer come to a grinding halt.So what am I saying - nothing wrong with BCM. Problem lies in one's computer system and how one plays the game.See Section 1.1 Installation on the top of page 4 of the manual.TTFN[ 11-22-2001: Message edited by: Gallion ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cmdr Nova Posted November 22, 2001 Report Share Posted November 22, 2001 quote:Wait until you really get into a furball engagement (20+ craft) then watch your computer come to a grinding halt. Heh, it doesn't need to be 20 craft. Hear this:2 Gam/Mil ships come in from nowhere, and start attacking. I'm near the Orion Starstation. In about 2 minutes, the station launches 20-30+ SF Marines.......... I have a Celeron 500 and a Rage 128 (16MB)......... It turned from a 40-50 FPS thing to less than 9FPS.... I know I'm upgrading soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soback Posted November 23, 2001 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2001 Yeah, it's just kinda weird, if I just start the game from the freshly booted computer I can have 20 to 30 contacts in a sector all fighting and it runs fine, but after about 45 to an hour of gameplay it can be all quiet (me, some trading ships, and a space station) and the game is acting jumpy, music is kinda garbled and is jumpy too. If I save, reboot, and restore from where I left off it will be fine again for an hour or so. I can live with it it's no big deal, but playing continuously without reboots would be so much better. Survived for 4 hours now by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 23, 2001 Report Share Posted November 23, 2001 Sounds like memory....and how come you didn't indicate your memory amount in your specs?And with those specs, you should be running at 800x600 in 16 or 32bit[ 11-23-2001: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soback Posted November 23, 2001 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2001 Ooops. My memory is 256mb RDram. Been playint for 7 hours now. Man I got stories.[ 11-23-2001: Message edited by: Soback ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 23, 2001 Report Share Posted November 23, 2001 quote:Originally posted by Soback: Ooops. My memory is 256mb RDram. Been playint for 7 hours now. Man I got stories.[ 11-23-2001: Message edited by: Soback ]Cool. Stories!! Me likes stories!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin0099 Posted November 25, 2001 Report Share Posted November 25, 2001 I have a similar problem, but sometimes it happens before i even start playing. If i sit on the main menu for a little while, the music gets wierd, and when i try to get onto another screen (config, ia, training, etc.) everything runs really slow. It sometimes happens right away, even if i don't wait around for the music to get screwed up. When i exit the game, my computer even runs slow, like if i right-click on the desktop, the menu that comes up moves very slow. The same thing happens with minimizing and maximizing the windows. So far, he only way i have found to fix it is to reboot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 25, 2001 Report Share Posted November 25, 2001 Get a faster computer. With those barely minimum specs, you shouldn't even be running with music. Didn't you read the FAQ?[ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin0099 Posted November 25, 2001 Report Share Posted November 25, 2001 I just found out that the problem also slows my system clock down to about 1/3 the speed it should be at. Its strange looking at the clock and seeing the second hand move once about every 3 seconds.I did read the FAQ, must have missed that part. But that still doesn't explain why my system clock is getting messed with.[ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: merlin0099 ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 25, 2001 Report Share Posted November 25, 2001 quote:Originally posted by merlin0099: I just found out that the problem also slows my system clock down to about 1/3 the speed it should be at. Its strange looking at the clock and seeing the second hand move once about every 3 seconds.I did read the FAQ, must have missed that part. But that still doesn't explain why my system clock is getting messed with.[ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: merlin0099 ]I don't do anything with your system clock, so you're on your own. Must be something to do with your Bios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philgreen Posted November 25, 2001 Report Share Posted November 25, 2001 Merlin,I checked the game on one of my K6-2 500MHz systems. I would expect a drain on speed with your system. Even with your 512 MB of RAM, you have to understand that Windows 9x will only use 128 of that for programs, and the rest as paging space (not perfectly accurate, but in laymens terms) You will only be able to fully utilize memory over 128MB with an NT based system such as Windows NT 4.0, 2000 or XP- and I would NOT RECOMMEND installing those OS's on your configuration. Upgrade. I've worked on computers for years, trust me when I say your issue is caused by a hardware problem. [ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: Remo ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dnoyeB! Posted November 25, 2001 Report Share Posted November 25, 2001 Before you start playing, if you have windows NT do a ctrl-alt-del, start the task manager, and open the performance window so you can monitor memory usage. Set update speed to Low. IF you have win 98 go to accssories, system tols, system monitor and open up a memory window.Now when you come to a halt, exit the game and check the history on your memory level to see if its being eaten away. This will tell you if you have a memory leak, or you are just using up too much processor power. ( a processor leak ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soback Posted November 25, 2001 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2001 Which memory type do I choose? In the memory window there are about 15 types. I have win98 by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Pablo Laracuente Posted November 26, 2001 Report Share Posted November 26, 2001 I think this fits here so lets go... I don't get slowdowns after time playing the game but i do get very low FPS (at least that's what i think) even when i'm alone in space at the start of a new game. I get around 12-13 FPS when alone, but when i'm in a battle it turns worst. I have turned off many features and set the resolution to 640x480. If i turn off the music i get 14-15 FPS and if i turn off the sound i get around 30-35 fps (i can't play without sound so...), also i close every application that is running including ANTIVIRUS. Nothing seems to help but turning off the sound and i don't want to do it. I'm open to suggestions. I'm going to upgrade my ram from 96 to 256, maybe that helps a bit.Windows Millenium Intel Pentium III 700MHZ 96MBram (going to upgrade to 256 by the end of the month) SiS630 32MB Video Direct 8.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soback Posted November 26, 2001 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2001 Find out if your video card drivers support DX 8. What sound card do you have? And download Windows media player 7.1. Also make sure that ALL (besides explorer and systray) of the programs running in the background are turned off. The game is very intense on resources, so since you start off running slow it just sounds like you don't have too much resources to spare.[ 11-26-2001: Message edited by: Soback ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Pablo Laracuente Posted November 26, 2001 Report Share Posted November 26, 2001 quote: What sound card do you have? C-Media Audio Direct Sound Driver (i think) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Lindsey Posted November 26, 2001 Report Share Posted November 26, 2001 quote:C-Media Audio Direct Sound Driver (i think) This is interesting. I just spent two days with a C-Media Electronics trying to get everything right. Finally got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advil Posted November 26, 2001 Report Share Posted November 26, 2001 Sound cards should eat some of your resources but not that much. If just the sound is chewing half your frame rate, I'd say there's a 90% chance your problem lies with your sound card and/or sound drivers.How do other games work on your system? Have you tried them sound on/off to see if they get a huge jump as well?Check the usual suspects. Look for updated sound card drivers first. Reinstall DX 8.1. Still not working? Look for IRQ conflicts. Try a different PCI slot for the sound card.Finally, if all else fails... Do you have another sound card? A Live 5.1 is under $40 now, a PCI128 under $30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 26, 2001 Report Share Posted November 26, 2001 He obviously has NOT read the FAQ section which deals specifically with sound card tweaks. He probably has full acceleration turned on - is running with 32Bit settings (video), has messed with the default game settings and hasn't even gotten around to deleting the INI file indicated in the FAQ in order to restart with default settings.....and wondering why his game runs like crap.As for the SiS video card. Well then.And I'll bet dimes to a dollar that machine has a shared memory architecture. Which explains the 96MB RAM footprint.[ 11-26-2001: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Pablo Laracuente Posted November 27, 2001 Report Share Posted November 27, 2001 I didn't read the faq Sorry, SC, i apologize. quote: And I'll bet dimes to a dollar that machine has a shared memory architecture. Which explains the 96MB RAM footprint. What's wrong with that?However, i'm going to buy a new Alienware for christmas. Sorry again BTW: I deleted the .INI file and i never turned settings to 32bits. I'll try what the Faq says. Next time i'll read and look around before posting. Wont happen again SC![ 11-26-2001: Message edited by: Cmdr. P. Laracuente ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Pablo Laracuente Posted November 27, 2001 Report Share Posted November 27, 2001 I've done what the faq says about acceleration and command line parameters like x0 etc... and the game runs at higher FPS like 26-35. It's not that good but it's acceptable until i buy my new machine. Thanks for the help guys especially the SC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 27, 2001 Report Share Posted November 27, 2001 quote:Originally posted by Cmdr. P. Laracuente: I've done what the faq says about acceleration and command line parameters like x0 etc... and the game runs at higher FPS like 26-35. It's not that good but it's acceptable until i buy my new machine. Thanks for the help guys especially the SC.See what happens when you read the docs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Pablo Laracuente Posted November 27, 2001 Report Share Posted November 27, 2001 quote: See what happens when you read the docs? Yeah. BTW: What did you mean with the shared memory architecture my machine has? I can upgrade from 96 to 256 if necesary.[ 11-27-2001: Message edited by: Cmdr. P. Laracuente ][ 11-27-2001: Message edited by: Cmdr. P. Laracuente ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drastic Posted December 3, 2001 Report Share Posted December 3, 2001 There is a slowdown, on Earth planetary zone only, that's reproducible on my system.1: Start new game 2: Default settings--Roam mode, male commander, heavy cruiser bc mk3. In the game I first saw it in, I was in a bc mk2 though. 3: Go to TacOps either when the craft is in the planet, or Observing from outside of it. Either way, TacOps for Earth. 4: Use the jump-to-Mission Zone menus repeatedly. I haven't nailed down a specific number yet, if there is one. I.e., select the first mission zone on the list, first city/base in that zone, then click through to the second in that zone, till going to the next zone down the list, etc. It's also occurred just by jumping randomly from the zone entries.After that, there is intense slowdown on the planet, to the extent of it being unplayable on there. It runs as smoothly as ever outside of the planet, but going back to or Observing Earth planet zone even several hours later has the same intense slowdown.With that dated v-card I am surprised that you can even get BCM to run. A good card in its day but that was years ago.TTFN[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Drastic ][ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Gallion ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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