BTS has just stopped working

[RJM]

I bought a new computer some months ago and restored the files from my previous computer to it. Although there was a minor problem, BTS ran acceptably. I just tried to play and it has stopped working. It goes through the initialisation - python, xml, etc. It then goes to a black screen with a spinning globe, followed by a black screen without the globe and then a return to the desk top. There is no error message. I have rebooted, but the problem persists.

I am using a HP Pavilion g6 Notebook PC; 8GB RAM; AMD A6-4400M processor; Radeon HD graphics 2.7GHz; Windows 7 Home Premium; service pack 1

Any help much appreciated.

PS The game will load and play if I double click on a saved game. Huh?

 

[kiwitt]

Did you install Civ 4 as per my thread?

 

[RJM]

Did you install Civ 4 as per my thread?

No. I restored files (including Civ) from an on-line back up. When I tried running it, it worked (more or less) so I never bothered to reinstall from the disks.

 

[BarnettLone]

I think you will have to install it again instead of restoring the files.hp designjet ink

 

[RJM]

I think you will have to install it again instead of restoring the files.

Thanks for this. You may be right, but since the game functioned for several months with restored files, I'm not sure why it should be necessary to reinstall. The last time I did it, it was a real pain, although perhaps the recipe from kiwitt might make things easier.

For the moment, I'm using a work around using a saved game which seems to allow me to play without problems, so I'll probably refrain from reinstalling just yet.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

It could be any number of things; it would really be useful to get a log of some sort (enable logging in ini and see what it says when it crashes). I had it do something similar to this to me in Linux because of an important DLL being a stub for example, but without the log it's hard to do much but just guess.

 

[RJM]

It could be any number of things; it would really be useful to get a log of some sort (enable logging in ini and see what it says when it crashes). I had it do something similar to this to me in Linux because of an important DLL being a stub for example, but without the log it's hard to do much but just guess.

Not sure this is going to help, but ...

[36264.522] DBG: CIV Init
[36264.522] VERSION: App: C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\Civ4BeyondSword.exe
[36264.522] VERSION: Build: Thu May 14 15:17:10 2009
[36264.522] VERSION: 3.1.9.0 (128100)
[36265.053] VERSION: Mod Loaded: none
[36265.209] DBG: FILE Cat Init
[36286.846] DBG: Game Init
[36286.846] DBG: Multiplayer Init BEGIN
[36288.110] DBG: Multiplayer Init END
[36288.188] DBG: Audio Init
[36289.919] DBG: ArtFileMgr Init
[36289.919] DBG: Python Init
[36301.229] VERSION: CIV Version: 319
[36301.229] VERSION: Minimum Version: 0
[36301.229] VERSION: Save Version: 302
[36301.229] DBG: Input Init
[36301.229] DBG: Engine Init
[36301.323] DBG: Checking available screen resolution
[36301.463] DBG: Validating screen resolution
[36301.463] DBG: Creating rendererer
[36308.000] DBG: Engine: renderer Initialized
[36308.563] DBG: Engine: Shaders Initialized
[36308.656] DBG: Engine: Scene Lights Initialized

 

[kiwitt]

It may pay to uninstall and reinstall via my thread. Windows 7/Vista has additional security features that make problems for older games like Civ IV.

 

[RJM]

It may pay to uninstall and reinstall via my thread. Windows 7/Vista has additional security features that make problems for older games like Civ IV.

Thanks for the suggestion. You may be right, but the last time I had to reinstall, it was a real pain. Your recipe for reinstalling may make things easier, but for moment I'll continue to use a work around by loading a saved game.

I didn't discover this work around until after I had posted my original problem. I simply double clicked on a saved game and this loaded OK. I could then exit to main menu and start a new game. Subsequently, Windows put a second short cut in the start button which enables me to get to the main menu without actually loading the saved game.

The desk top short cut and the original short cut still cause the game to crash. Since they worked initially, but then stopped working, my guess is that the problem is related to a relatively recent Windows 7 update.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

That's it? It just got to scene lights initialization and stopped without even given an error message?

Did you somehow get settings changed? I'm not really an expert in this kind of material but it seems like a display issue to me ---> settings on your catalyst or in civ might have changed somehow. It could also simply be looking for a file that's corrupted. If changing your display settings doesn't help, reinstallation might indeed be less painful than trying to pinpoint exactly what's wrong with the installation and fixing it.

It's kind of annoying that these kinds of things are a pain even on Windows lol. I remember actually liking XP, but haven't taken to anything newer before switching.

 

[RJM]

That's it? It just got to scene lights initialization and stopped without even given an error message?

Did you somehow get settings changed? I'm not really an expert in this kind of material but it seems like a display issue to me ---> settings on your catalyst or in civ might have changed somehow. It could also simply be looking for a file that's corrupted. If changing your display settings doesn't help, reinstallation might indeed be less painful than trying to pinpoint exactly what's wrong with the installation and fixing it.

It's kind of annoying that these kinds of things are a pain even on Windows lol. I remember actually liking XP, but haven't taken to anything newer before switching.

Yup - that's it. I woke up one morning and it was no longer loading and running correctly. And no error message.

I did not deliberately change any settings in the game, however, the game had been forgetting my settings level, map etc. I don't know why or whether it is related.

I certainly didn't deliberatly change any catalyst settings; I didn't know I had something called catalyst.