Information about MiniMap repaint issue

from GalCiv2 Forums
So, I have had this problem for some time now.

As soon as I get a certain amount of influence, or a certain number of planets flip over to me, the minimap stops repainting correctly and it eventually turns completely blue.

One game it did not act like that. There was only one thing different that I did that time.

I limited the game to a single CPU.

So in this last game when it started to do it, I saved the game, exited, restarted GalCiv, went into task manager and set affinity to CPU 1. Then I loaded my game and continued.

The problem never resurfaced, and after about 2 hours I won with an influence victory.

So, if the devs take notice, are you guys running dual core Intels?
You say you have not really seen the problem, and it also seems to be related to my dual core processor.
3,856 views 11 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
One other thing that seemed to be related.

Some little time after the minimap stops repainting correctly, the graphs stop working.

This problem also did not occur while I had the affinity set only to CPU 1.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

So, if the devs take notice, are you guys running dual core Intels?

Not me.  I got that once when I was fixing the problem where the ownership stopped painting if you zoomed in, but then I tweaked the code and it stopped happening.  So it may not be an issue in the next version of 1.3.

Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I have not installed the beta, perhaps I should to test for this.

I usually play fully zoomed out most of the time. The problem normally happens just as the window for the flipped planet comes up.

I usually only start out with 8-9 planets and gain the rest through influence and war. I don't think it ever happens when I have fewer than 30 planets, usually somewhere around 35-45.
Then, the blue boundry box paints the entire map blue as it moves around the map.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Sorry Cari, the problem persists with the 1.3 beta.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Moosetek13, I mean the next one that is not currently up yet.

Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hi all...

I actually do get this repainting issue as well, but it didnt start cropping up until the second patch 1.2, and its remained ever since.

I dont have a dual core machine so I dont believe its related to that... more than likely it's a video card or memory issue. I'm using an ATI 9800 series... I've also noticed that this error seems to happen more quickly on gigiantic games and having ships listed in the minimap. Ive played small and medium and large sized maps and rarely get the repaint issue. It seems more frequent to happen on huge and gigantic. Also if ive built the Eyes of the Universe wonder it seems to accelerate this error.

It only starts to happen mid to late in the game when theres 100s to 1000s of ships to redraw.

My guess would be that there is a limit on some video cards on how many threads (in this case moving ships) you can have open at one time in a limited space, that some cards just crap out when having to redraw all of them.

Ive tried disabling the displaying of ships in the mini map, but once the error crops up it wont go away without a game restart and even then it will recrop after about 3-4 turns.

Ive tried upating video and directx drivers even uninstalling and reinstalling the game... my next experiment will be to try this with a different video card.

Regardless since this is really my first post i need to mention this is one of my all time favorites games to come out, so i just wanted to pass my thanks to a group of cool cats getting together to make such a kick a$$ game...

Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I can clear up the problem completely by running the game on a single cpu.

Do you have a hyperthreaded cpu by chance, and is hyperthreading turned on for the game?
If so, maybe you could try turning off the hyperthreading and see if that clears it up for you. There is a line in the Prefs.ini file for that.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hmm i do have a hyperthreaded cpu, and oddly enough i saw that hyperthreading was off when i checked the Prefs.ini

So I tried it with that enabled (just in case) and the game seem to play a lot smoother and faster but i still eventually ran in to the same issue...

Dimes to dollars its my ATI card... lord knows that its failed me in some way on almost every grfx intensive game i've purchased since it got it...oops strike that from the record your honor... i wasnt trying to bash ATI publically   
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Same problem here as well, its always after I have enough influance to have planets convert to my side. I also have a hyperthreaded CPU however, on either setting this makes no differance. Deinatly not just an ATI issue either, I'm running a Nvidia 7800 with the latest drivers, on a SB Audigy with an Intel 3.2 processor. Hope this helps, Great game by the way, I just hope a resolution can be found soon.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I am running a Geforce 6800 GS, so it is not an ATI problem.

The problem persists with 1.3 beta 3 as well. And on my first game on that version it happened quite a bit sooner than usual.

But, if I Alt-tab to the desktop after I start GalCiv before I am reloading a saved game or starting a new one, and restrict the game to a single cpu core, the problem never arises. Even in a game that just did it, if I save and exit, then reload with a single cpu, the problem does not resurface. But if I save and exit, then reload with both cpu's, the problem will come up sooner or later again. Usually within 10 turns or so.

And yes, it does seemt to be tied in with influence.