oldStatesman
Cybernaut
Update on my issue.
Seems the Radeon 7500 64 MB AGP card is just not good enough to run the graphics engine as is; despite it being the minimum recommended card - even printed on the Box! (And getting the okay from srtest.com).
I borrowed a Radeon 9550 256 AGP card from a friend, and installed it. Got the init rendering bug - but that was fixed via the fix posted here.
The game started, but now the intro movie is very choppy in sound and video - (the intro was fine with the 7500). However, the game itself now runs fine - no Cheshire Cat bug.
Conclusion:
- Radeon 7500 is NOT up to minimum spec - despite what the Box, Firaxis site and srtest.com claim. IMO, this needs to be addressed asap if Firaxis does not want to continue to get some upset people. Though old, the 7500is a common card.
-There is still some minor issues - the fact that the intro movie played well on the 7500 but not the 9550 is an indication all is not quite well. Somewhere there is still a compatibility issue - whether with ATI drivers or DirextX or Civ4 is undeterminiable at this time - but I'm sure these will be addressed in the first patch.(Yes, I updated everything per Firaxis' instructions on their support site. No, I am not a novice user, put a proffessional IT consultant - so that part went fine.)
IMHO, the biggest gaff is not that the game will not run on the 7500 - that is entirely okay and understandable as it is an older card - - the big mistake was in telling everyone before and after the game was released that the 7500 is the minimum card required. If I had known that earleir - I would never have gotten the game - but I tested my hardware, (including srtest.com)read the specs, and felt everything was fine weeks ago. I pity the poor gamers who don't have access to these sites and just buy the game by reading the specs on the box, from Firaxis' site or from srtest.com.
Finally, big big kudos' to Firaxis' and all who helped on the init rendering fix - that was quick. I hope someday I learn what went wrong there - from a professional pov - great trouble shooting in a pressure situation.
Seems the Radeon 7500 64 MB AGP card is just not good enough to run the graphics engine as is; despite it being the minimum recommended card - even printed on the Box! (And getting the okay from srtest.com).
I borrowed a Radeon 9550 256 AGP card from a friend, and installed it. Got the init rendering bug - but that was fixed via the fix posted here.
The game started, but now the intro movie is very choppy in sound and video - (the intro was fine with the 7500). However, the game itself now runs fine - no Cheshire Cat bug.
Conclusion:
- Radeon 7500 is NOT up to minimum spec - despite what the Box, Firaxis site and srtest.com claim. IMO, this needs to be addressed asap if Firaxis does not want to continue to get some upset people. Though old, the 7500is a common card.
-There is still some minor issues - the fact that the intro movie played well on the 7500 but not the 9550 is an indication all is not quite well. Somewhere there is still a compatibility issue - whether with ATI drivers or DirextX or Civ4 is undeterminiable at this time - but I'm sure these will be addressed in the first patch.(Yes, I updated everything per Firaxis' instructions on their support site. No, I am not a novice user, put a proffessional IT consultant - so that part went fine.)
IMHO, the biggest gaff is not that the game will not run on the 7500 - that is entirely okay and understandable as it is an older card - - the big mistake was in telling everyone before and after the game was released that the 7500 is the minimum card required. If I had known that earleir - I would never have gotten the game - but I tested my hardware, (including srtest.com)read the specs, and felt everything was fine weeks ago. I pity the poor gamers who don't have access to these sites and just buy the game by reading the specs on the box, from Firaxis' site or from srtest.com.
Finally, big big kudos' to Firaxis' and all who helped on the init rendering fix - that was quick. I hope someday I learn what went wrong there - from a professional pov - great trouble shooting in a pressure situation.
