How can I not lag?

from Sins Forums

Greetings all.  I am new to SINS, having picked it up in the store a few weeks ago.  My play is basically focused on single player, so that is the direction my question comes from.  I hope I'm posting in the right place.

I am a fan of large scale games, so when I started it up I chose a large map with two allies and two enemies so I could get a feel for what the game is like.  For the first hour of play it was enjoyable and smooth, and I then began having signifcant slow down and choppy framerates.  I saw the Beta patch addressed this somewhat and downloaded it.  It has certainly improved it somewhat, but my game still suffers significant slowdown after getting about an hour into it, although now it is at least playable.

 

My computer is an IMac dual core, 8 GIGs of ram, with a 256 MB video card.  I run the game in XP using bootcamp.  Most any game I throw at it runs great as long as I tone down the graphics generally to around medium.  I have tried toning the graphics of SINS way down but still get the lag after playing a while.

 

My question then is, for those of you experienced with the game, are there any hints to reduce lag in later gameplay?  Should I use smaller maps?  Set fleet sizes to small?  Keep graphics turned way down? Play only with myself and one opponent?

 

I would appreciate any insight you guys have to give.  Much thanks.  I am still really enjoy the game.

technical
5,284 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

Problem is this game is extremely processor intensive, but was designed in the era before dual-core and so only runs on one core. Best thing you can do is to grab as much juice on one core for the game or use the smaller fleet sizes.

 

:fox:

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

Other strategies some use are trimming the empire tree so everything is not auto-pinned.

The Sins Optimization Mod can help too in various ways. See the addons for other lag enducers that might help (not sure how well the auto-dock works). A reduction in mines would help but it doesn't look like that is in the TSOP addons.

Your graphics card looks a little weak at 256 MB. Maybe LARGE maps with lots of stars is not the right map for your system. Maybe trying a smaller multi-star map would play better. A good one is Doppelgangers for a 2v2.

Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

Thanks for the replies.  I'll give the game tweaks a try.  I don't really know what it means to squeeze all the juice out of a single core than I can though.

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

Overclocking.

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

Trim your empire tree!!!!!!

 

 

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

Well, I haven't overclocked or messed with the empire tree yet, but after downloading the beta patch and TSOP I currently have a medium map with four vicious AIs and my game has gone from unplayable with lag spikes and stuttering to only slighty choppy even during large battle scenes.  I am grateful for all the advice, and now I can actually enjoy the game for more than an hour. 

 

thanks all for the ideas.