Patch 1.09 released!

[jdurg]

Pratputajao, something which may interest you:

Turns out that-for some bizarre reason-Civ4.exe gets shifted way down the priority list after the patch, which is one of the possible reasons you are seeing a slowdown AFTER the patch.
My suggestion, thanks to Master-Mike at Apolyton, is as follows:

1. In your main civilization folder, create a new text file.

2. In that text file type the following: cmd /c start /High Civilization4.exe

3. Save this file as Civilization4.bat

4. Restart your computer, then start the game up.

Hopefully, if your situation is anything like mine, then you should regain all of your lost speed. In fact, I have to say that with a combo of the patch AND this batch file, my games are running faster and less laggy than EVER!!!
Hope this helps you !

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

Won't work and doesn't work. As soon as the game code starts running, the priority gets shot back down to 'below normal'. If it is coded into the .exe file to run at that priority, there's nothing you can do to change it aside from going into your task manager and manually changing it after it starts. Something in the way the software was coded forces it to run at below normal priority as soon as the game gets loaded. Annoying, isn't it?

 

[UKTechie]

Patch made absolutely no improvements to performance or stability.

Problems I experienced prior to the patch:
Laggy game play, long load times, slow-to-display (slow is an understatement, we're talking 2-5 minutes) diplomacy dialogue screens, crashes to desktop, complete system crashes.

Problems I have experienced post patch:
Laggy game play, long load times, slow-to-display diplomacy dialogue screens, crashes to desktop. I haven't yet had a full system crash, but given time I'm sure I'll get one.

Computer Specs:
2.16ghz Athlon XP Proccessor w/ 400mhz FSB
1.00GB of RAM
ATI Radeon 9600SE Graphics Card with 128MB of VRAM

I've yet to notice any changes from the patch and I'm definetly unimpressed with this kind of service. Can I get my 50 dollars back please? I'll be happy to download the game if this is what I'm going to get for my money.

What dates do you have for your Drivers???

 

[Graun]

You have a legal version or a cracked one, because the cracked version will have different files then the legal one and when the patch searches for the proper files it will find they don't exist.

hi,MagnumPI!

What Cracked version! there is one?

My is DVD version legal from Europe!

anyway thaks for trying to help me!
se ya!

Maybe i have to wait for the next patch....

 

[player1 fanatic]

Actaully, it switches to below normal priority because you alt-tabed and it's now background, and thus does not need normal priority anymore.

 

[0R4NG3]

Downloaded the patch no problem, installed it no problem, ran the game no problem. In fact it made absolutely no difference to my game, the only noticeable one is horses appearing with animal husbandry. Otherwise the game is still laggy, but playable, and I still have a problem with ingame music, sometimes there isn't any. Useless patch for me.

Dell Inspiron 8200
2.2ghz Mobile Pentium 4
512 RAM
ATI Radeon 9000 64 mb

 

[MarcAntiny]

Downloaded the patch no problem, installed it no problem, ran the game no problem. In fact it made absolutely no difference to my game, the only noticeable one is horses appearing with animal husbandry. Otherwise the game is still laggy, but playable, and I still have a problem with ingame music, sometimes there isn't any. Useless patch for me.

Patch has made my videos much worse, now the whole thing studders and not just the sound... also, I believe the quality is worse as far as graphics with the videos, they are more pixelated like they just lowered the res on them or something.

 

[Cytadc]

Posted my problems earlier pg 9 or so.
Sys specs:
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
1.5 GB RAM DDR 400
Radeon X300 128MB DDR1 (Stop gap till I can afford my SLI cards)
SATA 3.0gb/s 200GB HD

All most recent drivers, BIOS flashing etc.
The HD is brand spanking new freshly installed formated with XP Pro SP2 all security updates etc...
The only game currently installed is CIV so I doubt defragging the HD is a solution.

RANT WARNING!

Previously with old HD Doom3, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2, Warcraft 3, Civ 3, Farcry, FEAR, and many many other games all run fine and smooth on highest or default or next to highest graphics setting no problem or only minor FPS slow down. CIV ran like crap on that HD as well. Still runs the same on this one. Patch as previously stated causes initial speed gain but later same problem show up with large or higher map sizes and to a lesser extent even in standard maps for extended play. Haven't crashed to desktop in awhile but that is largely because as soon as I see graphical or hear sound glitches I restart the system and all is better. I have finished several games.

Here is my problem with CIV despite being able to play it and finish games.
This game is excellent.
I SHOULD NOT have to restart my system every 4 hours of gameplay!
I SHOULD NOT have stuttering slideshow quality movies!
I SHOULD NOT have to download a patch 5 times from 5 different places before I get one that actually installs!
I SHOULD NOT have to vissit 15+ different forums, support sites, and read dozens of "work arounds" that require relatively in depth knowledge of computer systems even if I do have that knowledge, which most users do not possess.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay money to effectively BETA test the software.
Quite simply I haven't had a game run this badly out of the package since MOO3, and the only saving grace is that CIV is actually a GOOD game.

There is no excuse for the game to run so poorly on so many of the high end systems I have seen people post over and over again to various forums. THIS ISN'T Half Life 3 or Doom4 we are playing here people! It's a STRATEGY GAME! I could care less about 3D graphics and if they are going to cause this many issues then by god just get rid of the damn things!

Also where are some of the features I remember hearing all about in earlier interviews? Throne Room? HAH the files for it are there but it isn't in... To me this just reeks of rush out the door at the last minute to meet some #@#! #$% publisher deadline or somesuch.

Quite simply it is frustrating at hell that rather than attempting to create a mod and optimize my gameplay through the modding abilities inherent in the game that I goto forum after forum day after day just hoping that someone will have come up with a work around that lets me play the game the way it should be played!

And nothing can ruin a good gameplay experience faster than raw unabated frustration!

END RANT

 

[blue3c]

Posted my problems earlier pg 9 or so.
Sys specs:
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
1.5 GB RAM DDR 400
Radeon X300 128MB DDR1 (Stop gap till I can afford my SLI cards)
SATA 3.0gb/s 200GB HD

All most recent drivers, BIOS flashing etc.
The HD is brand spanking new freshly installed formated with XP Pro SP2 all security updates etc...
The only game currently installed is CIV so I doubt defragging the HD is a solution.

RANT WARNING!

Previously with old HD Doom3, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2, Warcraft 3, Civ 3, Farcry, FEAR, and many many other games all run fine and smooth on highest or default or next to highest graphics setting no problem or only minor FPS slow down. CIV ran like crap on that HD as well. Still runs the same on this one. Patch as previously stated causes initial speed gain but later same problem show up with large or higher map sizes and to a lesser extent even in standard maps for extended play. Haven't crashed to desktop in awhile but that is largely because as soon as I see graphical or hear sound glitches I restart the system and all is better. I have finished several games.

Here is my problem with CIV despite being able to play it and finish games.
This game is excellent.
I SHOULD NOT have to restart my system every 4 hours of gameplay!
I SHOULD NOT have stuttering slideshow quality movies!
I SHOULD NOT have to download a patch 5 times from 5 different places before I get one that actually installs!
I SHOULD NOT have to vissit 15+ different forums, support sites, and read dozens of "work arounds" that require relatively in depth knowledge of computer systems even if I do have that knowledge, which most users do not possess.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay money to effectively BETA test the software.
Quite simply I haven't had a game run this badly out of the package since MOO3, and the only saving grace is that CIV is actually a GOOD game.

There is no excuse for the game to run so poorly on so many of the high end systems I have seen people post over and over again to various forums. THIS ISN'T Half Life 3 or Doom4 we are playing here people! It's a STRATEGY GAME! I could care less about 3D graphics and if they are going to cause this many issues then by god just get rid of the damn things!

Also where are some of the features I remember hearing all about in earlier interviews? Throne Room? HAH the files for it are there but it isn't in... To me this just reeks of rush out the door at the last minute to meet some #@#! #$% publisher deadline or somesuch.

Quite simply it is frustrating at hell that rather than attempting to create a mod and optimize my gameplay through the modding abilities inherent in the game that I goto forum after forum day after day just hoping that someone will have come up with a work around that lets me play the game the way it should be played!

And nothing can ruin a good gameplay experience faster than raw unabated frustration!

END RANT

Amen. Best post I have read. WOOHOO!!!

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

Downloaded the patch via update without problems.
Start the installer, and nothing happens. Try to deinstall CIV, installer again, nothing else. Reinstall? Not possible without prior deinstallation....
Euro DVD version, completely default CIV installation.
Bad joke.

 

[fedup]

well have installed the shiny new patch some 2 weeks after first buying the game ... net gain? well I get an exciting new message with my renderer message but no nearer to actually playing:

Parameters:

-width 1024
height 768
flags 0xc
hwnd 0xe034a
adaptrip 0
deviceid 3
Error:Creation failed: Invalid 3D device type

I use an Nvidia card

take2games should be ashamed of themselves ... but then they have my money and enough people seem to be able to play (if with all sorts of interesting visual flaws) so what the should they care? Maybe some 20 patches and upgrades down the line I might be lucky enough to be allowed to play what reads like a fun game.

Interesting that the supposed "independant" gaming media have mysteriously not noticed this flaw.

 

[Dealll]

Actaully, it switches to below normal priority because you alt-tabed and it's now background, and thus does not need normal priority anymore.

First, you can add that string to the shortcut instead of creating a bat file.
Secondly, Windows likes to handle the priority. So running with the Bat file, or going into task manager and setting it to High priority manually, either way, windows will eventually do what it wants with it.

Go look it up yourself. And if youre looking for a solution, look into OrangeProcessTrace, but theres many more like Proirity Master 2005 or WinTask Pro. Go read about them. They talk about "priority jack hammering" to keep what setting you tell it to.

Quote from Priority Masters white pages;

The Window's CPU scheduler will run all of the programs in the RealTime Class first, then all of the programs in the High Class, then all of the programs in the Normal Class and finally when there is nothing else to run at given instant in time, all of the programs in Idle Class. Generally speaking, programs have threads and these do specific functions and when those functions are not being used by the user, the threads sleep or suspend. This allows other lower priority programs to run.

In short, there are processes you arent allowed to change the priority for. When windows wants to take away juice from everything so its prefered processes can get realtime priority, it does so, and lowers your other apps.

 

[Chopperhead]

I posted this in the Bug Reports but thought it may be more appropiate here.

Some sound files are missing since the patch. I got a "sounds\hanging gardens file missing" during my last game. In the Bug Reports, another poster responded that other sound files are missing as well.

I also have this happening to me. Only in for the hanging gardens for that I have noticed anyway.

Im not sure but I think I started having this problem a couple days before the patch came out so I dont know if it has anything to do with the patch. I already had unpacked my files and all that which I know id part of what the patch did so possibly thats what caused this I dunno.

 

[ewokias]

I'm also missing the sounds to hanging gardens but have had the message come up right from the first game I played and doesnt seem to really make any difference, no hang ups or anything so I havent worried about it. I havent downloaded the patch yet because it all seems to work fine for me and no real changes to gameplay that I can see so I'll get it another time.

 

[jdurg]

I finally fixed my stuttering wonder movies. I went and disabled AA and now everything is running silky smooth. I'll just bump up the resolution to deal with the non AA graphics.

 

[tquick13]

Well, after reading all 22 pages of posts...I have decided to return the copy I bought today. I'm so glad that I read all of this before I opened it!
Thanks to all.

 

[jcb74]

Posted my problems earlier pg 9 or so.
Sys specs:
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
1.5 GB RAM DDR 400
Radeon X300 128MB DDR1 (Stop gap till I can afford my SLI cards)
SATA 3.0gb/s 200GB HD

All most recent drivers, BIOS flashing etc.
The HD is brand spanking new freshly installed formated with XP Pro SP2 all security updates etc...
The only game currently installed is CIV so I doubt defragging the HD is a solution.

RANT WARNING!

Previously with old HD Doom3, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2, Warcraft 3, Civ 3, Farcry, FEAR, and many many other games all run fine and smooth on highest or default or next to highest graphics setting no problem or only minor FPS slow down. CIV ran like crap on that HD as well. Still runs the same on this one. Patch as previously stated causes initial speed gain but later same problem show up with large or higher map sizes and to a lesser extent even in standard maps for extended play. Haven't crashed to desktop in awhile but that is largely because as soon as I see graphical or hear sound glitches I restart the system and all is better. I have finished several games.

Here is my problem with CIV despite being able to play it and finish games.
This game is excellent.
I SHOULD NOT have to restart my system every 4 hours of gameplay!
I SHOULD NOT have stuttering slideshow quality movies!
I SHOULD NOT have to download a patch 5 times from 5 different places before I get one that actually installs!
I SHOULD NOT have to vissit 15+ different forums, support sites, and read dozens of "work arounds" that require relatively in depth knowledge of computer systems even if I do have that knowledge, which most users do not possess.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay money to effectively BETA test the software.
Quite simply I haven't had a game run this badly out of the package since MOO3, and the only saving grace is that CIV is actually a GOOD game.

There is no excuse for the game to run so poorly on so many of the high end systems I have seen people post over and over again to various forums. THIS ISN'T Half Life 3 or Doom4 we are playing here people! It's a STRATEGY GAME! I could care less about 3D graphics and if they are going to cause this many issues then by god just get rid of the damn things!

Also where are some of the features I remember hearing all about in earlier interviews? Throne Room? HAH the files for it are there but it isn't in... To me this just reeks of rush out the door at the last minute to meet some #@#! #$% publisher deadline or somesuch.

Quite simply it is frustrating at hell that rather than attempting to create a mod and optimize my gameplay through the modding abilities inherent in the game that I goto forum after forum day after day just hoping that someone will have come up with a work around that lets me play the game the way it should be played!

And nothing can ruin a good gameplay experience faster than raw unabated frustration!

END RANT

Right on, Absolutely Cytadc!
Have suffered from eventual CTD from day of release in Oz, lagging, Intro movie stutter etc etc, and since patch, more CTD's...
Kinda like the trimmed down, 18mnths+ late, buggy release of GT4 on PS2..
These companies take our money gladly for sub-standard products, leaving we, the consumer, at their mercy...
I don't wanna support these pricks, but jeez I want that game ;-)

 

[ffifield]

The patch is for the boxed version only I beleive. It will be up to the site you downloade it from to provide the patch for their version to account for the differences in copy protection, etc. You have a slightly different civ4.exe version.

I have the boxed version of the game that I got at Best Buy and I get the same "no version of Civ 4 is installed."

 

[Quetzalcoalt]

Posted my problems earlier pg 9 or so.
Sys specs:
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
1.5 GB RAM DDR 400
Radeon X300 128MB DDR1 (Stop gap till I can afford my SLI cards)
SATA 3.0gb/s 200GB HD

All most recent drivers, BIOS flashing etc.
The HD is brand spanking new freshly installed formated with XP Pro SP2 all security updates etc...
The only game currently installed is CIV so I doubt defragging the HD is a solution.

RANT WARNING!

Previously with old HD Doom3, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2, Warcraft 3, Civ 3, Farcry, FEAR, and many many other games all run fine and smooth on highest or default or next to highest graphics setting no problem or only minor FPS slow down. CIV ran like crap on that HD as well. Still runs the same on this one. Patch as previously stated causes initial speed gain but later same problem show up with large or higher map sizes and to a lesser extent even in standard maps for extended play. Haven't crashed to desktop in awhile but that is largely because as soon as I see graphical or hear sound glitches I restart the system and all is better. I have finished several games.

Here is my problem with CIV despite being able to play it and finish games.
This game is excellent.
I SHOULD NOT have to restart my system every 4 hours of gameplay!
I SHOULD NOT have stuttering slideshow quality movies!
I SHOULD NOT have to download a patch 5 times from 5 different places before I get one that actually installs!
I SHOULD NOT have to vissit 15+ different forums, support sites, and read dozens of "work arounds" that require relatively in depth knowledge of computer systems even if I do have that knowledge, which most users do not possess.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay money to effectively BETA test the software.
Quite simply I haven't had a game run this badly out of the package since MOO3, and the only saving grace is that CIV is actually a GOOD game.

There is no excuse for the game to run so poorly on so many of the high end systems I have seen people post over and over again to various forums. THIS ISN'T Half Life 3 or Doom4 we are playing here people! It's a STRATEGY GAME! I could care less about 3D graphics and if they are going to cause this many issues then by god just get rid of the damn things!

Also where are some of the features I remember hearing all about in earlier interviews? Throne Room? HAH the files for it are there but it isn't in... To me this just reeks of rush out the door at the last minute to meet some #@#! #$% publisher deadline or somesuch.

Quite simply it is frustrating at hell that rather than attempting to create a mod and optimize my gameplay through the modding abilities inherent in the game that I goto forum after forum day after day just hoping that someone will have come up with a work around that lets me play the game the way it should be played!

And nothing can ruin a good gameplay experience faster than raw unabated frustration!

END RANT

everything has been said... just hoping it reaches out the right ears....

 

[ManOfMiracles]

D/Led patch from CivFanatics. Tried to install and got the error telling me I don't have Civ4 and stupidly selected "abort" instead of "ignore". This deleted Civ4.exe from my computer. Fumed a bit. Came here and read this thread. Goofed around for an hour trying to figure out how to uninstall the game and finally succeeded. Set a system restore point. Reinstalled the game to my "games" drive (husband had originally done quick install on boot drive F), Re-D/Led the patch, ran it again. Selected "ignore" for first error message and "continue" for second. It installed.

Game does seem to load faster now. I didn't have any video problems before and don't seem to have any after. Still appear to have memory leak though since it gets butt-draggingly slow after just 500 years. Am coming across a lot more wild animals and barbs in early game. Wonder movies and sounds are fine. Don't know about any multi-player stuff since I always play single.

Once I read about how to treat the error messages, I had no problem with the install. Not convinced it was worth all the effort since changes appear to be minimal. Why over 23MB for so little obvious difference?


Running Dell Dimension 8300 with
P4 3.00 GHz
1 GB DDR SDRAM @ 400MHz
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
G: drive (37.5 GB partition on 120 GB Serial ATA HD--different physical drive than boot drive)
Did NOT update any drivers and that doesn't seem to have made a difference based on what I've read here.

While this has been a gut-wrenching experience for many, thanks all for posting your trials here since that ultimately helped me. May the next patch come soon and be what we really need!

 

[blue3c]

I have the boxed version of the game that I got at Best Buy and I get the same "no version of Civ 4 is installed."

Yah I installed the patch I DLed from this site. It actually ate my civ4 exe. It does not exist on my sytem anymore. I had to go to a few different sites. reinstall, just to be able to uninstall. then reinstall patch and be welcomed for all that work with slimmed down buggy game.

First thought, I found it funny as all hell that the forum that is listed on the support page for civ iv, actually had a patch that uninstalled the game. LOL. Thats the best support option I found.

Second, While I applaud the effort at a patch, It was just that all effort and no fix. Did they listen to what we told them was wrong with the game.

The best patch Firaxis/take2 could offer is a refund. I put this game up on EBAY, all I asked for was shipping. I didn't get one bid. LOL.

Still waiting for firaxis/take2 to prove my point. The only fix for this game will come out with the expansion pack. Gotta Love how they keep proving me right.

I sitll think Cytadc said it best. Read his post. Send his post to firaxis/take2. Or perhaps the mods that work there will read it and pass it on. Who knows.