Dawn of War Winter Assault performance issue question

[NightSky 421]

Very sorry for the cross-post, but I was wondering if anyone else has
experienced the same as me...a number of months ago, I bought Dawn of War
(and patched it to version 1.20) and it ran great without any trouble on my
hardware (P4 2.8GHz, 1GB RAM, Audigy 2 ZS Platinum and Radeon 9800 Pro
128MB). On the weekend, I bought the Winter Assault expansion pack, which
forces you to update the original game to version 1.40. That's fine, but
I've noticed that I'm having some performance issues with the game now.
Specifically, the graphics are stuttering during gameplay to the point where
the game really isn't enjoyable. I've tried it with both the Catalyst 5.7
and 5.9 drivers from ATI with the same result. I've noticed that new
graphics options have been introduced to the game since version 1.20 and was
wondering if maybe I really need to hack down the graphics, or if maybe this
could be a driver issue affecting some users? Thanks!

 

[maltekutter]

Please follow the link to the officical Relic forum here:
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=71129

Kind Regards

Malte

 

[DocScorpio]

Very sorry for the cross-post, but I was wondering if anyone else has
experienced the same as me...a number of months ago, I bought Dawn of War
(and patched it to version 1.20) and it ran great without any trouble on
my hardware (P4 2.8GHz, 1GB RAM, Audigy 2 ZS Platinum and Radeon 9800 Pro
128MB). On the weekend, I bought the Winter Assault expansion pack, which
forces you to update the original game to version 1.40. That's fine, but
I've noticed that I'm having some performance issues with the game now.
Specifically, the graphics are stuttering during gameplay to the point
where the game really isn't enjoyable. I've tried it with both the
Catalyst 5.7 and 5.9 drivers from ATI with the same result. I've noticed
that new graphics options have been introduced to the game since version
1.20 and was wondering if maybe I really need to hack down the graphics,
or if maybe this could be a driver issue affecting some users? Thanks!

I've noticed no change in performance (running everything maxed). Like
yourself, I upgraded from 1.2 to 1.4, then installed WA. AFAICT, the
graphics are exactly the same so I don't know why WA would give you a
performance hit. (Running it on a P4 3.4, 1 gig RAM, Audigy, GF 6800 GTO.)
Take the other posters advice and visit the Relic trouble forum.

 

[hbs]

This was reported by more people. Seems to be a driver issue in
combination with WA optimizations. Try
older Catalyst like 5.6. I'm still using 4.12 and have no problems.
( X800pro ).

 

[NightSky 421]

Thanks for the feedback thus far...I see that other people are having issues
with this game. Too bad since it was really becoming a favorite of mine,
but I will stick it out and see if any driver updates and/or patches fix the
problem. Lowering the graphics detail didn't help my situation either, BTW.
A buddy of mine implied that maybe my video card was too slow for the game,
but I had trouble buying that explanation since the game was running great
before, and also since my 9800 Pro is well above the recommended spec.

 

[john graesser]

Thanks for the feedback thus far...I see that other people are having issues
with this game. Too bad since it was really becoming a favorite of mine,
but I will stick it out and see if any driver updates and/or patches fix the
problem. Lowering the graphics detail didn't help my situation either, BTW.
A buddy of mine implied that maybe my video card was too slow for the game,
but I had trouble buying that explanation since the game was running great
before, and also since my 9800 Pro is well above the recommended spec.

I don't know about winter assault, or the 1.4 patch, but here DOW 1.2 runs
acceptably on a p3-500 with an ATI 9200 AIW. That system is well below spec
and it runs ok.

Since turning off the visual chrome didn't fix it, it, it could be your
sound card, a lot of games will stutter when the sound card hogs the bus. EA
games especially seem to be written so that they emphasize the sound more
than needed.

I can't even get mine patched from 1.2 to 1.3, 1.4 gigs free on the system
drive and 1.2 gigs free on the install drive and I still can't install the
44 meg patch since it hangs on a not enough space free error. Poorly written
software seems to be a hallmark of EA.

 

[NightSky 421]

I don't know about winter assault, or the 1.4 patch, but here DOW 1.2 runs
acceptably on a p3-500 with an ATI 9200 AIW. That system is well below
spec
and it runs ok.

That's pretty impressive, I must say!

Since turning off the visual chrome didn't fix it, it, it could be your
sound card, a lot of games will stutter when the sound card hogs the bus.
EA
games especially seem to be written so that they emphasize the sound more
than needed.

I thought this game was from THQ? Well, no matter, I should mention that I
have the latest officially released drivers from Creative Labs for my card
(even if they are over a year old!) I was hoping those drivers they've had
in beta for a while now would go final, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[john graesser]

That's pretty impressive, I must say!




I thought this game was from THQ? Well, no matter, I should mention that I
have the latest officially released drivers from Creative Labs for my card
(even if they are over a year old!) I was hoping those drivers they've had
in beta for a while now would go final, but it hasn't happened yet.

Sure enough it is from THQ, it just has the same sort of crappy interface
that EA games end up with. That stupid music playing while trying to update
to 1.3 had me convinced that EA had a hand in it.

If designers only took a look at the user interface that Cavedog did with
TA, that was a user friendly game. I'd love to see a modding community for
DOW like that of TA that could add the Tyranid army etc instead of waiting
for the 21st expansion for DOW to see all of the 40K armies and units.

Just think what the game would be like with a titan or two added. They would
add a whole different feel for the game when they were on the map.

Do the Imperial Guard in winter assault have their moles for underground
transport? I know there was somthing similar in C&C Tiberian Sun but I
always thought that if there was a 40K game they would get it right, so now
that we have a 40K game, I wonder if they included it.

 

[DocScorpio]

[snip]
If designers only took a look at the user interface that Cavedog did with
TA, that was a user friendly game. I'd love to see a modding community for
DOW like that of TA that could add the Tyranid army etc instead of waiting
for the 21st expansion for DOW to see all of the 40K armies and units.

Just think what the game would be like with a titan or two added. They
would
add a whole different feel for the game when they were on the map.

Do the Imperial Guard in winter assault have their moles for underground
transport? I know there was somthing similar in C&C Tiberian Sun but I
always thought that if there was a 40K game they would get it right, so
now
that we have a 40K game, I wonder if they included it.

Yes, the IG have tunnels (tho' it's more like teleporting). You can move
several IG units into a base structure then transfer those units to another
structure (with a slight, built-in delay) clear across the map. Very
useful.

As for facilitating new player-built armies....why would they want to do
that? Much more profitable to sell them in expansions. I don't think
they'll be more than one more expansion (given that they come out a year
apart)...and maybe not even that. However, DOW players did produce some
really decent mods, i.e., Daemonhunters. If they continue to do so, maybe
DOW will chug on for a few years (after THQ and the industry in general
moves on to the "Next Big Thing").

Without giving anything away, I will say that I don't care for the structure
of the WA campaign. Of course, after I finish it, I'll never replay it so
it doesn't really matter much.

 

[NightSky 421]

In case anyone cares...just a follow-up to say that I have done a bit of
troubleshooting on this issue. I did a fresh format and re-install of
Windows XP Pro SP2 on my system. The only thing different about the
installation is that my motherboard chipset drivers are a month newer (I
have an 865PE-based board), and my mouse drivers are one version newer than
before. Of course, this was also an opportunity to try the game with a
totally fresh install without any clutter.

For the first time ever, I downloaded and tried out the Omega drivers. I
downloaded the latest set from his site last night. I've been wanting to
try these drivers out anyway since a lot of people here praise them. The
installation was a bit odd since it asked me to install some stuff twice,
but it went well. I then installed the original Dawn of War game and
patched it to version 1.20. I ran the game and it ran well. No stuttering
of any sort. I then installed Winter Assault. Of course, Winter Assault
first patches the original game to version 1.40 before installing. But that
went well and the game also runs great! No stuttering at all in the two
skirmish games I played.

I then formatted my drive and restored my Ghost image. This time I tried
the ATI Catalyst 5.9 drivers and re-installed the game as before. Well, the
stuttering issue came back, and it didn't take long for it to happen either.
Soon, the game was pretty much unplayable.

So chalk one up for the Omega drivers. Though I hope that ATI can sort
their own drivers out for this game on my system, I must say my initial
experience with the Omega drivers was very nice.