No-cd and windowed mode

[Weboh]

Hey,
I want to play Civ III in windowed mode. I've seen the sticky on the forum, but I don't want to run a VM, and I would prefer true windowed mode. I've done some Googling and can't find a way, but I haven't found anything recent either. Has anything changed in recent years? Also, I don't have the expansion, so even if that were the only option available, I don't know what file I would change or anything.

Also, I want to play without the CD. I know how to get no-cd cracks, but I need to get the crack for the right version. I have no idea what version I'm running because file properties and the readme and game box don't tell. Also, I don't see a way in-game to update to get a newer version if that's the only way to use a no-cd.

A little help?
Thanks.

 

[tjs282]

Can't help with the windowed mode, not sure if it's even possible without VM-ing.

The release-version/ patch number of your installation is displayed on the game launch-screen (i.e. where you choose 'New Game', 'Load Game', etc.'), in the lower-left hand corner (e.g. 'v.1.07' if you installed Vanilla Civ3 from an Atari-CD, as I did originally). The last-released patches for each version (as supplied with Civ3Complete) are:

Vanilla: 1.29
Play the World: 1.27
Conquests: 1.22

If you have an earlier patch-version(s), the patch(es) you need is/are available here at CFC; be aware that these patches still require a CD to run.

The only legal NoCD-'cracks' for CD-based installations (plus any needed patches) that I'm aware of, are those supplied by Firaxis to (the readers of) the German PCGames magazine, to fix a 'front-cover freebie' version of Civ3Vanilla+PtW+Conquests, which did not contain the latest game-versions (and patching up to the latest versions, via CFC and similar sources, broke the freebie-installation). These NoCD.exe files (for Vanilla and Conquests only, Firaxis/ PCGames removed the PtW NoCD.exe from the package at some point) can be obtained from the magazine's website, but are not intended to replace the original .exes, they work in tandem with them. So you should patch your installation(s) up to the latest version(s) first: instructions for installing the NoCD.exe files can be found here.

Obtaining non-legal cracks is your own affair, and at your own risk. Forum rules forbid CFC-users from supplying you with this information.

Alterntively, you could simply re-purchase the game from Steam or GamersGate. Normal price is ~5 bux, which will get you a NoCD version of Civ3Conquests, fully patched (I recommend GG's version, since it also includes a Vanilla1.29 .exe -- or it did when I DL'd it -- but this .exe may/ will also need a NoCD-patch under WinVista onwards, since Micro$oft disabled the secdrv.sys driver last September).

 

[Weboh]

Thanks, that file did the trick. I had no idea no-cd cracks are considered illegal. Why is that? Because it's circumventing anti-copy measures? But if I'm still not copying the disc, surely it's still legal right? Just not "recommended?"

Hopefully there is a way to play in windowed mode. One of the reasons I got this was so that I could play Civ multi-tasking and on-the-go (i.e, it uses less resources than Civ V so I'll be able to play it without draining battery life). It also looks awful stretched to 1680x1050. It seems strange for them to not include a windowed mode.

 

[tjs282]

Thanks, that file did the trick.

Glad I could help, whichever file it was that you used!

Oh, and I should have said before, welcome to CFC!

I had no idea no-cd cracks are considered illegal. Why is that? Because it's circumventing anti-copy measures?

Yeah, that's basically why.

But if I'm still not copying the disc, surely it's still legal right? Just not "recommended?"

Morally maybe. Legally no. At the end of the day, if the files haven't been supplied by Firaxis, then they're non-legit.

Same old story -- legitimate users have to deal with intrusive copy-protection, pirates suffer no such inconvenience... But now that M$ gave CD-owners the shaft, you can feel rather more morally justified about using NoCD workarounds...

Hopefully there is a way to play in windowed mode. One of the reasons I got this was so that I could play Civ multi-tasking and on-the-go (i.e, it uses less resources than Civ V so I'll be able to play it without draining battery life). It also looks awful stretched to 1680x1050. It seems strange for them to not include a windowed mode.

Lack of windowed mode is kind of odd, seeing as CivWin and Civ2 both ran in windows -- but you can use 'Alt-Tab' to switch between apps as well (at least on WinXP to Win8.1 -- don't know about Win10, since I haven't upgraded yet).

As to screen-distortion, I guess you don't know that you can actually set Civ3 to play using your monitor's native resolution? I run it on my old WinXP laptop at 1280x800, and 1680x1050 on my Win8 desktop. Here's how:

1. Use Windows Explorer to locate your Civ3 installation: if you installed to the default, it should be something like C:/ProgramFiles/FiraxisGames/Civilization3/
   • NB If you're running a recent Windows version, the ProgramFiles directory is protected (requires Admin privileges to read/write), so you might want to consider re-installing somewhere else, e.g. C:/Games/...
2. Find the 'civilization3.ini' file in the main .../Civilization3/ folder
   • If you can't see file extensions, either set WinExpl to show them, or just look for the file with cogwheels on the icon
3. Save a backup copy of the file
   • Copy and then paste it to the same directory -- it should get renamed automatically
4. Open the original file using any text editor -- even Notepad.
5. Add the line 'KeepRes=1' to the end
   • I've also added 'WindowsFileBox=1', which will open a standard Windows-Explorer box when you're loading/saving games
6. Save the edited file and close Notepad

When you next run Civ3, your gamescreen should no longer be stretched to fit -- upside: the main mapscreen will cover a lot more of the map, downside: the unit-icons will all look a lot smaller, and the advisor-screens will now display at the game's original intended min-res of 1024x768.