R.I.D BASE OF OPERATIONS

OK, I don't know if you all know but the only reason I stopped playing SWG was because of an in-game issue I had which I will describe below. The thing is, after hearing about all the ball ache with Cell, I would like to come back and continue my character (IF IT LETS ME CONTINUE, because I was using the 14 day trial rather than my boxed game). I cannot continue though because of this continuous problem. I would be really appretiative if anyone has an ideas on solutions for this, my only idea on a solution is a new graphics card all together, which as yet I dont have the cash for but starting new job in 3 hours so that might get me a new one in time (only part time job though because I still have A levels to get through). OK well here is the problem...

Once I am in-game on SWG with no problems loading up or anything, I start to go about any business (missioning or shopping etc, it doesen't really matter what it is I'm doing..) the game all of a sudden pauses and I can't move mouse or anything it's just like it has locked up but after about maybe 20 seconds of being paused up it will become playable again. Then after around 10 seconds of playable gaming it will freeze up, again. It continues to do this every time I try playing the game basically, it even affects chat as Mnyak knows lol. This is the reason I left SWG when I played it back in the beginning of RID. I would like to fix this and have a playable game to have fun on . OK, here are some of my computer specs, incase it might help you give your $.02 on the problem.

COMP SPECS

Processor: AMD Duron 1.8GHz (is actually 2.2GHz I just need to change it in bios when I can be arsed lol)

Memory: 768MB DDR

Video/Graphics Card (heres it in full detail): 800 x 600 in 64k colours NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti 4600 ver. 6.14

P.S. I probably have made a post similar to this before but heres a more explanational one and hopefully people will reply with their views on the matter, I appretiate all views and hopefully someone may have a good idea as to the solution, if you need any more details on the problem just ask , thanks in advance everyone!

I really dont know too much about computers, but if anyone here does, be sure to help him out. I wouldn't mind having another crafter in the guild.

Why you want me to restart and be a crafter? I don't mind at all I kinda fancy being a crafter in a way, hehe post a list of what your short of or in need of then ill decide upon something (thats if I get back in-game )

hmmm this is pretty odd...
it looks like ur pc is good enuff to run the game for sure. im only runnin a AthlonXP 1.3Ghz with 512MB DDR and a Radeon9600 128MD vid card.

ok jelakk lets start with the simple stuff.

try running FullScan from the SWG launcher - u may have a corrupt file

try uninstalling SWG and reinstalling (preferably from ur boxed game)

try turning down all the video options in the game (graphics and terrain)

try updating ur video drivers
(*note: ideally u should get ur drivers from the original equipment manufacturer or OEM, this is not nessecarily NVidia but may be creative labs, eForce, PNY or many others. i dont use NVidia anymore but i always just got the drivers from NVidia instead of my OEM)

make sure ur DirectX is up to date

i seem to remember something about SWG needing to run at 1024x768 resolution or higher - might want to look into that.

i would definately correct ur cpu speed in bios

i doubt this oculd be it but check when ur pc boots up thier should be a memory scan, it might be hard to catch it goes pretty fast or check in start/program files/accesories/system tools/system information to make sure ur memory is being acurately read by windows.

two questions for ya
1 how much ram is on ur video card? i think its 128 but im not sure
2 ok when this "freezing" takes place look at the front of ur pc case. near the power light (it should be green when ur pc is on) there should be another light, this ur HD light. this light goes red when ur hard drive is being used. if it goes red alot this may be an indication of a memory problem (ussually it means u need more ram but u have more than me so ...)

ok thats all i can think of atm. if u have any more questions post em here and we will try our best to get u back up and running!

Jelakk, I don't believe it is your video card. I played through Beta 3 and the first six months of the game with a Nvidia ti4200 with 64MB of RAM. Sure, I had all the options turned down, but it was still very playable.

As for the SWG resolution... SWG will not run on a resolution lower than 1024 X 768. SWG doesn't really care if your monitor is set up to run 800 X 600, because the game will run in 1024 X 768. It will automatically change when the game boots, so altering your screen resolution really shouldn't affect your gameplay.

This may seem like a stupid question, but what is your internet connection??? 56K, DSL, Cable, or Satellite. If it is 56K or Satellite, there is your problem. We all know the limits of 56K and Satellite has very limited upstream bandwidth.

Also, how many backgroud programs are you running??? Look down at your Taskbar by the time. How many little icons are there? If there are more than 4 or 5, that might also be your problem. These programs are running in the background and sucking up your memory without you knowing it.

I am going to take a stab in the dark and say you are running Windows XP, if you are I can show an effective way for shutting those background programs down permanently. By shutting these programs down, you can free up a lot of your memory.

Also, when in game in SWG, what options are turned on and what is turned off??? Having shadows turned on will really slow down your peerfromance. If you haven't already, try turning off all options in SWG and see if performance increases. If performance goes up, turn on one option at a time until you find a good balance between performance and quality.

Respond back and let us know more info if you can.

Your friendly architect,
Kurke Aumea

OK, My Internet connection is a 1mb line (Cable) soon to be 2mb so the problem aint there... . My resolution in windows is 1024x768 but my monitor is one of those flat screen things and could it be the refresh rate that causes it? If so, the refresh rate is: 75 Hertz. I dont think it's the video card that isn't good enough I just had a feeling it was at its end and ready to be changed. In my taskbar I usually have MSN Messenger, Firewall and Anti-Virus Auto protect, thats usually it sometimes maybe WinAmp but I know it doesent use up all my CPU, like at the moment just in windows with 6 icons in taskbar it says its using around: 9%. Yes I'm also running Windows XP but I don't think its my CPU usage...

In-Game, I never have the shadows on or anything and usually I have mid way options so like viewing distance mid way and stuff so for wwhat hardware I have it should handle that no problem and when it wasn't locking up, it did handle it fine.

Bizob: I did the memory check and it says:
Total Physical Memory: 768.00MB
Available Physical Memory: 207.94 MB

Also I've corrected my CPU speed now hehe but i know that wasn't the problem as it only changed recently.

Now, the drivers bit might be the problem (maybe...) I aren't too sure where to go to get propper offical drivers so if anyone can help me on this, I'd be grateful.

Re-installing SWG: heh well if I re-install it I wont be able to get in-game anyway, I'll have to pay a £10 fee for a month which is a bit of a ball-ache because if the problem persists then I've wasted a month, is there anyway I can get in touch with SWG to tell them my problem without having to be in-game?

P.S. Once again thanks for all the help I really appretiate it

For Nvidia drivers go to www.nvidia.com.

It still doesn't see, like it would be your video card unless something is seriously wrong with it. And I highly doubt it is your monitor. Do you get this issue with any other games you play? Reinstalling SWG probably won't have much effect if you have already done a full scan. Of course... are you using a downloaded version of SWG or are you using CD's. Installing from the CD's may have some sort of effect, but I doubt it will. As far as background programs, try running SWG with all of them turned off including your virus scanner.

As far as ingame options go, what do your slider bars look like on the Terrain section??? A couple of the settings there can really affect performance.

Also, I would suggest turning on some performance enhacing features from the Options button in the Launchpad. And yes, there is a way to contact Tech Support without having to be ingame. After you have entered your username and password into lauchpad, you are sent to the launch screen that has the Play button and the right side lists the patch notes. In the lower left, there 5 buttons. The bottom one is a Support button. Click it and it will take you to a web page where you can access troubleshooting features.

Your friendly master architect,
Kurke Aumea

I installed it with CD's but I know that re-installing it doesent make a difference as I have done this before. I could try the drivers out etc (oh and it only does it on this game). The thing is though I can't really be bothered to pay £9.50 just to 'see' if my game works. So I'll prob just call it quits and leave it, just got all the morrowinds so I suppose I can have a lil' fun playing them.