New Player, have Vista

[MaxWilson]

Dominions3 didn't run for me on my Vista laptop the first time I tried it (December or so). Last month I tried it again and it did--I'm guessing that my laptop manufacturer fixed some problems in its graphics drivers in the interim. So basically, I'd recommend trying to update your drivers and if that doesn't work, Dominions probably won't run on your machine (yet).

It may also be worth trying to run with the minimal graphics "-x" command-line switch.

-Max

[jfp3]

Thanks I just checked for drivers, already have latest (ATI Redeon Xpress 1150), it is a laptop, dual core.

I can run plenty of games on it with no problems. Most recent is "Sins of a Solar Empire", and have been running EVE at about 80% of graphic capacity.

Will try a few other tweaks after work.

Hope to bang heads in a game with some of you gents in the near future. Been waiting to buy Dom3 since I tried the Demo last Xmas.

Any other ideas are most welcome.

[atul]

I believe ATI Radeons on laptops at least used to have problems with OpenGL that Dominions series use. Dunno if they fixed the problem during the past few years I've been off the infernal Radeon/laptop combo.

[jfp3]

Ok, I fired up Dom3 in native Vista mode...but with an external monitor as "main" monitor -- And the game is running just fine. Phew.

Well gents, thanks for the help. This makes me feel good about the community already.

Looking forward to meeting some of you in Multiplay in the very near future. Just gotta do the Tutorial again, and then daaaayum....one of those huge maps. I had no idea this was going to be so awesomely huge in scope.

Right now I MUST play the tutorial and not get into the forum for the next couple of hours..but can anyone give me a heads-up as to which mods/maps are considered the best at this point?

Thanks much again, and will be seeing you in the threads~~~

[MaxWilson]

Welcome to the community. I don't play MP but I'm sure you will have a lot of fun destroying other community members. I really like Glory of the Gods (multiplayer, 224-province version) but lately I've become a fan of the wraparound maps. I also like the United States map here (at the bottom of the page).

No real opinion on the mods, although I had fun with Mythology (more pretenders) and have heard good things about Worthy Heroes (more nations get worthwhile heroes). Conceptual Balance Mod has a good rep among MPers. Mostly I mod my own stuff as I feel like it (I think the Wyrm should have recuperation/healing as well as regen, for instance, and my Vampire Queen is ethereal). I keep a "houseRules.dm" that is always included, so that if I need to make a fix to a game in play (e.g. turning off independents) I can do so without restarting the game.

I do recommend Edi's "Better Independents" mod, since armies of national troops are more thematic in my mind than hordes of generic independents that you sometimes see otherwise. (I hate it when Yomi or Niefelheim invades me with... 300 Light Cavalry. Where are the demons and giants?)

Mostly, though, I would recommend playing vanilla until you feel like you need mods.

-Max