Performance Mod

[Martin Luther]

I have only a 64MB graphics card and on low settings Medival 2 runs like a dream both on the campaign map and "in the field" pitched battles. Smooth, no lag and no delay. But city battles are killing me. Except for the very smallest of settlements the game grinds to a stuttering, unplayable mess. Despite setting the building detail to low they still seem highly detailed (cracked walls, many windows and beams). Perhaps I am being selfish, but what I would like to see is a "polishing" mod that removes bugs (of which there are a few), perhaps balances/tweaks gameplay and reduces textures (or whatever it is) that makes large settlments so laggy. Perhaps removing some houses etc would help. Medival 2 is a great game (I think maybe the best and have been playing since shogun), but at the moment I cant enjoy one of the main aspects of the period - siege warfare.

If I'm the only one with this problem then please ignore this mod idea/request, but if there are others out there with the same problem then perhaps we can find a way to sort it out.

Thanks.

[Arbaces]

Perhaps somebody to make lower lods for buildings (lower quality models). You make me optimistic when you tell it runs good on 64 megs, as I too only have a ****** fx 5200 @ 128 megs. Anyway, in RTW I was often autoresolving city-battles with high command skill generals, I found these quite boring... you say this is a main aspect?? no ****??... I'll test this tomorrow when hopefully I'll get my naughty hands on the game.

Arbaces/

[Martin Luther]

City Battles were boring in rome. In M2 tho there is a good variety of artillery and multiple walls which makes it more interesting. Walls also seem a little more resistant to the lower tech artillery.

[DarK_RTW]

Perhaps those castle textures barely fit into your 64mb of video ram?

[Martin Luther]

Indeed. Couldn't hurt to have the option tho. As I said, if its only me then dont even consider it. I know there is a similar mod for the Eldar Scrolls: Oblivion. It was just an idea. I mean, its gameplay and strategy that counts.

[Nikator]

Hey Luther, I have the same kind of problem... I can run all fieldbattles on high settings, but as soon as it comes to sieges, even with the lowest settings, it is nearly unplayable.

So I too hope that there will be a mod or something that turns the city-graphics down...

[Rammstein]

I have the same Problem I can play everything on high with good fps, but on some siege map when there are many troops or AI bugs it laggs a lot.


I had a AIbug that all enemy siege units run in the wall and i lagged so much that I had 1 fps every 5 sec. i hope the patch comes soon

[Martin Luther]

A "simple" way would perhaps be to alter the tech tree so that the huge cites are disabled, but the buildings that they come with can be built at a lower level (once the other pre-reqs have been built and maybe for a higher cost). That way the only content that would be lost would be the massive walls etc. Possibly removing all the houses would be an option so only the buildings constructed on the campaign map appear.

[Nikator]

Good idea, Luther... but I fear it would look kind of silly without the "normal" houses. My favourite thought is to further downscale the graphics of the city, but I do not know if modders are able to do that.

Furthermore, maybe limiting the size of the surrounding countryside would improve performance, too...

[(insert clever name here)]

@Arbaces.

I have that same graphics card and I can run the game on Medium Effects/Unit Detail/Texture Quality and High Building Detail on Normal Unit Size provided that shadows and grass are off and Vegetation is low.

[Sammyboi]

I'd like to see something happen with this as well, in the same sort of vein as Oblivion's lower polygon grass mod. The only way I can capture large cities is to siege them with a big army but not build any siege equipment, and then wait. Sooner or later the enemy sally out to fight, but because I don't have siege equipment the battle takes place away from the walls (and the lag!). It works, but it means I'm missing out on a big chunk of the game, and I also can't capture cities without dedicating a lot of turns to the siege.

If someone were able to lower the poly count or something on sections of walls, or perhaps get rid of the smoke effects from buildings, then maybe this wouldn't be such a problem.

[Wurfspiess]

Yes please

[george kings]

I have similar problems with a very new ATI 512 mb card P4 3.3 Ghz. 1GB Ram!
Very detailed graphics consume lotta resources and causes performance troubles.
I've experienced mouse freezing twice. Gotta restart mi computer.
A friend who understands these stuffs told me it may be a warming cause. In fact, my computer gets real hot and start lagging. He suggest me to add a couple powerfull couple fans or air extractors.

[Jubala]

More and/or better fans is never a bad idea if you are having overheating problems but suprisingly often all that is really needed is to clean the ones you have. Try to just vacuum clean the interior of your computer first. Just make sure you unplug the power first and preferrably use a plastic vacuum hose so there is no risk of shorting anything out if you happen to touch any components while cleaning. Start with sucking up the large dustbunnies in the case and then carefully place the nozzle of the vacuum over any fans in the case so they start to spin from the draft. That should clean them out nicely. If that doesn't help you can get a can of compressed air and blow your computer clean. This is especially useful to get dustbunnies out of cooler ducts, heatsinks, fans and other hard to get to places. Beware of the resulting dustcloud this is going to stir up though. It can be substantial!!! Best done on the porch, the balcony or by an open window with a fan blowing out the dust as soon as it rises. Usually just using a vacuum can work wonders but if you want it really dustfree compressed air is the way to go.

[CelticPagan]

I have similar problems with a very new ATI 512 mb card P4 3.3 Ghz. 1GB Ram! Very detailed graphics consume lotta resources and causes performance troubles. I've experienced mouse freezing twice.

I thought I was the only one with this issue. Sorry it's happening to you, but also glad to know it's not just me. I'm thinking of getting a water cooling kit to fix this. It is such a pain in the arse when I'm in the middle of combat and it freezes up I've even tried the new ATI driver (release date 11/15) and it hasn't helped, though you may want to try it. Let me know how it works (or not) for you. I only have a P4 3.1 but have 2 GB RAM.

Also, I may upgrade my power supply. The 512 MB ATI cards take a LOT of power. Not sure my PS is up to the task. Might be something you want to check too.

CelticPagan
Awaiting a Mod with the Irish Faction

[King Pie]

I too have found that City battles are a massive system hog, even with a 7800GT and a AMD 3700+ with a GB of RAM... Anyone got any suggestions?

[Pelayo]

I'm surprised you're able to run the game on a 64mb videocard

[shawn2k5]

I have the same specs King and it runs great. Only experience lag when i put the AA above 2x. Run at 1280x1024. Everything is high but textures, vegetation, and grass. Large unit sizes, most battles are at least 800+ units.

I would suggest getting rid of background programs that may be hogging ram or processor speed. Also, as mentioned before, make sure your system is cooled properly. And maybe check for viruses/spyware that may be running constantly in the background.

[Cadmium77]

I honestly don't want to be a jerk here, but if you took the amount of work that'd go into such a mod and just went out and hustled to get the money for a new rig I think you'd be a lot happier...because if you played this game on a new rig, you'd blow your mind...

I'm confident you can do it; where there's a will there's a way.

[AnimePhreak]

I have similar problems with a very new ATI 512 mb card P4 3.3 Ghz. 1GB Ram!
Very detailed graphics consume lotta resources and causes performance troubles.
I've experienced mouse freezing twice. Gotta restart mi computer.
A friend who understands these stuffs told me it may be a warming cause. In fact, my computer gets real hot and start lagging. He suggest me to add a couple powerfull couple fans or air extractors.

Is it the X1600 series from ATI, I bought that too, and the card crashes after 2 or so our of game play, I ending using my cd's as interchangable heatsinks . Anyways, my advice to you would be to refund it, like I did, the X1600 was a big mistake of ATI's part, a rush for a low cost 512mB card = crappy cpu + crappy heating problems.