FFHAgeOfIce Bug, and FFH2 not starting

[dragndude9]

I know my way around a computer, but when it comes to computer games, I'm fairly new, and I bought Civilization 4 and Beyond The Sword Expansion 2 days ago from Gamestop.com. I never had any issues with Civ4, and for the first day, Bts worked fine as well, and I tried every mod briefly. I should mention by now that I have Windows 7, which I heard has caused some issues with the game before.

When I started it up yesterday, though, everything worked fine except for Fall From Heaven, Age of Ice. The game started fine, but there was no HUD or any graphical interface except for the picture itself, where I was able to move my units, but that was all I could do. No method I found remedied this, and the problem continued today.

So I decided to download Fall From HEaven 2, to play that instead, and the install worked fine, I think. So I went to load the mod, then Civ4 closed out for a few seconds, like it usually does, but then nothing else loaded up. It just stayed closed out, and when I started it back up, the mod hadn't loaded. Also, when I tried the FFH2 shortcut direectly, nothing loads, as if I never even clicked it.

I didn't know if I had the 3.19 patch, whether it had come with the download of BtS or not, so I downloaded the installer. But when I try to run the installer, I get the EXACT SAME ISSUE! Nothing loads! It just pretends I never even clicked it!



I can't find any similar issues anywhere else on the site, mainly because I'm not getting any error messages, and nothing is crashing. Simply, nothing is happening (except in Age of Ice), so because there's no error message, I don't know where to start in trying to fix this.

I could really use some help, and I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

 

[Breunor]

You may want to check out the 'Age of Ice' subthread, there are a lot of similar posts there. See if any of them have solved problems simialr to yours.

HEre is a link:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=263

Best wishes,

Breunor

 

[dragndude9]

Thank you. I had looked through them before, but I found one that I hadn't seen before that had the same problem as me, and it looks like the "Run As Administrator" solution will work to fix my Age of Ice problem.

However, running as an administrator doesn't do anything to help my issue with FFH2, and that's the one I'm most curious about, as I'm pretty anxious to play it. It looks really fun.


Update:

I tried every possible location of installing FFH2, and I've given User full control over the folder containing the game, and nothing works. I still get the same issue.

As far as the patch goes, I found out that I'm running patch 1.17, so that probably has something to do with FFH2 not working, but installing the 3.19 patch I got off the site won't work, so I used the "look for updates" option on the BtS menu, and it downloaded (though I can't find the file anywhere), but never installed, as it was supposed to. The game closed out too begin installation, and it never started installing.

 

[Azhral]

I could never play Age of Ice if I was using an Unofficial Patch DLL on Civ4. Haven't needed to since 3.19 anyways.

 

[Emptiness]

Update:

I tried every possible location of installing FFH2, and I've given User full control over the folder containing the game, and nothing works. I still get the same issue.

The correct location to install FfH2 is "[path]\Beyond the Sword\Mods", where [path] is the location of your installation of Civ IV. FfH2 won't work correctly if installed to another location.

As far as the patch goes, I found out that I'm running patch 1.17, so that probably has something to do with FFH2 not working, but installing the 3.19 patch I got off the site won't work, so I used the "look for updates" option on the BtS menu, and it downloaded (though I can't find the file anywhere), but never installed, as it was supposed to. The game closed out too begin installation, and it never started installing.

If you have installed Civ IV and Beyond the Sword you should be running a version later than 1.17. Versions 1.x are base Civ IV, 2.x indicates Warlords, and versions 3.x are for Beyond the Sword. If your game is reporting version 1.x then Beyond the Sword has not been installed correctly, and FfH2 0.41 will not work correctly.

To check the version you have installed, start Civ IV and at the main menu choose "ADVANCED", then "ABOUT THIS BUILD". The line "Build Version" will state the version you are using. If Beyond the Sword is installed (version 3.x) but you are not using version 3.19, then you will need to patch Civ IV to the correct version to play FfH2. I recommend installing the patch manually; you can download the patch from Firaxis here: Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond The Sword Patches. If Beyond the Sword is not installed (your game will show version 1.x or 2.x) then you cannot simply install the 3.19 patch. You must first install Beyond the Sword correctly. If you bought the Civ IV "complete edition" then installing Civ IV + Beyond the Sword is a single process, but if you bought Civ IV (or Civ IV Gold) and Beyond the Sword separately then you must install each one individually. If you only bought one game box and it is not labeled "Civilization IV: The Complete Edition", then you will also need to purchase "Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword" in order to play FfH2 0.41.

Next, you need to make sure FfH2 is installed correctly and in the correct location. If you have installed FfH2 into any other other incorrect location you will need to locate and delete the files it created (delete each of the mislocated "Fall from Heaven 2" folders). The latest installer includes patch N, but if you need to make sure of which version of FfH2 you have installed you can open the file "[path]\Beyond the Sword\Mods\Fall from Heaven 2\Readme 041.rtf" and read the second line of text. If this does not indicate "Version 0.41n" then you should probably delete that "Fall from Heaven 2" folder and the installer you are using, and redownload the installer available from the link in the FfH2 Bug Thread, and then use that to install the mod.

You can consult my guide How to Install FfH2 for a walk-through of the installation process, including assistance in recovering from failed installation attempts. If you follow the guide, and something does go wrong, then it will be easier to help you sort out the problem.

 

[dragndude9]

About the patch, you are correct, I am not running 1.17, but actually 3.17. That was actually just my mistake in typing it.

I bought both games seperately and downloaded them through gamestop.com. As far as I can find, Gamestop does not have the patches, and it's recommended that I get it from the same site I got the game. I'm clueless about getting the patch, unless it's possible it's downloaded and it's just not telling me.

The path that you told me to download it to is the very first path that I tried using, but I do need to go through and find and delete the old versions of FFH2 I tried downloading (I know I deleted some, though.)

I'm just going too go through and delete any sign that I ever tried to get FFH2, then I'm gonna follow your thread step by step. I'll post again afterwards.

 

[dragndude9]

I followed your directions 100% perfectly and nothung worked,

I should also mention that when installing the patch (which I did after the mod), it was unable to locate FFH2. So there ya go. I have no clue what to do.

 

[snarko]

If your BtS version is 3.17 then (the latest) FfH 2 will not work. You MUST patch BtS to 3.19 first. I have no idea how to do that with a downloaded version. If you can't find the patch to download perhaps you can ask gamestop in forum or email about where to get it. You probably can't use the standard one (for boxed versions).

 

[dragndude9]

Yeh, I sent them an email. Waiting for a response.

Question though, I thought if you try to run FFH2 on BTS 3.17, doesn't the computer literally crash? I mean, mine doesn't crash, it just sits there, but that may be because Windows 7 is able to prevent the crash. Either way, I'm gonna have to wait.

 

[Emptiness]

Windows 7

Windows 7 creates an extra layer of complexity for this situation. It attempts to protect certain files from changes, and that can interfere with manually installing game patches or mods. Although there are other more technical solutions to this problem, the simplest way to avoid problems is not to install Civ IV in any of the locations Windows 7 attempts to protect. I suggest that you reinstall Civ IV into a "Games" folder that you place in a location that is not within any of these paths: "\Windows", "\Program Files", "\Program Files (x86)".

I bought both games seperately and downloaded them through gamestop.com.

I believe that the official patches from Firaxis only work with the physical versions of the game (ie installed from CD). You will most likely need to get the Civ IV v3.19 patch from the source of your digital download of the game (Steam, D2D, or maybe GameStop.com, or maybe some other source I don't know about). I have a physical copy of the game, so I can't be much help with sorting that out. You will probably need to receive your assistance with the patching process directly from your digital download provider.

I should also mention that when installing the patch (which I did after the mod), it was unable to locate FFH2.

What was the exact error message, and when exactly did it occur? (At what step in my patch installation guide?)

 

[dragndude9]

1. That has to be the problem. I'm running it in Programs (x86). Is there a tutorial somewhere on how to reinstall it? Or do I just uninstall it and run the install program again? I still have it in my downloads. I should mention, though, that I went through the settings for programs(86) and I gave USER all permissions within the folder. I was told that would fix this issue, but it may be best to just reinstall it somewhere else.

2. Yeah, I'll have to keep searching. The patch thing confuses me.

3. You said in the patch installation tutorial that there was a part where, if FFH2 was not in the right place, an error message would pop up saying that Fall From Heaven 2 could not be found. I got that message, even though I put FFH2 exactly where I was supposed to.


Reinstalling to another folder may be my best bet for fixing it, so I'll give that a shot!

 

[Emptiness]

1. Just uninstall it and then reinstall to the new location.

There's also a method (of bypassing the Windows protection problem) whereby you turn off Windows' protection of specific folders, the details of which someone posted a while back. I don't happen to recall where they are located. My personal theory is that the simpler solution of just installing the game elsewhere is better - unless for some reason you are forced to install to a specific location, in which case disabling the protection for the game folder is your only option.

3. Yeah, unfortunately some people get that error message even if FfH2 is installed correctly. You have to type in the correct install location yourself, but once you do the patch should install without a problem. If you download the latest version of the FfH2 installer (2009_05_16_FallfromHeaven2041n.exe) then you don't need to worry about that, because it already includes Patch N and so you don't have to install Patch N separately.

 

[dragndude9]

1. Gonna uninstall and reinstall and post my results. I've got good hopes for this one. I don't have time right now though. Sometime very soon I will try it.

3.I had the latest one, so it doesn't matter then. Would I still need the media pack if I got the latest one?

 

[Emptiness]

The media pack is not included as part of the main installer, but it is optional. You don't need it, but if you want it then you must install it after installing the mod.

 

[dragndude9]

Reinstalled everything, right down to Civ4 and Beyond the Sword. Tried EVERYTHING.

No dice.

Should I give up now? I wish I hadn't bought BtS. FFH2 was my main reason for buying the expansion.

 

[Emptiness]

Have you been able to find and apply a version of the v3.19 patch that will work with your version of Civ IV? Until you can get Civ IV patched to v3.19 there's no point in even trying to get FfH2 to work.

 

[dragndude9]

After searching forever (must've been a month by now, huh?) I finally found somebody that had a 3.19 patch supported by Gamestop's version of BTS. Also did some other things to get the files working, reinstalled everything, and I actually got the game to work!

Apperently there was something of a messed up install of 3.19, if I understood what I did correctly? Anyway, it works now.

Played through my first campaign, and I loved it. It was worth the work to get it.

In any case, I appreciate all the help.