Cant play battles on Rome Total War

[redwings123]

Every time I try to play a battle the game crashes to the desktop. I can play campaign mode fine. Here are my computer specs:

System Manufacturer: Compaq Presario 061
System Model: PP195AA-ABA SR1300NX NA510
BIOS: Rev. 3.11
Processor: AMD Sempron(tm) 3000+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.0GHz
Memory: 448MB RAM
Page File: 409MB used, 262MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

Card name: VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP
Manufacturer: VIA/S3G
Chip type: VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_7205&SUBSYS_81181043&REV_01
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Mode: 800 x 600 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: COMPAQ 7500 Color Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1280,1024
Driver Name: vtdisp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.0194 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)

I know the Unichrome isnt a very good graphics card but I was wondering if there is ANY way I could play battles with it?

[Brusilov]

First of all welcome to the forum.

I think that your PC/laptop is a bit underpowered for battles in RTW. It only has 64MB of memory on the integrasted chip(?).

What graphic settings are you trying to use on the battle map (unit size, resolution and other settings)?

Edited: Basically the graphic settings from the following screen (it's from a mod as I don't play vanilla RTW) (from the Options Menu):

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[redwings123]

Ive heard of people playing RTW on some pretty bad computers but I guess mine is the worst of the worst haha. But I use pretty much the lowest settings on everything. Just wondering if there could possibly be any way to play battles? I dont mind sacrificing quality at all.


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[Brusilov]

One thing you may want to try first is to set the strategy map resolution to the same as the battlemap resolution - I was always told that they should be the same.

Try turning down the unit scale to small(?), the terrain detail down as well. That will then really be the lowest settings......

It would be a shame to not be able to fight battles on the battlemap as that's half the game.

[redwings123]

Still doesnt work I guess Ill have to buy a new video card unless there are any more suggestions?

[irishron]

Is it an AGP card?

Edit: I just checked your computer's specs and it is six years old..
You have a AGP slot.
For the price of AGP cards now, I would suggest a full computer upgrade.

[redwings123]

Hahah yeah its an old computer, I just figured I might be able to run RTW on it because RTW is such an old game.

[Brusilov]

Hahah yeah its an old computer, I just figured I might be able to run RTW on it because RTW is such an old game.

Just because it's old does not mean it can play old games.....

I was trying to think what I had six years ago - it was probably a Dell with a ATI X800XT (256MB) card. The card before that was another ATI card , I can't remember which model but it had 128MB on the card. Even wit these cards I could not play with full grpahics.

Good luck with your upgrade or purchase.

[irishron]

If the specs for RTW are the same as M2TW for onboard chips, pre CA, you need 128mb of dedicated/allocated memory. Some have been able to fudge some but not much.