Alpha Centauri Forums
The Game
I rushed out and bought 2 SMACs and....
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Alpha Centauri Forums
The Game
I rushed out and bought 2 SMACs and....
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| Author | Topic: I rushed out and bought 2 SMACs and.... |
| Silvertine |
posted 02-19-99 09:33 PM ET  
It was a real disappointment! We linked up our pcs over a Lan, and the game was SO SLOW! It bad enough as it is in single player! It takes soooo much longer to play than civ2! I really enjoy it dont get me wrong, but there is a real speed issue here, anyone else find this? I have a P200 w/32ram, and 2mb video mem - adequate wouldnt you think?? Might have to take it back..... |
| Spoe |
posted 02-19-99 09:43 PM ET
Did you install the patch? That has some network refinements, IIRC. |
| Spoe |
posted 02-19-99 09:46 PM ET
Oh, and you might try using the lower res CVRs. That might help speed things as well. |
| Prerogative |
posted 02-19-99 10:04 PM ET
Hmm, hate to point it out but... You only need one CD to run SMAC multiplayer. Besides, TBS isn't designed for multiplayer. I'm taking the multiplayer as more as a novelty, an occasional device of fun, but I doubt I'll play more than a dozen or two mplay games. Singleplayer is what it's all about, for me |
| Roger |
posted 02-19-99 10:38 PM ET
This probably doesn't belong in this particular thread, but here it goes. Everywhere I look I see this Prerogative guy posting replies to peoples honest questions that are annoying and down right rude. Worst of all, he doesn't even bother to answer the question the person is asking. Maybe Hitler was right about eugenics, at least in this guys case..... |
| iratheous |
posted 02-19-99 10:59 PM ET
Perogative is right as far as I am concerned. Personally I like my multiplayer games to either be RTS or FPS. As far as single player goes I prefer TBS. Ther only TBS I really REALLY love in multiplayer is worms2. This is the most fun lan game I have. Most TBS games are just too long and exausting. Also Chess is a fun TBS  |
| Prerogative |
posted 02-19-99 11:08 PM ET
Huh? I don't remember ever doing that, myself. Can I have an example? |
| Roger |
posted 02-20-99 12:54 AM ET
Prerogative, a guy named Hecler D asked if their was a way to turn off Planet because he wanted to try running the game a little easier at first. You turned around and told him "Sorry, Heck-O, but either deal with problems or don't play." Ouch. Why don't you kiss the guy after you.... Then the very next thread I read(this one) I see you basing on someone else because he assumed this game(like many games) needed two CD's to multiplay. Anyway, that the examples you wanted? |
| hcainesjr |
posted 02-20-99 01:44 PM ET
I think one example of needing more than one cd is half-life. I know its a different genre and I haven't played it myself. But my friend wanted to play across his two computers and couldn't do with only one cd. |
| DanS |
posted 02-21-99 12:52 AM ET
Silvertene: I can assure you that Civ II multiplayer takes much longer than SMAC multiplayer (because SMAC has simultaneous move). That's just the drawback of TBS (as Prerogative says--he's just a little gruff, Roger, that's all ).So, three issues: (1) computer speed, (2) multiplayer TBS limitations, and (3) network performance. (1) Spoe addressed computer speed (especially the host speed, so do it first on the host). (2) Prerogative addressed multiplayer TBS limitations. Unfortunately, he's right, although somebody coud come along and create a better way. (3) Network performance--are you losing a lot of packets? Is the network running smoothly? What kind of network are your running? |
| PawtheUnstuk |
posted 02-21-99 04:54 AM ET
Dan, your being VERY hypocritical. And what was that Hitler comment- don't take your bad day out on the forums at large, please. As much as I'd like to play Multiplayer, it just doesn't work. Even the fastest games aren't fast enough, and besides of which, a good game of SMAC takes hours to complete-too long to do in one sitting, at least for me. LamprosWC |
| CaptComal |
posted 02-21-99 10:08 PM ET
Ah ... the joys of Diversity! Some people just love a LONG DRAWN OUT TB Strategy Game! Others consider it too long. In any case ... Bravo to Firaxis for allowing the OPTION to do multiplayer. And a second Bravo for making the Single player really enjoyable as well ... this is the first strategy game where I enjoyed the single player stuff! I have always liked Multiplayer best because real HUMANS are much more unpredictable! |
| tlinna |
posted 02-22-99 03:15 AM ET
Yeah, but the UK-version needs that CD even on full install. I guess you can take it off after starting the game and put it to the next computer and so on. But it's still painful if you got more than two computers in that LAN... Isn't that copy protection enough? I guess this is one of those means to stop european pirating. I didn't see the US-version anywhere here in Finland, so I had to buy the UK-version. Oh well. |
| Ender4000 |
posted 02-22-99 09:15 AM ET
in multiplayer only the host needs a CD. However if its for you and a friend, if you both want to be able to play single player you'll still need 2 CD's. As for it being slow, the patch fixes a lot of the issues, so I'd try the patch. I've had no problems with it but I have a PII 450 so it may just be the extra processor speed saving me. |
| Zoetrope |
posted 02-22-99 09:32 AM ET
I really don't understand this trend of making debilitated versions of software for non-US markets on the pretext that it will inhibit pirates. Firstly, pirates are not inhibited. Secondly, they'll just pirate the US version. Thirdly, even if games go onto DVD by region, that won't work because hardware pirates will pirate the US DVD hardware. It's all just a harebrained scheme to thwart free trade and to spite the honest purchasers. So I think I'll take this to the World Trade Organisation and have every manufacturer and distributor that tries this restrictive trade practice permanently banned from having a trading licence until they stop this nonsense. Motto of the week (quoted from the Australian Constitution): ``Trade between the States shall be absolutely free.'' What are EA and the DVD regionalisation folks going to do when Free Trade becomes International Law in about 2010 or 2020? (The date depends on which country your in.) |
| Utrecht |
posted 02-22-99 11:05 AM ET
Zeotrope, Jeff Morris was saying in another thread that the reason that the anit-piracy stuff is placed into the European code was so that the various vendors would carry it. Apparently, it is not present, no one will sell it. As you said, another resounding blow for world trade. |
| marc420w |
posted 02-22-99 11:33 AM ET
Back to the original question... I'm running on a Cyrix 150 Mhz chip, and I've got the game running pretty well. There's some good advice in the readme file. A key thing to me was to turn off all of the audio-visual add-ons. No Sound, No movies, No music, etc. Another is that there are some options for "Fast-moving" different pieces. Make everything you can be Fast move. There are also some options for turning off the re-centering of the screen for different options. Turn those on...fewer recenters means faster speed. And the previous comment about the Low-Res units also helps out. Hey, personally I love playing these things single-player. But at some point a long drawn-out Multiplayer game looks like it will be a blast. Add human diplamacy and strategy to this and it should be cool. But anyone who goes into it should realize that it will be both slower than single player and very long (if you survive). But the addition of human opponents as opposed to the silly AI should make it worth it. |
| DanS |
posted 02-22-99 12:39 PM ET
PawtheUnstuk: Are you sure you aren't getting the wrong Dan? I've made only one Hitler comment ever in these forums, which doesn't really apply. Waiting for an apology... |
| goldmund |
posted 02-23-99 10:16 PM ET
FYI: http://www.wins.uva.nl/~mes/jargon/g/Godwinslaw.html |
| Roger |
posted 02-25-99 10:59 PM ET
hmmm... well that's an interesting THEORY. I'm sure it applies to some threads, but what about threads about "bad people" or "German history"? I wonder if OJ fits into this catagory, since he is almost as evil as Hitler. Anyways, this thread was close to over with since DanS had pretty much summed up the answers to this thread. All that was required was Prerogatives public apology to DanS, I think. Anyways, next time my grandmother starts going on about the concentration camps, I'll have to think about telling her "Gram, don't mention Hitler or the Nazis because if you do, Godwin's theory says that you lose whatever arguement you had". On second hand, I don't think I'd ever say that to my poor grandmother. |
| bvar |
posted 02-26-99 12:49 AM ET
I did not read all the posts but one suggestion that worked for me: turn off simultaneous moves. Hope this helps. |
| MrSparkle |
posted 02-26-99 02:40 PM ET
Roger, you leave me speechless. OJ is as evil as Hitler OJ- 2 victims, killed in a matter of minutes in a rage. |
| DanS |
posted 02-26-99 03:03 PM ET
Yeh, turning off simultaneous move has been reported as working better, since it the host only has to communicate with the person moving. This sort of seems to defeat the purpose of a network game, though. Please let us know how that works. Did you end up checking your network and lost packets? About PawtheUnstuck. There are a million Dan's out there, so I know there can be some confusion. A simple apology would have sufficed (although to be fair, he might not have checked back on this thread). The only time I mentioned Hitler (besides this thread, of course), was in a WWII thread. Not exactly controversial either. So it's tough for me to know if was trying to soil my reputation on these boards because nobody would bother to check out the WWII thread. I'm sure you all understand why I had to defend myself and ask for an apology. That's pretty funny & sad about Godwin's law... |
| Roger |
posted 02-26-99 04:45 PM ET
MrSparkle, you have misquoted me. Why? Quite unfair. I said "he is almost as evil as Hitler" not "is as evil". For instance, Hitler obviously is a 10 on the evil scale and OJ is an 8 or 9, probably just like Charles Manson. Actually, Hitler himself did not kill anyone, but he did order it (I wonder if that's worse than actually doing it yourself?). Also, why do you insist on referring to Godwin's Theory as a Law? I didn't know it as certain as the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics or Ohm's Law. That is what is required to call some theory a law, the absolute certainty. Anyways, anyone else have any ideas? |
| goldmund |
posted 02-27-99 12:59 AM ET
And now we know, for sure, that you people can not see a joke if it smacked you squarely in the face. Godwin's Law is a "law" like murphy's law, it's a funny bit of hyperbole that is a good way of pointing out the often silly extremes people go to in discussions when making comparisons. You bringing up the scientific distinction between theory and law as a reaction shows a frankly impressive level of humorlessness. (Besides which, your definition of scientific laws is wrong, "law" in science is a best fit for current data. If you start thinking of any scientific "law" as an "absolute certainity" you've crossed the line between science and religion, heading towards the zealots.) Smile sometimes, its a game we're talking about here, and I was trying to lighten up the thread. Laugh. HaHa. See? easy. _Gm
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| DanS |
posted 02-27-99 01:20 AM ET
Goldmund: yes, but the court jester's words are satirical and point out sad truths. Thus 2*funny + .5*sad. |
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