Turn Calc Time

[rdouglass]

I have a PII / 350 Mhz w/ 192 Mb RAM (my 'funtime' computer) that I play SE4 on and I always play 255 max / large galaxies and as many AI's as the settings will give me (usually at least 10 AI's plus neutrals). In late games, it can take 4-5 min processing the turns, but I usually take at least 20 min myself for my own turn - not a big deal to me, but may be to others. Hey folks, its crunching a LOT of numbers....

As a side note, I can load the same game turns (same mods etc) on my kid's homework computer (a Dell P166 / 64 Mb) and it only slows down a little (about 6-7 min per turn in late games).

Personally, I think our standards are sometimes too high - anyone remeber PONG and how slow that ball seemed to move across the 'court' (even in the faster settings)????

[Instar]

This is just a gripe in general, and it could be a source of the problem.
The Celeron processor doesnt have any L2 Cache, so it could be slowing things down. Im never buying any processor without one. But still, like I said it might not be causing a problem.

[Quikngruvn]

quote:

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Originally posted by rdouglass:
Personally, I think our standards are sometimes too high - anyone remeber PONG and how slow that ball seemed to move across the 'court' (even in the faster settings)????

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Hear, hear! We're playing the game for the strategizing and the socializing, not for speed and reflexes. I'll sacrifice the responsiveness for a game with a sense of strategy. Take the extra time to think about your next move, or your next message to another empire, or a trip to the bathroom (hey, you gotta pee).

Which isn't to say I wouldn't love it to be quicker.

Quikngruvn

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Stay alert. Trust no one. Keep your laser handy.
--from the RPG Paranoia, now my PBW mantra

[Alpha Kodiak]

quote:

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Originally posted by Quikngruvn:
Stay alert. Trust no one. Keep your laser handy.

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Be careful or you may be used as reactor shielding!

[DirectorTsaarx]

The long AI turns may not be a processor problem; they may be OS related. I'm running Win 95 on a 233MHz Pentium w/ 64M RAM, and haven't had an AI (that's single AI) take more than a minute per turn. Of course, I usually play with 10-15 "major" AI players (and 3-5 neutrals), so that can lead to a 15 minute wait between each turn.

BTW - I've also run this on an NT 4.0 platform, unknown proc & 114 MB RAM (it's an older system that's using scavenged parts, hence the strange memory size). And, again, no single AI has taken more than a minute or two. Even after they've planted 100 colonies, etc. (I had a game where the lead AI players had scores around 3-5M; but a new patch came out, and I haven't been able to play a game that far since then).

[Quikngruvn]

quote:

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Originally posted by Alpha Kodiak:
Be careful or you may be used as reactor shielding!

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In one game, I practically am! Hence the new mantra.

Quikngruvn

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Stay alert. Trust no one. Keep your laser handy.
--from the RPG Paranoia, now my PBW mantra