Returning after at least a decade, help with CivAssist II

[Malex]

OK, I have Windows 10. I just downloaded Civ III complete via Steam. I have it running fine, although I'd like to skip the into completely automatically. But I also wan't to use CivAssist II. I've tried everything I can think of to get it to work. I can get the CivAssist II to boot up, and then I can pick and click the saves directory but when I try to start the game that way, I get something along the lines of access blocked. Yes I run it in admin mode. Yes I have tried compaitibility. Ideas?

My other question is the 1.22 vs 1.29f patch. I downloaded and installed tghe patch but I can't find any difference in any of the files. The executable still says 1.22. So I uninstalled the patch and reinstalled. Then I made sure to select the correct directory manually and again it looked like it was doing something but checking the executable again showed it was still 1.22. Ideas?

 

[tjs282]

OK, I have Windows 10. I just downloaded Civ III complete via Steam. I have it running fine, although I'd like to skip the into completely automatically. But I also wan't to use CivAssist II. I've tried everything I can think of to get it to work. I can get the CivAssist II to boot up, and then I can pick and click the saves directory but when I try to start the game that way, I get something along the lines of access blocked. Yes I run it in admin mode. Yes I have tried compaitibility. Ideas?

My other question is the 1.22 vs 1.29f patch. I downloaded and installed tghe patch but I can't find any difference in any of the files. The executable still says 1.22. So I uninstalled the patch and reinstalled. Then I made sure to select the correct directory manually and again it looked like it was doing something but checking the executable again showed it was still 1.22. Ideas?

A lot of folks have had difficulty getting CAII to run on more recent Win-versions. CAII works fine on my Win8.1 machine, but I don't use the Steam version of C3C, so I've got Civ3 installed where I want it (outside C:/ProgramFiles), not where Steam wants it.

@Puppeteer is currently working on a browser-based app which does similar stuff to CAII. You might want to check that thread out.

Re. patches: DON'T!

The Steam version, 1.22, is the latest version -- of the Civ3 Conquests executable (2nd expansion, 31 Civs in total).

The 1.29 patch is for the basic Vanilla executable (16 Civs in total), and unless you specifically looked for a (legit!) NoCD version, it probably won't work anyway (based on a CD-requiring version).

And even if you did get a NoCD version, the Steam shortcut won't find it, because it runs the Conquests.exe, not Civilization3.exe

 

[Puppeteer]

Hi, yes, CIA3 is at https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/cia3-civ-intelligence-agency-iii.656876/ . It's not as pretty as or currently as functional as CAII, but it can show available tech trades which was a biggie for me. I think I'm on the verge of being able to add a lot more functionality, but I'm in a bit of a productivity lull at the moment.

As for the intro, go to the game files folder, into Conquests, and edit Conquests.ini to add "PlayIntro=0" to skip the movie. I have an old video on that:

And I concur: DON'T PATCH Steam or GoG versions of the game. There hasn't been a patch in about 15 years (aside from a Steam patch for something multiplayer), and the patched games require the CD which no longer works on modern Windows machines.

 

[Malex]

OK, thank you two very much!

Well, this is strange. The ini file doesn't have playintro in it. Or play even. Weird.

Also, that link isn't working. I tried in Edge and Chrome. Should I try a diffferrent browser?

 

[tjs282]

Well, this is strange. The ini file doesn't have playintro in it. Or play even. Weird.

This is a line you need to add yourself. You can just tack it on as a new line at the end of the list.

Strange that the link doesn't work for you: it worked fine for me in Firefox.

 

[Malex]

er: 163255"]This is a line you need to add yourself. You can just tack it on as a new line at the end of the list.

Strange that the link doesn't work for you: it worked fine for me in Firefox.[/QUOTE]

This is the message I get:

This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
"); vertical-align: bottom; height: 10px;"><Error>
<Code>NoSuchKey</Code>
<Message>The specified key does not exist.</Message>
<Key>lib.bigmoneyjim.com/cia3/cia3-v0.4.2.exe</Key>
<RequestId>B52A02FAAD1C8B8E</RequestId>
<HostId>RHWGk4wAZ78W3snq2XP1pV7MRoWbakVimx5DCrzzyjC2TaZ2XW9SwRAqjc8Byf5v79jUn9YGKqQ=</HostId>
</Error>

And this is the text from when I use FireFox:
NoSuchKeyThe specified key does not exist.lib.bigmoneyjim.com/cia3/cia3-v0.4.2.exeD76898A725F7B5B7OqjxBQq3RKvy975kFRJKxxlZmUhsYExc1GJpwooasBVc9ysqHG6KneGOKFmesmelsWjT3rJIS0k=

Probably something on my end

 

[Puppeteer]

Oh, THAT link. No, that's my bad. I'll go check on that.

 

[Puppeteer]

er: 163255"]This is the message I get:

Ok, I fixed the link in that post. It had a superfluous "v" in it. Sorry about that, and thanks for letting me know!

 

[Malex]

Ok, I fixed the link in that post. It had a superfluous "v" in it. Sorry about that, and thanks for letting me know!

So, I was playing Civ 3 a few times lately, and today I tried and the game doesn't load. I think I added the Conquests directory to my "quick access" because I was tired of going through the process of finding the directory over and over.And I'm pretty sure I played the game after doing that. I have about 10 saved games, so I know I'm not crazy. Is there some kind of log file that might tell me why it stopped working all of a sudden?

 

[Puppeteer]

Is there some kind of log file that might tell me why it stopped working all of a sudden?

You mean Conquests is working but CIA3 won't open the save?

Some guesses:

• Try exiting and restarting CIA3, and either be sure multiple copies aren't running, or that your browser is pointed at the latest one started.
• It will only open a new save when a new one is written out, like when you save or between turns.
• You may need to refresh the browser, but usually it shows a red error message if it's not syncing.
• If you scroll down in the browser, there is a "View errors, if any, from cia3.exe" link.

Upon CIA3 startup, it will pull the last save out of conquests.ini just to give it something to start with. FYI.

Has CIA3 ever worked for you? It's not clear to me if it was working and stopped, or if you've never had it work.