New v1.74 Mac Patch Available for Civ4 'Vanilla'

Yes. When they were producing the Mac versions there were no updates around for the Windows version, so they didn't notice that the menu option did the wrong thing. That's their excuse, anyway :p
 
I have downloaded the 1.74 patch but I have been reluctant to install it due to reading here about problems with loading games created in the earlier version. Can I make a copy of the entire CIV directory, hide it from the installer (in a directory with an unexpected name), install 1.74 on the original directory, and then have my choice which one to use?
 
Yes, you can make a full copy of your existing Civ4 application directory.

No, you don't have to hide it from the patch installer, as it asks you which copy you want to update.

Yes, you can choose which one to use after patching one of them, as you can make aliases of each of the Civilization IV application files and launch the one you want.

Please note, though, that I have not explored whether it's possible to spilt the ~/Documents/ folders to make one for each version. Unless you find a way to do this, they will both share your ~/Documents/Civilization IV/ folder, where your Saves and .ini file live. Your Civ4 settings will therefore apply to both, and autosaves from one will be overwritten by games played in the other.
 
Please note, though, that I have not explored whether it's possible to spilt the ~/Documents/ folders to make one for each version. Unless you find a way to do this, they will both share your ~/Documents/Civilization IV/ folder, where your Saves and .ini file live. Your Civ4 settings will therefore apply to both, and autosaves from one will be overwritten by games played in the other.

How about if I make a copy of the CIV folder in Documents and give it a different name? Then I would decide which one was for 1.74 and which one was for 1.61. Before launching either version, I would rename the appropriate Documents folder as CIV and the other one as the "dummy" name. If I switched to the other CIV version, I would switch the names of the two Documents folders before launching.
 
That would work, but it would be a bit labour intensive, and might be error-prone. I guess you could create two workflows, one for each version. Each one would do the relevant folder renames and launch the relevant copy of Civ4.
 
Ok, slightly wierd error..... I upgraded to Leopard today, and for some reason i decided that i wanted to start from scratch - so i totally wiped the hard disc and installed leopard.... and now 6 hours later, when ive got most of the software installed again, ive run into a bizarre problem.

Basicly, ive installed the vanilla Civ 4... ive downloaded the patch. Ive run the patch.... it gets to the bit where it searches your HDD for your Civ 4 installation.... and then... well, see for yourself, in Picture 1 below.
Then when i try and locate the Civ4 app manually, its greyed out (Picture 2).


I guess im asking two questions.
Question 1: WTH?
Question 2: any bright ideas?
 

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Did you run Civ4 at all after the initial installation? Since it is a drag install, there is no Receipt created in the system library until you first run it. If you haven't run Civ4, it's possible that the patch installer tries to look for the Receipt to track down your copy of Civ4, and fails.

Another possibility is that it needs some indexing to have been done by the system before it can detect your copy of the Civ4 application. Disk indexing is done by various housekeeping processes overnight, but you can make them happen immediately if you Google for the relevant Terminal commands.

The Civ4 related installers have always been a bit iffy in my experience, and it wouldn't entirely surprise me if Leopard has broken them.
 
Yeah, but jesus... even if it needed a reciept to track down the install location, then surely you'd at least be able to do it manually?
 
Oh, and ive run it a few times since installing, ive even had the computer on all night downloading software updates, so it shoulda set up that reciept by now... And yet, it still breaks.

I dunno, do you think i could patch it manually if i had all the updated files?
 
I agree, the fact that you get a grayed out Civ4 folder when you try to look for it manually is disturbing. That was the main reason I put the "possibly broken by Leopard" comment in. I suggest you contact Aspyr support if you haven't already.

Sure, you could patch it manually if you had all the files. You *might* be able to extract them from the patch installer using a piece of software called Pacifist.
 
Sure, you could patch it manually if you had all the files. You *might* be able to extract them from the patch installer using a piece of software called Pacifist.

Oh? Tell me more. I guess the only difficulty would lie in knowing which files went where, but im sure spotlight could help sort that out. :)
 
I've just tried running the 1.74 installer here, BTW, and it fails in exactly the same way as yours did - both screen shots matched. So it looks like a generic Leopard incompatibility.

I've tried Pacifist. It looks like it might allow you to extract the files for version 1.74 from the patch installer, but I don't know whether they will work when you move them into position in a live Civ4 application folder.

The procedure is:

1. Download and install Pacifist v. 2.5.1. I got it at MacUpdate

2. Mount the Civ4 1.74 Patch installer disk image, right click the Installer within it and select "Show Package Contents".

3. Navigate within the installer package to /Contents/Resources/Civ4Patch.pkg. Copy this package to a location on your hard drive, eg your desktop.

4. Launch Pacifist and drag the Civ4Patch.pkg file onto its window to open it.

5. Highlight the Folder called "AspyrLinkToGameFolder" and click the toolbar icon to Extract the folder to a location of your choice.

6. Make a copy of your working Civ4 v1.61 folder and move the contents of the extracted AspyrLinkToGameFolder folder into it, using the following recursive procedure. I'll call the folder hierarchy within AspyrLinkToGameFolder the "Source Tree" and the folder hierarchy within your Civ4 folder the "Target Tree".

Starting at the top level of both Folder Trees:

A. For each FILE in the Source, move it to the Target, replacing any version that already exists. For each FOLDER in the Source that DOES NOT EXIST in the Target, move it to the Target.

B. For each FOLDER in the Source that DOES EXIST in the Target, OPEN the two equivalent Folders in the two Trees and repeat from step A.

The basic objective of the above is to replace and add files into the correct locations in the Target, but never to replace existing folders.

I'll be interested to hear how you get on. The dangerous and unknown quantity is the "AspyrDocWrapper" executable lurking in the Installer. I've no idea what that does. Hopefully it only checks that you have a valid Civ4 installation, and handles the selection dialogs that are breaking in Leopard. If it needs to do any more stuff to activate the installation then we may be out of luck.
 
6. Make a copy of your working Civ4 v1.61 folder and move the contents of the extracted AspyrLinkToGameFolder folder into it, using the following recursive procedure. I'll call the folder hierarchy within AspyrLinkToGameFolder the "Source Tree" and the folder hierarchy within your Civ4 folder the "Target Tree".

1.61? Mine's fresh off the DVD... isnt that like, v 1.0?
 
No. Aspyr ported Firaxis version 1.61. Check the version number in Get Info.
 
I've submitted a ticket on Aspyr's Support site.
 
Well, its a very long and tedious process, but manually patching works fine, no difficulties at all, and no mysterious files either. :)
Civ 4 is running great~
 
That would work, but it would be a bit labour intensive, and might be error-prone. I guess you could create two workflows, one for each version. Each one would do the relevant folder renames and launch the relevant copy of Civ4.

That's what I was thinking of doing, after trying it out manually. Thanks for the input. :)
 
Well, its a very long and tedious process, but manually patching works fine, no difficulties at all, and no mysterious files either. :)
Civ 4 is running great~

I've had a reply from Aspyr. Basically, it says Civ4 was not designed to run with Leopard, and have a nice day.
 
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