wildandhairy
Chieftain
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2006
- Messages
- 5
Hi. I previously posted concerns I had about how well Civ 4 runs. I can't find that forum, and apologize up front for posting here. But there is something a little useful in what I found out.
Civ 4 was slowing to a crawl on my machine, as the game went ahead and the world got more complex. I have a Toshiba notebook, P4 3 ghz chip, half a gig of RAM. I more than met the ideal specs.
Getting practical help from Take 2 (well, they have their own problems, sadly), firaxis etc. was not easy. Eventually it was suggested that my ATI Radeon 9000 video card's drivers might need updating.
ATI had zippo about my video card on its site, and eventually I was reduced to phoning them (no email address provided for contacting support!!). ATI advised that because Toshiba bought the video card from them, it considered it proprietary. Toshiba then cut ATI out of the picture, even about harmless stuff like upgrade/patch information.
So I had to go to the Toshiba site, which also was not that great, but apparently did find the right drivers. I tried some of the game, on a settler level just to rush thru it, last night. I'm in the 1800's, and so far so good.
So. Upgrading video drivers might solve problems if your game is running slow.
Second, if you have a notebook, you may be better off going to the notebook manufacturer for upgrades than going to the companies that actually made the individual parts.
As for the rest, while waiting for Civ 4 to work I went back to Civ 3. It sure was fun! When I went back to 4, I kept trying to drag units to where they should go, instead of right clicking.
Despite the bells & whistles, I find the playability in 4 skewed. With 3 you get could started quickly. Your first warrior often took just five turns. Good luck in getting a warrior started in 4 in under 12 turns. The result is that while the opening gameplay in Civ 3 was fast and exciting, in Civ 4 once you've explored the world there is nothing to do but keep clicking and waiting until you finally can start building settlers, and then waiting longer until you can finally start producing some serious military units. The game seems more skewed towards a military victory than ever before. And the end part of the game has been severely truncated.
How anybody could win the space race is beyond, given the length of time it takes to build anything.
Anyway, sorry for posting here & letting me vent.
Civ 4 was slowing to a crawl on my machine, as the game went ahead and the world got more complex. I have a Toshiba notebook, P4 3 ghz chip, half a gig of RAM. I more than met the ideal specs.
Getting practical help from Take 2 (well, they have their own problems, sadly), firaxis etc. was not easy. Eventually it was suggested that my ATI Radeon 9000 video card's drivers might need updating.
ATI had zippo about my video card on its site, and eventually I was reduced to phoning them (no email address provided for contacting support!!). ATI advised that because Toshiba bought the video card from them, it considered it proprietary. Toshiba then cut ATI out of the picture, even about harmless stuff like upgrade/patch information.
So I had to go to the Toshiba site, which also was not that great, but apparently did find the right drivers. I tried some of the game, on a settler level just to rush thru it, last night. I'm in the 1800's, and so far so good.
So. Upgrading video drivers might solve problems if your game is running slow.
Second, if you have a notebook, you may be better off going to the notebook manufacturer for upgrades than going to the companies that actually made the individual parts.
As for the rest, while waiting for Civ 4 to work I went back to Civ 3. It sure was fun! When I went back to 4, I kept trying to drag units to where they should go, instead of right clicking.
Despite the bells & whistles, I find the playability in 4 skewed. With 3 you get could started quickly. Your first warrior often took just five turns. Good luck in getting a warrior started in 4 in under 12 turns. The result is that while the opening gameplay in Civ 3 was fast and exciting, in Civ 4 once you've explored the world there is nothing to do but keep clicking and waiting until you finally can start building settlers, and then waiting longer until you can finally start producing some serious military units. The game seems more skewed towards a military victory than ever before. And the end part of the game has been severely truncated.
How anybody could win the space race is beyond, given the length of time it takes to build anything.
Anyway, sorry for posting here & letting me vent.
