ummm, I downloaded the patch and, though the bulk of the game still works great, my in-game videos have actually become quite laggy and stuttering-which it wasn't pre-patch (same with intro movie). Anyone suggest how to overcome this problem? I REALLY want to keep the patch, but might remove it and wait for the next one (as my pre-patch gameplay was fairly good).

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

Well some problems were not solved (see picture). And I still can not play the world map scenario (or must I wait longer than 15 minutes before the game actually starts:D )
I hope my new machine will solve these problems. But the old machine is up to the specs.
My rig:
Dual athlon 1800+ and asys Ti4600.

Well 5 hours into a huge world game and no slowdown yet ..Amazed..Maybe this really does work..only bug so far was Stonehenge video didnt play (all other wonder vids have been fine otherwise).

Only graphical scrolling problem is with my eyes from lack of sleep :)

Seems the blach screen bug is not solve ?
LeSphinx

There is a technical tips page posted on the Firaxis site here:

http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detail.php?gameid=6&tips=1

One of the tips (regarding movie playback issues) is:

Set Bink16Bit = 1 or BinkInterlace = 1 in the Civ4Config ini file (requires the Civ patch or later)

My game before the patch had black terrain, still does....the video was choppy now it won't even play...also the game didnt crash before and now it does. For me, this patch is horrible. I also have pretty decent comp specs so I'm sure this is going on for quite a few people.

Direct2Drive version had some fix long ago, just search the web for "civ4_d2d_hotfix.exe". It's ~100Mb, and 95Mb are about June 2005 DirectX. I managed to install it over DVD version, but it didn't solve any sluggishness issue, so it's still up to me :)

Try setting ...

; Don't show minimum specification warnings
HideMinSpecWarning = 1

... in the main .ini file.

Will this also stop the settings from being automatically changed to lower settings.

After getting the game to finally start after the patch here's what I think. I loaded up a previous game to see if it improved performance. And as a matter of fact it actually does to some extent. The game feels a bit more smooth for me now, no more hickups and slow movement etc... Though the overall performance is still the same. I'm around the rec specs FYI. The options menu is a bit quirky for me now. I had to restart the game two times before they got saved. And if I try to switch resolution the game automatically switches it back to default before I get the chance to accept. When I exited the game before I logged on here windows was in 800x600 4-bit color mode! Hello old school. Hopefully it was just a temp quirk.

Overall a decent patch.

To the people who are still experiencing various performance issues after the patch, I have a simple suggestion: Defrag your hard drive(s). While this is something that many of us do routinely, we often forget to recommend it to people having pc issues. It never ceases to amaze me how many people never do it nor realize the benefit of it. This may not end up being your savior, but it can't hurt to try it.

And anyone who hasn't defragged on a regular basis may not know how to start it, so...

(left click)
Start
->All Programs
-->Accessories
--->System Tools
---->Disk Defragmentor

Downloaded the civfanatics copy of the patch but when people were saying about the 1706 error (no valid source) I downloaded in game (hoping that I'd get a country specific patch) but I still got the 1706 error.

I did notice that just before the error showed up, it was looking at the floppy drive (the dvd is in my normal dvd drive) maybe it was just checking all drives? Probably its looking for the US version of the game? Now THAT is an example of sloppy QA given that it has nothing to do with my PC config (so no excuse for them not checking it).

However, clicking past the error and its all installed fine.

Had to re-set my options from the defaults again but that is normal.

In game performance seems a bit better (hard to tell as it was good for me anyways). No problem with the intro movie (wasnt a problem before either). Havn't had a wonder movie yet (some B*****D beat me to sistine by 1 turn :mad: ). The AI declared war within 1 turn of loading the patch, though I admit I'd seen him massing his troops for a while before the patch...

All advisor screens load OK, science screen seemed to be reporting the correct techs (I read someone else say theirs was wrong?).

Havent had to upgrade my drivers or anything (as I said they were fine before, but I know newStatesman suggested it for those getting CTDs after the patch).

athlon 2400+
1gb
6600gt 128mb (77.72 drivers)
XP SP1
Asus a7v333
European (DVD) Civ4 with in-game patch 1.09 applied (no patch 1.08 ever downloaded)

The update completely wrecked my installation and I'm unable to uninstall the game. I'm going to try to re-install the game to fix the problem and attempt to update in-game.

This sucks. :aargh:

how weird--my copy just doesn't work anymore. Mind you, i'm using my review build and not a retail build, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

i wish the game was available in japan...

Now this is something to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving!
-TSteamer

Edit: (Ack. After reading the full thread...apologies to those the patch either didnt work for, or made worse...)

:cry:
This is the error I got:

I shared my 1.09 experience in another thread without realising that there is already a long thread going on here. Repro-ing...

My son and I have been playing Civilization IV, version 1.00 on 2 brand new computers that we bought from Costco. One is a HP Pavillion Model a1123 and the other is a Gateway 836GM. Both are fast machines, costing about $1,400 each, and we have Comcast as an ISP. We were able to enjoy playing LAN Civ4 games for a week, with fast frame rates and good movies. No problem prior to the patch.

We downloaded the patch 1.09 this evening. My Gateway machine runs Civ4 now with a message that says "Your machine is below minimum specification. Civ4 will not run on this hardware setup.". The movies were now slow and choppy. My son's HP Pavillion *cannot* even launch Civ4 now, so we are no longer able to play multiplayer games on the LAN. He has a 4 day weekend with no school, and we were looking at spending fun time together... now he is totally disappointed.

Our only option to have fun this weekend is to uninstall patch 1.09. Contrary to any "mistaken believe", there is no easy way to uninstall the patch without totally uninstalling Civilization and reinstalling it from scratch. You cannot uninstall the patch from the Civ4 disk, or right clicking on the menu bar when you invoke "Start\All Program\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization IV". You have to do it in the control panel, using "Add/Remove Programs". Furthermore the only related entry in Add/Revmove Program is "Sid Meier's Civilization IV", the patches do no appear, so you cannot uninstall just the patch alone. To get our civilization working, we have to delete the entire Civilization IV game, and then reinstall it on both machines. This is a whole lot of trouble.

To add insult to injury, while we were uninstalling Civ 4 from my machine, it frozed. I guess it froze in the middle of uninstallation, and put my machine in a weird "limbo state". This is because I can no longer install Civilization IV from the installation disk because it only has "PLAY" on it. Furthermore, I cannot uninstall Civilization IV now, because the entry in Control Panel "Add/Remove Program" is gone. After a lot of poking around, I finally found a technical solution. I have to use "Regedit" to physically remove the Civilization IV entry so that I can reinstall Civilization IV version 1.00 on my machine again.

The whole 1.09 patch experience is a NIGHTMARE. I took us close to 3 hours to get the patch 1.09 out of both machines, so that we can enjoy playing Civilization 1.00 again. Just my 2 cents.

I feel for you. I am completely unable to uninstall the game. I am considering re-installing the entire hard drive from a ghost image.

I solved the "catastrophic error" (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=3361371&postcount=164) issue by installing the game to the default directory C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4 (previously it was installed on different drive).
Hopefully, it can help somebody.
Considering the fact, that non-patched version ran pretty smoothly (standart map size) on my antique hardware (p4 2.4, 256ram, gf4 mx440) couldn't notice some major performance improvements. On the contrary, looks like movies are choppier than before, but who cares?! With my video card I have to turn them off anyway :lol: .
Bottom line: I'm quite happy, since I see hammers and coins, so good luck to everybody and happy civing!

@ Flamegrape, read the posts from me and ranathari in the previous page of this thread. Some useful info there that may help you...

-- Roland

Try setting ...

; Don't show minimum specification warnings
HideMinSpecWarning = 1

... in the main .ini file.


Cheers!

That, possibly along with some tinkering with what profile to load, fixed the issue. Game now runs fine again, even on max settings.

Flamegrape, it's either you have a cracked *.exe, or a virus inyour system.

Well this patch fixes nothing for me, the game stays unplayable/unloadable. Quits on audio init when I don't disabled audio in the config (as before) if I do so I get around 100 xml erros on init XML when loading continues. I really don't know what to do anymore and I am a server admin for a very large corporation so I am not usually clueless about computer problems. But Civ IV just costs me my last nerves :( really a pity, I loved the predecessor.

:cry:
This is the error I got:

I saw the same I simply ignored it and installation seems to have continued fine. I have no idea why I get this error. I have an original Civ IV collector's box and don't use any cd image or no-cd crack.

Flamegrape, it's either you have a cracked *.exe, or a virus inyour system.

Not true, I got the same error and I'm pretty sure I don't have any viruses.

Will this also stop the settings from being automatically changed to lower settings.

Yes, and to anyone else getting "hardware config is not suitable for civ iv" message either see my post on pg.10 of this thread or :- (repeated here)

Go into explorer , doubleclick on Civ IV config settings file (found in same place as civ saved games), scroll down to

[CONFIG]

and change line

HideMinSpecWarning = 0

to

HideMinSpecWarning = 1


Now when you run the game it will bypass the "min settings notification" and if you go into options you can change the graphics etc to whatever you want, and these new settings will be saved..

i have the error 1706: no valid source could be found.


i'm not sure if the patch is installed properly or not, but these are the effects:
intro movie was choppy before and is still choppy now. however, the sound in the intro movie has improved. wonder movies were choppy before, they now seem to be fixed. i haven't yet gotten to a late game, so i'm not sure if that's a problem. other minor bugs (right of passage war declaration, diplomatic peace exploit, ironworks malfunction) do seem to be corrected, although i haven't yet had the opportunity to see all of them.

I have the English-language United States version that I purchased at a store called Best Buy. I have not attempted to alter this program with a no-cd crack. I sincerely doubt I have any viruses because I use a constantly-updated registered copy of PC-Cillin. I also employ Microsoft Anti-Spyware, which is also constantly updated. My computer has been sufficiently powerful enough to play version 1.00 in the past.

Since I recently made a ghost image of my hard drive, I have just ressurected my drive and I have just re-installed CIV4. I will now attempt to install the patch. If I have the same problem again, then I must conclude that this patch is 100% S.N.A.F.U.

They should have done something to fix that annoying in-game auto updater. I have a broadband connection and when I hit the update button my whole PC just freezes. Doesn't even give you a courtesy "be right back" or "looking for updates". To me is useless but I still am able to download from the web manually....

so how can i download it???
just bought it, getting the file not found error when clicking on the startup icon... radeon 9800 SE...
where the heck do i get that patch from????

so how can i download it???
just bought it, getting the file not found error when clicking on the startup icon... radeon 9800 SE...
where the heck do i get that patch from????

Try some mirrors here:

http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/patch/

I have the English-language United States version that I purchased at a store called Best Buy. I have not attempted to alter this program with a no-cd crack. I sincerely doubt I have any viruses because I use a constantly-updated registered copy of PC-Cillin. I also employ Microsoft Anti-Spyware, which is also constantly updated. My computer has been sufficiently powerful enough to play version 1.00 in the past.

Since I recently made a ghost image of my hard drive, I have just ressurected my drive and I have just re-installed CIV4. I will now attempt to install the patch. If I have the same problem again, then I must conclude that this patch is 100% S.N.A.F.U.

It worked now.

I shouldn't have needed to do this. Since I plan ahead, I had a ghost image. Others will have to ERASE THEIR HARD DRIVES AND REINSTALL THEIR OPERATING SYSTEMS.

Now I'm trying to figure out how I'm supposed to generate random maps from within the WorldBuilder like the update says I can do.

- Added regenerate Map Button to World builder Map Mode...
I found this button in the WorldBuilder. I pressed it several times and nothing happened.

I wonder how soon 1.10 is coming out?
:rolleyes:

I've only had one problem with the patch.

My PBEM games that require a password hang when asking for the password. I put in the password, press OK and nothing happens.

Any suggestions?

The invalid Source error is caused by this (i think, it worked for me)
Quote from the 1.09 Readme;
The installer splits up the Art PAK file into multiple 100MB PAKs. Please be patient as this will take some time.

Well guess what? All of us who did the ATI fix and unpacked the ArtPak, we were instructed to MOVE THE FILE OUT OF THE ASSETS FOLDER! It would have been nice to read the readme before i installed, but it was an Auto-update.

This patch installed in under 20 seconds for me. Then after i got to read the Readme that was extracted. Then i figured it out. Moved the ArtPak back into Assets, ran the patch again, and this time it took time to do its job.

Also, about not being able to log into Gamespy;
I type in my name, my password, press enter, it just locked up, 5 minutes later, Error, wrong password or name. I went to gamespyid.com, logged in, it turns out my name had "-tk" added to the end of it. I removed it and it all works fine now. I talked to someone else in the lobby that had the same problem with extra characters added to their names.

I hope this helps someone, anyone, out.


All in all, this patch made the game smoother than it already was for me. I love the new Out of Sync popup. No more guessing, or typing out numbers just to have everyone pretend they have the same number :)
And now when i zoom in and out and scroll the world around, i dont notice Any lag :D

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! GREAT GAME!

Same problems still.

It worked now.

I shouldn't have needed to do this. Since I plan ahead, I had a ghost image. Others will have to ERASE THEIR HARD DRIVES AND REINSTALL THEIR OPERATING SYSTEMS.

Now I'm trying to figure out how I'm supposed to generate random maps from within the WorldBuilder like the update says I can do.
LOL! I don't think so. Why would you need to completely wipe your computer clean if you can't properly uninstall a game? Just go to the game folder and erase it. If you want a more thorough elimination, check the registry and delete the related keys.

Geez, that's just suicidal.

I have now tried un- and reinstalling Civ4 and the patch. Its hard to say for certain, but I think the Mean-Time-From-Load-To-Crash (MTFLTC) has been lowered to about 2 mins after patching. So now I have uninstalled the patch and reinstalled Civ4. My MTFLTC is now around 15 mins.

I. Am. Tired.

Oh, and by the way I have done defrag every time I uninstalled civ4. I thought they said "...memory, caching and performance improvements, etc. There were also a number of video card specific fixes..." about this patch, so I hoped I would be freed from these endless reboots, but my hopes will now be with the next patch.

I never thought I'd say this, but: I am afraid civ4 is loosing me.

On the contrary, looks like movies are choppier than before, but who cares?! With my video card I have to turn them off anyway :lol: .

DL now... hope it works for me! Seems like Russian Roulette from reading this thread, though..:(

One question: from Crickets quote it seems to be possible to turn off the wonder movies - I've never been able to find an option for that.. can anyone tell me where to find that?
I've been avoiding building wonders because those f'ing movies caused random crashes, though I had no other graphical problems.

After installing the patch, it looks like it got even more choppy.

Does it work? There are some here who are not happy.

Incidentially, I am very unhappy, as I have done all the things that are recommended, and my Nvidia just can't seem to "cut it". I'm using 1 Gig of memory, and an Athalon 2400.

I've got Athlon 2400 and 1GB of RAM as well. I use an nVidia Ti4200 128. I initially had some very bad issues, then I gota program called NVHardpage SE, and after tinkering with that I go tthe game to run like silk, though it looked like ****. I've been tuning a little here and there and got the game to look and run decent eventually. This kind of machine can handle it and then some, before the patch, if you are willing to adjust your hardware's abilities.

I've noticed something else wierd. I loaded my SP Ghandi game. The turn was from 1973. When I loaded the game and hit end turn I was in 1964.

The turn played just fine though...

I have noticed shorter load times both on my desky and my laptop... Particularly from the slower laptop during LAN games. With that said I didn't have much problem with v1.00.

I like the animal husbandry horses thing, much different starting strategy for the horsey civs needed.

Just curious, does ANYONE have smooth playable movies in this patch? (Opening or Wonder)

Both with and without patch, wonder movies were smooth for me.

But opening movie was always somewhat choppy (not smooth), with sound OK.

Interesting I don't get similar problem if I play video manually with external player (RAD Tools).

I feel for you. I am completely unable to uninstall the game. I am considering re-installing the entire hard drive from a ghost image.


Why not get software like "Your Uninstaller" and completely remove it? I dont trust windows uninstaller, nor do i trust all these different companies uninstallers, they always leave files/folders/registry entries behind. Your uninstaller searches for all of these and informs you of what is left behind and asks if youd like to delete it.

It worked now.

I shouldn't have needed to do this. Since I plan ahead, I had a ghost image. Others will have to ERASE THEIR HARD DRIVES AND REINSTALL THEIR OPERATING SYSTEMS.

Now I'm trying to figure out how I'm supposed to generate random maps from within the WorldBuilder like the update says I can do.

I was having the same problem as you. I just aborted the patch process, went into the CP, add/remove, then uninstalled civ4. This unfortunatly brought back the civ 4 patch. This time I ignored the error. It patches fine, but you can now uninstall if you want.

Just to be safe I uninstalled, the option is available after you patch with ignore, and reinstalled. I got the same error again.... and repeated the steps to uninstall.

The last time, I just installed and used the ingame update, instead of the downloaded patch I got from this site, and it went in beautifully, not one error.

I'm pondering that my game didn't like the linked patch from this site.

I shouldn't have needed to do this. Since I plan ahead, I had a ghost image. Others will have to ERASE THEIR HARD DRIVES AND REINSTALL THEIR OPERATING SYSTEMS.
LOL! I don't think so. Why would you need to completely wipe your computer clean if you can't properly uninstall a game? Just go to the game folder and erase it. If you want a more thorough elimination, check the registry and delete the related keys.

Geez, that's just suicidal.
Yes, that does seem to be a bit extreme for uninstalling any traces of the game. Like you said, delete the folder, edit the reistry (if you are capable), and maybe delete game related stuff from your "my Documents" folder and that should do it.

I've only had one problem with the patch.

My PBEM games that require a password hang when asking for the password. I put in the password, press OK and nothing happens.

Any suggestions?


I have the same problem with my PBEM games. I type my password in, and the cursor just spins.

My movies are even choppier now after the patch, but I can see all the resource yields on the terrains now. I haven't played much with this patch yet, but to me it seems that I was better off before it.

I downloaded this patch and the new Nvidia 81.95 drivers and the game runs smooth as before with low resolution, except I now have some leaders that have DEMON eyes (their eyes are just white, no iris, quite frightening), I didnt have that problem before. It happens to both Asoka's eyes, Genghis's right eye, but Cyrus's eyes are ok...

I have the same problem with my PBEM games. I type my password in, and the cursor just spins.

My movies are even choppier now after the patch, but I can see all the resource yields on the terrains now. I haven't played much with this patch yet, but to me it seems that I was better off before it.

Yep the cursor just spins...

I wonder if new PBEM games will do the same thing, or if it only affects converted old ones.

System: Athlon 1700+, 512MB RAM, Radeon 8500LE 128MB

My unpatched version ran rather sluggishly on my box (still playable), and every time I exited, I had the Windows Virtual Memory warning telling me that more virtual memory was being allocated.

After the patch, the game seems to be quite a bit more responsive, but I still get the Windows Virtual Memory warning when I exit. Looks like the memory hogging hasn't been rectified yet.

Might be time to go to 1 GB RAM, or just upgrade outright. It would be a shame to spend $1500++ on a new system just so I can play a $50 game :(

It's probably better for the Moderators to try to compile a How-to guide to uninstalling the patch. This will definitly help everyone that has trouble.

Somewhere along the lines of:
1. Create System Restore Point #1.
2. Patch Your Civ4
3. If it doesn't work, uninstall Civ 4.
4. Load System Restore Point #1.
5. Install Civ4 and Not install the patch.

System Restore will automatically create a checkpoint when you install new software (like this patch).

No one with patch problems has mentioned whether they tried to use System Restore, or what the results were.

With so many different system configurations in the world, and with only the people who have problems likely to complain, it's really hard to judge how much of a problem there is or what is causing it or what solution will work for all of those different people.

Still have BLACK TERRAIN.
I can now see the leaderheads (with weird eyes - no iris), but it's impossible to play like this...
How demanding is it to see plains, desert, hills, grassland and mountain tiles??? FIX IT already!!

LOL! I don't think so. Why would you need to completely wipe your computer clean if you can't properly uninstall a game? Just go to the game folder and erase it. If you want a more thorough elimination, check the registry and delete the related keys.

Geez, that's just suicidal.
I shouldn't have to know how to do all of that mucking about with registery. Most people don't know how to do it. Oh, yes, I know exactly what it is and what it's for. I also know that the Windows registery causes more headaches than anything else in this Mac OS rip-off called Microsoft Windows. It shouldn't even exist at all yet there it is, after all these years. It was a bad idea from day #1.

The point is this: I started with a fresh system and I had NO PROBLEMS. I had the easy capability to reinstall a ghost and so I gave that a shot and it made a huge difference. This should be a valuable bit of info for the game makers who are, without the slightest bit of doubt, working on yet another patch that needs to be released ASAP.

[QUOTE=Flamegrape]I shouldn't have to know how to do all of that mucking about with registery.QUOTE]

Go back a few posts, i made a recommendation for all who cant uninstall the game to try something like "Your Uninstaller 2006"
If you open that, then uninstall, when done it searches your computer for any files/folders/registry entries left behind. Youd be surprised how much $%#% programs leave behind when you order them to be removed :P

Off topic, but i wanted to ask. Does anyone read the posts? Or do most people just read the first and last?

5 minutes till it is downloaded! But after reading all of these posts it seems like it will make my game worese. Damn Well I will try it. Everyone said my game wouldn't work without T&L and it does really well. My only problem is the slowdown late game on huge maps. So lets hope this works!

[QUOTE=Flamegrape]I shouldn't have to know how to do all of that mucking about with registery.[QUOTE]

Go back a few posts, i made a recommendation for all who cant uninstall the game to try something like "Your Uninstaller 2006"
If you open that, then uninstall, when done it searches your computer for any files/folders/registry entries left behind. Youd be surprised how much $%#% programs leave behind when you order them to be removed :P

Off topic, but i wanted to ask. Does anyone read the posts? Or do most people just read the first and last?

I can't control myself and use this exploit--especially when the AI pisses me off. Is it fixed in this patch?

There is a technical tips page posted on the Firaxis site here:

http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detail.php?gameid=6&tips=1

One of the tips (regarding movie playback issues) is:

Set Bink16Bit = 1 or BinkInterlace = 1 in the Civ4Config ini file (requires the Civ patch or later)

I tried it. Before the opening movie was choppy (worse than before the patch); now it was ugly AND choppy. So I changed the settings back.

Wonder movies are OK though.

There is a technical tips page posted on the Firaxis site here:

http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detail.php?gameid=6&tips=1

One of the tips (regarding movie playback issues) is:

Set Bink16Bit = 1 or BinkInterlace = 1 in the Civ4Config ini file (requires the Civ patch or later)

I tried it. Before the opening movie was choppy (worse than before the patch); now it was ugly AND choppy. So I changed the settings back.

Wonder movies are OK though.

Somewhat worryingly this doesn't seem to be mentioned in the patch notes, though it is still possible it has been fixed. This really ought to have been number 1 on their list of gameplay bugs so I will be very disappointed if they haven't fixed it. I'll have to check in game to see if it's been fixed.

Guys

Installed the version 1.09 patch and the program runs. I started a new game and much to my surprise when I went to build my first city, I hit "b" to build and the program exited to desktop.

Any Ideas?

CF should use bittorrent for the patch. I feel guilty for using the bandwith and I wont go on other site because of lines.

We shall soon see if it fixes... wait I didnt have any probelms.

With original version my opening movie & sound is sloppy. Othervise ok to play (2.4Ghz celeron, 1G 333ram, 9200 Club radeon, soundmax soundcard). Ill DL patch tonite ~2100EET, and Ill tell you how did it change thingies (like is the opening movie still sloppy). Also before DL patch Iam going to defrag my HDD (40G HDD).

I shouldn't have needed to do this. Since I plan ahead, I had a ghost image. Others will have to ERASE THEIR HARD DRIVES AND REINSTALL THEIR OPERATING SYSTEMS.


Just a note on this subject, since I had the same problem. After the patch failed to install, I couldn't uninstall the game from the control panel, because the windows installer took me to install the patch, instead of uninstall the game. I saw a lot of suggestions, to manually delete everything or go into the registry, but that stuff doesn't seem necessary. I just ran the setup from the cd, and it let me uninstall the game. Went to "run" and "D:" and used the setup there. I also saw someone who downloaded the patch (ignored errors) and then uninstalled, that seems like an easy way to do it too.

Unfortunately, I still can't download the patch even from the in-game updater. :(

I'll try ignoring all the errors and see what happens. Guess we need a patch for the patch. :mischief:

Downloaded the patch, and it seems to have fixed the issues I had. But now when I get a new tech there is no longer the popup telling me what it was with the voice of Leonard Nemoy.

Any ideas?

Still have BLACK TERRAIN.
I can now see the leaderheads (with weird eyes - no iris), but it's impossible to play like this...
How demanding is it to see plains, desert, hills, grassland and mountain tiles??? FIX IT already!!

did the patch fix black terrain for anyone?

did the patch fix black terrain for anyone?
I know how to fix it!

Get a decent video card! :D

did the patch fix black terrain for anyone?
It worked for a friend of mine.

I can't control myself and use this exploit--especially when the AI pisses me off. Is it fixed in this patch?

Yes..............you have to grin and bear it now

Hmm -
i'm running out of the box (pre-order edition), with a machine that just below recommended spec (graphics card, I think), and I've had no "bug" issues. I have had some slowness in standard game at very end (not as bad as civ 3 used to be, though).

I'm trying to decide whether I should download this, or leave well-enough alone... what is the general consensus on the patch? Do we have to install to 4OTM ?

BTW : Specs are:
Windows XP Pro SP2
AMD 2.5+
512 MB
Ti4200

I know how to fix it!

Get a decent video card! :D

Wow your smart.
Well ok just a smartAss.
I mean come on. If you meet the min requirments you should be able to see the game. Not some black screen bull.
But what can we expect from firaxis/take2? This patch says it all.
Like I said before it will take at least three patches and a year for them to fix. That fix will come out in an expansion pack.
They have your money, they have our money. Why should they work on it. I mean that would mean they actually care about there product. With this game and this patch we see that is not the case. What we see is they fix just enough to keep you hoping. So they can string it out till the expansion pack.

Via singleplayer update or multiplayer, I get 0 downloading, and a file size of -1 (see attached image). Anyone else get this?

Anyone having problems downloading in-game, try getting it from a mirror:
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/patch/

Downloaded the patch installation works fine - however old passworded saved games don't work - I suspect this is the encryption change but people should be aware that they could effect MP pbem games.

Tals

The patch seemed to have really messed up the Wonder Movies for me. Pre-patch, they ran smoothly without any problems or hiccups at all. Post-patch, they are like a slideshow and skip virtually all of the frames. My computer settings haven't changed, so something is a bit arye with the wonder movies. (One thing I did notice is that a little text message came up during most of the poor quality movies saying 'File xxx.xxx could not be found'. So I wonder if something got messed up when they split apart the .pak files.

My apologizes if this has already been asked, but do the old savegames work with this?

anyone know how long direct2drive usually takes?

My apologizes if this has already been asked, but do the old savegames work with this?

Yes - however my own experience is passworded games don't

Tals

Haven't gotten a chance to test this yet, but I went to the bink video's homepage and installed the bink video player that they have. It's the same version as the one that comes with Civ4, but I figure that perhaps it installs things in the proper places and will allow the wonder movies to play back properly. Still, that won't get rid of the rest of the stuttering I'm now experiencing after the patch. Thanks to the holiday weekend, however, I'll have plenty of time to try and fix it. :D

The patch seemed to have really messed up the Wonder Movies for me. Pre-patch, they ran smoothly without any problems or hiccups at all. Post-patch, they are like a slideshow and skip virtually all of the frames. My computer settings haven't changed, so something is a bit arye with the wonder movies. (One thing I did notice is that a little text message came up during most of the poor quality movies saying 'File xxx.xxx could not be found'. So I wonder if something got messed up when they split apart the .pak files.

I also have new video problems since I installed the patch: The battle animations are really messed up. During battle, there is only one or 2 attack animation and the battle frezzes for 2-3 second until a winner is declared. All the "death" animation seem to have disapeared also....

Anyone else noticed this?

Hmm, not a happy camper.

I was running Civ before the patch with virtually zero problems, only a little slow down in the end game.

Now after installing the patch it insist I don't have the hardware to run the game and turn all the graphic settings down to the minimum. I turn it back up, but surprise surprise, it requires you to restart the game. And guess what it does on a restart...

The game seems to run just fine even if Civ claims I can't, but it's a bit annoying... I think I'll just kick the patch out.

I have the exact same problem!

Same thing I got, as you see above. Sounds like it's a problem with the European version of Civ4. Did you try clicking "Ignore"? For me the patch is installed and working just fine even though I did get this error message, go figure.

-- RolandI have the same problem running the NA version of the game. I never thought to try clicking "Ignore". I will when I get home from work. Thanks for the hint. I have the same system config as you though: ATI video (X300) w/o patch and Blue Marble.

When I downloaded Blue Marble I noticed a comment to the effect that they had had help from Firaxis to make the mod. Is it possible that there is some change to the exe? That could cause a CRC error and allow the patch to install correctly despite this.

hah, ha haha, hahahahahahaha, it works, not leaving my attic till saturday

You got an attic! WOW! I'm stuck in the basement, can't figure out if it's day or night...

One time I started playing and when I finally stopped there was 2 feet of snow outside! Autumn in Canada, go figure!

Really looking forward to NOT playing in the snow this winter...

does anyone know if the patch adjusts the scores of the old games according to level?

and if not, how do you delete them and start again?

TIA

Is this patch working for the French version of CIV IV ?

Reading some threads at CFC, I came to interesting conclusion.

I still have to get 1.09 (currently playing 1.08).

But it seems while 1.08 uses 1.00 save format, 1.09 uses new 1.01 format (can be seen in Advanced/About This Build).

Really important:
How does new patch affect old games?
(I had no problem with 1.00 to 1.08 transition)


Should I or should not finish my 1.08/1.00 game before installing 1.09 patch?

I found this button in the WorldBuilder. I pressed it several times and nothing happened.
The random regenerate map button. Anybody figure this out? I'm the only one having problems?

Reading some threads at CFC, I came to interesting conclusion.

I still have to get 1.09 (currently playing 1.08).

But it seems while 1.08 uses 1.00 save format, 1.09 uses new 1.01 format (can be seen in Advanced/About This Build).

Really important:
How does new patch affect old games?
(I had no problem with 1.00 to 1.08 transition)


Should I or should not finish my 1.08/1.00 game before installing 1.09 patch?

the patch asked me to reboot.
thougt: "crap! i wont reboot right now!"
started civ, tried to load a savegame.
no chance!
the savegames are set to version 1.01 after windows has rebooted.

and as long as your game is not PW protected it should do nothing bad.

at least _I_ had no problems playing old games.

but to be sure, you should finish first and afterward upgrade to 1.09

just my 2 cent

I too am having problems with the wonder movies post patch. They were going 100% fine, now they just lag.

CRC error: The file C:|Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Civilization4.exe doesn't match the file in the setup's .cab file. The medium from which you are running the setup might be corrupted; contact your software vendor.

I downloaded the patch from the civfanatics server and tried to apply. I got about 1/2 way through and this error showed up. I bought my game from Amazon and installed it. It ran (and still does, I think) fine. Next thing I'll try is to download the patch through the game.

My system is a Dell 9200 w/1.2gb and 1.6mHz Centrino. Video card is ATI 128mb 9700 Radeon.

Silverjim

So, when the patch process died halfway through it deleted the .exe file (See previous post). Now I have to de-install, then re-install Civ4 before I can even try to get the patch through the game. Boy, am I having fun now or what?

Silverjim

Wow your smart.
Well ok just a smartAss.
I mean come on. If you meet the min requirments you should be able to see the game. Not some black screen bull.
But what can we expect from firaxis/take2? This patch says it all.
Like I said before it will take at least three patches and a year for them to fix. That fix will come out in an expansion pack.
They have your money, they have our money. Why should they work on it. I mean that would mean they actually care about there product. With this game and this patch we see that is not the case. What we see is they fix just enough to keep you hoping. So they can string it out till the expansion pack.
The lack of texture problem is typical of outdated graphic cards without T&L, which is a minimum requirement to run the game. There are too many people trying to get the game work with Intel and Radeon Mobility cards, and since most fail, they blame the devs for their crappy video cards.

Sorry, I'm a tad annoyed by the "oh, has the patch done anything about the 486 processor performance problem?" comments, so I unloaded my tension on the poor guy. For that, I apologize.

Patch doesnt work for me, getting BSODs and Hard Crashes still.

I have previously sent my Dxdiag off but I dont think the game is worth the hassle anymore to try again.

To the people who are still experiencing various performance issues after the patch, I have a simple suggestion: Defrag your hard drive(s). While this is something that many of us do routinely, we often forget to recommend it to people having pc issues. It never ceases to amaze me how many people never do it nor realize the benefit of it. This may not end up being your savior, but it can't hurt to try it.

And anyone who hasn't defragged on a regular basis may not know how to start it, so...

(left click)
Start
->All Programs
-->Accessories
--->System Tools
---->Disk Defragmentor


I had alot of CTD'S on my first install. I then Defrag-ed and re-installed: it helped a lot. I haven't tried the new patch but seeing as how the game is running well without it, I won't!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Hey,
Downloaded the latest patch and now it is telling me my system is not able to run this. I have a new HP media center with 3.0 G Pent 4 1.0 G ram and 128 mg video card. It does not allow me to load high level graphics or to change the multi men to single man. Any one else with this problem?

I also have new video problems since I installed the patch: The battle animations are really messed up. During battle, there is only one or 2 attack animation and the battle frezzes for 2-3 second until a winner is declared. All the "death" animation seem to have disapeared also....

Anyone else noticed this?

I had this problem sometimes with the old version so I don't think it's caused by the patch.

The wonder movies and endgame movies are now worse! The sound AND the video now studders! WTF? What is so hard about playing a video file? I don't have any other problems.

AMD3000+/ASUS MB/Geforce 6800/1gig ram
win 2k, latest nvidia drivers (specifically with cIV fixes)

I had alot of CTD'S on my first install. I then Defrag-ed and re-installed: it helped a lot. I haven't tried the new patch but seeing as how the game is running well without it, I won't!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

This is what I've thought after reading through this thread. After all the game worked quite good for me on minimal settings. But the real deal comes now: Firaxis/Gamespy had the overwhelmingly great idea to make the 1.09 Patch an obligatorey to play MP games via Gamespy. As soon as you enter the lobby you are prompted to install the patch. Otherwise - no access. And now try setting up a direct IP game instead when sitting behind a router...

Great work, really :mad: !

Lord Timon

just wanted to note that I just went into the gamespy lobby - there was a lot of people, and I crashed to desktop within 2 minutes - so apparently that was not fixed. Still cant play huge maps on single player, and still getting screwed graphics from time to time - in fact twice since the patch which is 2 times more than the original for the last month. Also the patch reset some of the settings I made and I had to find and reset them to get game back to where it was before the patch. I am very sorry to say this, because I try to stay positive, but I am not impressed with this patch. Best thing I saw was that horses are hidden at start.

The game still doesn't give a d**n about custom mods unless I place the entire mod in the CustomAssets folder. :(

Well, after installing the 1.09 Patch on a clean unmodded install of CivIV Special Edition, I played the game for about an hour and it seemed to be running a little better ~5-10% better. But then as I tried to open up a city window it crashed.

http://www.spatula-city.com/Err/Civ4Crash3.jpg

Of course I reported the error and then these beauties showed up in Event Viewer.

http://www.spatula-city.com/Err/Civ4Crash.jpg
http://www.spatula-city.com/Err/Civ4Crash2.jpg

My system consists of:
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ CPU
1 Gig Corsair Ram - dual channel enabled
Geforce 4 Ti4200 128MB AGP
300GB Seagate PATA 7200RPM hard disk
Huge Dell 2405FPW monitor

I have been a fan of the Civilization series since I first discovered Civ I in 1993 and I have bought, and still have, each of the incarnations of the Civilization Game through the years. But barely playable and unfinishable Civ IV really pushes the limits of my allegiance to the series and has me question the integrity of companies involved.

-Dave

After getting the CRC error through a direct download of the patch and then applying, I tried getting it through the game. That works. I did notice that I can't play the game at the full resolution of my ATI card (1440x900) very long before things seem to freeze up, but I think the GPU overheats and shuts down above 140 degrees F. Well, I'll just play at 1040x768 then. I haven't noticed any other problems.

Silverjim

spatulacity --> I have the same problems with Civ 4 has encountered a problem and needs close... bla bla bla... only during game .I running program "english translator collins 2.5" is stupid bug ;/

I've noticed something else wierd. I loaded my SP Ghandi game. The turn was from 1973. When I loaded the game and hit end turn I was in 1964.

The turn played just fine though...

My saved game was off by 10 turns as well.

My game is going to finish in 2040 if there is no other victory first.

I game is play fine other than that, hopefully it is just because it is a saved game from a previous release (1.00).

I was running fine before the patch: P3 800Mhz, WIN98SE, 512MB, Geforce 5500.

I am running about the same after the patch, maybe a little faster opening and closing diplomacy and such.

One that was fixed for me after I loading the patch was the options screens, prior to the patch only the first tab contain selections, now with 1.09 all the options show up in the other three tabs, thought it was something to do with WIN98, happy to see the other options.

I didn't seem to miss them during the 9 or 10 games I've played as the defaults all worked fine on my computer.

I have apparantly been running all the highest setting with no crashes or major issues. I shut the movies off as the sound is a little choppy and I am tired of them anyways.

My wonder movies are also broken after the patch. Sound works fine now, but the movie is static!! Movies worked prior to patching.

I got this:

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads10/error.JPG

I ignored it and after playing 0.001 games (didn't crash just quit [double headed horses are funny:)]).

What do I do? Is it bad? How do I fix it? Any other things I can do to make the patch run better? I have the pre-order special edition. The patch so far (knock on wood) has been working fine but as I stated earlier I just did worldbuilder and then quit.

When i tried to patch it, it said Civilization4 CRC does not match... and wont install......currupt download? or currupt install?

@the Condor

Just click ignore and it will load and run fine.

Think I'll skip this 'patch'! :) ....now the 'Guinea Pigs' have tested......LOL :lol:

Game running fine without anyway........I'll hang off till they bring a patch out to fix the patch :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Small questions guys:
Since i installed the patch i don't see the number of turns it takes the city to grow in size or finish a production... any input on this? it was pretty useful!

Thank you

@the Condor

Just click ignore and it will load and run fine.

I said that in my post but thanks because I also said I didn't play any full games yet.

Also to the person who posted before me you have to reset all your settings because the patch gets rid of them.

Don't know about anyone else but I didn't have graphical problems with the orginal and now I have some small ones... I must update to the new nvidia driver and see how it goes...

Game won't start

So I installed the patch via the auto in game download after getting the corrupt file problem (as pictured here) having downloaded manually. Anyways, I install the auto patch no problem, restart my pc start the game the loading screen comes up in windows stays there for a few seconds as usual then nothing. The game isn't even int he task manager.

What gives?

Wonder movies sucking big time.

GG 2K/Firaxis

Small questions guys:
Since i installed the patch i don't see the number of turns it takes the city to grow in size or finish a production... any input on this? it was pretty useful!

Thank you

Check Options: Detailed City Information. It may have come unchecked in the patch, since the default is no detailed city info.

The patche fixed my problem that I had with the map only showing food. now I can see shields and gold too.

PBEM passwords don't work, even with new 1.09 games.

I have since installed the 1.09 patch. The Single Player works fine.

After receiving latest save file for my PBEM, it comes to part where I have to input my password and after I do, then click ok, nothing happens. I can keep clicking ok and ditto..nothing changes. If I click cancel, password screen goes away and then
initialization completes, screen goes black a sec and I am back to Main
Menu!

How do I resolve this? Thanks

apologies. double post.

EDIT

I have since installed the 1.09 patch. The Single Player works fine.

After receiving latest save file for my PBEM, it comes to part where I have to input my password and after I do, then click ok, nothing happens. I can keep clicking ok and ditto..nothing changes. If I click cancel, password screen goes away and then
initialization completes, screen goes black a sec and I am back to Main
Menu!

How do I resolve this? Thanks

Unfortunately you can't. New 1.09 games don't work with the PBEM password either.

Fixed the main problems, apparently. Intro got knda worse but gameplay is fine. It even corrected the black map bug!

Stil it is quite outrageous to ut out such a semi-finished version of a gome, some sort of pre-beta, in stores. just look at the long list of fixs it needed immediaely after being released.

i boght it on pre-release. For what??? It tok me weeks until i could lay it properly without trying tose thousands of data surgeries people have proposed.

Will those guys at least apologize?

Cheers and good luck!

Has the patch fixed the issue with the random map generator giving the same maps all the time?

From what I've read so far in this thread, the patch seems to be an utter failure. Does anybody's patch actually work??

I downloaded the patch through the in game update with no problems. I had no problems before or after the update.

PBEM passwords don't work, even with new 1.09 games.

Do you mean that the the PBEM doesn't work at all, or that you can't password prtoect your save???

PBEM was about the only thing I had left to look forward to with Civ4.:(

Yeah, I think you are right.
I installed the same copy of patch on my 2 computers.
The one installed in default directory went through while the one installed on in D disk got the souce not found error.

I solved the "catastrophic error" (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=3361371&postcount=164) issue by installing the game to the default directory C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4 (previously it was installed on different drive).
Hopefully, it can help somebody.
Considering the fact, that non-patched version ran pretty smoothly (standart map size) on my antique hardware (p4 2.4, 256ram, gf4 mx440) couldn't notice some major performance improvements. On the contrary, looks like movies are choppier than before, but who cares?! With my video card I have to turn them off anyway :lol: .
Bottom line: I'm quite happy, since I see hammers and coins, so good luck to everybody and happy civing!

Do you mean that the the PBEM doesn't work at all, or that you can't password prtoect your save???

PBEM was about the only thing I had left to look forward to with Civ4.:(

PBEM works fine. It's just if you password protect your save you can't enter the password.

Pre-patch my game ran fine with standard map all the way through space race...

Now I have black terrain and even multicolor terrain... Game locked up once and even kicked me out...

The game now locks up around the 1600's on a standard map...

It went from totally playable, to barely playable...

2.4ghz HT Intell
1 gig DDR400 ram (512 x 2 dual channel)
9600 pro
Abit IC7 mobo

Totally weak... Inbetween turns also take FOREVER now... I got the issues most got with the original, thats just weird...

Well, for me the patching was smooth. The movies improved. I was chugging along fine on a Huge with 10 opponents until 1620. CivIV crashed but it was nice about it, if you can say that. I got an error message that the program ran into trouble and had to shut down and that any unsaved work might be lost. Odd. Usually, I'm used to seeing that in applications such as Excel, Outlook and Word when I have tons of stuff open. First time that happens in CivIV.

But if I must crash, that's not a bad way to crash
Athlon 4000, 1 GIG, X600

Someone emailed me saying he has trouble installing the patch downloaded from the CFC server. He said he encountred a CRC error near the end.

Anyone else has this problem or can install it w/o problem? I am pretty sure the file is not corrupted because I verifiied it after uploading.

I also recieved a crc error from the patch I downloaded from civfanatics.

I deleted it and re-downloaded from FileFront and had no problems with the installation.

I have the problem and I've downloaded it twice. I get an error message suggesting the file is corrupted.

no probs here works perfectly.

Same here, I saved a game at 2038 before patch. after applying the patch, load the game, it's at 202x now

I've noticed something else wierd. I loaded my SP Ghandi game. The turn was from 1973. When I loaded the game and hit end turn I was in 1964.

The turn played just fine though...

Whoa! I reloaded an autosave game and went from 1620 to 1640 and then it froze. And stayed frozen. I couldn't ALT-TAB or CTRL+ALT+DEL. I couldn't even turn off my notebook. I actually had to unplug it and take out the battery. Anyone else had this problem?

Does anyone know if a windowed version is less crashy?

That happened to me to. I was playing a game and saved at 2646 when I took tokyo from Gandhi and later opened it with the patch and released Tokyo was back in Gandhi's hands and my tanks were rolling up at his civ and was 2464?:dubious:?. Except for this the patch has been perfect:).

I have the problem and I've downloaded it twice. I get an error message suggesting the file is corrupted.I don't know if this helps, but when I was installing I had an error where it says that the Civ4.exe is corrupted, but when I said "ignore" it went on fine.

Just wanted to report my post-patch findings here. My specs are generally a 2.8G with 1G RAM and an Nvidia 256K video (FX 5600) with the 81.95 driver.

I uninstalled the game and reinstalled it, then without trying the game I loaded the patch. I had some sort of problem with either the original install or the patch, I can't remember which, where it had some sort of something it couldn't find in dealing with the stuff that's created in the My Games directory, but I gave it an ignore after retrying it and it seemed to work. I suspect that the unistall didn't uninstall these directories and so it bumped into them again, but I was too much in a hurry and didn't bother reading anything. I figured I would bother to read if I had to do the process all over again. On the patch, I got the familiar 1673, or whatever code, but just plowed through that as others have, to no additional difficulty.

About the game itself. I have played the original disk on both huge and large, with almost exactly the same results, in that it would do the memory leak bit after I had got into approximately the midway point of the tech tree.

I'm about at that point in the game now, for what is about 4 hours playing, and there's not the slightest hint of the bad stuff it was doing before. Even the wonder movies are working superbly. The only thing that leaves me wondering if it will CTD again is that there was one instance where the map details disappeared for about 4 seconds. There was also another time, where the French, who I had made several contacts with earlier in the game, had a decent sized delay that had me worried. After those two glitches, you couldn't tell in the least that it affected the game, as the speed was back up to what it had normally been doing. It also used to be that saving the game took like 2.0-3.0 seconds. Now it takes like .3 second.

I'm running the game at like 1280 X 960, and other than that everything else is pretty much stock, including the autosave.

I have noticed, however, that the barb and animal ratio have been "seriously" tweaked in this game, compared to before. I probably explored at the rate I had for the unpatched version of the game which just on a wild guess means that by the time my recon gets through those units have been through like 30 battles, which of course gets a lot of promotions. In this game I had "maybe" 5 fights total and not a single promotion. I might had seen like 5 barb units the whole time, which includes some of my recon being in the booneys for extended periods. I used to could count on running into at least 5-6 animal units in the snow areas alone, but I don't think I found a single one there. Very different. Looks like I'll have to turn raging barbs on.

I will re-upload the patch to the CFC server, just to make sure.

I got the CRC error as well with the patch downloaded from Civfanatics.com at approx 11am Thurs the 24th. I downloaded it from Filefront later on (round 11pm that night) and the files are different, and I received no CRC error with the filefront version.

Comparing c:\filefront\v109PATCHREL.exe and C:\cfc\v109PATCHREL.exe...
Compare error at OFFSET 4EE426
file1 = 1E
file2 = 1C
Compare error at OFFSET 1734687
file1 = 35
file2 = 15
Compare more files (Y/N) ? n

Only the two bytes, at least on the one I got.

Euro and US difference, maybe?

Someone emailed me saying he has trouble installing the patch downloaded from the CFC server. He said he encountred a CRC error near the end.

Anyone else has this problem or can install it w/o problem? I am pretty sure the file is not corrupted because I verifiied it after uploading.

CFC patch worked well for me.
Exempt I got that warning that my exe is not original or something like that (several people reported it in this forum).

Choosing ignore make it all ok.

I got this:

[image snipped, look above]

<nelson>HA-HA</nelson>
aol, n00b!

What do I do?

first: panic!
(forget the towel)

Is it bad?

I'm afraid it's almost beyond remedy ...

How do I fix it?

deinstall aol
;-)

Seriously, if it worked before, don't fix it, if the patch works now, it's not that important that the installer is buggy by itself. That's a new low, btw, that not even the patches and their installers are bugfree. I can already see myself switch to consoles with a keyboard and mouse addon in a year or two. Consoles are something I've frown upon ever since, but PC games are less and less giving me any choice. :-(

G.

Console system is good for bad games.
They have less bugs overall.

Console system is bad for good games.
Even console games have some bugs (minor most often), and they would never get patched.
Compared to good PC games, which have dozen of patches fixing even such minor things.
Especially for strategy games where balance tweaks or gameplay fixes are essential for good gameplay.

My experiences with the patch. I downloaded it through the update function of civ4 and it installed fine. I then tried to run the game and it completely locked up on me, claiming it couldn't find all kinds of functions in setupapi.dll.

I then 'panicked' ;) reinstalled directx9c just to be sure (the day before I had just upgraded to the latest nvidia drivers, which ran fine for me with the unpatched civ4 version), emptied my temp folder (as it also contained a copy of setupapi.dll), rebooted a couple of time and started civ4 with the shift key pressed in (I believe I read somewhere that this would empty the cache).

Low and behold, I don't have to reinstall civ4 after all, the patch now seems to work. At least, it didn't give me any problems yesterday during a couple of hours playing on a saved prepatched game, large, epic, around 1800 at 1280x1024 resolution.

I run the european version of civ4, no mods, 1GB RAM, GeForce6600GT, Asus A8V motherboard with an AMD processor

I downloaded the patch from the Civfanatics site, got the 'Your Civ.exe is not compatible' or some such error, but ignored it and carried on.

I haven't noticed any difference in performance, maybe slightly quicker, but now saved game load times are two or three times longer, and Wonder movies which used to work perfectly in 1.00 have stuttering sound and video. :(

But just having the city advisor screen showing how many turns left to produce things is probably worth the sacrifice on its own! :)

And did I read correctly that's there's a European patch? Maybe that's why I was incompatible...

P4 2.2GHz, 1.25Gb RAM, nVidia 6800GT.

I got the patch from the CFC site and got the "CRC" error. Just pressed ignore and let it finish.

My Black Terrain has been fixed. :D There are stil some minor problems with some of the animations. And its gets slow at the later stages post 1900AD. Movies does not work had to disabled it. :( But i think my specs are a bit low. HP Laptop nx9010 P4 3.06 356mb Ram ATI Radeon IGP 340M.

Also on the city screen the incorrect number of hammers is shown for my Cities and the spaceship images doesn't show on the victory screen. Funny though is that after i've won the images would show. :confused:

Resumée after patching :

Game performance improved a lot, especially when zooming out to world view.
(Win XP, 2,3 GHZ Athlon XP, 1,5 gig RAM at 266hz, Geforce 6600, Soundblaster Live! Value)

But : Movies stutter a lot, before patching there were nearly running smoothly.

For i gladly exchange the movie quality for improved game performance i am quiet happy with this patch and recommend it to everyone.

From what I've read so far in this thread, the patch seems to be an utter failure. Does anybody's patch actually work??


Yes, for me it works better now. Let me see if in the future there wil not e further probems But the bigest issue, which was the black terrain for me, was solved. The rest seems to be ok, so far...

I can already see myself switch to consoles with a keyboard and mouse addon in a year or two. Consoles are something I've frown upon ever since, but PC games are less and less giving me any choice. :-(


Have you ever played Morrowind on the Xbox? Their initial release had a bug where when you entered a town (forgot the name its been a while) near the starting location, the game would crash. You needed to wait until you learned to teleport before you could enter the town. Half of the missions you were on, you couldnt do until way later on. This is only one example that i have experienced First hand (at a friends house, i dont own no stinking xbox). Sidenote, Morrowind on xbox looked Horrible compared to my PC edition.

Yes, firaxis sucks. They should have quality coding like Microsoft. Because as we all know, Microsoft doesnt have patches. (do you smell the sarcasm?)

You guys keep complaining about this game. Well then do yourself a favor, Dont buy games when they first come out. Wait half a year. Then get it. Youll have a lot less stress and a lot less to complain about.

Just for a change, since only people with problems are posting:

Patch DLed perfectly in-game, took only a few minutes, no error messages while installing.
I haven't noted much of a difference to pre-patch, though, but the game was running for me pre-patch, too.
Dunno about the wonder movies yet, though - they were my only problem pre-patch, sometimes crashing to desktop.. haven't had a chance to build one yet.

Hello All
I'm a long time reader of the site here but never posted -
I'm only giving a quick 2c on civ 4 and the patch in particular. Civ 4 wouldn't run, the failed to initalize render message was as far as I got, but thanks to the patch, it now says failed to render and has added "*latest* graphics drivers" to the advice on the error. Terrific.
I am as mad as hell. I can handle a game not working, disappointed sure, but this smacks of ass covering. I have a new computer and since I am no tech wiz also have 24 hr online support. They advise that my system more than meets minimum requirements and under no circumstances should I go through the alleged "fix" listed a www.2kgames.com .
So it's back to the shop and thank god I did not buy this online or I'd be truly stuffed.
Cheers to all the civ 4 fans who have this working and I hope they get this right eventually for the rest of us.
Jack

A few minutes ago, second time, I got clasical windows
error message and crashed to desktop. And the screen
resolution goes down to 4 bit ( 16 colors) 800x 600. Before
the patch I didn't experience this at all.

I guess I was one of the lucky ones having no problem with the game from the start, but had the European DVD.
Computer is Pentium 3, 2.8 with 1GB of memory and an ATI 9800 pro card.

Downloaded the patch via the game update and it installed without problems.

Only faults I had had with original was some wonder movies (not all) played choppily and game got slow towards the end, but I also found that in Civ3 the game got slow towards the end particularly on big maps.

Have not seen much difference yet with patch will need to see how current game progresses.

I also recieved a crc error from the patch I downloaded from civfanatics.

I deleted it and re-downloaded from FileFront and had no problems with the installation.

The patch that was available on the CFC site was corrupted.

The file from 3D Downloads, Filefront and Apolyton seems OK.

For anyone that wants to check, the various CRC/Hashes for the 1.09 patch file are:

MD5: 49a982ee75b9460ebdc538fde9ba4e96
CRC32: 17993445 (as used by WinZip or WinRAR)
ed2k: 49db367d961954c90375377f6597176e

The patch made NO difference whatsoever to game performance here. Saved games still take ages to load (over 3 minutes), and stability and memory / resource management performance is still absolutely appalling. Large maps still freeze and crash and are completely unplayable.

I've uninstalled the game now anyway as this is beyond a joke. This is no longer a game but a technical nightmare.

Seems to me that a 1.3 Gb patch is the only way to get this game working properly. i.e. rebuild it from the ground up with a graphics engine that works properly with graphics cards designed for the year 2005, not for 2500.

PS. The file available from CFC at the date of this post has been updated and has the same hash as above.

This patch made things 15-25% slower in the game i am playing. I Had to uninstall the game completely and reinstall the game to get the game running at a playable level ( though still slow).

The only thing I have found to speed the game up is to install the latest Nvidia driver. However this is a mixed blessing as now KOTOR ruins like sh*t:mad:

Again the only reason people are complaining is that this is such a good game and we arent getting the game we should I guess I should be happy it runs at all? ....oh well, hopefully in 6 months it will be *fixed*.

European DVD version of game - ran fine pre-patch.

Downloaded patch in game no probs - install got the 1706 error (no valid source) which I think is due to european dvd version. Clicked past error, installed fine.

No problems in game since, performance seems very slightly better most of the time (noticeably better in world view). Loading saves is quicker.

For those noticing that the year changes, this isnt a bug (IMO) but due to the tweaking of late game durations. Part of the tweak is probably changing the date per turn so your saves are still the same turn, just the date calculated from that turn is now different.

Happy so far :goodjob:

Pratputajao, something which may interest you:

Turns out that-for some bizarre reason-Civ4.exe gets shifted way down the priority list after the patch, which is one of the possible reasons you are seeing a slowdown AFTER the patch.
My suggestion, thanks to Master-Mike at Apolyton, is as follows:

1. In your main civilization folder, create a new text file.

2. In that text file type the following: cmd /c start /High Civilization4.exe

3. Save this file as Civilization4.bat

4. Restart your computer, then start the game up.

Hopefully, if your situation is anything like mine, then you should regain all of your lost speed. In fact, I have to say that with a combo of the patch AND this batch file, my games are running faster and less laggy than EVER!!!
Hope this helps you :)!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

I installed the patch 1.09 through the advanced menu of the game with my connection dial-up. All work fine for the downloading and the installation of the patch.

I have a light improvement in the load time and of performance in the game. But in the graphic menu, I have three options that indicates "FRENCH" instead of the good description of the option near the checkbox. It's the last two option at right and the last option at left in the graphic options of the game (Someone else have this problem). I realize that I don't try the english to know if the bug exist too with this language, I will try it tonight after work. The begining video is also more choppy than before.

I play in French you will have understood it. I use the Canadian version Multi-Langage.

My specifications AMD Athlon 1800 +
256MO RAM
Windows XP
MSI Geforce 3 TI 200.

The game run smoothly with little slowdown on standard map at the middle and late game on my system despite that I have just the minimum requirement. No bug at all except one CTD before the patch 2 weeks ago. Since the patch no CTD. Another bug that was fixed for me it's the others tab in Advanced Option, In this tab I didn't have any options. And now I have the timer and other thing.

Downloaded the patch through the Update option on the main menu on Wednesday. Ran into the error about not being able to locate any files, but simply clicked okay and it installed fine.

Small improvements in performance, but I lost the icons for the tile resources. Went out and updated my Nvidia drivers (new ones from 11/22/05). Much better performance (given my machine listed below). All icons are now there.

Note that I run with the movies turned off - too much for my machine to handle.

HP/Compaq
Intel P4 1.8Ghz
768Mb RAM
Nvidia FX5200 128MB

What types of maps are you all playing? I do OK on standard maps, but I tried the 1000AD scenario (huge map, lots of civs) and performance becomes unbearable as you make contact with other civs and reveal more of the map. My machine is easily above recommended specs.

A few minutes ago, second time, I got clasical windows
error message and crashed to desktop. And the screen
resolution goes down to 4 bit ( 16 colors) 800x 600. Before
the patch I didn't experience this at all.

the same has happened to me 5 times now. Trying to load that game and play further, it happens again shortly after.

I guess I'm waiting for patch 2 now. The game is still somewhat playable, and much more stable on small maps.

A few minutes ago, second time, I got clasical windows
error message and crashed to desktop. And the screen
resolution goes down to 4 bit ( 16 colors) 800x 600. Before
the patch I didn't experience this at all.

I had it do this to me a few times pre-patch. Had to restart to get my video right.

What types of maps are you all playing? I do OK on standard maps, but I tried the 1000AD scenario (huge map, lots of civs) and performance becomes unbearable as you make contact with other civs and reveal more of the map. My machine is easily above recommended specs.

I am playing on standard. Waiting on my new machine before I try really large size maps. Got to know my limitations and no reason to get disappointed. Not the fault of the game - it's my machine having the issues.

I posted this in the Bug Reports but thought it may be more appropiate here.

Some sound files are missing since the patch. I got a "sounds\hanging gardens file missing" during my last game. In the Bug Reports, another poster responded that other sound files are missing as well.

Gizz 21 pages.... could this be a simptom of a bad patch?

No problems installing patch.

i havent noticed any changes(for the better), movies r still choopy, playing a standart map the game starts to lag a lot when it reaches the 1900s. Dont know if this problem is new,cuz since the begginning i saw so many ppl complainning bout performances i never played a standart or bigger.

Oh well, guess i´m going back to small maps.






P4 2.66
512 DDR400
nvidia 5200FX

Patch made absolutely no improvements to performance or stability.

Problems I experienced prior to the patch:
Laggy game play, long load times, slow-to-display (slow is an understatement, we're talking 2-5 minutes) diplomacy dialogue screens, crashes to desktop, complete system crashes.

Problems I have experienced post patch:
Laggy game play, long load times, slow-to-display diplomacy dialogue screens, crashes to desktop. I haven't yet had a full system crash, but given time I'm sure I'll get one.

Computer Specs:
2.16ghz Athlon XP Proccessor w/ 400mhz FSB
1.00GB of RAM
ATI Radeon 9600SE Graphics Card with 128MB of VRAM

I've yet to notice any changes from the patch and I'm definetly unimpressed with this kind of service. Can I get my 50 dollars back please? I'll be happy to download the game if this is what I'm going to get for my money.

I have downloaded the patch from Http but having difficulties to install it!

finally it's say patching was ok!

Then came the horror, freeze during the cinematic at startup!:(

No problem prior to v1.9 pacth with the opening movie or the wonder movies!

Bravo Firaxis&Take2!!!!:mad:


You have a legal version or a cracked one, because the cracked version will have different files then the legal one and when the patch searches for the proper files it will find they don't exist.

Pratputajao, something which may interest you:

Turns out that-for some bizarre reason-Civ4.exe gets shifted way down the priority list after the patch, which is one of the possible reasons you are seeing a slowdown AFTER the patch.
My suggestion, thanks to Master-Mike at Apolyton, is as follows:

1. In your main civilization folder, create a new text file.

2. In that text file type the following: cmd /c start /High Civilization4.exe

3. Save this file as Civilization4.bat

4. Restart your computer, then start the game up.

Hopefully, if your situation is anything like mine, then you should regain all of your lost speed. In fact, I have to say that with a combo of the patch AND this batch file, my games are running faster and less laggy than EVER!!!
Hope this helps you :)!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

OMG so now we are back to high and low mem space. Wait. When did Dos go away. Is it still there just waiting to pounce. Whats next am I going to have to configure my autoexec.bat file for this game. Messing with my config.sys. Aaaaarrrghhhhhh. backwards in time.

Aaaaarrrghhhhhh. backwards in time.
In the beginning, the earth was without fo- okay too far back. :p

Pratputajao, something which may interest you:

Turns out that-for some bizarre reason-Civ4.exe gets shifted way down the priority list after the patch, which is one of the possible reasons you are seeing a slowdown AFTER the patch.
My suggestion, thanks to Master-Mike at Apolyton, is as follows:

1. In your main civilization folder, create a new text file.

2. In that text file type the following: cmd /c start /High Civilization4.exe

3. Save this file as Civilization4.bat

4. Restart your computer, then start the game up.

Hopefully, if your situation is anything like mine, then you should regain all of your lost speed. In fact, I have to say that with a combo of the patch AND this batch file, my games are running faster and less laggy than EVER!!!
Hope this helps you :)!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

Won't work and doesn't work. As soon as the game code starts running, the priority gets shot back down to 'below normal'. If it is coded into the .exe file to run at that priority, there's nothing you can do to change it aside from going into your task manager and manually changing it after it starts. Something in the way the software was coded forces it to run at below normal priority as soon as the game gets loaded. Annoying, isn't it?

Patch made absolutely no improvements to performance or stability.

Problems I experienced prior to the patch:
Laggy game play, long load times, slow-to-display (slow is an understatement, we're talking 2-5 minutes) diplomacy dialogue screens, crashes to desktop, complete system crashes.

Problems I have experienced post patch:
Laggy game play, long load times, slow-to-display diplomacy dialogue screens, crashes to desktop. I haven't yet had a full system crash, but given time I'm sure I'll get one.

Computer Specs:
2.16ghz Athlon XP Proccessor w/ 400mhz FSB
1.00GB of RAM
ATI Radeon 9600SE Graphics Card with 128MB of VRAM

I've yet to notice any changes from the patch and I'm definetly unimpressed with this kind of service. Can I get my 50 dollars back please? I'll be happy to download the game if this is what I'm going to get for my money.

What dates do you have for your Drivers???

You have a legal version or a cracked one, because the cracked version will have different files then the legal one and when the patch searches for the proper files it will find they don't exist.

hi,MagnumPI!

What Cracked version! there is one?

My is DVD version legal from Europe!

anyway thaks for trying to help me!:)
se ya!;)

Maybe i have to wait for the next patch....

Actaully, it switches to below normal priority because you alt-tabed and it's now background, and thus does not need normal priority anymore.

Downloaded the patch no problem, installed it no problem, ran the game no problem. In fact it made absolutely no difference to my game, the only noticeable one is horses appearing with animal husbandry. Otherwise the game is still laggy, but playable, and I still have a problem with ingame music, sometimes there isn't any. Useless patch for me.

Dell Inspiron 8200
2.2ghz Mobile Pentium 4
512 RAM
ATI Radeon 9000 64 mb

Downloaded the patch no problem, installed it no problem, ran the game no problem. In fact it made absolutely no difference to my game, the only noticeable one is horses appearing with animal husbandry. Otherwise the game is still laggy, but playable, and I still have a problem with ingame music, sometimes there isn't any. Useless patch for me.

Patch has made my videos much worse, now the whole thing studders and not just the sound... also, I believe the quality is worse as far as graphics with the videos, they are more pixelated like they just lowered the res on them or something.

Posted my problems earlier pg 9 or so.
Sys specs:
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
1.5 GB RAM DDR 400
Radeon X300 128MB DDR1 (Stop gap till I can afford my SLI cards)
SATA 3.0gb/s 200GB HD

All most recent drivers, BIOS flashing etc.
The HD is brand spanking new freshly installed formated with XP Pro SP2 all security updates etc...
The only game currently installed is CIV so I doubt defragging the HD is a solution.

RANT WARNING!

Previously with old HD Doom3, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2, Warcraft 3, Civ 3, Farcry, FEAR, and many many other games all run fine and smooth on highest or default or next to highest graphics setting no problem or only minor FPS slow down. CIV ran like crap on that HD as well. Still runs the same on this one. Patch as previously stated causes initial speed gain but later same problem show up with large or higher map sizes and to a lesser extent even in standard maps for extended play. Haven't crashed to desktop in awhile but that is largely because as soon as I see graphical or hear sound glitches I restart the system and all is better. I have finished several games.

Here is my problem with CIV despite being able to play it and finish games.
This game is excellent.
I SHOULD NOT have to restart my system every 4 hours of gameplay!
I SHOULD NOT have stuttering slideshow quality movies!
I SHOULD NOT have to download a patch 5 times from 5 different places before I get one that actually installs!
I SHOULD NOT have to vissit 15+ different forums, support sites, and read dozens of "work arounds" that require relatively in depth knowledge of computer systems even if I do have that knowledge, which most users do not possess.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay money to effectively BETA test the software.
Quite simply I haven't had a game run this badly out of the package since MOO3, and the only saving grace is that CIV is actually a GOOD game.

There is no excuse for the game to run so poorly on so many of the high end systems I have seen people post over and over again to various forums. THIS ISN'T Half Life 3 or Doom4 we are playing here people! It's a STRATEGY GAME! I could care less about 3D graphics and if they are going to cause this many issues then by god just get rid of the damn things!

Also where are some of the features I remember hearing all about in earlier interviews? Throne Room? HAH the files for it are there but it isn't in... To me this just reeks of rush out the door at the last minute to meet some #@#! #$% publisher deadline or somesuch.

Quite simply it is frustrating at hell that rather than attempting to create a mod and optimize my gameplay through the modding abilities inherent in the game that I goto forum after forum day after day just hoping that someone will have come up with a work around that lets me play the game the way it should be played!

And nothing can ruin a good gameplay experience faster than raw unabated frustration!

END RANT

Posted my problems earlier pg 9 or so.
Sys specs:
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
1.5 GB RAM DDR 400
Radeon X300 128MB DDR1 (Stop gap till I can afford my SLI cards)
SATA 3.0gb/s 200GB HD

All most recent drivers, BIOS flashing etc.
The HD is brand spanking new freshly installed formated with XP Pro SP2 all security updates etc...
The only game currently installed is CIV so I doubt defragging the HD is a solution.

RANT WARNING!

Previously with old HD Doom3, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2, Warcraft 3, Civ 3, Farcry, FEAR, and many many other games all run fine and smooth on highest or default or next to highest graphics setting no problem or only minor FPS slow down. CIV ran like crap on that HD as well. Still runs the same on this one. Patch as previously stated causes initial speed gain but later same problem show up with large or higher map sizes and to a lesser extent even in standard maps for extended play. Haven't crashed to desktop in awhile but that is largely because as soon as I see graphical or hear sound glitches I restart the system and all is better. I have finished several games.

Here is my problem with CIV despite being able to play it and finish games.
This game is excellent.
I SHOULD NOT have to restart my system every 4 hours of gameplay!
I SHOULD NOT have stuttering slideshow quality movies!
I SHOULD NOT have to download a patch 5 times from 5 different places before I get one that actually installs!
I SHOULD NOT have to vissit 15+ different forums, support sites, and read dozens of "work arounds" that require relatively in depth knowledge of computer systems even if I do have that knowledge, which most users do not possess.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay money to effectively BETA test the software.
Quite simply I haven't had a game run this badly out of the package since MOO3, and the only saving grace is that CIV is actually a GOOD game.

There is no excuse for the game to run so poorly on so many of the high end systems I have seen people post over and over again to various forums. THIS ISN'T Half Life 3 or Doom4 we are playing here people! It's a STRATEGY GAME! I could care less about 3D graphics and if they are going to cause this many issues then by god just get rid of the damn things!

Also where are some of the features I remember hearing all about in earlier interviews? Throne Room? HAH the files for it are there but it isn't in... To me this just reeks of rush out the door at the last minute to meet some #@#! #$% publisher deadline or somesuch.

Quite simply it is frustrating at hell that rather than attempting to create a mod and optimize my gameplay through the modding abilities inherent in the game that I goto forum after forum day after day just hoping that someone will have come up with a work around that lets me play the game the way it should be played!

And nothing can ruin a good gameplay experience faster than raw unabated frustration!

END RANT

Amen. Best post I have read. WOOHOO!!!:goodjob: :D :thumbsup: :beer:

Downloaded the patch via update without problems.
Start the installer, and nothing happens. Try to deinstall CIV, installer again, nothing else. Reinstall? Not possible without prior deinstallation....
Euro DVD version, completely default CIV installation.
Bad joke.

well have installed the shiny new patch some 2 weeks after first buying the game ... net gain? well I get an exciting new message with my renderer message but no nearer to actually playing:

Parameters:

-width 1024
height 768
flags 0xc
hwnd 0xe034a
adaptrip 0
deviceid 3
Error:Creation failed: Invalid 3D device type

I use an Nvidia card

take2games should be ashamed of themselves ... but then they have my money and enough people seem to be able to play (if with all sorts of interesting visual flaws) so what the :mad: should they care? Maybe some 20 patches and upgrades down the line I might be lucky enough to be allowed to play what reads like a fun game.

Interesting that the supposed "independant" gaming media have mysteriously not noticed this flaw.

Actaully, it switches to below normal priority because you alt-tabed and it's now background, and thus does not need normal priority anymore.

First, you can add that string to the shortcut instead of creating a bat file.
Secondly, Windows likes to handle the priority. So running with the Bat file, or going into task manager and setting it to High priority manually, either way, windows will eventually do what it wants with it.

Go look it up yourself. And if youre looking for a solution, look into OrangeProcessTrace, but theres many more like Proirity Master 2005 or WinTask Pro. Go read about them. They talk about "priority jack hammering" to keep what setting you tell it to.

Quote from Priority Masters white pages;

The Window's CPU scheduler will run all of the programs in the RealTime Class first, then all of the programs in the High Class, then all of the programs in the Normal Class and finally when there is nothing else to run at given instant in time, all of the programs in Idle Class. Generally speaking, programs have threads and these do specific functions and when those functions are not being used by the user, the threads sleep or suspend. This allows other lower priority programs to run.


In short, there are processes you arent allowed to change the priority for. When windows wants to take away juice from everything so its prefered processes can get realtime priority, it does so, and lowers your other apps.

I posted this in the Bug Reports but thought it may be more appropiate here.

Some sound files are missing since the patch. I got a "sounds\hanging gardens file missing" during my last game. In the Bug Reports, another poster responded that other sound files are missing as well.

I also have this happening to me. Only in for the hanging gardens for that I have noticed anyway.

Im not sure but I think I started having this problem a couple days before the patch came out so I dont know if it has anything to do with the patch. I already had unpacked my files and all that which I know id part of what the patch did so possibly thats what caused this I dunno.

I'm also missing the sounds to hanging gardens but have had the message come up right from the first game I played and doesnt seem to really make any difference, no hang ups or anything so I havent worried about it. I havent downloaded the patch yet because it all seems to work fine for me and no real changes to gameplay that I can see so I'll get it another time.

I finally fixed my stuttering wonder movies. I went and disabled AA and now everything is running silky smooth. I'll just bump up the resolution to deal with the non AA graphics.

Well, after reading all 22 pages of posts...I have decided to return the copy I bought today. I'm so glad that I read all of this before I opened it!
Thanks to all.

Posted my problems earlier pg 9 or so.
Sys specs:
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
1.5 GB RAM DDR 400
Radeon X300 128MB DDR1 (Stop gap till I can afford my SLI cards)
SATA 3.0gb/s 200GB HD

All most recent drivers, BIOS flashing etc.
The HD is brand spanking new freshly installed formated with XP Pro SP2 all security updates etc...
The only game currently installed is CIV so I doubt defragging the HD is a solution.

RANT WARNING!

Previously with old HD Doom3, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2, Warcraft 3, Civ 3, Farcry, FEAR, and many many other games all run fine and smooth on highest or default or next to highest graphics setting no problem or only minor FPS slow down. CIV ran like crap on that HD as well. Still runs the same on this one. Patch as previously stated causes initial speed gain but later same problem show up with large or higher map sizes and to a lesser extent even in standard maps for extended play. Haven't crashed to desktop in awhile but that is largely because as soon as I see graphical or hear sound glitches I restart the system and all is better. I have finished several games.

Here is my problem with CIV despite being able to play it and finish games.
This game is excellent.
I SHOULD NOT have to restart my system every 4 hours of gameplay!
I SHOULD NOT have stuttering slideshow quality movies!
I SHOULD NOT have to download a patch 5 times from 5 different places before I get one that actually installs!
I SHOULD NOT have to vissit 15+ different forums, support sites, and read dozens of "work arounds" that require relatively in depth knowledge of computer systems even if I do have that knowledge, which most users do not possess.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay money to effectively BETA test the software.
Quite simply I haven't had a game run this badly out of the package since MOO3, and the only saving grace is that CIV is actually a GOOD game.

There is no excuse for the game to run so poorly on so many of the high end systems I have seen people post over and over again to various forums. THIS ISN'T Half Life 3 or Doom4 we are playing here people! It's a STRATEGY GAME! I could care less about 3D graphics and if they are going to cause this many issues then by god just get rid of the damn things!

Also where are some of the features I remember hearing all about in earlier interviews? Throne Room? HAH the files for it are there but it isn't in... To me this just reeks of rush out the door at the last minute to meet some #@#! #$% publisher deadline or somesuch.

Quite simply it is frustrating at hell that rather than attempting to create a mod and optimize my gameplay through the modding abilities inherent in the game that I goto forum after forum day after day just hoping that someone will have come up with a work around that lets me play the game the way it should be played!

And nothing can ruin a good gameplay experience faster than raw unabated frustration!

END RANT
Right on, Absolutely Cytadc!
Have suffered from eventual CTD from day of release in Oz, lagging, Intro movie stutter etc etc, and since patch, more CTD's...
Kinda like the trimmed down, 18mnths+ late, buggy release of GT4 on PS2..
These companies take our money gladly for sub-standard products, leaving we, the consumer, at their mercy...
I don't wanna support these pricks, but jeez I want that game ;-)

The patch is for the boxed version only I beleive. It will be up to the site you downloade it from to provide the patch for their version to account for the differences in copy protection, etc. You have a slightly different civ4.exe version.

I have the boxed version of the game that I got at Best Buy and I get the same "no version of Civ 4 is installed."

Posted my problems earlier pg 9 or so.
Sys specs:
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
1.5 GB RAM DDR 400
Radeon X300 128MB DDR1 (Stop gap till I can afford my SLI cards)
SATA 3.0gb/s 200GB HD

All most recent drivers, BIOS flashing etc.
The HD is brand spanking new freshly installed formated with XP Pro SP2 all security updates etc...
The only game currently installed is CIV so I doubt defragging the HD is a solution.

RANT WARNING!

Previously with old HD Doom3, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2, Warcraft 3, Civ 3, Farcry, FEAR, and many many other games all run fine and smooth on highest or default or next to highest graphics setting no problem or only minor FPS slow down. CIV ran like crap on that HD as well. Still runs the same on this one. Patch as previously stated causes initial speed gain but later same problem show up with large or higher map sizes and to a lesser extent even in standard maps for extended play. Haven't crashed to desktop in awhile but that is largely because as soon as I see graphical or hear sound glitches I restart the system and all is better. I have finished several games.

Here is my problem with CIV despite being able to play it and finish games.
This game is excellent.
I SHOULD NOT have to restart my system every 4 hours of gameplay!
I SHOULD NOT have stuttering slideshow quality movies!
I SHOULD NOT have to download a patch 5 times from 5 different places before I get one that actually installs!
I SHOULD NOT have to vissit 15+ different forums, support sites, and read dozens of "work arounds" that require relatively in depth knowledge of computer systems even if I do have that knowledge, which most users do not possess.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay money to effectively BETA test the software.
Quite simply I haven't had a game run this badly out of the package since MOO3, and the only saving grace is that CIV is actually a GOOD game.

There is no excuse for the game to run so poorly on so many of the high end systems I have seen people post over and over again to various forums. THIS ISN'T Half Life 3 or Doom4 we are playing here people! It's a STRATEGY GAME! I could care less about 3D graphics and if they are going to cause this many issues then by god just get rid of the damn things!

Also where are some of the features I remember hearing all about in earlier interviews? Throne Room? HAH the files for it are there but it isn't in... To me this just reeks of rush out the door at the last minute to meet some #@#! #$% publisher deadline or somesuch.

Quite simply it is frustrating at hell that rather than attempting to create a mod and optimize my gameplay through the modding abilities inherent in the game that I goto forum after forum day after day just hoping that someone will have come up with a work around that lets me play the game the way it should be played!

And nothing can ruin a good gameplay experience faster than raw unabated frustration!

END RANT

everything has been said... just hoping it reaches out the right ears....

D/Led patch from CivFanatics. Tried to install and got the error telling me I don't have Civ4 and stupidly selected "abort" instead of "ignore". This deleted Civ4.exe from my computer. Fumed a bit. Came here and read this thread. Goofed around for an hour trying to figure out how to uninstall the game and finally succeeded. Set a system restore point. Reinstalled the game to my "games" drive (husband had originally done quick install on boot drive F), Re-D/Led the patch, ran it again. Selected "ignore" for first error message and "continue" for second. It installed.

Game does seem to load faster now. I didn't have any video problems before and don't seem to have any after. Still appear to have memory leak though since it gets butt-draggingly slow after just 500 years. Am coming across a lot more wild animals and barbs in early game. Wonder movies and sounds are fine. Don't know about any multi-player stuff since I always play single.

Once I read about how to treat the error messages, I had no problem with the install. Not convinced it was worth all the effort since changes appear to be minimal. Why over 23MB for so little obvious difference?


Running Dell Dimension 8300 with
P4 3.00 GHz
1 GB DDR SDRAM @ 400MHz
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
G: drive (37.5 GB partition on 120 GB Serial ATA HD--different physical drive than boot drive)
Did NOT update any drivers and that doesn't seem to have made a difference based on what I've read here.

While this has been a gut-wrenching experience for many, thanks all for posting your trials here since that ultimately helped me. May the next patch come soon and be what we really need!

I have the boxed version of the game that I got at Best Buy and I get the same "no version of Civ 4 is installed."

Yah I installed the patch I DLed from this site. It actually ate my civ4 exe. It does not exist on my sytem anymore. I had to go to a few different sites. reinstall, just to be able to uninstall. then reinstall patch and be welcomed for all that work with slimmed down buggy game.

First thought, I found it funny as all hell that the forum that is listed on the support page for civ iv, actually had a patch that uninstalled the game. LOL. Thats the best support option I found.

Second, While I applaud the effort at a patch, It was just that all effort and no fix. Did they listen to what we told them was wrong with the game.

The best patch Firaxis/take2 could offer is a refund. I put this game up on EBAY, all I asked for was shipping. I didn't get one bid. LOL.

Still waiting for firaxis/take2 to prove my point. The only fix for this game will come out with the expansion pack. Gotta Love how they keep proving me right.

I sitll think Cytadc said it best. Read his post. Send his post to firaxis/take2. Or perhaps the mods that work there will read it and pass it on. Who knows.

I agree 100% with Cytadc.

I think there are alot of ppl who do have problems but seldom post about them (like me). this is the first time ive ever posted a rant about a game, becuase usually i either just stop playing it or manage to fix it or watever, but this is absolutely rediculous. I have never had this much trouble for a game that i bought.

I had continuous CTD before patch, but everything else worked fine. Now after the patch, i have the same (if not more) CTD occurrences only this time i have to reboot every time to start the game again. Also i am missing some sound files, the wonder movies' resolution and framerate has dropped CONSIDERABLY. In late game (past 1940s, medium map) i have to save game every single turn, as i seldom get to complete a whole turn without having to reboot. This is frustrating me beyond belief, and as u guys sed before, i dont like the feeling of paying for beta testing.

im so frustrated right now i cant even make sentences (or spell for that matter).

it annoys me when people say "its impossible to make games work on every system". they obviously did not do a good job trying, considering how long these threads are, and the fact that i have never had a game on my system that had this amount of problems. And have never had anything that uses 100% of my available memory as well as 100% of available CPU, even when it is idle and minimized.

/end rant
//sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I had no critical problems with 1.00, but reading the comments here I was in doubt. I installed the patch anyway and I notice that the game is slower now than it was before. Now I'm experiencing crashes too. The signal to the monitor just terminates and the sound skips in a loop. I can't even reset the computer, I have to turn the power off and restart. This was after 2 hours of play or so. I am very disappointed, I'm reverting back to 1.00

Civ IV has been rushed for sure !

I'm positive you have all heard enough about it by now.

Well I just have to share my disappointment and its very sad as I LOVE the CIV game and have had years of enjoyment out of all the older versions and its just "the very best game ever" for me ........ til now. :confused:

Well ppl I have run the version 1.0 with Crashes to desktop ... stuttery sound and wonder video's ..... jerky graphics etc etc ... yea you have all heard enough. OK install the patch and its a big improvement .... and just when I get my faith back its the biggy ........ Crashed completly and computer had to restart itself .... it blew Windows XP SP2 right out. :cry:

Its gone now .... I uninstalled it ...... and put it far away. I will wait until its fixed proper but I really think it may be a lemon and never really be right. I'm going back to Conquests!!!! :goodjob:

I run absolutely every game flat out no problems. I have a grunty computer like you ppl with all the bells and whistles and I have NEVER had a problem till now. I'm off to buy Age of Empires III .... wish me luck !! :lol:

mine crashes to desktop while playing still.

I agree 100% with Cytadc.

I think there are alot of ppl who do have problems but seldom post about them (like me). this is the first time ive ever posted a rant about a game, becuase usually i either just stop playing it or manage to fix it or watever, but this is absolutely rediculous. I have never had this much trouble for a game that i bought.

I had continuous CTD before patch, but everything else worked fine. Now after the patch, i have the same (if not more) CTD occurrences only this time i have to reboot every time to start the game again. Also i am missing some sound files, the wonder movies' resolution and framerate has dropped CONSIDERABLY. In late game (past 1940s, medium map) i have to save game every single turn, as i seldom get to complete a whole turn without having to reboot. This is frustrating me beyond belief, and as u guys sed before, i dont like the feeling of paying for beta testing.

im so frustrated right now i cant even make sentences (or spell for that matter).

it annoys me when people say "its impossible to make games work on every system". they obviously did not do a good job trying, considering how long these threads are, and the fact that i have never had a game on my system that had this amount of problems. And have never had anything that uses 100% of my available memory as well as 100% of available CPU, even when it is idle and minimized.

/end rant
//sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I concur. I have frequent random exits to desktop, freezing requiring reboot, and prior to the 1.09 patch, the odd random reboot.

I'm really enjoying the gameplay of Civ4 - I more or less skipped from Civ1/2, so it's all quite new and fun, except I get into it then the GAME QUITS ON ME!! The autosave needs to be going every turn just to have a "functional" game.

All my other games, apps etc work fine - including DC projects that show my system *should* be able to handle some stress no problems - and yet Civ4 still brings everything down!

I think the patch might have helped a little, but it feels like splashing some water around while Rome is burning... (can't remember the real saying, but you get the drift...)

I'm getting new bugs I haven't seen before. Unfortunately, I don't know whether thi was my upgrade from an nvidia ti 4200 to a 6200 or the upgrade to 1.09. The most annoying new bug is that sometimes part or all of one or more leader names and scores will fail to display with the others. The problem is even "remembered" if I save; restarting the game and loading the save doesn't fix it. This is very annoying; I sometimes can't figure out how to contact a civ since it doesn't show up on the screen and I can't seem to get a dialogue screen from the foreign advisor.

The most annoying new bug is that sometimes part or all of one or more leader names and scores will fail to display with the others. The problem is even "remembered" if I save; restarting the game and loading the save doesn't fix it.

I found that each time before I start the game (sometimes mulitple times during a gaming session - but that's another story), deleting the cache directory helps in a big way. You can see if the cache is cleared when the game loads - Loading XML screen will show as Cached or Uncached. I believe there is a way to clear it when loading the game (holding down <ctrl> or something like that. I do it manually in the c:\documents and settings, \app data, \my games, \civ 4 directory. Just delete the cache directory under there.

As for defragging (mentioned elsewhere), this also helps me. Run even if the system says it doesn't need it.

Paging file - move it to a seperate HD if you can. Not just a different drive letter, but totally different HD. For most people that's not possible, but Windows performs better all around if the paging file is away from the c:\windows partition.

Well I have it working, ignored advice from my computer shop about replacing and upgrading drivers, and I take back what I said about the developers covering their backsides, I was just frustrated, but the advice about making sure everything is as up to date as it possibly can be worked for me. As for the game it been pretty stable and although it looks a bit xp-ish with lots of pastels but that's for another thread.

Its strange some people experiancing slower gameplay, mine is definatley faster....

We need a class-action law suit :mad:

Latte, anyone?

Well im not sure if i wanna download that patch or not, my pc can handle HUGE world with max civs in it but some cases i do lag and sometime overheated my cpu/video causes it to crash my pc. My pc barely meet the requirements.

Anyway the only things im not happy with Civ IV is the combat system, since most of you guys heard that longbowman can shoot down a gunship or spearman can defend well against a tank, that was just totally stupid. Im still looking for solutions to correct this before i play again or never.

Sadly seen so many ppls with problems after patching up even slowing down or worst before the patch was release.

FYI, on my P4 1.5GHz/1 GB RAM/SB Live/GeForce 6600GT system, the latest NVIDIA drivers fixed most of my problems (corrupt textures when zoomed out)...the patch crashed my system once, but has worked fine ever since...and now the wonder movies are watchable (they were choppy pre-patch)...

I also had my saved game (from 1.00) jump back 10 years...I got the 100 turns left message in 1940!

Well, isn't this dandy! I initially downloaded the patch (patch... HAH!) because I was having a few issues with the occasional stuttery movie. I thought "Hey, it's a patch, and those fix things!", and merrily installed it. I double-click my CIV4 icon, the 2K movie plays *without* a single hitch! "Whoohoo!" I exclaim loudly to the general irritation of my neighbours, but what do I care, it seems like all my problems are fixed! I start a new game, pick a huge world and prepare myself for hours upon hours of fun!

Not gonna happen. Build stonehenge, and after a minute of stuttering, I finally get past the blueprint stage. Unfortunately, I've lost my patience, and I cancel the movie. Some turns go by, and I notice a drop in performance. A few more turns go by, and the game crashes. Violently. My computer makes strange noises, my monitor flickers on and off, and there's nothing I can do except to reset the damn thing. Tough luck, I guess, and reload the game from a few turns back. I get to play for half an hour: crash, reset, reload, crash ad nauseum.

This is the fun part! I had absolutely no troubles with playing huge world before, even after uncovering the entire map - now I can't have a map larger than 45x45 without risking crashes every turn! Even after trying all the tips I've read here previously, and applying a few tricks of my own, nothing works. So thank you Firaxis, for making a patch that destroys an otherwise excellent game! And thank you for showing me just how incompetent a human being can be - you have gotten me to pray to the aliens again, begging for a quick, ruthless subjugation.

I swear, I'm going to found my own city out in the wilderness somewhere, so I can train my own warriors to smite bad programmers...

Went to Multi-player, did not get prompt/pop-up for download. Went to Advanced/Check for updates and the computer and/or game seemed to lock up.

I then went to the archive and downloaded direct. When I run the executable (v109PATCHREL.exe), I get the error response pop-up below (I have the image file of the window, but the text should suffice).

Thanks,

Mac


The setup has detected that no version of Sid Meier's Civilization 4 is installed.
This update requires that a previous version of the application be installed.

http://www.civfanatics.net/downloads/civ4/patch/v109PATCHREL.exe

if ya had problems d/l it from within the game like me:/

I pre-bought the game (CD version) and installed just fine on both.

Computer A
2.4G Dual core Intel CPU
1G RAM
ATI 850XL
SB Audigy 2

Computer B
3G Intel (Single core)
1G RAM
ATI 9800 Pro
SB Audigy 4

The game ran with ABSOLUTELY no problem on A straight out of the box.

The ran ALMOST fine on B with the following issues
Random lockups where I had to reboot. Times between lockups varied from hours to several minutes.
Stuttering with the in game movies.
Lagging with late game events.

As I play on B as A is my wife's PC (believe it or not :) I still played a lot. Why? Because the game is FUN. I deal with these issues and continue to play the game anyway. If the game locks up, I simplely reboot and load an autosave and move on. To me this is NOT a big deal. I am not sure why it is to so many people.

The patch (1.09) downloaded fine through the in-game update on both PC's and I do have a firewall installed (Linksys 114FP).

Since the patch the following is true.
PC A still has no issues and gameplay has been much improved.

PC B has the gameplay enhancements as well but has the following issues.
Random lockups still occur but are much less often.
Movies still have issues.

I am willing to live with these problems, mainly because the game is so good, I don't really care about what I consider relitively minor issues. I do not think I have played on a huge map yet with either PC, but I have done large on both PC's with no issues other than those noted above.

One other note; I do NOT have the latest video drivers for B's video card. I am using drivers dated 2/2005 versus 11/2005. I have tried the new drivers and they had no effect on the issues I was having on PC B. The reason that I am not using the newer drivers (for those who care :), is that the new drivers cause me random lockups in other games I play regularly. If I cared enough, I would just upgrade the video card on PC B (sounds like a nice xmas present doesn't it :lol: , anyone listening)

The bottom line for me (for those that have read this far is:
The game was worth every penny so far
The patch has improved the gameplay and improved some of my issues on PC B.

And before I get flamed by everyone that still have issues, 90% of all software issues with ANY software program (not just games) are due to misconfigurations of the OS, hardware (i.e. bios, etc), or improper installs. I do not overclock, have non-standard bios settings, and I only use two downloaded apps (i.e. non-shrinked wraped) weather pluse and window blinds. So before Take2/Firaxis gets blamed for all your issues, look to see what else is going on with your system first.

Went to Multi-player, did not get prompt/pop-up for download. Went to Advanced/Check for updates and the computer and/or game seemed to lock up.

I then went to the archive and downloaded direct. When I run the executable (v109PATCHREL.exe), I get the error response pop-up below (I have the image file of the window, but the text should suffice).

Thanks,

Mac


The setup has detected that no version of Sid Meier's Civilization 4 is installed.
This update requires that a previous version of the application be installed.

Mac, you got a bad incomplete patch. It actually kills your exe file. You have to uninstall and reinstall. But you may have to reinstall uninstall then reinstall. Then patch at your own risk. Good luck with that. I suggest putting it away until it is tested, and many people post raves about it in here. Until then you risk ctd and hard crashes. The two combined can hose windows or kill your hdd. Hard crashes, depending on your set up can kill your drive.
For those of you about to tell me they won't. Go back to your little A+ class.
Anyway good luck Mac.

Last night I fired up CivIV while holding down the SHIFT key as others had mentioned. I saw the message that it loaded without a cache and I was able to play maybe 10 turns without a problem. I'm in the middle of a war so each move took a while. The only reason I stopped was because it was movie time and I had to quit.

I'm about to start up again. Hopefully, I'll go a while without a crash. For some reason, I'm thinking that the SHIFT key load up is better than manually removing the cache files but that could just be wishful thinking on my part as the latter technique did not seem to help me much.

Yrth
As I noticed during my patch development, cache issues show up only during start-up phase. I.e. if game loads up till menu, cache deletion won't help anything.

Right out of the box this game worked very well for me. Now that I've installed the patch it runs really slow, has choppy video and sometimes just freezes. Ugg! Maybe the next patch?? :rolleyes:

P4 1.9GHz, 512MB RAM, ATI Radeon 9600XT

Just to add my two cents, the patch did not do anything for mr. The game CTD as much as before.
Very frustrating.

Just to add my two cents, the patch did not do anything for mr. The game CTD as much as before.
Very frustrating.

Same here.

What is firaxis doing? The game kept crashing and crashing for me.
Then I went BACK to older nVidia drivers and instead of freezing my system, it then only gave me CTDs. I eventually gave up even bothering with this game.
Finally a patch is out, and what happens?
I get the "No previous version of civ4 found" error message. WTF?? I bought my copy of Amazon (pre-release version), installed it in a different directory than default and now this?? Maybe it's because I updated all the files that come with civ4 manually in order to try to get this piece of **** working on my machine?

So, now I am destined to reinstall civ4 and hope that the patch works? Just more hours down the drain trying to get a BETA version of a game to work.

Whoever wrote this patch should be fired.

What is firaxis doing? The game kept crashing and crashing for me.
Then I went BACK to older nVidia drivers and instead of freezing my system, it then only gave me CTDs. I eventually gave up even bothering with this game.
Finally a patch is out, and what happens?
I get the "No previous version of civ4 found" error message. WTF?? I bought my copy of Amazon (pre-release version), installed it in a different directory than default and now this?? Maybe it's because I updated all the files that come with civ4 manually in order to try to get this piece of **** working on my machine?

So, now I am destined to reinstall civ4 and hope that the patch works? Just more hours down the drain trying to get a BETA version of a game to work.

Whoever wrote this patch should be fired.

This is just hillarious... The problem was not with the patch, but the ORIGINAL game. When I tried to uninstall it, I couldn't find it in Add/Remove Programs. For some reason, the game never entered itself there. So I just installed it in the same directory again (without uninstalling, as I couldn't). I actually didn't copy any files, just went through the entire list of files. Now I have an entry in Add/Remove programs, and the patch is loading.

Ok...fire everyone who worked on QA for this game. And get a better spread of beta testersn next time!

Just one more thing that REALLY gets on my nerves: On the 2k website, in the Civ4 news section, there is no word yet on the patch. "A Note from Firaxis About the Civilization IV Patch 11.16.05
Firaxis Games gives an update on the status of the Civilization IV patch, as well as details on some of the gameplay improvements. "
That is the latest piece of news on the site. You would think they could atleast update all their P***ED OFF fans about the patch being released.

Also when i went to their support page, all it had was:
Having technical issues with your copy of Civilization IV? Take a look at the list of documented solutions.

Minimum System Requirements
Game Installation Problems
Initialization Issues with ATI Graphics Card
Enabling Logging to Pinpoint Specific Problems
Cannot Locate the CD-ROM / Please Insert the Correct CD-ROM
Received a French Tech Tree?

and then Still having problem? link, which takes me TO THIS SITE.

THEY DONT EVEN HAVE THEIR OWN FRIKIN SUPPORT FORUM

(or is this site owned by firaxis??)

/end 2nd rant.
... i hate them so much right now

Yrth
As I noticed during my patch development, cache issues show up only during start-up phase. I.e. if game loads up till menu, cache deletion won't help anything.

Yep. You're right. I was hoping though. I did go more than 30 turns without a crash until I was foolish enough to accept a World Map. Got the map OK but then next turn...crash...to desktop so it wasn't too bad.

Yrth
Please check this:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=3372585&postcount=227
Your system reports might be really helpful, so far I received only logs with 400-500Mb usage and with no CTD.

i just vented all my anger in a 3 page email to 2k. if i jus get some automated response im gona go postal lol.

What dates do you have for your Drivers???
I'm running the Catalyst drivers straight off the ATI website (the most recent drivers). I went through months of tech support because my card does not support 800x600 without a lot of specific (and otherwise useless) software installed to assist the drivers.

Radeon 9600 SE (Suck Edition) has turned me off of ATI permenantly. Last ATI card I buy.

Right out of the box this game worked very well for me. ... Ugg! Maybe the next patch?? :rolleyes:

Considering what his one did, don't count on it bub. I was prepared to write a glowing review on my site's page, but considering the state the game's in, this won't happen for a long while.

Well, it has finally happened-I have finally had all the whining that I can take. Check the polls and you will see that the majority-around 80% of respondants have either better performance+new features, or same performance but new features-have had no problems with the patch. Those of you who are, might I suggest that the problem lies in either (a) how you installed the original game, (b) how you installed the patch or (c) your overall system. That said, please don't use your problems with the game as an excuse to accuse Firaxis of putting out a Beta version of the game, when it is actually clear that most people are having little to no difficulty with it, and are actually off enjoying the game immensely.
Actually, scratch that, you can do whatever the hell you like now-for all I care-as all the constant whining has finally made me realise that there is NO POINT in being on the Civ4 discussion list, as all the decent discussion is being pushed out by the repetitive whiner threads. Good bye, and maybe see you in a few months, after all the complaints have died down.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

This is just hillarious... The problem was not with the patch, but the ORIGINAL game. When I tried to uninstall it, I couldn't find it in Add/Remove Programs. For some reason, the game never entered itself there. So I just installed it in the same directory again (without uninstalling, as I couldn't). I actually didn't copy any files, just went through the entire list of files. Now I have an entry in Add/Remove programs, and the patch is loading.

Ok...fire everyone who worked on QA for this game. And get a better spread of beta testersn next time!

The patch actually did help :) YAY

I managed to play for a few hours straight without any problems. Then I hit one (the names for all technologies in the tech window disappeared). Closed civ4, and...oh well, I got 640x480x256 (wrong colored) right now. Gotta reboot to fix that.
Overall though, the game got playable for me.

I have noticed, however, that the barb and animal ratio have been "seriously" tweaked in this game, compared to before. I probably explored at the rate I had for the unpatched version of the game which just on a wild guess means that by the time my recon gets through those units have been through like 30 battles, which of course gets a lot of promotions. In this game I had "maybe" 5 fights total and not a single promotion. I might had seen like 5 barb units the whole time, which includes some of my recon being in the booneys for extended periods. I used to could count on running into at least 5-6 animal units in the snow areas alone, but I don't think I found a single one there. Very different. Looks like I'll have to turn raging barbs on.
Any updates / confirmations on this? I'm curious whether they made a tweak to this and forgot to list it in the patch notes?

Well, it has finally happened-I have finally had all the whining that I can take. Check the polls and you will see that the majority-around 80% of respondants have either better performance+new features, or same performance but new features-have had no problems with the patch. Those of you who are, might I suggest that the problem lies in either (a) how you installed the original game, (b) how you installed the patch or (c) your overall system. That said, please don't use your problems with the game as an excuse to accuse Firaxis of putting out a Beta version of the game, when it is actually clear that most people are having little to no difficulty with it, and are actually off enjoying the game immensely.
Actually, scratch that, you can do whatever the hell you like now-for all I care-as all the constant whining has finally made me realise that there is NO POINT in being on the Civ4 discussion list, as all the decent discussion is being pushed out by the repetitive whiner threads. Good bye, and maybe see you in a few months, after all the complaints have died down.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

So post a link to this poll. Or should I say all the polls. Because there is no way I will believe that 80% of the people are happy. NO GOD DAM WAY. Show me a poll that was taken of random people who purchased this game. Show me an unbiased poll. Not one that originates from this website. Truthfully I think this website is in bed with firaxis\take2. But you show me an unbiased poll with good data. Supporting your 80% dream. And I will post a truthful apology. Until such time. I have grown sick of you people who get into these threads to brag about how you can play and you can't believe others are having problems. Like we are making this up. Like we have nothing better to do. I sitll have the crap patch I downloaded from this site. That actually removed the Civ executable. Bascially uninstalling the game. But hey I guess thats in my imagination because you saw a poll on some kiss ass thread that said so go civ go.
And a) it is not my ****ing system. I have tried it on five different setups now. All with fresh installs of windows. b) how I installed the game. I inserted disc and said install. No specail fun there. Not really to much to do there. So I believe your talking out your ass there cause your mouth knows better. and last c) how I installed the patch. Well again. only two ways. Download from one of these supported taking kickbacks to make us look good sites. or from the in game update. Well most of the patches I downloads removed the executable. The in game update, well that made the game worse so far on two setups and I am working on the last three. Unlike you I do some testing on clean machines before I complain. Just to make sure it is not my hardware. I don't just open my mouth to see what **** spouts out of it. Hope to hear back from you in 4 or 5 months or however long you plan to stay gone.
But before I go, heres a tip. If you are looking for a urah rah thread. Look for that in the title. Other wise stfu. You are not having problems. good for you. go play the dam game. The rest of us have been through hell and back trying to get this thing to work.

Well here I am again with another report.

My conclusion is that generally the patch has made my problems worse, but it takes a lot of gameplay to come to that conclusion. I've been playing large map since I last added to this thread, and the dreaded EGA CTD has happened at least once more (and many of the more typical variety from the memory leak). The EGA one is worse, because you never see it coming, unlike some of the mid-game crashes, where terrain starts disappearing and such. The general thing with this patch is that it looks like the computer is doing better because the speed is improved in many respects,and the CTD pre-evidence that it's fixing to crash is a lot more abbreviated. Unfortunately sicne you have seen the warning in much longer terms, and more gradual, you keep expecting it will get to the stage it was (gradual progression) before it crashes, but as you guessed that doesn't happen any more.

I'm getting pretty fed up. I've learned about as much of the early game as I'm going to learn and now I'm spinning my wheels. I have been using the default autosave, but the one time I went back to an autosave, it got me perhaps 6 turns past the point it crashed before; surely not worth the effort. I'm also somewhat fed up with all the advice frankly, as everything I try seems to make no difference (like changing the pagefile size), at least no difference in stopping the CTD's. There has been one slight improvement, in that the CTD's, since 1.09, haven't totally crashed my computer -yet- but then I have that new EGA crash which comes without warning.

Oh well, I guess I'll get fed up enough to start playing something else pretty soon.

Any updates / confirmations on this? I'm curious whether they made a tweak to this and forgot to list it in the patch notes?

I clarified this later. It turns out that I forgot that with uninstalling and reinstalling that the default is for the cheiftan level and not the noble level I was playing before. I have been playing noble since I discovered that mistake and it's definitely the same as it was before.

My computer specs are: Geforce 2 mx 100/200 32 mb.
Game works fine with patch 1.09 but i had to change my vide card grivers to the older version - forceware 71.89 from forceware 81.95. Since then i din't have any CTD. Evrything seems ok now:). Sorry for my English.

FINE, if you are going to effectively accuse me of lying, then check out
this thread:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=143125, and that is just for starters.

or this one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141628

or maybe this one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141393

or, you could look at THIS one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=139579

or perhaps THIS one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=134595

and there is, of course, THIS one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140612

or you could try THIS one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140199

These are just the ones which I could find, but I am certain that there are others-what they do show though is that the whining is being done by a very vocal minority-most of whom sign up with the sole purpose of complaining about the game, which is what I believe is the most pathetic part of all of this.
Anyway, as I said above, I am thoroughly sick and tired of what a waste of space the discussion thread is becoming, and plan to spend the rest of my time over in the other civ4 threads (and at Apolyton), at least until the pitch of this whining gets a little less.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

My computer specs are: Geforce 2 mx 100/200 32 mb.
Game works fine with patch 1.09 but i had to change my vide card grivers to the older version - forceware 71.89 from forceware 81.95. Since then i din't have any CTD. Evrything seems ok now:D. Sorry for my English.

Well, it has finally happened-I have finally had all the whining that I can take. Check the polls and you will see that the majority-around 80% of respondants have either better performance+new features, or same performance but new features-have had no problems with the patch. Those of you who are, might I suggest that the problem lies in either (a) how you installed the original game, (b) how you installed the patch or (c) your overall system. That said, please don't use your problems with the game as an excuse to accuse Firaxis of putting out a Beta version of the game, when it is actually clear that most people are having little to no difficulty with it, and are actually off enjoying the game immensely.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

Having 20% of your gaming audience having problems is a pretty high number. Imagine if 20% of credit cards just stopped working, or 20% of planes crashed regularly - it's not at all insignificant. You only find it frustrating because it's not happening to you!

I would say you would want 1-5% or less having any sort of problem, not the same, recurrent and significant (total crash) problems that are being described here. I can also say that as one of the 20%, it's extremely frustrating - I love Civ4, but can't get it to play properly.
I also don't agree with any of the a,b,c you listed - I installed the default install, installed the patch via the in-game update, and my system is 100% rock solid with _every_ other application. It's pretty standard component-wise too - 6600GT, A64 3200+ etc... all name brand.

Someone earlier in the thread suggested having a larger pool of beta testers, or a wider spread - I don't know what happened here, but with so many people clearly having issues, it appears that their beta methodology could have been improved. It's clear so much effort went into making the game as great as it is - it would just be better if it ran smoothly on 99+% of systems!

This is more of a PC issue per sec. I have a similar setup to you except I went for a home built setup and heck whilst i'm at it lets go for a lesser processor (AMD 2.4). Runs very smoothly and nicely. Is it that my machine is setup better or their is a problem with your setup and game who knows.

The only solution tbh is to go for a console if you're not happy and want a much more reliable situation.

Tals

It's probably better for the Moderators to try to compile a How-to guide to uninstalling the patch. This will definitly help everyone that has trouble.

Somewhere along the lines of:
1. Create System Restore Point #1.
2. Patch Your Civ4
3. If it doesn't work, uninstall Civ 4.
4. Load System Restore Point #1.
5. Install Civ4 and Not install the patch.

When you uninstall the game in Control Panel, you are given a bunch of choices about what you want to uninstall or leave. You can just leave the patch checked and it should just remove the patch. ;)

The patch made things worse for me as well. Videos got jerky. Victory movies froze. Game got sluggish and then froze the computer with a black screen. Had to hit the reset button. Before the patch, the game worked fine, no problems.

I downloaded this patch and the new Nvidia 81.95 drivers and the game runs smooth as before with low resolution, except I now have some leaders that have DEMON eyes (their eyes are just white, no iris, quite frightening), I didnt have that problem before. It happens to both Asoka's eyes, Genghis's right eye, but Cyrus's eyes are ok...


Yeah, I saw that too with Asoka. He's really scary that way. I did the same as you and was worse than before. So I've gone back to no patch and 77.77 drivers and everythings works smooth as silk. I might just wait several months before I try to update to a new patch or driver. :p

Small questions guys:
Since i installed the patch i don't see the number of turns it takes the city to grow in size or finish a production... any input on this? it was pretty useful!

Thank you

You need to enter the options and choose 'show city details' on one of the tabs. ;)

So far the patch has worked great for me . It fixed things with my sound effects and so far seems to have helped with the jerky slowdown issues I had.
I have the movies turned off so cant comment on that aspect . I always run huge maps ...cant enjoy smaller ones it seems ...so I had lots of pre - patch issues to ***** about .

FINE, if you are going to effectively accuse me of lying, then check out
this thread:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=143125, and that is just for starters.

or this one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141628

or maybe this one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141393

or, you could look at THIS one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=139579

or perhaps THIS one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=134595

and there is, of course, THIS one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140612

or you could try THIS one:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140199

These are just the ones which I could find, but I am certain that there are others-what they do show though is that the whining is being done by a very vocal minority-most of whom sign up with the sole purpose of complaining about the game, which is what I believe is the most pathetic part of all of this.
Anyway, as I said above, I am thoroughly sick and tired of what a waste of space the discussion thread is becoming, and plan to spend the rest of my time over in the other civ4 threads (and at Apolyton), at least until the pitch of this whining gets a little less.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

Did you even read what I said. Here I will quote it again. "Show me a poll that was taken of random people who purchased this game. Show me an unbiased poll. Not one that originates from this website. Truthfully I think this website is in bed with firaxis\take2. But you show me an unbiased poll with good data. Supporting your 80% dream. And I will post a truthful apology."
Each and everyone of those are from this site. That is listed on the support page of civ iv. It is neither unbiased or random. It is a poll from a site that openly supports every thing civ. These numbers are way to tainted. As far as I am concerned you are just believing the hype.
As for just signing up to complain. Hey the bud. Check out the support page on civ vi. It tells you to come here. They have no forums of there own. Or do they??
What cracks me up even more is sid is on tour to sign copies of the game. LOL. Come to my area boy. I will give this piece of crap back. Right to your face. Tell you what a nightmare you have created.
One more time for those who didn't here it. Come on everyone. GO CIV GO!

Hey everyone. Just thought I would add a bit to my last. The reason I am responding so harshly is because I feel like to many people come in here just to bag on those of us that the game does not work for. I build computers for a living. I have several gaming rigs at home. I host lan parties all the time. I buy my games to support the gaming industry. Becuase I would like to see PC gaming thrive. I do own a console but only for sports games.
When people come in here and say its your setup or you drivers. I take that as a personal insult. I work had to keep up with the latest and greatest. And to say its my setup is a slap in the face. It is not my setup. I have tried it on several (5) different setups. From a pIII to a top of the line p4. I have tried it on a amd 64 with the same results. Each and everytime. I get to the 1500's and then starts the ctd's with a hard lock every now and then.
As for the windows setups they are clean installs. Ranging from win2000 to win xp pro. I even tossed in a media center 2005 to see what would happen. xp home is the worst. Truth be told it ran better on the the pIII win2000 setup. low everything and a very low resolution. But still got the ctd's and hard crashes.
I am upset that I have to go through all this. Just to get the game to work. Actually just trying to get the game to work.
To all those who would and have come in here to bag on us for it not working, better yet you stupid ****s who tell us to take up console gaming if we don't like it. STFU and be happy you can play the game. If I could play the game I sure as hell would not be in here bagging on people who can't. I mean what kinda ******* does that. ha ha I can play and you can't. na na na boo boo. What is that ****.
Anyway that is why I am so hot. I can't play and have tested this out to the point of it taking away from my actual work. So please think before you post some crap like that. Be a little compasonate for those of us that continue to struggle with this crap.

I really suggest we cool down the attitude a little bit. That's not a good way to vent frustration.

I bought Civ4 completely unsure of whether it would work or not. (I'm running a p4 2.4Ghz, 512MB, on-board Intel video processor). That last bit about the video processor is what scared me. I very much didn't meet requirements. I installed the game yesterday and my fears were made certain. It loaded, it started and I opened a tutorial. Could see my unit and Sid's eyes and mouth. Fog of war EVERYWHERE unless I zoomed out far enough that I couldn't see my units.

Went on a bike ride to chill out over just spending $50 on a game I can't play.

Checked for patches upon returning.

Thanks to the patch, everything except movies work 100% for me. I hate movies anyway, so that's fine by me.

Blue3c - it's not meant to be a push at you for not understanding PC's - you obviously do. At the same time I have to admit surprise that the majority of users are not experiencing the level of issues you are and yet you still are getting issues regardless of trying a number of setups. I have also gone through a whole crashing issue with BF2 in the end I totally scrapped the MB/Memory and Graphics card to get my stable system and yet it was still not that simple turning out to be partially this and partially a conflict with Teamspeak.

I feel your pain but i'm unsure where this can now be taken since it sounds like in your case it's not an issue of particular HW.

So what's your take on what the issue is - bearing in mind that the majority of users are ok - I know you asked for other forums. Well Check

http://forums.bovineconspiracy.com/
http://www.octopusoverlords.com/phpBB2/
http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2/index.php

These are independant games forums pretty positive comments re Civ 4 and I see very little issues on crashing, I suspect most users who do experience crashing would end up here anyway so these forums would generally refelect a higher level of issues than the more global ones.

Tals

I'm starting to wonder if many of the ones who don't have problems are playing with smaller maps and fewer civs and have just average landmass per map size.

I'm almost tempted to try that and see how successful I am at not having crashes or freezes.

However, I prefer to play on the biggest maps possible and I like having at least 10 AI opponents. I also play on continents with low seas.

(And, for the record, I don't have overclocked anything and I have all the latest drivers I'm up to date on my drivers. I have a Gateway notebook, 4000+, 1 GIG RAM, 256MB ATI X600.)

Really, I don't understand why some persons are getting upset at people complaining about the game. I mean, if I were not having problems, I would not be reading the threads concerning problems/complaints and, if I did, it would just be for information in case something happened to me.

Granted, this is a thread on the patch so it's a bit more generic. But I'm not sure how persons discussing problems (or complaining) would drive off discussion on the game. It seems it would be easy to simply avoid those threads. It's not like I (or others) are inserting problems/complaints in threads dealing with game tactics, etc. Also, fans of the game (who don't have problems) should remember that we're fans of the game, too; we just happen not to be able to enjoy the game.

I'm starting to wonder if many of the ones who don't have problems are playing with smaller maps and fewer civs and have just average landmass per map size.

I'm almost tempted to try that and see how successful I am at not having crashes or freezes.

However, I prefer to play on the biggest maps possible and I like having at least 10 AI opponents. I also play on continents with low seas.

(And, for the record, I don't have overclocked anything and I have all the latest drivers I'm up to date on my drivers. I have a Gateway notebook, 4000+, 1 GIG RAM, 256MB ATI X600.)

Really, I don't understand why some persons are getting upset at people complaining about the game. I mean, if I were not having problems, I would not be reading the threads concerning problems/complaints and, if I did, it would just be for information in case something happened to me.

Granted, this is a thread on the patch so it's a bit more generic. But I'm not sure how persons discussing problems (or complaining) would drive off discussion on the game. It seems it would be easy to simply avoid those threads. It's not like I (or others) are inserting problems/complaints in threads dealing with game tactics, etc. Also, fans of the game (who don't have problems) should remember that we're fans of the game, too; we just happen not to be able to enjoy the game.
Well put. And good advice.

blue3c
I completely agree to what you say. I think that most probably everyone plays small/standard games where these issues don't show up.

Hi,
Although the patch has definatly made the game more stable for me, I still get CTD pretty regularly. Luckily no BSOD yet, would make me stop playing again. I am not sure about the majority of players, taking a look at amazons user reviews (down to 2.5 stars), seems like the majority do have trouble, even the good reviews come with some caveats...Hopefully next patch makes game even more stable..

ap

Oh, so NOW we are all on the Payroll of Firaxis/Take2 if we like this game and are having no trouble with it :rolleyes:. Sheesh, that excuse is so pathetic that it barely deserves any comment at all (and shows how desperate you have become to seem like nothing more than a VERY vocal minority). You asked me to show you a poll that showed more than 80% of people liking the game/enjoying the game and/or having little to no trouble with the game-and I showed you almost a dozen. Oh, but NOW they are all WRONG or BIASED because they don't AGREE with YOUR opinion of the game-man, this is evidence that you are such a SELF-INVOLVED little whiner Blue. If anything, I think these polls are biased AGAINST those who like the game, because most of the regular members of these forums are actually off PLAYING the game-or hanging out in the more INTELLIGENT areas of the Forum. But no, this Forum is biased against whiners, apparently, simply because actual polling shows that the whiners are nothing more than a VERY vocal minority. Oh and, let me assure you, I play HUGE maps-and often huge TERRA maps-and play a lot of online games-and I am still having incredibly smooth games with little to no lag AT ALL (with the few minor hitches I had removed by small alterations to my Civ4.ini file). I repeat, those with problems are clearly not having them due to problems with the game-or else EVERYONE would be having the same difficulties-but because of their computer set ups (I, for one, had MAJOR general difficulties with my Radeon 9550 card, but not with an older 9250 card), or HOW they installed the original game and/or the subsequent patch. Seriously, though, comparing the problems some people are having with planes falling out of the sky is a clear indication of how desperate and shrill the vocal minority here have become, and are a clear indication of the fact that-if I want INTELLIGENT conversation-then the General Discussion threads are NOT the place to come. So, for the VERY last time, I say GOOD BYE and GOOD LUCK to all the intelligent members of this forum. To the rest of you :p :mad:.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

Oh, one VERY last thing. If you think these forums are biased, then check out the Newegg and Overstock websites, where a combined total of over 10,000 game buyers has given an average score for the game of 4.5 out of 5. Or respondants to Gamespot, who have given the game an average rating of 9.2 out of 10 (from the votes of nearly 20,000 people). Or are these people also biased/on the Firaxis payroll too? If you say YES, then it truly shows how pathetic you have become!

Oh, and here is the Gamespot website I am referring to:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilizationiv/index.html?q=Civilization%20IV

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

To Aussie_Lurker

First. All your polls are from this site. Most(read ALL save 1) have less than 200 responses a statistically insignificant amount. As you said on this site most of the "whiners" are all the same people. But by the same token most of the "IT WORKS GREATERS" are also the same people. I frequent more than one site. They are not all the same people. I will be using percentages as the raw numbers are all too small to be statistically significant.

Poll: Does the patch work for you?
Yes, I have better performance 111 43.36%
Yes, no change in performance but I have the new features now 99 38.67%
No, worse performance 35 13.67%
No, I couldn't run the game at all and had to reinstall! 11 4.30%

Yes 82.03%
So you are saying that it is ok for software to have a patch that causes 13.67% of users to see worse performance?
And that 4.3% of users who meet the stated system requirements(assumption but reasonable) to not have it work AT ALL is good?


Poll: Do you like the game?
Yes 106 96.36%
No 4 3.64%

My Answer? GOD YES! I LOVE THIS GAME! Now if only it would at least reasonably well!


Poll: Can you play the game?
Can play and it works fine. 58 48.33%
Can play with minor bugs. 36 30.00%
Could play but won't due to major bugs. 19 15.83%
Can't play at all. 7 5.83%

78.33% Say they can play it but a large portion of that with "minor" bugs. One of the first rules of good statistics? DEFINE! What is minor? Is a CTOD that you can continue from after a reboot "minor"? I know some who would say yes. And just as many that would say no. The main problem with this poll is one of definition.

I put myself in Could play and due despite massive frustration taking years off my life from increased blood pressure due to unnecessary and preventable bugginess.

Also note that once again 5.83% can NOT get it to work AT ALL.


Poll: Inflicted with OMTS? (One More Turn Syndrome)
Yes 106 81.54%
Not yet 16 12.31%
No 8 6.15%

This poll has nothing to do with how the game works.
I would answer. YES. For the brief flashes of time I can get the game to work in a stable manner!

Poll: Is your game sluggish?
Couldn't be faster!! 15 7.65%
It's faster than Civ3. 12 6.12%
Normal, no need to complain. 26 13.27%
Sometimes it gets slow, but overall it's fine. 91 46.43%
So slow that I can barely move the camera. 47 23.98%
I simply can't play it, period. 5 2.55%

This is an interesting one. The Majority say it gets slow but overall it's fine. The next largest... So slow that I can barely move the Camera! The it's faster group is only twice the size of I can't play it at all section! This is your definition of "acceptable" and "good"?

Poll: Is CIV4 better then CIV3?
Yes 110 80.88%
No 18 13.24%
Just as good 8 5.88%

Once again a poll with almost no relation to the burning question of does it work and how well?
But I would think that almost 20% of people saying no it isn't better than what it is meant to replace OR is only just as good might by significant.
My answer. YES.

Poll: How do you rate Civ 4?
Lots of options.

Once again though it seems you have submitted a poll with little relation to the question at hand.
My Answer. Probably and 8 or 9 IF it would work reliably as it SHOULD without inflicting continous frustration and buggy torment upon me!

As to your points in earlier post:
I build computers. Every system I have EVER built since HIGH SCHOOL over 10 Years ago has worked for no less than 4 years Before anything went wrong with it on the hardware. I know because I also will do ALL maintenance for the computer since I only put them together for friends, family, roommates, etc...
Two Years of Computer Engineering before deciding I like computers as a hobby not a job and switched to History/PoliSci and now make a living off of that.
I DO NOT overclock. I DO NOT engage in risky behavior. I DO know what I am doing on both the hardware and software side. What I DO NOT know is advanced programming. I am largely a boring older male of mixed ancestry who WANTS TO PLAY HIS FAVORITE VIDEO GAME SERIES WITH REASONABLE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS! The slowness doesn't bother me so much but the CTOD and the BSOD DO!

Please don't just look at what you admitted was 20% of the community for a massively popular series and say "Well it doesn't work for you because you don't know wtf you are doing!" That does anger me.

I disproportionate number of these problems hit people with ABOVE NORMAL systems not Below Normal and none so far that I have seen have had below MIN SPEC computers. SO 100% of them should have the game WORKING! But according to your own polls 2% to 5% are totally and completly unable to get it to work at all! And those are the ones that stuck around with a not working piece of software to answer the poll instead of returning it after MORE THAN 2 WEEKS WITH NONFUNCTIONING SOFTWARE!

SO in closing.
Your polls are unscientific in nature and inconclusive based on nothing but the base consideration of sample size to the size of your total population, not to mention all coming from the exact same base population of this Forum.

Also please note that it is an accepted fact that ALL internet polls suffer from the same failing. They are not random sample but rather seeking out to be heard. IE: The only ones that answer them are the ones that want to.

EDIT: As for your last two posts. Well. If you READ some of the reviews you find the same percentage break down.
About 5% 1 to 2 score about 15% 5 to 6 and the rest are pretty much 9 to 10. This reflects what we already see. 5% it doesn't work, 15% it works poorly, the rest think this great game is a great game that works great not caring about those of us left behind.
After all those scores are composed of AVERAGES.

EDIT: Checked Newegg... err... I only saw 10 reviews... not 10000... maybe you use a different newegg.com...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16832205902

*sigh*

I just checked this thread again after a pause (somehow I tend to stay away from the stickies ;) ), just to see that not much has changed. Some people still put a lot of effort into a crusade against this game, and I still don't see anything constructive that could result from that.

However, I must say that the arguments have utterly degraded during the last days, some have really become ridiculous.

I mean, there's someone who claims that the game doesn't work for the majority of users, and lists the number of complaint threads in these forums as a sign for that. Many people disagree with him. He then demands a poll as proof. He is shown a poll that disproves his claim. He now claims that the poll is skewed and demands polls from another site. He claims this after having first taken the number of complaint threads in these forums as a support for his claim. So these forums can be used for arguments as long as he thinks they support his position, but are skewed otherwise.

Please.

I'm happy to argue with anyone if I can see that he at least takes the time to rethink his position. But that's not the case here. Here is a small, but very vocal minority of people who have problems with the game - which, to make that clear, should not have been there - and trapped themselves in an utterly useless crusade against it.

Please take a minute to think about what you really want, and think whether you will really achieve it with these actions.

Oh, one VERY last thing. If you think these forums are biased, then check out the Newegg and Overstock websites, where a combined total of over 10,000 game buyers has given an average score for the game of 4.5 out of 5. Or respondants to Gamespot, who have given the game an average rating of 9.2 out of 10 (from the votes of nearly 20,000 people). Or are these people also biased/on the Firaxis payroll too? If you say YES, then it truly shows how pathetic you have become!

Oh, and here is the Gamespot website I am referring to:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilizationiv/index.html?q=Civilization%20IV

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.
Amazon.com - 2.5 stars average out of 5 in user reviews. Much more representative IMO as regular people go there, not just gamers.

What happened to your 'impartiality' you bragged about this summer? Was it all a dream? You have gone from one of the most reasoned people to one who attacks anyone who dares criticize 'your' game. Maybe it is good you take a break and reexamine things...take it from the perspective of one who is trying to be neutral, your posts have become nothing more than emotional rants - something you have condemned others for on the "other side."

There are bu-ku issues with this game, most small, some large - no one can deny it. The patch has fixed some...and caused others. At this point I don't beleive any patch will fix all issues - only an extensive re-working of the code to optimize it, a cost that only an expansion pack entails, will suffice in the long run.

Continuing to berate those with problems will only drive them away from the game in the long run - something Sid or Soren do not want - I believe they are sincere in wanting all to play; - instead, why not shelve the rhetoric and do something positive to help out - you can start with Harkonnen's Memory Leak thread in the Bug report forums to start....I'm sure he needs machines that work well as a baseline....

*sigh*

I just checked this thread again after a pause (somehow I tend to stay away from the stickies ;) ), just to see that not much has changed. Some people still put a lot of effort into a crusade against this game, and I still don't see anything constructive that could result from that.

However, I must say that the arguments have utterly degraded during the last days, some have really become ridiculous.

I mean, there's someone who claims that the game doesn't work for the majority of users, and lists the number of complaint threads in these forums as a sign for that. Many people disagree with him. He then demands a poll as proof. He is shown a poll that disproves his claim. He now claims that the poll is skewed and demands polls from another site. He claims this after having first taken the number of complaint threads in these forums as a support for his claim. So these forums can be used for arguments as long as he thinks they support his position, but are skewed otherwise.

Please.

I'm happy to argue with anyone if I can see that he at least takes the time to rethink his position. But that's not the case here. Here is a small, but very vocal minority of people who have problems with the game - which, to make that clear, should not have been there - and trapped themselves in an utterly useless crusade against it.

Please take a minute to think about what you really want, and think whether you will really achieve it with these actions.

I said before and I will say again YOU CAN NOT USE a poll from this site with concrete numbers. This site is biased. People who come here love the whole series. Therefore they are biased. If you had a random poll like I said before and agian later I would beleive it and shut up about your numbers. But your numbers a skewed and biased.
And as I said before, yes there are many threads in here about negitve aspects of this game and now its patch. The people who are in these threads are not taking the time to do your little polls. They are here for answers and when they can't find any, even if this page is posted on the civ iv site as a tech support funciton they get upset. and being as this forum is the only listed on the official site they tend to let everyone know that they are ****ing pissed off.
Admit that your numbers are skewed. You show me, an independant poll that is unbiased with good numbers. Then and only then will I believe your so called 80% dream.
Read what I say before you spout off. None of you posting links to these polls on this site have in fact read what I said. You just saw what you wanted to. Talk about self centered there buddy.
I did not demand I said show me numbers to support your dam post. I said show me unbiased numbers. YOU CAN NOT. They do not exist which makes your statements of 80% untrue because you CAN NOT BACK THEM UP WITH SOLID DATA, as I have said before.
I am sorry, I should be saying go civ go. u rah rah. conform to your thorughts and expectations. Sorry I do not give in to any of that. The game was rushed and has yet to be fixed. Unless you are going to fork over 50.00 to repay plus moneys for my time and effort put into this crap. STFU. :mad: