AI War on new Baytrail tablets?

[brianc]

Hi guys, I know there is lots of information where people are asking "will this run on a low end pc" and I must admit that on my wife's macbook with a 1.8 gig core 2 duo the game doesn't run as hot as I'd like.  In fact, on my desktop, a Core i3 530, the game slows down significantly towards the end.  I know there is a way to cut unit cap in half and such but I'm so used to the way I play now.  Well, I plan on picking up a baytrail tablet around Christmas time, possible the Asus t100.  I was just hoping that someone using an old Atom netbook or someone who eventually picks up a baytrail device on release can attest to the games performance.  I'm trying to quit smoking and if I could play AI War on break at work I don't think I'd have any problem    Thanks everyone

[Kahuna]

Turn explosions off and most of the lag should be gone.
This is my computer and I can't play with explosions enabled:

Code: [Select]

------------------
System Information
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Time of this report: 9/7/2013, 21:03:37
       Machine name: µBERPWNER-HP
   Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130318-1533)
           Language: Finnish (Regional Setting: Finnish)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
       System Model: HPE-316sc
               BIOS: 05/19/10 14:28:47 Ver: 6.07
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU         650  @ 3.20GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.2GHz
             Memory: 6144MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 6072MB RAM
          Page File: 3059MB used, 9080MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
   User DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
 System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
    DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
     DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
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          Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5570
       Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
          Chip type: AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x68D9)
           DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_68D9&SUBSYS_6870103C&REV_00
     Display Memory: 722 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 2038 MB
      Shared Memory: 2779 MB
       Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: HP vs19
         Monitor Id: HWP264C
        Native Mode: 1280 x 1024(p) (60.020Hz)
        Output Type: HD15
        Driver Name: aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx32,aticfx32,aticfx32,atiumd64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atidxx32,atidxx32,atiumdva,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll
Driver File Version: 8.17.0010.1172 (English)
     Driver Version: 9.12.0.0
        DDI Version: 11
       Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
  Driver Attributes: Final Retail
   Driver Date/Size: 12/19/2012 23:08:04, 1151488 bytes


[keith.lamothe]

On a low-end machine you really will want to use low caps or even ultra-low caps.  You may feel used to normal (I hope not High, goodness that can melt machines) but I don't think it would take very long to get used to something else

There's also the performance profiles you can pick from during the game; going to something that doesn't try to do 50ms frames is a good idea.

[orzelek]

@Kahuna:
Your GPU drivers will be nearing 1 year age soon.. upgrading those could help with graphical lag.

[Draco18s]

On a low-end machine you really will want to use low caps or even ultra-low caps.

I'm already on low-caps and I wouldn't consider my machine low-end at all! D:

[brianc]

Thanks for the advice guys!  I'll give it a go on my current CPU and try to determine if my dreams of having a dedicated AI War tablet can come true this Christmas 

[Tridus]

Honestly I think the bigger concern about AI War on a tablet is the interface, rather than the CPU. I find the game hard to play without both a keyboard and mouse, since I want to do things like group move there's no other good way to do that but hold down G.

Unless you're plugging a keyboard into the tablet, that's going to get tricky to work with.

[brianc]

Yeah, I completely agree.  The T100 which I'm looking at comes with a keyboard though http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424323,00.asp
At the same time, I'm very interested in the new overlay thing they keep showing off for Windows 8.1.  It looks like you can map transparent buttons to the screen for tablet mode and while I know it would be difficult I'm curious as to whether I could get used to it.   

[LordSloth]

At one point in time (not anymore) the 'boost' lines from flagships and the like were a real drag on my system. Not as bad as hosting co-op 8players with incoming waves... but still. Given how I have no idea on the state of tablet graphics, little things like that might be worth turning off as well.

Other than low ship caps, the Devourer golem is great for 'capping' the number of ships in the galaxy. And if you're not playing with Fallen Spire or Spirecraft, you won't be irreparably crippled by inattention and/or untransportable units being eaten.

[JohntheUrsidae]

FWI brianc, I'm pretty sure the T100 has an arm processor, I don't think there would be any way to get AIW to run on that. I have a TF700, and it's arm. So, even if I could get wine going on there I still wouldn't be able to run AIW.

[brianc]

Thanks for the advice LordSloth, I actually have the boost lines turned off on my computer as it made the largest noticeable jump for me.  @John, no, it will run the baytrail quad-core chip (x86) with an hd4000 gpu and come with Windows 8.1 and 2 gigs of ram, and a keyboard dock(!), all for ~$350.  Looking at benchmarks it should only be about 20% slower than my i3 530.