Lag/freeze when a ship is destroyed

from GalCiv2 Forums
I recently aquired this game, and I am really enjoying myself. However, even though the patch eliminated what few issues I had with random crashed, one small problem remains.

Whenever a ship is destroyed in combat, whether it is in the battle view or on the strategic map, the game freezes for just a second or so, right in the middle of the explosion. This isn't such a big problem, but it is quite annoying especially as it really ruins the visual experience of the battle view when the game halts every time a ship is destroyed.

As far as I can tell it does not seem to be a graphics issue, as the problem persists regardless of my video settings, and my specifications are above recommended. During the short freeze, I can hear my harddrive working as if it was writing something to the disc.

Any help with this little problem would be most appreciated, thank you.
5,127 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It sounds like you don't have enough RAM. The hardrive whirring is likely use of virtual memory (i.e. using your harddrive to make up for the lack of RAM).
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yes, I have considered that too. However, this doesn't seem to be the case, as the recommended amount of RAM to run the game is 128MB, and I have 256MB. With twice the recommended amount of RAM, it shouldn't really be an issue, I think.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Check your page file size, if it is too big windows gets lazy and uses vm instead. It should be capped at 384 for your system. you may need a defrag- or make sure other apps you do not need are not running in the background.

Just my 2 cents
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well depends on your system, and the minimum specs is just to get the game to run. For extra gfx features to run smoothly, you naturally would need alot better than the bare minimum. Posting your debug.err would help us figure out if there is something you're overlooking. Honestly it is probably the low ram, and/or an old gfx card/drivers.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks, I'll try out your suggestions.

I see now that I made an error in my previous post, the minimum RAM is in fact 128MB, while the recommended is 256MB. I have 512MB RAM, so I must've gotten the numbers all confused when I wrote them down, sorry about that. Still, I think four times the minimum RAM and twice the recommended RAM should be enough to avoid such problems. The gfx card/drivers shouldn't be it either, as I'm running with the latest drivers available as far as I know, and haven't had any problems with a lot more graphics intensive new games.

Has no one else experienced these problems?
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Check your video, sound, and mobo driver versions. It sounds to me like your sound or graphic card is choking on the explosion animation for some reason. Unless your page file and virtulal memory settings are jacked, as was mentioned.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Frankly, I wouldn't think the explosion itself causes the problem. The game handles all other graphics including the battles flawlessly, and the very tiny explosion of destroying a fleet on the strategic map couldn't possibly put such a strain on the graphics.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I have 512 MB of RAM and my page file is set to 1.5 GB. I still get that problem, though I've gotten used to it and pretty much just ignore it, now.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
What operating system are you running? If it is XP and you only have 512 MB, you really are running into the RAM limit. I tried this on my 512 MB XP system and the RAM usage for a mid-game large map was about 98% and the hard drive was being hit in battles like yours. On my 1 GB sytem that is configured almost the same, it doesn't.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Honestly, without posting your debug.err info, there's not much we can do for you except type and jog our memories. Please post it just on the off chance there is something obvious that has been over looked.