Can only see left part of the screen

[Kekasa]

I've installed and tried to run BtS, but in the opening screens only the left half of what I should be seeing is displayed (the screen is stretched out horizontally). I presumed it's a resolution issue, so I played about with the screen resolution - to no avail. I tried adjusting the game's resolution through the in-game Options, but I can't even get the drop-down menu to drop! I'm running Windows XP with NVIDIA Geforce FX 5200, and have loaded the BtS 3.17 patch. Can anyone please help?

Thanks.

 

[g.neuman]

I'm having this exact same problem. I bought BtS today and went through the install as advised with no problems. But when I start the game I can only see about 1/3 or 1/2 of the display, which looks stretched.

Anyone have advice?


G

 

[ori]

did you try setting the resolution in the civilizationIV.ini?

 

[g.neuman]

did you try setting the resolution in the civilizationIV.ini?

No. What program do I open the .ini file with (probably notepad, but I thought I'd ask just to be thurough) and what do I set the resolution to?


G

 

[ori]

any text editor.
set the following parameters:

; Custom Screen Height, minimum: 768 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenHeight = 0

; Custom Screen Width, minimum: 1024 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenWidth = 0

to whatever you need - e.g. for 1920x1200 (my resolution )

; Custom Screen Height, minimum: 768 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenHeight = 1200

; Custom Screen Width, minimum: 1024 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenWidth = 1920

 

[g.neuman]

any text editor.
set the following parameters:

; Custom Screen Height, minimum: 768 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenHeight = 0

; Custom Screen Width, minimum: 1024 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenWidth = 0

to whatever you need - e.g. for 1920x1200 (my resolution )

; Custom Screen Height, minimum: 768 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenHeight = 1200

; Custom Screen Width, minimum: 1024 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenWidth = 1920

First of all, thank you very much for taking the time to help. Your effort is much appreciated!

Secondly, I think I need to rephrase the second part of my question: Do I set the screen resolution in the .ini file to the same as what I have set for my computer in Display Properties | Settings? Or does Civ IV BtS have a particular resolution that it needs to be set to?

Once again, thanks for helping!


G

 

[ori]

first try the one that you use in Display properties (does this monitor have any special physical resolution? e.g. a wide screen monitor might need the resolution set to what its physical resolution is - which is not necessarily what you use).

 

[g.neuman]

first try the one that you use in Display properties (does this monitor have any special physical resolution? e.g. a wide screen monitor might need the resolution set to what its physical resolution is - which is not necessarily what you use).

It doesn't have a special resolution as far as I know. It's just an LG 19" flatscreen that I picked up on sale at Best Buy. I've never had to fiddle the resolution before.

I'll try what you've suggested when I get home from work this evening, and afterwards I'll update this thread as to whether or not it fixed the problem.

Thanks!


G

 

[g.neuman]

any text editor.
set the following parameters:

; Custom Screen Height, minimum: 768 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenHeight = 0

; Custom Screen Width, minimum: 1024 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenWidth = 0

to whatever you need - e.g. for 1920x1200 (my resolution )

; Custom Screen Height, minimum: 768 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenHeight = 1200

; Custom Screen Width, minimum: 1024 - Normal resolutions can be set in-game and will be used when set to 0
ScreenWidth = 1920

This didn't work, nor did patching to 3.17. If anyone knows of anything else to try, please let me know.

Right now the only other thing I can think to do is call customer support, which I'd probably have to do over the weekend since I'm at work during normal business hours M-F.


G

 

[ori]

could you post your dxdiag results as a file attachment?

 

[g.neuman]

Right before I gave up last night I tried a different approach: running BtS in a window. It worked. Technically it's more of a work-around than an actual solution, but it'll do for now.

could you post your dxdiag results as a file attachment?

I don't know what "dxdiag" is. But if you care to explain it, I'm certainly willing to do it and post the results.


G

 

[ori]

is this windows xp or vista?

 

[g.neuman]

is this windows xp or vista?

Windows XP with SP 3.

 

[ori]

click start
click run
type dxdiag
hit enter
click save results
come back here
below the reply box
click go advanced
click manage attachments
attach the file you just saved
post

 

[g.neuman]

Heya Ori. If I did this right, the dxdiag text file should be attached. Sorry I didn't get to it sooner, but the last few days have been busy and I didn't have time for gaming stuff.

I really hope we can get this fixed, because I've discovered a problem playing Civ IV in a window: You can't scroll across the map with your mouse. Navigating via the minimap works fine of course, but it's a hassle.

Anyway, let me know if you find anything useful. And thanks once again; I really do appreciate the time you're taking to help.


G

 

[ori]

Check the Dell website for a newer graphics driver - yours is

 

[g.neuman]

Woohoo! It worked!

Thank you very much for all of your help, Ori. Folks like you are the reason these forums are so valuable, and why people keep coming back to use them. If you're getting paid for this gig, you deserve a raise.

Cheers!


G

 

[ori]

a raise - lets see at my salary here a 100% raise would come to the same amount as a 1000% raise

I am glad that I have a paying job in real life