Okay, so let's assume I have very little in the way of computer programming knowledge.
I have "Chronicles of Civilization". It appears to contain versions of Civilization 2: Multiplayer Gold Edition, and Civilization 2: Test of Time (and Civilization 1). They seem to install okay, without giving any warnings. I installed them on my D: drive rather than the suggested C: only nested one or two folders deep. I have kept the long names automatically given to the folders by the installation process
BUT, none of them actually work on my new (as of November last year) Windows 10 computer. That is to say: I can right-click on the CivII.exe file, select "Compatibility" and set it to "Windows XP Service Pack 2" (which used to run these versions just fine) and the game will actually boot up, take me through the process of choosing the options to start a game with, and then crash to desktop. If I don't have the "Compatibility" set, it simply turns the screen black and hangs up, so I have to boot up Task Manager and force-quit the program through that.
(I am not concerned with the "Chronicles" version of Civ 3 and Civ 4, since I got these on Steam, and they are automagically updated to work on modern systems.)
First thing I'm supposed to do is update the versions to the most modern - apparently patch 1.3 for MGE, or 1.1 for TOT. I was looking around for patches that worked, then discovered *this* instead, on this site: https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/civilization-chronicles-patch.8534/ So I downloaded and ran it. It did not seem to crash while doing so, at least it reported having finished an installation of sorts, so I assume that I now have the actual most up-to-date version of both games: nevertheless, the games still do not start.
Trying to work through a series of instructions suggests "get the no-CD crack", but also "whoops, it doesn't work on 64-bit machines". I do not have a 32-bit machine to copy any civ.exe file to. I looked for links which had full patched .exes, but all the links I could find were non-functional. Where can I download a thing that will do away with any CD-requiring protection, or does the Chronicles In Civilization version already not require the CD in the drive?
After that, one step at a time, what is the next thing I need to do?
And the next thing after that?
I see too many lists in too many places, not all saying the same thing, sometimes disagreeing on which patch to install, and not all of them confirmed to always work.
What I would like:
- To be able to play both games, and have them actually function and be playable as games, without the CD in my drive, since I had to buy an external CD drive specially to even install them.
- To have the enemy civilizations actually be willing to deal with me diplomatically, rather than all be implacably hostile for no reason no matter what I give them. (Apparently this was an issue introduced in MGE that was not present in the original Civ2.) I don't mind the long-standing bug of Gandhi starting out pacifist and suddenly turning nuclear, but I do object to them *all* being hostile all the time.
- Ideally, I would like to be told whether the "Chronicles" version includes ALL the scenarios that were included in the original MGE edition.
- And if not, where to find the missing ones and how to install them.
- Also ideally, I would love to get the videos working somehow. The Chronicles CD said it was installing Indeo Video Drivers as part of the installation process (which was one of the later steps in the instructions): do these actually work with Win10, and were they what I needed, or do I need to look elsewhere and get something else?
I have "Chronicles of Civilization". It appears to contain versions of Civilization 2: Multiplayer Gold Edition, and Civilization 2: Test of Time (and Civilization 1). They seem to install okay, without giving any warnings. I installed them on my D: drive rather than the suggested C: only nested one or two folders deep. I have kept the long names automatically given to the folders by the installation process
BUT, none of them actually work on my new (as of November last year) Windows 10 computer. That is to say: I can right-click on the CivII.exe file, select "Compatibility" and set it to "Windows XP Service Pack 2" (which used to run these versions just fine) and the game will actually boot up, take me through the process of choosing the options to start a game with, and then crash to desktop. If I don't have the "Compatibility" set, it simply turns the screen black and hangs up, so I have to boot up Task Manager and force-quit the program through that.
(I am not concerned with the "Chronicles" version of Civ 3 and Civ 4, since I got these on Steam, and they are automagically updated to work on modern systems.)
First thing I'm supposed to do is update the versions to the most modern - apparently patch 1.3 for MGE, or 1.1 for TOT. I was looking around for patches that worked, then discovered *this* instead, on this site: https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/civilization-chronicles-patch.8534/ So I downloaded and ran it. It did not seem to crash while doing so, at least it reported having finished an installation of sorts, so I assume that I now have the actual most up-to-date version of both games: nevertheless, the games still do not start.
Trying to work through a series of instructions suggests "get the no-CD crack", but also "whoops, it doesn't work on 64-bit machines". I do not have a 32-bit machine to copy any civ.exe file to. I looked for links which had full patched .exes, but all the links I could find were non-functional. Where can I download a thing that will do away with any CD-requiring protection, or does the Chronicles In Civilization version already not require the CD in the drive?
After that, one step at a time, what is the next thing I need to do?
And the next thing after that?
I see too many lists in too many places, not all saying the same thing, sometimes disagreeing on which patch to install, and not all of them confirmed to always work.
What I would like:
- To be able to play both games, and have them actually function and be playable as games, without the CD in my drive, since I had to buy an external CD drive specially to even install them.
- To have the enemy civilizations actually be willing to deal with me diplomatically, rather than all be implacably hostile for no reason no matter what I give them. (Apparently this was an issue introduced in MGE that was not present in the original Civ2.) I don't mind the long-standing bug of Gandhi starting out pacifist and suddenly turning nuclear, but I do object to them *all* being hostile all the time.
- Ideally, I would like to be told whether the "Chronicles" version includes ALL the scenarios that were included in the original MGE edition.
- And if not, where to find the missing ones and how to install them.
- Also ideally, I would love to get the videos working somehow. The Chronicles CD said it was installing Indeo Video Drivers as part of the installation process (which was one of the later steps in the instructions): do these actually work with Win10, and were they what I needed, or do I need to look elsewhere and get something else?
