Problem with Civ4 crashing on bigmaps.

[zampa86]

Hello everyone, I recently restarted playing CIV IV and its my favourite game of all time, but i have problem with the game hard crashing on big maps (bigger than default). I have been told this is due to civ 4 runs on 32bit instead of 64bit. But i was also told there is a work around for this, something i can run on the BTS executable. But i am here since i dont know where i can find this fix.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lord_Hill]

I believe what you are after is discussed in literally in the post below yours. It's called the 'large address aware flag' and it allows a 32bit app to use almost the full 4gb of memory available to it instead of being limited to 2gb. However, if I'm not mistaken, the latest patch for beyond the sword already has that flag enabled, so it may not be helpful here. I'm sure others can confirm.

Thread 'Civ 4 and 64 bit.'

Mar 6, 2025

Greetings,

I know this is a question that relies on if the source code was released. Is there a mod similar to the one for CTP2 what manages the game in 64 bit? I know many will say the game runs 'just fine' in 32 bit but I have run in the memory wall before many times with Civ 5. That is the game will get into the very late very large maps and just crash. I am currently playing CTP2 but Civ 4 Beyond the Sword has been my all time favorite. Is there a mod which mitigates or removes memory issues if they arise and what mods for Civ 4 are your favorite to always use?

• Larsenex
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Civ4 - Technical Support

 

[zampa86]

I see. Well maps arent really THAT big i'd like to think even with 2gb of ram it could run such a map, but yeah perhaps its the flag im looking after, ill keep on eye on both this thread and the thread you linked to see if anyone has the file i can run, to see if that changes anything.

 

[s.bernbaum]

I play on a 64G comp., usually on huge maps with 12 civs (including me). I have never had a crash, although after a few hours of play, I have to quit and restart due to slowing down, which that solves. I have the animation set so each unit only shows one, not three, figures and the sounds, other than alerts, turned off. If you have those on, try it with them off.

 

[zampa86]

i sent a screenshot of my settings. Not sure what you mean with animation set so each unit only shows one.

i also sent a screenshow of teh map im currently playing. thats the size of maps im playing.

 

[s.bernbaum]

You have the animation minimalized, which is what I meant.

In the sound settings, I would suggest also checking the No Sound box for both Sound Effects and Music. Sound generation of any kind uses a lot of assets, even if the volume is set as low as it goes. If that does not solve it, you may have to reduce the number of AIs. Each one adds significant memory use. I count fifteen civs on your screen shot.

The inherent memory leak in the engine that CIV uses is what causes the crash. Cutting out sounds and extra animation, as well as reducing the number of AIs, all lower the load on memory, which increases as the game progresses and each player, whether human or AI, uses more memory to keep track of increased assets in the cities, increased units, etc. The more memory the engine needs to use, the more likely it is that the leak will cause a critical bit, needed to keep the game running, to be overwritten by game data.

 

[zampa86]

Yeah i usually run with max civs (18) and this game runs fine, its a bit weird this game is bigger and further than previous game that crashed. but sounds are turned of now, tomorrow ill post and let you know if the troubled save is fixed with sound change. if not i was wondering if i could load up the savefile so other people can see if their game crashes with it?

 

[s.bernbaum]

You can upload the savefile and ask others to try it. However, I would suggest starting a thread in General Discussion with the savefile and a brief explanation, along with your request for others to test it there. More players will see it there than here in Technical.