Been waiting for Civ 5 to come out and even splurged out some extra cash to get the Special Edition online and when I finally got it and was installing it, I noticed Steam was required to play the game....my "spidey-sense" immediately began tingling. Sure enough, it made installation more difficult than it needed to be but I eventually manage to get around it and do it. Was 10 seconds into the intro when suddenly CRASH....bad omen, I thought. Rebooted the comp and started over again....intro went fine and upon getting to the options menu FREEZE. CNRTL-ALT-DEL to the desktop and manually stopped Civ 5 before restarting it again....made it as far as the advanced options on the single player menu when again, FREEZE. Went online to check out the forums....I'm not alone but no decisive solution as of yet....only mostly theories and dumbasses trying to sound smart with stupid suggestions. Went back to playing the game....finally got it going but it kept freezing everytime I saved my game. When trying to load, it sometimes CRASH directly into the desktop. When I try to declare a war, it FREEZE....after about 6 turns, guess what happens? Yep....it either CRASH or FREEZE. Finally put the game down....the day isn't over yet on it's first day of release and the game is already virtually unplayable!!

Does all of this remind you of another game? Yep....Civilization 4 came out the same way....a beta-frigging release that was loaded with bugs and totally unplayable unless you bought the soon-to-be-released full priced expansion pack (each sold separately, of course). Even then, every idiot was entitled to their own individual opinions as their common "wisdom" ascertained that the everybody else's computer was too obsolete to play the game and that their only choice was to upgrade to a newer system....that is why I REFUSE to write down my system specs in here because I know my s**t (that's why I went to computer college for) and not only does it meet the minimum requirements but also far exceeds the recommended ones and it already has all the updated drivers for windows and my Nvidia graphics card so I don't need a snot-nosed cheese-eating high school boy proceeding to tell me I need a newer and more powerful machine to fix the problem when the one I have has only recently been purchased!!

Lets face it, Civilization 5 is yet another broken game to be released into the videogame market and adding Steam into the equation is like throwing gasoline into an already explosive concoction....just another thing than could go wrong (and it has). With all the people listed in their credits section you'd think they would hire a few more game testers or quality-control people to ensure they don't end up with a crappy product. Some people may say that the game has only recently been released and there's bound to be some problems....hey, Starcraft 2 and Mafia 2 were recently released game too and I never had any problems with them....the game did not crash when I saved a game nor did it freeze up for no apparent reason. This sucks....I've wasted a hundred bucks to buy this special edition of a paperweight. I'm going back to play Age Of Mythology: Titans Expansion pack.

hey captain angry this is the tech support forum either post your system specs or take your bold text somewhere else

hey captain angry this is the tech support forum either post your system specs or take your bold text somewhere else

God....not another snot-nosed cheese-eating high school boy. Like I said my gaming machine is more than up to specs with the latest video card driver and Windows 7 being only recently installed, I know it's not that either....so let's move forward and find the real cause for the problem because me telling you my system specs is not gonna do diddly-squat BECAUSE I ALREADY TOLD YOU IT'S NOT MY MACHINE....it's the game itself!! Why....do you have some specialized solution that only you in the entire planet has thought of that will magically fix and make the game work properly?? Do you have some special knowledge that only YOU know and been holding out on everybody?? OF COURSE NOT and that's exactly why YOU are here yourself in the tech support section yourself because THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR GAME AS WELL AND IT DOESN'T RUN PROPERLY otherwise what the hell are you doing in tech support?! You're here because you're like everybody else....went online to check out the forums to see if there's a solution or new patch has been made. Or maybe you just like it here too much in tech support that you get some kind of sick pleasure from belittling people with slower specs than you do.

Tell you what....send me YOUR system specs and maybe I'll send you a recommendation on what store to buy a new computer from than can properly play Civ 5 because clearly....there's something wrong with your machine!! Every idiot with an opinion. This is Captain Angry....signing off.

Keep it civil please

God....not another snot-nosed cheese-eating high school boy.

When peolpe react with this attitude and bold text abound then I'm happy that the game doesn't work for them.

snipped, and infracted for flaming

When peolpe react with this attitude and bold text abound then I'm happy that the game doesn't work for them.

I'll go as far as to say I hope your PC explodes and your undescended testicles shrivel up and fall off.

Hope away, hopey....'cause that's about all you can do. What, did you expect me to be polite and diplomatic?? You don't me so who the hell are you to judge!! This is the 3rd game I've bought this year that turned out to be broken so forgive me for losing all patience and not being a happy customer. Maybe you are too pussified to get mad when a videogame company charges you full price for a videogame that does not work properly. Maybe you like too much in the rear end that you just roll over and do nothing everytime a game doesn't run like it is supposed to. And as far as my PC is concerned, I don't think the Alienware gaming rigs have a tendency of exploding....but maybe your 386 Aptiva will. snipped

This is the 3rd game I've bought this year that turned out to be broken so forgive me for losing all patience and not being a happy customer.

If several games are not working as intended, chances are something IS wonky with your rig. Even if it is only an unlucky hardware combination that tend to expose bugs in the game engine which won't surface for most other hardware. If you want to get it fixed, you should take it to the 2K support ;)

God....not another snot-nosed cheese-eating high school boy. Like I said my gaming machine is more than up to specs with the latest video card driver and Windows 7 being only recently installed, I know it's not that either....so let's move forward and find the real cause for the problem because me telling you my system specs is not gonna do diddly-squat BECAUSE I ALREADY TOLD YOU IT'S NOT MY MACHINE....it's the game itself!! Why....do you have some specialized solution that only you in the entire planet has thought of that will magically fix and make the game work properly?? Do you have some special knowledge that only YOU know and been holding out on everybody?? OF COURSE NOT and that's exactly why YOU are here yourself in the tech support section yourself because THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR GAME AS WELL AND IT DOESN'T RUN PROPERLY otherwise what the hell are you doing in tech support?! You're here because you're like everybody else....went online to check out the forums to see if there's a solution or new patch has been made. Or maybe you just like it here too much in tech support that you get some kind of sick pleasure from belittling people with slower specs than you do.

Tell you what....send me YOUR system specs and maybe I'll send you a recommendation on what store to buy a new computer from than can properly play Civ 5 because clearly....there's something wrong with your machine!! Every idiot with an opinion. This is Captain Angry....signing off.

Keep it civil please

lol nope im here for the rage game runs fine for me

k u posted your os good start now gfx?

lol nope im here for the rage game runs fine for me

k u posted your os good start now gfx?

Hahahaha....you're alright, buddy.

Hope away, hopey....'cause that's about all you can do.

All he can do, other than play Civ V, you mean. :mischief:

What, did you expect me to be polite and diplomatic??

For someone requiring technical support?

Yes.

If several games are not working as intended, chances are something IS wonky with your rig.

LIES!!! It's obviously a vast conspiracy amongst game developers. :crazyeye:

The common denominator here is the machine.

If several games are not working as intended, chances are something IS wonky with your rig. Even if it is only an unlucky hardware combination that tend to expose bugs in the game engine which won't surface for most other hardware. If you want to get it fixed, you should take it to the 2K support ;)

The several games that were not working as intended were The Sims 3 (plus several expansion packs) and products from Kalypso....games already well known for being problematic and unstable so we can't really blame the machine there....and besides, that's not the point. My machine wasn't wonky when I was playing Starcraft 2. My machine wasn't wonky when I was playing Mafia 2. My machine wasn't wonky when I was playing Fallout 3. My machine wasn't wonky when I was playing Borderlands. I play Civilization 5 and suddenly it's all wonky?? Were you born yesterday?? For those of you with short memories (or simply ignore history altogether), the exact same thing happened 5-6 years ago with the release of Civilization 4 as the game was obviously incomplete and released way too early resulting in the game running in only a few computers....the release of Civilization 5 is obviously following the same unfortunate tradition. Even back then the world was already populated with wankers pointing their little finger around other people and telling them their machine was wonky when in fact the problem was the frigging game itself. If the game wasn't wonky, I wouldn't be here in the tech support searching for a solution now, would I?? I'd be playing the game right frigging now!!

This is clearly a software issue, not hardware. Sure a few morons who can't a afford a decent system or meet the minimum requirements will try running this game and fail to do so (gee, I wonder why) and then go on complaining here but for the most part, the smart videogamers have already updated all their drivers and defragmented their drives but the game still won't work properly. A patch is clearly the answer so let's get it done!!

This should have been locked a long time ago, this is a technical help forum not a cry like a baby forum.

In all seriousness mate, we don't have a clue what the problem is at this time. But if you could be nice enough to post your system specs it may be that we'll see a pattern arise from other people with similar issues. Problems are not always to be thought of as being software or hardware, often they are both.

I assume you've done the obvious fixes like verifying file integrity via Steam, going online for new updates from Steam and running on minimum graphics options in DX9 mode? I am asking this not because I believe you are stupid, its more information gathering. My particular hardware runs Civ5 better than civ4 in Dx9 mode and worse than Crysis in Dx10/11.

Yes, it is unusual for a turn based strategy game to push the envelope of system requirements. And yes, I remember the release of Civ IV quite well, a whole lot of machines that would play all the latest FPS games on high graphics, yet couldn't handle Civ IV. It was far worse then than it is now only because the Civ community as a whole has become smarter.

You can't come into a tech support forum and say "My system should run the game because I say it should!" and expect to get anything out of it. This new game is as it was with IV in that almost all of the issues are related to one's computer and not the game. If you look at the numbers, not really a whole lot of people are having issues.

Why not just post your specs and get it out of the way?

My particular hardware runs Civ5 better than civ4 in Dx9 mode and worse than Crysis in Dx10/11.

Do you have a reasonably good DX10 card? That behaviour seems to be quite common for those ...

This should have been locked a long time ago, this is a technical help forum not a cry like a baby forum.

Why, did you find a solution yet?? Until that time happens, I will be here crying like a baby (if that's what it takes) until a fix is found. If you think you are contributing by trading system specs and system specs opinions, then good luck with you. The sooner the patch is developed, the sooner I'll be playing the game and the sooner I'll be outta here so if you really wanna help, go help create the patch. Thank you, come again!!

Yes, it is unusual for a turn based strategy game to push the envelope of system requirements. And yes, I remember the release of Civ IV quite well, a whole lot of machines that would play all the latest FPS games on high graphics, yet couldn't handle Civ IV. It was far worse then than it is now only because the Civ community as a whole has become smarter.

As I recall, Civ 4 was a big time major memory hog and the sequential patches they released was mostly to free them up. I decided to run diagnostics while running Civ5 and guess what, it's taking up 85% of my system's memory just by running it....that's unusually high for one stinking program. Even playing Starcraft 2 on maximum settings, it was only reaching 25%. Could this be the cause??

It could be. There are reports of saved games getting unusually large when opening, doing nothing, and then re-saving the exact same situation. I've wondered if it's a memory leak issue (similar to Civ IV) and the saves are getting bigger because they're including what's in RAM. Symptoms I'd expect from a memory leak would be different than those you're describing. In the case of a memory leak the game would start out ok, then get slower and slower until it ultimately froze or crashed.

It could be. There are reports of saved games getting unusually large when opening, doing nothing, and then re-saving the exact same situation. I've wondered if it's a memory leak issue (similar to Civ IV) and the saves are getting bigger because they're including what's in RAM. Symptoms I'd expect from a memory leak would be different than those you're describing. In the case of a memory leak the game would start out ok, then get slower and slower until it ultimately froze or crashed.

Totally agree with you....but I'm afraid this could only be a symptom of a much bigger problem. I get freezes and crashes in the menus or in the middle of the game for no apparent reason.

Quit Complaining, Rebelco;
I can't even get the damn game to properly LOAD!
I'm running Win7-64 on a Dell Inspiron 530 with an on-board Intel graphics card. I think I've only got 256 GRam (which might be the problem but shouldn't), and DirectX9 AND 10/11 are both available; my monitor is available all the way up to 1920x1080 if I'm insane enough to try to see anything at that rezz.
So WHY doesn't Civ5 even START? :wallbash:
Think the good folks here on the forum can resolve THIS one?
BEFORE I do my THIRD uninstall and take this Deluxe Edition back to Best Buys with an injunction for them to send it back to Firaxis with a suggestion as to where to stick it?
And WHOSE idea was it to make this game an ON-LINE GAMING requirement, anyway? Some Microsoft Geek? If I wanted an on-line gaming experience, I would have bought an XBox or Nintendo! :thumbsdown:
Sorry if I've offended anyone's sensibilities here, but after spending $100 on the Deluxe Edition, I'd AT LEAST like to see it run ONCE!

Quit Complaining, Rebelco;
I can't even get the damn game to properly LOAD!
I'm running Win7-64 on a Dell Inspiron 530 with an on-board Intel graphics card.
So WHY doesn't Civ5 even START? :wallbash:
Think the good folks here on the forum can resolve THIS one?
BEFORE I do my THIRD uninstall and take this Deluxe Edition back to Best Buys with an injunction for them to send it back to Firaxis with a suggestion as to where to stick it?


Please guys, game companies publish those system requirements for a reason. You need a proper video card. If you have the same video chip as another poster with a inspirion 530 (GMA 3100), IT WILL NOT WORK, period. Vent your rage at Intel for selling crappy IGPs :D

IT WILL NOT WORK, period.it should at least make it to the main menu though, right?

people with far above recommended specs, are also experiencing this same (won't load) issue. so how is that "intel's crappy IGPs" fault?

it should at least make it to the main menu though, right?

people with far above recommended specs, are also experiencing this same (won't load) issue. so how is that "intel's crappy IGPs" fault?

Because those are unrelated issues?

Quit Complaining, Rebelco;
I can't even get the damn game to properly LOAD!
I'm running Win7-64 on a Dell Inspiron 530 with an on-board Intel graphics card. I think I've only got 256 GRam (which might be the problem but shouldn't), and DirectX9 AND 10/11 are both available; my monitor is available all the way up to 1920x1080 if I'm insane enough to try to see anything at that rezz.
So WHY doesn't Civ5 even START? :wallbash:
Think the good folks here on the forum can resolve THIS one?
BEFORE I do my THIRD uninstall and take this Deluxe Edition back to Best Buys with an injunction for them to send it back to Firaxis with a suggestion as to where to stick it?
And WHOSE idea was it to make this game an ON-LINE GAMING requirement, anyway? Some Microsoft Geek? If I wanted an on-line gaming experience, I would have bought an XBox or Nintendo! :thumbsdown:
Sorry if I've offended anyone's sensibilities here, but after spending $100 on the Deluxe Edition, I'd AT LEAST like to see it run ONCE!

Ya I apologize for complaining too much....but that's all I could do for the moment with the game not running properly and all. I guess I should be thankful that at least mine loads up....again, I'm sorry, dude. And don't send your game back to Best Buy just yet....I'll be ya a hundred bucks that when the first patch is released, it'll fix up some of the problems....not all of them but at least it'll play a little better. You can still play the game in offline mode as you only need to go online once in a while (and after a fresh install) to get the updates....but I completely agree with you with the online requirements of a single-player game. I don't remember waking up one Christmas morning wishing that every single player offline game I play require Steam (or any other kind of agent) to go through them and remain online so they can track my habits and force their advertisement upon me so I can buy their products I never requested for in the first place!!

it should at least make it to the main menu though, right?


Nope, not necessarily. I don't know much about game engines, but I think even the menu, though 2D, is running already in the 3d engine. And before that it need probably
to initialize, and when it's trying to access the hardware and it doesn't behave the way the engine expects, it crashes.

Nope, not necessarily. I don't know much about game engines, but I think even the menu, though 2D, is running already in the 3d engine. And before that it need probably
to initialize, and when it's trying to access the hardware and it doesn't behave the way the engine expects, it crashes.and I get that, but why is the same thing happening with (some) elite level video cards too?

the same thing ("won't load properly") is happening to people with below spec, and people WAY above specs.

and I get that, but why is the same thing happening with (some) elite level video cards too?

the same thing ("won't load properly") is happening to people with below spec, and people WAY above specs.

Don't worry about it too much....it's most likely the game itself rather than your machine (budget-brand or elite quality). It's just Firaxis' way of ensuring you buy their soon-to-be-released expansion pack that contains the proper patch to make the game run slightly better. Ain't no money to be made in the cure....it's all in the medicine and what a way to ensure repeat business. That's capitalism for ya.

Please guys, game companies publish those system requirements for a reason. You need a proper video card. If you have the same video chip as another poster with a inspirion 530 (GMA 3100), IT WILL NOT WORK, period. Vent your rage at Intel for selling crappy IGPs :D

(i hope this posts properly, never quoted before) but i also have an Inspiron 530, the graphics card info says Intel G33/G31 express (i'm presuming this is not up to snuff), and i'm not too computer-savvy, i should be able to go out and get a new video card, install and at least that part should be taken care of? i have a core 2 quad processor, plenty of RAM and all. i can install the game but when i try to start, i get a window pop up and it goes away immediately.

i got a new card for Civ4 on my old POS computer but at least then, the game started, i just couldn't see things properly.

In all seriousness mate, we don't have a clue what the problem is at this time. But if you could be nice enough to post your system specs it may be that we'll see a pattern arise from other people with similar issues. Problems are not always to be thought of as being software or hardware, often they are both.

What he said.

There appears to be some specific problems that may be related to certain graphics cards - I've seen quite a few problems and a a common factor may be 8800 GTS video cards, for example.

Knowing what your specs are can help. This is a civ forum, not [H]ardOC|CP, or any other over-clockers forum. We don't have a whole lot of tolerance for people mocking other peoples' systems.

Firstly: Congrats, doug. You quoted properly! :)

Secondly: rebelco, it cannot be a true rant. The tech support forum is for people seeking tech help. Ranting belongs in general discussion where you're most likely to get the most views, and the quickest threadlock.

And thirdly:

There are reports of saved games getting unusually large when opening, doing nothing, and then re-saving the exact same situation. I've wondered if it's a memory leak issue (similar to Civ IV) and the saves are getting bigger because they're including what's in RAM.

It's definitely (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=9654551&postcount=14) a memory leak.

i should be able to go out and get a new video card, install and at least that part should be taken care of? i have a core 2 quad processor, plenty of RAM and all. i can install the game but when i try to start, i get a window pop up and it goes away immediately.


Any new video card should work in principle. If you are after a cheap, yet reasonably good one, this here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131343) would be a possibility. My personal recommendation would be that one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161319), people are reporting that it is good enough for (almost) maximum settings. With a Core2Quad and lots of RAM you are good to go.

Quit Complaining, Rebelco;
I can't even get the damn game to properly LOAD!
I'm running Win7-64 on a Dell Inspiron 530 with an on-board Intel graphics card. I think I've only got 256 GRam (which might be the problem but shouldn't), and DirectX9 AND 10/11 are both available; my monitor is available all the way up to 1920x1080 if I'm insane enough to try to see anything at that rezz.
So WHY doesn't Civ5 even START? :wallbash:
Think the good folks here on the forum can resolve THIS one?
BEFORE I do my THIRD uninstall and take this Deluxe Edition back to Best Buys with an injunction for them to send it back to Firaxis with a suggestion as to where to stick it?
And WHOSE idea was it to make this game an ON-LINE GAMING requirement, anyway? Some Microsoft Geek? If I wanted an on-line gaming experience, I would have bought an XBox or Nintendo! :thumbsdown:
Sorry if I've offended anyone's sensibilities here, but after spending $100 on the Deluxe Edition, I'd AT LEAST like to see it run ONCE!

On-board Intel "graphics cards" are useless for most games, and I doubt you have only have 256 megabytes of RAM, you'd barely run Win7 on that (unless you typed it in wrong). The game only has to be online ONCE to activate it, after that you can put steam into offline mode. Also you can't return the game, its tied to your steam account permanently.

However, if you have the collector' edition box and models, I will gladly take them off your hands free of charge.