Extremely Disappointed - bought game, cannot play

[robers7]

I am an avid Civilization fan, having played the game since release in 1991 and owning each and every version of the game. I must say, after waiting days for the later UK release and coughing up my money I am extremely disappointed to have received such buggy software which simply will not work for me.

I install the game, and it runs insofar as I get a nice opening graphic of a globe spinning with cloudcover - and that's it!!! I get no further than that. I've tried all the fixes I can find (having spent some 6 hours on aggregate trying to get this game to run properly). I feel incredibly let down that there isn't a fix to the problem I have. In particular, I feel as though I have spent my money needlessly on a product which is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold. In the UK this is illegal.

The Civ developers are so busy sorting out the miriad of bugs that getting anyone to look at my specific problem is likely to be incredibly difficult. I Hear of a lot of people having graphics problems, but very few people seem to be experiencing the problem I have.

My only option seems to be to return the game to the vendor for a refund. That's not really what I want to do - i'd rather spend my time playing the next episode in the best game series of all time.

Please, please, please don't release games until you know they work!

 

[AsnoT]

post your system specs

 

[robers7]

post your system specs

IBM Thinkpad T41 Pentium M 1.7Ghz 1GB RAM ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000

 

[AsnoT]

IBM Thinkpad T41 Pentium M 1.7Ghz 1GB RAM ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000

the radeon 9000 doesn't have hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L), which is a requirement.
you would need what ATI calls:

Charisma Engine™ II
Having the powerful next generation Transform and Lighting engine with Charisma Engine™ II is an important element to driving the latest 3D games and applications.

the card also only supports DirectX® 8.1, not 9
see: http://www.ati.com/products/comparisons/mobilitycomparison.html

also check this thread for information on mobility chips. (i remember seing one post from somebody with the same laptop, also not able to run civ4.)

 

[robers7]

the radeon 9000 doesn't have hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L), which is a requirement.

Cheers AsnoT. I checked out the threads you refer to and installed some Omega drivers for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9000. At least the game runs now, albeit like a dog!

I guess its time for an upgrade.....

Anyone recommend a good graphics card around $150? (for my other desktop machine)

 

[KevInSweden]

A mobility Radeon 9000 does support T&L, it supports up to 8.1 in spec (Pixel Shader 1.4). A pixel shader 2.0 (DX9) card isn't essential for this game, you do however need to have the 9.0c runtime installed.

You may wish to download something like ATI Tray Tools and tweak a few of the settings to see if any help you.

 

[pygbe]

If you are upgrading only for this game, you may also wish to wait a little bit (I hope) for the patch to come out before doing that, even if below system requirements... there's people reporting acceptable or even smooth play with low-end machined. See tech support forum.

 

[ChuckLe]

If you are upgrading only for this game, you may also wish to wait a little bit (I hope) for the patch to come out before doing that, even if below system requirements... there's people reporting acceptable or even smooth play with low-end machined. See tech support forum.

There's even more people reporting extremely sluggish play with ultra high-end systems too.

People with low-end systems might be able to play small maps and few AI civs but that's it. The game chokes on huge maps, and performance is completely unacceptable thereafter.

Anyone that plays FPS games knows exactly what this means; e.g. turning on the overlay tile grid should not take 30 seconds or more! It should be an instant toggle.

I sincerely hope that any patch that is released that adresses this will make me eat my words btw.

 

[Zelgadis75]

I would reccomend going to www.srtest.com

This site will benchpress your computer for civ4 and let you know in which areas you might be lacking.

 

[Flak]

the radeon 9000 doesn't have hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L), which is a requirement.
you would need what ATI calls:


the card also only supports DirectX® 8.1, not 9
see:

My ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 supports Transform and Lighting and is running atleast one DirectX 9.0c game right now with no problems (Black & White 2, pretty sweet game).

 

[phybre]

I would reccomend going to www.srtest.com

This site will benchpress your computer for civ4 and let you know in which areas you might be lacking.

Benchmark. And the thing about benchmarks is, they generally don't mean anything.

Besides, any computer that meets the minimum requirements should be able to run this game. Many people whose systems vastly exceed the recommended requirements are unable to, myself included. A benchmark will tell me (at best) that the game won't run, which I already know. It is inherently incapable of telling me why it won't run.

I think it's a little premature to threaten legal action, even if some of us are pissed off. But I think it is already appropriate to make sure consumer advocacy groups are aware of this. I don't feel like I've been given what I paid for either.


Edit: The website puts out contradictory messages in its report, and it is wrong about my system. Here is a screenshot.

My video card exceeds the 64MB + hardware T&L recommended, and yet it reports failure. It then goes on to show how it passes each subcategory.

Let me state again that at this point, Civilization 4 WILL NOT RUN AT ALL on my system, giving me "Failed to initialize renderer" and the ATi fix for that does not help me.

 

[civiljack]

I've got a radeon 9600 videocard.....should be inuf to run civ4 further more I've got 1gig of ram on a pentium IV 2.8 system. When I start the game I almost instanly get the message:

"failed to initialize renderer-check directX version and Graphics settings"

got the latest drivers namely version: 6.14.10.6575
and dirX 9c

WHO CAN HELP ME???

 

[azuil]

hey civiljack (and hey rest of the forums... i'm all new to this site because i'd rather spend my time playing civ... )

I got the same problem and turned to 2kgames support with a nice e-mail. they have replied to me the following, maybe it's helpful for you....

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for contacting Take 2 Technical Support.

2K Games has determined that there is an issue with some ATI graphics
cards. When starting the game you will receive the following error message
�Failed to initialize Renderer � Check Direct X Version and Graphics
settings�.

This error is caused by a few specific problems. To make sure that this
problem stops we ask that you please follow the steps listed below.

1. Go to the Windows Control Panel and access Add/Remove Programs
2. Uninstall Sid Meier�s Civilization 4 from your computer by clicking
Remove
3. Go to My Documents\My Games and delete the Civilization 4 folder
4. With Disk 1 inserted, open My Computer and right click on the drive
containing the disk
5. Select Open and then open the DirectX9 folder.
6. Run DXSETUP.exe
7. Restart your computer
8. Log back into your computer. NOTE: You must have administrator
privileges to install the game.
9. Return to Add/Remove Programs and locate the selection ATI Uninstall
Utility

If you do not have this option, proceed to this web site and follow the
instructions to remove your ATI drivers:
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&fo
lderID=27
Proceed to Step 11.

10. Use the ATI Uninstall Utility to complete remove your ATI drivers. Be
sure to reboot your computer when it prompts you.
11. Go to http://www.ati.com and select the Drivers & Software option
12. Select Windows XP or 2000
13. Download the latest Display Driver and save it to your desktop. DO NOT
INSTALL IT!
14. Insert Disc 1 (labelled Install Disc) into your CD drive � this should
bring up the Autorun Screen � if not, go to My Computer and right click the
drive labeled Sid Meier�s Civilization 4 and select Autoplay
15. Click on Install
16. Select I Accept and allow the DirectX installation to proceed.
17. Agree to the Civ4 License Agreement and click Next
18. Since you had a problem with the initial installation it is required
that you perform an Express Installation. Once it is verified that the
problem is solved you can then re-install Civ4 to another directory.
19. Start the installation by clicking on Install
20. Start the installation and allow it to finish.
21. Launch Sid Meier�s Civilization 4 using the desktop shortcut.
22. At this point the game should fail to initialize with the following
error message.
23. Run the ATI Driver that you saved to your desktop and allow it to
install using all default settings.
24. Restart your computer.
25. Relaunch Sid Meier�s Civilization 4.

You should load into the game without error and after viewing the movies
see this screen.

If not, follow these instructions:

Windows XP Users Only (sorry, the 2000 version of the Unpack utility will
be made ASAP)

1. Download the PakBuild.zip file from the 2K Support Site. Download Now.
2. Run the EXE and select the Unpak option
3. Go to your Civ4 directory (default is C:\Program Files\Sid Meier's
Civilization 4\) and open up the Assets Directory. Click on the Art0.FPK
file and select Open. C:\Program Files\Sid Meier's Civilization
4\Assets\Art0.FPK
4. Browse to your Civ4 folder and click on Assets and click Ok
5. Once the unpack finishes, click on the Art0.FPK and press Ctrl-X (or
select Edit and then Cut).
6. Move up one directory level so that you are not in the Assets folder and
press Ctrl-V (or select Edit and then Paste).

The reason this step is important is that if you do not move the FPK file
from the Assets directory it will still find the file and the game will
continue to not work.

7. Run the game.


Please be sure to delete all previous correspondence when replying. This
will help us to process your response in a more timely and efficient manner.

Kind Regards,
Take 2 Technical Support

 

[AsnoT]

My ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 supports Transform and Lighting and is running atleast one DirectX 9.0c game right now with no problems (Black & White 2, pretty sweet game).

yes, it does indeed support T&L (i looked on the ATI site, and they won't tell you that, but this does.)
it also tells you about the DX support.
the card came out in 2002, there WAS no DX9 then. that doesn't mean that ALL DX9 games will not run.

and generally - it's a nearly 4 year old gfx chip - who seriously expects that to properly run a brand new game?