Windows XP playing Windows 10 online

[Fergei]

Hi all. My friend and I have completely different PC setups but a shared passion for Civ 3. I am on Windows XP (and have Civ III Gold) and he is on Windows 10 (with Civ III Complete) which is causing big headaches for playing online together. So far my investigations have identified:

- Steam can't be used (as Steam Civ 3 Complete only permits play with other Steam players and Windows XP can no longer access Steam).

- GOG Galaxy can't be used (again, because Windows XP isn't compatible with GOG Galaxy, so I can only download an offline only version of Civ III Complete from GOG).

So what I am proposing is getting second hand CD copies of Civ III Gold and get both versions of 'Play the World' updated to the same patch, but I'm not certain that:

i) those CDs will work on Windows 10?
ii) whether direct connect will work between the same game on such different operating systems (assuming I can get around any firewall/ports issues)

Can anyone advise on above two questions, or do I just need to take the plunge into the unknown!?

 

[JamieLanger]

I faced this problem many times ago, you just need to take the plugin into the unknown. this is the best possible solution to solve this two problems.

 

[Quintillus]

Well, that's an interesting conundrum. I think the best option would be both using the GOG version, and Direct IP for the networking. An important detail about GOG is that you can simply download the games you have bought; they are DRM-free, and GOG Galaxy is optional. Thus, while GOG Galaxy doesn't support XP, if you buy it and then go to https://www.gog.com/account, hover over Civ3, click the down arrow, and View Downloads, the downloadable installer should work on both XP and 10, and everything in between.

 

[Fergei]

Well, that's an interesting conundrum. I think the best option would be both using the GOG version, and Direct IP for the networking. An important detail about GOG is that you can simply download the games you have bought; they are DRM-free, and GOG Galaxy is optional. Thus, while GOG Galaxy doesn't support XP, if you buy it and then go to https://www.gog.com/account, hover over Civ3, click the down arrow, and View Downloads, the downloadable installer should work on both XP and 10, and everything in between.

Thanks. Unfortunately when downloading Civ3 Complete without Galaxy (i.e. through offline installers), GOG is quite explicit that on-line functions are disabled (although I appreciate some suggest that this may not be the case). When I tried this a similar message is displayed when clicking on multiplayer (the game says it is redirecting you to local games only).

I've sourced second hand disks for Civ 3 Gold, and (after an initial issue) they work on Windows 10. Alas, we can't connect to each other despite firewalls being configured. So I think I am stuck in a scenario where a lack of knowledge about ports is the last remaining obstacle. Unfortunately that is a somewhat huge issue! I'll use the pinned guide above but finding out how to open ports on your router appears dependent on highly variable customer service from ISPs.

 

[Fergei]

For reference of anyone down the line who experiences a similar issue, I absolutely aced the whole ports things on both users routers and both users firewalls - and it still didn't work! At least I can say I tried and can be the proud owner of 4 (extra cheap) copies of Civ3!

 

[Quintillus]

I get the same in-game message about being redirected to local games only, but there is a "Direct IP" button (with white background) on the Multiplayer screen. I suspect that may work, although I haven't had the occasion to play multiplayer in a few years. But it would require port configuration, and that can certainly be tricky. When I was in university and didn't have access to the router I never could get that right.

One last-ditch option may be software like Hamachi, to create a virtual local network between the two computers. I recall playing a Europa Universalis III game with CFC members using Hamachi to bypass the whole ports issue. It isn't as popular now that a lot of games use Steam or other config-free options for multiplayer, but appears to still be out there.

 

[Fergei]

Thanks again for the suggestion. My self tuition of all things computers continues...

 

[Fergei]

After a few curse words, I got Hamachi working on XP and I'm able to play my friend. Thanks again Quintillus. My next test is to stop us both getting hammered on Monarch (we seem to be woefully out of practice!).