Civ 3 and Windows 10

[Laurana Kanan]

tjs282 - Idk then...good luck, hopefully you'll sort it out.

I'd already long since inserted PlayIntro=0 into my Vanilla .ini, in the hope that it would skip the splash, but it doesn't work

Works for me.

and my PtW .exe is also not bound to a CD (don't ask me where I got it ).

No worries, I've had mine for years...I think you even asked me where I got mine last year and I couldn't remember. My guess would be Scratcher though...?

 

[WeirdoJoker]

I don't think I've ever read about the No-CD patches not working for someone, so that's kind of strange. In any event, if you still need help it would be beneficial to know exactly what you're doing, where you're placing things, and any errors/crashes that are occurring. Otherwise, it's difficult to pinpoint the problem.

When I follow the instructions on the pcgames site, I get an error message that says "the program can't start because binkw32.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem." The file is actually there, so I don't know what's going on. The game is installed from the CD to C:\Users\Ian\Desktop, as is the patch. When I tried running it from the installed .exe, of course, nothing happens, just like usual, but last time I tried it I was requested to insert the original CD-Rom (which was already in the drive). I've never seen anything like this before.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

When I follow the instructions on the pcgames site

Wait, why are you following the instructions on the PCGames page? Are you trying to patch the entire game instead of just using the patched No-CD .exe? If you look at the text I quoted before, there's a link explaining what you need to do. I've copied the instructions and added some pics to help below.

Spoiler :

If you already have the full version of C3C or Complete installed on your system via CD then you don't need to worry about the patches. Just download the whole patch kit from the pcgames.de site and look for the "Civilization 3 - Conquest PC Games Patch für v1.22 (int)" zip file. Extracting it will give you a folder with a "Civ3Conquests" .exe file in it. Rename it to "Civ3Conquests No CD" and copy it to your "Civilization III Complete\Conquests" folder and run it instead of the regular exe file.

So when you download the patch kit you'll have a folder with the following contents:



There are 3 zip files listed. To use the C3C No-CD patch click on the "Civilization 3 - Conquest PC Games Patch für v1.22 (int)" zip file in which you'll see a single .exe.



Extract it to your desktop, rename it to "Civ3Conquests No CD", copy it to your "Civilization III Complete\Conquests" folder and run it instead of the regular .exe file.

To use the Vanilla No-CD patch click on the "Civilization 3 PC Games Patch mit Conquest v1.29f (d)" zip file, extract the single .exe to your desktop, rename it "Civilization3 No CD" copy it to your "Civilization III Complete" folder and run it instead of the regular .exe file.

 

[tjs282]

tjs282 - Idk then...good luck, hopefully you'll sort it out.

I'm feeling VERY stupid right now. You were right, sorry for arguing. Turns out I lied.

On my way home from work today, I remembered that I had changed something while playing: my Iron-Colony had been labelled 'Copyright Firaxis Games', so I'd edited the labels.txt file. I then saved the edited file as 'labels EDIT.txt', intending that to be temporary while I renamed the original to 'labels OLD.txt'. But I forgot to go back and rename the edited file. The game then couldn't find a 'labels.txt' file next time it needed it, so it crashed and wouldn't (re)start.

I've got Vanilla working again now

Works for me.

Well that's strange. And a little irritating

No worries, I've had mine for years...I think you even asked me where I got mine last year and I couldn't remember. My guess would be Scratcher though...?

Yes, that was the little bird poison frog who pointed me in the right direction...

 

[WeirdoJoker]

Wait, why are you following the instructions on the PCGames page? Are you trying to patch the entire game instead of just using the patched No-CD .exe? If you look at the text I quoted before, there's a link explaining what you need to do. I've copied the instructions and added some pics to help below.

Spoiler :

So when you download the patch kit you'll have a folder with the following contents:



There are 3 zip files listed. To use the C3C No-CD patch click on the "Civilization 3 - Conquest PC Games Patch für v1.22 (int)" zip file in which you'll see a single .exe.



Extract it to your desktop, rename it to "Civ3Conquests No CD", copy it to your "Civilization III Complete\Conquests" folder and run it instead of the regular .exe file.

To use the Vanilla No-CD patch click on the "Civilization 3 PC Games Patch mit Conquest v1.29f (d)" zip file, extract the single .exe to your desktop, rename it "Civilization3 No CD" copy it to your "Civilization III Complete" folder and run it instead of the regular .exe file.

OK, I got it to work (hadn't tried in like 3 weeks). Problem I have now is that I'm running 3 screens on my PC, and the window this fills up is larger than the screen, so it bleeds over onto my second screen, and extends below the screen (can't describe it any other way) so that, for example, I can't pick the age of the world. The original game screen (where you pick new game, saved game, &c.) is on my second screen, even though most of the game appears on my first screen. Is there a quick way to make the game fit the screen? Do I need merely change the resolution?

Edit: Somehow it's working now, but my screen resolution is all messed up since I ran the game earlier and I can't seem to fix it - like it adjusted for the game, and never adjusted back. Has anyone had this kind of problem?

 

[Laurana Kanan]

WeirdoJoker -

Is there a quick way to make the game fit the screen? Do I need merely change the resolution?

Did you try adding KeepRes=1 to the conquests .ini? That will force Civ to start the game with your default resolution.

Edit: Somehow it's working now, but my screen resolution is all messed up since I ran the game earlier and I can't seem to fix it - like it adjusted for the game, and never adjusted back.

Haven't ever had that problem, but will your system not let you change your default display resolution back to what you had before?

 

[WeirdoJoker]

WeirdoJoker -

Did you try adding KeepRes=1 to the conquests .ini? That will force Civ to start the game with your default resolution.

I hadn't known that trick, but curiously enough I didn't have to. It just started working. But....

Haven't ever had that problem, but will your system not let you change your default display resolution back to what you had before?

I was able to change the display resolution, but now it's too big for my screen - i.e., icons partially off the screen to the left, menu bar at the bottom is only about half there, top of a window is off the screen. They're all the right size, just not in the right place. It's truly bizarre. I spent about an hour or more playing with different resolutions, but still cannot get back my original resolution fitting the screen perfectly.

 

[Skullbones]

I have the Steam version on Windows 10 and everything's been fine up until tonight. When I try to run the editor I get errors now saying "civ3ptw cannot be found" and a bunch of texture files missing. Indeed, checking the folders and they are missing.

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling both on the same drive and a different drive and it's not installing the original or ptw .exe's.

Ran a virus scan both inside windows and during boot.

Ran CC cleaner.

Cleared web browser and download cache in the Steam app.

Tried reinstalling again and it's still not working. Everything was fine until I woke up. :/

Edit: I don't know why, but now I have to run it as administrator for it to work. Was windows 10 updated tonight? Steam game updated?

 

[tjs282]

I have the Steam version on Windows 10 and everything's been fine up until tonight. When I try to run the editor I get errors now saying "civ3ptw cannot be found" and a bunch of texture files missing. Indeed, checking the folders and they are missing.

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling both on the same drive and a different drive and it's not installing the original or ptw .exe's.

Steam-installs of Civ3(In)Complete certainly never used to include these files.

The GamersGate-version (which I bought instead, so that I could avoid installing the awful Steam client-software) did include a DRM'd Civilization3.exe (killed by the secdrv.sys security update, had to be patched), but omitted the Civilization3X.exe (PtW); but all 3 Editors always work(ed) fine (under Win8.1). I guess now I'll have to go and test them again, since I haven't tried opening any of them for a couple of weeks...

Edit: I don't know why, but now I have to run it as administrator for it to work. Was windows 10 updated tonight? Steam game updated?

Do you mean that the PtW-Editor is now working again -- or that you (also) now have Vanilla and PtW .exes included in your Steam-installation? The latter would be good to know, in case my (patched) GG-installations ever go tits-up (unfortunately, GG no longer sells Civ3).

 

[Skullbones]

The editor is now working again, but something has changed since yesterday. I worked on my scenario for hours not having a problem until during the night and I started getting those errors.

I don't understand why I even need to "run as administrator" since my account is listed as administrator.

 

[sylkachan]

Really, it works for some of you? I can make most of work under compatibility settings for Windows XP and 640x480 screen resolution.
The problems I encounter are: the music for the diplomacy part of the game don't play, sometimes the game crashes when loading the game (example: barbarians).