Running Civ III in a Window

[Frightener]

Does anybody know the developer command to run Civilization III in a window?

I prefer to play turn-based strategy games, including Heroes of Might and Magic III, in a window rather than full-screen mode.

The graphics look sharper and less pixelated in a window, and more importantly, it's easier to perform other tasks on the computer.

I usually check instant messages or visit a Web site during the calculation time (which lasts more than a minute with eight civilizations on a huge map) at the end of each turn.

 

[Karlsen]

Don't know how to run it in a "Window" per se, however if you fire up your browser before starting Civ III you can alt-Tab to it.

Alternatively, at least with Windows 98, you can use Windows-E to fire up explorer and launch stuff from there, or Windows-D for the desktop. Note you don't see the status bar at the bottom, that is always hidden by Civ III, but you should be able to get by with a combination of the above.

 

[Frightener]

In XP with Powertoys, hiding the desktop (Windows Key + D) and selecting open processes is significantly faster than task switching. The taskbar is visible in Windows 2000/XP.

I have been trying to figure out the ini file setting that controls the display mode. Updates to the readme file include the following civilization3.ini tweaks:

• KeepRes=1 - When set to 1, your desktop resolution will be what the game uses. 1024x768 screens will be centered, but you will be able to see much more of the map on one screen.
• NoSound=1 - Disables all sound in-game.
• Video Mode=1792 / Video Mode=1600 / Video Mode=1280 / Video Mode=1152 - Force screen resolution to one of these settings.
• Refresh=60 - You can try higher frequencies, but 60 is good starting location. If it can't set the frequency, it will default to what Windows believes it should be. If you are not having monitor or frequency problems, do not use this ini setting.

 

[Frightener]

I figured out how to make Civilization III run in a window using two ini settings. If your desktop resolution is higher than 1024x768 (game default), say 1600x1200, add or modify the following settings in civilization3.ini:

KeepRes=1
Video Mode=1024 (this can be changed to other 1152, 1280, and so on)

Hmm, now I want the ini setting to disable the intro.