Got a Dual/Quad Core? Here's how to speed up WITP:AE

[USSAmerica]

ORIGINAL: myros

For some reason using the CMD options or even the bat file suggested doesnt work for me. The command box flashes up then vanishes with no game starting. This is on XP home edition (regular 32 bit).

So I went ahead and downloaded that little tool and hacked the original game .exe file. What a difference it makes ... startup took about 2 seconds, compared to about 15 normaly. I guess AE doesnt like to use multiple cores to much.

Nice job on finding this tweek.

myros, I'm seeing the same thing when I try the shortcut with the cmd options. The "hacked" .exe file does work great for me, for both AE and WitP Classic, but I just would feel more comfortable setting the affinity in the shortcut. I'm on XP Pro, 32 bit, with an Intel dual core laptop.

[jazman]

I just tried my script on my laptop at work. It's Windows XP 32-bit (Intel CPU). The /affinity switch doesn't work. It works on XP x64, probably because it shares its codebase with Windows Server 2003, so that affinity stuff is built in to the cmd.exe. Is this /affinity switch available on 32-bit Vista?

So if you have 32-bit AMD, I suggest just setting it in Task Manager manually while the game is starting. It takes all of 20 seconds, and since you're doing it while the game is starting, it's no time wasted. (I don't have a 32-bit Windows XP box with AMD cpu to test this.)

[Zacktar]

Wow! Many thanks for this! [&o]

[pndrev]

A note: You (well, I anyway) don't need the whole C:\Windows....cmd.exe part.

My current shortcut looks like this:

Code: Select all

"F:\WitPAE\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -deepColor -w -r /high /affinity 1
 

And it works perfectly.

I'm still interested if that -dual and the /affinity have any contradictory effects, though.

[jazman]

How come -dual doesn't seem to do anything?

[LarryP]

ORIGINAL: pndrev

My current shortcut looks like this:

Code: Select all

"F:\WitPAE\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -deepColor -w -r /high /affinity 1
 

I used this command and I see roads on the map now? Is that what the -r is for? I see nothing in the manual about this option. [&:]

[uncc]

ORIGINAL: LarryP

ORIGINAL: pndrev

My current shortcut looks like this:

Code: Select all

"F:\WitPAE\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -deepColor -w -r /high /affinity 1
 

I used this command and I see roads on the map now? Is that what the -r is for? I see nothing in the manual about this option. [&:]

-r is covered in the Whats New pdf. (well its mentioned at least...)

[jazman]

ORIGINAL: LarryP

ORIGINAL: pndrev

My current shortcut looks like this:

Code: Select all

"F:\WitPAE\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -deepColor -w -r /high /affinity 1
 

I used this command and I see roads on the map now? Is that what the -r is for? I see nothing in the manual about this option. [&:]

Yes, command line options are in the "What's New" document. And aren't those roads lovely?

[Chad Harrison]

ORIGINAL: jazman

I have a dual-core AMD system, it's WinXP x64.

Once you've seen it go fast, you can never go back. I'll even hold your hand to help you get it working. But you can try out the two approaches already described here: the imagecfg hack (which looks easier), or the batch script I just put up (which may be just as easy, now that I've done it for you). Either one should work for you. My script you may need to modify, as I've stated.

Thanks for the reply and the offer.

Its still sitting on the floor and I dont have time to switch over until I get back from vacation. This will be one of the first things I try to get working at that point.

Thanks again.

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: jazman

How come -dual doesn't seem to do anything?

-dual currently fixes one problem we saw during development. We're working on a fix right now that will add some things to the -dual switch and you won't have to hack the exe with an external utility.

So far we've found two different problems going on, which is why the affinity fix works for some people, but not for all. This isn't unique to AE or even WitP. Lots of programs have had problems with multi-core processors. Most of the problems have been with games, but other programs have been affected too.

These problems don't plague all multi-core machines either. AE runs the same speed on my dual core and single core systems of the same vintage.

Bill

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: pndrev

A note: You (well, I anyway) don't need the whole C:\Windows....cmd.exe part.

My current shortcut looks like this:

Code: Select all

"F:\WitPAE\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -deepColor -w -r /high /affinity 1
 

And it works perfectly.

I'm still interested if that -dual and the /affinity have any contradictory effects, though.

It won't. They do different things at the moment.

Bill

[USSAmerica]

ORIGINAL: pndrev

A note: You (well, I anyway) don't need the whole C:\Windows....cmd.exe part.

My current shortcut looks like this:

Code: Select all

"F:\WitPAE\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -deepColor -w -r /high /affinity 1
 

And it works perfectly.

I'm still interested if that -dual and the /affinity have any contradictory effects, though.

The game works perfectly for you, but if you take a look at the WitP AE.exe process in Task Manager, right click on the process and select Set Affinity, does it show only CPU 0 checked?

I tried adding the /high /affinity 1 parameters to the end of my shortcut, but the .exe process still uses both of my CPUs. For me, that really shows the game down in windowed mode, compared to when I run the "hacked" .exe that I created from the initial poster. That one runs only with CPU 0. I am very happy with that result, but I would be more comfortable if I could get one of the shortcut parameter methods to work, rather than relying on a (probably very reliable) modified .exe. [:)]

Besides, I'm learning a ton by following along with this thread. [8D]

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: pndrev

A note: You (well, I anyway) don't need the whole C:\Windows....cmd.exe part.

My current shortcut looks like this:

Code: Select all

"F:\WitPAE\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -deepColor -w -r /high /affinity 1
 

And it works perfectly.

I'm still interested if that -dual and the /affinity have any contradictory effects, though.

Interestingly, this syntax did not work as well as the other one in my Win 7 64-bit system.
Current shortcut:

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C START "War in the Pacific Admiral Edition" /high /affinity 1 "C:\Matrix Games\War in the Pacific Admiral's Edition\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -wd -deepColor -r

I guess we have to experiment until we find the one that works for each of us.

[pndrev]

ORIGINAL: Kitakami


Interestingly, this syntax did not work as well as the other one in my Win 7 64-bit system.
Current shortcut:

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C START "War in the Pacific Admiral Edition" /high /affinity 1 "C:\Matrix Games\War in the Pacific Admiral's Edition\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -wd -deepColor -r

I guess we have to experiment until we find the one that works for each of us.

Yeah, mine was for Vista 32-bit.

I guess until everyone is on 64-bit systems, Vista or newer, there will be a heck of a lot confusion and testing for game developers everywhere.

[jazman]

ORIGINAL: pndrev

A note: You (well, I anyway) don't need the whole C:\Windows....cmd.exe part.

My current shortcut looks like this:

Code: Select all

"F:\WitPAE\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -dual -deepColor -w -r /high /affinity 1
 

You're passing "/high" and "/affinity 1" as options into "War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" and I don't see how that works to accomplish what we've been discussing. Sure, it runs, but "/high" and "/affinity 1" are options for cmd.exe, not "War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe".

[madgamer2]

you should be able to enable onboard video in the bios which on most new Mobo's will disable the video card. I has been my experience that on board video no matter how good will cause games to run slower but you can try it and see.

Madgamer

[2ndACR]

Okay, so if I have a Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300......what should my target line say on my shortcut?

I have enough computer skill to be very dangerous to my PC, so be gentle.

"C:\Matrix Games\War in the Pacific Admiral's Edition\autorun.exe"

That is what it says right now.......I want to run on all 4 and highest priority setting or realtime (I guess that is the fastest).

Any help will be great.

P.S. I am running Vista 64 bit with a NVIDIA 9800GT

[Reg]

CPU Affinity is built into the latest hot fix (V1.080). Install this hotfix and you do don't need to do anything to get this performance improvement.

Have fun,

[davidjruss]

I tried installing the 1.080 hotfix and in my game I now have graphical glitches where the terrian under a base pop-up box will be picked up and be deposited on the screen when another base is moused over.

I have re-installed another copy of AE without the hotfox as a temporary measure at present. Just hoping techinical can do something.

DavidR

[Erik Rutins]

Post a DxDiag please. Also, are you using any command-line switches? Is this Windowed or Full Screen mode?