posted 02-15-99 12:43 AM ET        

1)Game crashed after notifying me of the following error "unable to allocate draw buffer" Has occurred once.
2) This may be due to Macaffee Crash Monitor 97 that I have installed on my computer, but for some really REALLY odd reason, I get a message informing me that I have less than 20 megs of memory left on my drive, when in reality I have near a gig remaining - this was a result of a game save, and then occurred repeatedly, until I had to reboot the system entirely.
3)Let me present this situation. At end of turn (with notification turned on), and after going to next turn, a situation occurs that prompts me to reload to the turn before - a few cities have completing their building project that turn, however. So, I receive the first build message, then reload. And I receive the remaining build complete messages at my save game. It's minor, but annoying.
4) Another save/reload annoyance - the alert messages in yellow do not disappear, when a game is reloaded.

I just downloaded the patch - it is described as a beta. Is there in fact a final patch, and is there a readme on what the patch corrects?

Any input appreciated,

posted 02-15-99 01:17 PM ET            

jkm

posted 02-15-99 07:45 PM ET            

1) I believe I was in the base when the draw buffer error popped up.
2) I think the "20 meg" alert may have been a result of the memory leak
that has been mentioned here - is this amended in the patch, or will it be
in a subsequent patch? I also notice, after a few hours, a gradual slowing
down of the game - even in the less graphically cluttered areas.
3) Nope, perhaps I misrepresented. Let me present it again: 1) unit goes
near a probe/pod, let's say it is the last unit that can move this turn,
and I save the game, 2) a base or bases are ready to produce a new
unit/facility/whatever at the beginning of this next turn, 3) I have my
unit grab the probe/pod, and it's something icky, something that I can do
better with, if I reload. Turn ends, next turn begins...

Now... the bases begin alerting me as to what they've just built (can zoom
to base or proceed). I reload, to get back to that data probe (or reattack
that person, link artifact to network node, etc), and am assailed by the
remainder of the build messages from what is essentially the turn that has
not yet happened.

The bases themselves do not display these new facilities, they're still
building them - it's as if a ghost from the previous game needs to play
itself out before things can go normally again. So, it's not prompting me
to reload anything - I myself am reloading. The game is playing build
messages out that occurred prior to my reload/at the beginning of that turn.

4) (Same thing as 3) Also, speaking of save/reloads - when getting the
yellow text message alerts (found sonar pod, etc, from probe pickups, or
weather alerts, etc) they also linger for a couple seconds after reloading
to a previous game. I tried reloading rapidly a few times, getting new
messages as I went along, and they filled up a good portion of the screen.
It's not serious - but these "ghosts" tend to annoy.

Cheers,

posted 02-16-99 09:55 AM ET            

jkm