Civ4 sound problems and fixes

Harker207 · Oct 10, 2006

Hey... just downloaded the available demo... running an intel iMac G5 and 10.4.8. The sound did start popping in some horrible ways and making some whining noises that caused me to mute the whole thing for fear of busting my speakers. When I tried to unmute it, the pops came back, and no audio. I see from this thread that sound problems appear common with Civ IV, but with my full copy coming in the mail in the next few days, are these the problems I have to look forward to, or will this patch that was mentioned fix them?

Skippy_Kangaroo · Oct 10, 2006

Harker207 said:
Hey... just downloaded the available demo... running an intel iMac G5 and 10.4.8. The sound did start popping in some horrible ways and making some whining noises that caused me to mute the whole thing for fear of busting my speakers. When I tried to unmute it, the pops came back, and no audio. I see from this thread that sound problems appear common with Civ IV, but with my full copy coming in the mail in the next few days, are these the problems I have to look forward to, or will this patch that was mentioned fix them?

The sound in the patched game is much better than it used to be. I have not experienced popping with the patched game but experienced it intermittently with the unpatched game.

Some sound issues remain, but I have had no reason to turn sound off in the game. Although the experience seems to vary from machine to machine.

(But I'd also be surprised if the demo doesn't include the patch code as the demo postdates the patch so that is not a good portent.)

Beamup · Oct 11, 2006

Harker207 said:
Hey... just downloaded the available demo... running an intel iMac G5 and 10.4.8. The sound did start popping in some horrible ways and making some whining noises that caused me to mute the whole thing for fear of busting my speakers. When I tried to unmute it, the pops came back, and no audio. I see from this thread that sound problems appear common with Civ IV, but with my full copy coming in the mail in the next few days, are these the problems I have to look forward to, or will this patch that was mentioned fix them?

I still get exactly this routinely. For me, the patch didn't change that in the slightest.

XxtraLarGe · Oct 11, 2006

I still get the popping on the patched version of Civ IV on OS 10.3.9. I think the sound code is simply messed up. :sad:

Ninnemand · Oct 26, 2006

I am also getting the "popping" sound. If I mess with the keyboard volume up / down the sound comes back for 5 seconds then pops again and nothing. I am running on 20" Imac g5 1.8, 1 gb RAM, osx 10.3.9. I have installed the patch successfully, however the version number does not indicate so. Can anyone help us poor soundless players?
Dave

AlanH · Oct 26, 2006

I believe Brad said there was a problem with the audio software in 10.3.9 and recommended upgrading the OS. Of course, now probably isn't the best time to buy Tiger, with Leopard just around the corner.

Ninnemand · Oct 27, 2006

Digging further into these message boards, it looks like the Rev A patch does not work on OS 10.3.9. This info should be stated on the download text /websites. I will try to install the "Beta" patch and see if the sounds work better on OS 10.3.9. Currently I am playing with basically no sounds and a lot of snap / crackle / pop...
Dave

XxtraLarGe · Oct 27, 2006

Ninnemand said:
Digging further into these message boards, it looks like the Rev A patch does not work on OS 10.3.9. This info should be stated on the download text /websites. I will try to install the "Beta" patch and see if the sounds work better on OS 10.3.9. Currently I am playing with basically no sounds and a lot of snap / crackle / pop...
Dave

Not sure what you mean by the patch not working with 10.3.9. I downloaded & installed it, and the patch made a significant difference to my graphics performance. The bad thing is the sound isn't working properly, which is extremely frustrating. :mad:

dmichaeln73 · Nov 13, 2006

I have just a quick question about the sound popping in OS 10.3.9. I was using 10.4.8 until a few days ago. I had a major problem with my system and did not have 10.4 install disk to fix it with. I had to go back down to 10.3.9. This is when I started noticing the sound popping and cutting out problems. I see on this thread that there seems to be an issue with 10.3.9 and the sound. I have both patches on my system and was wondering if anyone had just tried the Beta patch with any luck. I really got used to the sound and would like it back. I'm not big on the idea of spending 29.99 on the expansion that might or might not fix it. But I would be willing to use the beta patch until then.

Skippy_Kangaroo · Nov 13, 2006

dmichaeln73 said:
I'm not big on the idea of spending 29.99 on the expansion that might or might not fix it.

If a patch for Vanilla is only available through the expansion pack I would imagine that there would be some very unhappy customers who might well approach local consumer protection authorities to complain about such behaviour. Imagine - you release a broken product and then charge extra to fix it! I don't think so.

I suspect that Aspyr is sensible and you should not have to spend 29.99 for the expansion pack in order to get a fixed Vanilla. They should release a patch for it around the same time they release Warlords.

AlanH · Nov 13, 2006

This assumes there are fixes, of course.

Some problems, such as Open AL bugs in Panther, may not be fixable by Aspyr, and Apple will probably not do anything about them either. In that case the only solution is an upgrade to Tiger, or to Leopard when it is released.

Ninnemand · Nov 13, 2006

The Beta patch works well with OS 10.3.9. Of course I haven't "allowed" my kids to play recently because it was interferring with school work.
Dave

dmichaeln73 · Nov 13, 2006

This assumes there are fixes, of course.

Some problems, such as Open AL bugs in Panther, may not be fixable by Aspyr, and Apple will probably not do anything about them either. In that case the only solution is an upgrade to Tiger, or to Leopard when it is released.

I find it hard to believe that this would be a problem that is unfixable. 10.3.9 was listed as a minimum system requirement. That implies that the game was tested with this OS. They had to know that it did not work. I would love nothing more than to drop 80 bucks for a copy if Tiger, but it would not be for Civ IV. If the game will not play with sound in 10.3.9 than it should not have been listed as minimum spec. This makes 2 Civ games now without propor sound. I will try to use the Beta Patch and see if I get sound. If not then I guess I will be dusting off the Civ III.

Premier · Jan 15, 2007

Just FYI -

Recently, I did a clean install of an app called OSS 3D - it is an audio enhancement plugin for iTunes. Apparently, the new version (2.1) also 'enhances' the sound of the entire OS/system.

Anyway, after installation, the CIV IV audio was so crackly, it was virtually unplayable. I uninstalled OSS 3D and this got rid of the problem. (It's unfortunate because I love this plugin when listening to iTunes.)

Just a heads-up for those of you who might use OSS 3D - this was on a Mac Pro, by the way.

-P

XxtraLarGe · Jan 23, 2007

dmichaeln73 said:
I find it hard to believe that this would be a problem that is unfixable. 10.3.9 was listed as a minimum system requirement. That implies that the game was tested with this OS. They had to know that it did not work. I would love nothing more than to drop 80 bucks for a copy if Tiger, but it would not be for Civ IV. If the game will not play with sound in 10.3.9 than it should not have been listed as minimum spec. This makes 2 Civ games now without propor sound. I will try to use the Beta Patch and see if I get sound. If not then I guess I will be dusting off the Civ III.

It is indeed sad that nobody ever managed to fix this, as it greatly affects the game play. Nobody seems pleased with the perfomance and Aspyr really doesn't seem to care.

wookitus · Jan 28, 2007

The new rev B patch killed all of my sound except ambient and music. I had sound in the previous version. This is frustrating. I have a PowerMac G5 1.8ghz on 10.4.8. Anyone else have this problem with the patch?

NoMan · Jan 28, 2007

I have been using the new patch since it came out on the 24th. I experienced my first crash (to desktop) today and the crash log (see spoiler) seems to indicate audio/Quicktime is the culprit. I opened a ticket with Aspyr. I have been pretty happy with this patch until now. I have not experienced any major sound issues. I can hear all the battle sounds and the Nimoy voice-overs, although it sometimes skips.

Spoiler :

Skippy_Kangaroo · Jan 28, 2007

NoMan said:
I have been using the new patch since it came out on the 24th. I experienced my first crash (to desktop) today and the crash log (see spoiler) seems to indicate audio/Quicktime is the culprit.

That seems to be the reason for all the crash to desktop occurrences I have experienced too. I sent a crash log to Brad at Aspyr and in response he asked whether my machine was dual core. I remember some earlier complaints from him about Core Audio which may suggest that this is an issue that is 'known'. It has certainly been present prior to the current revision. Maybe we can hope that Apple might fix something with 10.4.9 or at least change something that Aspyr can work with for Rev. C.

JoAT · Jan 29, 2007

Skippy_Kangaroo said:
... I sent a crash log to Brad at Aspyr ...

I'm not sure if Brad is the best point person to send these to anymore. I'm under the impression that he wasn't working on the latest patches (or even Warlords?) as he has been toiling away on Star Wars: Empire at War. You may want to send your reports to Aspyr tech support too...

JoAT

SteffenUL · Feb 2, 2007

wookitus said:
The new rev B patch killed all of my sound except ambient and music. I had sound in the previous version. This is frustrating. I have a PowerMac G5 1.8ghz on 10.4.8. Anyone else have this problem with the patch?

Me too. No battle sounds at all, no sounds when picking up coins, tech or experience. No sweet tingle of coins. Music and ambient seem OK. Combat has become a strangely peaceful affair.
Mouseovers are on and off, not much of a change I think.
2.0 GHz G5 iMac, 10.4.8, Radeon 9600

Civ4 sound problems and fixes

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