A New Dawn Bug Reports and Feedback

[BobTheBull]

As for memory issues: I did some checking and while my game is running total memory usage is 750-800M, total commit charge, out of 3280. My system is far for average for Civ players as I am running XP in a virtual machine in a Linux host. I have 2G of system memory and an old Athlon 64 bit SC MP. When the virtual XP is running it is allocated 1G of mamory, as that is the most I can give it. I also have a 2G, contiguous, fixed size swap file.

My current game is standard size map, marathon, noble level. By this time, ~300 turns most of the land tiles are occupied and improved. Just guessing 200-300 total units in the game. I have had only one MAF since starting this game. Graphics set to medium which is fine with me. Game play is rather slow, as you would expect with such old HW.

Video is geforce 7950gts with 512m ddr3. Does anyone know how to check the actual graphics memory used while the game is running?

For all those having problems: You do have a large, contiguous, fixed swap file, right? You do have plenty of free HD space in your Win partition and keep it defragmented, right? And you have disabled all unnecessary processes and applications? Etc., etc. Load Task Manager and check your actual memory usage while the game is running and see where you are.

Not sure if the God Box could play a gigantic map at marathon or slower GS to the end turn. Let's all keep in mind we have taken Civ4 far, far beyond anything the original programmers envisioned. No amount of hardware can overcome some of the drawbacks imposed by the original programming. Vanilla civ4 does run much better, it's just too boring to all of us now.

 

[Kwami]

@BobTheBull: I'd imagine that most players have the default Windows paging file which is far larger than they need to play any variation on Civ4. I'd also wager that most of them don't know what you're talking about.

For what it's worth, I have pretty insane hardware right now and I can run AND without any troubles at all once the game has started. Starting the game still takes anywhere from 30 seconds (if I'm lucky) to a few minutes. I really don't understand why it takes a few minutes to parse some XML and initialize some Python, though. I also don't understand why the start time varies so greatly. If the game can start up in 30 seconds sometimes, why does it take three minutes other times? Bah!

 

[KemetNesut]

I want to report bugs I found. Should I start a new thread? How do I do that? I'm completely lost...
1st) Grenadiers do not renge attack
2nd) Frigates bust city defenses, but do not range attack other vessels
3rd) Workers do not have the option to make railroads.
How do I include here the "A New Dawn.log" file? And a save file?
Sorry, but it's the first time I attempt to post a bug.

 

[Dancing Hoskuld]

I want to report bugs I found. Should I start a new thread? How do I do that? I'm completely lost...
1st) Grenadiers do not renge attack
2nd) Frigates bust city defenses, but do not range attack other vessels
3rd) Workers do not have the option to make railroads.
How do I include here the "A New Dawn.log" file? And a save file?
Sorry, but it's the first time I attempt to post a bug.

1 & 2) probably because ranged attacks against units is broken. That is we know of this bug.
3) You need steel to build railways, have you built a steel mill? Or the Iron Works?

To post file attachments press the "Go Advanced" button and scroll down to the Manage Attachments button and press it.

 

[Sjru]

It's now 1500 AD, and now I'm getting crashes when I select a building almost every turn. (Also, the variable difficulty is working again for some reason).

Hello there, have you tried fixing the windows pagefile to 4092 mb?
Also, try the /3GB switch. I don't have more than 2Gb of ram, but somehow it worked for me that way.
Also it is quite possible that when you select a building, it crashes because it cannot allocate more video memory. Try reducing the setting even more to see if it helps.

 

[KemetNesut]

Thank you, Dancing Hoskuld.
1&2) Is there some way to fix these bugs?
3) My fault (The Steel Mill is yet being built)

 

[BlueTemplar]

Does the /3Gb switch work in Vista? I've already reduced the settings to the minimum. I hope that when I'll get to my regular PC tomorrow that it will work better...

ranged attacks against units is broken

How is it broken?

I've had another bug: let's say I have selected a stack of units for attack. Sometimes the unit that attacks is not the unit indicated by the help overlay. It seems to happen only when the unit shown in the overlay has a chance to withdraw.

There's no page for some of the Guild-related buildings in the civilopedia.

Is there an online equivalent to the civilopedia for this mod?

 

[BobTheBull]

@BT

Yes but the instructions are different for Vista.

Broken as in it don't work. Have you been reading the previous posts?

Not a bug. It's the way stack attack works. Personally I have quick stack attack set because I don't want to watch each unit battle for 10-20 seconds until they have all gone at it. If you want to know more about this search for posts on the combat system or look in the strategies and guides.

Basically, they don't work, or you could say they work but don't do anything in RAND. Have you been reading the recent posts?

Sadly, no. Would be good if there were, or even an extraction of the 'pedia you could download and look at out of game.

 

[BlueTemplar]

I've only read the last 10 pages.

I have quick attack and defense set, but not quick stack attack and defense since it's indicated it's unstable.

IIRC ranged attack worked correctly in RevolutionsDCM... why doesn't it work in AND?

Isn't stack attack supposed to always show and select the unit that has the highest chance to win? (unless an artillery unit is present)

Guild buildings worked for me - I've built the Guild Halls, then was able to build the Master Guilds, then the units to spread the guilds...

 

[fox456]

...
For all those having problems: You do have a large, contiguous, fixed swap file, right? You do have plenty of free HD space in your Win partition and keep it defragmented, right? And you have disabled all unnecessary processes and applications? Etc., etc.
...

Bob, could you explain how to set up these "parameters" like the swap file and the partition?

 

[BobTheBull]

All these instructions apply to XP

Defrag HD first. Go to System Properties, Advanced, Performance Settings, Advanced, Virtual Memory, Change; select Custom Size, enter the same value for Initial and Max, click Set button, Click OK. I would use at least 4092 as Sjru suggests if you have. I doubt more will accomplish anything. Defrag again.

It helps to have a good bit of free space on your HD, as Windows NTFS does not work well with really full disks; files get fragmented all over the place which slows performance and you have to defrag often to compensate. It is harder to get a good defragmentation with very little free space.You can use Diskeeper Pro and run it in the background to do this automatically.

One of the advantages of Linux file systems is they handle things differently and thus are inherently faster and rarely need defragging, even on very full drives. Win7 was supposed to have an improved file system similar to this but it got dropped, allegedly because MS didn't want to postpone the release date until it was finished. Hopefully they are still working on this and will release when it is ready.

As to Services, go to Administrative Tools, Services to disable unnecessary services by double clicking on them, click Stop if they are running and click under Startup Choices, Disabled, Apply, OK. For more information on which services are not needed Google the subject and you should get some information on the subject; Messenger is one of the notorious ones as it is a potential security hole which does nothing useful. Maybe someone here knows a site for this they can post here.

Be careful here as you can break the OS by disabling some services, or render tasks and programs inoperable. You can google any individual process by name (be sure spelling is exact) to get information about it and recommendations on whether to disable/remove it. Beware of sites encouraging you to tun a FREE performance scan. The legit sites just give out information; what-is-exe.com seems to be one of these. It also pays to look at running processes in Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del to invoke) and google any processes you don't know about. You will spot many trojans, virii, etc. this way. You should get familiar with this list and look at it periodically and check out any new process which shows up.

Needless to say, reboot after this. Another strategy is to set up a user account and configure it with bare minimum services and tasks for playing games.

 

[BobTheBull]

@BT

The things I referred to are discussed on this page, actually, although there are previous posts on these things as well.

Broke as in it don't work. If we knew, it would.

Don't know how stack attack is supposed to work, but if you want to know there are places where the combat is explained in detail around here. Don't see what difference it makes which is selected first as the purpose of stack attack is to have all units attack at once without my having to move each and every one of them. If you don't like the way it selects, turn it off and choose your own order of battle.

 

[NBAfan]

I've only read the last 10 pages.

I have quick attack and defense set, but not quick stack attack and defense since it's indicated it's unstable.

IIRC ranged attack worked correctly in RevolutionsDCM... why doesn't it work in AND?

Isn't stack attack supposed to always show and select the unit that has the highest chance to win? (unless an artillery unit is present)

Guild buildings worked for me - I've built the Guild Halls, then was able to build the Master Guilds, then the units to spread the guilds...

The Stack attack option doesn't really work correctly.

 

[BlueTemplar]

On my regular PC after playing some turns around 1400 AD on a Standard map, I get a crash when I try to access the research screen. I'm playing on highest quality settings.

My PC:
Windows 7 32-bit
Athlon II X3 435 2.90 Ghz
4 Gb RAM
ATI Radeon HD 5700 (1Gb memory)

I can run Crysis on highest settings without a slowdown, the only game that ever gave me some trouble is Supreme Commander : Forged Alliance, and it was on a really big map with over 1000 units on the battlefield. But AND crashes...

P.S.: I didn't find A New Dawn.log...

 

[BobTheBull]

@Fox 456 and all the others struggling with these issues

Or, you could forget about my recent post and go to theeldergeek.com and read his pages on "pagefile" where he explains all the ins and outs of maximizing your swap memory. This site also has a complete rundown on ALL the processes for Win whatever with recommendations on whether you need a particular process. Lots of other good info there as well.

Just can't resist pointing that in Linux there is no swap file. There is a swap partition which is set up by the file system; If you read the eldergeek's page about where to locate the pagefile you will see why this is a really good idea.

 

[BobTheBull]

@BT

What is a regular PC? My PC is far from regular so maybe I don't know. Your say you're running 32 bit Win7. It is a little known fact that there is a 32 bit 7, but it is only installed on notebooks as OEM OS. Not available otherwise AFAIK. All other versions of 7 are 64 bit. So, how do you have a "regular PC" running 32 bit?

Telling us "around 1400CE" (notice my correction) tells us nothing. What is the turn no./out of how many turns. What is your gamespeed and difficulty level?

What you can do in other games is irrelevant. Civ4, as has been pointed out, is a unique construct, and not the best, which has been pused far, far from it's original envelope. It is difficult and kludgy and the only reason we put up with it is there is no other game like it. The Civ series has been attributed as having caused more lost sleep, lost time at work, broken relationships and all night binges than any other game. That's pretty fair. You love it, not you are addicted to it, or you don't.

There is no RAND log file. Why were you looking for it?

 

[Kwami]

@BobTheBull

1. You can set the Windows page file to have its own partition just like you set the swap file to have its own partition in Linux. On the other hand, there's no requirement that the swap file in Linux have its own partition. I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

2. You can most definitely buy 32-bit Windows 7. Also, most "regular PCs" are indeed OEM machines. Most people don't build their own.

3. Civ4 and AND don't use BCE/CE. So, 1400AD was correct.

4. I'm pretty sure WoW is at least tied with Civ4 for addiction and destroying lives.

5. I actually got a file called A New Dawn.log, once! It's only happened once, though. I usually don't get it...

Anyway, 1GB of video memory is more than enough to run AND with any settings. I don't know why the game is broken for you, BlueTemplar. Sorry.

 

[glider1]

not the best, which has been pushed far, far from it's original envelope

Exactly Bob that is the point.

If you keep BTS within it's envelope, it works very well and causes little stress except when the AI captures your capital. If people are prepared to play BTS within more conservative limits, there is no issue. Examples of mods like that are Legends of Revolutions and RevDCM. LoR adds extra graphics and infrastructure, but only very conservatively. There hasn't been an issue with memory, CTD's, page files etc etc etc with these mods that I am aware any more.

In order for people not to pull their hair out with RAND, you simply must prepare yourself by setting up RAND/ROM exactly as you want it, then test that setup. Autoplay through an entire game overnight with the application minimised to the taskbar so that the graphics engine is turned off and only one core is executing the game (prevents the graphics card from overheating). Turn autoplays to every turn and come back the next day to see how far your settings in RAND/ROM took the game. That is not the end. If it did make it all the way through, next you must get an autosave and run it full screen and see if the graphics engine then collapses. Run through 10 turns on autoplay from there with the app full screen, and check that it is stable then.

If all these tests pass, you are ready to play and enjoy RoM how you like it. Even then you must be aware that at these extreme envelopes, there is still the possibility that the game will CTD. This patience is what is required for extreme gaming which RAND is. Just keep in mind that when you play RAND and ROM you are playing the most heavy-weight BTS mod on the planet. In this situation, special procedures are needed.

It has nothing to do with Afforess. He has been as particular and as high quality a modder on CivFanatics as you can get. It is just a question of how far you can push BTS at the extremes like this mod does. When BTS was written, there were flaws built into the engine but the flaws did not manifest to significant levels because there were few machines back then that would run BTS as we now want it to run. Thus it passed quality control.

Better BTS variants will live on for a long time but at their best they are really tight/concise single core versions of civ that plays spectacular games on conservative settings. One day we will play the game on smart phones! But unfortunately we may have to lower our expectations of the graphics engine. It's just a question of habit. For example I have played BTS with BAT and enjoyed all the beautiful unit graphics. Then going back to BTS straight I was appalled. But within a short amount of time, my mind had adjusted to the lower quality unit art and it did not matter any more.

But my argument assumes that their is a problem inside the BTS graphics engine that is at the heart of our CTD woes at the extreme envelope.

Cheers

 

[BlueTemplar]

Will maximizing the swap memory help in my case? As far as I understand I'm running out of video memory, and changing the swap won't have any effect...

Under XP I used to have a dedicated 4Gb swap partition placed at the beginning of the disk.

Regular, as in the PC that I use when at home.

I've built my PC myself from separate pieces. It still has a Win 7 32-bit OEM OS. (It's probably linked to my motherboard). (I chose 32-bit out of fear of compatibility issues with old games).

This game is Normal size / Normal Speed / Noble.

Include your A New Dawn.log file (located in your Rise of Mankind folder)

With setting Low Quality Textures / No High quality Terrain, the game still crashes eventually. But with all settings to the lowest, I've been playing for ~20 turns without crash so far.

Bug : Steel Mill doesn't give you +15% hammers without power.

EDIT: Here's a crash that doesn't seem to be related to my video problem. The game crashes after I've chosen what to build in the cities. Previous turn included.

 

[Kwami]

@BlueTemplar: Did you enable the 3GB switch posted in the RoM forum? I don't know if it's necessary with Windows 7, but I thought I'd ask since you're running 32-bit. See if that helps anything.

Again, 1GB of video memory is plenty for Civ4+RoM. I was running with much less until last week. I suspect that whoever wrote the error codes for Gamebryo messed up on that one. A few people have posted about it here and the problem was almost always related to system memory, not video memory.