[Saber Cherry]

Originally posted by Darryl:
Saber Cherry: Went out and got a Radeon 9200 - same results. It says it supports OpenGL and even has a spot for it in the "Display" properties but Dominions battles run at the same slow rate. So I take it Dominions battles only run with a high end Video card? Or should the Radeon 9200 be able to show battles faster?

No, that should be fine, those are more modern than my video card. The only thing is this: Did you update the drivers? First, go to www.ati.com and download the latest drivers (probably Catalyst 3.9), then uninstall the existing drivers, reboot (it will probably install default VGA drivers), and then install the new drivers.

Want a full description of what I'd do in your shoes? Ok! This is what you should do for unexplained problems in any game, in general. It will probably help in every game and every application, ESPECIALLY if you haven't done any of them in a long time!

1) Run scandisk (in XP, c: drive > properties > tools > check for errors)

2) Defragment (same location)

3) Go to www.windowsupdate.com, and fully update your computer. This may take multiple attempts... I suggest doing XP Service PAck 1 and any Internet Explorer service packs, alone, before anything else. But after those are done, MAKE SURE you have the latest Direct X Version (9.0a? 9.1? I forget) and all the critical updates. You can skip things that sound stupid, like "gives your computer .NET platform development blah blah." or "Lets you make Windows Media 9 movies." Reboot.

4) Install new motherboard drivers. I assume you have a Via-based motherboard? If so, go to www.viaarena.com and download the latest 4-in-1 drivers (probably 4.50), and install them. Reboot twice (rebooting once finishes installation, the second time makes sure it boots normally).

5) Install new video drivers: First, go to www.ati.com and download the latest drivers (probably Catalyst 3.9), then uninstall the existing drivers, reboot (it will probably install default VGA drivers), and then install the new drivers. Reboot twice (rebooting once finishes installation, the second time makes sure it boots normally).

6) Install new sound card drivers. If you use onboard sound, Windows Update may provide this for you... otherwise, try the manufacturer. For SoundbLasters, go to www.creative.com. Reboot twice (rebooting once finishes installation, the second time makes sure it boots normally).

7) Run scandisk again.

8) Try playing the game.

I give this a 90% chance of eliminating the problem, but it will be a lot easier to solve if you try all this and there is still a problem, so please repost, if so! This is all stuff I would suggest even if you DIDN'T have any trouble, as it is good maintenance, and should be done quarterly, or bi-yearly at a minimum.

-Cherry