Firaxis likes to pretect the Greeks

Carver · February 18, 2002, 02:21

I'm the Zulus, Regent, Standard Map. Version 1.16f, too many horror stories about 1.17f for me to install it yet.

It's 2024 and three civs remain; me, the Chinese and the Greeks. I have now fought several wars with the Greeks (they started the first one, me all the rest

) with the Chinese on my side every time. The Chinese and I currently have a mutual protection pact, which I secured with the help of a little dye. Being 2024, it is clear I will only be able to accomplish a histographic win. The thing is, the Greeks have been on my butt the whole game in terms of histographic score. Presently, I'm at about 1800 points and the Greeks, 1750. So I figure I should use these last few years to cull the Greeks down a bit and raze some cities

.

Off to their continent I send three transports loaded with tanks and marines, three destroyers and a battleship. My initial attack goes well, I raze a coastal city and have my tanks on shore ready to do more damage. That's in one turn. At the end of the turn the Chinese declare war on the Greeks...I'm thinking SWEET...and then...well, the game crashes. I reload, this time I use different units in different places...just hoping. But it still crashes every time. Well done Firaxis; make people work for 10-15 hours on a game and then kill it at the end. Talk about anticlimatic.

BTW, my computer (1.5Ghz P4, 256MB ram, 32MB Nvidia) has never had any problems with Civ3 before. Civ3 just decides to go into civil disorder at that point. I think there is a thread on ideas for v1.18, here's one: a game that works.

Terser · February 18, 2002, 02:37

I have it on good authority that the Firaxians don't play favorites. In fact, I believe that one of them was quoted once as saying, "We love the Greeks, but we love Turkey also. We take no position on the question of Cyprus, and we will not make any of our software titles crash in order to prevent the destuction of A.I. controlled Greek or Turkish civs--if and when we add Turkey, that is."

Sounds to me like a corrupted save game. Not sure why it happens. You might try going back to a saved game from well before the one that continuously crashes and start anew from it. I usually end up saving dozens and dozens of times using different names each time in order to be prepared for just such an occurence.

Minuteman · February 18, 2002, 02:59

I don't think Firaxis has exhibited any favortism here with regards to any civs. But even if they did, what precisely would that have to do with your game crashing??

You're asking the wrong question. Instead of wondering if there are any Oliver Stone-esque conspiracies afoot in the home offices of Firaxis, you should be wondering what really caused your game to crash.

If you received one of those dreaded "CIVILIZATION.EXE" errors and you're still using 1.16f, then you might want to disable "Show Civil Disorder Pop-Up" in preferences. That particular crash bug (I had it too) was addressed in the new patch.

If that option was already disabled, then you're sh!t out of luck I'm afraid. Firaxis doesn't seem to know why some users have periodically experienced this problem, and they don't seem to know how to fix it.

MrWhereItsAt · February 18, 2002, 06:43

Random quantum fluctuations in your computer's internal currents, that's what it is. Either that or the non-existence of zero (since digital runs on IOOOIIIOIIOOOIIIOO etc).

It so TOO could be!

One of those probs that are inexplicable. I get it occasionally, just less since the patch. Each time previously I reloaded two turns back and varied my orders. It would keep going for about 15 mins or so before another "Civilization.e.exe" problem. If you're desperate to finish that game, try this - I found that only revising your orders for ONE turn before the crash didn't work. I'd suggest a new game (and yes I do know how painful THAT can be).

Thrawn05 · February 18, 2002, 09:28

Quote:

Originally posted by Terser
I have it on good authority that the Firaxians don't play favorites. In fact, I believe that one of them was quoted once as saying, "We love the Greeks, but we love Turkey also. We take no position on the question of Cyprus, and we will not make any of our software titles crash in order to prevent the destuction of A.I. controlled Greek or Turkish civs--if and when we add Turkey, that is."

Sounds to me like a corrupted save game. Not sure why it happens. You might try going back to a saved game from well before the one that continuously crashes and start anew from it. I usually end up saving dozens and dozens of times using different names each time in order to be prepared for just such an occurence.

I used to do that, but then I saw that those save files add up... BIG TIME. I have 23 saves total up ~500MB of disk space. Needless to say I 'ant doing that again.

TinCow · February 18, 2002, 15:23

I had a (similar?) bug twice in 1.16 where the game crashes every time a certain city goes into civil disorder. This was avoidable and didn't make me quit the game, but it was rather strange. No other city would do this, only when that one particular city (a different city in both games) started rioting would this happen.

barefootbadass · February 18, 2002, 15:35

Every crash I have had with civ 3 has been a memory problem(lack of). You can play with any amount of physical RAM (within reason) on huge map 16 civs if you allocate enough virtual memory, it just makes it really slow.

Jaybe · February 18, 2002, 15:36

On a lighter side, I often find that the Greeks are often one of the first to be destroyed! BTW, I find that the Romans (as an AI) often don't finish the game either, and for both civs, it's the AI that takes them out.

JB

Altuar · February 18, 2002, 16:15

Quote:

Originally posted by Terser
I have it on good authority that the Firaxians don't play favorites. In fact, I believe that one of them was quoted once as saying, "We love the Greeks, but we love Turkey also. We take no position on the question of Cyprus, and we will not make any of our software titles crash in order to prevent the destuction of A.I. controlled Greek or Turkish civs--if and when we add Turkey, that is."

No, no, no, you got it all wrong. It was the Turks first who said that Greeks eat olives. The Greeks responded in kind and said, well, Turks eat olives, too.

Then the Turkish president stepped on a olive seed and broke his arm.

Turkish tabloid press complained that the Greeks did it.

The incident was almost forgotten when the Greek archbishop choked on a olive and died.

Much later, it was found out that the olive was harmless, as the Archbisop died from heart attack, not from suffocation. The responsible doctors were sacked.

But before that, the Greek far-right, crying religion and the heritage of Constantin, managed to veto the Turkish entry to the EU.

The Turks responed with "accidental" air-space invasions.

And so, the cycle began again, one that has been repeated since the end of the Second World War.

Spec · February 18, 2002, 16:19

Quote:

Originally posted by Terser
I have it on good authority that the Firaxians don't play favorites. In fact, I believe that one of them was quoted once as saying, "We love the Greeks, but we love Turkey also. We take no position on the question of Cyprus, and we will not make any of our software titles crash in order to prevent the destuction of A.I. controlled Greek or Turkish civs--if and when we add Turkey, that is."

That's a good one man!! I needed a laugh!!

Spec.