I'm running the game on a Pentium 4 2.0G with 512 DDR RAM and a (crappy) GeForce FX 5200 with 128MB RAM and I just had a major meltdown where all of the terrain suddenly got darker (looked like nightime) then the game slowed waaaayyyyyy down. I just had to quit and restart. I also noticed it ran a little slowly after I first installed and the graphic options were set to high. I'm not one to knock the game because it seems awesome it just is still a little buggy unfortunately. I also have had problems with the audio on some of the videos (even the splash screens at the beginning) where it cuts out every few seconds. I think I've had that problem on some other game as well though. May have something to do with my SB Audigy 1 card. If anyone knows what that is, please let me know. And, I know its been reported but the discs may be mislabeled but I think its a little more complex than that. Because, I cannot start the game without putting in the INSTALL disc BUT I then have to put the PLAY disc in before I can play the game. So it seems to me that the autoplay prompt is setup on the wrong disc. Nonetheless, I'm glad I have it in whatever capacity. Look on the bright side folks, this is better than waiting until the end of November, right? Its like we're all beta testers! (only we paid $50 ;( ) Nonetheless, as of right now I can still play so life is still good!
Game Crash/Extreme Slowdown
- Thread starter jtcole44
- Start date
kca89
Chieftain
I had same thing happen. Was playing game fine other than some slow downs because I think I need to update to a gig of ram. It also crashed on me twice and now I get the black textures. Really lame. PCI-E Geforce 6600 256mb, AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.2 ghz), 512mb ram
Shepherdboy
Chieftain
I have also had the slowdown problem. I've been playing along with the game running fine when suddenly the system acts as though the CPU is pegged at 100%. If I save the game, exit, and reload--all is well. At least for a while.
Hopefully, this is a problem that can be fixed with a patch.
I'm on a Dell Inspiron 600m with a Radeon 9000 Mobility, by the way.
Shepherdboy
Hopefully, this is a problem that can be fixed with a patch.
I'm on a Dell Inspiron 600m with a Radeon 9000 Mobility, by the way.
Shepherdboy
kroseler
Chieftain
The game appears to have a memory leak... after about 30 minutes of playing I alt-tabbed out and checked the task manager and the civ.exe was using 100% CPU and over 400MB.. this is just crasy.
I rebooted and play for another hour with no issues... it's odd.
I rebooted and play for another hour with no issues... it's odd.
Mazruk
Warlord
I agree it sounds like a memory leak, especially with people saying it takes ages to close the game down. What we need is someone with the game to post resources used at start of game, 15 mins in, 30 mins in, etc
Sailsa
Chieftain
I am having the same issue. I can play the early ages fine for an hour or so before it starts to slowdown. Then I restart and play for an hour or so again. However, once I get to the 1800's & 1900's it slows down every 30 minutes. Also, I had to turn off the Wonder videos. The early ones played fine but the later ones would freeze my computer. I will have to start looking at resource consumption during game play and report back.
lordqarlyn
Warlord
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2005
- Messages
- 220
I am experiencing this same type of problem too. Here is what I noticed in my case. When the game slows down, it doesn't always crash, but the terrain will become bare, and during this time my HDD LED is solid red, indicating massive disk activity. Naturally that will slow the game (or any app) to a crawl. These episodes last anywhere from 5 seconds to ten minutes, though usually after five minutes my screen would go blank and the game crashes. There is also a direct correlation between the map size and how soon these will happen. I modded the huge map to be even larger, but I could hardly play the game, but when I restored the huge map to the original size, I played for well over an hour before experiencing any slowdowns and crashes.
Another thread this was suggested as a memory leak, and I have to agree, this smacks of a memory leak problem. If so, it means that it can be fixed, without us having to upgrade our systems, though getting more RAM in the mean time should delay the crash.
Just FYI, I am running:
Intel 3.6 GHz Prescott
ASUS 128MB GeForce 6600GT
1 GB 3200 RAM
Another thread this was suggested as a memory leak, and I have to agree, this smacks of a memory leak problem. If so, it means that it can be fixed, without us having to upgrade our systems, though getting more RAM in the mean time should delay the crash.
Just FYI, I am running:
Intel 3.6 GHz Prescott
ASUS 128MB GeForce 6600GT
1 GB 3200 RAM
citizen kane
Chieftain
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2005
- Messages
- 2
I haven't noticed any slowdown, but Civ4 repeatedly crashes back to desktop after a while. It happens each time I play the game at different place - once as early as in the 1st turn, other times later in the game 5-20 minutes into it.
I called tech support which appears to be little panicky, but clueless as to what's causing these problems. They stick to basic suggestions such as updating video and sound drivers, and reinstalling Civ4 with minimum background programs. I have done all (GeForce4 Ti 4200 / 128MB drivers and sound drivers from NVidia are up to date) and more - uninstalled ZoneLabs firewall, since some messages here suggested it conflicts with Civ4. None of this helps. Civ4 consistently quits on me after a while and I am staring at the desktop....
Regarding a possible memory leak, as someone suggested - I tried to track available physical memory for a game with the following results:
Time: Available physical memory:
----------------------------------------------
Before Civ4 starts 666,064 (out of 1GB)
After Civ4 starts 346,700
after 10 turns 308,800
after 20 turns 296,248
after 25 turns ---- game crashes ---
What it exactly means, I am not sure, as I haven't tested how other games may utilize physical memory during a game. Perhaps someone else can jump in with their test results.
Right now, I am putting Civ4 back in the box and waiting for a patch or at least an official word from developers. I just can't stand the game quitting on me as I was going to destroy the Chinese capital..
I called tech support which appears to be little panicky, but clueless as to what's causing these problems. They stick to basic suggestions such as updating video and sound drivers, and reinstalling Civ4 with minimum background programs. I have done all (GeForce4 Ti 4200 / 128MB drivers and sound drivers from NVidia are up to date) and more - uninstalled ZoneLabs firewall, since some messages here suggested it conflicts with Civ4. None of this helps. Civ4 consistently quits on me after a while and I am staring at the desktop....
Regarding a possible memory leak, as someone suggested - I tried to track available physical memory for a game with the following results:
Time: Available physical memory:
----------------------------------------------
Before Civ4 starts 666,064 (out of 1GB)
After Civ4 starts 346,700
after 10 turns 308,800
after 20 turns 296,248
after 25 turns ---- game crashes ---
What it exactly means, I am not sure, as I haven't tested how other games may utilize physical memory during a game. Perhaps someone else can jump in with their test results.
Right now, I am putting Civ4 back in the box and waiting for a patch or at least an official word from developers. I just can't stand the game quitting on me as I was going to destroy the Chinese capital..
Wow I love this game - but it looks like I'm having the same problems.... Sometimes the game will crash to the desktop and sometimes it will reboot.
I don't even bother trying to play on the huge maps, only duel, tiny and small...
That way I get a good 30-60 minutes of good playing time before it crashes, then simply start it up again... But it is really wearing my patience thin, I'm getting really drained of having to save every turn....
Anyone heard any way to solve this?
I don't even bother trying to play on the huge maps, only duel, tiny and small...
That way I get a good 30-60 minutes of good playing time before it crashes, then simply start it up again... But it is really wearing my patience thin, I'm getting really drained of having to save every turn....
Anyone heard any way to solve this?
gunnergoz
Cat Herder
I get to the final 70 turns or so on large maps until the CTD's come every other turn. I almost always get them when the map scrolls too far for the game's graphic memory to keep up. I've tried every way possible to improve performance, to no avail. The wonder movies work now and actually everything works except for the periodic CTD's. I've sent in the bug reports so they should know what to look for.
Even with a 256MB graphics card (admittedly an older GeForce 5700) there is not enough bandwidth (I'm guessing here) to push the necessary data accross from CPU to graphics card to display when these sudden demands come up. I could see the game lagging and catching up in a choppy fashion, but the total crashes tell me that something is broken here. Hopefully there is a programming solution because I'm not about to go out and buy a $250 up to date video card just to run the game. I'd love to, mind you, but on principle I will not.
Civ 4 has so many little graphic flourishes to deal with on the larger maps that it is really demanding on anything but the latests and greatest systems. Even on some of them, it does not run very stably from what I hear. I expect they will fix it eventually, this being a "flagship" title with a lot of international visibility; I doubt that the publishers want to become known throughout the industry as "the guys who screwed up the Civ franchise." We'll see...
Even with a 256MB graphics card (admittedly an older GeForce 5700) there is not enough bandwidth (I'm guessing here) to push the necessary data accross from CPU to graphics card to display when these sudden demands come up. I could see the game lagging and catching up in a choppy fashion, but the total crashes tell me that something is broken here. Hopefully there is a programming solution because I'm not about to go out and buy a $250 up to date video card just to run the game. I'd love to, mind you, but on principle I will not.
Civ 4 has so many little graphic flourishes to deal with on the larger maps that it is really demanding on anything but the latests and greatest systems. Even on some of them, it does not run very stably from what I hear. I expect they will fix it eventually, this being a "flagship" title with a lot of international visibility; I doubt that the publishers want to become known throughout the industry as "the guys who screwed up the Civ franchise." We'll see...
