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Possible Fixes for "Failed to Initialize Renderer" Startup Error
WHOA TAKE IT EASY!! Don't call for people's jobs. Think about the variety of systems we are running. Intel, AMD Athlon, various RAM settings video cards... the list goes on. Sure you can point fingers but that is not going to do any good. Instead of complaining put out your TECH specs and HELP the dev team fix it.
I agree, there are too many combinations to test, the catch is that the problem follows the graphis card (specifically ATI brand), not the system internals. This does not seem to be an uncomon problem, which means it should be easily duplicated in a controlled/test environment.
Would you be asking for a public statement and jobs if AMD or Intel had 30% bad processors escape testing?
A boatload of people are involved in software development, and more often then not the QA leads are only responsible for what they approve; if the build is one that has not been sent to QA, then it's not their fault.
Ok, so I work for a ISO 9001 certified company. If 2k has a standards protocol, then there is a document describing the exact process for the release. In that document will reside the name of the person I would fire. If 2k doesn't have a quality certification, then Firaxis should be scolded for having them as a publisher.
My company has to release software that works 99.999% of the time, and you know what, it does work. If you have a well writen test and verification plan, then you can ensure software works.
I agree, there are too many combinations to test, the catch is that the problem follows the graphis card (specifically ATI brand), not the system internals. This does not seem to be an uncomon problem, which means it should be easily duplicated in a controlled/test environment.
Let's hope. For all we know 10% of the people who own ATI cards have a problematic AGP aperture setting on their mother board bios that causes a timing problem with DirectX 9.0c, that only gets exposed when you you initialize the display with the exact sequency that Civ4 happens to be initializing it. And that this 10% is all of us. *shrug*
I'm not saying that is the problem or that it is even likely, but sometimes problems with 3D games that get missed during testing can end up resolving to things like that...
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
- T. S. Eliot
Solver, I understand that you want to quell the rising anger of dissapointed fans, but you have a working copy (and you didn't pay $54.11 for a retail version that doesn't work).
Regardless of who's supposed to do QA or testing, the developer is the one with access to the code. I'd like to hear from someone what the log file output means (even if all I get is 'the renderer bailed cause it couldn't get a dx9 device handle'). And 2k's support is a joke, so I'm not hopeful for any help from them.
I have a working beta version right now and no retail version at all . While the developer does the coding, the publisher is responsible for how the game is released, published, etc. Likewise, the publisher sets the deadlines which means that it depends on the publisher how much testing and QA the gold build gets. t's pretty obvious that 2K didn't give the time to test the gold build on a significant number of computers, or else the issue would have been noticed.
apparently not- my x700 256mb ATI supports hardware t&l and cant run it.
you did get me on the second half about doom 3 though; nicely done - touche.
while they may be working on a solution (ill buy you lunch at sizzlers if they get one to work successfully) none of it excuses the problems with this product. sid meiers should be ashamed to have his name on this at the moment.
just kidding about the lunch - ill be dead from trying to figure out how to get this damn thing to run.
There is a difference between "can't run" and "should run, but can't". Your ATI card falls in the second category. It definitely should run Civ4, but can't at the moment - not because Firaxis designed it so, but because there's a problem that will be fixed.
And please don't mix them all together, what Sid Meier, Firaxis and 2K do are really different things.
Solver, WePlayCiv Co-Administrator
Contact: solver-at-weplayciv-dot-com I can kill you whenever I please... but not today. - The Cigarette Smoking Man
*sigh* Well there are some with problems with the pro then. My point is the same though, there have been reports that the x800 pro is working ok for some people. But I guess not all.
Originally posted by Salatir
On a forum, not owned by Firaxis or 2k. No offense to the denizens here, but that hardly qualifies as publically owning up, in my book. Their proprietary sites need to alert those concerned with their game that there's a problem - and to give those with these particular cards that have NOT as yet bought the game fair notice.
A tech is not the public voice of his or her company. And until that public voice does something more than says "Hey, we have new wallpapers, guys!" they're not admitting anything.
I understand your frustration, really I do. Just give them a chance to get a hotfix going, or do whatever it takes to get this thing up and running. Sometimes "it" just happens, as Forrest Gump would say. IMO the fact that they're even on here trying to troubleshoot the issue, shows that they're "owning up". Most companies wouldn't even bother. Take that piece of crap UbiSoft and the worst game of all time (in terms of bugs), Pool of Radiance: ROMD. You couldn't even get them to patch most of the problems.
Ok, so I work for a ISO 9001 certified company. If 2k has a standards protocol, then there is a document describing the exact process for the release. In that document will reside the name of the person I would fire. If 2k doesn't have a quality certification, then Firaxis should be scolded for having them as a publisher.
My company has to release software that works 99.999% of the time, and you know what, it does work. If you have a well writen test and verification plan, then you can ensure software works.
2K probably doesn't have what you call a "standards protocol". What they do have, most likely, is an internal QA team; that QA team tests the game, and if they don't find problems they release it.
Hardware QA testing is incredibly hard to do; 90% of the time, publishers outsource their hardware QA needs.
What I'm also saying is that it's quite possible that changes were made AFTER the QA approval process was performed and someone in the production pipeline decided to release the game.
The best way to test this issue would be to use their latest QA approved release and try it on a problematic system (I can personally vouch for a genuine ATI X800XL AGP card). If they can reproduce the problem in-house, then they can more than likely fix it.
So far, from what I've seen, the problem only happens on the following cards:
X800XL AGP
9600XT
9500
9550
Now the problem is the 9600XT is a VERY popular card, and I'm certain that the X800XL card is used in the hardware QA process.
So who knows who's at fault? All we know is we're pissed.
i completely agree - this not acceptable...
whatever- i give em 24 hours, then everyone should just return the POS till they fix it proper.
Dude if they thought it was acceptable, they wouldn't be on here trying to fix it. I was frustrated last night, too. But I decided to wait 48-72 hours for a reasonable hotfix. Give it at least that much time.
man. you people who are pointing fingers and calling for heads act like you've not spent much time on the forums for many other 3D games. It is unfortunate, but in the 3D game world, this kind of stuff happens frequently.
At least firaxis is on top of it and willing to publicly put some of their developer's heads on the chopping block by posting to the forums. Many gaming companies wouldn't do that.
Let's not bite their heads off now, or they'll stop posting helpful suggestions.
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
- T. S. Eliot
FWIW, for me, having read this thread prior to getting home and installing the game, I:
1) Went to the MS site and did the Direct X update.
2) Rebooted machine.
3) Ran the ATI Driver removal tool.
4) Rebooted machine.
5) Installed the newest Catalyst 5.10 package, including drivers.
6) Rebooted machine.
7) Installed Civ IV.
8) Rebooted machine.
9) Verified that I had d3dx9_26.dll in my Windows\System32 directory.
10) Tried to run Civ IV.
11) Got the same error message as everyone else.
. While the developer does the coding, the publisher is responsible for how the game is released, published, etc. Likewise, the publisher sets the deadlines which means that it depends on the publisher how much testing and QA the gold build gets. t's pretty obvious that 2K didn't give the time to test the gold build on a significant number of computers, or else the issue would have been noticed.
IMO the fact that they're even on here trying to troubleshoot the issue, shows that they're "owning up". Most companies wouldn't even bother. Take that piece of crap UbiSoft and the worst game of all time (in terms of bugs), Pool of Radiance: ROMD. You couldn't even get them to patch most of the problems.
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