BtS Patch 3.13 - out now

[siredgar]

I was this close to going out and buying this expansion pack today, but I've decided not to. I think I'm just suffering from patch/bug-fix fatigue. In other words, I'm simply too tired to bother downloading and installing yet another patch or trying to fix this bug or that.

Of course, I appreciate everyone's kind help here, but I still have an essentially "broken" game and so I don't think I will buy another Civ product for a while. I have yet to fix the TEXT_CIV and .dll problem and that is so annoying. Considering I've paid over $100 for the original game and Warlords, I feel ripped off.

By the way, the game start interface really sucks. I was expecting a huge amount of options (without going into this program or that), but alas no... Very disappointed in the playability of this game. Maybe it's paradise for people who are computer programmers, but for people like me it's hell. I should have just bought Civ III Gold or something...

Anyhow, not to be such a downer, but I expect BtS to be another frustrating journey that I don't want to go through again. And I really loved this game...

[Robert]

civ4:bts is not a broken game.
All games receive patches. BtS has some problems, but those problems don't break the game. Even the unpatched game is still enjoyable very much.

[Ingot]

agreed

[vilemerchant]

Originally posted by theonhr
Yes but Hydro power and the Three Gorges Dam is supposed to be the clean alternative. At least that was the case before bts.

Actually I have just noticed that my corporations are still giving +5 instead of +4 gold per city which the above list says the new patch 3.13 does.

I have this theory from reading these posts that I must have just donwloaded patch 3.03 and that older patch did solve the automated worker problem but not the other ones I've mentioned. I'm at work now so I can't check which version it was. The automatic updates button is good but it's all so automatic now I don't know what I'm updating to or from.

The patch isn't out yet.

[Fidel]

wow, double wow. this looks to be an awesome patch.

[Targonis]

The interface really isn't all that hard, and feels easy compared to previous games. The key is gameplay complexity vs. interface complexity.

One thing you can do if you find it hard to control the game is to play the tutorial, which MAY help you in many ways if the interface is a problem for you.

As for your comment about needing to be a programmer, that is only for those who want to make their own mod(s). Honestly, the game isn't broken. I am not sure what TEXT_CIV and .dll problem(s) you are talking about.

I have been playing without serious problems with Vanilla Civ 4, Warlords, and Beyond the Sword. Sure, I have seen a few glitches along the way, but they are very minor. Tweaks to the gameplay that improve certain aspects is a good thing, and does NOT mean the original was broken, it just means that some things could have been done better.

Originally posted by siredgar
I was this close to going out and buying this expansion pack today, but I've decided not to. I think I'm just suffering from patch/bug-fix fatigue. In other words, I'm simply too tired to bother downloading and installing yet another patch or trying to fix this bug or that.

Of course, I appreciate everyone's kind help here, but I still have an essentially "broken" game and so I don't think I will buy another Civ product for a while. I have yet to fix the TEXT_CIV and .dll problem and that is so annoying. Considering I've paid over $100 for the original game and Warlords, I feel ripped off.

By the way, the game start interface really sucks. I was expecting a huge amount of options (without going into this program or that), but alas no... Very disappointed in the playability of this game. Maybe it's paradise for people who are computer programmers, but for people like me it's hell. I should have just bought Civ III Gold or something...

Anyhow, not to be such a downer, but I expect BtS to be another frustrating journey that I don't want to go through again. And I really loved this game...

[Wiglaf]

Patch will overwrite solver's dll so there is no save game compatibility issue.

[JimMac]

Not complaining, great patch list, great game etc.

But I did 'feel' that the patch would be released today... Dont know why; I guess I just felt it would be a good Friday thing.

[wodan11]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
Patch will overwrite solver's dll so there is no save game compatibility issue.

The former does not prevent the latter, so I'm not sure what you're talking about?

Wodan

[Wiglaf]

The dll isn't tied to each save game. The game loads then calls the dll. Your games will start up using the new rules of the new dll.

[wodan11]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
The dll isn't tied to each save game. The game loads then calls the dll. Your games will start up using the new rules of the new dll.

Unless, of course, they changed the save file format. That's what "saved game compatibility" means IMO.

By save file format, I mean that each saved game is basically a dump of the contents of a bunch of variables and databases. If they had to add a new variable (say, to keep track of corporation maintenance), then this would also have to be included in the save file format. Thus, old saved games would no longer be compatible.

Wodan

[Wiglaf]

That has never been the case for any civ patch and is not the case with this one.

[Todd Hawks]

Wiglaf, what are you talking about? The patch doesn't only consist of a new dll.

[wodan11]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
That has never been the case for any civ patch and is not the case with this one.

Such assurance.

I don't have insider information with Firaxis, so I can't refute your assertion. Regardless, that doesn't change the fact of what we were talking about, which is changes in the save file format.

If you're correct, then the answer to the original question of "is there a saved game comptibility issue" would be "there has never been a saved game compatibility issue with CIV and will not be with this patch".

... just my two cents....

Wodan

[Targonis]

Originally posted by wodan11

Unless, of course, they changed the save file format. That's what "saved game compatibility" means IMO.

By save file format, I mean that each saved game is basically a dump of the contents of a bunch of variables and databases. If they had to add a new variable (say, to keep track of corporation maintenance), then this would also have to be included in the save file format. Thus, old saved games would no longer be compatible.

Wodan

If the game version is included in the save game file, then it should be possible for old save games to be read(if the save comes from version X.XX.XX.X, then expect the data to be in the proper format). Mind you, changing the rules halfway through the game would invalidate the results of the game when compared to games played fully with the new version or with the old version.

So, technically old saves COULD work, but the question then becomes if they should be accepted. In the same way that you can't compare getting a certain score in vanilla Civ 4 with Beyond the Sword, you can't really expect a "valid" result to come from upgrading halfway through a game.