Geneforge slowdown and lag solved

[TangoBunny]

I recently bought the Geneforge games on Steam, and was really struggling to play through even the first one due to lag and slowdown... by which I mean, the cursor would barely move when text/dialogue/tutorials appeared as an overlay.

 

I'd searched these forums before trying to find a fix, but couldn't find any fixes for the Geneforge games... all the previous threads about the slowdown in Geneforge just had replies saying 'update your videocard drivers' or 'your computer isn't powerful enough', which were... let's say, not helpful.

 

Today though, I stumbled across a fix for a similar issue in one of the Avernum games, which also completely solves the problem in Geneforge! Given how hard it was to find this, I figured that the Geneforge forum itself needs a topic to help out anyone else in my position.

 

The original post is here, but to re-paste for convenience...

 

Originally Posted By: sea

I fixed it.

 

You'll need to download the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7352

 

Launch the 32-bit version, create a new custom database, then a new application fix. Navigate to the affected game executable, select it, and then, on the second page of fixes, look for "ForceDirectDrawEmulation."

 

To make sure the fix stays, right-click the database and select "Install" which will apply the fixes when you launch the game outside the Compatibility Administrator.

 

The process is a bit of a pain, but now the game plays perfectly, and I can go back to having fun once again. <3

 

Edit: Just noticed that after you've been playing for a long time, the lag can start to creep back. As long as you've applied the above fix, just restarting the game will make it run just fine again.

[Darklord]

I to had slowdown issues, this fixed it. I signed up just to say, thanks!

 

I'm surprised the game hasn't been patched with this fix, especially as I have the Steam version.

 

Cheers,

 

Daniel.

[WolfSpider]

Did you have any sound issues prior to this?  Did the ambient sounds or music that loops sound like they were static or were the bird chirping sounds garbled?  I have a little lag, but it is the sound that makes it unbearable to play.  If you did have any sound issues, were they fixed after you did the above steps?  And yes I know this is an old thread, but I am still searching for a solution.  Thank you.

[TheKian]

The problems with Geneforge being slow are typically restricted to the menus and have not been reported to be accompanied by sound problems (nor have they been in my experience). Make sure that your sound drivers are updated. Also, if your computer is especially potato-y, it may just be that you can't run Geneforge well. You can try the solution from this thread, but I doubt it'll affect the sound. Also, the instructions given in this thread are no longer possible to fulfill.

 

You can download a directdraw wrapper from here (obvious warning, external website), extract the contents of the zip into your game folder and change the config file so that DDraw emulation is enabled.

 

Finally, instead of reviving an old thread, it's better if you just make a new thread and if necessary link to the older thread as a reference.

 

 

[alhoon]

3 hours ago, TheKian said:

 Also, if your computer is especially potato-y, it may just be that you can't run Geneforge well. 

 

A computer that can't run Geneforge one? An intel 80486 or something? I can't think of anything else that couldn't run geneforge.