Overview
A compilation of system tweaks and settings configurations to help improve Civilization: Beyond Earth stability and prevent the game from crashing
Client Stability Fixes (how to crash less)
This is just a list of fixes and system tweaks that I have discovered on this and various other forums intended to improve Civilization Beyond Earth client stability and reduce game crashes.
First and foremost is to make sure that all of your drivers are up to date. This is especially true of your video drivers and is a good idea for system stability in general. Usually this can be accomplished via Windows update or by visiting the equipment manufacturer’s website (nvidia, etc). To verify that your drivers are up to date check your Device Manager for any components requiring attention. Control Panel – System – Device Manager.
Next, try adjusting the video settings within game. You may want to try turning off Anti-Aliasing and unchecking VSync. Disabling Fullscreen also seems to significantly reduce memory requirements. And of course match the screen resolution to that of your monitor and adjust graphics profile according to your system specs (older computer=low graphics profile).
For multiplayer, it is suggested you disable the DLC content as it is suspected to be causing instability issues. A problem with the resource distrubtion on those maps is the rumored culprit.
Next, you can also try running Steam in Windows 7 compatibility mode and also disabling Steam overlay while in game. Disabling the Steam overlay will prevent the pop-up ads and whatnot from Steam and is accessed via Steam, Settings, In-Game. While not recommended, making Steam run in windows 7 compatibility mode may also help. You can do this by right-clicking the Steam icon, Properties, Compatiblity, and enable the program to run in Windows 7 compatibility mode, and perhaps even set the Privlege Level to run the program as administrator to help it run more smoothly.
The last thing you can do, and the most complicated, is to enable Windows to use more virtual memory by changing your page file settings. You should be especially careful when changing these system settings and how you can adjust them will depend on your system specifications. The page file settings can be accessed by going to Control Panel, System, Advanced System Settings, Advanced Tab, Performance – settings, Advanced Tab. Here you will see the Virtual Memory telling you the Total paging file size for all drives which you can then Change. By de-selecting the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives but leaving the System manged size option enabled, I was able to automatically increase my paging file size without altering very much and thus increased my systems total virtual memory, of which this game appears to use a lot. This may not be the same for every system, in which case you will need to adjust your paging file size manually (ie. custom size), depending on how much free space you have available. Please make note of the minimum and recommended values for paging files listed and adjust yours accordingly. For reference, my Total paging file size for all drives is about twice (2x) the recommended.
Implementing these system tweaks I was able to go from crashing every hour and being generally unable to find stable multiplayer games to where is its quite playable. Some of these adjustments may be more helpful than others, while some may be completely ineffective. This is simply what worked for me and perhaps can help others. Finally, always be careful when changing system settings and make note of how to undo them if needed, setting restore points is never a bad idea.
—Added—
-Previous Civ 5 fix which may help
Open Civilization Beyond Earth config.ini file in Notepad or a different text editor.
You can find this file is the game directory where Steam initially installed the game. Usually something like (C:/Program Files/Steam/SteamApps/Common/Sid Meier’s Civilization Beyond Earth/)
Search the line “EnableGameCoreThreading = 1” and change it into “EnableGameCoreThreading = 0” and save the file.
—Added—
For multiplayer, leaving Turn Timer off GREATLY improves stability.
The host has the ability to kick any player who abuses this and consistantly
takes unreasonably long turns
—Added—
Things that have worked for some:
Update graphics drivers. If you have Intel integrated graphics, and the OEM drivers (eg HP) are old, try installing the drivers provided by Intel. This will give you a warning that you have manufacturer-specific drivers installed, and should update from them; given that you can’t, go with the Intel drivers. However, create backups and a restore point first, as there are some systems where the OEM drivers are actually necessary. If you don’t have Intel integrated graphics, look at the AMD/nVidia website as appropriate. If you have integrated graphics that aren’t Intel or AMD (or nVidia, if they make any), this game most likely won’t work for you.
Check whether you actually meet the minimum requirements. People with graphics that don’t support DirectX10.1 report this sort of problem, generally. Some with under-powered cards that support the right version of DirectX will get a bit further and then crash, or get strange graphics problems.
If it’s Steam error 53, or “still encrypted”, that usually means the install has gone slightly wonky in some way, or security software is getting in the way. It’s a bit unpredictable.
Some people got over these problems by running the VisualC and DirectX redistributables found in the game’s install directory (in subdirectories, possibly). For some people that this hasn’t helped, completely uninstalling these before reinstalling has helped.
The problems with high-frequency displays discussed elsewhere (http://steamcommunity.com/app/65980/discussions/0/619569341114417237/) sometimes manifest as startup failure. If you have such a display, try turning your desktop refresh rate and/or resolution down, and seeing if you can start then. That’s not the problem solved, but it identifies which version of the problem you have.
Some people have reported that turning off stereoscopic 3D (‘3D Vision’) solves the problem. Some even report that turning it on and off again, when it was off to start with, helps.
Disabling the Steam overlay has also been reported to help in some cases.
If you use multiple graphics cards in SLI or Crossfire, try turning it off.
If you were running the game fine under Windows 8, and it stopped working when you upgraded to 8.1, try completely removing the game and reinstalling it.
It may be worth trying deleting config.ini, graphicsettings.ini and usersettings.ini under C:UsersXXXDocumentsMy GamesSid Meier’s Civilization Beyond Earth (or adjusted as appropriate for your system).
Some report getting the game to work by disabling graphics helper or utility software like MSI Afterburner or FRAPS.
Some notes on those steps, and others, are found in another thread (http://steamcommunity.com/app/65980/discussions/0/619569341080266527/)