Before I begin, after reading this, don't just go out and buy a new video card until at least the patch is out, that's my advice, unless you want to spend money and risk being disappointed if it doesnt help.
Also, here's my specs:
Intel P4 2.4GHz, 800MHz FSB
1024MB PC3200 DDR RAM
MSI Neo2-FIS2R w/ Intel 865PE chipset
eVGA Video Card with nVidia GeForce 6600 w/ 256MB
-nVidia 81.85 drivers
C-Media on-board sound
200GB Maxtor, 200GB Seagate, and 2x80GB Maxtor SATA HDDs
17" Aopen F75PS LCD monitor
Windows XP Professional SP2 w/ latest updates
C: drive formatted on 11/05/05 - Civ 4 is pretty much the only thing installed
Anyhow, I just upgraded my video card from a Gainward GeForce FX5200 w/ 128MB to the current one and here's my report on the result. Other than the new video card, power supply, and in-game graphic settings, EVERYTHING else is the same.
Before upgrade - running at LOW graphic settings @ 1024x768
-Intro movie and sound skip
-Wonder movies and sounds skip
-Scrolling lags
-Delays after issuing orders
-Game pauses with music still playing in background
-Mouse wheel scrolling lags
-Long wait time between turns
-Globe view lags and pauses while zooming in/out (no cloud->w/ clouds)
-Long load time of game and saved games
-Crash to desktops (CTDs) (few)
-Random reboots (few)
After upgrade - running at HIGH graphic settings @ 1280x1024
-Intro movie plays almost smoothly (seems to stutters every few seconds)
-Intro sound plays continuously
-Wonder movies - unknown, havent build one yet
-Scrolling doesn't lags (barely)
-Still delays after issuing orders
-Haven't notice any game pausing on it's own, yet
-Mouse wheel scrolling is faster, though still stutters
-Still long wait time between turns
-Globe view still lags and pauses while zooming in/out (no cloud->w/ clouds)
-Stlll long load times overall
-No CTDs or Reboots, yet
Also, units' animation seems to be faster and smoother.
In conclusion, even though game performance has increased, it is still not completely "game of the year" or "editors' choice" material yet. The fact that the intro movie's sound now plays continuously seems to suggest that stuttering before is video related. Game still takes up the same amount of system memory (as reported by Task Manager), which means that this thing is a memory hog, currently around 600MB during gameplay. Also, before the upgrade, I didn't experience any black terrain, chesire face, or CONSTANT CTDs, I only had a few CTDs after long stretches of play. Upgrading will not solve any of those issues.
This post is meant to be for information purposes only. It's not meant to be a fix for any of the serious problems other people are experiencing. And this doesnt even take into consideration software conflicts, because I just formatted my computer and installed, pretty much, only Civ IV. Don't just go out and buy a new video cards or format your computer after you've read this post, please wait for a patch. This post is meant to show that the game does run and that there is still hope.
I have a 1min video of the game, but the size is too large to post, waiting to hear from Mods. I wasn't sure what people wanted to see, but if you have any specific request, please PM me. I'll try to build a World wonder and also post up a video.
Also, here's my specs:
Intel P4 2.4GHz, 800MHz FSB
1024MB PC3200 DDR RAM
MSI Neo2-FIS2R w/ Intel 865PE chipset
eVGA Video Card with nVidia GeForce 6600 w/ 256MB
-nVidia 81.85 drivers
C-Media on-board sound
200GB Maxtor, 200GB Seagate, and 2x80GB Maxtor SATA HDDs
17" Aopen F75PS LCD monitor
Windows XP Professional SP2 w/ latest updates
C: drive formatted on 11/05/05 - Civ 4 is pretty much the only thing installed
Anyhow, I just upgraded my video card from a Gainward GeForce FX5200 w/ 128MB to the current one and here's my report on the result. Other than the new video card, power supply, and in-game graphic settings, EVERYTHING else is the same.
Before upgrade - running at LOW graphic settings @ 1024x768
-Intro movie and sound skip
-Wonder movies and sounds skip
-Scrolling lags
-Delays after issuing orders
-Game pauses with music still playing in background
-Mouse wheel scrolling lags
-Long wait time between turns
-Globe view lags and pauses while zooming in/out (no cloud->w/ clouds)
-Long load time of game and saved games
-Crash to desktops (CTDs) (few)
-Random reboots (few)
After upgrade - running at HIGH graphic settings @ 1280x1024
-Intro movie plays almost smoothly (seems to stutters every few seconds)
-Intro sound plays continuously
-Wonder movies - unknown, havent build one yet
-Scrolling doesn't lags (barely)
-Still delays after issuing orders
-Haven't notice any game pausing on it's own, yet
-Mouse wheel scrolling is faster, though still stutters
-Still long wait time between turns
-Globe view still lags and pauses while zooming in/out (no cloud->w/ clouds)
-Stlll long load times overall
-No CTDs or Reboots, yet
Also, units' animation seems to be faster and smoother.
In conclusion, even though game performance has increased, it is still not completely "game of the year" or "editors' choice" material yet. The fact that the intro movie's sound now plays continuously seems to suggest that stuttering before is video related. Game still takes up the same amount of system memory (as reported by Task Manager), which means that this thing is a memory hog, currently around 600MB during gameplay. Also, before the upgrade, I didn't experience any black terrain, chesire face, or CONSTANT CTDs, I only had a few CTDs after long stretches of play. Upgrading will not solve any of those issues.
This post is meant to be for information purposes only. It's not meant to be a fix for any of the serious problems other people are experiencing. And this doesnt even take into consideration software conflicts, because I just formatted my computer and installed, pretty much, only Civ IV. Don't just go out and buy a new video cards or format your computer after you've read this post, please wait for a patch. This post is meant to show that the game does run and that there is still hope.
I have a 1min video of the game, but the size is too large to post, waiting to hear from Mods. I wasn't sure what people wanted to see, but if you have any specific request, please PM me. I'll try to build a World wonder and also post up a video.
