I have been testing the game with using "ddraw" in the config file.

The in-game scrolling seems even smoother now (this may be placebo).

I can now use alt-tab and can adjust the audio volume with my kb without the colours of the game getting messed up (I could "fix" this by switching resolutions in game with F8)

I have closed down and restarted the game about 5 times and so far it stays very fluid.

So far so good :-)

I don't think another program is stealing resources as I have been playing far more demanding games without any problem.

I glad it seems to have helped!

I have a weird issue making Syndicate plus work.

The problem is that I can't create a shortcut of synd.exe, not in that folder or on desktop. Only the files form the cd seem affected by this.

http://syndicate.lubie.org/synd/html/synd_run_dosbox.php

After following the steps explained on that page I could play the original syndicate without any problems. Hope this helps you out.