I´m putting this game on the shelf for a while...

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by Godzilla

You can do this, just choose the "bigger picture" option when it asks you to choose a new tech, and it brings you to the tree. Then choose the tech you are striving for and it will fill in the rest.

Yep, I know (and use) that.

I mean something different:
If you don´t know which technology unlocks a certain building,
than you have to manually search for it in the tree (which might take some time).
AFAIR in Civ III you wouldn´t have to search for the tech for a certain building or unit (etc.) but instead would just have to click onto the unit/building within the civilopedia and say that you want to research the tech for it (i.e. click on the corresponding button) and the game engine would automatically look which tech is needed for this unit/building and would (just like the engine in Civ IV) calculate the shortest path for this technology.

For example, if I wanted to have Musketmen as quickly as pobbile, I would have to know that they are unlocked by "Gunpowder", search for Gunpowder within the Tech Tree and click to set the course for it.
If I don´t even know which tech unlocks them, I wouldn have to hoiver my mouse button over several of them before I find the right one.
In Civ III (AFAIR) I wouldn´t have the problem. I would open the civilopedia, click on units and then click on "Musketmen" and then would just have to click another button so that automatically the course of research is set for gunpowder.

Something which takes much less time as long as you don´t know every tech within the research tree

P.S.:
Now I remember, the Button had a caption with "Set goal to" and, if you had researched a new technology, you were able to choose your new research goal this way (instead of a tech tree)

[Tiberius]

That was civ2 (I miss that option too).

[Zoid]

Originally posted by greggbert


NO! I was talking about 81.94.

I´ll check that one out before I give up

[Addled Platypus]

best of luck Dr Zoidberg

[Raion]

Ah, you only need video drivers if Nvidia that support your video card. Newer drivers are not made for your video card -- unless it is a new video card. Since Civ IV does not have OpenGL 2.0 version, then you do not need OpenGL 2.0 version drivers.

You need drivers that have OpenGL 1.5 version as supported by the drivers in which case the game does not even use that -- and a version that supports Direct X 9.0c version drivers.

That is all!
Although I am using 78.01 drivers right now, I probably could roll back not only to those 71.89 drivers everyone mentions, but all the way back to the drivers I was using with Pirates! up until recently -- and that version of Nvidia drivers -- would be 56.72 drivers for this game.

What is needed is Drivers where issues were fixed with some games, unless it was the game that needed a patch, and usually it was, or Drivers that support your video card. Since I am running a FX5200 Geforce, I probably could play the game without all the upgraded drivers and that means -- even 56.72 drivers from Nvidia!

I just do not need support in drivers for some video card I do not even have!

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Handel
Don't rush to make upgrades. You cannot find a computer where this game will work normally.
The fault is not in your TV

It works nice for me (no slowdowns or anything... except for wonder/victory movies)... all details are on high, running at 1024x768 (I also tried 1280x1024, which ran just as great)

And my computer is not exactly top-of-the-line... I have considered upgrading for many years (only graphics card was upgraded), and now that I'm getting closer to have enough money to do so, I'm starting to get scared that an upgrade might make Civ IV unplayable

[Sleestax]

Both comps I use for Civ IV are ATI video card based. One is a laptop version Radeon 7000. I don't know why people are having problems with ATI cards, mine are working fine (mobile radeon 7000 in laptop and 9800 Pro 256 in PC).

[Adagio]

On the talk about drivers, I'm running with 77.72

Originally posted by Sleestax
That's why minimum specs exist (and minimum usually means unplayable).

[offtopic]
These days yes, but years ago that wasn't always the case. I had a game where the min. requirements was higher than my computer, but I could run the game perfect
[/offtopic]

Originally posted by Sleestax
6. Every few games started without a warrior unit instead of a settler unit.

I've never seen that happen

[smithldoo]

I have been playing a lot of Ages of Man, before buying Civ 4 and I am very cranky.

Sorry, I have spent the past 3 days trying to finish ONE game of Civ 4. I have been having all the troubles referred to in the help columns, eventually finishing the game with the partly fogged out map referred to. Trying all sorts of drivers. etc.

Without a doubt, I have had MORE trouble with Civ 4 than EVERY other game I have played PUT TOGETHER. As a average computer person, I did not realise that you needed a special video card to play Civ 4. I can play RomeTW, MTW, EU, AOE3, and RON on big maps with lots of units and no troubles, but on my 2.8gig processor, 1.5gig Ram, 128 mb video card (2 yr old), Civ 4 is like dragging a dead sloth through quicksand. CTD, freezes, mouse freezing, CTD that totally locks the computer that even Ctrl/Alt/del would not release, had to power off to regain control. I have finished one game and that will be all. I also forgot the small memory leak.

Go and read in the Civ4 Help column for a while, far out, its a disgrace. Even in the general forum there is a lot of discussion about bugs etc.

If I knew I had to buy a special video card to play civ 4, I would never have bought it. IMHO the system specs are vague and if you read the Civ 4 help threads, MANY, MANY people have also been caught out.

Many wrong, vague or inconsistant messages and bits in manual.

When I disband a cleric in a home city, I get a message to say if it is successful or not, in a foreign city no message, have to check the little religious icons to see if there is any change. IMHO very inconsistant.

In respect of the Gt Person for advance, I expect what the MOUSEOVER says, you "AUTOMATICALLY GET THE ADVANCE". I now know find this is not the case, but that is buried at the end of a paragraph in the manual and clearly contradicts the mouseover.

I am looking now at GP Keppler in my last game. It says
"+3288 for the research of Fibre Optics. This will have the great person automatically discover a technology. This action will consume the great person".

I am aware of the process now, after having it pointed out. However I have highlighted the part that is confusing and misleading if you do not remember sentence 3, para 1 page 82 of the manual.

Too put it simply in a civil court if I had 2 DEFINITIVE statements vs one that is contradictory, I believe I would win on the balance of probabilities. It says in the mouseover, quote again "automatically discover the technology". Simply one of several wrong messages and vague explanations in the manual

Kassiopeia is dead right, a lot in the manual is not very clear, collateral damage, inflation etc.

There are more instances of the above re wrong messages. The game I got out of the box is not even a good beta in my opinion, more like an alpha IMHO.

The in game manual and the tutorial are a farce, if I had a hand in those I would be moving cities and changing my name in embarrisment.

Dragging a dead sloth through quicksand play.

In AOM, I can be playing a game that was 5 times the size of the one I finished up winning in Civ 4(hug map), and I can grab a stack and be ready to move before the last one finished at turn 300 when there are nearly 300 cities and 2500 units in the game, you tried that in Civ 4? It takes up to 5 seconds in civ 4 for a unit to move one tile towards the end of the game.

I bought it in good faith, the system specs are really not very factual or clear, much like the manual and mouseovers. If I knew I needed to buy a new video card to play, I would never have bought it.

If they had simply added the new concepts to the old civ 3 graphics, I would not be complaining, simple as that.

The AI.

Re the AI, I am well aware that for over 3 decades we have been told that real AI is a decade away. however, I have seen much better AI than this one in older games.e.g. The civ 3 ai was more of a challenge IMHO.

As far as the cheats go, in AOM, once you eventually get on top, you don't have to worry about AI getting all sorts of handouts to boost them. The cheats are much fairer IMHO in AOM.

In the first 2 civ 4 games I played to I had never attacked anyone (except barbarians). Then both games I was targeted by a friendly neighbour. In the second game, I was attacked out of the blue by Bismarck 2 turns after I had given him cow and 20 gold as a gift??? Funnily enough, when I decided to implement IAS (aka Infinite Attack Sleeze (as discussed with stankarp)), it was predictable and booring. Get to 5 -6 cities then attack, target a neighbour with happy resources and go for it. In game one I was half way through my 3rd ai and it was pretty booringly simple, when the game died. Played again and this time managed to get to the win, one turn before I killed my 4 th AI (but I did it anyway). Capturing cities regularly funds deficit research spending.

Get this, while I was super aggressive, NO AI DECLARED WAR ON ME. How realistic, wow Over 2 games I crushed with ease 7.5 AI and no one even sent me a diplomatic note. What BS. In AOM, by the time you kill one medium size AI you are on the threshold of being branded a cross between hitler and attila and one more war and you are on your own buddy. When I was totally peaceful, I was attacked????

It (the out of the blue attack)was only a problem in my first 2 test games because I was lulled into a false sense of security, 5500 years of peace, never attacked anyone, traded with all. The reason it was a problem is proximity, the map is basically full by 500-1000AD. After I became aware of the possibility it was not a problem, in fact it was funny watching ai units immolate themselves on my defences. Then of course, have cavalry to kill those stupid catapults that often travel like sheep in groups by themselves.

Religion.

So far, I have not seen what the major impact is in CIV IV. Is there one?

Remulak

Well in 4 games so far (all monarch level, huge map), 2 tests, one crashed and died when I researched Broadway, and one eventually finished with a mucked up map, I ask the same question. AFAI can see, the only major difference I noticed is multiple religions in one of your cities allows you to build different religious buildings in the one city. In the last game I researched one religion, then as border cities got new religions would build other religious buildings and clerics to spread religion and buildings to make more happy and culture points. After a while it got pretty repititive. It made IAS very easy as there were practically no happiness issues.

Diplomacy.

Rubbish as partly covered above. Too many advance related exclusions, bring back civ3 diplomacy any day of the week.

As far as playing again on a higher level, shove it. Slow, teedious, over animated, bland map, booring ai, diplomacy much poorer than civ 3 etc. But, before you all go off, I will simply say if they had put the new concepts into the old civ 3 engine, I would not be complaining.

In AOM I can play a gigantic game with 300 cities, 2500 units, map 500% bigger and do a turn in the same time as civ 4. In AOM I can grab a stack and be ready to move before the last one finished, tried that in civ 4??? It takes up to 5 seconds in civ 4 for a unit to move one tile towards the end of the game. Hexegonia said it takes you 3 hrs to do 15 turns during the dark ages in AOM, it took me that long to do that many turns in civ 4 in my last game (1800AD) that is 25% of the size because the whole thing is sluggish and jerky and gets worse. Yes I had graphics on mimimum, animations off, quick battles etc,etc,etc,etc and the result was a bland, booring featureless waste of time.

I vote Civ 4 the worst out of a box game I have ever played.

[Zoid]

Originally posted by Platypus Rex
best of luck Dr Zoidberg

Thanks And it actually worked!! It´s still a bit slow, but it´s now really playable. And the choppiness of the movies are gone

[greggbert]

I vote Civ 4 the worst out of a box game I have ever played.

Obviously you have never played Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 version 1.0.

or MOO3 Any version: The strategy game a persistent 2 year old can win every time by pressing END TURN over and over.

Or Master Of Magic 1.0 god that was a dog, I STILL can't get the sound to work right on my Soundblaster Pro.

Black and White 2 version 1.0 is no picnic either, and I STILL Can't stop getting Evil Genius to crash.

Man that was good therapy.

[Aro]

Originally posted by Dr Zoidberg


Thanks And it actually worked!! It´s still a bit slow, but it´s now really playable. And the choppiness of the movies are gone

Glad to know that!
Congrats, and enjoy this awesome game.

[Mace]

Originally posted by Aro


Glad to know that!
Congrats, and enjoy this awesome game.

I did the same driver update as Dr Zoidberg and it really helped the gfx performance. Made the game go from questionably playable to solidly playable on my 3 year old machine.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Tiberius
That was civ2 (I miss that option too).

Alpha Centauri also has it. In fact, it's better implemented.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Dr Zoidberg
Thanks And it actually worked!! It´s still a bit slow, but it´s now really playable. And the choppiness of the movies are gone

What's your video card?