Return the game or wait for a patch?

[doben]

I think this is a terrific game, but I'm having a *lot* of technical problems, some of which you all have been having, too. Among the problems:

(1) All sound effects are delayed about a second. When I press a button, move a unit, or do anything else, the corresponding sound effect doesn't occur until a little bit later.

(2) I'm having the refresh rate problem that everyone else (who uses an Nvidia card) is having. The game runs at a resolution that is just way too high, and I'm not sure that's real good for my monitor.

(3) Scrolling is so slow that I no longer even *try* to scroll. Instead, I just click on the map in the lower left part of the screen to get where I want to go. I know this could be fixed if I used generic Microsoft drivers instead of the Detonators, but I'm not really sure I want to use drivers that aren't very good for anything except Civ3.

(4) The readme file says that you can adjust the display resolution by editing the .ini file -- but I haven't any success with this. The suggested commands have no effect on my system, and so I can't get the game to run at anything higher than 1024x768.

(5) I had to switch binkw32.dll files to get the videos to run properly.

(6) There are some random crashes.

So, what do you think? Would you return the game, or hope for a patch? My worry is that I haven't heard anything from the developers about most of these problems, so I don't know whether to expect an adequate patch.

Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions for solving the sound problem, I'd be grateful. Sorry for being so long-winded!

My system:
P4 1.3 Mhz
VisionTek Geforce3 (2183 drivers)
Soundblaster Audigy (latest drivers from Creative website)
Sony G220 monitor
WindowsXP Professional

[Travathian]

Whats a Sony 220? A 20 inch?

I have a TNT2 and the game runs peachy. And my system is pretty close to yours.

Funny thing is, most of the people with problems are users of XP/NT. Yes, I know the box says it will run on XP, but XP is MS newest virus, and it takes time for everyone to work out the kinks. I wish people infatuated with 2000 and XP would just dual boot 98 for games, make life so much easier.

Oh, and as for the developers . . . the game has been out what? barely a day? give em a break. How long does it take MS to come out with a SP for their software? Keep the game, once it works it'll be the best $50 you've spent in a long time.

[cassembler]

The only technical problems I'm having is that the game won't run on my computer.

It meets the requirements.
Tech support "had to do some research and call me back" after a 25 minute phone call.
They were nice, though.

[Sarxis]

I would wait for the patch. Firaxis is good about fixing most of their bugs, and I can't imagine they will let this game flop any time soon.

Besides, it is still good, and will be perfect when the bugs are gone.

[doben]

Travathian, the Sony G220 is a flat screen (not flat panel) 17 inch. It's very nice (but really hard to find in the stores).

Much as I would like to blame this on the Evil Powers at Microsoft, I'm afraid this time I just can't do it. All the games I have run just fine on XP (sometimes a little tweaking is needed, but you've got to expect that); only this one has a problem.

It's strange: In some ways, the Civ3 code is very polished -- they obviously worked long and hard on game balance, on the in-game help system, and on many other things. But in other ways, the game shows signs of being rushed out the door. Just to take one example, you shouldn't have to edit the .ini file to adjust the resolution. (I'm ignoring for now the fact that editing the .ini file doesn't actually work.) It's not hard to write a configuration routine that will do this for you. The fact that they didn't write that code indicates to me that the programmers weren't given the time they needed to apply the finishing touches.