i'm going back to civ3.at least it works...

[lordjeremias]

i had enough of it.
it takes ages to begin
it takes ages to load
during its loading 75% of times either it crashes or i ihave to alt-tab to desktop and back again for it to go back at normal speed instead of dragging without any cause.
it either crashes in gameplay or suddenly justs changes to desktop without me doing anything.
the damn graphics slow down everything in mid/late game. and i like playing in huge maps with lots of civs.

it's impossible. i don't have the slightest ideia of whom programed this game? a monkey? i don't play civilization series for the graphics. i play itfor the camplay logic and strategic. for me it could have the civ1 graphics with all the cpu and gpu power dedicated to logic and complex models. but no, they choose to go pretty graphis and faulty software. when i wnat graphics iplay AOE3 or GTA3 SA or Far Cry, whatever. in CIV i want a game and simulation, not ****ty graphics that crashes everything and makes it impossible to play. iwouldn't mind them if at least it worked!

in this picture wou can see that civ4 takes up 650mb of my 1024 mb ram?! does this makes any sense?650? and still dragging? i play with low resolution. low textures, no combat zoom and without all the damn pretty graphics options. still it goes *@#*?%&

my comp specs:
asus A7V8X 333mhz fsb
AMD athlon XP 2000+
1024mb (2*512 DDR333mhz)
geforce Ti4200 128mb
WD80gb Special Edition 7400rpm with 8mb buffer

antivirus+firewall: bitdefender9
dx9.c
driver 78.01 (i will update this soon but no hope it improves anything...)
as i could see it it was about mid specs for the game, above minimum but lower that recommend. i thought i could play reasonably.
i've already apllied 1.09 patch.
does anyone has a solution besides going back to civ3?... i havent seen the entire forum searching because i'm really pissed off right now.i will search it later but if there already solutioon i would appreaciate if you could post the link here.

 

[Zydor]

This sounds like the memory problem, the clue in your case is the large memory use and the fact that you like - and have problems with huge games lots of civs etc - the game has a major memory issue - they will fix it - but meanwhile there is a very successfull User Patch that addresses this

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=146309

At present he is working on version 2 of the patch, but has posted an Intermediate V2 for testing by kind folks. So you can either go for the version 1 patch shown on the opening page, or the version 2 on test at post #640. Its a benign patch, does not touch game code, and is easily installed / deinstalled. Scan read the last 2/3 pages of the thread and you will get the idea.

Obviously could be other things, and if it does not work for you come back here and we can try something else - but it sounds a classic for this fix

Regards
Zy

 

[Neon Deon]

I am having a bit of a time reading it in Spanish but, The bottom of your process should show 2 numbers not one.

IE: 824/1500

not 824

Is you page file on? Sometime becuase of the large use of it by this game you will hit the set page file limit and bad things will occur.

Try adjusting you page file size to static 1550/1550 both min and max.

Defrag too.

If it is already at 1500 or higher still try it at static but run dxdiag and post your dxdiag file plz.

 

[lordjeremias]

thanks zydor for the mem_fix solution. i had already heard of it but i wasn't too inclined to try it. i'll do it today to see how it does.
neon deon: it's not spanish but portuguese. you're forgiven for now but don't make that confusion again!!!!! ihave the page file active offcourse. it's from 1500 till 3000 mb, basically the free space in C: the disk is always defrag, i have a dfrag utilitie thats uses the screen saver for defraging. didn't get what you meant about the process. why should it show two nunbers? is there limit for the number of process i run? don't think so?
and the game shouldnt use filepage memory. i think i usually have between 700 and 850 mb ram free, the rest being occupied by the system and other applications. i think 700 mb of free ram should be enough dont you?
just buggy sofwtare, cause i can run every other game withoua ny problem, including heavier in graphics like GTA SA and far cry, even C&C generals zero hour doesn't stops or tilts in the heavier scenes and i play with high quality settings.
well, thanks for your help. i 'll try the memfix solution and come back with the status

 

[Neon Deon]

Hi lord, you might want to read what file net has to say about one of the items you have running in services.

bdss.exe

http://www.file.net/process/bdss.exe.html

there are a bunch more bd processes running too.

If that is an anti virus/firewall you have running, It could effect 3d programs.

Go into MS config and disable all startup items and non ms services

restart verify no bd services are running and try and play your game

 

[lordjeremias]

update: installed harkonnen patch #1.
guess what: the game still takes ages to load but now i can play! every time. it eventually will go back in the desktop and when i come back the map is black, but at least is only after ~3 hours play, which is a good solution for the "one more turn" addiction. anyaway, i save the game, exit and enter again and it works. urrah for harkonnen!
thanks zydor for pushing me to take that step i wasn't inclined to.

Neon Deon: as you could already have noticed in the link you gave me, the bdss.exe file is part of my antivirus+firewall solution. so as the other bd process you can see in the picture. all current internet security suites i've tried have a lot of processes running 'cause the are a lot of different prottection. antivirus, antispyware firewall.. bla bla mcafee was like this. norton was like this bitdefender is like this. any way, they don't occupy much resources and i can play and use every other software [besides unpatched civ4].
for your solution for disabling every startup software, let's put like this: it would be either insane or dumb to disable internet security with an always on wide band connection to use a game with supposed many interesting multiplayer online features...get my point?
besides, like i already said, if it doesn't affect any other "3d" game or program then it shouldn't affect civ. if they have made it uncaple of running with a regular antivirus then it shouldn't have left the bench.
i regularly use msconfig to make sure my system is not overwhelmed by imbecil useless software that insist in autoloading itself on startup. besides internetsecurity i only autoload the specific software utilities for hardware.
i understand that many times the problems come for inocent users instead of faulty software, but your tips kind of reveal a inocent user too...
but thanks for you help anyway.
and praise Harkonnen for being able to get a patch outside sooner than fireaxis when he is reversely engineering the all god damn thing... surely reveals firaxis incompetence or lack of contempt for the consumers or both...

 

[Zydor]

Great News

Ask on the thread about the settings for the patch. There are 2 to change - and different values have a profound effect on the way it works - its very very worthwhile asking re your setup about tweeking the values a bit.

Happy World Domination

Regards
Zy

 

[MusclematXXX]

hiya
i totally understand you. im frustrated as well. i just received the game by mail today. everything went fine. the intro video played fine, sound was fine perrrrfect. then what happens!!the character animation is messed up. instead of gandis i get his glasses and teeth. but i can deal wirth that i dont really care bout some silly animation. but i get really pissed when the envionment is just black. i can see my units, can see a few pigs, can see my seetlement but i cant see the grass, the sea the colour of the sea, its all covered in shadows. that just takes the piss doesnt it!?

 

[Zydor]

Have you loaded the V1.09 Patch from Firaxis. If not, do that. If stillproblems, post again giving symptoms and attach a copy of your Dxdiag

Attach using the 'advance' button below. To get the copy:

Click Start button - select Run - type Dxdiag - hit enter - save using the "save all information" button - attach file to your post.

Someone can then pick up from there depending when you post it.

Regards
Zy

 

[Neon Deon]

"Neon Deon: as you could already have noticed in the link you gave me, the bdss.exe file is part of my antivirus+firewall solution. so as the other bd process you can see in the picture. all current internet security suites i've tried have a lot of processes running 'cause the are a lot of different prottection. antivirus, antispyware firewall.. bla bla mcafee was like this. norton was like this bitdefender is like this. any way, they don't occupy much resources and i can play and use every other software [besides unpatched civ4].
for your solution for disabling every startup software, let's put like this: it would be either insane or dumb to disable internet security with an always on wide band connection to use a game with supposed many interesting multiplayer online features...get my point?
besides, like i already said, if it doesn't affect any other "3d" game or program then it shouldn't affect civ. if they have made it uncaple of running with a regular antivirus then it shouldn't have left the bench.
i regularly use msconfig to make sure my system is not overwhelmed by imbecil useless software that insist in autoloading itself on startup. besides internetsecurity i only autoload the specific software utilities for hardware.
i understand that many times the problems come for inocent users instead of faulty software, but your tips kind of reveal a inocent user too...
but thanks for you help anyway."

Hi lord,

Firewalls are made for that. You dont need antivirus plugged in when playing an online game. Unless of course you tab out the game to check your EMail or decide to cruise the net while playing. What is insane is trying to trouble shoot with programs running in the back ground. Now that is truly insane.

BTW glad to see that you got further along in your game without crashing.

 

[lordjeremias]

gave up on civ4. went back to civ3. just noticed that firaxis released 1.5 patch. funny hey neon? for a perfect game it goes from 1.00 to 1.09 to 1.52... is it just me or does this mean that soon (by this rate) we will get civ5?
and i've also noticed that there already plenty of complaints from the patch. so i guess i will wait a moment longer to see if they relaease 1.6 with time, as they were obviously try to correct the S**t they made for xmas.
Neon: i need antivirus while playing. i'm on a domestic lan. with shared folders and permission to change some of them by my house mates. so, i believe (not sure about this.) that i need antivirus in case some of other lan pcs got infected they don't infect me. but, as i said, the synptoms for the problems weren't typical antivirus or too much cargo on the processor. if it dragged constant i would have known it was the AV. however. it was inconstant. now it dragged. now it didn't. now i crashed with error message. now it simply disapeared. now it freezed. now alt-tab workes. now it doesn'... sorry. but it's not AV compatibility error neither quarantine neither any other software that i have installed and works with every other softwre i use without problem, and like i said, i keep to the minimum the software loaded in memory. besides as soon as harkonnens patch allows me to have a more regular gameplay with a pattern [3 hours play as long as i didn't used too much advisors and screens) it seems pretty obvious that it was related to the memory (mis)management everybody was talking about. i was reading this forum, trying to sort things out. and discovered a lot of interesting things.
sorry if im beeing unpolite, but you are terribly partial for firaxis?... wolf in sheeps wool?
i said befor i understand many errors come from users not software, but you believe it's always everything else besides civ4. i've seen some of your other answers to other members. it even included bios upgrade. what in god's name does bios upgrade have to do with a lousy game?!?!you are bein unreasonable.
zydor i already had the 1.09 patch when i came here. thanks for your help but i'll wait for a steady (almost)error free version.
wish you luck with the game
jeremias