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Troubleshooting
Are you having performance problems when playing Empire Earth? This troubleshooting guide can help you solve a variety of issues that will improve the game’s performance. You can also find answers to specific troubleshooting questions at Sierra’s support site: http://sierra.custhelp.com/.
(To go directly to Sierra’s answer pages, try this link:
This guide contains information about:
It is possible to experience performance problems in both single player and multiplayer games. Computers with 64, 128, and even 256 Megabytes (MB) of RAM can all experience certain performance issues because they are not necessarily related to the amount of RAM you have. High-end computers with fast CPUs (e.g., 1.0 GHz and higher) and fast Internet connections (e.g., cable modems or DSL) can experience performance issues, as can low-end computers.
Command LagThe definition of “command lag” is when you issue orders to your units and it takes 5 or more seconds for them to respond to your command. This fairly rare problem can occur on some systems, regardless if it is a high-end or low-end system. Try the following to address the issue.
1. Logitech Mouse Drivers Some Logitech Mouse drivers are known to cause command lag. If you are using a Logitech mouse and are experiencing command lag, try replacing the Logitech driver with a standard Windows mouse driver. If you are comfortable updating drivers, you can search Internet for a compatible Microsoft mouse driver and install it. You can also try the following (Windows 98 OS):
1. Right click on the My Computer Icon on your desktop and select Properties from the menu. 2. Select the Device Manager tab and look for Mouse in the list. Click on it. 3. Under that, select your mouse and click the Properties button. 4. Select the Driver tab and click the Update Driver button. 5. Keep hitting the Next > button until you come to the question “What do you want to install?” Then select a compatible Microsoft mouse driver (you may have to click on “One of the other drivers” and click the View List button to find the driver). 6. Click Next > again and follow the on screen instructions to install the driver.
2. Pause and Unpause A temporary work around for command lag during a game is to pause the game and allow it to “catch up.” Press F11 once to display the game clock, which shows the elapsed game time (FYI, the first number is the game speed). Press F3 to pause the game. When the game clock stops, unpause the game. The command lag should now be gone, though it could come back again after a little while.
Tips to Improve Empire Earth’s Performance
You can take the following steps to improve your system’s performance. Remember that pressing F11 once during the game brings up the game clock, and pressing it twice displays the Frames Per Second (FPS) at which the game is currently running – a higher number indicates better performance. Be sure to check the FPS after trying any of these tips to see if it helped. Please remember that the FPS will drop when you have a large number of units in the game, but you can use these tips to make the frame rate drop less.
1. Windows ME – Known Bugs Windows ME has a known memory problem which negatively impacts the performance of EE the longer you play the game. There is no known fix, except to switch to Windows 2000 or Windows XP, but you can alleviate the problem in one of the following ways:
1. One thing that will help is to reboot (restart) your computer after each game. This will free up any memory that was lost when playing the game. Please note that this problem IS NOT fixed if you merely exit to the Windows desktop after each game. You must restart your PC to free up the lost memory. 2. If during a game you experience long command lag, or excessive hard drive activity that results in low frame rates, you can save your game, exit Empire Earth, and restart your computer. Once Windows has restarted, launch Empire Earth and resume your saved game.
2. Turn off your Windows Active Desktop To do this: 1. Right click on the Windows Desktop and select Properties 2. Click the Web tab 3. Uncheck the box that says “View my Active Desktop as a web page” (or alternately “Show Web content on my active desktop”)
3. Change your Windows Cache Size You can change your Windows settings to reduce the maximum size of your Cache. Setting the maximum size of your cache to 20 MB improves performance of Empire Earth.
Instructions for setting your cache to a maximum of 20 MB:
For Windows ME only: 1. Go to your Windows directory and find the file named “Sytem.ini” 2. Open the file in a text editor such as Notepad 3. Search for the section called [vcache] 4. Underneath this heading, add or change the following line to read:
MaxFileCache=20000
5. Save the file and exit 6. Restart your computer
4. Remove all unnecessary programs from your Start Up Menu. It is not uncommon for some computers to load 30 MB or more, of programs into memory when you boot up your computer. Sometimes the manufacturer does this automatically, and you may not even be aware of it. You should remove all unnecessary programs from the Start Up Menu.
Example: A clean install of Windows ME, with no unnecessary programs loaded in the background takes up approx. 60 MB. The more RAM devoted to other programs the slower Empire Earth may run.
Instructions for removing Start Up programs from your start menu: 1. Click the Start button and display the Programs. 2. Look for the folder called “Start Up”. 3. Hover over the Start Up folder to display its contents. 4. Right click on an item you don’t need to have running and select Delete from the menu. 5. Delete any other items from the Start Up list that you don’t need.
More advanced users with Windows 98 can try the following (see your documentation for steps for other operating systems): 1. From the Start menu, click the Run...button. 2. For Windows 98, type “msconfig” (without the quotes) in the Open field. 3. Click on the Start Up tab and uncheck any programs you don’t need starting up. Keep your virus scanner and video card programs. Definitely keep Explorer and SystemTray since without these your computer won’t run! 4. Click OK. You’ll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
5. Change Your Game Settings Of course, you can always lower Empire Earth’s game settings to increase performance. The game won’t look or sound quite as good, but it will play better. Launch the game and click the Game Settings button on the Main Menu:
6. Close All Other Open Programs Close all open applications (e.g., email programs, ICQ, web browsers, etc.) before running Empire Earth. Also close or disable programs running in the background, such as a screensaver or virus checking software.
Some users have reported occasional graphics and sound “skips” when playing Empire Earth. Disabling your virus checking software is a possible solution to this problem and may also improve game performance. Some users report that turning of their virus checking software allowed Empire Earth to run more smoothly. Be sure to enable your virus checking software again once your game is finished.
Technical Issues from the readmeThe following is taken directly from the Empire Earth readme.txt file. In addition to these tips, please be sure to read the readme file, which you can access via the Start menu or find in the directory in which you installed Empire Earth. It contains lots of information about the game that isn’t in the manual.
II. GENERAL TECHNICAL ISSUES ---------------------------- A) Blurry Text in Low Screen Resolutions B) Hosting Games on 'Multihomed' Computers (or computers with more than 1 Network Adapter) C) Trouble Hosting Games (e.g., Behind a Firewall) D) Supported Video Cards E) Modem Disconnects During/After Games F) Specific Issues with Windows XP G) Graphics Issues on Computers with AMD Chips and GeForce Video Cards H) Mouse Seems to Lag or Feels Sluggish I) Voodoo 5500 and Graphics Problems J) Graphic Problems when Pressing Alt-Tab
A) Blurry Text in Low Screen Resolutions ---------------------------------------- In 640 x 480 and 800 x 600, some text can be hard to read if you have chosen to display Large Fonts in Windows. To address this problem, set the font size to Small Fonts (96 dpi) as follows: 1) Launch Display Properties (right click on your Windows desktop and choose Properties from the menu) 2) Select the Settings Tab 3) Select the Advanced button 4) Select the General Tab 5) Under the Display options, ensure the Font Size is set to Small Fonts
B) Hosting Games on 'Multihomed' Computers (or computers with more than 1 Network Adapter) -------------------------------------- If your computer has more than one Network Adapter (e.g., modem, network card, etc.) you may need to specify which one you want Empire Earth to use when you host a multiplayer game. When hosting a game, Empire Earth automatically chooses a Network Adapter to use for the game. If you have more than one Adapter, there is a chance the Adapter chosen will not permit other players to connect to your game (for example, if it is behind a firewall). You can tell Empire Earth which Network Adapter to use on the Game Settings Screen. To do this: 1) From the Main Menu, go to the Game Settings screen 2) Choose the Interface tab 3) Under Network Adapter Options, select the particular Adapter you want to use from the list
C) Trouble Hosting Games (e.g., Behind a Firewall) ----------------------------------- If you receive a message that you cannot host a game, there are 2 reasons this might happen: 1) you are behind a firewall or 2) your Internet address may be obscured because your LAN or ISP is translating your Internet (IP) address.
If you are behind a firewall you can host games as long as the firewall does not obscure your computer's internet address (IP address). Certain firewalls require that specific UDP and TCP ports be open in order to play to Empire Earth games on Sierra.com or directly via IP address. These ports are:
UDP Port: 33334 TCP Port: 33335
Refer to your firewall's documentation if you aren't sure how to open ports or see your Network Administrator if you are behind a company's firewall. If your LAN or ISP is translating your network address: With the growing number of users on the Internet, some ISPs (especially DSL providers) have begun to utilize network address translation (also called NAT) to dynamically allocate their limited number of IP addresses. We are investigating various means of allowing players behind a NAT to host games, but there is no solution at this time. You should still be able to join games hosted by someone else or host a game yourself by giving other players your IP address so that they can connect to your game directly (i.e., Join By IP).
D) Supported Video Cards* ------------------------ Empire Earth supports video cards based on the following 3D chipsets:
nVidia Riva128 (excluding 4MB PCI) nVidia TNT nVidia TNT2 nVidia GeForce 256 nVidia GeForce2 nVidia GeForce3 3dfx Voodoo3 3dfx Voodoo4 3dfx Voodoo5 S3 Savage 4 S3 Savage 2000 Matrox G200 Matrox G400 Matrox G450 ATI Rage Pro (excluding 4MB PCI) ATI Rage 128 ATI Rage Fury MAXX ATI Radeon PowerVR Kyro II PowerVR Kyro Series3 Savage 3D (only with the Beta 6.13.28 drivers, available at http://www.s3graphics.com/)
To ensure that Empire Earth runs properly, make sure you have the most up to date drivers for your video card installed on your computer. Drivers are usually available for download from the video card manufacturer's web site.
Empire Earth also requires DirectX 8.0a or above to run. DirectX 8.0a can be found on the Empire Earth CD, and is available for download at Microsoft's website. http://www.microsoft.com/directx/
* Some chipsets did not yet have drivers available for Windows XP at the time this Readme was written. The Savage3D and Riva 128 cards do not allow Empire Earth to run in Windows XP.
E) Modem Disconnects During/After Games ------------------------ Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) periodically drop connections that seem to be inactive in order to save bandwidth. If you are playing multiplayer games of Empire Earth over a dial-up modem and you are experiencing occasional disconnects, you can try the following to prevent that from happening (this is not recommended for users with minimum systems): 1. Get and install an instant messaging program such as ICQ (from ICQ Inc.) or AIM (from AOL), or get a "keep alive" program such as Keep it Alive. Programs such as these are readily available for download from various web sites. 2. Before you play a multiplayer game of Empire Earth, run the instant messaging or "keep alive" program. Have it running in the background during your game (we recommend closing all other programs). This should keep your Internet connection active.
F) Specific Issues with Windows XP ------------------------ On some video cards, the following problems were noted when playing under the Windows XP Operating System: - AutoSaves can take up to 1 minute - Empire Earth may pause for long periods of time but does not state it is AutoSaving - After a save is complete, up to 20 seconds may elapse before any actions register - Play may seem a little choppy
Note that the AutoSave feature can be turned off in Empire Earth's Game Settings (Interface tab).
The following video cards won't allow Empire Earth to run in Windows XP: - Savage3D - Riva 128
The ATI Rage Pro and the Matrox G200 both exhibited minor graphical problems, but were able to play the game fine. Additionally, some chipsets did not yet have video drivers available for Windows XP at the time this Readme was written.
G) Graphics Issues on Computers with AMD Chips and GeForce Video Cards ------------------------------- On computers with AMD chips (K6-2, K6-3, or 700-1000 Mhz Athlon or Duron processors) AND GeForce video cards, users may experience problems with the graphics on Empire Earth's menus, including possible crashes that require rebooting in order to play Empire Earth. The configuration that can cause these problems is as follows:
- AMD K6-2, K6-3, or 700-1000 Mhz Athlon or Duron processors (Thunderbird is OK), AND - GeForce cards using Nvidia 21.81 drivers (12.41 drivers are OK), AND - Graphics Settings utilizing "Direct3D Hardware TnL"
If your computer has this configuration, there are 2 things you can do to correct the problem:
1) Go back to the Nvidia 12.41 drivers for your GeForce card. This will fix the problem. 2) If you decide to keep the 21.81 drivers, you must disable the Transform and Lighting (TnL) option. Use the "Direct3D" option in the Game Settings in Empire Earth.
Additionally, if you turned on Full Screen Antialiasing for your GeForce video card (through the Advanced options of the Settings for your Display Properties) this could cause abnormalities with the game, including loss of text on buttons and the mouse cursor leaving trails behind it. You should disable Full Screen Antialiasing for your video card (see the manual or instructions for your video card).
H) Mouse Seems to Lag or Feels Sluggish --------------------------------------- If your mouse pointer seems sluggish or slow to respond to movement of the mouse, go to the Game Settings, Video tab, and make sure the Vertical Sync (VSync) option is turned ON (i.e., the box is checked). Having Vertical Sync ON should alleviate the problem.
I) Voodoo 5500 and Graphics Problems ------------------------------------ If you are using a Voodoo 5500 video card in Windows 9x or Me, the graphics can become corrupted in Empire Earth in 32 bit color mode (e.g., 800 x 600 x 32 bit). To fix the problem, select a 16 bit color mode in Empire Earth's Game Settings (e.g., 800 x 600 x 16 bit).
J) Graphic Problems when Pressing Alt-Tab ----------------------------------------- On some computer systems, users might experience graphics problems using Alt-Tab while playing Empire Earth. To correct such problems during a game, try the following: 1) Zoom all the way in using the mouse wheel or bracket key. 2) Press Alt-Tab to go out of the game. Then use Alt-Tab to re-enter the game. This often fixes the problem. |