Annoying game pauses.........

[samoggi]

I've been testing this game for weeks now and STILL have not been able to fix annoying pauses durring the game.

What happens is that durring gameplay, usually durring pitchingbatting, the announcers or hecklers will start speaking and the game will pause quickly asthe commentator or hecklers start speaking.

Sometimes it even happens in the middle of my pitch. It is driving me nuts!!

I've played with AA and AF onoff but NOTHING works.

I've tried new and old drivers to NO evail.

I've tried different resoultions and play at 60Mhz.

I'm so dissapointed. I can't play this game like this.

Patch#2 helped the stuttering,but these quick game pauses drive me nuts.

I want to know if anyone else is experiencing these issues.

I can also use some suggestions.

PLEASE reply if you are........PLEASE!

Dell XPS Laptop 3.4G

ATI 9800256mb 5.4 Cat drivers

Playing at 1280 or 1024X768 60hz

AA at 2X or none.

AF at 4X usually to get rid of shimmer grass.

I've tried EVERY combonation! Believe me!

[spitoon]

It doesn't sound like a video card issue, so I think you need to look elsewhere.

Have you updated your sound card drivers?

Are you running anything in the background that could be robbing CPU cycles? (Antivirus programs are notorious for this).

How much memory do you have? If you have low memory, the game will resort to using the Page File which uses the hard drive instead of memory...very slow.

Just a few things to try.

[mrtuck73]

Last year's game did this to me as well. 2005 started out okay and over the past couple of weeks this has also started happening to me. It never fails, it is always that one pitch with runners on and Vlad at the plate (or some other big bat) and I miss so badly because of the slight "hesitation" that I leave it fat and juicy down the middle! The only way I have found around it is to let the game go at its own pace. What I mean is that when I press a button to skip through animations and dialog, it happens more frequently. I don't know if that will help, since it will cause games to take longer to play.

[ezdriver]

I generally only get that hesitation when the ball is hit and the throw is made to a base. For instance, when the shortstop fields a grounder and makes the throw to first, there is a momentary hesitation right before the 1st baseman makes the catch. This doesn't always occur, and seem to happen in certain stadiums more than others from my observation. Otherwise, the gameplay is very smooth and fluid.

ez

[samoggi]

I thank you ALL for your inputs, and Im glad to see Im not the only one.

I DO have similar issues you are ALL having here.

AS for Spitoons question,

I am running 1G XMS Corsair Ram Shoulden't be a problem.

My Norton AV is turned OFF.

mrtuck73, What system are YOU running? I am having similar problems with the trows to a base also?

I will be doing further testing.

Comments will be posted soon.

Please let me know if any others are experiencing the same issues......

[samoggi]

It doesn't sound like a video card issue, so I think you need to look elsewhere.

Have you updated your sound card drivers?

Are you running anything in the background that could be robbing CPU cycles? (Antivirus programs are notorious for this).

How much memory do you have? If you have low memory, the game will resort to using the Page File which uses the hard drive instead of memory...very slow.

Just a few things to try.

OK, you seem to be around here often and know this game well.

Thank you for your inputs, and of course those GREAT MODS.

Now I have looked into your suggestions and Im pretty good at keeping things updated, I know my computer very well.

I want you to know that the game runs smooth durring normal gameplay, a lot better than out of the box, but soon as the commentators and announcers or hecklers get involed with gameplay going on, it has times where the gameplay is gurgully or like I say it quickly pauses. It almost ALWAYS does it if Im on the pitching mound for a while with nothing being said for a couple a minutes then I finally make a pitch and then the commentary comes back with OF COURSE a quick pause and then it continues. It's like it quickly needs to load the speech! It usually happens durring battingpitching sequences.

I hate it with a passion!

What system do you run (What resolution do you set?)and how is yours doing? TIA

[samoggi]

It doesn't sound like a video card issue, so I think you need to look elsewhere.

Have you updated your sound card drivers?

Are you running anything in the background that could be robbing CPU cycles? (Antivirus programs are notorious for this).

How much memory do you have? If you have low memory, the game will resort to using the Page File which uses the hard drive instead of memory...very slow.

Just a few things to try.

OK, you seem to be around here often and know this game well.

Thank you for your inputs, and of course those GREAT MODS.

Now I have looked into your suggestions and Im pretty good at keeping things updated, I know my computer very well.

I want you to know that the game runs smooth durring normal gameplay, a lot better than out of the box, but soon as the commentators and announcers or hecklers get involed with gameplay going on, it has times where the gameplay is gurgully or like I say it quickly pauses. It almost ALWAYS does it if Im on the pitching mound for a while with nothing being said for a couple a minutes then I finally make a pitch and then the commentary comes back with OF COURSE a quick pause and then it continues. It's like it quickly needs to load the speech! It usually happens durring battingpitching sequences.

I hate it with a passion!

What system do you run (What resolution do you set?)and how is yours doing? TIA

[olyrunner]

My Norton AV is turned OFF.

I sure had a lot of trouble with Norton, even when turned "OFF". I put it in quotes because even when turned off, it still ran processes that I couldn't figure out how to turn off, the biggest being ccApp.exe. The result was what you're describing (the pause).

I ended up uninstalling Norton System Hogger and installing a different AV program, and life (as well as MVP2005) is much better now. Just thought I would throw that in. I don't get any more pauses, stutters or other funky issues. I also don't get many hits, but that's another story.

EDIT: Also, thank you, spitoon, for all of your suggestions regarding AV software. Huge help!

[spitoon]

Actually, I'm running it on an old 1.1Ghz Celeron (o/c to 1.46), with 512MB of PC133 memory with a using a GeForce4 Ti4200 (o/c to 4600 spec). The game runs fairly smooth for me at 1024X768 with most options on high. I've turned off helmet reflections, and lowered 3D crowd density to medium. I also wasn't able to use KCCity's high res unis as they slow my system down too much. I keep my computer VERY clean as far as background tasks and spyware, as well as performing regular HD defrags and registry cleanings.

You system defintely has more than enough horses to run this game so it's got to be a software/configuration issue....

Have you tried disabling your sound card? It's not a solution, but it might help you pinpoint a problem. Disable it and play one game (or part of a game) to see if you still have the same problem.

Norton is definitely a resource hog, so don't rule that out even if it's turned off.

You sound like you know your way around a computer, so you might want to look at THIS SITE to see if there are some un-needed services that you can shut down as well.

Sorry if this seems to be 'all over the place' but I'm just throwing ideas out there.

[samoggi]

I sure had a lot of trouble with Norton, even when turned "OFF". I put it in quotes because even when turned off, it still ran processes that I couldn't figure out how to turn off, the biggest being ccApp.exe. The result was what you're describing (the pause).

I ended up uninstalling Norton System Hogger and installing a different AV program, and life (as well as MVP2005) is much better now. Just thought I would throw that in. I don't get any more pauses, stutters or other funky issues. I also don't get many hits, but that's another story.

EDIT: Also, thank you, spitoon, for all of your suggestions regarding AV software. Huge help!

Thats good to hear,

What kind of system are you running? What resolution do you play on?

[samoggi]

Actually, I'm running it on an old 1.1Ghz Celeron (o/c to 1.46), with 512MB of PC133 memory with a using a GeForce4 Ti4200 (o/c to 4600 spec). The game runs fairly smooth for me at 1024X768 with most options on high. I've turned off helmet reflections, and lowered 3D crowd density to medium. I also wasn't able to use KCCity's high res unis as they slow my system down too much. I keep my computer VERY clean as far as background tasks and spyware, as well as performing regular HD defrags and registry cleanings.

You system defintely has more than enough horses to run this game so it's got to be a software/configuration issue....

Have you tried disabling your sound card? It's not a solution, but it might help you pinpoint a problem. Disable it and play one game (or part of a game) to see if you still have the same problem.

Norton is definitely a resource hog, so don't rule that out even if it's turned off.

You sound like you know your way around a computer, so you might want to look at THIS SITE to see if there are some un-needed services that you can shut down as well.

Sorry if this seems to be 'all over the place' but I'm just throwing ideas out there.

Well, after ANOTHER FULL DAY of testing, I still cant get rid of it.

I uninstalled Norton(no luck).

I did find a solution when Disabling the sound card.

I just need to know what I do now?

All my other EA games work great, why is this one so off?

Any suggestions PLEASE!!!

[olyrunner]

samoggi, I also turned the crowd level (I don't remember the wording exactly, but it's on the same screen with helmet reflections and dust clouds) to the medium setting, and I turned off dust clouds and shadows. This doesn't really take away from the game for me. Maybe give that a try and see if it helps you. I tried turning off helmet reflections, but it looked as if they were wearing velvet hats (yeesh) so I turned reflections back on. So far it hasn't slowed anything down. I hope you get the game running smoothly soon. Since the uninstall of Norton, the above-mentioned setting changes and the 2nd patch, the game has run a lot better for me. Keep at it - you'll find the issue!

[samoggi]

samoggi, I also turned the crowd level (I don't remember the wording exactly, but it's on the same screen with helmet reflections and dust clouds) to the medium setting, and I turned off dust clouds and shadows. This doesn't really take away from the game for me. Maybe give that a try and see if it helps you. I tried turning off helmet reflections, but it looked as if they were wearing velvet hats (yeesh) so I turned reflections back on. So far it hasn't slowed anything down. I hope you get the game running smoothly soon. Since the uninstall of Norton, the above-mentioned setting changes and the 2nd patch, the game has run a lot better for me. Keep at it - you'll find the issue!

Did you get the game pauses before and not anymore?

What system are you running?

[olyrunner]

samoggi, yes, I definitely suffered from the pauses before, and I don't see them at all now. Actually, I saw pauses and in some modded stadiums, terrible slow-down (to the point where the CPU pitches came at me in slow motion). Now I've got neither, so I hope we can get this sorted out for you as well. My system is AMD Athlon 64, 2.2 GHz, 1 GB RAM (couldn't tell you what half of this means - I'm reading from the sticker on the case). The video card is an ATI Radeon 9550, 256MB. It's a fairly new computer, so I was initially disappointed when the game ran so poorly (after MVP2004 & FIFA2005 ran so well). But with the changes mentioned before (and after asking spitoon a lot of questions - thank you, again, spitoon) I seem to have it sorted out now. I hope this helps!

[spitoon]

samoggi,

you have PM.

[mrtuck73]

Sorry I did not get back to you before (I was out of pocket). I have a dinosaur of a machine. It is a PIII 1ghz, 384 RAM, Geforce4 MX (64Mb), Sound Blaster Live (I know it is ancient!), and still running ME (not sure if it matters). I run the 3D Analyze program for higher level graphics, but it only seems to happen with speech related events and usually happens most often near the beginning of the game, almost as if the first time it tries to load a bit of audio it happens. This also happens if I do not run the Analyze program and use lowest graphics. It did also happen on last year's game and I ran 04 on the same machine. It has not been overly annoying, but it does happen and sometimes at the most inopportune time. My solution is that I am planning on building a new machine from scratch within the next couple of months. I can make the dinosaur extinct!

[Yammer]

Download a datafile recently? I never had any pauses in my game then I downloaded a datafile with cameras (which I never used) and it started to pause then

[samoggi]

Download a datafile recently? I never had any pauses in my game then I downloaded a datafile with cameras (which I never used) and it started to pause then

Im gonna try to re install MVP and start fresh with NO mods to see what happens,

Thanks . I'll let you know

[samoggi]

Sorry I did not get back to you before (I was out of pocket). I have a dinosaur of a machine. It is a PIII 1ghz, 384 RAM, Geforce4 MX (64Mb), Sound Blaster Live (I know it is ancient!), and still running ME (not sure if it matters). I run the 3D Analyze program for higher level graphics, but it only seems to happen with speech related events and usually happens most often near the beginning of the game, almost as if the first time it tries to load a bit of audio it happens. This also happens if I do not run the Analyze program and use lowest graphics. It did also happen on last year's game and I ran 04 on the same machine. It has not been overly annoying, but it does happen and sometimes at the most inopportune time. My solution is that I am planning on building a new machine from scratch within the next couple of months. I can make the dinosaur extinct!

Please let me know how your new machine is working with this issue,

Thanks

[samoggi]

EA RESPONDS!

This is the best they could give me on the "PAUSE" solution.

I was so pissed I wrote back.

This is a joke.

All their games run smooth on my Laptop NO PROBLEM!

They're SO pathetic.

That's not support!

Response (Carlos F.) 04/15/2005 10:13 AM

Hello,

Thank you for contacting EA technical support. I am sorry that you are having difficulty.

I'm afraid this game is not officially supported to run on a laptop computer, as the video, sound and support chipsets are often 'trimmed down' to save on power, weight and cost. This can often cause problems with games software, which makes significantly higher demands on your hardware than traditional Windows applications.

As such, although we will always try to assist users in getting our games to run on laptops, we cannot guarantee success.

You can try updating the drivers for your sound and video cards, to drivers that are compatible with DirectX 9 or the version that you are using on your machine (refer to machine vendor if not 100% sure!). These updated drivers are available from your card manufacturers' web sites, the web addresses should be provided with documentation that came with the product.

Also, I would recommend setting your desktop resolution to 800x600 using 16 bit color depth before starting the game. This can be changed by right clicking on the Windows desktop and selecting "Properties", then going into the "Settings" tab.

When the drivers have been updated to the latest versions and the game will still not work then it will probably not be able to run with your configuration.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Thank you,

Electronic Arts Technical Support

[whitewolf]

Two possible causes:

1) Defragment your hard drive or whichever drive MVP is installed on. Two or three times in a row. (I'm not kidding).

2) Check for spyware/adware. I have a 1.1 Ghz Thunderbird *and* I have a firewall in the background yet I never experienced this slowdown thing.

[samoggi]

Two possible causes:

1) Defragment your hard drive or whichever drive MVP is installed on. Two or three times in a row. (I'm not kidding).

2) Check for spyware/adware. I have a 1.1 Ghz Thunderbird *and* I have a firewall in the background yet I never experienced this slowdown thing.

I'll try that, but not getting my hopes up.

I find now that it will do it in spurts.

It happens a lot at once then not for a while.

[CHOWDERHEADSLC]

Samoggi:

What ever became of the "pause" problem you were/are having. I am having the same problem right now - I was hoping to see what you may have done to solve it.

[samoggi]

Samoggi:

What ever became of the "pause" problem you were/are having. I am having the same problem right now - I was hoping to see what you may have done to solve it.

I've pulled EVERY last hair on my head to figure out what is going on and my answer is"there is no definent answer"

I did find "something" out though.......

If you install a NEW Video Driver the game will work without pauses if 2 things are NOT DONE!

1- DO NOT adjust any AA or AF functions in the Contol Panel.

2- DO NOT add any Mods to the game(Unless you want to re-install a NEW Video driver again)

What good is this? You then have crappy resolution and shinny grass again. And EVEN THEN there is the odd Pause and it gets a little choppy on the gameplay.(Unenjoyable for me)

I have been following this board FAITHFULLY Daily, but there never seems to be anyone who wants to help.

I'm STILL Very dissapointed I can't play this wonderful game.

[jokerman28]

I have been following this board FAITHFULLY Daily, but there never seems to be anyone who wants to help.

I'm STILL Very dissapointed I can't play this wonderful game.

You must be kidding! have you read your own thread above? never seems to be anyone who wants to help? what about all the replies you got?

I mainly read the forum and don't post that much but man! that's some contradicting yourself a little bit after you thanked those who posted suggestions for you.

How about running it on a desktop machine? :)