Load game + grid = CTD

[potoroo]

I always turn the grid on (and I'm really annoyed with Firaxis that the grid on/off setting still isn't saved). After a few Warlords games I now find that loading a saved game and turning the grid on produces a CTD every time. It seems to have something to do with my having changed my profile settings, but even if I load the game, change the profile and save the game again it still occurs. Does anyone else have this problem?

[Petek]

Yes, I had exactly the same problem with one of my Warlords save files, even though I never had any problems before. The same problem was reported in this thread on Civ Fanatics.

I suspect that this problem is not attributable to Warlords. Perhaps it was caused by a Microsoft patch? Several such patches have been distributed recently.

[potoroo]

I installed a bunch of XP security updates on Aug 9 (released Aug 8), but the first report of this problem in the Civ Fanatics thread is dated Aug 4.

Do you continue to have this problem with every subsequent game or is it only the one?

[Swiss Pauli]

I found the same problem, but I noted my HD was still whirring away so I wait a few moment before turning on the gridlines. So far no more CTD.

[potoroo]

Good point. If I start Warlords, load the game and hit ^T immediately the game screen appears then it will crash every time. If I start Warlords, hit the Next Turn button or something when the game screen appears and then hit ^T the grid appears OK. It certainly does seem the grid is relying on something being load fully that isn't necessarily visible on the screen, and if you don't wait until it's all there the game crashes. It does seem a bit of a throwback to prepatched vanilla Civ4, but I guess a bit of patience is a reasonable workaround until the patch. :-)

[Petek]

I get the CTD only with one specific save file. It doesn't happen with either earlier or later saves. Can also confirm the two workarounds already mentioned here: Either take some other action (turning on resource display works for me), or waiting several minutes.

I mentioned a Microsoft patch as a possible cause only because I was looking for something on my system that had recently changed. That no longer seems to be a reasonable explanation.

One other thought: When you get the CTD, you may also get the option to send a report to Microsoft about the incident. You should consider doing so. Firaxis said that they eventually receive these reports and that they make use of them in developing patches.