No futher patch

[Willem]

The radeon 7500 made both a 128 and a 64. asumming on the wording in the manual not specifying the 128 it reads the 64MB one in the minmum reqs.

I did see that in the manual. But referring to the manual minimum specs they mean the 64MB 7500.

There's alot more to a video card than just the amount of VRAM. The 7500 is an old card and as such won't work well compared to ones that are on the market today. I have a 9550, and even with that I have to run the game on low graphics. Granted they could have done a better job of stating the recommended requirements, but it stands to reason that a model that is specifically listed as minimum won't run the game at peak performance. If you have the 128 model, then it simply means that you're just one step away from bare minimum. Get yourself a new card, and I suspect your specific issues will disappear.

 

[King Flevance]

I think I see what your saying, I don't have great knowledge of video cards. Unfortunatley, I dont have a great deal of money as well. Therefore, cannot upgrade my video card just yet. I am debating if it is even worth the money as I am restricted to PCI standard. The only other model I have an option to upgrade to is 256, I forget the model number though.

Either way, Civ 4 has lost its credibility for me. I feel I payed more into the game than I have recieved in return. One of the biggest things that gets me is that as stated many times Civ has always been a game that concerned itself little with graphics. Now, they are crippling it and IMO they arent anything so grand as to be game breaking. But basically the game will be sitting on my shelf until I can get a new video card which I honestly dont hold much hope on the fact that it will even improve performance.

It is a pesimist's viewpoint but I have became very pesimistic on this subject unfortunatly due to what I have seen in the past 6 months. I dont doubt one day I will actually be able to play this game but I feel Take 2/Firaxis got more from my purchase than what it was worth. The patch may help. I dunno. I dont even get to know when I will be able to check. I as the consumer have to be ignored until the patch is just released when they feel like it.

 

[n0xie]

One of the biggest things that gets me is that as stated many times Civ has always been a game that concerned itself little with graphics. Now, they are crippling it and IMO they arent anything so grand as to be game breaking.

I feel the same way about the graphics. I had to upgrade my videocard to be able to play at 'normal' settings, not even 'shiny show-off-to-your-friends' settings. It's the only exception I ever made for any pc-game, since I usually upgrade once every 3 year and think that should be enough. All for the love of the game...

It saddens me to read all the threads about people having trouble, giving up, or downright start flaming anything and everything involving civ4, out of anger,frustration or disappointment. Either way, guys from firaxis or whatever company/dude is responsible for the whole Civ dev team: please I beg you, if you're going to bother trying to make CIV look all shiny (something that has never been a 'goal' in any of previous games afaik?), at least make sure the damn game works, preferably stable.

I'm lucky that I'm able to play. The occassional crash here and there, but that's what the autosave is for. Non of the previous versions of CIV ever crashed on me. Isn't it sad that I actually said the game 'only crashes occassionally' for me as if that is a good thing? I mean seriously...

Lesson learned Firaxis: Fans don't give a **** about how the game looks. Frankly I would turn all the animation off if I could. I don't need 'animated shores' or 'flying birds in forests' to enjoy the game. The game is a strategy game: If Civvers wanted shiny pictures, they'd be playing a FPS...

I wonder how much of the fanbase Firaxis has already lost because of all the issues...

 

[CivFan91]

They don't care, and neither does 2K.

 

[floppymoose]

fyi, the game seems to default to the highest video settings on my intel iMac (playing under WindowsXP installed via Boot Camp) and it works fine. That was nice to see as I wasn't sure how the cards Apple uses compared to the PC market.

 

[SimCutie]

Sorry, I replied wrong thread on wrong forum....

 

[Willem]

I feel I payed more into the game than I have recieved in return. One of the biggest things that gets me is that as stated many times Civ has always been a game that concerned itself little with graphics. Now, they are crippling it and IMO they arent anything so grand as to be game breaking.

Well get used to it. Compared to some of the new games that are coming out these days, the demands for Civ 3 are pretty low. For instance, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion has a minimum video card requirement of the Radeon 9500. All games are moving towards higher specs, and if you want to continue to play them in the future, you'll have to keep up on your end. With Civ going 3D, they're just doing what's become an industry standard, since it's cheaper to produce a game that way.

But basically the game will be sitting on my shelf until I can get a new video card which I honestly dont hold much hope on the fact that it will even improve performance.

It most definitely will. With a 3D game, the video card becomes just as important as your RAM and processor speeds.

I as the consumer have to be ignored until the patch is just released when they feel like it.

It's not when they feel like it, it's when it's ready for release.

 

[King Flevance]

Well get used to it. Compared to some of the new games that are coming out these days, the demands for Civ 3 are pretty low. For instance, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion has a minimum video card requirement of the Radeon 9500. All games are moving towards higher specs, and if you want to continue to play them in the future, you'll have to keep up on your end. With Civ going 3D, they're just doing what's become an industry standard, since it's cheaper to produce a game that way.

I understand games have to evolve. I have had this discussion alot recently over some of the MMOs I bounce between. I also know that if I dont hold up my end I wont be playing. I am fine with that though, most MMOs out there run fine on my system and I will just support them with my money over companies like Firaxis who insist on making specs that MUST be top notch. If I fall behind because I dont have the cash to upgrade then I just stick with my old games for a bit that I am still pleased with purchasing. I just played Roller Coaster Tycoon 1 today all day.

It most definitely will. With a 3D game, the video card becomes just as important as your RAM and processor speeds.

I wouldn't bet money on these odds. Because the new card is another ATI. I am just simply rolling the dice with the purchase. As things stand with what cards the game will accept, it may take it, I may just end up with a new card and still have a broken Civ 4.

It's not when they feel like it, it's when it's ready for release.

And it will be ready when Take 2 feels like looking into it. The release of warlords is only 2 1/2 months away and if Take 2 feels Oblivion needs the extra attention they are going to concern themselves little with the Civ 4 patch. I could be wrong entirely but I am tired of hoping the next patch is "my fix" and then just being dissappointed all over again like the day I brought the game home.

I honestly dont even know how much I will play if the patch was released tomorrow and it fixed everything plus added features. The attitude expressed to me looks like "We don't care" and therefore, I have seemed to mirror the same attitude. I still check back daily to see if the patch was released like I have been doing for a couple months now. And I see nothing except post like this about weird conspiracy theories concerning the patch and "the man". I don't buy into all that, I just think Take 2 has out-prioritized Civ 4.

I haven't looked into it but do they have any other large titles being released anytime soon? If so, we might be pushed back yet again. We'll see.

 

[Willem]

I am fine with that though, most MMOs out there run fine on my system and I will just support them with my money over companies like Firaxis who insist on making specs that MUST be top notch.

They may run fine for now, but the next big MMO that comes along probably won't. It seems to me that all the new games are taking a big leap in their specs. Sure it sucks having to upgrade all the time, but that's part of playing PC games. The video card I have now I just bought last summer in order to play Pirates!, and now I find I'll have to upgrade again this year in order to play the games that are coming out.

I wouldn't bet money on these odds. Because the new card is another ATI. I am just simply rolling the dice with the purchase.

Then don't play the odds. Do some research and get yourself something that looks like it might be relevant for awhile and works well. I wish I had taken the time to do that last year, I would have gotten myself a much better video card and saved myself some money in the long run. I probably would have gone for Nvidia, they seem to better than ATI.

Even still, I now realize that what I get this year will probably only be good enough for a couple of years. There's alot of changes happening with video card technology, like the switch to PCI-Express, with even more to come. I understand that with the release of Windows Vista, DirectX 10 will become the new standard, and many of today's cards will then become obsolete.

The release of warlords is only 2 1/2 months away and if Take 2 feels Oblivion needs the extra attention they are going to concern themselves little with the Civ 4 patch.

Which is understandable. Civ 4 already has 2 patches out for it. Oblivion is brand new and doesn't have any. Naturally the focus is going to be that game for now. Take 2 has had some money problems recently due to the issues with Grand Theft Auto, and the fire in their offices, so their budgets all around are probably fairly tight right now. Which means they don't have as many people working on things as they could have.

I could be wrong entirely but I am tired of hoping the next patch is "my fix" and then just being dissappointed all over again like the day I brought the game home.

I wouldn't count on any miracles in your case, I suspect that most of your issues are due to your video card. No patch is going to fix that, only an equipment upgrade will.

 

[zx1111]

I wouldn't count on any miracles in your case, I suspect that most of your issues are due to your video card. No patch is going to fix that, only an equipment upgrade will.

Then, the game requirement printed on the box of original Civ 4 and the new Warlord expansion pack should be updated like "Requires Nvidia Videos card with at least 128 MB VRAM. It will NOT run as expected on any of ATI's vido card regradless of how new or expensive one it may be. You are forewarned..."
And sales of the new Civ4 expansions will lose a third of potential sales... Do you agree?

 

[Traxis]

Then, the game requirement printed on the box of original Civ 4 and the new Warlord expansion pack should be updated like "Requires Nvidia Videos card with at least 128 MB VRAM. It will NOT run as expected on any of ATI's vido card regradless of how new or expensive one it may be. You are forewarned..."
And sales of the new Civ4 expansions will lose a third of potential sales... Do you agree?

What card do you have? I have an ATI card, (9800 Pro) and it runs flawlessly.

 

[Urederra]

Just a thought...

Since the SDK or however its name is comes with the new patch, maybe they are artificially delaying the release because mods would be able to mod the game up to a point that you won't be willing to pay money for the Warlords expansion.

I always though, if this games is gonna be so moddable, How are they supposed to sell expansions? They have to be much, much better than the mods free ones.

 

[King Flevance]

They may run fine for now, but the next big MMO that comes along probably won't. It seems to me that all the new games are taking a big leap in their specs. Sure it sucks having to upgrade all the time, but that's part of playing PC games. The video card I have now I just bought last summer in order to play Pirates!, and now I find I'll have to upgrade again this year in order to play the games that are coming out.

I am sure the next MMOs that come out will at least be double the reqs than what they are now. Although we are now in a hotspot in the market. EQ3 isnt going to come out anytime soon and an expansion won't be jumping the reqs much. WoW2 is not going to be soon. COH/COV2 is nowhere in sight as well. Now I only play COH/COV out of all those but it just brings up the fact that MMOs only just recently stepped up so by the time they step up again, my guess being at least 1-2years, I will have a new system entirely.

Then don't play the odds. Do some research and get yourself something that looks like it might be relevant for awhile and works well. I wish I had taken the time to do that last year, I would have gotten myself a much better video card and saved myself some money in the long run. I probably would have gone for Nvidia, they seem to better than ATI.

When you have standard PCI my research is pretty restricted to about 1-2 cards being as most everything is at least AGP req'd now as that became pretty standard a lil while back. Money is tight for me right now so naturally I am aiming for cost. This motherboard on my machine is not geared for gaming without at least an AGP. No use spending high money on a video card that is practically already obsolete. No matter what kind I get, the fact is it will be PCI standard. So it would be foolish for me not to shop for low price on a card I am just wanting another year or two out of.

Which is understandable. Civ 4 already has 2 patches out for it. Oblivion is brand new and doesn't have any. Naturally the focus is going to be that game for now. Take 2 has had some money problems recently due to the issues with Grand Theft Auto, and the fire in their offices, so their budgets all around are probably fairly tight right now. Which means they don't have as many people working on things as they could have.

So a company telling me "You are not important to me, I have already recieved your money and given you some quick patches. Now I have to try and justify problems with another game we released." is understandable? Even when the product I have is having difficulties and this next patch "may" be finished with need of them using the QA dept. Of course, we are not allowed to know if the patch is still waiting on QA or if it got sent back. This would be a nice thing to let people be aware of as it looks like the patch is on someone's desk right now and THAT is why they arent saying much. Plus, recent posts from Firaxis on here show QA still has the patch thus they claim it has not been sent back.

Now, don't get me wrong. I do know how business works. But that doesn't justify it.

I wouldn't count on any miracles in your case, I suspect that most of your issues are due to your video card. No patch is going to fix that, only an equipment upgrade will.

I am not counting on miracles. I have learned they dont happen when Civ 4 is involved. I am just wanting to make sure I HAVE to go buy a new card to save a buck. Once this patch comes out that supposedly addresses card related problems I will know and can then act accordingly. But who knows, maybe it will work. I probably won't but I am not going to rush out to burn away more money if it isn't neccessary.

 

[kernok]

Just a thought...

Since the SDK or however its name is comes with the new patch, maybe they are artificially delaying the release because mods would be able to mod the game up to a point that you won't be willing to pay money for the Warlords expansion.

I always though, if this games is gonna be so moddable, How are they supposed to sell expansions? They have to be much, much better than the mods free ones.

hum... pas mal ça!
good point here... i believe you could be very right man!

 

[Willem]

Then, the game requirement printed on the box of original Civ 4 and the new Warlord expansion pack should be updated like "Requires Nvidia Videos card with at least 128 MB VRAM. It will NOT run as expected on any of ATI's vido card regradless of how new or expensive one it may be. You are forewarned..."
And sales of the new Civ4 expansions will lose a third of potential sales... Do you agree?

I have an ATI card and the game runs just fine for me. And if you were following the thread, you'd notice that the discussion you quoted revolved around the Radeon 7500, which is an old card. Even the GeForce 2, the minimum listed for Nvidia cards wouldn't run the game all that well.

 

[schekker]

Brad Wardell of GalCivII had some good remarks about these type of issues, it is all a numbers game. My guess is that the game runs fine for most users and that only a small percentage, like 1 or 2 % has real problems. I don't know how many copies of CivIV have been sold, but it should be well over 100,000. This means thousands of people will have problems. Most of them are system related (even if you have a top-notch graphics card, if it isn't properly cooled, the game will crash on you for instance), and a few of them are very specific bugs in the game itself.
But given that the people with problems are far more likely to complain than the people without them, and looking at the number of rants here, I would say CivIV is solid enough. You simply can't fix all possible system issues on a PC platform, the diversity in systems is simply too big.

 

[Tom183]

Brad Wardell of GalCivII had some good remarks about these type of issues, it is all a numbers game. My guess is that the game runs fine for most users and that only a small percentage, like 1 or 2 % has real problems. I don't know how many copies of CivIV have been sold, but it should be well over 100,000. This means thousands of people will have problems. Most of them are system related (even if you have a top-notch graphics card, if it isn't properly cooled, the game will crash on you for instance), and a few of them are very specific bugs in the game itself.
But given that the people with problems are far more likely to complain than the people without them, and looking at the number of rants here, I would say CivIV is solid enough. You simply can't fix all possible system issues on a PC platform, the diversity in systems is simply too big.

I think there are bigger problems than just a few graphics-card issues - late-game slowdown appears to be common on more than just "a few %" of users. And I don't see how you can blame that sort of broad-based problem simply on obscure hardware.

 

[MiKa523]

Just a thought...

Since the SDK or however its name is comes with the new patch, maybe they are artificially delaying the release because mods would be able to mod the game up to a point that you won't be willing to pay money for the Warlords expansion.

I always though, if this games is gonna be so moddable, How are they supposed to sell expansions? They have to be much, much better than the mods free ones.

Good point, but the SDK was announced on the packing of the game for the beginning of 2006. So how long is "beginning" from a juridical point of view? june, 30th?
Here's your date, and if it will be released later, all reclaim your game by sending your game back with a statement of ground.

 

[lycan]

I'd just want it to run with not a lot of crashes, the rest can wait. plz?

 

[Willem]

I don't know how many copies of CivIV have been sold, but it should be well over 100,000.

It's more like 1,000,000 copies sold.