Quote:
Originally Posted by mfederighi
Hi all!
I have been used SPMBT for some time. It is a great game, but I have a problem which may or may not be related to Windows 7.
The problem is that, whenever I use the game, the computer gets overheated and sometimes stops working. The system and RAM that I have should be more than enough for graphic intensive applications, and the two SPCAMO games are the only ones with this problem.
I have searched elsewhere on the eb for solution and I have read that this MAY be a problem due to the DOS legacy still present in the game. Is it true?
I would be very grateful for any tips that you may have. Many thanks!
Marco
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The game code is converted from the MS_DOS version of the graphics library to a Windows version of the same.
After a little investigation - it seems that the game library idle loop function does
NOT release CPU time to Windows. That one is buried in a third party DLL and so not easily fixed by myself.
However, A little experimentation with some other Windows System commands on the main screen menu resulted in the CPU usage going to 0 (from typically 50%) when idle, with responses to button presses, mouse overs etc being unaffected.
So I have a strategy to make the game less of a CPU hog, when it is not "doing stuff", and is simply waiting for the end user to do something. It'll just mean that I have to visit every darned screen's main update function...
However - despite the CPU hogging, no machine that I have ever run the game on has had the sort of problem that you describe. The fans can kick in after a while, is all. Your machine seems to have some sort of thermal problem (perhaps it is clogged with carpet fluff, or the fan has stopped working or is about to do so?). The only thermal problem I have ever had with a tower was one left on the carpet beside the desk - the air intake grille of the Dell was at the bottom front of the case, and over several years it ingested about half the carpet.
Cheers
Andy