Since I'm not using resource hogging wrappers at the moment for EAW, running as nativtly as possible right now..

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on why EAW now has a slow 10 sec menu transition issue, since I think Jel said the Win10 April 2018 update.

I can't find much in the way of anyone really explaining it, other than theres Direct2D now used rather than DirectDraw.
So EAW uses the old DD functions, then win10 has to translate them some how to direct2D.....
I thought Direct2D was already in place before the Apri 2018 update.

So what was changed in Win10's behavior to have cause this?

More investigation on my part to find whats going on. I believe the DSETUP.DLL / EXE in the games main folder is being fixed for compatibility too. (at least according to the ACT toolkit for Win10. There are entries for it in the system database)

Anyway the dll is from an early DX version. I placed a DX9 DirectX Setup Dll in the game's directory to see if it would happen to have better compat with Win10s configuration.
Although it saves some memory perhaps but I didn't notice any change in speed (the black screens remain for 8 to 12 secs).

So nobody has any technical reasoning why the newer Win10 updates has this effect on EAW?

More research:

Everything I found ("directdraw slow now") pre-dates the April 2018 update, so there no help in determining the problem.
Its all about how Win7 is faster at performing DD functions and Win8/10 have a drop in FPS with DD calls.

This is a different issue than the long Menu Transitioning Black Screen problem in EAW when run "Nativly" with Win10.
It seems to primarily happen when going to and out of the EAW Flight Screen.
Is this happening on WIN7 aswell, or is it a fast 2 sec or less transition to the loading screen after clicking 'Fly Mission' or 'Instant Mission'?

I think you are finding the draw surface changes M$ made between DX5, DX8 and DX9. The problem will only become worse as M$ develops DX.
An example:
[quote/****************************************************************************************\
Function name : *InitSurfaceHAL
Description :
Return type : void
Argument : int Width
Argument : int Height
\****************************************************************************************/
void *InitSurfaceHAL(int Width,int Height,MYPIXELFORMAT *mypf)
{
DDSURFACEDESC2 ddsd;
DDCOLORKEY ddck;
#ifdef DX9
IDirect3DSurface9 *Surface=NULL;
D3DFORMAT format;
#else
DDPIXELFORMAT ddpf;
IDirectDrawSurface4 *Surface;
#endif

memset(&ddsd, 0,sizeof(DDSURFACEDESC2));
ddsd.dwSize = sizeof(DDSURFACEDESC2);
ddsd.dwFlags= DDSD_CAPS | DDSD_HEIGHT | DDSD_WIDTH;
ddsd.ddsCaps.dwCaps=DDSCAPS_OFFSCREENPLAIN | DDSCAPS_SYSTEMMEMORY;
ddsd.dwWidth=Width;
ddsd.dwHeight=Height;

// --- Surface im SystemSpeicher holen ---
#ifdef DX9
if(gl.lpSet->RenderBPP[gl.lpSet->ActRenderer] == 32) format = D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8;
else format = D3DFMT_A4R4G4B4;

EXEC(gl.d3dDevice->CreateOffscreenPlainSurface(Width, Height, format, D3DPOOL_DEFAULT, &Surface, NULL))
memset(&ddck, 0, sizeof(ddck));
#else
EXEC(gl.dd->CreateSurface(&ddsd,&Surface, NULL))
memset(&ddck, 0, sizeof(ddck));
EXEC(Surface->SetColorKey(DDCKEY_SRCBLT, &ddck)) //DX9 Testing have to add color key functionality

memset(&ddpf,0,sizeof(DDPIXELFORMAT));
ddpf.dwSize=sizeof(DDPIXELFORMAT);
EXEC(Surface->GetPixelFormat(&ddpf))

ConvertPixelFormat(&ddpf,mypf);
#endif

return ((void *)Surface);
}[/quote]

The thing is it wasn't there before, so the question is what is in the April 2018 update that was changed to have an efffect on the game.

The so called new 'DirectX Shader Cache' folder on your HD is suppose to speed up the next load, but I'm not even sure if EAW is using it.
Either way its not speeding up the game. The shader cache thingy was in place before the issue occurred (and before the April 2018 update), so its not really what I should be looking for.

Take this info with a grain of salt--or not-- as you see fit.

My computer tech (Professional/storefront business/MS-certified in a number of areas, told me that April 2018 update in discussion here installed some security patches for many chipsets that had very bad security issues. This software "fix' for a hardware problem has caused slow-downs in chipset performance, and is apparently the source of many complaints.

General Overview:https://www.ecnmag.com/news/2018/01/whos-affected-computer-chip-security-flaw

Info on (modern) games not being slowed-down: https://www.pcworld.com/article/324...ernel-bug-faq-how-it-affects-pc-mac.html Note, however, that the article immediately above was written in early 2018, and includes no info on MS APR 2018 update. Note also that the article was discussing modern games presumably running in Win 10, and that older computers running legacy OSs were not specifically mentioned.

Confirmation that APR 2018 MS update contained security patches that affected performance for Win 10, and that older OSs were even more affected by same: https://bgr.com/2018/01/09/microsoft-spectre-update-slow-windows-8-pcs/

New chipsets are being designed to correct this security flaw, and which will bring performance up to former levels, and possibly exceed them. Due out in the future. Presumably some future update from MS will detect more secure, newer chips, and delete performance-robbing software modifications.
The info above comports with news media stories beginning in early 2018 about security flaws in computer chips.

It has been confirmed that the elements which address chipset security issues contained within the APR 2018 Win 10 update were also applied to other MS OSs still being supported by MS. Exactly at what time all this security updating began is not known, but very likely began sometime in early 2018, and well before APR 2018. This updating of multiple MS OSs may be due to the fact that security flaws are within the basic construction/architecture of the chips, and the potential security breach within the chipset apparently goes far back in time. If so, that is the reason why MS has updated older MS OSs with security patches, with announced negative effects on chipset performance. As of the very early stages of such patching, the older OSs were more affected than the newest ones. This could easily have changed as time went by.

ETA: Confirmed: Some older MS OSs also took a hit due to security patches being installed: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...ems-microsoft-says-yours-one/1019035001/

No expert, but a possible work-arounds would be to:

1) Uninstall the APR 2018 update. I don't know if this is even possible for most people; it is possible that once installed, the APR 2018 update is not removable; Don't know. "Restore" OS to a date prior to APR 2018?. This has the risk of losing everything done from "Restore" point to present. Obviously careful backup would need to be done.

2) Obtain a virgin copy of Win 10. No updates whatsoever. Install it, and then take full control of any updates installed, allowing such updates as the user manually chooses prior tp APR 2018 to be installed. I'm told that taking full, manual control of MS updates is not easy, but still possible. Then transfer backup files to new OS. A "Reset" of the computer wipes out everything but the bare-bones OS, unlike a "Restore", which is entirely different. I Reset my computer once, and I remember a huge list of MS patches and updates needing to be re-installed. Did not look to see if APR 2018 update was amongst them.

3) Wait for the new chips to become available and retrofit them. With the expected demand for such chips, this will not be a cheap alternative, nor will buying a new computer containing the improved chips. Price for both chips and new comps should gradually decrease over an undeterminable time frame.

4) Possibly a change of Operating System might work. However, it is possible that the vendors/purveyors of such OSs might have included such software/firmware patches to their product, if only out of liability concerns. However, such patches might voluntary, and so, need not be user-installed.

5) It is probably time for most affected computer users to investigate means of enhancing computer speed. This can be accomplished in many ways which have a cumulative effect. Most of these methods are software-related. Investigate trusted sources on how to "Speed up my Win (x) computer".
On my older computer, I have been ruthless from the outset concerning this, and I believe it has been of considerable benefit.

My guess is that MS started patching for chipset security problem around beginning of 2018, perhaps before. Initial patches were eventually found to be deficient, and so more effective APR 2018 patch was issued, with resulting noticeable effect on computer performance.

Submitted for consideration.

Thats all interesting.
Perhaps it is a security thing, considering how old the game is and it runs with compatibility fixes and modes in Win10 even when run just 'natively'.

Just my guess; doesn't mean it's the answer to your specific issue, but it might be. It sure is a coincidence that significant slow downs in Win 10 appeared about APR 2018. Note that MS claims that "most" users will not see a "significant" degradation. Well, gamers are amongst the first to see such a "minor" degradation.

If I had the time and resources, I'd try the game on a virgin Win 10. That is, at least a version of Win 10 that lacked any updates from beginning of 2017 onwards; timing is a mere guess, and might have to move such further into the past.

Compare frame rates each time, after installing updates month-by-month. I'll bet at some point, the initial "unannounced" security fix was installed, and frame rates will drop slightly. Keep going, and some other speed-robbing "fixes' might be noticed due to frame-rate hit.

I'd compare frame rates with modern, fully updated version of win 10, and then be much closer to nailing it down--if my theory is correct.

As mentioned, even if MS installed speed-robbing security fixes does not mean that such is the sole cause of the problem you mentioned. If your fully updated version of Win 7 runs fine, then that would argue against that theory. OTOH, since you say you have not run Win 7 recently, then there is no comparison to be made.

If you start up your Win 7 computer, I'd suggest disconnecting internet access prior to doing so, and adjusting settings for Win Update to full manual install. Don't know if this will prevent MS from downloading stuff, though.

I fully understand all my postings on this subject (I even posted in this forum some time ago about this) sound like a "conspiracy theory". Well it's not a "theory" if MS admits to it, and the links above support my contention.

The slow-down is real, and it's MS-induced. Whether or not your specific issues are due wholly, or in part, to MS updates is undetermined at this point. I hope, for the sake of all gamers, including EAW players, that I am at least partially wrong, and a work-around can be found.

If I can be of any help, do not hesitate to ask. I'm not doing the testing I suggested above. That's crazy work intensive, and I'll bet someone has already done it. Trick is to find it...…...

Well, using the Wrapper DXWND sped of the menu screen transitioning back to normal 1 or 2 sec delay. (But DXWND has its own resource hogging issues).
The DirectDraw slowdowns are also related to FPS on the flight screens. Win7 is much faster on the flight screen.
Thats 2 issues occuring at different times, when win10 was released and the april 2018 update.

But anyway I don't think theres enough people here that does this kind of research, so perhaps I will post somewhere else where people are more knowledgeable with these issues.

Well, you are now posting well above my ignorant pay grade. I don't begin to understand your post above, but that is due to ignorance, not stupidity (I hope).

That said, there is probably a lot of comment on the Web about the differential effects of MS security upgrades having effect on Windows speed, and perhaps with respect to different Win OSs. In researching my comment above, I only searched for comments buttressing my position, and not comments seeking to reduce/eliminate the problem itself.

As always I am ready to help. Define what you want me to search for, and I will send you pertinent links.

Sorry. I was just rambling on.

There are two issues with Win10 and EAW.

They are reduced frames per second and the menu transitioning speed.

On Win7 the directdraw compatibility is much better and when used with Direct3D on the flight screen, you can get nearly double the FPS that you can on Win10 (Atleast thats the way it was a few years ago)

The menu tansistioning idelays are due to the april 2018 updates on Win10.

Maybe not clearer, but I m short on time.
Thanks for all the links and your lengthy post.

Always trying to help some of my remarks may have value, some may not. Up to others with more knowledge to evaluate.

Standing by to assist.

I was thinking of trying a Selective Startup. Only loading whats needed. and then run EAW to see what happens and narrow down the problem. But I'm not that educated on all the many services etc that are needed without messing things up.

Maybe someday, who knows what I'll get into.

Sometime I might have to do a clean reinstall Win10 any how. I could start with a older version.....

Why not begin by stopping programs from automatically starting? Should be harmless, and will boost performance. This link is but one example, you can google the main idea, and get many more examples; https://www.bing.com/search?q=how+t...a2f2e1719deb&cc=US&setlang=en-US

As the link points out, there is more than one location within Win 10 where one can stop unwanted programs from auto-starting. Some locations are more inclusive than others, so investigate them all. google "how to stop programs from automatically starting on win 10", ad a whole bunch of suggestions appear.

Hey RIBoB ...... I have most of my startups off, as they are usally just pre loaders that want to speed up loading the programs up fast. However I heard of several locations they are in, the entries for startups, like you said.

But my computer and others like Jels Win10 have to be loading up the same software to get this delay. I think its more of a Service or one of the things I'm not aware of.

Thanks for the link.