PC Player Special 1997 #1

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================================================================== Civilization II Frequently Asked Questions 9 October 1996 ================================================================== This FAQ is now divided into 5 major sections to make it easier for you to find information: Section 1: Startup/General Troubleshooting Section 2: Video Section 3: Sound Section 4: Error Messages Section 5: Gameplay Original text by Brian Reynolds with additions by Calvin Rien ================================================================= Section 1: Startup/General Troubleshooting ------------------------------------------ Q: Where can I get the latest patch for Civilization II? A: The latest patch is now available for download. If you're having problems and you haven't downloaded the latest patch yet, DO IT! The patch can be found on our FTP site (ftp.microprose.com under "new versions"), our Web site (www.microprose.com), CompuServe, America Online or our BBS (510-522-8909). Q: How do I tell which version of Civilization II I am playing? A: Go to the Game Options menu (Ctrl-O); the window title says which version you are playing. Q: How do I install the patch for Civilization II? A: If the file name ends in .ZIP, then you will need the shareware utility called Pkunzip or Winzip. This can be found easily on most online services (or at www.pkware.com). You then use Pkunzip or Winzip to extract the files from the archive. The extracted files should then be copied to the CIV2 directory on your hard drive. When you are asked if you want to replace existing, say "yes to all." If the file ends in .EXE (CIV242.EXE), copy the file to the CIV2 directory and run it. It will automatically extract and ask you if you wish to replace existing. Again say "yes to all." Q: What are the system requirements for the game? A: The minimum requirements are a 33MHz 80486 compatible, Windows 3.1, 8MB RAM, Super VGA graphics, a double-speed CD-ROM drive, MSCDEX version 2.2 and a Microsoft-compatible mouse. With the minimum system requirements, though, you may not be able to get full performance out of the Video for Windows portions of the the game. (Check the Video for Windows Readme file on the Civilization II CD-ROM for more information.) The recommended minimum system is at least a 66MHz Intel-based 80486. Obviously the faster the system and the higher the display resolution, the better the gameplay. The reason we recommend an Intel processor is that some users have had problems with Video for Windows on non-Intel processors (such as NexGen, Cyrix and AMD). Q: Does Civilization II work with Windows NT, OS/2 or SoftWindows? A: Although some users have had some success running Civilization II under these operating systems, we did not test the game under these conditions. We, therefore, cannot recommend or support such installations. Q: What programs could cause problems with Civilization II? A: We recommend not running anything in the background when playing Civilization II. Programs that we especially recommend avoiding are: Virus scan programs that stay resident in memory (Norton AntiVirus, McAfee, VShield) Third-party font managers (Adobe Type Manager) RAM Expanders (RAM Doubler, SoftRAM, MagnaRam) CD-ROM acceleration software (D-Time, FlexiCD) Third-party shell programs (PC Tools, Norton Desktop, Packard Bell Navigator) Hard drive compression (DriveSpace, DoubleSpace, Stacker, etc.) Uninstallers (CleanSweep, RemoveIt) Q1: I am getting a GPF @ 0041:_____ when starting CIV2.EXE. Q2: I am getting a GPF @ 0044:_____ when starting CIV2MAP.EXE. A: This problem usually means that WinG installation was somehow skipped when you installed the game (it is supposed to be installed automatically). To install WinG manually, run WINGSET.EXE in the WING directory on the CD-ROM. You'll also want to install Video for Windows manually by running VFWSETUP.EXE from the VFW_INST directory. Occasionally this problem persists. So far we've encountered this on Windows 95 systems with Windows installed on some drive other than drive C. Windows 95 seems to have a hard time loading WinG in this case. Q: I am getting a GPF @ 0042:____. A: The initially shipped version of Civilization II requires a sound card in order to run properly. If you don't have a sound card or if it isn't active in Windows, you'll need to download the patched version of Civilization II. Q: I am getting a lot of GPFs in the game. A: Make sure you have the latest drivers for your video card and sound card. Otherwise, check section 4 for more information. We are aware of problems with certain models of Cirrus Logic and Diamond brand video cards. In most cases, these problems can be solved by updating the Windows video drivers. If you have a Cirrus Logic card, new drivers can be found at ftp.cirrus.com. If you are using any other brand of video card, we recommend checking your drivers to make sure they are up-to-date. If you are using older versions of video drivers, they can cause problems. Generally speaking, most GPFs can be solved by updating all your Windows drivers for video, sound, etc. Q1: I accidentally selected French when I first set up the game; how do I get back to English? Q2: I would like to see what the German version is like, but I don't seem to have the option to play in German. A: If you are playing Civilization II version 1.01 or later, you will find a file called CIV.INI in the Windows directory. You can open this file using either the DOS editor or Windows' Notepad. CIV.INI has a "Language Preference" line: 3=German, 2=French, 1=English, 0=Ask Me Again. Q: The text in the game is unreadable, or I receive a TrueType font error. A: Make sure that TrueType fonts are enabled on the Control Panel. Also, Adobe Type Manager has a known incompatibility with the Authorware tool we used for the hypertext Civilopedia. You'll need to disable ATM (and other third-party font managers) and tell it to use resident fonts. If you've tried all of this and you're still getting text in "Greek," we've had some success by actually uninstalling the Symbol TrueType font (under Control Panel, Fonts) and then removing the font file (SYMBOLE.FON) from the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. This is a somewhat crude and last-ditch solution. Q: I am getting GPFs whenever I discover a new technology, or bring up the Civilopedia. A: Try renaming or deleting the file GET_INFO.EXE from your CIV2 directory. You won't get the fancy Civilopedia, but you will get the beta version of the Civilopedia. In this case, the problem is some conflict with the Authorware package we used to do the hypertext version of Civilopedia. Q: The game tells me to run "VFWFIX.BAT" on the CD-ROM, but I cannot find the file. A: Actually, the file is "VFWFIX.REG" and you can still run the file. If you double-click on the file in the File Manager (Windows 3.1) or "My Computer" (Windows 95), the information in the file will be added to the Windows registry and the problem should be fixed. Sorry for the confusion. If double-clicking on the VFWFIX.REG doesn't work, you will need to run REGEDIT. This is usually found in the Windows directory, or you can access it through the "Run" dialog. You will then want to go to the Registry menu in Windows 95 or the File menu in Windows 3.1. Choose Import Registry or Merge Registry, and then select VFWFIX.REG from the CIV2\VIDEO directory on the Civilization II CD-ROM. Q1: I get a window titled "(Inactive C:\mps\civ2\civ2.exe)." Q2: I am receiving the message "Error -8 in Module 4, data 0 0" and "File open failed MODULES.DB" A: When CIV2.EXE is run, its working directory must be set to your CIV2 directory (usually C:\MPS\CIV2). Check the properties on your Civilization II icon to make sure its working directory is set correctly. If you've been trying to start Civilization II in some other way (such as via File Manager or Explorer), try starting it by double-clicking the designated icon/shortcut. These messages basically mean that Civilization II cannot find a file necessary to start the game. Another step to take is make sure you have more than enough hard drive space, and then delete and reinstall the game. Q: I'm not sure what is causing my lockups or crashes. A: Try the following steps: 1) Try starting the map editor. If it crashes, the problem is with WinG. 2) Try starting Civilization II without the CD-ROM in the drive. If the game doesn't crash, the problem is with Video for Windows. 3) Try selecting something from the Civilopedia. If this crashes, the problem is with the Civilopedia (see above). 4) Try selecting the High Council, If you get black windows, the problem is with Video for Windows. 5) Try turning off sound effects or music in the game options window (Ctrl-O). If the game stops locking up or crashing, the problem is with the sound card drivers. Section 2: Video ---------------- Q: I am having problems running the videos in the game (particularly if they always show up as black squares). A: Try reinstalling the "Video for Windows" program (VFWSETUP.EXE found in the Vfw_Inst folder on the Civilization II CD-ROM). When reinstalling, make sure that you agree to all the licensing questions and restart Windows so that the changes take effect. Q: The heralds appear but they aren't animating (Windows 95 machines only). A: You are probably using the 32-bit Indeo driver. You can check this by looking for a file called IR41_32.DLL in your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If the file is there, you can either uninstall the 32-bit version and install the Video for Windows on the Civilization II CD-ROM or you can wait for a patch which we hope will be ready soon. Q: I get strange shifting colors when the videoes for the Wonders of the World or the High Council are played. A: Switch your video display to 256-color mode. Q: The Civilopedia causes a black screen. A: This will happen if you have Windows 95, did not install the Civilopedia files to the hard drive and are playing with the CD-ROM. You'll simply need to download the latest patched version. Q: I have an STB Lightspeed 128 video card and whenever I try to access "Advances" from the Civilopedia menu, my monitor goes black or I get a fatal exception error. A: This problem is caused by the 16-bit driver for QuickTime. (The 32-bit QuickTime player works fine.) You will need to edit the QTW.INI files in your \WINDOWS directory using Notepad. Change "Optimize=Driver" to "Optimize=BMP" in the QTW.INI file. Then right-click on the QTW.INI file and select "Properties" from the popup menu. In the Attributes section, click to put a checkmark in the "Read-only" box. Section 3: Sound ---------------- Q1: I can't hear music, even though the CD-ROM is in the drive. Q2: When I select "Pick Music," it tells me this option is not available unless the CD-ROM is in the drive, but the CD-ROM is in the drive. A: The music in the game is standard Redbook CD audio. This means that you can put the Civilization II CD-ROM into any CD player and the music should play just like any regular music CD (except for track 1). In order to hear the CD audio music, you must have the following: 1) The Civilization II CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive. 2) The proper (and up-to-date) Windows MCI CD audio drivers for your sound card loaded. 3) A CD audio cable connecting your CD drive to your sound card. This last is part of the standard system configuration and is probably present unless you installed your sound card or CD-ROM drive yourself. If these conditions are satisfied, the music will play. If you do not have the latest sound card drivers, you should contact your sound card manufacturer for an update. Also, there have been reports of other CD programs (such as Microsoft FlexiCD) causing a conflict with the game. In this case, disabling these other programs should fix the problem. If you're having problems with the music, you may want to check if you can play a regular audio CD on your CD-ROM drive. Open up the Media Player (found in the Accessories program group), make sure CD Audio is in the device list, select it and press "Play." If music plays in the Media Player, you should be able to hear music in Civilization II. Q: The game can't find the CD-ROM after I have been playing for a while. A: If you open the CD-ROM drive during the course of gameplay, the game will stop recognizing the presence of the CD-ROM. For now, the only fix is to not to open the CD-ROM drive while you are playing. Section 4: Error Messages ------------------------- Q: I am getting "SMEDS Application Errors" or "PORTALLOCFAILED" messages. A: The most likely problem is a lack of global memory space. Even when you have the required amount of physical memory, it is possible for other applications or disk cache programs to drain these resources. a) Usually the best solution is to increase the amount of virtual memory swap space you have available. If you are running Windows 3.1, go to Control Panel, 386 Enhanced, Virtual Memory and increase your swap memory to 32MB or more. Of course, you'll need to make sure you have enough disk space to accommodate the swap file. (The minimum you should set it for is 10MB or about 11000K.) b) If you're running Windows 95, it will usually manage your virtual memory for you correctly. However, you must have enough disk space available for Windows 95 to create and use a swap file (at least 15MB free on the hard drive). c) The above will usually eliminate the GPFs, but you may also be able to improve performance by freeing up physical memory, particularly by reducing the size of your disk cache if you have a large one. Q: I am getting a "Page Fault" error. A: Try the above steps for SMEDS Errors. Also make sure that you have the latest driver for your video card. Q: I received a "Can't find WinG" error message. A: Some computer systems have their Windows System directory write-protected. To fix this problem, you need to change this attribute and reinstall both WinG and Video for Windows. Also on some systems, the WinG files fail to decompress when they are copied to the system folder. Check the following chart against what is in your Windows\System folder: FILE NAME COMPRESSED EXPANDED -------------------------------------- WING32.DLL 7k 13k WINGDE.DLL 86k 185k WING.DLL 47k 91k WINGDIB.DRV 6k 7k WINGPAL.WND 4k 5k If one, or all, of these files is still compressed, then something is preventing the WinG installation from completing properly. Q: I received a "Cannot find MSVideo.dll" or "Cannot find AVIFile.dll" error message. A: This appears to happen when the Video for Windows installation is skipped. Rerun the VFWSETUP.EXE from the VFW_Inst folder on the Civilization II CD-ROM. Q: I'm getting an "Undefined Dynalink" error message. A: This is an error message caused by having two Dynamic Link Library files (DLLs) of the same name on your system. It usually has to do with the Video for Windows drivers. Try rerunning VFWSetup from the VFW_Inst folder on the Civilization II CD-ROM. If this fails, try starting the game without the Civilization II CD-ROM in the drive. This should get you around the problem. To fix it, however, you will have to find which two *.DLL files installed on your system are trying to do the same function. Q: I am getting a GPF in WING.DLL. A: This probably means you are using some kind of "RAM doubling" software (such as RAM Doubler, SoftRAM) which seems to cause a conflict. Q1: I am getting an "Incorrect Windows Version" error when trying to launch Civilization II. Q2: I am getting a "Not enough memory" error when trying to launch Civilization II, even though I have enough RAM and enough virtual memory. (See SMEDS above for virtual memory info.) A: We have encountered rare cases in which the Windows configuration itself is at fault; somehow Windows has been corrupted since it was installed, possibly by some other application or by a faulty "uninstall" procedure for another application. Several users with mysterious problems have cured them by reinstalling Windows. Obviously, this is a last resort. If you decide to reinstall Windows, you must then reinstall Civilization II completely, including WinG and Video for Windows. Section 5: Gameplay ------------------- Q: Why can't I find the portrait option in the game? A: Unfortunately, this feature was planned, but not implemented, in the game. It was, however, left in the documentation. Q: It states on page 93 of the manual that, with the railroad and supermarket advance, appropriate terrain will be automatically upgraded. Why isn't this happening? A: The terrain in the city square will be automatically upgraded. This is true and is implemented. Some players have read this and thought that all squares around the city are improved, but this was not the intent. Q: My file listing is filling up quickly with saved games. How do I get rid of them? A: Civilization II's saved game files are files that contain the first two letters of your ruler's name and the year. Their file extension is .SAV. With Windows 3.1, use the file manager to search for *.SAV. You can then select and delete the files as you wish. With Windows 95, you can use the Find command from the Start menu to search for *.SAV. Then select and drag the unwanted files to the Recycle Bin. Remember: you must empty the Recycle Bin to reclaim the hard drive space. Q: I have selected the Capitalization advance in 10 of my cities and none of them seem to build anything. A: If you've built Capitalization in 10 cities, you must be very rich by now. Capitalization is a nonstandard improvement; it turns the shield production of a city into tax income. It is generally used in cities that are well-defended and that don't need other improvements at the moment. Use the money to bribe, buy and influence. Q: Sometimes, when I try to move a unit one direction (even one square), it moves the opposite way. It then goes around the world to get to the point I selected! A: What is happening is the unit is trying to cross the 0 degrees longitude line. Since the game's Goto function doesn't know that the shortest route would be to cross this line, it avoids this line at all costs. What we recommend is, early in the game, click with the right mouse button. This changes you to the flashing diamond cursor. On the right-hand side of the screen, it will display coordinates. When the first number reaches 0, you have found the line. Find or place a visual landmark (a fort or boat). Remember not to use the Goto function to cross from one side of this landmark to the other. Instead approach the line with Goto and use manual moves to cross it. Q: I placed a city in a really dumb place. How do I get rid of it? A1: If you are playing in Chieftain level, there isn't much you can do. Just leave it at size 1 (don't allow it to produce much food) and let an enemy destroy it. A2: If you are playing Warlord or higher, you can do the above or you can get the city down to size 1 (again by starving the citizens) and build, or buy, a settler. Q1: I've gotten the necessary advances, but I can't build Granaries. Q2: I've gotten the necessary advances, but I can't build Police Stations. A: These are two city improvements that are directly linked to certain Wonders of the World. Pyramids count as a Granary in all friendly cities; Women's Suffrage counts as a Police Station in all cities. Q: I've gotten the necessary advances, but I can't build Nuclear Plants. A: This answer is similar to the above. The Hoover Dam Wonder makes Nuclear Plants obsolete. Also, if you haven't built a Factory in the city, you can't build Electric or Nuclear Plants. Also, if you have built a Solar Plant, this makes Electric and Nuclear Plants obsolete. Q: I've gotten the Apollo Program Wonder, but I can't build Space Ship Parts. A: If you got the Apollo Wonder without using the cheat menu, you should be able to build SS Structural right away. To build SS Components and SS Modules, you need a few more advances. Note that for technical reasons no one is allowed to build spaceship parts in the B.C. part of the game. If you want to cheat and build spaceships right away, you need to set the date to at least A.D. 1. Q1: I downloaded the Civilization II demo. When I try to run it, though, it says "Cannot find SMEDSNET.DLL." Q2: I downloaded the Civilization II patch. When I try to run it, though, it says "Cannot find SMEDSNET.DLL." A: The file you have is not a demo or an update program. It is a replacement executable file for Civilization II. What you need to do is copy this file, along with the other files that came with it, to the CIV2 directory that is on your hard drive. If Civilization II isn't on the hard drive yet, you need to install it before you can copy over the patch. Q: I'm having trouble with my user-defined techs and units. A: User-defined techs are pretty easy. Just edit the RULES.TXT file (or RULES.GER or RULES.FRE) and change both "no" entries for the user-defined tech to either "nil" or any valid advance abbreviation. Also remember that no matter what you name the tech, the abbreviation will always be U1, U2 or U3. The extra units are basically the same, but you will want to experiment with different attack and defense ratings. Also certain things will cause the game to act weirdly, like an air unit that can carry air units doesn't work. Remember: if you want these units attached to your user-defined techs, you must use the U1, U2 or U3 abbreviations. You can only create three extra techs and units.