Wolfmand
Chieftain
December 22, 2010
Loaded Civ V around 9 PM with the idea of playing a small to medium world with the hope that I could actually complete a CIV V game; and I immediately noticed that Steam was downloading a CIV V patch, which, according to the patch details:
"Sid Meier's Civilization® V Update Released
Product Update - Valve
09:47
Updates to Sid Meier's Civilization® V have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted:
[STABILITY]
- Fix for various rare crash bugs
Thinking maybe 2K/Firaxis considered the (not to me and others) huge map crashes "rare", I exited CIV V and Steam, restarted as noted by the announcement, and then I loaded last night's quick save instead of starting a new small to medium world game as originally planned.
I should have known better.
I made a couple of unit moves in the immediate area shown on-screen which is in north-eastern Russia (in other words, I did NOT scroll or click "unit needs orders"), then did a quick save, and then clicked on "unit needs orders."
The game scrolled towards Australia - and crashed.
Tried DirectX9. Same thing.
I downloaded and installed the latest nVidia drivers yesterday afternoon. Checked the FAQs here this morning and made certain I had done everything possible.
Sigh. OK. Maybe it crashed this time because each new patch requires a completely new game - which I tried when the previous patch came out, as noted below in December 21, 2010. I'll try that yet again. FWIW, if this is true, then CIV V is the ONLY game that I've encountered and played that is NOT backward compatible when patched.
On another note though, I am very curious:
Has anyone completed a full CIV V conquest/domination game with the following parameters?
1. Marathon
2. Huge map (I keep trying Terra)
3. Units located across the entire map (NA, SA, Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia)
4. All-out conquest; i.e. wipe nearly every city the AI has off the map.
If so, what are your system specs??? I, and probably quite a few others, would like to know so we can actually complete a game without a crash!
What I've noticed (and others have noticed and posted about on various CIV V forums), is that huge games crash when the system/game scrolls across a huge world map.
A huge map game CAN be completed under certain circumstances:
Time victory? As long as one stays local and doesn't scroll to the other side of a huge map, no problem.
Science victory? Same thing again; as long as one stays local and doesn't scroll to the other side of a huge map.
Diplomatic victory? Same thing.
Cultural victory? Same thing.
Domination victory?
OOPS. Have to move units to wherever the various AIs are on a huge map, which means scrolling and subsequent rendering, which means CRASH. Absolutely NO exceptions.
For that matter, if one is going for ANY victory, and gets satellite tech which reveals the entire map as shown in the lower right hand corner, and then manually scrolls to an area some distance away, guess what? CRASH.
No exceptions.
I've spent more time finding out exactly when a crash occurs on huge maps than actually playing a huge map game uninterrupted by crashes.
Anyways, what follows is the pre-December 22 2010/post-December 16th 2010 patch observations.
December 21, 2010
From the CIV V FAQ:
"6# Civilization V Crashes on Large Maps
It is most probably due to the fact that you have LOW memory (RAM). You can avoid crashes by terminating other process that might be consuming your memory."
Not - exactly.
8 Gig ram on Win 7 64-bit (more specs below.)
The latest patch did NOT fix the late-game crashes.
System specs (dxdiag is nice!):
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100618-1621)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: alienware
System Model: alienware
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @3.2GHz (4 CPUs)
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8190MB RAM
Page File: 1747MB used, 6696MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 64bit Unicode
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 460
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0E22&SUBSYS_13713842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4065 MB (x2)
Dedicated Memory: 993 MB (x2)
Shared Memory: 3071 MB (x2)
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz) (x2)
Monitor Name: Samsung (x2)
Monitor Model: SMB2230
Monitor Id: SAM063F
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver Version: 8.17.12.6099
DDI Version: 10.1
The rest of the dxdiag results are, as far as I know, do not pertain to the system performance.
Per everything I've read to date, this machine far exceeds the recommended requirements to run Civ V. Well, maybe; it's four years old; then again, note the manufacturer: Alienware. Alienware BEFORE Dell took them over, when Alienware meant Incredibly Good Solid High-end Stable Machines.
Hmmm. Mebbe comp manufacturers can use CIV V to stress-test their machines?
ANYways, if I play a large or huge world, I have to turn down ALL graphic resolutions to the "Low" setting AND set resolution to 1680 x 1050 to get past approximately 1100 AD without the game crashing.
So. On the evening of December 19th, AFTER the much-announced and anticipated patch had been downloaded and installed, and the computer rebooted afterwards, I started a completely new game (huge world, marathon, Terra) , first making sure everything non-essential to the running of the machine had been terminated.
My last good save was 1,332 moves in, AD 2034. OK, OK, I'm a CIV addict, though if 2K/Fireaxis doesn't resolve the CIV V crashes soon, I'm going back to CIV IV:BtS.
I had literally nothing except bare-bones tasks running; i.e. no user apps, no hidden-behind-the-scenes tasks like acrotray, etc. (task manager can be nice!)
Running it at lower resolutions does not work (for example, 1280 x 1024). Turning all graphics to bare minimum does not work. What I'd like to know, 2K/Firaxis, is why design a game that looks good at high resolutions and then force the player to use very low resolutions just to get past 1100 AD in a marathon game? What's up with that, 2K/Firaxis?
As noted earlier, loading the last good save locates me in north central Europe when game resumes, with a "unit needs orders" displayed. No matter what combination of moves I try before clicking "unit needs orders", such as moving other units, etc., going to the "unit needs orders" in Australia crashes the game. This happens regardless of whether I click "unit needs orders", or click on Australia on the world map, or move a little bit at a time using the global map in the lower right corner to let the system finish rendering each section of the screen, etc. etc. etc.
As soon as Australia shows up in the main screen: CRASH. No matter what.
The lower half of Australia is rendered; the top half is not. I'm still trying to get a screen capture of that, but no luck yet; screen captures thus far show only solid black.
The late-game huge-world crashes have been reported on various CIV V forums since early October by quite a few people, many with machines comparable (and some better) than mine; even after the December 16th patch.
I have never encountered such a buggy program in my life, and I've worked in the computer industry since 1969. Even alpha programs (think big corporations) in development environments have never been this buggy.
Try to contact Steam, 2k, Firaxis? Hah. Haven't found a way yet to get a real person on the other end.
Time to post this to other forums as well and see if that gets any results.
Loaded Civ V around 9 PM with the idea of playing a small to medium world with the hope that I could actually complete a CIV V game; and I immediately noticed that Steam was downloading a CIV V patch, which, according to the patch details:
"Sid Meier's Civilization® V Update Released
Product Update - Valve
09:47
Updates to Sid Meier's Civilization® V have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted:
[STABILITY]
- Fix for various rare crash bugs
Thinking maybe 2K/Firaxis considered the (not to me and others) huge map crashes "rare", I exited CIV V and Steam, restarted as noted by the announcement, and then I loaded last night's quick save instead of starting a new small to medium world game as originally planned.
I should have known better.
I made a couple of unit moves in the immediate area shown on-screen which is in north-eastern Russia (in other words, I did NOT scroll or click "unit needs orders"), then did a quick save, and then clicked on "unit needs orders."
The game scrolled towards Australia - and crashed.
Tried DirectX9. Same thing.
I downloaded and installed the latest nVidia drivers yesterday afternoon. Checked the FAQs here this morning and made certain I had done everything possible.
Sigh. OK. Maybe it crashed this time because each new patch requires a completely new game - which I tried when the previous patch came out, as noted below in December 21, 2010. I'll try that yet again. FWIW, if this is true, then CIV V is the ONLY game that I've encountered and played that is NOT backward compatible when patched.
On another note though, I am very curious:
Has anyone completed a full CIV V conquest/domination game with the following parameters?
1. Marathon
2. Huge map (I keep trying Terra)
3. Units located across the entire map (NA, SA, Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia)
4. All-out conquest; i.e. wipe nearly every city the AI has off the map.
If so, what are your system specs??? I, and probably quite a few others, would like to know so we can actually complete a game without a crash!
What I've noticed (and others have noticed and posted about on various CIV V forums), is that huge games crash when the system/game scrolls across a huge world map.
A huge map game CAN be completed under certain circumstances:
Time victory? As long as one stays local and doesn't scroll to the other side of a huge map, no problem.
Science victory? Same thing again; as long as one stays local and doesn't scroll to the other side of a huge map.
Diplomatic victory? Same thing.
Cultural victory? Same thing.
Domination victory?
OOPS. Have to move units to wherever the various AIs are on a huge map, which means scrolling and subsequent rendering, which means CRASH. Absolutely NO exceptions.
For that matter, if one is going for ANY victory, and gets satellite tech which reveals the entire map as shown in the lower right hand corner, and then manually scrolls to an area some distance away, guess what? CRASH.
No exceptions.
I've spent more time finding out exactly when a crash occurs on huge maps than actually playing a huge map game uninterrupted by crashes.
Anyways, what follows is the pre-December 22 2010/post-December 16th 2010 patch observations.
December 21, 2010
From the CIV V FAQ:
"6# Civilization V Crashes on Large Maps
It is most probably due to the fact that you have LOW memory (RAM). You can avoid crashes by terminating other process that might be consuming your memory."
Not - exactly.
8 Gig ram on Win 7 64-bit (more specs below.)
The latest patch did NOT fix the late-game crashes.
System specs (dxdiag is nice!):
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100618-1621)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: alienware
System Model: alienware
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @3.2GHz (4 CPUs)
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8190MB RAM
Page File: 1747MB used, 6696MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 64bit Unicode
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 460
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0E22&SUBSYS_13713842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4065 MB (x2)
Dedicated Memory: 993 MB (x2)
Shared Memory: 3071 MB (x2)
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz) (x2)
Monitor Name: Samsung (x2)
Monitor Model: SMB2230
Monitor Id: SAM063F
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver Version: 8.17.12.6099
DDI Version: 10.1
The rest of the dxdiag results are, as far as I know, do not pertain to the system performance.
Per everything I've read to date, this machine far exceeds the recommended requirements to run Civ V. Well, maybe; it's four years old; then again, note the manufacturer: Alienware. Alienware BEFORE Dell took them over, when Alienware meant Incredibly Good Solid High-end Stable Machines.
Hmmm. Mebbe comp manufacturers can use CIV V to stress-test their machines?
ANYways, if I play a large or huge world, I have to turn down ALL graphic resolutions to the "Low" setting AND set resolution to 1680 x 1050 to get past approximately 1100 AD without the game crashing.
So. On the evening of December 19th, AFTER the much-announced and anticipated patch had been downloaded and installed, and the computer rebooted afterwards, I started a completely new game (huge world, marathon, Terra) , first making sure everything non-essential to the running of the machine had been terminated.
My last good save was 1,332 moves in, AD 2034. OK, OK, I'm a CIV addict, though if 2K/Fireaxis doesn't resolve the CIV V crashes soon, I'm going back to CIV IV:BtS.
I had literally nothing except bare-bones tasks running; i.e. no user apps, no hidden-behind-the-scenes tasks like acrotray, etc. (task manager can be nice!)
Running it at lower resolutions does not work (for example, 1280 x 1024). Turning all graphics to bare minimum does not work. What I'd like to know, 2K/Firaxis, is why design a game that looks good at high resolutions and then force the player to use very low resolutions just to get past 1100 AD in a marathon game? What's up with that, 2K/Firaxis?
As noted earlier, loading the last good save locates me in north central Europe when game resumes, with a "unit needs orders" displayed. No matter what combination of moves I try before clicking "unit needs orders", such as moving other units, etc., going to the "unit needs orders" in Australia crashes the game. This happens regardless of whether I click "unit needs orders", or click on Australia on the world map, or move a little bit at a time using the global map in the lower right corner to let the system finish rendering each section of the screen, etc. etc. etc.
As soon as Australia shows up in the main screen: CRASH. No matter what.
The lower half of Australia is rendered; the top half is not. I'm still trying to get a screen capture of that, but no luck yet; screen captures thus far show only solid black.
The late-game huge-world crashes have been reported on various CIV V forums since early October by quite a few people, many with machines comparable (and some better) than mine; even after the December 16th patch.
I have never encountered such a buggy program in my life, and I've worked in the computer industry since 1969. Even alpha programs (think big corporations) in development environments have never been this buggy.
Try to contact Steam, 2k, Firaxis? Hah. Haven't found a way yet to get a real person on the other end.
Time to post this to other forums as well and see if that gets any results.
