Civilisation 2 and getting it to run

[blue phoenix]

Seperate topic- one of the best games ever? i think so

On topic- It wont install on this new computer, it worked perfectly fine on my old one- so i dont know what the problem is considering this new one is better. The old computer ran on Windows 98 Plus, and this new one is on XP.

First of all i put the Cd in, nothing happens. (Usually a seperate window comes up asking what you want to do). So i go to my Computer and the disc is there and after navigating through the folders on the disc i see Install so i click on it and something like this comes up:

16 bit Windows Subsystem

C:/WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/AUTOEXEC.NT the system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows Applications. Choose "Close" to terminate the application.

So is the new computer too "advanced" for it to work? The games graphics arent horrendous their pretty good and the manual says its only from 1996-97 it was made. So any way to fix it? Im also not a computer whizz so if you suggest "patches" or anything i wont know what to do.

[nik0tine]

Dude, I love that game.

[blue phoenix]

i know, which annoys me more that it doesnt work.

[nik0tine]

I downloaded it a while back on a P2P. It works pretty good. Wouldn't that technically not be illegal since he already owns that CD and would just be making copies? That way this doesn't have to get snipped.

[blue phoenix]

how do you do that? as i have the Cd right here

[nik0tine]

I don't remember how I did it, but you could find a bittorrent or you could use limewire.

[Levian]

Civilization 1 is better imho. I used to chase that scoundrel Elizabeth around the map like a bug. :love:

[blue phoenix]

ive limewire, what would i type in? and how would i know if it was the games entire content? plus how long would that roughly take with broadband? 1Mb

[nik0tine]

I'd just type in something like "civilization 2" and do a few variations on that. It might take a while to find something. Also, it'll take a while to download too. It could take the majority of the day, if not all of it.

[blue phoenix]

right ill maybe try that, id prefer to find somthing more concrete as id be surprised if it worked and if i even found it. But thanks.

EDIt- and as i have the disc right here which wont work the downloaded version probably wont work.

[drunkymonkey]

Civ4 is better; you even get a big red button for nukes.

[Sylvie]

I love Civ II and hate all the ones after it. Civ II is one of the best games ever, IMO. I use tactics like getting as much money from my enemies as possible and then suddenly wiping them out. The fartheset I've gotten was to about the colonial times. I have Test of Time, and I can guarantee you that BakerMan is going to post here. :)

[blue phoenix]

i tried limewiring it, didnt work. nay patches that would help or anything like that? i would just need told how to operate them.

[drunkymonkey]

Isn't it a DOS game?

[blue phoenix]

? what u mean DOS? as in MS-DOS or something else?

[Skyblade]

I love Civ II and hate all the ones after it.

Agreed. Once you got past Civ II the series went downhill. The same thing happened to the Master of Orion series once they went past MoO II (which is basically a sci-fi version of Civilization [and I actually liked the MoO games better]). Once they made the game go past a certain complexity level, they made it more tedious than fun. And that is a mistake, in any game.

[drunkymonkey]

Sort of. A lot of older games like Civ and Civ2 require a dos system to run. Unfortunately WinXP doesn't support DoS, so your best idea would be to download DosBox (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1) which allows you to play all those old games you have on your nice new PC.

I'm not exactly sure how you play the games (I haven't used it in ages, all the DOS games that I play are Scummbar supported, mainly adventure games) but follow the instructions and you should be fine.

[blue phoenix]

i downloaded it, but im still clueless its just like a code screen, i still dont know how this helps me to play Civ 2.

[Sylvie]

I love Civ II and hate all the ones after it.
Agreed. Once you got past Civ II the series went downhill. The same thing happened to the Master of Orion series once they went past MoO II (which is basically a sci-fi version of Civilization [and I actually liked the MoO games better]). Once they made the game go past a certain complexity level, they made it more tedious than fun. And that is a mistake, in any game.

What pissed me off about Civ III was the fact that the people were so damn delicate.

China: Can we have some gold?
Me(Japan): No, sorry, we're sorta broke.
China: THIS IS IT!! YOU ARE DISLOYAL!! WAR!!

And then theres the thing where if you don't have a lot of money, every freakin 3 minutes this girl would pop up and say "Our treasury is almost gone!" And it got really annoying if I was trying to do something. And I couldn't find a way to turn it off either...

[drunkymonkey]

i downloaded it, but im still clueless its just like a code screen, i still dont know how this helps me to play Civ 2.That's where the instructions come in. Have a look on the website, there's some instructions. It basically converts Civ2 from Dos to a language that XP can understand so you can play it again. But I'm not even exactly sure if this well help, I just think it will because Civ2 has been out for ages.

[blue phoenix]

i know, i tried following it but miserably failed. i got about as far as intro, and then didnt know where to go next

[Sylvie]

Look for Test Of Time off of eBay. Thats what I play, its got Civ II in it with some added extras like Fantasy mode, Sci-fi Mode, and a Midgard Scenario, which is like an RPG type thing.

[blue phoenix]

i dont have ebay, and i dont have a credit card.

right using this dosbox stuff, i managed to mount the Cd drive. See its directorty which contained the civilisation folders, but i dont know where to go from there. how do you run them?

EDIT- ive tried typing in civ2 and setup after mounting the disc. but it says this program must be run under microsoft windows, that mean this wont work?

[starseeker]

I think I may have got Civ2 to work on an XP machine but I don't know how. Civ4 is really overrated, not to mention hard.

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

I'm moving this to the Help Forum to aid in your technical querie.

[Samuraid]

You could try running the game in compatibility mode for windows 98.

Right click on the game's icon, and select "Properties" from the pop-up menu.
Click the "Compatibility" tab, select the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" box and select windows 98 from the drop-down menu.

You could also try compatibility mode for windows 95, and disabling visual themes as well.

[blue phoenix]

sounded like a fantastic idea, and i did it to several of the installation icons. I tried the main one first (the one that sai civ 2) but same message still came up. then after doing it to all others on Windows 95 and disabled visual themes. same message. thanks though

Any other suggestions?

[ShunNakamura]

I'll nab a copy from a freind or elsewhere and see what exactly the issue is.

However, A quick search showed me that it is supposed to be WinXP Compatable.

Just for reference do you use XP Pro or XP Home?


Anyways, I can't say how long it will take me to find a copy to play with. However, I will try to help if I can.

Also if worst comes to worst you could try playing it in a Virtual Machine on your computer. VMWare I think still has a free beta version of one of it's editions. The real issue is that it eats resources out the rear.

[blue phoenix]

thanks for trying. if u get it make sure to say. err. i dont know. its a home computer so ill guess XP home?

im surprised it doesnt work as the games really not that bad.

whats virtual machine? and whats that last comment mean about eating resources?

[ShunNakamura]

A virtual machine is..... Well I am bad at explaining, but I will give it a shot.

Have you ever played a ROM or the ilk? If you have you would know that you need an emulator to pretend that it is that sort of system(such as super Nintendo) in order for them to work.

A virtual machine is similar. Except it emulates computers. So just like a super nintendo emulator can make it appear that you have a super nintedo built into your computer a virtual machine makes it appear that you have another computer inside your current computer. This internal computer can have a different operating system, different games installed, and can be turned off and on just like a regular computer.

The resource comment goes to the fact that emulation isn't easy. My 1.8Ghz intel is taxed running any more then 1 virtual machine or Win98. And depending on what is running on the Virtual Machine of Win98 even 1 can tax it. And normally 1.8Ghz should be plenty to handle Win98. What I was infering to(since you got a new computer it can likely handle this starin) was that you would notice your computer running a bit slowly if you tried to run any high maintainance games. Also the emulated graphics on the Virtual Machine are usually low(so definately now high graphic games), though they are enough to handle something like Civ II(I am guessing).

Whether or not you can try it will hinge big time on if you got a win98 operating system install disc or another OS install disc. Since you do need to install the OS just like on a real computer.


Definately not optimal. Which is why I class it as a 'worst comes to worst' solution.


I ask the OS because XP Home has given me all sorts of hell in trying to get stuff to work on it before whereas my Pro would easily install and/or run it. To check your OS open your start menu and right click My Computer. Select Properties. Under the General Tab(should be the default tab that it opens with), there is a header title System. Underneth it it will tell you your OS.

Anyways if it is home, I can't gurantee I will be able to reproduce your issue(and if I can't reproduce it I can't exactly try to troubleshoot anymore then what has already been done).

Also try to have it installed on another computer(preferbly not Win XP) to see if it is the install disc or the OS. I have heard of some similar issues in which it is a corrupted install file that causes issues with XP. If that is the case I would just find a download of it(since you already got the original). I will cast about for it if you have yet to find it.

[blue phoenix]

its XP pro actually, thats good.

i dont think its the disc, as it worked ok in the other computer. it also keeps saying that "16 bit windows subsystem" message, nothing about it being corrupt.

[ShunNakamura]

*shrug* just figured I would make sure on the CD deal since that is the most common reason I hear that it doesn't work on XP.

I think I found a place to obtain a copy of it to see if it works on my system. However, it may be a while til I actually get to test it. If it works I will PM you with a link to it's location.

Trial version(asks for registration number) as I thought. Plus it may be a newer release then the version you got. However, it did install just fine on my XP pro.

[blue phoenix]

strange. no help then?