ATI is not the problem, Firaxis is

[Disk Killer]

Originally posted by Comte
You are right, I have no doubt they tried it. I do seriously suspect, however, that no more than a few of the QA machines were ATI, and that the QA wasn't very good in the first place. I found a progression break in the tutorial of all places.

And beyond that, we're arguing about this on a site with pop-ups. Pop ups. The lack of a forum is just boggling to me. This place is 4 clicks deep from the main Civ4 site and after the second click it's poorly organized, confusing, and located on a third party site with pop up windows. Seriously. You call that support?

Does this place have popups? I'm using Firefox, I honestly didn't notice.

That aside, I agree that the publisher (Take2) is doing a cruddy job on the PR side if Firaxis has to do this all via a 3rd party site. That being said, I'm certainly glad that Apolyton is gracious enough to pay it's own coin to keep this forum and hosting the fix files.

[Comte]

Originally posted by Disk Killer


Does this place have popups? I'm using Firefox, I honestly didn't notice.

That aside, I agree that the publisher (Take2) is doing a cruddy job on the PR side if Firaxis has to do this all via a 3rd party site. That being said, I'm certainly glad that Apolyton is gracious enough to pay it's own coin to keep this forum and hosting the fix files.

Yeah, I'm on firefox too, sometimes they slip through, though.

And I want to make it clear that I think Apolyton is doing a good job of things, the problem is, it shouldn't have to be their job to patch the game and host the forums for what is supposed to be an A+ title.

[archermoo]

Comte - Apolyton isn't the official vehicle for getting support for the game. From the Civ4 site, the Support link gets you there. Looks like they have both phone and e-mail support options. Apolyton and CivFanatics are both clearly labled as being third party sites. If you want official support, go through official channels. Complaining about pop-up ads on a fan run game site is just silly.

So no, I don't call this a support site. I call it a fan site that some of the Firaxis team visits.

[Comte]

Originally posted by archermoo
Comte - Apolyton isn't the official vehicle for getting support for the game. From the Civ4 site, the Support link gets you there. Looks like they have both phone and e-mail support options. Apolyton and CivFanatics are both clearly labled as being third party sites. If you want official support, go through official channels. Complaining about pop-up ads on a fan run game site is just silly.

So no, I don't call this a support site. I call it a fan site that some of the Firaxis team visits.

You misunderstand, read the post I made just before you.

And yes, I can call them or email them, but I think we both know how effective that will be in actually fixing the problem.

[archermoo]

Well, you keep stressing how bad it is that you are arguing about this on a site that has pop ups, and how that it is bad support. I was just pointing out that this isn't an official support site, and how pointless complaining about pop ups on a fan run game site is.

Your average "ignorant of computers" user isn't going to go to the web at all for support, official site or fan site. They're going to either call the number or write to the e-mail address that are provided in the back of the manual. I have no idea how much or how little help they'll get from there, as I haven't tried it.

[Willem]

Originally posted by TheVeryMoon
1.4 GHz
512 Ram
ATI MobilityRadeon 7500

not the greatest, but meets all the minimal reqs

This thread documents my struggles in more detail


I'm thinking about tinkering w/ the ATI drivers, not sure if that'll help

Updating your drivers is one of the first things you should do. But it's sounding more and more like the 7500 just doesn't cut even though it's listed as OK.

[sensaround]

Hmm,

It's been very interesting reading the range of responses to this issue since the game was released yesterday; anger, disgust, apolexy, rationality, and compassion. A fairly diverse set of responses.
My response? Gratitude to this site and to Firaxis for coming up with a fix so quickly. This is the fastest patch job I've ever seen and I've been gaming since the days of the TRS-80 Model One computer. Considering what a major hassle it is to return anything to a store these days I usually wait a few months on any new title but this time I decided to take a chance.
Thanks to everyone involved who managed to get Civilization 4 up and running with my ATI 9600 card.

Todd
AKA Sensaround

[nhall70]

Interesting...you guys (troyjgrice and Comte) are so predictable.

With the release of every new game (all genres) the forums fill up with furious people who have this problem or that problem ranging from "it doesn't run" to "it doesn't run well enough to suit me" or "it runs fine but I'm not entertained".

Then comes the ferocious attack on the developers who were too lazy or too careless to make the game work for YOU...and you know EXACTLY who is to blame!

It gets really boring. I have the "ATI renderer" bug. So what...who cares. While you're pounding your fist at the injustice of it all, I'll be playing the game soon enough.

For the price of dinner and a movie, I'll have hundreds of hours of entertainment at my disposal. It will take me less time to apply the workaround than it takes to stand in line at the movies!

Of course, I can see right through you. In real life, you're probably reasonable people. But the 'vent'ernet has a way of making people act out of character. If nobody can see your face, you can say anything you want! At least, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.

The funny thing is that my post here contributes virtually nothing to this forum...but neither does yours.

Cheers.

[Willem]

Originally posted by sensaround
This is the fastest patch job I've ever seen and I've been gaming since the days of the TRS-80 Model One computer.

Wasn't that a Texas Instrument machine? That's sure going way back. If it's what I'm thinking of, I had one for awhile that my brother gave me, but it died soon after. So he then gave me his Vic 20, and a short while later I got a Commodore 64.

Yes I'm old.

[Styx]

I have a SIS661FX onboard VGA card, the game runs but the map is black.
Before you start flaming about installing a better card, keep in mind that this is an onboard card is not dated and designed for P4.

Now, I can fix it easy because I have several AGP cards.
I won't try it however, the problem is with firaxis.

Suppose I am a customer, with minimum knowledge.
I can't solve the problem, the firaxis site has no forum.
I buy a game, I have a p4 pc matching far more then the minimum requirements.
The game is buggy and doesn't work proper.

Who has to solve and understand where the problem comes from? Me? I don't think so.

I brought my game back to the store and demanded my money back instead.
I will wait till firaxis come with a proper version.
This is not more then a beta test version and they are using a paying audience to develop their game.

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by Disk Killer


So you seriously think they never tried this game on an ATI card pre-release? Seriously?

I've been playing with an Radeon 9500 Pro since I got into the PlaySession. So, it has been tested with ATI cards.

[Ellestar]

Originally posted by sensaround
Hmm,

It's been very interesting reading the range of responses to this issue since the game was released yesterday; anger, disgust, apolexy, rationality, and compassion. A fairly diverse set of responses.
My response? Gratitude to this site and to Firaxis for coming up with a fix so quickly. This is the fastest patch job I've ever seen and I've been gaming since the days of the TRS-80 Model One computer. Considering what a major hassle it is to return anything to a store these days I usually wait a few months on any new title but this time I decided to take a chance.
Thanks to everyone involved who managed to get Civilization 4 up and running with my ATI 9600 card.

Todd
AKA Sensaround

Actually, release day bug fixes aren't uncommon in PC games industry. Sometimes they can be quite big - 10+ Mb.

[wouellette]

I have gotten the radeon to work but in a very poor performance. It sounds like the quote:
Originally posted by TheVeryMoon
1.4 GHz
512 Ram
ATI MobilityRadeon 7500

not the greatest, but meets all the minimal reqs

This thread documents my struggles in more detail


I'm thinking about tinkering w/ the ATI drivers, not sure if that'll help
guy has the same device I do IBM t40

Set the AGP in the smartgart tab to off!

[liamburke]

It's fairly obvious the game was released in a rush. It was pushed up for an earlier released, the CD and tech tree problems. I think it's fairly likely that they did do testing, but then changed something (or perhaps didn't test the finally gold version on the CD very well) and something went horribly wrong.

I think though, that if you look at the game, you can see the love and craft that went into it. The attention to detail, etc. That makes me think that once again, it probably isn't down t o firaxis. They gotta do what the money men say, and while if you release a car that explodes halfway down the road you get in trouble, huge bugs probably barely effect early sales.

The whole 5% stuff is a pile of rubbish if you ask me. You don't really have any way of working out that number, and the fact their support site, call centres, etc are talking a lot about it, tends to suggest it's a large enough number to make them want to shut us all up.

Honestly, it's not really acceptable, but it's not the end of the world either. It's sometimes the price you pay for PC games. Most of my favourite games of all time have had hideous bugs.

[Imran Siddiqui]

And beyond that, we're arguing about this on a site with pop-ups. Pop ups.

Oh boo hoo! Get a decent pop up blocker if they bother you that much. As stated, the official support for the game is phone and email. This would be a fan site. If you don't like the pop ups no one is making you stay here. Email Firaxis if you are that pissy.