Elemental Forums
How does the game run on lower end systems? I'm running a MacBook Pro with an NVIDIA GeForce 320M on XP. Are any of you running this setup? Also, how does the game compare to Civ IV in regards to resource usage (not sure if I worded that correctly)?
It runs BAD.
I have a mediocre Intel E6550 with 2 GB RAM and two 8800 GTS in SLI.
Well, I can barely run the game in 1680x1050 with AA turned off, experiencing some framerate drop and heavy loading times.
With AA on, even just at 2X, framerate drops are huge.
Thanks for the feedback, but I'm not exactly sure how your system compares to mine. I do know your resolution is a bit higher than the 1280 x 800 I'm running. Have you tried running Civ IV on your system? If so, how does it run?
It's worth mentioning that stability and how it runs in the beta is not representative of how the release version will be. The goal is for the cloth-map version of the game to be playable on a netbook.
Thanks for the reply! The game looks great, but I don't think I'd like to pay $50 to have to play it exclusively in cloth-map mode. :/
Hmm, I ran it in the regular mode on a two-year-old laptop (running Vista 32) for a few weeks, and I had no trouble with it. It wasn't a gaming laptop, and I don't know its exact specs; it might be somewhat more powerful than your machine. But not light-years more powerful. I may have turned down a couple of graphics options, I don't recall. Now I'm running on a brand-new rig, and performance seems about the same, which might be a good sign for you. I'll be interested to hear what others think.
Well, I have 4 GB of RAM and a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, so it's not exactly a bad machine. At the least, it's leagues better than current netbooks. I'm hoping Elemental runs comparably to Source engine games and Civ IV as I can run both on High settings. 
2.24 GHz Intel Core Duo
Radeon Mobile HD 3400
4 GB RAM
Run the latest beta perfectly fine (except for the memory crashes...) on a full 1600x900 resolution with good (but not awesome) quality settings.
It's running agonizingly slow on my machine as well. All the animations are molasses, and choppy FPS. Nice double wammy. Fun to watch a fire ball take 15 seconds to cross the field. The molasses animations bother me more.
Core 2 @2.23, ATI 3650, 4GB RAM
How much memory does it actually use? I'm only running 2GB on XP...
Well, it's just the beta. I'm sure that if you meet the recommended requirements, your performance will be just fine.
Though I am curious if and when we'll see a netbook-compatible version of the game and what the required specs for that is. I'm considering buying a netbook soon, and I'd definitely be inclined to spend a little more to get Elemental running, even if only in cloth-map mode.
They aim to have it run at pretty low specs (you can see it in the overview section, though not with actual specs listed). The beta performance is patchy as there were some memory issues, now solved for the release which we didn't see, so the beta is no good as a benchmark for you - suggest you post the same question on the release version.
It shouldbe playable on a crappy netbook even, if you are playing on the cloth map. [I am not sure about tactical battles however with regard to hardware lag on a netbook.]
I'd assume you'd have to use auto-resolve, as I don't think there's a cloth-map version of the battlefields.
That's still cool with me, though I'm curious how playing the game with the cloth-map the entire time will feel. In the videos I've seen, the cloth-map isn't very detailed, but maybe because it's only intended to be viewed from far out on a normal computer.
I have an Inspiron with a 2.13 Ghz processor, 4 Gb of RAM, and have Intel integrated video. Resolution is 1360 x 768 and I find it to be a little choppy with everything on high. But dial it down just a bit and it is good. The release should be even better.
That fills me with hope. If you can run it so well with Intel graphics, I should be able to run it rather decently.
There will be a demo version out after release. If you're concerned about it running on your system, best to wait and try that. That demo will be based on release code (rather then slower beta code) so it'll be a good representation.
While I agree with your advice fully (for most people), I unfortunately have the opposite problem.
I'm buying the game for sure- I've got a nice desktop for that. But I'm considering buying a netbook. A ballpark guess of what kind of system you'd need to play clothmap-only may influence that purchase.
I might have a "bad" PC by today's standards, but the game runs fine in 3-D mode both on the map and tactical battles. No lag or slow down and has been relatively stable (especially considering it's a beta)
Specs:
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp.051011-1528)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP Pavilion 061
System Model: ER890AA-ABA a1410n
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.4GHz
Physical Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 1040MB used, 5973MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: GeForce GTS 250
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (70Hz)
Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: SB Live! 24-bit External
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: USB\Vid_041e&Pid_3040&Rev_0100&MI_00
Manufacturer ID: 65535
Product ID: 65535
Driver Name: usbaudio.sys
Provider: Microsoft
Driver Version: 5.01.2600.2180
Driver Date: 8/3/2004 19:07:56
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0
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