Missing the Beyond the Sword cd!? What now!?

[Javiar]

So, I have my original Civ IV, Warlords in their cases but I am missing one thing... Disk 1 of Beyond the Sword. I have disk 2 though.

What are my options guys? Do I have to buy Civ IV Complete/Gold edition on steam now to play Beyond the Sword? I checked every cd case in my house (took like an hour) and couldn't find it. And, since it appears Civ does not have any authorization keys, I cannot put Civ IV and Warlords on steam.


If I bought beyond the sword would I be able to play it even though I don't have the other two on steam but still installed? Or what?

Do I have to:

Buy Civ IV complete on steam

or,

Buy Civ IV beyond the sword on steam

 

[gps]

Well, you could as well try to get a disk based replacement:

http://www.amazon.com/Sid-Meiers-Ci...id=1399907488&sr=8-9&keywords=civilization+iv
http://www.amazon.com/Civilization-...id=1399907542&sr=8-6&keywords=civilization+iv
http://www.amazon.com/Sid-Meiers-Ci...7585&sr=8-2&keywords=civilization+iv+complete

None of them is really that expanisve. And then you should make sure to update your BTS to 3.19(which removes CD-checks so you can play without insertin the CD) and make sure you keep your game CD in a save place.

P.S.: I don't think STEAM based BTS would work with disk based Vanilla so you would need to buy Complete from STEAM to make it work.

 

[Javiar]

Well, you could as well try to get a disk based replacement:

http://www.amazon.com/Sid-Meiers-Ci...id=1399907488&sr=8-9&keywords=civilization+iv
http://www.amazon.com/Civilization-...id=1399907542&sr=8-6&keywords=civilization+iv
http://www.amazon.com/Sid-Meiers-Ci...7585&sr=8-2&keywords=civilization+iv+complete

None of them is really that expanisve. And then you should make sure to update your BTS to 3.19(which removes CD-checks so you can play without insertin the CD) and make sure you keep your game CD in a save place.

P.S.: I don't think STEAM based BTS would work with disk based Vanilla so you would need to buy Complete from STEAM to make it work.

Hey thanks for the reply! I think I will then simply buy a cd of beyond the sword, much cheaper than buying Civ IV for 20 dollars, then Warlords for 5 and Beyond the Sword for 10... (Man Civ IV still costs 20 dollars!? wow!)

Will it ask me automatically if I want to update my Beyond the Sword to that patch or will I have to do that manually?

Thanks again

 

[lymond]

I played Civ for years with Van/Warlords on disk and BTS from download. Steam BTS would not work, but other DD services should.

(you can also wait for sales)

patches are updated manually

 

[Javiar]

Download from what places? I just ordered one for 3 dollars on amazon and shipping for 3 so about 6 dollars

What other options are there maybe I can cancel it quick if there is a cheap online alternative

EDIT:

By the way, is Civ Colonization any good? (The Civ IV based one)

 

[lymond]

3 dollars is great...I wouldn't mess with that. If you want an online version (Steam or whatevah) some day, just keep an eye out for sales. Steam, Gamersgate, Gamefly, etc. You can't misplace the online version.

Civ IV Colonization is pretty good, especially with some of the mods you can find here.

 

[gps]

Hey thanks for the reply! I think I will then simply buy a cd of beyond the sword, much cheaper than buying Civ IV for 20 dollars, then Warlords for 5 and Beyond the Sword for 10... (Man Civ IV still costs 20 dollars!? wow!)

Download from what places? I just ordered one for 3 dollars on amazon and shipping for 3 so about 6 dollars

You really made my day today and rekindled my hope for the survival of the human race.
So great to see people still beeing able to actually compare prices and make a proper decision where to get games cheapest - instead of brainlessly following STEAM propaganda. Yes, really, it's totally incredible but true: boxed games sometimes are a whole lot cheaper than STEAM!!!

By the way, is Civ Colonization any good? (The Civ IV based one)

Well, it's a mixed bag and especially fans of the original Colonization game were very disappointed. It requires a very specific strategy to win it otherwise you won't stand a chance. Until you got it figured out (or read a strategy guide) it's very hard and very frustrating. Once you got how it works it turns into a piece of cake and can actually won with hardly any effort and with a minimum of cities, soldiers and other stuff. So it's more like a puzzle than a strategy game and in terms of complexity or replayability it does not equal Civ Iv in any way. But there are some mods that seem to make it much more interesting.

 

[s.bernbaum]

Will it ask me automatically if I want to update my Beyond the Sword to that patch or will I have to do that manually?

patches are updated manually

Don't use the in-game updater. It no longer works, since it tries to access a now non-existant web site. However, it does not give you any message that there was a problem, so you have no indication that it did not work until you try to play without the disc in a drive and cannot do so. (The in-game updater never worked well even in its best days.)

Instead, download the patch from the CFF "Patches & Updates" page, linked in the drop down menu "Civ4" at the top of every CFF page. Don't use the Firaxis link when you find the Patch page. That is the one that no longer exists. Use any one of the others.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

By the way, is Civ Colonization any good? (The Civ IV based one)

There's a mod called The Authentic Colonization. Without it the answer is probably no, with it the answer is a very strong yes. My opinion of course.

 

[Drakarska]

There's a mod called The Authentic Colonization. Without it the answer is probably no, with it the answer is a very strong yes. My opinion of course.

Agree with Tim as well, TAC mod takes COL up a couple of notches. It's successor RAR mod makes it even better.

 

[Lennier]

One other thing: if you're playing on a Mac, you still need the disk even if updated to 3.19. Rather annoying if your laptop is assassinated with your BTS disc in the drive

 

[reddishrecue]

You can still play bts without the CD, but you won't be able to reinstall it if the computer crashes or something. I had my civilization 4 break, so I called the company and ordered a new CD and got it shipped.. I even got an additional DVD with the new CDs.

 

[Javiar]

Hello everyone, thank you all for your replies!

An update, I simply kept the order and I am quite happy with it. It was even still in the wrapping! I missed the smell of a new cd case!

For the patches, they seemed to have worked by doing the "Check for Updates". I can play the game without the CD, I have just checked. I had to do it twice though, since It said I had to have admin rights to use the setup or something like that, had to download the patch twice. Probably listened to the BTS theme song 5 times in a row!

About colonization, I will maybe try it soon then with some of those mods. I have good trust in the modding community

Thanks all again! Time to play