Avernum 6: Running slow on Intel GMA-based Macs?

[rampancy]

Is it just me, or does Avernum 6 slow down to a crawl for MacBooks with GMA 950 graphics? I've been playing A6 on a 1.83 Ghz/2 GB RAM Core Duo MacBook with 10.6.2 and a 2 Ghz/3 GB RAM Core 2 Duo MacBook with 10.5.8; on both systems I seem to experience a major slow down in the game after some extended time playing. In some graphically simpler areas with less game sprites or scenery objects, the game seems to return to normal speed, but for the most part, particularly in pitch battles like the Cultists near Almaria, the game practically slowed to a crawl.

 

Curiously, I haven't seen this with GF5 on either Mac...

 

Has anyone else encountered this issue?

 

Edit: I just wanted to also note that I've followed the various steps in the Tech Support/Read Me file, and they've not seemed to have helped much at all.

[Warchief]

Just wondering, are you playing at your computer's native resolution? If so, perhaps try something smaller and see if you notice any difference.

 

On my MBP 2.4Ghz / 8600M I found the performance to be unacceptably slow during battles. I was trying to drive an external display at 1920x1200 (lid closed mode), but switching to 1600x1000 improved things for me. Sure, its not the native resolution but at least it runs more smoothly.

 

I have no experience running on a GMA 950 based system though....

[macdude22]

Hmmm runs splendidly on my 2.26 w/ 9400 but I'll have to fire it up on the wife's 1.83 to see how it runs.

[Spidweb]

What resolution are you trying to run the game at?

 

You say it has slowdowns after some time playing? Is the speed normal at the start? How long is it before things slow down.

 

- Jeff Vogel

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: Spidweb

What resolution are you trying to run the game at?

You say it has slowdowns after some time playing? Is the speed normal at the start? How long is it before things slow down.

- Jeff Vogel

I've been having the same experience with my MacBook. I'm running it at 1280x800 because at the other available resolutions, the edges of some windows are cut off by the edge of the screen. Most of the time it runs okay, although there's some slowdown, especially when fighting in outdoor areas for some reason. After playing for three hours or so, the slowdown will suddenly increase dramatically and the game will virtually grind to a halt over the course of a minute or two.

[rampancy]

Originally Posted By: Thuryl

Originally Posted By: Spidweb

What resolution are you trying to run the game at?

You say it has slowdowns after some time playing? Is the speed normal at the start? How long is it before things slow down.

- Jeff Vogel

I've been having the same experience with my MacBook. I'm running it at 1280x800 because at the other available resolutions, the edges of some windows are cut off by the edge of the screen. Most of the time it runs okay, although there's some slowdown, especially when fighting in outdoor areas for some reason. After playing for three hours or so, the slowdown will suddenly increase dramatically and the game will virtually grind to a halt over the course of a minute or two.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I've been seeing, though it never seems to get to the point where it grinds to a halt; at its worst for me effects for spells like Bolt of Fire and Smite literally crawl across the screen to their targets...I too run A6 at full screen 1280 x 800. The slowdowns start about 2-3 hours into my playtime (and the game speed is perfectly normal at the start), after which overall performance just plummets.

Edit: I should also note that I tried playing in a window at 1024 x 768, and it seems to hold up though.