v1.52: Fatal_Error Message

[supershanks]

Just got :-

Followed by

Guess this is the issue kbmusiclover has - This has just appeared for me in the later part of a single player game.

Windows Managed swap file
Patched to 1.52
Graphics Set 2 medium.

 

[Halon]

Same issue here. I just bought the game and upgraded to 1.52 immediately after install. So I managed to play up until I built my 3rd or 4th wonder (normal speed around 1000AD), then the wonder movie crashed the game saying bad memory allocation.

Seems to me there is a massive memory leak with this game that gets progressive worse each time you go to the next turn.

The game at 1.52 is unplayable unless you a into SM and like the pain of taking your Civ out of BC and promptly crashing once into AD and building a wonder.

I have above system reqs with exception of video card.

2.8 GHZ Intel 800 FSP Hyperthreading processor
1 G DDR Ram
64 meg Nvdia chipset vid card (3 years old)

I run World of Warcraft, Rise of Nations, Neverwinter Nights and with exception to NWN in some places, no graphics make my machine stutter and come to a halt like Civ IV does during a wonder movie. Hell even the Firaxis logo trailer stutters badly.

The game runs smooth up until those movies come into play.

I just ordered a 256 DDR Nvidia vid card, but I doubt it will fix the problem. This is bad coding for memory handling.

 

[Dimy]

I'm not sure if I have the same problem, because I don't get an error message at all. My game just freezes or my screen goes entirely black and need to reboot my pc completely. This only started to occur since 1.52... I never had any crash with either 1.00 and 1.09. And weird thing is...the game just crashes even when not doing anything... just idling on the main world screen and it crashes after a while... most often it happens when activating the diplomacy screen though.

 

[jajohns8]

I am getting this error too, although in the middle of the game...about 1248AD timeframe......huge map 7 civs....

 

[salmidach]

I can't believe how badly this game has been made...

It's got more bugs in it than the bugs life film... Funny how my PC can play the likes of Battlefield 2 and Fear on high quality with a ratio of 1280 x 1024 but everytime I try to play a game of Civ it fails..

Get it sorted Firaxis.....

 

[koondrad]

I can't believe how badly this game has been made...

It's got more bugs in it than the bugs life film... Funny how my PC can play the likes of Battlefield 2 and Fear on high quality with a ratio of 1280 x 1024 but everytime I try to play a game of Civ it fails..

Get it sorted Firaxis.....

Whats your spec?

 

[salmidach]

Whats your spec?

Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.60GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Card name: RADEON X700 SE
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RADEON X700 SE (0x5E4F)
Display Memory: 256.0 MB

Well within spec

 

[iSkratch]

Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.60GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Card name: RADEON X700 SE
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RADEON X700 SE (0x5E4F)
Display Memory: 256.0 MB

Well within spec

I'm with you on that one.

Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939
Geforce 6800Ultra 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 2-2-2-5 Dual Channel RAM
SOLTEK SL-K8TPro-939 MoBo
500W Power Supply
Lian Li V COOL PC-V1000 Case


Constant crashes, blue screens, and random restarts.

Firaxis is a joke.

 

[salmidach]

Have to say this is getting a bit of a joke now.....

I have uninstalled 1.52 because of this error, thus losing my saved games and then repatched to 1.09 and now it crashes for no reason

This has got to be the worse game ever released, shame really as I really enjoy playing it. It's worse than the original release of Black and White and has more bugs than the new X3-reunion game...

Firaxis should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this pile of smelly steamy brown stuff......

 

[jeece644]

Bump. Same error here. I never even tried running unpatched. Nevertheless, seems like a BS fix to disable movies just to make the game run, especially when one of the selling points is "70 in-game movies and animations" (from the website). Anyone have any other fixes?

 

[ksharif]

Getting the same error. Tried everything from LOW resoulution to minimum video settings.
Have 11 civs and around 1700 AD.

 

[AJ2086]

Yea im in like 2100AD, 10 Civs including mine. I got to about 2050 fine and then it started crashing. I took out the Persians, Spanish and Germans to secure 2 of 5 continents for myself. Now I want the Arabians gone but I cant get to them because it keeps crashing with the video memory. I'm going to try and go back to 1.09. It's gotten to the point where when it crashes I look at the clock and call the time and write it on my dry erase board that way I can go back to the closest auto save, shouldnt have to do that.

 

[JRobbs]

I'm getting the same error.
I'm new to this forum, but I'm a long time CIV player.
It's incredibly annoying to get well into the the game and have it crash every other turn.

Have we been able to determine any commonalities that are causing the problem.

I'm on an Acer Ferrari 4005 Laptop, 1GB RAM, ATI X700 128MB, running at 1680x1050. I've tried dropping the res, the detail-level and running windowed or full-screen and still get the crash.

Is there a correlation with the number of visible map squares? It seems to start getting bad when you get satellites and can see the whole world. Maybe that's just coincidence. Maybe something with the amount of units on the board, I don't know.

Any guesses when Firaxis might have a fix for this? My bug report has not received any response at all.

 

[blue3c]

I'm getting the same error.
I'm new to this forum, but I'm a long time CIV player.
It's incredibly annoying to get well into the the game and have it crash every other turn.

Have we been able to determine any commonalities that are causing the problem.

I'm on an Acer Ferrari 4005 Laptop, 1GB RAM, ATI X700 128MB, running at 1680x1050. I've tried dropping the res, the detail-level and running windowed or full-screen and still get the crash.

Is there a correlation with the number of visible map squares? It seems to start getting bad when you get satellites and can see the whole world. Maybe that's just coincidence. Maybe something with the amount of units on the board, I don't know.

Any guesses when Firaxis might have a fix for this? My bug report has not received any response at all.

Don't plan on it. I gave up on this game a while back. Only reason I had to come back is the nephew bought this and wants to play. My sister asked me, resident geek, to help. I have found nothing but errors in this game. No communication from the company. There website is very cheesy, they have time to list there awards but no information regarding working on a new patch or expansion pack.
I only mention this to brace you for the long wait you have in front of you. Also if you go into to other threads here and state you have a problem. Most here will say you are part of only a few that have problems. They have no facts to base this on. But they go with it cause it makes them feel good. You will be told it is your machine, your vid card, buy more mem, defrag your disk, you must have spyware or its your os, you must reinstall, yadda yadda yadda. Anything but a problem with the game. I have found most here are loyal to a fault. There are a few that offer some helpful hints.
Mostly I have found this is a mem issue of some kind. After a certain amount of time in the game, it crashes. Others have suggested it is a mem issue. Only to be told to buy more mem. Well when you buy more mem, the issue just comes up a few game years later. Me I have 4 gb of mem and it still happens.
Suggestions for you. I have a few. First is to run far and fast from this game. But since you came here, my guess is you want to try and get it to work. Cause you started to play and it is like crack and now you can't stop, well until it crashes that is. So here are some suggestions.
Try playing the game with no patch. Some claim this works for them.
If that doesn't work install 1.09, try playing a full game and see how that works for you.
If you have troubles there, goto the latest which I think is 1.52.
If you still have troubles, you can increase your swap file. Save every 5-10 min. If you notice the game slowing down, save and exit. restart the game and it should be up to speed. Always restart the game with the shift, which clears the game cache. Important.
I understand these are band aid fixes, but in truth this is a band aid game. So go with god and good luck. May you still have hair in the morning.

 

[ksharif]

Its a video mem leak for sure.
If you have discovered a lot of map, and your units are spread, mean u have visible terrain, then grab the box on mini-map move it around fast. With in seconds your game will crash.

 

[blue3c]

Yes things may point in that direction. The only ones who know for sure are the ones who work for firaxis. They have the code. I am trying to stay away from its this or that for sure. Cause we can't really say its exactly this or that. Yes I am using general terms here. Cause at this point if you want to play the game you have to just post your errors, cross your fingers and hope to god they are working on a fix. Again no one knows for sure they are. One could only hope they are.

 

[thamer]

The next patch is expected in a couple of weeks. It has many gameplay fixes and improvements, including movie fixes and significant system and video memory reductions. The lower video memory usage should help people who are geting out of vram warnings. Sorry you've had a bad experience - I hope the next patch improves things for you.

 

[Commander Bello]

The next patch is expected in a couple of weeks. It has many gameplay fixes and improvements, including movie fixes and significant system and video memory reductions. The lower video memory usage should help people who are geting out of vram warnings. Sorry you've had a bad experience - I hope the next patch improves things for you.

Thanks for the notification and the communication, Thamer.

Would it be too bold to ask for an indication, if "a couple of weeks" would to be translated into
a) 2 weeks
b) 3 weeks
c) 4 weeks
...
z) many, many weeks? ;-)

 

[blue3c]

I am not a big fan. I am no supporter of this game. But I would believe that a couple of weeks should be translated to mean " we are working on it, we will test it, then release it some time in the near future". I do not think Thamer can say exactly in how many weeks. Me personally I am just excited to here there is a new patch on the way. As I have said in the past, it is my belief that no patch will make the game playable. At least not until the expansion pack, and that final fix will be built into the expansion pack.
I do not have the game anymore, so I do not have to worry about spending more money on this game. But as I said, my nephew is a big fan and loves it. I am the geek in the family, and I would like it to work for him. Its my fault he even knows about civ.
I hope this patch is the "ONE". But I am not holding my breath.

 

[JRobbs]

I'm posting this in hopes that other will learn from my frustration. What follows is a chronolgy of my attempts to get anything other than a scripted response to the problem described in this thread.

On 1/21/2006 9:20 PM John Robbs wrote:
I'm trying to run Civ IV and it keeps crashing.
I'm using an Acer Ferrari 4005 which has an AMD Turion ML-37 processor, 1 GB RAM, and ATI Radeon X700 GPU w/ 128MB GRAM and a 1680x1050 LCD.
I have updated to the current version which resolved some times of crashes I was experiencing, but now I can't play more than two or three turns without a crash.
Here's the message I get when it crashes:
File:\main\civilization4.bak\SDKs\Gamesbryo2_0\CoreLibs\NiDX9Renderer\NiDX9VBManager.cpp, Line:1018
I really like this game, as I have enjoyed all the previous versions.
It's very frustrating not to be able to play it.
Any help you could offer would be appreciated.

On 1/30/2006 4:28 PM John Robbs wrote:
I was just wondering if any had received my question and when I might expect a response.

On 1/31/2006 1:36 AM TAKE 2-NA wrote:
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for contacting Take 2 Technical Support.
Unfortunately we cannot solve your problem with the information you
provided, could you please send us the following information to enable us
to find a solution that will enable you to play the game.
The information we require can be sent to us by attaching the direct x
report to the email that you send back.
To get the direct x report, do the following steps:
- with the left mouse button click on the start menu
- with the left mouse button click on the run button
- type in the text box the following word : dxdiag
- this will bring up another window, allow the activity bar to finish and
disappear (bottom left of window), this may take a minute or two, depending
on the speed of your computer.
- if requested if direct x is to check the signatures of the drivers,
simply select the "No." option.
- now click on the button at the bottom right of the window that says "Save
All Information..."
- select a location on the computer that you feel you are able to find, ie.
Desktop. And click save/ok
Please be sure to delete all previous correspondence when replying. This
will help us to process your response in a more timely and efficient manner.
Kind Regards,
Take 2 Technical Support

On 2/1/2006 10:25 PM John Robbs wrote:
<attached file DxDiag.txt> containing DirectX diagnostic report showing no errors in the Direct X drivers or hardware

On 2/2/2006 12:28 AM TAKE 2-NA wrote:
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for contacting Take 2 Technical Support.
Please could we advise you to install the 1.52 patch for the game, to do
this please visit www.civ4.com
Please be sure to delete all previous correspondence when replying. This
will help us to process your response in a more timely and efficient manner.
Kind Regards,
Take 2 Technical Support

2/2/2006 9:47 PM John Robbs wrote:
I'm already running 1.52.

On 2/3/2006 1:02 AM TAKE 2-NA wrote:
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for contacting Take 2 Technical Support.
Please could we advise you to install the latest drivers for your videocard
also your soundcard, to do this please visit the manufacturers website.
Please be sure to delete all previous correspondence when replying. This
will help us to process your response in a more timely and efficient manner.
Kind Regards,
Take 2 Technical Support

On 2/3/2006 11:36 AM John Robbs wrote:
I already have the latest drivers for all devices on my system.
This is an acknowledged bug in your software that is being discussed in your forums.

On 2/3/2006 1:17 PM John Robbs wrote:
I already have the latest drivers for all devices on my system.
This is an acknowledged bug in your software that is being discussed in
your forums under the subject, "v1.52: Fatal_Error Message".

On 2/4/2006 1:44 AM TAKE 2-NA wrote:
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for contacting Take 2 Technical Support.
Please resend..
Unfortunately we cannot solve your problem with the information you
provided, could you please send us the following information to enable us
to find a solution that will enable you to play the game.
The information we require can be sent to us by attaching the direct x
report to the email that you send back.
To get the direct x report, do the following steps:
- with the left mouse button click on the start menu
- with the left mouse button click on the run button
- type in the text box the following word : dxdiag
- this will bring up another window, allow the activity bar to finish and
disappear (bottom left of window), this may take a minute or two, depending
on the speed of your computer.
- if requested if direct x is to check the signatures of the drivers,
simply select the "No." option.
- now click on the button at the bottom right of the window that says "Save
All Information..."
- select a location on the computer that you feel you are able to find, ie.
Desktop. And click save/ok
Please be sure to delete all previous correspondence when replying. This
will help us to process your response in a more timely and efficient manner.
Kind Regards,
Take 2 Technical Support

On 2/4/2006 10:30 PM John Robbs wrote:
<attached file DxDiag.txt> containing DirectX diagnostic report showing no errors in the Direct X drivers or hardware
<attached file CivErrors.doc> containing screen-caps of the actual error messages display when the game crashes

On 2/6/2006 11:40 PM TAKE 2-NA wrote:
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for contacting Take 2 Technical Support.
Please could we advise you to install the 1.52 patch for the game.
To do this please visit www.civ4.com
Please be sure to delete all previous correspondence when replying. This
will help us to process your response in a more timely and efficient manner.
Kind Regards,
Take 2 Technical Support

On 2/7/2006 11:29 PM John Robbs wrote:
Are you intentionally trying to provoke my ire?
Do NOT tell me, again to upgrade my game version.
Do NOT tell me, again to upgrade my video drivers.
Do NOT tell me, again to resend the Direct X Diagnostic Report.
As you can see from the included correspondence, I told you when I first complained of this problem that I had already upgraded to the latest version of the software. Consequently, telling me twice to upgrade to the latest version is not only insulting to me, but reflects very poorly on the quality of customer service provided by your company. I have always been a fan of the game, Civilization, and would have happily played it and recommended it to all my friends. Sadly I cannot recommend a game which has such obvious programming flaws and such atrocious customer support.
In fact, if I do not soon receive some reasonable response to this email, rather than a scripted reply that a trained monkey could produce, I will be forced to take the game back to the store and demand a refund of my purchase price.

Most seriously,
John T. Robbs