Game runs fine, but terrain doesn't show up...

[xlilwill5x]

I downloaded the latest drivers for my SiSM661MX Sound Card, and well, nothing changed...see computer specs below the image.

Screenshot of the problem:

^^Doesn't draw terrain.

Computer Specs

+Acer Aspire 3500
+Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
+Intel Celeron M Processor, 1.4 Ghz
+512 MB DDR333 RAM
+68 SiS M661MX Graphics Card

Hopefully someone will have an idea of what to do.

 

[robaughjr]

Sis chips don't seem to work with this game, you can use worldbuilder to reveal terrain but not much else works.

 

[Eidmar]

I'm having the same problem and have a sis chip, I've tried hitting ctrl-w to open the cheat menu and the give myself satellites, as was recommended, but that doesn't work, and I tried using the bluemarble terrain set, that didn't work either. I think I will try one of the patches next. If anyone has any workable solution, please post.

 

[PGM]

Sis chips don't seem to work with this game, you can use worldbuilder to reveal terrain but not much else works.

The worldbuilder trick doesn't work for SIS chips either. I have a SIS 650, and am guessing the problem is that most of them don't support DirectX 9. So, they can't display terrain at all.

 

[robaughjr]

You may be sol then. That's the only workaround that I know of for this glitch. Need a new videocard (unless its a laptop-most laptops don't have an appropriate expansion slot). You can get a decent card to run the game for under $100.

 

[xlilwill5x]

You may be sol then. That's the only workaround that I know of for this glitch. Need a new videocard (unless its a laptop-most laptops don't have an appropriate expansion slot). You can get a decent card to run the game for under $100.

True. But you also have to realize that some laptops videocard's are soldered to the laptop...

I'm going to download a patch and see what happens.

 

[Harila]

Hey guys,

I'm having the same problem. The map is black although I installed the latest patch. Any Ideas? Here's my system data :

------------------
System Information
------------------
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
System Manufacturer: HP Pavilion 061
System Model: PW570AA-ABX a800.fi
BIOS: Rev. 3.13
Processor: AMD Sempron(tm) 2800+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.0GHz
Memory: 448MB RAM
Page File: 418MB used, 255MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

DxDiag Notes

DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP
Manufacturer: VIA/S3G
Chip type: VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_7205&SUBSYS_81181043&REV_01
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: NOKIA 447W
Monitor Max Res: 1280,1024
Driver Name: vtdisp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.0194 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 12/8/2004 06:08:48, 3448192 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: -
Mini VDD: vtmini.sys
Mini VDD Date: 12/8/2004 06:08:58, 172672 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71FE6-3145-11CF-3173-12A1A0C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1106
Device ID: 0x7205
SubSys ID: 0x81181043
Revision ID: 0x0001
Revision ID: 0x0001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_B ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D
Deinterlace Caps: n/a
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run


--------------
System Devices
--------------

Name: VIA CPU to AGP2.0/AGP3.0 Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_B198&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&61AAA01&1&08
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\VIAAGP1.SYS, 5.01.0000.3442 (English), 7/2/2003 11:42:00, 27904 bytes

Name: VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_7205&SUBSYS_81181043&REV_01\4&10AF1F73&0&0008
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\vtmini.sys, 6.14.0010.0194 (English), 12/8/2004 06:08:58, 172672 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\vtdisp.dll, 6.14.0010.0194 (English), 12/8/2004 06:08:48, 3448192 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\vticd.dll, 6.14.0010.0194 (English), 12/8/2004 06:10:52, 1871872 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTDspChs.hlp, 11/10/2004 12:55:06, 21597 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTDspCht.hlp, 11/10/2004 12:55:06, 21629 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTDspJpn.hlp, 11/10/2004 12:55:06, 22937 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTDspKor.hlp, 11/10/2004 12:55:06, 24212 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTDspWst.hlp, 11/10/2004 12:55:04, 230580 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTGm2WST.hlp, 8/31/2004 15:11:10, 129177 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTGm2CHS.hlp, 8/31/2004 15:11:10, 17183 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTGm2CHT.hlp, 8/31/2004 15:11:10, 17418 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTGm2JPN.hlp, 8/31/2004 15:11:10, 16594 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTGm2KOR.hlp, 8/31/2004 15:11:10, 19484 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTin2wst.hlp, 9/29/2004 17:16:18, 61136 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTin2chs.hlp, 9/29/2004 17:16:18, 9295 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTin2cht.hlp, 9/29/2004 17:16:18, 9280 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTin2jpn.hlp, 9/29/2004 17:16:18, 9670 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTin2kor.hlp, 9/29/2004 17:16:18, 10217 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTovlwst.hlp, 10/25/2004 23:57:54, 70000 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTovlchs.hlp, 10/25/2004 23:57:56, 10559 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTovlcht.hlp, 10/25/2004 23:57:56, 10515 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTovljpn.hlp, 10/25/2004 23:57:56, 10533 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\help\VTovlkor.hlp, 10/25/2004 23:57:56, 11385 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTDisply.cfg, 11/10/2004 12:55:44, 63824 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTDispl2.cfg, 11/10/2004 12:55:44, 57215 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTDisply.dll, 2.00.0045.1129 (English), 11/29/2004 21:24:08, 483328 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTGamma2.dll, 2.00.0016.0830 (English), 8/31/2004 15:11:30, 352256 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTGamma2.cfg, 8/31/2004 15:11:30, 49170 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTInfo2.dll, 2.00.0018.0928 (English), 9/29/2004 17:16:18, 253952 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTInfo2.cfg, 9/29/2004 15:27:02, 44048 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTovrlay.dll, 2.00.0017.1025 (English), 10/25/2004 23:58:30, 376832 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTovrlay.cfg, 10/8/2004 15:21:52, 60337 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTTimer.exe, 1.04.0006.1020 (English), 10/22/2004 21:53:06, 53248 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTuninst.exe, 1.00.0011.0714 (English), 7/14/2004 23:17:26, 69706 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VTSetvga.exe, 1.00.0026.0109 (English), 1/9/2004 17:52:04, 49152 bytes
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\hg201hp.inf, 12/7/2004 21:30:44, 16319 bytes

Name: VIA Standard PCI to ISA Bridge
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_3227&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&61AAA01&1&88
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\isapnp.sys, 5.01.2600.0000 (Finnish), 9/15/2004 05:00:00, 35840 bytes

Name: VIA Standard CPU to PCI Bridge
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_3205&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&61AAA01&1&00
Driver: n/a

 

[BronzeDog]

I'm in much the same boat as the OP and Harila. I got Civ4 for Decemberween, so it was hard for my dad to stealthfully check my laptop for compatibility.

I haven't fully tested the game, but it seems to run relatively fine (if a little choppy at points), except for the black terrain, and Sid Meier's floating teeth talking to me. Oh, and the opening videos have the music wobble a bit.

I'm trying to figure out if it'd be possible to upgrade my laptop, since it has a mysterious slot currently occupied by a sheet of black plastic. But, before I do that, I should probably see just how much improvement I'm going to need:

The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1150.

Operating System: Win XP Professional Service Pack 2
Processor: 2.6 GHz Celeron
Main Circuit Board: Dell Co. 0F3553
Bus Clock: 133 MHz
BIOS: Dell Co. A06 10/21/04

Memory: 512 MB Installed Memory (DIMM_A and _B each have 256)

Display (Which is probably far too weak, since I wasn't expecting Civ4 to go 3D when I bought this thing):
Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller
CMO [Monitor] (April 2003) 3x

I'm almost completely ignorant when it comes to PC games and hardware upgrades, so go easy on assumptions.

 

[BronzeDog]

Oops. Looks like it let me post anyway. Logged me out.

 

[xlilwill5x]

This seems to be a frequent problem. But anyways, I downloaded the patch and now the rivers show up, as well as the leader's faces. So it did help, but didn't fix the problem fully...

 

[BronzeDog]

Freaky, freaky thing here: After coming here (and not doing anything to my computer), the terrain and leaders decided to show up. There are a few new quirks, though: animals inside my borders are invisible (shadows still move over the terrain) and it's still choppy. Think I'll see if that mysterious slot in my laptop can be used for a video card. That should probably help.

 

[robaughjr]

True. But you also have to realize that some laptops videocard's are soldered to the laptop...

I'm going to download a patch and see what happens.

If you have an appropriate slot (pci,agp,pcie) there should be an option in your bios to choose between your onboard chip and the card in whichever slot. You don't have to remove it at all. Try the patch first, couldn't hurt.

Bronze: Intel chips are not supported so it's never going to play smoothly. Try freezing animations, this should make the animals appear. Check your manual to see which video card slot (if any) you have before buying. There is a list of supported videocards stickied at the top of the technical support area (Tnl get your facts straight). The lower end ones cost under $100 and should work fine.

 

[xlilwill5x]

This seems to be a frequent problem. But anyways, I downloaded the patch and now the rivers show up, as well as the leader's faces. So it did help, but didn't fix the problem fully...

I state in that statement that I tried the patch, and now the leader's faces and rivers appear. Still no grass nor ocean water haha.

I guess I have to get used to playing in a black abyss.