Started multiplayer game so I could create whole party. Created IC/TCP game and seemed to work fine. However, I play all infinity games with all pause settings maxed out as I prefer the more turn-based feel and here I am finding that the lag between when i click on space bar and combat unpauses is noticeable and significant enough to make the combat unbearable given frequent pauses.

I tried cutting back on pause events, but still maddening. Started single player game and there was no similar lag. Is there a way to improve this lag or am I stuck with it?

Not sure if there's a way to improve it when playing from multiplayer, but you can copy your multiplayer save into the single player save folder and fire it up as a single player game. Should solve the issue for you that way.

Had no idea that was possible. Just tried it and seems to work like a charm. Thank you kind sir.