CIV Advice before Purchase

[Flhaus]

Originally posted by ColdPhoenix


I had possibly the same problem with my new system while playing a game. The flickers were coming from the right-hand side of the screen so I closed the toolbar with clock etc on the desktop and the problem stopped. Don't know why it was happening, I can have other things open behind the game which don't interfere at all.

My flicker is a little different. it seems to be two black rectangles across the width of the screen(Blanking areas) seperated by a rectangle of game screen that isn't affected. The blanking areas appear for a split second and seem to flicker about each second. As it does this, the two blanking areas appear to move up the screen. Each blanking area is about a 3rd of the screen.

I do not have a tol bar on the right side of my screen.

[MightyTiny]

Originally posted by Flhaus


My flicker is a little different. it seems to be two black rectangles across the width of the screen(Blanking areas) seperated by a rectangle of game screen that isn't affected. The blanking areas appear for a split second and seem to flicker about each second. As it does this, the two blanking areas appear to move up the screen. Each blanking area is about a 3rd of the screen.

I do not have a tol bar on the right side of my screen.

It seems that these days, no matter what your graphics card, it's a rare game that doesn't disagree with your setup in some way.

Usually requires uninstalling graphics drivers, and re-installing, or installing newer (or sometimes older) versions of the driver.

I also ended up uninstalling ati catalyst, leaving only my graph card drivers, which immediately eliminated many glitches and slowdowns.... (a real piece of... excrement, the Ati Catalyst software, IMHO - years ago the old versions were decent enough, but they've since made it prettier, at the expense of making it a resource hog which potentially causes many problems).

So if installing and re-installing your drivers doesn't work, and using a different version of drivers doesn't work either, then I'd recommend trying to uninstall all the optional extra software that came with your graphics card, that runs in the background.

Why does it seem to be an impossible task to create graphics card drivers that would work without problems, without need for extra tinkering with every game?

[torgo02]

Re: the need for multiple copies of Civ4 to do a LAN game...

No, one copy is sufficient. Civ lets you load the game on one machine then physically move the CD-ROM to the next computer and load it there. It's time consuming if you have many people playing, but it's better than buying half a dozen copies!

Re: your specs...
Your machine is at least a full generation better than mine, and I have little slow down. I do turn down some of the graphics settings, but that doesn't detract from the game play at all. Your machine should run Civ well.

Re: what to buy...
I agree with the advice others have given and what you seem to be planning. Namely, get Civ 4. Play it for a while. See if you like it (which I suspect you will). Then get Warlords. Or, if the upcoming expansion Beyond the Sword is out by that time, get that instead.

I do recommend you download the update to Civ 4 before playing. It fixes many issues, including performance. You can do this inside the game via the "Check for Updates" option. Assuming you have a broadband connection, it's actually quite painless to do.

Hope this helps. GL and happy Civing!

[Flhaus]

Originally posted by torgo02
Re: the need for multiple copies of Civ4 to do a LAN game...

No, one copy is sufficient. Civ lets you load the game on one machine then physically move the CD-ROM to the next computer and load it there. It's time consuming if you have many people playing, but it's better than buying half a dozen copies!

Re: your specs...
Your machine is at least a full generation better than mine, and I have little slow down. I do turn down some of the graphics settings, but that doesn't detract from the game play at all. Your machine should run Civ well.

Re: what to buy...
I agree with the advice others have given and what you seem to be planning. Namely, get Civ 4. Play it for a while. See if you like it (which I suspect you will). Then get Warlords. Or, if the upcoming expansion Beyond the Sword is out by that time, get that instead.

I do recommend you download the update to Civ 4 before playing. It fixes many issues, including performance. You can do this inside the game via the "Check for Updates" option. Assuming you have a broadband connection, it's actually quite painless to do.

Hope this helps. GL and happy Civing!

So this game does not require the CD Rom to be in the player during game play? All the games that I have require you to install, and then have the cd in the player. The games pull movies, music and other stuff during gameplay. This makes you buy another copy. I have to do this for CTP2, C&C Generals and Zero Hour, and Imperialism 2.

[Flhaus]

Originally posted by MightyTiny


It seems that these days, no matter what your graphics card, it's a rare game that doesn't disagree with your setup in some way.

Usually requires uninstalling graphics drivers, and re-installing, or installing newer (or sometimes older) versions of the driver.

I also ended up uninstalling ati catalyst, leaving only my graph card drivers, which immediately eliminated many glitches and slowdowns.... (a real piece of... excrement, the Ati Catalyst software, IMHO - years ago the old versions were decent enough, but they've since made it prettier, at the expense of making it a resource hog which potentially causes many problems).


So if installing and re-installing your drivers doesn't work, and using a different version of drivers doesn't work either, then I'd recommend trying to uninstall all the optional extra software that came with your graphics card, that runs in the background.

Why does it seem to be an impossible task to create graphics card drivers that would work without problems, without need for extra tinkering with every game?

You are so right regarding having to tweak stuff to get it to work. Vendors constantly point fingers at each other when you have a problem, so the result is you the consumer have to live with it.

I have turned off some background stuff that I do not need, and I can have email open in the background wihout any additional problems. The Nvidia card did come with a console that loads in the tray. I'll see if turning it off helps any. Thanks.

[Wiglaf]

The game will run fine on your system

Dont get warlords unless Bts doesnt include warlords.

[proviisori]

If I were you, I would buy Civ4 and wait for BtS.

BtS will make Warlords kind of obsolete.

[Flhaus]

Originally posted by proviisori
If I were you, I would buy Civ4 and wait for BtS.

BtS will make Warlords kind of obsolete.

Sounds like good advice. BTW, I saw a CIV IV Special Addition on the CIV IV Board, but it doesn't tell you what is in it. I was wondering if that has expansion packs included.

[Wiglaf]

No it doesn't.

You can get warlords for like $15 on ebay or half.com if you want it. normally its $30 which is too much

[Willem]

Originally posted by Flhaus


Thanks for the recommendation. I think that because I'm new to CIV4, I should get the CIV4 1st and play it awhile before getting the warlords expansion pack. This way I at least get my moneys worth out of CIV. Does this make sense?

No it doesn't. It just means that you'll need to relearn how to play the game when you finally do get Warlords. There's a few fundamental changes in the XP that can greatly affect your overall strategy. So you may as well just jump right in now so you're all ready when the next expansion comes out in July.

[Wiglaf]

Who's to say BtS won't switch traits again..

[Xorbon]

My specs:

1.7 GHz Pentium 4
512 MB RAM
64 MB Radeon 7200 Graphics

There are, of course, graphics problems with a computer like mine. The intro and wonder movies are very choppy and not even worth watching. Certain terrain features don't show up properly all of the time (for example, some animations are turned off, and some resources only show up as shadows). And there can be a long delay when I'm on the city screen trying to change specialists. But as for the game itself, even with my computer, it's playable and I still enjoy it. It can only be better on your computer.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by torgo02
Re: the need for multiple copies of Civ4 to do a LAN game...

No, one copy is sufficient. Civ lets you load the game on one machine then physically move the CD-ROM to the next computer and load it there. It's time consuming if you have many people playing, but it's better than buying half a dozen copies!

Want to make sure this is clear: The above adivce is, albeit perhaps technically correct, wrong from a legal and technical sense. You are required to own one copy of Civ4 (CD-rom) for each copy running at one time. It is not like Starcraft, ie there is no "spawning" copies.

Civ4 however can be purchased through various online downloadable retailers such as www.direct2drive.com or Steam. Be aware that there seem to be some technical issues with people who buy the D2D/Steam version of Civ4 and the retail (CD) version of Warlords, so if you like D2D (and not having to use a CD!!) then you should stick with it for the expansion.

[Flhaus]

Originally posted by snoopy369


Want to make sure this is clear: The above adivce is, albeit perhaps technically correct, wrong from a legal and technical sense. You are required to own one copy of Civ4 (CD-rom) for each copy running at one time. It is not like Starcraft, ie there is no "spawning" copies.

Civ4 however can be purchased through various online downloadable retailers such as www.direct2drive.com or Steam. Be aware that there seem to be some technical issues with people who buy the D2D/Steam version of Civ4 and the retail (CD) version of Warlords, so if you like D2D (and not having to use a CD!!) then you should stick with it for the expansion.

I bought civ4 last night. It seems to require the cd in the drive to play. How do you set it up to use D2D? I think this would be better and faster.

[proviisori]

Originally posted by Flhaus


I bought civ4 last night. It seems to require the cd in the drive to play. How do you set it up to use D2D? I think this would be better and faster.

You can't.

Unfortunately the only way to play it without the CD / DVD is to buy it from online retailer in the first place.
D2D or steam... in those shops you download the game, thus no CD.