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bloopy
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Infogrames Tech Support sucks a nugget. These jokers haven't a clue and basically they use scripted responses. I've been experiencing some issues with XP Pro and I figured i'd post the emails i've sent to Infogrames up here in hopes that someone will get a clue and look into these for the next patch. -Email threads follow:
----*Original Msg*----
Brand: Custom
CPU: Abit BP6 - Dual Celeron 366 MMX
RAM: 384mb
VideoCard: Hercules Geforce2 GTS 64mb
SoundCard: SB Live!
CDDrive: Pioneer DVD-ROM
Modem: US Robotics 56k Voice/Fax
Other: 3Com 905b NIC
OS: WXP
GameName: CIV 3
desc: Misc Problem
Problem: I seem to be having a speed problem. The game functions properly,
and I have had no problems with lockups at all. I've tried to run the game
in both 98 compat. mode, and in default xp mode. I have forced the game to
run in High priority as well. - My issue seems to be that the game runs
rather slowly...Also, I have a problem with scrolling around the map using
the mouse. That too moves slowly...almost not at all. I wish I could be more
elaborate...but it is hard to explain this.
----*Response*----
Try setting WinXP to start the game in Win98/Me compatibility mode.
Jon
Infogrames Technical Support
http://www.ina-support.com/
Here's another message I sent in:
----*Original Msg*----
Problem: I am running XP Pro. I have two accounts - one admin and the other
a power user. the admin account is the one i used to install the game. it
installed the icon under the all users profile making it automatically
available to all users. civ3 works aside from a few speed issues under the
admin account. however, under the power user account it fails to load and
acts as if it is not installed properly. when looking at the current running
processes i notice that there is a 4mb process called civilization3.exe
running. i attempted to install the app under the power user account which
succeeded, but still failed to load.
-also it should be noted that under that admin account where the game works
it leaves that civ3.exe process running even after closing the game.
----*Response*----
Check with your computer manufacturer and make sure that the driver your
monitor is using is the most current one available. This driver is known as
an "INF File", and is usually a free download from the Internet.
Also make sure you have less than 256 fonts installed on your computer. If
you are unsure about how many fonts are installed, or are unsure of how to
uninstall them, contact your computer manufacturer for help reducing your
fonts to below 256.
If neither of those fixes work, try the two other tips below:
--Third Party Applications--
Here's how to disable all third-party applications running in the
background:
Hold down the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys, all at the same time. This will bring up
the Close Program dialog box. In here, you will see a number of items. The
only ones that Windows needs to run are Systray and Explorer. All other
programs here are extraneous, and are not necessary for Windows to function.
Since they may be causing conflicts or memory problems, you will want to
turn them off. Don't worry - nothing we do here is permanent; everything
here will return when you restart the computer. Select a program (besides
Explorer and Systray), and then click the End Task button at the bottom of
this window. If another window pops up saying that the program is not
responding, click End Task on this window as well. This will drop you out
to the desktop. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL again, and repeat as necessary until
only Explorer and Systray are left.
Once this process is complete, try running the program again, and see how it
works. If you're still having problems, see the section on Direct X, below.
--Direct X--
DirectX is an enhancement for Windows which greatly improves the overall
performance of games, which will in turn increases the gaming experience.
If you go to My Computer-->C: Drive-->Program Files-->DirectX-->Setup and
run the file DXSETUP, you should get a listing of your current DirectX
drivers. (You can also run DXINFO or DXDIAG for more detailed information.)
If any of these drivers are listed as "No Hardware Support", are blank, or
not certified, those drivers will need to be updated.
Even if there are no obvious problems detected, we still highly suggest
updating your sound and video drivers. New drivers can be obtained by
contacting your computer manufacturer directly. We usually recommend
updating system drivers every 2 or 3 months. These updates ensure that you
are running the latest and most compatible drivers your manufacturer has
available for your system, and keeps games running smoothly.
You should also make sure that you have the latest version of DirectX
installed. You can obtain this directly from Microsoft at
http://www.microsoft.com/directx.
If you've tried all the suggestions above and are still having troubles,
we'll need more detailed information from your system. To gather this
information, follow these steps.
First, go to the Start menu, and click on Run. In the Open box, enter the
word, 'dxdiag'. Once you've typed it in, click on Ok. That will bring up
the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
If this doesn't appear, you may not have typed in dxdiag correctly, or you
might have an older copy of DirectX. Doublecheck your previous steps, and
make sure you're running the latest version of DirectX by downloading it
from http://www.microsoft.com/directx/
Once the DirectX Diagnostic Tool is open, click on the button 'Save All
Information'. It will prompt you to save a file. Name the file
'dxdiag.txt' and make sure that the File of Type setting is set to Text
Files (.TXT). Once saved, email that file back to us, so we can use it to
ascertain more detailed information about your computer.
Jon
Infogrames Technical Support
http://www.ina-support.com/
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bloopy
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Many of the suggestions I made apply to Windows XP as well, even though the
game has not been tested for Windows XP compatibility. We are still
determining this compatibility. As we complete our testing, we will update
the results within each product's Frequently Asked Questions document, that
is available both through our Automated Systems and on the web at
http://www.ina-support.com.
Jon
Infogrames Technical Support
http://www.ina-support.com/
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doben
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Did I just see what I thought I saw? Infogrames is claiming that the "game has not been tested for Windows XP compatibility"? Um, if it hasn't been tested with XP, why does the box say it runs on XP?
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doben
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It's amazing. It seems to me that Infogrames' behavior meets the classic definition of fraud. "An intentional perversion of truth for the purpose of inducing another in reliance upon it to part with some valuable thing belonging to him..." (Black's Law Dictionary).
If these posts from tech-support are right, then Infogrames falsely claimed XP compatibility (an "intentional perversion of truth"), probably in order to get XP users to part with their money (i.e. "to part with some valuable thing").
I am not suggesting that anyone haul Infogrames into court. In the grand scheme of things, this is way too small a thing to make a big deal out of. But I do think maybe Infogrames owes us XP users an explanation.
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binarystatic
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I'm curious as to why you guys don't think Civ3 is compatible with WinXP? I'm running it on WinXP Pro and the only issue I've noticed is the speed slowdown which I solved by rolling back my nVidia driver to the one that shipped with the OS. Not the ideal solution, but it does show that it is compatible with WinXP (just not the latest nVidia driver). Again, I've had no other problems. . . (Well, except for all the well documented bugs, but that's another issue entirely. . .)
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binarystatic
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About the "inability to scroll across the map using the mouse": it works for me.
About "an orphan copy of the engine left running upon exit": I've never noticed this happening the few times I've checked.
About "the fact that people on regular user accounts can't run it unless they are an admin": you got me there -- this isn't something I've tested out. . .
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bloopy
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This is still a problem. The application has an issue that arises when using newer video drivers whereas i've had no other problems with any other app. also, the drivers that ship with have no opengl support. its just unacceptable.
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binarystatic
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Yes, it is a problem, I totally agree and don't like not being able to use the latest video driver. However, I don't think we can use this issue as an clear-cut indication of problems with Civ3 on XP since it is fixed by using the drivers that shipped with the OS.
Also, I just checked to see whether quitting the game leaves a civilization3.exe process still running. This does NOT occur on my setup. After quitting the game there was no process running with that name nor any other that I can attribute to Civ3.
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doben
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And what about the refresh rate problem? For many users of nvidia cards with XP, the game sets the refresh rate too high -- to something the monitor can't handle. This is a dangerous bug that could damage people's monitors. (I could be wrong that this is a specifically XP thing, but judging by the posts on this board, I think it is.)
But even if the game had turned out, by some stroke of luck, to be perfectly compatibile with XP, Infogrames still should not have said that the game is compatible with XP when in fact they never tested it with XP.
I really would like to hear from Infogrames/Firaxis on this: Is it true that you claimed XP compatibility without even testing this game on XP?
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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:16
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quote:
Originally posted by doben
And what about the refresh rate problem? For many users of nvidia cards with XP, the game sets the refresh rate too high -- to something the monitor can't handle. This is a dangerous bug that could damage people's monitors. (I could be wrong that this is a specifically XP thing, but judging by the posts on this board, I think it is.) |
This is not a specific XP thing, it's an age-old problem with Windows 2000's Nvidia drivers. And most people don't seem to be affected by it, but some are.
quote:
But even if the game had turned out, by some stroke of luck, to be perfectly compatibile with XP, Infogrames still should not have said that the game is compatible with XP when in fact they never tested it with XP.
I really would like to hear from Infogrames/Firaxis on this: Is it true that you claimed XP compatibility without even testing this game on XP? |
Again, why does everyone blame XP for this? Is it because it's new?
The problem with slow scrolling and the occasional refresh rate problem is out of Firaxis' hands, it's out of Microsoft's hands, it's in Nvidia's hands. They're the ones that have to fix it. All of the XP "problems" occur on Windows 2000 as well, and they're drivers for the most part.
The rest of the complaints are just weird problems that people on any OS could be experiencing. No games run perfectly on everyone's config.
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binarystatic
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Well, this will be my last post to this thread since it just seems to be going around in circles. . .
My whole reason for responding to this in the first place was to point out that I am running Civ3 under WinXP Pro with no issues except for the nVidia driver graphics slowdown which was solved by using the drivers supplied by Microsoft.
Most posts in game forums are from people who have problems and I was just wanting to give a little perspective to anyone who may be reading these posts and to point out that not everyone is having these problems. I for one am not and I wish luck to anyone who is. . .
Now, if we could just get them to issue a fix for the many gameplay bugs (air superiority and precision strikes being my two biggest beefs). . .
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08-11-2001 20:26
It's a riot that they claim xp compat. on the box but it just doesn't work the way it should in the real world. then when you call them on it - they claim it hasn't been tested.
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