game slowdown.

[bishopwondai]

is it normal to have the game stutter and take 10 times as long to have 1 second tick down when you get attacked by say 5k to one planet? I love ai war but as with dwarf fortress if the epic battles are just going to move like slugs I lose the will to play.

if so what steps can I do to keep the game speed up, both multi and solo.

[x4000]

It depends on your CPU.  If you don't have a really modern CPU, then yes that is somewhat normal -- 5k ships in one battle is absolutely enormous.

From here: http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,74.0.html

Dealing with a graphics card or CPU bottleneck (Performance Profiles)
The game automatically responds by giving you a lower framerate when your performance of your CPU and GPU isn't keeping up.  However, in some cases this still isn't enough.  In the Scores tab of the Stats profile, you'll find a Current Performance Profile setting that you can set to a lower value.  Simply choose a lower profile setting and choose Apply.

If that works, you'll see your Game Speed value increase within a few seconds.  If it doesn't, you may need to go even further.  Assuming that the CPU/GPU load is temporary, you can later switch the game back to a higher performance profile.  Bear in mind that the performance profile is global for all players in multiplayer (this is required so that the game remains in sync).

Dealing with a CPU bottleneck if the Performance Profiles don't completely help
If the CPU is your limiting factor, then that probably means that your simulation is just too complex for the CPU you have.  We've optimized the heck out of this game in all respects, but it's still quite a complex simulation even so. Here are some things that might help:

1. Play on smaller maps -- the more planets there are at once, the more complex the simulation.

2. Use lower ship caps: the default is Normal, but Low is also available.  Only very powerful machines can handle High.

3. Try not to bunch up too many ships on any one planet.  Having 3,000 or fewer ships on any given planet is probably ideal if your computer is below the system requirements.

4. Try not to have too many large-scale attacks on AI planets at once if you are below the system requirements, since this can also cause slowdown in some cases.

Other things that help a little, but not a huge amount in most cases (only try these if you're playing on a netbook or something and everything is already floored and you're still having trouble):

L1. Avoid playing against Mine Enthusiasts, or especially the Special Forces Captains if the simulation is becoming an issue.  This doesn't make a huge difference, but can help some.

L2. Play with lower AI difficulty levels, but with perhaps HARDER AI styles if the challenge is not enough.  More difficult AIs have more ships, which can increase the simulation complexity.

In general, all of the above should really only be an issue when you are playing with a machine that is below the minimum system requirements.  If the host has a dual-core machine that is at least 2.4Ghz, and all the clients have single core machines that are at least 2.4Ghz, you shouldn't be seeing CPU bottlenecks unless you have 8 players on a 120 planet map against extremely difficult AIs, etc.

If your computer is borderline where it can handle the normal game fine but really suffers in the major battles, then the performance profile is your friend -- you can turn that down during the largest battles to keep the game speed up, but the graphics just get jerky.  And then when the battle is over, go back up to a normal performance profile.  Performance has been a huge focus for us across the board for the last year or so (well, really, throughout the whole life of AI War), so with most machines you should be able to get it really going well unless your particular scenario is insane.  And we really recommend against playing with high ship caps unless you're running a really beastly CPU in general -- normal should do fine on most hardware.

Hope that helps!

[bishopwondai]

I have an i7 940 2.64 at the moment,
this was on a 4 player 40 planet map
also I have had the game slow down on a 2 player 60 min defence.
so any other tips?

[x4000]

Have you tried the performance profiles?

And in terms of the map size, that's not really the factor if you're having slowdown during battles -- it's the CPU.  Or, somebody's CPU.  Check out the thread I linked to above, as it has methods for determining if you have a graphics, network, or CPU bottleneck, and who it is that is having the problem if there is a problem.  The game only runs as fast as the weakest computer can run it, since they all have to run it simultaneously, so it's entirely possible that it's not you with the problem.