FYI - this appears to be a problem with some ATI graphics card drivers. However, I have some feedback that testing with ATI cards didn't show these problems.

Could anybody with this problem please post their card type and graphics driver version?

It may also be useful if people with ATI cards who don't have this problem could post their details:

Eg.
Card: XXXX
Driver Version: XXXX
Works / Doesn't work: Works fine.

Ok - thanks for the feedback, people - its been a help.

I'll unsticky this thread now. If you're still having problems, please look at this thread. (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=133787)

Card: Radeon 9600
Driver: Catalyst 5.10
Doesn't work

Radeon 9550 - same problem. Called Take II tech support. They said problem just becoming apparent and to keep monitoring:

http://www.take2games.com/index.php?p=support

for a possible patch.

Running latest ATI driver - downloaded today.

And to think I pre-ordered this so that I could be playing today.....

Radeon 9550 - same problem. Called Take II tech support. They said problem just becoming apparent and to keep monitoring:

http://www.take2games.com/index.php?p=support

for a possible patch.
Thanks for the link.

What driver version are you using?

Card: Radeon 9550
Driver: Catalyst 5.10
Doesn't work

Card: Radeon x700 PRO
Driver: Omega 2.6.75a (Catalyst based)
Doesnt Work.

Card: Radeon 9800 Mobility 256Mb - Dell XPS P4 3.4HT Laptop
Driver Version: Both Dell release 5.8 and ATI 5.10 (ini mod)
Doesn't work: After Init Engine step, the screen flickers a few times with the compass pointer showing and ends with a "Failed to Initialize Renderer - Check DirectX Version and Graphics Settings" dialog.

Running DirectX 9.0c

All other games run fine. This is a gaming laptop.

EDIT: Not sure if it matters - wide aspect display

Card: Radeon 9800 Mobility (for Dell Inspiron Laptop)
Driver Version: Omega 2.6.75a (Catalyst based) - also tried Omega 2.6.71
DOESN'T WORK

Card: ATI Mobility Radeon 9800 in Dell XPS laptop
Driver: 8.162.0.0 (8/3/2005) <latest on Dell support site>
Doesn't work :cry:

Card: Radeon 9600 256Mb
Driver: Catalyst 5.10
DirextX 9.0c
"Failed to Initalize Renderer Check DirectX Version and Graphics Settings"
Good luck debuggers, and god speed.

System: Windows XP Home Edition, Build 2600
Card: ATI Mobility Radeon 9800
Driver: ati2dvag.dll
Version: 6.14.0010.6444 (English)
DirectX: 9.0C
Status: Won't start the render

Would someone please tell me how to figure out if I have a driver, and if so, what version it is?

Radeon X800XL 256MB
WinXP SP 2
Driver: Tried Catalyst 5.7, 5.8, 5.9 and 5.10
Status: NOT WORKING

Here's what I'm running. I plan to get a copy of the game today after work (East Coast). I'll post my experience to this thread... good or bad. At first, I was going to wait a week or so to get the game, but if I can reproduce a bug and help speed up a patch, then I'll do it today!!! I'm sure it'll be worked out soon :goodjob:

Manufacturer Gigabyte GV-R955256D
Chipset ATI RADEON 9550
Memory 256 MB
Memory Bus 128 bit
Memory Type DDR 16Mx16
PCB Form ATX
BUS AGP 8X
D-SUB Y
TV-OUT Y
DVI Port Y (DVI-I)
VIVO No
MultiView Y
Tools V-Tuner II

Driver from Catalyst Ver. 5.5

Radeon 9550
Catalyst 5.10 Drivers
Not Working

Use DXDiag, it will tell you all you need to know about your specs
Start-> Run -> type dxdiag.exe

Card: Radeon 9600 Pro
Driver Catalyst 5.10
DirectX 9.0c ( from Civ4 DVD )
Status : Don't work

ATI X800XL AGP
5.10a
SP2
Libra
Long walks on the beach.
Doesn't work either.

Card: Radeon 9200
Driver Version: 5.10
Works / Doesn't work: Works fine. I did crash twice during a 4 hour session but I doubt it was because of my card.

Card: Radeon 9600 Pro
Driver Catalyst 5.10
DirectX 9.0c ( from Civ4 DVD )
Status : Don't work

Tried 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, and 5.10

I was told by their tech support to installed Catalyst 5.2 from Guru3d (http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=989) And that didn't work either. Each time it opens the splash screen and gets to "Check XML" on the status bar it closes.

Card: Mobility Radeon 9600
Driver: ati2dvag.dll 6.14.0010.6451 (English)
Recieve message to insert correct CD (but I have CD2 in)

Radeon X800
Most recent Omegas
Doesnt work.

Trip from Firaxis has just posted this in the Main Forums:

Firaxis is currently looking into the startup issues people are experiencing.

One possible problem may be older versions of ATi drivers. I have been told installing a NEWER version of the ATi drivers over an old version does not completely remove the older version and this might be the cause of the problems.

Something people should try is to completely uninstall ATi video drivers and reinstalling a new version.

Any help in tracking down the issue is helpful. Thanks everyone, hopefully we can get the problems taken care of quickly. :)

So you need to completely uninstall you graphic card drivers.... I'm not sure exactly how to do that... but someone here might....

2 systems:

Does NOT work:
CPU: Dell 9100 P4 3.2 Laptop
Card: Radeon 9800 Mobility 256Mb
Wide aspect monitor
Driver Version: Both Dell release 5.8 and Omega 2.6.75a
Doesn't work: After Init Engine step, the screen flickers a few times with the compass pointer showing and ends with a "Failed to Initialize Renderer - Check DirectX Version and Graphics Settings" dialog.

Running DirectX 9.0c

All other games run fine. This is a gaming laptop.


Does Work:
CPU: AMD64 3200+
Card: Radeon 9800 256 Mb
Driver Version Catalyst 5.10
DX 9.0c

Card: Radeon X850 XT PE
Driver: 6.14.0010.6490 (English)
Driver Release:10/26/2004
Result: Doesn't work

i get the renderer startup error

ATI Readon 9600 256 MB
Catalyst 5.10
DirectX9.0c - tried to install it from the game setup as directly from the cd


Win2K SP4
Atlon 2400 - 512 MB Ram

My 2nd machine (First was posted above):

CPU: Intel P4 2.4 512Mb RAM
Card: Radeon 9800 Pro 128 Mb
Driver Version Catalyst 5.10
DX 9.0c

Works fine!

Trip from Firaxis has just posted this in the Main Forums:



So you need to completely uninstall you graphic card drivers.... I'm not sure exactly how to do that... but someone here might....
Darn-good point.

I suggest people go here:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Secure-cleaning/Driver-Cleaner.shtml

It is a program specifically designed to remove parts of drivers that don't get removed on the install. Instructions are on the download page!.

If anyone has any success, then please let us know!

Ok someone from Firaxis mention to cleanout all drivers. I dont know if this will work for you but its the tool to clean. Its just kinda fiddly requiring safemode. You can read the instructions (and follow them step by step)

Get DriverClean here, it clears out all remnants of old drivers

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=3214647&posted=1#post3214647

Sorry to muck up the thread - but I'd check this if you have problems

EDIT: Arrrgh, forum is so slow the same stuff keeps getting posted in several posts!

This may be a dumb concern, but I wonder if uninstalling my current ATI drivers is going to affect me in any other areas, since I have Windows XP MCE. MCE is very touchy sometimes, and I'm wondering if the current driver is primarily for MCE.

I have a Radeon X850 XT (AGP ver.) and I am running the Omega catalyst drivers 2.6.71 and the game runs fine.

:cool:

I have solution that MAYBE will help you. Try to run game not from desktop shortcut, but find exe file in game folder and then click it to start game. Maybe it will work!

Card name: RADEON 7500 SERIES
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RADEON 7500 Series AGP (0x5157)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5157&SUBSYS_013A1002&REV_00
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Mode: 1152 x 864 (32 bit) (75Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6561 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 8/3/2005 23:10:36, 205312 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
Mini VDD Date: 8/3/2005 23:10:16, 1273344 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-1217-11CF-136A-3021A1C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x5157
SubSys ID: 0x013A1002
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D

Works/Doesn't Work: Do not get the init error - game loads fine. But I am getting the 'only teeth and eyes' leaderhead show and the fog of war is not centered so when I zoom to my units they are in the dark.

I haveto go eat dinner - I will be working on this later and will let you all know any results.


Addendum: Other DXdiag info if needed:
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: ECS
System Model: M848A
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2400+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.0GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 292MB used, 2169MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

This just in -- Try this:

- If you have an ATI monitor, try running Civ4 in Win2K compatibility mode. Right click the game icon, and go to properties, then click on the compatibility tab. Next, select the checkbox, then Windows 2000 from the drop down box. See if that helps.

- Also, see if there's an updated driver available.

A potentially usefull tool for laptop users since some won't let you install new drivers. http://www.driverheaven.net/patje/

Radeon 9000 mobile working now that I went to Catalyst 5.10. I hope it lasts.

If I run in compatability mode, it can't find the CD in the drive so it won't start period.

Running straight through the exe instead of the shortcut also doesn't do any good. The fix Soren posted on the Tech forum also does not work.

:mad:

Windows XP
AMD Athalon 3200 XP 64
gig of ram
256 mg radeon 9550
cat 5.10
dx 9c
spits out video to dvd
cranks out RTS at 60 fps
can't f'ing start Civilization 4


did compatibility win 2k thing got cd error.

if I lower to 16bit color it starts to render then KAPLOW!! crash to evil message denying me or world conquest...

I did the driver clean thing. Uninst drivers and even removed the hardware till XP shut itself down. Used DC and got all files. Reboot and reload drivers. NO FRIGGIN' START!!! blah.. worms 3d all over again...

tried direct start from directory....

tried loading entire exe and games in to ram...

reduced color quality and refresh...

encreased refresh...

pulled hair...

cursed poor beta testing..

still no civ...

awaiting solution...

I've found ajn interesting phenomenon.

When I install Civ4 on my laptop, where it works (sort of) the DirectX9.0C installer adds 9 new DirectX DLLs to the list, with today's time stamp.

When I install Civ4 on my desktops, where it doesn't work, those files never appear.

I have no idea how to resolve this. I've run the DX installer on the Civ4 disk five times. The new files simply do not appear.

Those who are still having problems please look in C:\windows\SYSTEM32 and see if "D3DX9_26.DLL" is there.

dll is there.

Those who are still having problems please look in C:\windows\SYSTEM32 and see if "D3DX9_26.DLL" is there.
We seem to be following each other. :) It might be a useful thread in both locations, though, if this turns out to be the issue. I would guess most people are just looking to see if they have "DX9.0c" and not actually checking to see if they have Firaxis's version of 9.0c.

In any case, yes, I have that file in that directory. Don't hold us in suspense; what does it mean?

I got my hands on the game, but doesn't work.
Sapphire Radeon 9600XT
ATI Catalyst 5.10
Not Working

Funny thing is that I have a 'copy' of Longhorn beta 1 on the system and if I boot that and try running the game it works!!!
I'll try and check the video drivers on there (although I know it's Vista Drivers off of ATI.com).

:cry: it's there :cry:

X800XL
Cat 5.10
Doesn't work :(

turned off DX graphic s exceleration, music and sound...

still nothing

reduced apg multiplier, disable everything but directdraw...

nothing...

I am running the game fine except for hiccups with a Nividia Quadro2 MXR 32Mb with H&l. So if this card can run it without issue...

I've found ajn interesting phenomenon.

When I install Civ4 on my laptop, where it works (sort of) the DirectX9.0C installer adds 9 new DirectX DLLs to the list, with today's time stamp.

When I install Civ4 on my desktops, where it doesn't work, those files never appear.

I have no idea how to resolve this. I've run the DX installer on the Civ4 disk five times. The new files simply do not appear.
What OS are you running? Maybe something in the OS Security is preventing the files being installed.

I don't have the game yet (it's on the way :) ), but have an ATI Radeon 9550 with 128 MB so I've been keeping watch on this thread with keen interest in the developments.

I noticed in a post on another thread addressing the ATI issues that some people were running the game in a high resolution (e.g. 1280 x 720 or 1152 x 864) but the error message produced by the Civ IV debug log showed it was attempting to initialize a 1024 x 768 renderer.

See kinjiru's post here for an example of the log:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=133003&page=2

He tried to initialize in 1280 x 800 (probably meant 720) but the program attempted to start a renderer using 1024 x 768. Could the program be incorrectly choosing a renderer, and then crashing when the renderer's resolution doesn't match the current resolution DirectX is expecting?

notopt

Card: ATI x800 Pro, 256, AGP (note: ATI brand card, not MSI, Sapphire, etc."

Driver Version: 6.14.10.6497 (using Catalyst Control Center)

Works fine

I just registered so I could post here too.

ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB (ATI brand, not other.)

SP2

DX 9.0c

Athlon 64 3000+

1GB DDR400


One annoyed customer. I passed up CoD2 today to buy this game, now I'm playing neither. Not happy about it at all.

Card: Radeon 9600xt 256mb
Driver: Cataylst 5.10
DLL: d3dx9_26.dll found

Used Driver Clean to remove old drivers (following included instructions, safe mode, etc), reinstalled latest from ATI site. Uninstalled, reinstalled Civ.

Status: Not Working

Editorial: This is what makes a person want to abandon PC gaming. I'm tempted take back my copy of Civ and put it towards an Xbox360.

We seem to be following each other. :) It might be a useful thread in both locations, though, if this turns out to be the issue. I would guess most people are just looking to see if they have "DX9.0c" and not actually checking to see if they have Firaxis's version of 9.0c.

In any case, yes, I have that file in that directory. Don't hold us in suspense; what does it mean?
It's just a file that's included in the DirectX update.

We are still looking into DirectX issues. There may be a problem with it being updated correctly which we are investigating.

It's just a file that's included in the DirectX update.

We are still looking into DirectX issues. There may be a problem with it being updated correctly which we are investigating.
May be. I still have no files, according to DxDiag, with today's timestamp, no matter how many times I run the DXSETUP on the Civ DVD.

Ya can't take back yer copy of Civ 4, it's opened. Screw you Anti piracy laws and movement.

I'm more than one annoyed customer, I'm down right pissed.

I just recently bought Battlefield 2 with no troubles. Previous to that was half life 2 with no troubles...

this is just rediculous. I had this f'n game reserved for a month just to play today...

Ive posted this in 3 other places, so forgive me. ATI 9800 and its working great....


Ok guys, there is hope! Heres my scoop.

First off, I have windows 2k. I just did a CLEAN install of windows 2k. I had to do it anyway, my machine was a mess - I did not even ATTEMPT to run this game before. I am getting a new machine in 3 weeks so I did not bother to get windows xp.

All I did since the fresh install
1.Download windows 2k service pack 4.
2.Downloaded the latest ATI driver. - 5.10. Note I am not sure if this is the same as the "latest" release to patch quake 4.
3.Downloaded the latest SB live sound card drivers ( I have the OLD sb live )
4.Installed Civilization IV - let it install direct X. Express install I did not check the multiplayer firewall option.
5.Ran Civilization IV
6.Prayed
7.Watched the breathtaking opening music,movie, started up a single player game, ran quite GOOD so far! Nice graphics, NO ERRORS at all. granted I played for a whopping 2 minutes.
8. Came right to post this

Now for some system specs.
Athalon 1.8 thunderbird ( oldy but a goody )
512 Ram
ATI Raedon 9800 128mb
Soundblaster Live
Fresh install of Windows 2k service pack 4 as stated above.

I might note, that of late I have had some bizarre driver issues since I attempted to play F.E.A.R and let it install the latest direct X. Certain games would pop up strange ati errors and nothing I could do fixed it until this fresh reformat. I am not saying this is at all related.

I am also not implying that a fresh re-format should be required to fix the renderer issue so many are having.

But, I am implying, it may require specific drivers with specific video cards with specific OS - until they patch and get it straight.

Hope this helps, I just want to add, the game looks amazing...so far.

**edit - I will stick around for a little while in case anyone wants some more info. I really really REALLY feel for the frustrated people who cant run the game yet***

Trip,

Yes, d3dx9_26.dll is there on my machine.

I think what's the most depressing about this is that Firaxis and Take 2 knew about this problem and decided to do nothing about it. As far as I know, ATI still has a resonably good percentage of the market share, I also know that if I created a piece of software that didn't work on 33% of the machines it was supposed to, I would be fired.

As a sidenote, after reinstalling the 5.10 drivers, I tried changing the resolution on my computer to 1024x768 before starting the game. Although it still did not load, displaying the 'Failed to initialize renderer' message, it did not flicker back and forth into full screen mode.

I have a Radeon 9800 Pro. It more than meets the system requirements.

After playing for a couple of hours, the screen started getting wobbly, and artifacts appeared. (It's not the heat problem, as I solved that months ago.) After shutting the program down, I restarted Civ IV, and immediately, I saw the same problem. I then rebooted, and the problem still persists. It is rather strange. I even upgraded to SP2 and updated the driver.

(Copied from another thread in the Technical Support forum of this same site.)

I think what's the most depressing about this is that Firaxis and Take 2 knew about this problem and decided to do nothing about it. As far as I know, ATI still has a resonably good percentage of the market share, I also know that if I created a piece of software that didn't work on 33% of the machines it was supposed to, I would be fired.

As a sidenote, after reinstalling the 5.10 drivers, I tried changing the resolution on my computer to 1024x768 before starting the game. Although it still did not load, displaying the 'Failed to initialize renderer' message, it did not flicker back and forth into full screen mode.

Actually, they didn't know about this. They tested the Beta on many machiens running various ATi cards and this issue never came up. It has only appeared in the Gold/Production version... which they could not have tested before it hit store shelves.

It's the first they've heard of this issue, and I am actually workign DIrectly witht hem on helping them learn how to fix it. Stay tuned, and believe me, we are doing everything we can to find a fix.

May be. I still have no files, according to DxDiag, with today's timestamp, no matter how many times I run the DXSETUP on the Civ DVD.

ATI Radeon 9550. I reinstalled DirectX from MS site, and timestamps show today's date.
Not working.

So I've removed any traces of the ATI drivers, and installed the DirectX from the Civ CD and still no joy. I keep getting the initialize error. Grr! I just wanna play! Oh, and don't bother calling Take2 support, they'll just hang up on you. :mad:

Oh, running an X800 XT card with a 2.4 ghz 64-bit proc and Windows XP Pro SP2, 1 gig of RAM

I wish I could figure out how to delete this message....

In hopes this helps:

Card name: RADEON IGP 345M
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RS200M AGP (0x4337)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4337&SUBSYS_8175104D&REV_00
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 800 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Sony Notebook LCD (1280x800)
Monitor Max Res: 1280,800
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6458 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 7/10/2004 21:37:00, 207360 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes

Sony VAIO laptop.

It works for me.

Hey Kitran, just keep trying! i finally got through to someone (after 2 hours of being repeatedly told to call back "later" (i was told everything from 1/2 hour to tomorrow morning)) anyway the dude said they thought it was to do with a program/network/somethingamajig by MS called dotnet. i am so dumb when it comes to software, but thats what the guy said ( the one i could understand- some of those guys have the thickest UK accents ive ever heard!) anyhoo, i got a complaint # and supposedly they are going to send out a batch email when theyve fixed the problem. although the guy i talked to first told me to expect it with in and hour or so, when i called back a few hours later, they told me they are shooting for 9 am est.(i had to call sevral times to finally get someone who didnt hang up on me immediately).
let me just say this- I AM SO FRUSTRATED+DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!
ive waited months for this, so WTF!!!! also in response to Rayanth who said

It has only appeared in the Gold/Production version... which they could not have tested before it hit store shelves

why on earth couldnt they have tested it b4 it hit the shelves? deadline?
anyway, i was in the store when the game came in, waiting, and now ive been sitting at home bored with a whole $%^$% day i set aside for this

very very very disheartening

Here's what I'm running. I plan to get a copy of the game today after work (East Coast). I'll post my experience to this thread... good or bad. At first, I was going to wait a week or so to get the game, but if I can reproduce a bug and help speed up a patch, then I'll do it today!!! I'm sure it'll be worked out soon :goodjob:

Manufacturer Gigabyte GV-R955256D
Chipset ATI RADEON 9550
Memory 256 MB
Memory Bus 128 bit
Memory Type DDR 16Mx16
PCB Form ATX
BUS AGP 8X
D-SUB Y
TV-OUT Y
DVI Port Y (DVI-I)
VIVO No
MultiView Y
Tools V-Tuner II

Driver from Catalyst Ver. 5.5


The above fails with the renderer error. So, I got the latest ati drivers and their catalyst removal tool. I reomoved all of the old driver components with their removal tool and then installed the latest version (5.10)... same error as before. Someone screwed up here in a bad way :confused:

Trip, when you are done re-calibrating those warp plasma manifolds, would you please report to the bridge for debrief

Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis

Doesn't work.

This is pretty damn disturbing. I love Sid Meier's games, and Civilization is my favorite game of all time. I had butterflies in my stomach all week over this, and then I get home to find the little brown box on my front porch, thanks FedEx. But when I install the game, I find that fate keeps us apart for a while longer. Please, someone give me a time frame as to when we can expect these problems to be fixed. I'm really looking forward to whoring this game, and tomorrow is the only good chance for a gaming session I'll be getting for quite a while. Thanks.

I can't get past the pick a leader screen, when i try to pick a civ...it crashes and needs a hard re-boot. Was able to get past it once, to the formation of the world video and it crashed again...

!@#!@#!@# Frustrating....

Dell 600m laptop
Pentium M 1.4 GHz, 767 Mb RAM
Win XP SP2

Mobility Raedon 9000
VRAM 64 mB
3D accl, HW T&L

Video Driver 6.13.10.6279

VisionTek Xtacy 9200 series
Uses ATI driver 6.14.10.6530

Windows 2000 SP 4.

The game works, but the intro movie was glitchy, the audio cut out several times, and it looked very pixelated. It plays, but seems very slow with the unit animations. It also froze during the tutorial.

this sucks out loud-its so great to know that you cant just go to the store and buy a game for 50$ and expect it to work w/o a degree in programming and a high level of social engineering. i agree, someone screwed up bad, most likely multiple people
^@#^&&@#$%!&^# computers ^%^#%%^^&** rushed deadlines
#$%@%^&^ world (j/k)

FYI.......

Powercolor Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB 400MHz

Didn't work with Catalyst 5.7, upgraded to 5.10.
Initally had the .dll error, never got to the splash screen. It was trying to launch from the 1st disk as the play disk, but after the upgrade it wanted disk 2.
Now working. :goodjob:

dont you mean you DOWNgraded?

Radeon x700
catalyst 5.10
2.5ghz pentium 4
1 gig ram
NO FING LUCK!
Ive seriously been planning this entire week around this game, and between problems with amazon delivering it and the fact that it wont run this is the most difficult game ive ever encountered. Initially it would run a bunch of jarbled snown on the screen with some noise, but after i upgraded the driver it just never shows anything/crashes to desktop after Initengine. Initializing error be damned. wtf fireaxis? i told my mother to buy this game i was so excited. i feel extremely betrayed.

dont you mean you DOWNgraded?

No, he means upgraded. 5.10 means FIVE dot TEN, indicating the 10th subversion of version 5. 10 is greater than 7, thus, upgrade.

Those of you having problems, are your ATI cards the XT variants of their types, or not (ie x800 XT)?

It seems the trend here and on Apolyton is that the XT variants are the ones failing to render. Those who own the Pro variants can run Civ IV out of the box.

so it was really version 5.07, not version 5.7? because guess what? 5.7 is greater than 5.10

btw my card is a radeon 9550, no XT

sry harb dont mean to be rude this is just so horrifyingly exasperating. i coulda bought liberty city stories for my PSP, and i bet a million $ IT would worked on my PSP. but nooooooo, here i am bored as hell and still no official word from firaxis on wtf is up, when they will fix it, or what. and naturally, nothing on any of the "official" sites even acknowledges that there is a problem (they dont want to scare away customers i expect). civ3 and pirates both run smoth as silk on my comp.

so it was really version 5.07, not version 5.7? because guess what? 5.7 is greater than 5.10

you must be new to software.

yes, in the decimal number system, 5.7 is indeed greater than 5.10.

software version numbers do not follow the decimal number system. in order to get obey sort order rules, sometimes software will be released with the numbering scheme like 5.07 just to force 5.07 to be sorted in a list before 5.10, but this is not necessary. a lot of software uses multiple decimal points to indicate major versions, sub versions, patch levels and sometimes build numbers. So 2.3.17.1876 could be a version number. This is obviously not a valid decimal number.

just nod your head.

Sorry for the confusion. Upgraded from 5.07 to 5.10. Just finshed the tutorial. Here is the exact version:

Driver Packaging Version 8.18-050914a1-027256C-ATI
CATALYST™ Version 05.10
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 6.14.10.6575
2D Driver File Path System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video\{8CDA7551-22C8-40DE-9A7A-FA0F83163E70}\0000
Direct3D Version 6.14.10.0347
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.5396
CATALYST™ Control Center Version 1.2.2084.76
AIW/VIVO WDM Driver Version 6.14.10.6238
AIW/VIVO WDM SP Driver Version 6.14.10.6238

so it was really version 5.07, not version 5.7? because guess what? 5.7 is greater than 5.10

In computer terms, 5.10 is larger than 5.7. They don't refer to them as decimals. 5.10 is the tenth subsystem for the 5th version, whereas 5.7 would be the seventh.

Thank you FlakMonkey. I am a computer guy and have fallen into that habbit. Doesn't help when you are communicating with the rest of the world.

Jayseki, MS .Net is a recomended update from Microsoft. I would run windows update and make sure you select it from the recomended section. I believe there is an update after the inital install, so you may want to check it twice.

For those of you having directx errors trying uninstalling it with this program:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2935.html

After uninstalling and rebooting, install directx from the civ4 cd.

Same 9550 card as many above. Fail to initialize rendering. Tried all solutions presented so far, same error. Any other ideas? :(

Card: Radeon x800xl pci 256mb
Driver: Cataylst 5.10
Works great!

This is total speculation, as Firaxis isn't mentioning anything official for marketing purposes. However, I would assume this would be fixed tomorrow, as I've heard tech support say. This is a huge screwup, and they'll likely have the team on it for quite a while trying to get it back online.

If they don't, I've lost all faith in 2k and their ability to manage a game of this scale.

Don't think I've ever been this pissed at my computer. This game has totally failed my expectations. This has to be one of the worst things to happen on a launch day. Crappy customer service, and an un-playable game. Grr! Sorry to vent, but this is so very frustrating.

System: Windows XP Pro SP1 (Version 2002)
Card: ATI Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis
Catalyst version 05.7
2D version: 6.14.10.6553
DirectX: 9.0C
Status: "Failed to initialize renderer", etc. The usual.

Originally, I had Catalyst 4.2, and I was getting a blank Civ IV splash screen (y'know, the one where it says things like "Loading XML") -- until I clicked around and found a hidden dialog box that said just "error".

I uninstalled my ATI drivers using ATI's uninstall utility, installed Catalyst 5.7 (Control Panel version), reinstalled DirectX 9.0c, and tried again; now I'm getting the standard error message.

I'll try the latest Catalyst before I just give up and go to bed...

funny how 2k games has boosted forum participation......somehow i dont think this was their intention

Update:
System: Windows XP Pro SP1 (Version 2002)
Card: ATI Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis
Catalyst version 5.10
2D version: 6.14.10.6575
DirectX: 9.0C

... status: No luck -- same ol' thing. "Failed to initialize renderer", etc...

:crazyeye:

For those of you having directx errors trying uninstalling it with this program:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2935.html

After uninstalling and rebooting, install directx from the civ4 cd.

This sounded like a good idea, so I gave it a shot. The above script rolls DirectX back to the version on your winxp cd. So after this, dxdiag reports that I'm on 8.1. However, the stupid DXSetup.exe on the Civ cd does not recognize that it needs to upgrade and leaves all the (now old) files in place.

Great, hopefully the installer from microsoft is at least smart enough to get things at back to regular 9.0c.

the constant hang-ups when you try to call tech support are killing me. dont they even care about their loyal customers? F*** you, 2k games, you suck shipping a faulty game, then ignoring the pleading fans.

Try downloading this driver, and see how it works:

http://drivers.soft32.com/driver/download-ATI_MOBILITY_RADEON_9600-24069.html

Post results if it works.

System: Windows XP Home Edition 2002 SP2
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2500+
Ram: 512 MB
Video Card info: ATI Sapphire Radeon 9600 PRO
- Driver Packaging Version: 8.152-050629m-024085C-ATI
- CATALYST Version: 05.7
- 2D Driver Version: 6.14.10.6553
- Direct3D Version: 6.14.10.0327
- OpenGL Version: 6.14.10.5220
- CATALYST Control Center Version: 1.2.2006.286
- AIW/VIVO WDM Driver Version: 6.14.10.6238
- DirectX 9.0c

Status: Runs Perfectly (for at least 2 hours now)

X800 XL

Originally did not work with Catalyst 5.7 drivers.
Upgrading to 5.10 fixed the problem.

Followup....


When I installed the 5.10 drivers, I made sure that I used the Catalyst Uninstall tool on ATI's website to make sure that the old driver was completely gone...maybe that made the big difference.

I'm glad the official Catalyst uninstaller worked for you, Diarmud! Hopefully it will help some other folks, too... it didn't work for me, though.

I have been reading all of this with great interest. I am still waiting for my copy since Gamestop didn't update mine to shipped until about an hour ago...My first order from them ships this late...guess they don't like repeat business.

Anyway, I have been watching because I have an ATI. I have noticed that the ATI 9800 seems to completely avoid this issue. At least I haven't seen a post with a 9800 owner saying they get the render error. I have seen 9800 256M, 128M, Pro, and XT versions posted to be working. Just thought I would pitch this incase it helps to target the issue.

I think the mobility 9000&9200 are okay as well (mobility 9600/9800 have problems).

The 9600/9550 seem to be the most common GPU with the error and the x800/x850 seems to be hit or miss (probably depends on what type they have AGP, PCI-E, XL, XT, etc...)

I was trying to figure out architecture differences. The problem is that all the manufacturers have thier own differences. I have an MSI 9800Pro that shows up as a 9800XT in DxDiag. (It basically is an underclocked XT without the on chip temp sense).

I could be way off in my random speculation, but I figure all ideas are welcome at this point.

I have the ATI Radeon 9550.
Running XP PRO SP2

I also had a problem with the autorun file. It seems the "Install" button kept pointing to an Intel Chipset Install even after it was verirfied as installed in the registry and regardless of how many times I rebooted.

I finally just used the setup.exe file on the disk. I t was still a***** to get the game to finally load and then BOOM the "Failed to Initialize renderer".

Gosh darn it do I need to plqay this game. Hokk a brother up Firaxis/2k/god anyone?!!

Again, my system:
System: Windows XP Pro SP1 (Version 2002)
Card: ATI Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis
Catalyst version 5.10
2D version: 6.14.10.6575
DirectX: 9.0C
... status: No luck -- same ol' thing. "Failed to initialize renderer", etc...

My screen resolution is 1280x1024 by default. I heard that some folks had some luck getting it to work by changing their screen resolution to 1024x768. I tried that, just for funsies, but I got the "blank splash screen with a hidden ERROR dialog box" problem. :eek: :crazyeye:

My system:

Card: ATI Excalibur IceQ 9800 XT
Catalyst version: 5.8
DirectX: 9.0c
Screen Resolution: 1600x1200

Status: Worked with no problems at all on first try, without installing DrectX.

Dont have the game yet,

ATI Mobility Radeon x300
6.14.0010.6549
Dell xp laptop
^does this fit the description of ones not worky?

Got the same thing,
ATI 9600
Catalyst 5.10
Pentium 4 2.4 ghz
250 gig hard drive
DRIVING ME NUTS!!! I want to play too!
Called take 2, they sent me an email with instructions to type in "dxdiag" into the run programs screen and create a .txt report and email it back to them. I did this about ten hours ago. Still no response. Meanwhile I wonder what fun I would be having.... at least I'll sleep tonight.:p

Dont have the game yet,

ATI Mobility Radeon x300
6.14.0010.6549
Dell xp laptop
^does this fit the description of ones not worky?

The ones that have issues are hit or miss. It seems to be on a computer by computer basis. Reminds me of the old AMD/VIA chipset nightmare that caused issues in many games (I think it was that interraction anyway...it was about 4 years ago so I could be off). There doesn't seem to be a way to tell ahead of time if a system will work or not..other than my 9800 series speculation...that seems to work.

I was also reading through posts and I found someone who said they had an Nvidia card that got the error..then after driver upgrade they get the Cheshire Cat and black terrain. I wonder if the errors are probably the same root and that for some reason the Nvidia cards are just more apt to make it into the game.

*sigh*

No luck here, either...running a brand-new ATI Radeon 700X.

I tried the customer service line and was briefly amused by the either British or Aussie accent and killer hold music before being hung up on. What a night!

OK I got it to work. It took some time and patience, but if you follow these steps you'll be playing in no time:

1) Copy all CIV IV files to floppy disk
2) Reformat your hard drive
3) Install OS/2, Ver 1.12.34.39.044
4) Download version 2.11.05b Radeon drivers from 4/1/98 on another computer with internet access to a zip drive.
5) Copy your Radeon drivers from the Zip drive to the appropriate OS/2 directory
6) Prop up your monitor 45 degrees clockwise for proper EMF cancellation
7) Load CIV IV from floppy to a custom directory
8) Manually modify all system startup files to use 1GB expanded memory and custom game directory.
9) Enjoy.

OK I got it to work. It took some time and patience, but if you follow these steps you'll be playing in no time:

1) Copy all CIV IV files to floppy disk
2) Reformat your hard drive
3) Install OS/2, Ver 1.12.34.39.044
4) Download version 2.11.05b Radeon drivers from 4/1/98 on another computer with internet access to a zip drive.
5) Copy your Radeon drivers from the Zip drive to the appropriate OS/2 directory
6) Prop up your monitor 45 degrees clockwise to allow for proper EMF cancellation
7) Load CIV IV from floppy to a custom directory
8) Manually modify all system startup files to use 1GB expanded memory and game directory.
9) Enjoy.


hilarious and very true

hilarious and very true


I agree. We owe that guy a beer for providing the laugh. :)

I'll try the suggestions that were posted elsewhere (i.e. re-downloading the drivers, etc) and see if that works.

I agree. We owe that guy a beer for providing the laugh. :)

Thanks for the thought but you're about 4 beers too late :sad:

Good night fellow ATI users, hopefully our problems will all be answered soon. Where is the best place to look for a patch when/if it comes out tomorrow? (please please please *crosses fingers*)

Hi all,

I worked on getting this installed for 5 hours -- not unlike many of the rest of you. FORTUNATELY, I was able to get it working **finally**. I wanted to just play it, but I HAD to come back and let yous guys know what I did to get it working.

refresher:

WinXPpro
DUAL AMD1800's ~ 1.5GHz each
512 MB RAM
Radeon ATLantis 9200SE

tried:
updating and reinstalling everything -- ATI drivers (both Omega & OEM 5.1) and DirectX9.0c (both from Civ CD and from Winblowsupdate.com) -- also completely wiped/reinstalled Civ IV (just to try it). I had also done a lot of praying, cussing, and toking during this time.

Then I read the post about DirectX9.0 removal tool on MajorGeeks.com.

I remembered that the brandest-newest version of DirectX took a dump on me when installed bundled w/ other games, so I tried it. YOU NEED YOUR WINXP CD HANDY!

Go to www.majorgeeks.com and find the directx removal tool and then extract it to THIS FOLDER C:\DXTEMP

that folder. THAT one. Then reboot in Safe Mode. According to the readme, you MUST do this in Safe Mode.

Once in Safe Mode run the file called DX9UN.BAT in the DXTEMP dir. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS WHEN PROMPTED.

I went through it and rebooted to normal desktop. I went to Control Panel and the DirectX util now said I was running DirectX 8.1 I then went and tried it.........

.....the opening movie was a sight for (really red) sore eyes!! I can't garauntee this is going to work, but it is definately worth the effort once you get it working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: :goodjob: :king: :crazyeye: :cool:



I'm off to conquer the world! Good luck!

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have to go to any site, download ANY other software, or do ANYTHING except put the disks in the drive and hit install. Once that is done, I should be able to play the game.

I haven't seen a game piss off this many people since the release of WWII Online back years ago now.

I expect better from Firaxis. This isn't a small time developer. THIS IS CIVILIZATION. No excuses, no slack, I can no longer trust Firaxis to give me a good product. I will have to check it out first, make sure it works for others, and then after time, get it if no problems of this magnitude exist. Shame on you Firaxis. There isn't any excuse for this. Shame Shame.

The only game developer I have left to trust is Blizzard. They're still hitting 100% in my opinion.

This is a real lump of coal in my stocking......

does NOT work "Failed to Initialize Renderer....."

ATI Radeon X800 8.18 driver
Catalyst 5.10

XP Pro, SP2, all patched and current.

UPDATE:

Grabbed the Majorgeeks.com tool described above ( directx-dx9uninstaller ), followed the instructions which required finding my XP cd and booting into safe mode, popping a few tums and crossing my fingers.

No dice....same error.

UPDATE #2:

Uninstalled all ATI drivers and software via control panel --> add/remove software

Reinstalled latest ATI drivers and software, rebooted.

No joy, same error.

UPDATE #3:

Ran DXsetup.exe from the Civ IV install disc. DXsetup appeared to do it's thing a little too quickly.

Launch Civ IV, same error.

CYNICAL COMMENT:

This is the first game I've had problems with on my current PC configuration in 2 years. I buy and play a lot of games. This hurts my feelings. No Xmas card for Firaxis or Take 2 from me this year.

x850 XT PE with ATI's 5.10 drivers. Game works fine for me.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have to go to any site, download ANY other software, or do ANYTHING except put the disks in the drive and hit install. Once that is done, I should be able to play the game.

I haven't seen a game piss off this many people since the release of WWII Online back years ago now.

I expect better from Firaxis. This isn't a small time developer. THIS IS CIVILIZATION. No excuses, no slack, I can no longer trust Firaxis to give me a good product. I will have to check it out first, make sure it works for others, and then after time, get it if no problems of this magnitude exist. Shame on you Firaxis. There isn't any excuse for this. Shame Shame.

The only game developer I have left to trust is Blizzard. They're still hitting 100% in my opinion.
Im sorry, but this was just funny.:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Your right, even though there are an ungodly ammount of computer types,drivers, and hardware combos, everything should work right when you press a button.

Im not saying I dont feal for people whos civ doesnt work, but this is just sad

you know giga, you would have a point except for the sheer # of people having this problem-obviously this is a design flaw, not a matter of a few people having incompatible systems. also, that is the whole purpose of directx, to make games run on widely varying types of systems. although i agree, his comments were a little to extreme

you know giga, you would have a point except for the sheer # of people having this problem-obviously this is a design flaw, not a matter of a few people having incompatible systems. also, that is the whole purpose of directx, to make games run on widely varying types of systems. although i agree, his comments were a little to extreme

I share Jayseki's take on this. While we all know that nobody is perfect (even Firaxis), we expect more than a retail beta as dedicated, loyal and marginally obsessive fans. In the little world I inhabit, the distributor gets the credit for likely pushing the game to release to hit it's sales forecasts.

Is it just me being blind or is there no support link on the official Civ IV page....they send people here.

There are several known issues with the latest version of DirectX. I discovered recently while trying to install another high 3D game that the new version of DirectX 9.2 and I think also 9.0c has the same problems (how come they went back to 9.0c? as the latest version?). The install does not work properly on all machines.

I was having problems with rendering before because of this new, buggy, version of DirectX, so I went to download.com and found a utility to remove the current version and revert it back to version 8.0 (contained on the Windows XP disc) in safe mode. Once I did this, I used Google to search the internet for a version of 9.1 DirectX, downloaded it and installed it and hey-presto the rendering problems disappeared. Just thought that might help here.

By the way, one thing is for sure, installing a directx version over another directx version often seems to be what causes video card problems and crashes.

UPDATE #3:

Ran DXsetup.exe from the Civ IV install disc. DXsetup appeared to do it's thing a little too quickly.
Did you try removing via DX-uninstall, rebooting, installing DirectX from teh CD, rebooting again, then trying Civ4?

Did you try removing via DX-uninstall, rebooting, installing DirectX from teh CD, rebooting again, then trying Civ4?

In this lads/lasses case removing and reinstalling directx stands a good chance of working as I have been told that when you get the problem of starting the directx 9.0c setup, if it says installation complete stright away, it is a signal that the software is not working correctly and may be corrupted. Try it and see what happens! I would be intrested to know.

I indeed believe this is related to corrupt directx Installations. I think it somehow plagues ATI users more than nvidia for some reason.

When I last installed the new directx I started getting strange dll error messages that included garbage about missing direct x files AND ATI driver files. It would happen when trying to start the newer games and they would NOT run ( Splinter cell chaos theory, F.E.A.R ).

I believe the key is to remove ALL traces of direct X AND your ATI drivers. Then re-install the newest ATI drivers, then let Civ 4 install direct x from the CD.

I went ahead and just reformatted my machine to be sure since it was all screwed up anyway. Civ IV works great except wonder movies sound is bugged.

Here's how I did it:

1. uninstall old drivers
2. install civ4 completely
3. restart comp
4. install catalyst 5.10 drivers
5. restart
6. install civ4

That got it working for me. Try it out in that order.

Did you try removing via DX-uninstall, rebooting, installing DirectX from teh CD, rebooting again, then trying Civ4?
Yes, I tried this -- it didn't work for me. DXUninstall doesn't really "uninstall" it, just rolls it back to the version on your original XP cd, which for me was 8.1. After rebooting and trying to install DirectX from the Civ cd, it made NO CHANGES. dxdiag still reported 8.1. Even the directx installer from msft didn't work. Had to do a system restore to get back to 9.0c.

Anyone have any insight on whether the X600 Pro will work? I've noticed no-one seems to have the X600...

Windows XP Home SP2
Intel P4 3.0 HT
2 Gig PC3200 Ram
Asus X800 Pro VIVO (flashed to X800 XT PE) AGP
Omega 2.6.71

Works fine! Goodbye grades!

Yes, I tried this -- it didn't work for me. DXUninstall doesn't really "uninstall" it, just rolls it back to the version on your original XP cd, which for me was 8.1. After rebooting and trying to install DirectX from the Civ cd, it made NO CHANGES. dxdiag still reported 8.1. Even the directx installer from msft didn't work. Had to do a system restore to get back to 9.0c.

:confused: Thats crazy stuff.

Just a couple of things, did you try and run the game with DirectX 8.1?

Also did you try and install directX 9.0b and run the game with that? That is what worked for me, the directX 9.0c installer is terrible as I have discovered in the past.

What solved my problem:

winXP
X800pro
I tried all the drivers and tricks - didn't work.

Then I raided another computer for its 9800pro and it just worked, with all the drivers I was trying.

I guess I'll play with 9800 untill the patch comes out.

so all we have to do to play is pretty much rebuild our PC's? alrighty then.

I have installed on my machine The Sim2 and Children of the Nile. Both of those games are graphically intensive and require DX9. I never had an issue with these two games and my current graphics card.

I am a bit upset that it not only seems to be the ATI bug but there is sloppiness in the book and on the website and boy do I feel for the guy who received 2 of the same disks. It definitely feels a like they rushed it out.

Anyone who feels that this is acceptable within the gaming environment is an ass. The reason we need people to complain is so they fix this stuff and hopefully prepare themselves a bit better for any further release.

I also had an Intel Chipset error. Seems the Autorun worked fine but when I clicked" Install" it kept installing the Intel Chipset utility even though it was verified as installed in the registry. i rebooted about 5 times before i just opened the disc and used the Setup.exe file. I am also getting the "Renderer Bug". Hope there is a process or solution that will fix it by the weekend.

SPECS

XP PRO SP2
ATI Radeon 9550
Catalyst 5.10

Any thoughts on whether my Radeon X300 128Mb card will be fine?

For everyone bashing Firaxis - please keep this in mind.

I have been working directly with Firaxis game programmers on this issue. This is their TOP priority. They want it fixed as badly as we do. As of last night, when they finally went home to some much-needed sleep:

They COULD reproduce the problem on ATI machines.

However, Their suggested fixes (ATI Driver reinstall) WORKED every time they tried it. They CANNOT reproduce the problem of this fix not working. This is why it is difficult for them to figure out what's going on our machines at our homes -- the fix works for them, but not for us -- there's no readily available logical explanation for this. They're still working their butts off to fix the issue but it's more difficult for them when they can't reproduce the problem *exactly* as we're seeing it.

They HAVE contacted ATI and to the best of my knowledge are working between themselves, certain patient end-users such as myself, and ATI to find a fix. In the meantime, please remain patient. I realize it is frustrating to not be able to play this game -- I have the same problem. However, As I said, given that updating drivers in their offices on MANY ATI-based machines worked every time for them, it is not a "lack of testing" issue -- it's something else that was unforseen and did nto crop up in testing on any beta tester or developer's machines.

Yea ok so I cannot play. It is very frustrating and I do not think name-calling, flaming or arguments will solve your problems.

BUT I do think it is perfectly legitimate to be pissed off at Firaxis and 2k for supplying a product that did not work for a large percent of the population. We are not talking 10 people here.

It does not matter what they were able to recreate or not. It does not matter in the testing environment if everything works well. What matter is what happens when the product gets to consumers. And if something does go wrong what matters is how you handle it.

I think that one sentence explaining the issue on both the Firaxis and 2k site is not much too ask. As a web developer I know that takes about 5 minutes of a monkeys time. I do not care what the moderators of this site or that site are telling me about how much they care about their consumer. SHOW ME how much you care by answering emails or giving some sort of update as to the status of the solution.

did any1 else notice that this thread has gotten 10k views???!!!!!
to me, this says that there are many many people having this same problem, who simply havent registered here (probably b/c there isnt that much more to say) !!!! how bout it silent readers, speak up and be counted!

They HAVE contacted ATI and to the best of my knowledge are working between themselves, certain patient end-users such as myself, and ATI to find a fix. In the meantime, please remain patient. I realize it is frustrating to not be able to play this game -- I have the same problem. However, As I said, given that updating drivers in their offices on MANY ATI-based machines worked every time for them, it is not a "lack of testing" issue -- it's something else that was unforseen and did nto crop up in testing on any beta tester or developer's machines.

At first one may wonder if it is merely a computer know-how problem . . . however, it seems some VERY computer literate folks are unable to resolve this issue on their own machines. Some of the suggested fixes are easy as cake to a computer literate person, but most are unable to have any success with this issue.

I think that is the oddest thing in the world.

One may wish to attempt to find the commonality between all these ATI users other than the fact they have an ATI card. Is there a somewhat popular background program these people are running while either installing or playing? Something has to be the common denominator other than certain ATI cards (because there are those with the same cards: one works, one does not). Is it a common motherboard? Certain hardware? Certain BIOS settings? Would any of these affect Civ IV?

I'm following this problem with extreme interest (or, rather, extreme dismay) because I have an ATI Radeon 8500LE, and I don't want to buy the game unless I know I'll be able to play it!

But, I do want the game!

Another thing I thought of too. Instead of Firaxis reps saying "Do this!", they need to issue a step-by-step guide of exactly what process to follow. Let's face it, those of us who are computer software/hardware veterans take certain things for granted. I think that's what we've run into here.

Ok, so Firaxis has been able to reproduce the problem and subsequently fix it with their suggested fix. Tell us exactly, step-by-step what you did to resolve the issue. Do not even leave out seemingly obvious stuff like "Restart computer".

Let's face it: we all may say, "But I did everything they said and it STILL doesn't work" when, in fact, we did not do everything Firaxis reps did when they resolved the issue.

Let's find out exactly what was done to fix this problem and not assume everyone knows exactly how to simply "Installl the latest drivers"!

At first one may wonder if it is merely a computer know-how problem . . . however, it seems some VERY computer literate folks are unable to resolve this issue on their own machines. Some of the suggested fixes are easy as cake to a computer literate person, but most are unable to have any success with this issue.

I think that is the oddest thing in the world.

One may wish to attempt to find the commonality between all these ATI users other than the fact they have an ATI card. Is there a somewhat popular background program these people are running while either installing or playing? Something has to be the common denominator other than certain ATI cards (because there are those with the same cards: one works, one does not). Is it a common motherboard? Certain hardware? Certain BIOS settings? Would any of these affect Civ IV?

I'm following this problem with extreme interest (or, rather, extreme dismay) because I have an ATI Radeon 8500LE, and I don't want to buy the game unless I know I'll be able to play it!

But, I do want the game!

Possible solutions that I can see, install the version before of DirectX, thats what I have had to do to solve my ATI rendering problem recently on other games, they now work perfectly and I will not be installing the new version of DirectX when I get the new civ as its full of known bugs which cause exactly the sort of problems listed here, but nobodies listening to me! :crazyeye: :lol: Install a clean version as well, do not install over the current version you have!

The other thing to check is if AGP fast write is turned on in the BIOS of your computer.

Completly uninstall your ATI drivers, reset your computer, then install the latest drivers, reset your computer again.

Has anybody tried turning down Hardware Accelaration in Windows XP? I would be intrested to see if that does anything!

yes i tweaked the hardware acceleration and other than slightly changing the way it glitched out, no difference

Another thing I thought of too. Instead of Firaxis reps saying "Do this!", they need to issue a step-by-step guide of exactly what process to follow. Let's face it, those of us who are computer software/hardware veterans take certain things for granted. I think that's what we've run into here.

Ok, so Firaxis has been able to reproduce the problem and subsequently fix it with their suggested fix. Tell us exactly, step-by-step what you did to resolve the issue. Do not even leave out seemingly obvious stuff like "Restart computer".

Let's face it: we all may say, "But I did everything they said and it STILL doesn't work" when, in fact, we did not do everything Firaxis reps did when they resolved the issue.

Let's find out exactly what was done to fix this problem and not assume everyone knows exactly how to simply "Installl the latest drivers"!

I have to completely agree.
We don't need pieces of information, we need the complete picture. So, I strongly second this suggestion and ask for a checklist to follow.

I even don't care if I am talled to switch on my computer at point 1. I just want to know which exact sequence I have to follow and which EXACT steps I have to perform.

I tried all except for uninstalling and reinstalling DirectX

so far, still wont load 'render error' on my ATI X800XL retail boxed vid card.

5.10 installed, tried to reinstall game, and drivers, still no go.

WinXPsp2 with all updates, ALL other games WORK, yes, even Black & White 2 (will soon unleash my creature in this forum, you wont want that, jk)

All ATI demos work, even as I burn and watch DVD movies on the fly.

ATI will have to release a fix rightaway, as it is something ATI and FIXARIS should be working on together. X800 is still relatively new, every driver update had tons of resolved issues for X800 cards and games about a year old, so we have no choice but to wait, or borrow another card.

I think games should be boxed with computers that work with them, like old style mini arcade games with dediacted Chip ROM or somehting. you could elimiate 100,000 tech support jobs, oh wait, i forgot, public beta is free....oh i forgot, oh wait so is out sourcing....

I guess we are getting (free) what we are paying (free) for.

Radeon xPress 200m (integrated, laptop)
Latest Cats (5.10) downloaded last night
Works fine

I find it ironic my lowest end card can run it while x800's can't. :cool:

rayanth-- i know this might be a dumb question, but is firaxis trying to reproduce this problem using their (developers) copy of the game, or are they using the gold/production version (the one you pointed out earlier that they didnt test prior to its release)? because obviously if the problem is unique to the gold version for some reason, then thats the one they need to examine.
P.S. you never told us WHY exactly they couldnt test the gold version prior to its hitting the shelves.

I have to completely agree.
We don't need pieces of information, we need the complete picture.


You've brought up another great point. We have how many threads on this issue? 4 or 5? How many different ideas and suggested fixes have there been by individual users, now lost in the depths of these disparate threads?

We need an official rep or someone with some serious computer software know-how to compile all this stuff into a single thread and help make sense of it all.

Ok so all this talk about drivers. Has anyone tried to custom install or install with out the online option. I think that was an option in the start of the install.

I'm at work and just thought about this as well... maybe someone can try it. When I load the game I get an XML error but I can click through the messages and actually load the game. It runs great except for the fact ALL the text is in XML code format and almost unreadable. There is no way to play the game like this. Maybe someone with the same problem can load the game and then try to tweak the settings and see what happens. Maybe a few game setting tweaks ingame will adjust something that will set it right? Just a thought.

I have, since first installing the game and getting the rendering problem, tried the following solutions (in no particuliar order) :

Installing older ati drivers than 5.10
Installing Directx 8.1
Installing Dirextx 9.0b
Installing the DX 9.0c on the cd using the 9.0b setup files (because it would not overwrite the files)
Rolling back DX with a util mentioned in these forums (or at apolyton) and installing different versions of DX
Changing my desktop res to 1024x768

I decided my last course of action was a windows reinstall. Did that. I have installed : Newest Omegas; Nforce2 chipset drivers; DirectX 9.0c off the Civ4 CD (which appeared to install fine after the windows reinstall); Civ4

Still get the error.

Not working...

DirectX 9.0c
Intel Pentium 4 3Ghz
ATi Radion 9600 Series AGP

Tried everything mentioned here... Still not working.

Sad.

Done everything except reformat comp. Uninstalled DirectX, installed it, uninstalled ATI drivers, reinstalled them.

No dice.

Oh, I have a Radeon 9550.

Ted

Okay, maybe I just got lucky...but I got the game to work. For now.

When I first installed the game, all I got was the splash screen that went through a few loads and then said Done. Then nothing, and eventually the game went to Not Responding and I had to close it out.

Went to ATI, downloaded new driver package with Control Panel (I have a Radeon 8500 card). Installed it, tried to play game, and now I got the famous Failed to Initialize Renderer message.

Back to ATI, got the uninstaller, uninstalled driver. When it prompted me to restart computer, I said no, figuring I'd have to reboot after I reinstalled the driver anyway. This was a mistake--when I went to install, I got a VGA error message of some kind (sorry, didn't write it down, but the upshot was I couldn't load the driver). So I rebooted, then installed the driver package, rebooted again. Then, remembering someone's advice above (and I have no idea whether it made a difference), I set my screen resolution to 1024 x 768.

Loaded game, and it played. My kid has been at it for over an hour now, with no problems yet. Fingers crossed that it holds. But my kid finally gets to play his game--you should have seen how disappointed he was yesterday. And last night. And this morning...

rayanth-- i know this might be a dumb question, but is firaxis trying to reproduce this problem using their (developers) copy of the game, or are they using the gold/production version (the one you pointed out earlier that they didnt test prior to its release)? because obviously if the problem is unique to the gold version for some reason, then thats the one they need to examine.
P.S. you never told us WHY exactly they couldnt test the gold version prior to its hitting the shelves.

I have benn wondering this myself. None of the review sites have seen have talked about this problem. Everyone says the game is stable. I find it odd that all the review sites that install the game across the office don't discuss this. Even saying "We had some trouble with...but that was cleared up with a driver reinstall". The thing is, I am wondering if an old or corrupt file made it onto the disc. Also, the computers that are tested on have been built from release to release. What if the retail release didn't include a file that was already on said computer? Then those computers at Firaxis would be okay, while those poeple without these files wouldn't. This file could come from other games or programs which would explain why not everyone sees the problem.

While none of what I listded is likely to be the problem, I point it out because they cannot really reproduce the same scenario. They may get the error, but the don't have exactly the same hardware. They don't have the same programs installed. Heck even uninstalled programs leave files and registry entries behind that can cause issues...nice design Microsoft. It keeps me from uninstalling/reinstalling trial software, but ultimately it causes many problems.

I hear people who format and reinstall everything. If Civ is the first install on a fresh drive and you use that to install DirectX, then it seems to point to the install discs themselves as a possible culprit. Well, guess we just sit and wait.

there's a new thread with a supposed solution- about to try it

CPU: Athlon 3500+ socket 939
Mem: 2GB
Card: Radeon X800XL
Driver Version: Everything out there
Works / Doesn't work: Dosn't work!!!

I have tried _EVERYTHING_ to get it to work.

-Snicker-

finally!!!!! i used the new solution posted in the other thread, and it worked!!! for a second it looked like it wasnt going to, but then the opening video came up!!!!! i swear i almost cried ( the emotionally poignant music didnt help either lol ) - anyway i came back here immediately after the video, so i cant really vouch for how bug-free the rest of the game is for me, but it works!!!! YAY!!! ok, heres the link..... http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140859
i have a radeon 9550, running with catalyst 5.10
good luck all!

there's a new thread with a supposed solution- about to try it

That fix worked for me.

finally!!!!! i used the new solution posted in the other thread, and it worked!!! for a second it looked like it wasnt going to, but then the opening video came up!!!!! i swear i almost cried ( the emotionally poignant music didnt help either lol ) - anyway i came back here immediately after the video, so i cant really vouch for how bug-free the rest of the game is for me, but it works!!!! YAY!!! ok, heres the link..... http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140859
i have a radeon 9550, running with catalyst 5.10
good luck all!

Do you get black terrain or movie slowdowns, etc now? I am curious if all the problems were linked to the game having problems unpacking files while running.

Okay, maybe I just got lucky...but I got the game to work. For now.

When I first installed the game, all I got was the splash screen that went through a few loads and then said Done. Then nothing, and eventually the game went to Not Responding and I had to close it out.

Went to ATI, downloaded new driver package with Control Panel (I have a Radeon 8500 card). Installed it, tried to play game, and now I got the famous Failed to Initialize Renderer message.

Back to ATI, got the uninstaller, uninstalled driver. When it prompted me to restart computer, I said no, figuring I'd have to reboot after I reinstalled the driver anyway. This was a mistake--when I went to install, I got a VGA error message of some kind (sorry, didn't write it down, but the upshot was I couldn't load the driver). So I rebooted, then installed the driver package, rebooted again. Then, remembering someone's advice above (and I have no idea whether it made a difference), I set my screen resolution to 1024 x 768.

Loaded game, and it played. My kid has been at it for over an hour now, with no problems yet. Fingers crossed that it holds. But my kid finally gets to play his game--you should have seen how disappointed he was yesterday. And last night. And this morning...

Initially when I had this problem I used the uninstaller and upgraded the driver from 4.1 to 5.1. That did not work. I saw your post and tried it again, this time after installing the driver and rebooting, I reduced my resolution to 1024 x 768. I ran the game and got the same error.

So it did not work for me, unfortunately.

I just saw the fix in the other thread and tried it out. Worked like a charm.

works fine so far
god yes this game is good
bye now gotta go play for next 100 hrs

Do you get black terrain or movie slowdowns, etc now? I am curious if all the problems were linked to the game having problems unpacking files while running.

Yeah, that and I'd also like to see if this helps the puny Radeon 7500 on laptops. Come on, someone give me some good news. (crosses fingers)

finally!!!!! i used the new solution posted in the other thread, and it worked!!! for a second it looked like it wasnt going to, but then the opening video came up!!!!! i swear i almost cried ( the emotionally poignant music didnt help either lol ) - anyway i came back here immediately after the video, so i cant really vouch for how bug-free the rest of the game is for me, but it works!!!! YAY!!! ok, heres the link..... http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140859
i have a radeon 9550, running with catalyst 5.10
good luck all!



Worked for me too!

Geniuses, brilliant. Wonder why it worked?
And, more importantly, was it a graphics card issue at all?

ATI 9600 Pro & Catalyst 6.14.10.6542 works fine.

Card: Mobility9700
Driver Version: official mobility CC5.9 (not the mod from desktop CC one)
Works fine.

ok, I take back what I said
after I start a new game, it runs unbelievable slow, maybe only 1fps.....but it works fine in the menu

i got a radeon igp 345m loaded up ok, but have the dark land problem, movies, and messed up leaders. The American Revolution Scen. works the best but the land is visable but very dark. I dont know nething else about my card where can i look to find out all its specs? And is this for sure what is causing my problem?

Worked for me too!

Geniuses, brilliant. Wonder why it worked?
And, more importantly, was it a graphics card issue at all?
Apparently the Firaxians figured out what the problem was earlier today.

And it does appear to be something with ATI's graphics cards (256 MB models in particular?) Saw this over at Apolyton:

Originally posted by Solver
Hehe.

Well, more specifically, these ATI cards couldn't cope with the graphics file archive being as big as it was, so they wouldn't load any of the game's graphics.

tryed the recently posted firaxis "fix": uninstall Civ4, remove d3dx9_26.dll,.... then tryed the PakBuilder fix... No luck, but now I don't get the "failed to initialize renderer.." message, instead the game just does not start and goes back to the desk top... Oh well

from the DxDiag.txt ...

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: GBT___
System Model: AWRDACPI
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 1.80GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 286MB used, 2176MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: RADEON X800 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI RADEON X800 XL AGP (0x554D)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_554D&SUBSYS_03021002&REV_00
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (85Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6575 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 9/14/2005 19:58:48, 241664 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
Mini VDD Date: 9/14/2005 19:58:28, 1339392 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-160D-11CF-1D6A-0823A1C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x554D
SubSys ID: 0x03021002
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D ModeWMV8_B ModeWMV8_A ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_A
Deinterlace Caps: n/a
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

club 3d radeon 9800 pro
driver 6.14.10.6525
:crazyeye: :crazyeye: works :crazyeye: :crazyeye:

Ok - thanks for the feedback, people - its been a help.

I'll unsticky this thread now. If you're still having problems, please look at this thread. (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=133787)

Card: ATI Radeon 9600XT
Driver Version: Omega 2.6.75a (Catalyst 5.10)
Works / Doesn't work: Crashes to desktop every few turns. Runs ok before crashing but stutters.

More (also posted in another thread):

Crashes to desktop after a few turns. Didn't happen for maybe 20 or 30 turns, and now it crashes all the time. The game will freeze after stuttering and will show some elements of the desktop and taskbar, but it doesn't render the whole desktop until a three-finger-salute (the game has already crashed by then). I'm using the newest Omega 2.6.75a drivers (a previous version wouldn't run the game at all). I already had DirectX 9.0c, but it ran erratically until I installed the one on the CD, though it's the exact same version. My setup:

Win2000 SP4
Asus A7N8X-E mobo
AthlonXP 2400+
1 Gig RAM (2x512MB)
ATI Radeon 9600XT

Hope this helps

http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/support_ati.htm

All The Best

Lelly

I know it's unstickied now, but I didn't see my card go up there, yet.

Radeon Mobility x600

Can't update drivers, because HP hasn't decided to make any new ones.
Oh yeah, I get the error. Have to use the unpacker.

=$= Big J Money =$=

Breakthrough!!

I was having the same message on my computer with Fear. If you have Hyperthreading, try disabling it. This worked for me and now it runs great. Post any sucess.

I have the ATI Sapphire Radeon X1300 512MB PCI Express I am getting the following two error windows: "Failed to allocate video memory. Please try reducing your graphics settings""File:\Source\main\Civlization4\SDKs\Gamebryo2-0\CoreLibs\NiDX9 Renderer\NiDX9VB Manager.cpp,Line:1019"
AND "Runtime Error! Program:...raxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization4\Civilization 4.exe""This applilcation has requested the runtime to terminate in an unusual way. Please contact the applications support team for more information."
Please Help Me, Somebody. brosiu30@hotmail.com Thank you

i'm having the same problem as brosius, but with an older radeon 9800. only starts to happen in the late industrial age. even with running at 1024x768, low graphics settings. i can barely get through one turn before it crashes.

edit - except the error has "...\NiDX9SourceTextureData.cpp, Line:314"

Radeon 9600
Catalyst 6.5

Crashes after 5-8 min of play
At best ctrl+alt+del will kill the application
at worst have to do a hard reboot. :mad:

The specs are in my Sig, and everythign works fine, EXCEPT

The game COMPLETELY and without warning crashes to desktop at exactly the year 325AD in a normal paced game. (loading the savegame from that year results in immediate crash to desktop.) with zero error messages or any indication that something was about to go wrong.

Card name: RADEON 7500 SERIES
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RADEON 7500 Series AGP (0x5157)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5157&SUBSYS_013A1002&REV_00
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Mode: 1152 x 864 (32 bit) (75Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6561 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 8/3/2005 23:10:36, 205312 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
Mini VDD Date: 8/3/2005 23:10:16, 1273344 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-1217-11CF-136A-3021A1C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x5157
SubSys ID: 0x013A1002
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D

Works/Doesn't Work: Do not get the init error - game loads fine. But I am getting the 'only teeth and eyes' leaderhead show and the fog of war is not centered so when I zoom to my units they are in the dark.

I haveto go eat dinner - I will be working on this later and will let you all know any results.


Addendum: Other DXdiag info if needed:
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: ECS
System Model: M848A
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2400+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.0GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 292MB used, 2169MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode
did you find a solution to this problem? I have same issue and same card.

I was getting crashes on my system (with an ATI Radeon 9800Pro AGP card) with vanilla Civ4 until I changed the .ini file so it runs in windowed-mode (although accessing the Civilopedia still causes it to crash).

BTW, let me define what I mean by "crash": I could go through the setup/game options screen, it would start building the world, and then, just as it's ready to show me my starting settler & location, the screen goes haywire. The screen looks like a mix between random vertical striping and a MASSIVE amount of artifacts (or it would look like way too many large triangles drawn all over the screen). I cannot take a screenshot, because it is permanently fuzzed until I reboot. :nuke:

As I said, running it in windowed-mode solved the problem (or was a decent workaround) for the most part. Then I got Civ 4 Warlords. After changing the Civilization4.ini for Warlords to match my vanilla version, it appears to work alright (I haven't played a full game yet, because I was just testing to make sure it worked), but then I decided to try what looked like the most interesting new feature: The "Barbarians" scenario.

I've gotten through the game settings, told it to auto-run 40 turns, and as soon as the 40th turn is finished... CRASH! :eek:

Before anyone suggests them: yes, I installed the latest Warlords patch; yes, I am running SP2 of XP; yes, I have the latest Omega drivers for the 9800Pro; and yes, I have the latest BIOS and drivers for my motherboard. (Doing all of this is how I got vanilla Civ4 to run in windowed-mode.)

Does anyone have any other suggestions I can try? :confused:

This is what my screen looks like when trying to start a new game of Warlords.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154993&stc=1&d=1183004995

And, if I can still see the "continue to game" button, it then renders the map like I just entered hyperspace.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154994&stc=1&d=1183004995

As you can see, it doesn't CTD - instead, it just keeps going with garbage graphics.

Any ideas how to prevent this? I have tried just about every possible screen resolution and antialiasing/anisotropic filtering setting imaginable, and they all fail.

When I zoom to my units they are in the dark. I only see the outline of rivers and my units... the rest is black... And this only when I installed a 64 mb Radeon 7000 series card... Any help?