Performance Issues on modern PC

[Joni Poni]

I am running the game on a PC with a Ryzen 9 5900x CPU a RTX 3080 and 32 Gigs of RAM. I play on max settings. On the map (I mean the part of the game that is not in combat) I noticed that my FPS drop to under 30 often. I even get an hourglass for the cursor sometimes and the game get's unresponsive.
It's still playable for me, and I enjoy it, but originally I wanted to get the DLCs too (because I loved playing the Necromancer in HOMM 3) but honestly this turns me off.

[Iguana-on-a-stick]

I never paid attention to fps in this game, but when you say "becomes unresponsive" are you playing on large maps, in the late game, with simultaneous turns?

Because if so, the unresponsiveness may be a consequence of game mechanics rather than a performance issue.

In simultaneous turn mode, all players can give orders at the same time, but the game executes them sequentially. They get put in a queue. So if there's 7 AIs and you all moving at the same time, you have to wait until all 8 units are done moving before your next order can be processed. If you try you get the hourglass cursor.

This counts for all things that affect gameplay: moving units, building units, setting research, spending levelup points.

It means that at the start of the turn, late-game maps can become quite slow until the AI is done with their turn. (Disabling the move animation helps speed it up a bit.)

What I do is either play in classic turn mode, or wait a minute at the start of the turn until some of the AIs are done and then it plays smoothly again. Classic turn mode can result in long wait times in between turns for the same reason, though.

[Joni Poni]

Thank you for your reply. I play on the map "the Caldera Games" which is big, with 7 AIs (2 are dead now, hehe). Since I do not wait when I press on the next turn button (and it is the default option) I think I am playing with simultaneous turns. So this may very well be the cause of the unresponsiveness. Thank you for the clarification.
I mean, it is not that bad, and as you said, the FPS are not affecting the game play much in this game. Still not so nice that a game from 2014 does run that bad on a modern PC.

[Iguana-on-a-stick]

Problem is that older games are not designed for modern hardware. So many older games can't use modern multi-core processors, AoW3 can't use all the memory your PC has because it's a 32 bits application.

So sometimes games DO run slower on modern hardware, because they were optimised for older hardware and they can't use the fancy new tricks you have.

[Exodus]

This is a common complaint of the series. I think, like myself, you like high and consistent FPS numbers in your strategy games. I regret to tell you that this isn't something you're like to find the AoW series. Great games, but maybe not as optimized as some would like.

Both AoW2, and AoW: Planetfall, aren't known for having great FPS even on great systems. I recently got a highend Alienware, thinking I'd be rocking awesome FPS on this older game. Turns out, the problem wasn't the rig.

There are some things you can do. For nVidia systems, use Control Panel and set the 3d defaults to "Performance" rather than "Quality". Also, if you're okay with some tinkering, in Control Panel, turn the Anti-Aliasing from Application Controlled, to "Override", and do your own Anti-Aliasing solution (I find AoW3's AA to be both resource intensive and distracting).

I hope this helps. Sorry there isn't a "unicorn" solution.

[Joni Poni]

Thank you for your answer! I will try some of this!

[jaersavo]

At the right bottom of your screen you can see one shield (grey if not met yet) for each player. You can see wether they have finished their turn or not. Normally you have a lag when you try to move units while the other players are still active and also moving units.

[CrUsHeR]

I also had a lot of performance issues when first trying to run AOW3 in 4K on a new, really expensive PC and Windows 11

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967765663

^ runs great now with these settings

IIRC it was mainly the borderless windowed mode causing choppy performance, like everytime the camera zoomed in on units during battles. Probably also the "wait for GPU" function.

[CyberTiger]

OK this post is a couple weeks old but I'll just add my 2c worth: As for 32 bit application I don't think it makes any difference with this game. I added the Large-Address-Aware header to the exe months ago. Current RAM allocation is 10.4 GB BUT the game is only using 1700-1900 MB, not hitting any cap there. VRAM only allocates 2400 MB with 700MB typical usage so even recent low spec GPU's shouldn't struggle either. GPU usage 40-50% (RTX3060) and CPU 10-15% (R5700X) with 55-80 fps and highs over 100 fps, 1% lows in mid 30's fps. I believe chosen settings in both the game and GPU software will determine the performance mostly. What I've been using: 3440x1440 res, Refresh 75 Hz (but I OC my monitor to 100 Hz, the game will only "see" what your monitor's EDID reports), vsync OFF (setting this to ON will halve your frame rate if you don't hit your set rate, potentially causing stutters), wait GPU OFF, Auto UI ON (necessary for hi res displays), Quality CUSTOM (only so I can disable Bloom - personal preference), Texture ULTRA, Shadows HIGH, SSAO HIGH, AA ON (or you can use Exodus' suggestion), Soft Particles ON, Reflections ON, Bloom OFF. I'm using NVidia Control Panel so I have Low Latency Mode set to ULTRA and as the G-SYNC Compatible doesn't seem to work nice while I'm OCing this monitor, I have the Vertical Sync set to FAST. This prevents screen tearing by throwing out frames in excess of the refresh rate in case your GPU is generating way too many - very handy for older titles. Alternatively you could set a frame cap either globally or title by title. And yes I accidentally played a game with simultaneous turns once, very frustrating and I ended up just waiting til the A.I was done moving, back to classic after that game ended. I also just finished my first game on an extra large map and can attest that late game turns will take longer and I occasionally got the hourglass while in play. It may not be reaching any 32 bit limitations, but it's not coded to use gobs of resources either. Just the nature of the AoW beast I guess.