Mac User In Desperation

[Mac_Fool]

Ok, so I'll try to say this without breaking out into tears.

I own a copy of both Civilization 3 (From years ago) and a copy of Civilization 3 Complete.
I currently am using a Macbook with Version 10.5.8 OS, 2.4 GHz INtel Core 2 Duo, with 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory.


Thus far, after almost 2 months of constant effort, I have had no luck in getting my game to work.

1: My copy of Civ3 Complete fails to load. It is installed, patched, etc, and when I attempt to start the game, it "bounces" a few times on the dock before disappearing.

2: My copy of Civ3 Complete works perfectly on my fathers computer (Desktop IMac, less Memory, same age), both standard and using mods. I often find myself playing on his computer, but that limits the amount of time I can invest in the greatest game in history.

3: I have attempted to re-install my CIV3 from years ago after finding it in a box, and was unable to get it to work as a result of the "Display Error" listed in this forum.


Therefore, I am all but hopeless. I have no idea at which point my mistake is being made, whether it is my computer, my game (on disc), my game (installation), or my patching/updating. Any help you can give me will be incredibly helpful, because I don't know how much longer I can go on playing on my fathers computer, especially as I am likely moving out at the end of the year, and couldn't imagine not having this game. A quick solution, a long solution, or even just a step-by-step reiteration of the appropriate steps with links would be greatly helpful.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Your hardware is very similar to what's in my Mini, except that I have 4 gb memory. The game played fine before I upgraded to 10.6 and still does.

Just to make it clear, are you talking about installing -

the Mac version of C3C in OSX
or
the Windows version into some kind of a virtual machine ?

Have you tried deleting everything civ-related & then reinstalling?
Have you tried installing & starting the game without the patch?

EDIT: Not sure it would work, but in your situation I'd also try copying his installation onto your computer via an external drive.

 

[AlanH]

Hi, welcome

Your problem with Civ3 Complete sounds a lot like the old problem with Quicktime 7.6. That disappeared when the later OS X Leopard patches appeared, but I wonder if you have somehow missed out on a Quicktime update. Might be worth downloading Quicktime from the Apple site and installing it.

The old MacSoft version dies on impact with Leopard and Intel CPUs, so there's no way you can get that running on your rig.

 

[md2112]

Completely agree with Alan about the old version, just won't work. You can try turning off any/all multi-touch trackpad preference settings as that causes Civ III complete to crash. That was my fix for new macbook pro running 10.6, not sure if it applies to 10.5.8.

 

[Mac_Fool]

Ok well it appears that I had NOT updated my Quicktime, so I will give that a shot and hope that it works. I won't be able to try until I get home but hopefully.

Also, I will try once without the 1.22 REV patch found through the links at the top, and if that fails I will try with it. I will let you know if it fails, and if it does, beg for more help.

 

[AlanH]

Quicktime is very likely to be your problem if you haven't updated it.

You shouldn't have any problems with the rev A patch. It makes the game into a Universal Binary that will run native on your Intel CPU, so you really should use it.

 

[Mac_Fool]

Ok, so still no luck guys. Starting completely from scratch, installed, put the patch in the folder as per instructions, and when I attempt to start the game, it "bounces" on the dock a dozen or so times then disappears. I do not even get the message telling me my "computer is not powerful enough" that occurs when I attempt to start the game directly off the disc. Also, when I attempt to start the game directly off the disc, as I thought might work, it says "must have at least 1 MB of space to run" so that isn't going to work.

Really, I have no idea what to do. Any suggestions, whether I should attempt to copy the files from the disc to the computer another way "not sure if this makes any sense" or if there is a way around this problem that has been heard before? I'm techno-incompetent, so really I'll try anything. I would hate to have to wait until Civilization 5

 

[Mac_Fool]

Your hardware is very similar to what's in my Mini, except that I have 4 gb memory. The game played fine before I upgraded to 10.6 and still does.

Just to make it clear, are you talking about installing -

the Mac version of C3C in OSX
or
the Windows version into some kind of a virtual machine ?

Have you tried deleting everything civ-related & then reinstalling?
Have you tried installing & starting the game without the patch?

EDIT: Not sure it would work, but in your situation I'd also try copying his installation onto your computer via an external drive.

I am attempting to use the mac version in OSX.

 

[Mac_Fool]

Completely agree with Alan about the old version, just won't work. You can try turning off any/all multi-touch trackpad preference settings as that causes Civ III complete to crash. That was my fix for new macbook pro running 10.6, not sure if it applies to 10.5.8.

Could you explain precisely how one might do so?

 

[AlanH]

Ok, so still no luck guys. Starting completely from scratch, installed, put the patch in the folder as per instructions,

Which patch? You don't just put the rev A patch in the folder. You have to run it. It's an installer. Also, in my experience, you have to copy the installer from the disk image onto your desktop and run it from there.

and when I attempt to start the game, it "bounces" on the dock a dozen or so times then disappears. I do not even get the message telling me my "computer is not powerful enough" that occurs when I attempt to start the game directly off the disc. Also, when I attempt to start the game directly off the disc, as I thought might work, it says "must have at least 1 MB of space to run" so that isn't going to work.

You can't run the game from the disk. You have to install it onto your hard drive.

Really, I have no idea what to do. Any suggestions, whether I should attempt to copy the files from the disc to the computer another way "not sure if this makes any sense" or if there is a way around this problem that has been heard before? I'm techno-incompetent, so really I'll try anything. I would hate to have to wait until Civilization 5

There's nothing magic about this. Here are the steps:

1. Drag-copy the Civ III Complete folder from the DVD into your Applications folder.

2. Download the Rev A patch and mount it as a disk image.

3. Drag-copy the Rev A patch installer from the disk image onto your desktop and double click it.

4. When the patch installer has finished, you should be able to run Civ3.

 

[md2112]

Could you explain precisely how one might do so?

On my system I would Go to System Preferences, Click on trackpad. there you will see all the options available for one, two, and three finger actions. Uncheck all the options and quit preferences. I think 10.5.8 would be similar, but may not match exactly.

 

[creamcheese]

This might sound odd, but have you tried starting the game from your applications folder rather than on the doc? I used to have weird problems in older versions of OSX where things would bounce a couple times, but nothing happened; then I'd use the icon in applications, and it would run fine.