cannot save game plz help

[apallo333]

i think i figured out how to post the picture though... im not sure if this will work but i guess im about to find out

 

[apallo333]

 

[gmaharriet]

I'm going to try something here to see if I can get the pic to show.

Yup, works! You had

with the "http://" entered twice.

And, yes, just hitting <enter> should create a save file. Very strange.

 

[apallo333]

well.....now at least i know that there really is something wrong with my computer and not me

 

[CommandoBob]

You may want to search your computer for .SAV files, too. Start -> Search -> All files and folders, then put '*.SAV' into the first box and hit Search.

 

[Padma]

As a complete aside, and having no bearing on the problem, that first folder has two dots, not 3.

(In computer terms, "." indicates the current directory, ".." is the directory above. )

 

[apallo333]

i noticed that there is another possibly related problem i have been having with civ3. When i insert the disk into the CD drive the window pops up but there is no play option, only install, register, readme, and exit. But when i click on the desktop icon the game starts automatically and i can play just fine. (with the exception of the fact that i cant save!!!!!!)

 

[apallo333]

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just discovered that the problem has nothing to do with not having a place to save to, the game is incapable of saving even with a save file! in light of this new info can someone help me now?

 

[CommandoBob]

Can you explain that better?

...incapable of saving even with a save file...

That just seems to be all wrong and bass ackwards.

One way to test your copy of the game would be to visit the Succession Games section of the forum, download a game and see if it would load.

 

[gmaharriet]

When i insert the disk into the CD drive the window pops up but there is no play option, only install, register, readme, and exit. But when i click on the desktop icon the game starts automatically

I'm going to ask a really off-the-wall question...I don't know the answer. Is it possible to play the game directly from the CD without installing??? If apallo's CD gives him the install option, but not play or save, would that do it?

@apallo - Have you tried clicking on "install"? What happens then?

 

[CommandoBob]

Is it possible to play the game directly from the CD without installing???

I wish I'd thought of that.

I have auto-run turned off, but I looked at the CD. I don't think that C3C can run just off of the CD, since all the various games are compressed into zip files and spread across the 3 install disks. Vanilla may have been able to do this.

But since apallo333 is playing as America, we can't tell which version he has.

Vikings are from PTW; Portugal from Conquests.

If he can tell us what Civs he can select when he starts a new game, we can help him better.

 

[gmaharriet]

But since apallo333 is playing as America, we can't tell which version he has.

I don't know just what the PTW screens look like, but it's not Conquests. Look at the info square in the lower right-hand corner. It doesn't have any of the cycle or stack movement buttons on the top, and it doesn't have the "D,E,P,V" shortcut buttons on the right. It's either vanilla or PTW.

 

[apallo333]

ok first ones first, when i say incapable of saving i mean that even if i find a save file whe i hit enter it goes back to the previous page and doest save. When i click install it says somethin about an ikerenel and closes

PS i hve vanilla!

 

[CommandoBob]

ok first ones first, when i say incapable of saving i mean that even if i find a save file whe i hit eter it goes ack to the previou page and doest save. When i click install it says somethin about an ikerenel close ps i hve vanill!

Vanilla, OK.

Next time you try to install and that error pops up, can you get a screen shot of it? Use Alt + Print Screen and that should just grab the box the error message is in; then just open Paint (Windows Key -> Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Paint) and paste that image into Paint and then save the file. Once we have the error message we can begin to fix that problem.

I think you will be happier with the game if it is installed.

In the meantime, since the game is running from the CD, it is trying to save to the CD, which cannot be done.

Work Around
So on your hard drive, create a folder that you want to put your saved games into. For right now, I would suggest a folder name like 'CivSaves' or 'MySavedCivGames'. You may want to have other folders inside this one, so that different games do not overlap. I would create this folder on Drive C: in the root (top) directory or in My Documents. Where you create it is not too important. But you do want a folder for your saved games and you just need to know where that folder is.

Once you create this folder, when you try to save a game, click the up arrow on the save game dialog box. Keep clicking that up arrow until you can get to Drive C: and then navigate to where your saved game folder is at. You should be able to save it in that folder.

 

[apallo333]

ok will do. By the way sorry about my other message being so sloppy (i corrected it now) but i posted it at school, and the teacher was standing right over telling me to get off the computer so i kinda rushed

 

[apallo333]

ill try to get that pic uploaded

 

[apallo333]

 

[CommandoBob]

I googled for the phrase 'iKernel.exe (0xa00)' and found a lot of people having the same problem as you, on both Win2000 and WinXP.

The problem was always the same: the user was not logged onto the machine as an Administrator and could not install the software. This was true for several different software packages and I suspect it would be the same for Civ III.

So, if you can log in as an Administrator, or get someone else to log in for you, installation should be a snap.

 

[apallo333]

thx you rock! ANd your solution didnt work (the one about bypassing the disc blah blah blah) like i said even with a save file when i hit enter it just goes back to the previous page and doesnt save

 

[CommandoBob]

thx you rock! ANd your solution didnt work (the one about bypassing the disc blah blah blah) like i said even with a save file when i hit enter it just goes back to the previous page and doesnt save

I take it that you got the game to install. Good!

But the work around didn't work. Too bad, I was sorta proud of that idea, even if gmaharriet first spotted the problem.

A Word of Caution on Vanilla
I would strongly encourage you to get Civ III Complete (C3C). It includes Vanilla, Play The World (PTW, expansion 1) and Conquests (expansion 2). And these are the fully patched versions of those games. Three games, three CDs, one install for all three.

Early Vanilla had some problems that were later patched. If you play with Vanilla for very long, take some time to find out what version you have and if you need those patches.

Many of the strategy articles here in the forum are focused on C3C; almost all of the Succession Games are C3C.

There are significant differences between Vanilla and C3C: new Civs (total of 31), new/different civ traits, Military Great Leaders work differently, Armies are much stronger in C3C, new units and other things.

Oh, C3C is Conquests, but like Vanilla, it had some issues also. The version in C3C is fully patched.

Happy gaming!