Question about the demo.

[MrFun]

I probably won't get an answer before I actually download it and play it myself, but here is the question:


Will the download give me an accurate gauge on how well a full game will play on my computer, given my computer's memory, video card, and processing speed?

Or will I not know this information until I actually fork out the $50?




Thanks in advance.

[Qwertqwert]

I don't know the demo, do you have a link to it? If so I can probabally tell you then.

[MrFun]

I got it from here:

http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/downloads.htm

[rjmatsleepers]

Re: Question about the demo.

Originally posted by MrFun
I probably won't get an answer before I actually download it and play it myself, but here is the question:


Will the download give me an accurate gauge on how well a full game will play on my computer, given my computer's memory, video card, and processing speed?

Or will I not know this information until I actually fork out the $50?




Thanks in advance.

I believe the demo will allow you to check how well your system can cope with the game. It only plays for 100 turns, so you won't be able to test all the problems with a large map and lots of things happening. Is your system above the minimum spec? You should aim for as close to recommended as possible.

AFAIK, you won't be able to use the latest patches, so there will be significant differences in the game.

RJM

[Adagio]

Originally posted by MrFun
Will the download give me an accurate gauge on how well a full game will play on my computer, given my computer's memory, video card, and processing speed?

My brother downloaded the demo, which ran fine, but after installing the full version it stopped running. A patch fixed the problem, and AFAIK the full game now runs as good as the demo did

[MrFun]

I believe my computer is above the minimum specs.



thanks guys

[MrFun]

I've played a couple of demo games now; having a measly 100 turns to enjoy some of the orgasmic experience of playing a tidbit of this game.

I think tomorrow I may take the risk, and fork out the $50 to play the game. I better not run into any technical problems late in a large, full game.

[rjwoer]

The patches have helped to improve things, certainly--the memory leak and so forth. If you play on a large map late in the game things sometimes hiccup on all but the best systems.

But hell, it's still worth $50 IMHO.

Good luck. Have fun.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by rjwoer
If you play on a large map late in the game things sometimes hiccup on all but the best systems.

Which makes my computer even weirder, as for me on large maps I don't see a difference. There's just as high as risk for it to go into "slowmotion" in the beginning of a game on a small map with few civs, than there is on a large map in the end with lots of civs
Lucky me, as this "slowmotion" can most of the time be fixed by alt-tabbing into Windows, then back again

And my computer wasn't even up to date 1-2 years ago

[MrFun]

Originally posted by rjwoer
The patches have helped to improve things, certainly--the memory leak and so forth. If you play on a large map late in the game things sometimes hiccup on all but the best systems.

But hell, it's still worth $50 IMHO.

Good luck. Have fun.

I am only aware of one official patch that players should download for Civilization IV.

You mean there is at least a second patch I should download and install?

[Adagio]

If you install the latest patch (1.52) you wont have to bother about the previous patch releases

[Willem]

Originally posted by Adagio
If you install the latest patch (1.52) you wont have to bother about the previous patch releases

The latest patch is 1.61, not 1.52.

[Willem]

Originally posted by MrFun
I better not run into any technical problems late in a large, full game.

If your computer doesn't meet the recommended specs, you might have problems running Huge maps with graphics set on high. It's going to be very laggy and may even crash from time to time. You should post your specs so people can give you better advice.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Willem
The latest patch is 1.61, not 1.52.

Correct, I forgot... been a long time (read: weeks) since I last played Civ IV

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Willem


If your computer doesn't meet the recommended specs, you might have problems running Huge maps with graphics set on high. It's going to be very laggy and may even crash from time to time. You should post your specs so people can give you better advice.

I'm going to look at Solver's thread for Civ 4 newbies where he has posted the required minimum, and the reccomended minimum specs and compare them to what I actually have.

But since you asked, here are my specs:

Dell Inspiron 9300 (laptop)
Intel Pentium M
1.86 Ghz processor
782 Mhz, 1.00 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 (video card)
70.5 GB Drive C memory (57.4 remaining)