Why is EB running slower than RTW?

[CIaagent11]

I have no problem playing Rome vanilla, RTR, RoP, RM and SPQR, with fine performance.
But I really like EB, so why is it running so much slower?

Its not even in battles. They are fine. Its on the strategy map, and even in the menu.
Why would the game be slower in the menu than in battles?

Are there so many background scripts running?
This is really strange...

[thelord]

its because the EB scripts are about 10 times bigger that vanilla.

[CIaagent11]

its because the EB scripts are about 10 times bigger that vanilla.

Thanks for your fast reply.

So it's entirely a RAM question?

It's even in the menu, before I start the script.
Well, I guess there are a bunch of other scripts starting with the game, thats why it takes so long to start up. Is that right?

Can I turn them off somehow of switch back to vanilla scripts, so I still
can enjoy the cool units?

[MuffinBear]

The map was slow/choppy for me at first but I turned off the "shadows" in the options and that fixed it for me.

[King Arthur]

So it's entirely a RAM question?

RAM will play a big factor in EB performance. How much RAM do you have installed on your PC? Have you tried to increase your Virtual Memory or Page File?

As EB is such a vast game it pushes 'older' machines to the limit. I had similar issues to you on the following system:

Compaq Pressario
Pentium4 2.8Ghz Processor
Nvidia GeForce 6200 256MB Graphic Card
512MB RAM
Windows XP

My Motherboard recently packed in after 4 years of excellent service so I upgraded to the following:

Gigabyte S-series GA-945GCMX-S2 Motherboard
Pentium 1.86Ghz Core 2 Duo Processors (equal to a single 3.72Ghz Processor)
2 Gig RAM
Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT 256MB Graphics Card
Windows XP

EB nows operates at 'lightning' pace! There is no 'lag' on the strat map it scrolls across the screen exceptionally fast. Load time between turns has dropped from 3-5 mins to 30 seconds, load and save times are now mere seconds. All the settings are at Max and the game runs a treat!

The 2 main factors to a slow EB are your processor and RAM - upgrade these and you will seriously notice the difference.

[CIaagent11]

I have 502 MB RAM on Win XP. (And 1.86 GHz.)
What should I set my virtual memory to (min and max)?

[Teodosio]

I have 502 MB RAM on Win XP. (And 1.86 GHz.)
What should I set my virtual memory to (min and max)?

I would suggest a fixed size swap file, something between 1.5 and 2 GB. Best if in a dedicated partition.

[King Arthur]

I have 502 MB RAM on Win XP. (And 1.86 GHz.)
What should I set my virtual memory to (min and max)?

Well my friend, I think here lies the problem - a single processor running at 1.86 GHz will struggle with EB. Also 502MB of RAM is probably not enough. How old is your machine? I would look at upgrading to a Duo Processor (check if your Motherboard is compatible first) and adding another 512MB of RAM at least. Check which type of RAM you need as some Motherboards use 'DIMM' which means you will need the same size RAM card per slot so X2 512MB or X2 1GIG etc

It all depends on budget really. My recent upgrade was £109.00 for the Core Duo Processor and a further £39.98 for X2 1GIG RAM.

If you decide to upgrade you processor make sure you get one with a decent Cache size - this help immensely with Virtual Memory and EB in general!!!

Hope this helps.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Everything is maxed out. Scripts are bigger, yeah, but every file is enormously bigger - unit description text files are massive, building description files are gigantic. The building code file itself with the incredibly complex unit recruitment code absolutely dwarfs the vanilla version. It's like it's not even the same game. Tons more textures, tons more traits, a larger map, maxed out province/city numbers, maxed out model and unit space, maxed out building trees. Of course it's going to run a lot slower.

[I Am Herenow]

Is it technically possible to get EB running at Vanilla speeds (e.g. with 3GHz processor and 4GB RAM)?

[QuintusSertorius]

I've got a shuttle PC with an AMD Sempron 2800+ (roughly 1.6GHz), 2GB of RAM and a Radeon 1650 graphics card running on XP. My processor is the weak link there; is there likely to be long waiting times between turns?

[mcantu]

I've got a shuttle PC with an AMD Sempron 2800+ (roughly 1.6GHz), 2GB of RAM and a Radeon 1650 graphics card running on XP. My processor is the weak link there; is there likely to be long waiting times between turns?

If turn times are that much of a concern, d/l the No Client Ruler script mod. It reduced my turns to 30-40 seconds vs 1:30 for the normal script.

[Arn_de_Gothia]

Where can this mod be downloaded?

[QuintusSertorius]

Mine's been alright, actually. I quite appreciate the break opportunity between turns, makes me get up and do stuff more than I would normally at the computer. It's only about a minute and a half or two minutes.

[Papal_Knight]

Mine's been alright, actually. I quite appreciate the break opportunity between turns, makes me get up and do stuff more than I would normally at the computer. It's only about a minute and a half or two minutes.

same here. it's a great time to hit the bathroom and get a beer!

[QuintusSertorius]

Yep, toilet, food, remind the wife that I'm still here, put some washing on, whatever.

[Boz]

In my case, I've got 3.4 ghz & 512 Ram. The thing that I have to do is ctrl + alt + del and close ALL processes except the system ones and the antivirus, till the PF is only 190 mb. I also minimize the game, never close it, to charge the game I lose 10 minutes or so. Then is playable with some patience. If I dont do this, the game is practicly unplayable, each turn 2 or 3 minutes.

Another thing that slows up the game, is that Auto-resolve is totally useless. With average of 25 - 1 I still get to much losses on my units, so I have played 3d all the battles since I started the campaign, and some of them are ridicolous, like a whole army vs a medium phallanx.

[QuintusSertorius]

I never auto-resolve, it massively overstates the effect of command stars and multiple hit points.

[The White Knight]

I wonder, is MIITW more capable at handling the large files (scripts etc ) of EB?