markdata - When you open File Explorer, at the top click on "View". You should see among other options one for "Hidden items" with a box next to it. Click on the box and that should allow any hidden files to become visible.
Windows 10
- Thread starter graham04
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markdata - The save files should be located @ X:\XXXX\Civilization III Complete\Conquests\Saves. Where X is the drive and XXXX is the main folder. On my installation that's the E drive (a secondary HDD) and XXXX is a folder I set up named "Civilization Game Files" where I keep my Civ Complete and all related utilities. Are you saying that the "Saves" folder can't be viewed or just the .sav files inside it? I'm curious where you've installed Civ, can you find the "Civ3Conquests.exe" file, right click on it, select "Properties", and copy the "Location" info here? Because it sounds like you might have Civ installed under Programs (x86), which would place the .sav files in a different location - C:\Users\...\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\....
OK, I read through all the forums and followed them and no joy. Game is dead. I just got Win 10 last week after my mother board crashed and had to have it replaced. I should have insisted on keeping 7 but it is done. I don't like 10 yet at all but oh well. It did work in WIN 7 when I ran as an admin and prevented the dreaded KB3086255 update from installing. Now I am stymied.
I have original Civ III and CivC disks. I re-loaded them per this thread below and the video mentioned in it... https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/civ-3-windows-update-kb3086255-safedisc.552308/
I already ran the patch1.22 so maybe that screwed it up when I then downloaded the German file per above. I don't read German so I am not sure I ran that download correct. There are a bunch of files, none of which seemed to work. I am not even sure the patch ran correctly. I ran the "Civilization 3 - Conquest PC Games Patch für v1.22 (int)" zip file. See snips below. It created an exe file and then when I copied it to the conquest folder, it appeared to turn back into a zip file when I rename it. In either case it did not work. I may need more specific instructions on doing it correctly if anyone has them. Win 10 appears to also make me run the game as an administrator and it did not work when I did.
Anything new on fixing this. I read about Civ V and VI and a lot of folks appear to hate it and I am very happy with CivC and did not want the new game. I may be done with CIV in general if it can't be fixed. Ideas?
jlvfr
King
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I use the "Civilization III Complete Edition" (CD version, not online or Steam) in Windows 10, in 32 and 64 bit, and never had any problems.
@Marcel85 Look here @ the spoilered text. I don't believe anything new has come out about this except certain later editions of CIV III Complete seem to be able to run w/o any problems. GOG.com also now offers a cheap d/l version with the No-CD patch for like $5 or something if you don't want to go the Steam route.
I've never had to run the game as an administrator, so I don't have an answer other than it might have to do with the version of Win10 you're running, or something with the permissions, or even where you installed the game. Just curious, what version of CIV III do you have exactly? (Vanilla, PTW, Gold, C3C, GOTY, Complete)
As for CIV VI, let me tell you I'm having more fun playing and modding a CIV game now than I have for years. I haven't even touched CIV III in five or six months and I don't see myself coming back in any meaningful way except for when Tony comes out with his updated Worldwide mod.
I've never had to run the game as an administrator, so I don't have an answer other than it might have to do with the version of Win10 you're running, or something with the permissions, or even where you installed the game. Just curious, what version of CIV III do you have exactly? (Vanilla, PTW, Gold, C3C, GOTY, Complete)
As for CIV VI, let me tell you I'm having more fun playing and modding a CIV game now than I have for years. I haven't even touched CIV III in five or six months and I don't see myself coming back in any meaningful way except for when Tony comes out with his updated Worldwide mod.
Laurana Thanks a bunch! I did do it correct then. But every time I copied the exe file into the Conquest folder it changed back to a zip icon when I changed the name to "No CD.". I can't explain why it did that. Didn't work in any event. I actually extracted it directly into the folder as well to see if that would help. It didn't. I did install it in the users/public/games folder.
As far as the versions go, it's the basic Civ III. It does not say anything else on the disc. Box is long gone. Same with the CivConquest disc. Both basic versions bought in boxes at the store at least 15 years ago. I guess I got my money's worth so I guess I can spring for a new download
. I just did not want to do it until I knew it would actually work. I usually just play Conquest now.
But...I am glad to hear what you said about Civ VI. You may have changed my mind. I really like everything about CivConquest and have enjoyed it immensely. I hate to buy something I would hate. I am just concerned that many of the old game concepts have changed and it will require a major brain re-write on my part to enjoy. Again, thanks much.
As far as the versions go, it's the basic Civ III. It does not say anything else on the disc. Box is long gone. Same with the CivConquest disc. Both basic versions bought in boxes at the store at least 15 years ago. I guess I got my money's worth so I guess I can spring for a new download
. I just did not want to do it until I knew it would actually work. I usually just play Conquest now.But...I am glad to hear what you said about Civ VI. You may have changed my mind. I really like everything about CivConquest and have enjoyed it immensely. I hate to buy something I would hate. I am just concerned that many of the old game concepts have changed and it will require a major brain re-write on my part to enjoy. Again, thanks much.
I accidentally installed KB3086255 a couple months ago on 8.1. It did prevent the retail disc's .exe file from launching, but the Steam version I also have worked without issue. The GOG one should too. Uninstalling that patch restored full retail functionality. But with 10, there's no way to avoid that patch, so Steam/GOG is the easiest way to go.
I read a week or two ago that Civ VI now has a demo. Haven't tried it myself yet, but may be a good way to see if it's appealing or not. I am in the group who, if not quite hate V, at least was disappointed in it compared to III/IV. Hoping that VI will change that, but am waiting until they patch up the AI before jumping on board.
I read a week or two ago that Civ VI now has a demo. Haven't tried it myself yet, but may be a good way to see if it's appealing or not. I am in the group who, if not quite hate V, at least was disappointed in it compared to III/IV. Hoping that VI will change that, but am waiting until they patch up the AI before jumping on board.
@Marcel85 Best of luck to you! I'm happy to help any way I can.
@Quintillus That security update ended MS's support for SafeDisc and SecuROM, the latter which the Civ III's physical editions utilized. So it's no wonder it wouldn't run. There was no patch for Win10 since the support was never integrated to begin with. However, you're right about the Win10 security updates - not even Pro copies can defer those - I think Enterprise can though. Steam's copy is validated through Steamworks, which until Civ VI I used to loathe anything Steam/Valve related. (I finally got over it though.) I'm not sure if/how GOG validates copies, but I imagine it's like Gamersgate was and includes a No-CD .exe.
Too many people unfairly compare the current state of VI Vanilla to versions of III, IV, & V after multiple patches and expansions. Not to mention a mature mod development community. I played IV & V when they first came out and neither one captured my enthusiasm like III and now VI has. There's been four patches to VI since it was released and the AI has become pretty competitive although there's always room for improvement. Honestly, I'm so glad that I don't have to pull my hair out trying to find work-a-rounds for the AI to do some pretty complex things unlike I did in III. (Your's and Steph's editors helped alot in that area!)
@Quintillus That security update ended MS's support for SafeDisc and SecuROM, the latter which the Civ III's physical editions utilized. So it's no wonder it wouldn't run. There was no patch for Win10 since the support was never integrated to begin with. However, you're right about the Win10 security updates - not even Pro copies can defer those - I think Enterprise can though. Steam's copy is validated through Steamworks, which until Civ VI I used to loathe anything Steam/Valve related. (I finally got over it though.) I'm not sure if/how GOG validates copies, but I imagine it's like Gamersgate was and includes a No-CD .exe.
Too many people unfairly compare the current state of VI Vanilla to versions of III, IV, & V after multiple patches and expansions. Not to mention a mature mod development community. I played IV & V when they first came out and neither one captured my enthusiasm like III and now VI has. There's been four patches to VI since it was released and the AI has become pretty competitive although there's always room for improvement. Honestly, I'm so glad that I don't have to pull my hair out trying to find work-a-rounds for the AI to do some pretty complex things unlike I did in III. (Your's and Steph's editors helped alot in that area!)
@Laurana Kanan - Yeah, I know it was either SafeDisc or SecuROM that Civ III used, can't remember which though. Either way, the retail versions are a no-go on 10. GOG is entirely DRM-free, so there's no validation at all - download the installer and you can use it forever on any of your systems, even if the Internet goes away. For what it's worth, Steam's Offline support is pretty robust these days; was a bit flaky around 2010 but they've patched it up.
It's a good point that Vanilla is never as good as the later versions. I remember playing Civ IV right after it came out in 2005, and despite trying, not being able to get into it like III, eventually switching back to III as my main and nearly only Civ for several years when I joined CFC in 2007 (I picked up Civ4 complete in 2010 and by then it was able to meet my expectations). Although III is, in my opinion, the best of III and later in its Vanilla version. I played Vanilla for about a year and a half before getting Conquests, and it became my favorite game almost instantly. Granted, I didn't have sky-high expectations as I hadn't played Civ2, but I had no complaints about III Vanilla.
It is good to hear the AI is competitive nowadays. While I find IV's AI to be challenging, and some mods make it even more so, V's AI was always a disappointment to me, and early reports from VI were that its AI was a step back from V, which was disappointing. That's been one of my top requirements for improvement prior to buying it.
You mentioned mods as well; what is modding like in VI currently? From what I read mod support and tools were quite lacking at first, which was disappointing, although to be fair III's were very much a work in progress early on too, and didn't really hit their stride until Conquests.
It's a good point that Vanilla is never as good as the later versions. I remember playing Civ IV right after it came out in 2005, and despite trying, not being able to get into it like III, eventually switching back to III as my main and nearly only Civ for several years when I joined CFC in 2007 (I picked up Civ4 complete in 2010 and by then it was able to meet my expectations). Although III is, in my opinion, the best of III and later in its Vanilla version. I played Vanilla for about a year and a half before getting Conquests, and it became my favorite game almost instantly. Granted, I didn't have sky-high expectations as I hadn't played Civ2, but I had no complaints about III Vanilla.
It is good to hear the AI is competitive nowadays. While I find IV's AI to be challenging, and some mods make it even more so, V's AI was always a disappointment to me, and early reports from VI were that its AI was a step back from V, which was disappointing. That's been one of my top requirements for improvement prior to buying it.
You mentioned mods as well; what is modding like in VI currently? From what I read mod support and tools were quite lacking at first, which was disappointing, although to be fair III's were very much a work in progress early on too, and didn't really hit their stride until Conquests.
It's SecuROM from what I remember. There are some later retail versions of Civ III complete that apparently do work on Win10. I seem to remember tjs282 did some investigating on that. So GOG would be the same as the Gamersgate version I purchased years ago, nice! From what I've seen of the negative AI comparisons between V & VI, it's mostly been the post V BNW expansion (esp. w/ the Vox Populi mod) and VI Vanilla. Which I believe is not a fair comparison considering many of the new concepts and considerations in VI and the maturity of V.
As far as modding, the SDK wasn't released until the third patch back in February, which made sense since I don't think they wanted those tools released until after the pre-order DLC pack became available to everyone (90 days from launch). Unfortunately, the dll source code has not been released yet so there's still some of the more in depth modding that can't be done - like with certain aspects of the AI.
I'm still such a newbie though as I only had a passing knowledge of xml and sql coding (and complete ignorance of LUA) when the game was launched and was never really good at modelling, but there's some very talented people on here, reddit, etc. that have done some amazing things. I will say that III is so much more simpler to mod, but as you know, can be pretty limited in the scope of what you can accomplish. I am glad you continue to develop your editor, but I still wish it allowed reorganizing the unit list (sorry had to get that in
).
As far as modding, the SDK wasn't released until the third patch back in February, which made sense since I don't think they wanted those tools released until after the pre-order DLC pack became available to everyone (90 days from launch). Unfortunately, the dll source code has not been released yet so there's still some of the more in depth modding that can't be done - like with certain aspects of the AI.
I'm still such a newbie though as I only had a passing knowledge of xml and sql coding (and complete ignorance of LUA) when the game was launched and was never really good at modelling, but there's some very talented people on here, reddit, etc. that have done some amazing things. I will say that III is so much more simpler to mod, but as you know, can be pretty limited in the scope of what you can accomplish. I am glad you continue to develop your editor, but I still wish it allowed reorganizing the unit list (sorry had to get that in
).
I've heard of the Vox Populi mod, if I decide to spin up another Civ5 game at some point, it will be with that mod. Last expansion with a mod which likely does much to improve the AI is not a fair comparison against the successor's vanilla, I agree, though I can also see why someone used to playing BNW or Vox Populi would compare them that way.
Good to know the SDK was released. It sounds like it covers a fairly extensive set of modding options from what you wrote, even if not as much as Civ4 currently. Did Civ5 have SQL modding? I'm almost sure Civ4 didn't; that's a new one in Civ to me. Civ III vs IV and later really do differ in their modding approach. The later ones are more powerful, but as you said III is much simpler, with a much easier learning curve as you don't have to know anything about coding to mod Civ3; beyond custom maps, you have to have at least a conceptual grasp of XML for IV+, and the Civ3 editor lets you do what XML (and some of the Lua/Python) does in IV+ in a more friendly fashion. Lua, Python, C++, etc. do allow more powerful modding, but once you get there you are in real programming territory.
I've written up a formal enhancement request for unit list sorting, to keep it on my radar. Although I attempted it once before, that was several years ago and with more experience I will try it a different way next time.
Good to know the SDK was released. It sounds like it covers a fairly extensive set of modding options from what you wrote, even if not as much as Civ4 currently. Did Civ5 have SQL modding? I'm almost sure Civ4 didn't; that's a new one in Civ to me. Civ III vs IV and later really do differ in their modding approach. The later ones are more powerful, but as you said III is much simpler, with a much easier learning curve as you don't have to know anything about coding to mod Civ3; beyond custom maps, you have to have at least a conceptual grasp of XML for IV+, and the Civ3 editor lets you do what XML (and some of the Lua/Python) does in IV+ in a more friendly fashion. Lua, Python, C++, etc. do allow more powerful modding, but once you get there you are in real programming territory.
I've written up a formal enhancement request for unit list sorting, to keep it on my radar. Although I attempted it once before, that was several years ago and with more experience I will try it a different way next time.
It did, but it didn't pique my interest enough to want to mod it. So I never really learned.
Looks very promising. Thank you for looking into this again. When you get into 2000+ units it can be a real pain making changes to unit lines especially when they're in long upgrade chains. I was just hoping to be able to move unit entries around in the list in order to keep the upgrade chains tidy. But having filters like units available with a certain tech, or available to a certain civ, or by certain flags like Hidden Nationality, or requiring certain resources could be very beneficial, too, if possible.
I got the demo for VI. I was very disappointed. I know it was the demo version, but the entire feel is not right. The information is extremely hard to decipher at a glance compared with the earlier versions I have played. The technology tree is not good. And while some, maybe most, like not having army stacks of doom, I love them. I usually played conquest victories and loved to wipe out my opponents one by one with a strong military. I really never liked the whole diplomacy thing and usually ignored it. I really do not like how they changed the cities either. I also could not find an "automate" builder. While I loved manually controlling workers early, at some point, auto build! The demo was always pretty vanilla. I am not sure how big the maps get; how many opponents you are able to have or restrict; what kind of world you can choose, etc. I am afraid they may have changed those too but the demo does not allow you to see those functions, if they exist.
All that said, not willing to spend money on it. I will have to download the older versions and continue to enjoy them. Now if they updated the older versions with the graphics, I would be all in on that.
Update: I just downloaded Civ III Complete from Steam and it works like a champ on Win 10. I am back in the business of conquering the world!!!!
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Sorry to hear about the demo, but glad you're back in the business of conquering the world. While the engine limits the resolution of the graphics, there are a number of graphic overhaul kits available on CFC that change the terrain in particular significantly. Sn00py's Terrain and the Watercolor Terrain are a couple of classics that come to mind right away, but there are more recent ones as well, and they can really enhance the look of the game. The Terrains section of the Download Database is here.
chickenx4
Prince
Hey I got a new computer with I play my civ 3 complete it crashes the specs are in my profile but it works in my surface pro
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