CTD is really a safety feature

CTD is crash to desktop

from GalCiv2 Forums
I can't stop playing. I really can't. I just play for hours and hours on end. I tell myself I'll stop at 11PM but before I know it, it is 1 AM! I tell myself I'll stop once the research is done, or I conquered a planet, but no, I just keep on clicking. The only way I can stop playing this game is... ironically are the crashes to desktop!

If it werent for these crashes, I'd go mentally insane if I haven't already.

I have to congrats the developers for creating such a great game but I really think that when they fix all the crashes, the game will be the death of me...
20,116 views 18 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Without wanting to sound like a broken record.... when did you last update your sound and gfx drivers? (Check your debug.err file in the galciv2 folder for info) Also are you running the 1.0X update?

Most CTDs since then have been down to either bad/old drivers or overheating hardware.

A bit of investigation, and you'll probably be up to 5AM in no time.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I think the numerous crashes are what allow me to go to bed also. There are way too many crashes for this to be hardware oriented. Having a new monster machine, and been in gaming for ..............EVER, and by looking at the post, there is a problem here. But the trade off is we get to go to bed.

Thank God for the Quick saves, or I would kill myself.
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
CTD... Thank you for finally spelling out what it means. Having said that I still don't know what you are complaining about.... sort of. I've had the game running non-stop both of the last two weekends and at least 4 hours every night. After 39 hours of straight use the first weekend I saw my first crash (timely...I did need to go somewhere). THEN I updated my video drivers. Last night I left it on in windows mode for 8 hours (though actively playing for only 4) and had my second crash...but I had also been messing around with resolutions, etc.

Still, if it weren't for that first crash...I wouldn't have remembered to pick up my wife at the airport.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm not complaining at all. I mean it, the ONLY thing allowing me to go to sleep is the crash, which only happens after every 5 to 10 hrs of straight playing so I'm guessing it's a overheating issues - yeah, I have the latest everything. *shrug*

I reckon it's getting to the point where I'm a bit afraid of starting a game because of my addition.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Ive been playing 6 to 8 hours per day for the past 2 weeks and have had not one CTD. I have not had much sleep either. The game is installed on an older machine, Pcchips M810lr motherboard with an 1gig AMD Duron, 512 sdram, 128 mb ATI Radeon agp, Creative Live 24 bit sound, XP pro Sp2. The game runs perfect. I have graphics set to full and my video driver set to optimal settings, 1024X768 resolution. The only slowdown i had was on a Gigantic map with 9 opponents. After i turned down anti aliasing and unchecked the Throttle frame rate setting, all was well. I think most peoples CTD's are caused by there systems "software configuration". Xp's system restore, Automatic updates, Antivirus on Access Scanning, Spyware scanning, Scheduled tasks, fragmented hard drive and a multitude of other unnecessary proccesses and services running in the background. Even on a brand new top of the line line system these sort of things can cause many problems.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I think the numerous crashes are what allow me to go to bed also. There are way too many crashes for this to be hardware oriented. Having a new monster machine, and been in gaming for ..............EVER, and by looking at the post, there is a problem here. But the trade off is we get to go to bed.


The more powerful computers crash more with this game, because they heat up so much. The devs didn't hink about that when they were developing this game, because they were worried about the low-end machines. They have since found that the high end machines are the ones that are having the most problems. They instituted a frame rate limiter to counteract this (Limits to 100FPS). Install 1.0X and click the "limit frame rate" option in the video option screen, and you may fix the CTD's.

I am having new CTD problems, but that is because I am running the new 1.1 beta.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The "Are you sure you don't want to take a few more turns, it wouldn't hurt" message doesn't help either =P
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The more powerful computers crash more with this game, because they heat up so much...


Ah. I was wondering about that. I have a 3 year old processor with a 1.5 year old mid-range (at the time) graphics card and I've had no problems despite playing the game A LOT.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
yeah it really punishes the high end cards especially Nvidia but thats jsut because Nvidia can't write decent driver sets.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I havn't had a problem with crashes, a few here and there but no more than any other game. Considering my computers current state of total disorganization, I'd say this games doin pretty good. I attribute this to keeping its drivers up to date, practicing safe Internet surfing habits, and a healthy diet of Galactic Civilizations II every day!

The difference between this game crashing and other games crashing, is that the guys who make this game actually listen when I whine about it! Not that I ever whine...
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
I WISH I HAD MORE CTD's. A pure CTD wouldn't make me as mad as the usual crash from the BETA build. Where I have to turn off the process to shut down the application
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm afraid we probably won't be able to fit in any more CTDs for version 1.1, but I can practically guarantee that 1.2 and future expansions will increase customer satisfaction in this area. We will also try to work with ATI and NVIDIA to try and implement an "auto-BSOD" if the game detects an excess gameplay event. We are listening!
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Oooh, ooh ! When will the beta for 1.2 be up? "auto-BSOD" LMAO !
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I always considered the game crashes to be an invention of the Arnorians. Right when then aliens are about to conquer your homeworld, the universe mysteriously vanishes and you're zapped into a parallel universe dominated by humans and monopolistic software companies.
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well, we could probably fit a copy of The Corporate Machine in there . . . I suspect Mitrosoft would be more than a match for the Dread Lords.
Reply #16 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You just reminded me of a joke...I'd paste it but then I'd really be off topic; so here's the Link

Still, have to admit this is the first time I've enjoyed having a slightly older computer. Very odd that the newer systems are having so much more difficulty.
Reply #17 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm still trying to figure out if some of the posts are serious or joking .

Oh and I have an absolutely fool proof method of ensuring that I do not game too long. It's called a w - i - f - e. She tracks my time most efficiently and reports on any thing that she does not dub as productive. And probably why I send her out shopping every chance I get .

Hehe...

As for the CTD it is a good stopper. However I've found that in times like that I spend even more time seeing what went wrong and whether or not I can reproduce the circumstances of the crash. Six hours later usually no luck getting it to crash again . So far only the BETA has ever crashed on me but that is BETA and to be expected .
Reply #18 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I know. I was able to multitask the NCAA basketball with Galciv2 just fine, but multitasking a w-i-f-e is a lot harder. Can't they understand that when we stare at the computer screen when they're talking to us, that's just because we have multi-threaded brains?