Lockup problem.

[deepace]

I just bought and installed CIV 4 after uninstalling Civ 3.
How do I know if my version has been patched to ver 1.52.I can't see any reference to the version on any of the screens.If I do need to install the patch,how do I know whether I need the regular one or the DIRECT2DRIVE version.
The opening cinematic sequence plays without a hitch but when I go to start a game,Tutorial or single player,everything is fine until Sid says "Hi ,I'm Sid Meier"or in the case of single player,until I get to select civilization and leader.After that the cursor freezes and the graphics go weird.
System....Pent 4 3ghz....1 gig ram.....Nividea Gforce 6600...OS Windows xp with update.....3 gig spare on hardrive after the installation.
Hope someone can help,I've been looking forward to this game.
Terry

 

[Bagpuss]

From the main menu, go to the advanced menu. There is an option in there that will give you build info. You can get the patch by selecting auto-update from the advanced menu.
If you've just bought and installed the game then it won't be patched. You need the Direct2Drive patch only if you bought the game Direct2Drive.

Your problems might go away once you've patched your installation (they seem to for most people), but then again they might not. Good luck.

 

[deepace]

Thanks for your reply,I've downloaded and installed the patch through the game advanced menu.It took 3 and a half hours and it's now 2am here in Australia and guess what.I'm not one of the lucky ones and still have the same problems.I forgot to mention before that the sound also stops when the cursor freezes.
Any ideas on what to try next?
Terry

 

[Zanmato]

Post your dxdiag log and we'll try and figure out the problem, your spec should be good enough. In fact, it is more than enough. I have more or less the same spec as you and have no problems only I'm running Win2k and a AMD processor.

To find the dxdiag log, Go to 'Start' --> Run.. --> Type 'dxdiag' and then 'save all information'. Then attach it to your next post and hopefully someone can offer suggestions of what to try next.

Are all the drivers up to date? The latest nvidia drivers are v81.98. A quick check in the dxdiag will tell you your current driver version. You can grab the latest from here if you need to update, http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_81.98.html.

 

[deepace]

Thanks for your help.Before seeing your reply,I tried turning off my antialiasing on the card,after reading some of the other posts.This seems to have fixed my problems.
Terry.

 

[deepace]

Post your dxdiag log and we'll try and figure out the problem, your spec should be good enough. In fact, it is more than enough. I have more or less the same spec as you and have no problems only I'm running Win2k and a AMD processor.

To find the dxdiag log, Go to 'Start' --> Run.. --> Type 'dxdiag' and then 'save all information'. Then attach it to your next post and hopefully someone can offer suggestions of what to try next.

Are all the drivers up to date? The latest nvidia drivers are v81.98. A quick check in the dxdiag will tell you your current driver version. You can grab the latest from here if you need to update, http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_81.98.html.

Thanks Rob.Although I fixed the problems, outlined in my original post,by having antialiasing set to 0 in Civ4 and to application controlled on my video card,this unfortunately has an adverse effect on my flightsim which needs to have antialiasing off in game and 'on' on the video card to get the best graphics.I'm getting around this by altering the video card settings each time depending whether I want to play Civ4 or use flightsimulator.
I think there must be something wrong and hope that you can help.
Terry

 

[Zanmato]

Your spec seems pretty good and it should play Civ4 without any problems in a ideal world. If you managed to fix the problems then great although it will be a pain to change the profile for the card settings every time you want to play another game other than Civ. Having AA on in Civ seems to cause all sorts of problems, it must eat the video memory slowing everything down to a gradual halt. Perhaps the next patch that will be out very soon with help smooth out this problem.

You could check the BIOS settings for the AGP aperture and set it to 128mb, this will allow a slighty increased performance for the card, it allows more of the system RAM to be used to store game graphics/textures. The setting will be under 'Advanced Chipset features' in most BIOS setups. If it is already on 128mb, try 256mb but 128mb should be more then enough. Then try both Civ and your flightsim and see how it goes with the AA.

 

[auldian]

I'm getting around this by altering the video card settings each time depending whether I want to play Civ4 or use flightsimulator.

This is an automatic function that's available in some of the driver manufacturers' software. Others may be able to refer you to a specific "tool" in the nvidia control panel to adjust the settings and launch the appropriate game easily.
My ATI Catalysts have a tray icon where I can launch my "profiles" and it's pretty handy once it's set up; the run the games for me when I activate them.

 

[deepace]

Thanks for the help guy's.
I'm looking forward to the new patch but I've found that in the meantime, I don't really have a problem with switching antialiasing and application controlled on the card.The reason being that I've found that every time I go on my computer,I'm playing Civ 4.What a great game.
Terry.

 

[Brian Boru]

3 gig spare on hardrive after the installation.

I know you've solved your immediate problem Terry, but that 3gig may cause you future grief--in general, not necessarily with Civ. It's very little to have free on what I assume [from the rest of your spec] is a large drive.

I think the rule of thumb is to try and keep around 20% of your drive free for decent HD performance. For IDE drives anyway, I don't know about SATA. I suggest uninstalling and deleting whatever you can, and then a good defrag session