What graphics settings do you usually use?

I'm curious how ramped up or ramped down most people have their computers when they play Civ. At the min, to increase game speed, or do a lot of people have amped-up computers so that they can enjoy all the graphics?

All high 2AA + SweetFX My cpu is i5 4670K and graphics 750Ti (super low power consumption + super silent).

Turn times are cpu intensive so lowering graphics won't help much. I would not even try playing huge map with 10+ civs past turn 200 or so even on high end PC

I used to use max graphics but I had to lower them because one of the patches didn't get the max graphics to work.

lowest of the low, even though i do like to stare at fishing boats while the enemy takes long turns, I prefer gameplay over graphics

I play on a lap top so that would explain it, one time I maxed everything and went online, I could nearly move none of my units by the heavy lag, it was sort of funny lol

I don't know what any of this "2AA" or "Atari 2600" is. I just know I play on DX11 because it works and it looks better than DX9. So I said maximum graphics.

AgressiveWimp said:

I don't know what any of this "2AA" or "Atari 2600" is. I just know I play on DX11 because it works and it looks better than DX9. So I said maximum graphics.

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atari lmao.........

OMG Atari 2600, nostalgia trip.

I keep everything ramped down as far as it'll go, *and* I play in Strategic View. It certainly isn't pretty, but it runs smoothly, and that's just the way I like it.

I play low settings. My MBP runs high settings smoothly, but it generates a lot of heat. I'm told laptops are built to take it, but I don't want to gamble with the lifespan of my workstation for the sake of eyecandy.

Low setting because I play on a Laptop with Integrated Graphics and an Intel i3

lindsay40k said:

I play low settings. My MBP runs high settings smoothly, but it generates a lot of heat. I'm told laptops are built to take it, but I don't want to gamble with the lifespan of my workstation for the sake of eyecandy.

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I know exactly what you mean about it generating heat. I have a tip for you and any others in this situation.

Download MSI Afterburner and run RTSS with a frame rate limit set up either globally or just for civ.

The heat is because the framerate is much higher than necessary for a 4X game like civs. It is even worse when you minimize the game, because with out a framerate limiter, the frame rate can hit VSYNC or higher and really COOK the graphics card for some people. Some Civfanatics I know have even fried their graphics cards because of this and this game has turned out to be very expensive for them (hundreds of dollars to replace the cooked card or even worse, their laptop). Firaxis should have warned people about it but never did because it is not their responsibility (except morally), because in theory the hardware should be able to take it (they would claim).

Other companies that have made other 4X games like AOW3 listened to the fans and tried to minimise graphic card heating. They responded and agreed that 4X should not be running the graphics card temperature very high. However there is only so much they can do.

EDIT:
So take control of your PC and do it yourself with MSI Afterburner and RTSS which comes pre-packaged with it. The bonus is that you can turn the eye-candy up higher and just run a lower frame rate. I find a frame rate of 20fps is good enough, and my graphics card runs really cool and will last for many more years than it otherwise would (because of less heat stress and because the fan doesn't wear out).

All the best.

Hang on. So not only have Firaxis made an absolute mess of all manner of balance, gameplay and historical issues, the game is also sloppily made on a technical level to a physically dangerous level?

I'm this close to uninstalling it altogether.

EDIT: MSI Afterburner doesn't appear to be available for OSX. I'm not installing W8, so I guess no civ for me until W9 comes along and hopefully has a better interface :/

It is not necessarily sloppy by Firaxis because the product is vintage 2010. They may not have had a way of limiting the frame rate back then other than to limit it to VSYNC (which still unnecessarily heats up some graphics cards). There are also support and compatibility issues with frame rate control because it is hardware and operating system dependent......

For a game like the upcoming Beyond Earth, technology has moved on and you should expect Firaxis to implement an in-game frame rate limiter (at least VSYNC/2) for people so that they can choose how hot they want to run their graphics cards with respect to the performance they want. I bet they won't however, because it is easier just to get freeware apps like MSI afterburner and/or Nvidia Inspector to do the job on their behalf (or the behalf of Microsoft). If they don't tell people about this issue, that makes their job even easier.

*I don't know about OSX, it is an entirely different operating system and it might control the frame rate automatically for you*

If PC people want to protect their hardware, don't thank me, thank the people of MSI afterburner who have provided tools for us for free, when actually it should be built into either the game, or the operating system. Like I said before, it only affects some people (like me). I am glad that I can choose the option to keep my hardware running cool and keep the eye-candy on maximum, just by turning the frame-rate down.

NOTE: VSYNC is normally 60fps which really heats up a lot of graphics cards in 4X games for NOTHING. Some games reduce it to VSYNC/2 which is better. I slow it to 25fps and all that it means is that the scrolling is a bit slower but it is still fine and within minutes you are used to it.

EDIT: The issue about graphics card heating is a thorny one and that is why nothing has been done. Game companies can claim that it is the responsibility of the graphics card makers to ensure that people's hardware can survive 1000's of hours of Civ play at VSYNC frame rate. The hardware companies claim that it is people's jobs to keep the dust out of their laptops and PCs.....

However, in reality the hardware's life is usually shortened (even with excellent care), but only shortened enough so that people don't realise that their hardware was being stressed more than it otherwise should have been. If a software company is nice (like Firaxis should be), they would realise that VSYNC frame rates are unnecessary for a 4X game and offer solutions built into the game to slow the frame rate down. However they could claim that it should be built into the operating system, or they claim it is not their job to maximise the longevity of peoples computer hardware.

THE POINT IS THIS:
People increasingly want to protect their hardware because they paid a lot of money for it and it is not going to go obsolete for many years. BUT IF WE DON'T DEMAND that 4X games that are played for 100's if not 1000's of hours have built in optional ways to control the frame rate (and there by control the heat stress on the hardware), we just push the problem onto MSI Afterburner to solve, but somebody should be paid to take responsibility and it should not be left to freeware to solve. Donate to the good people at MSI then at the very least!

It’s (expletive) true. I loaded it up to try it out, and the vent is cooler now - with a textured, shadowy 3D world rendered in 2880x1800 at a comfortable framerate - than it was when I was tinkering in static 1440x900 options screens.

(expletive) (expletive).

on the lowest settings possible. i'm running it on a macbook (and usually have something workrelated running/compiling in the background) and in endgame the turns can take aaaages. i often play on strategic view by that time

I have:

I7 980
12 Gb ram
SLI GTX 680s
512 Gb SSD
Asus ROG Swift 1440p G Sync Jesus monitor.

I ONLY ACCEPT MAXIMUM SETTINGS.

lindsay40k said:

It’s (expletive) true. I loaded it up to try it out, and the vent is cooler now - with a textured, shadowy 3D world rendered in 2880x1800 at a comfortable framerate - than it was when I was tinkering in static 1440x900 options screens.

(expletive) (expletive).

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Are you talking about MSI Afterburner and RTSS?, if so, I'm glad to hear it has worked for you. Imagine a world where these options were built into the game itself (you should demand it). Running the framerate at 60fps is like driving a ferrari down the freeway in first gear. The engine will overheat and the ferrari is getting overtaken by combi-vans.

I'm on a Mac and play on the lowest setting. While my video card is more than adequate, six months after I bought game, my video card crapped the bed. So I had to get a new one. And to avoid that one going bad, I just went to lowest settings. Just in case the game was the culprit.

lindsay40k said:

It’s (expletive) true. I loaded it up to try it out, and the vent is cooler now - with a textured, shadowy 3D world rendered in 2880x1800 at a comfortable framerate - than it was when I was tinkering in static 1440x900 options screens.

(expletive) (expletive).

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Didn't you say it was not available for OSX 8? Or does it work there as well (I have 8).

glider1 said:

Are you talking about MSI Afterburner and RTSS?, if so, I'm glad to hear it has worked for you. Imagine a world where these options were built into the game itself (you should demand it). Running the framerate at 60fps is like driving a ferrari down the freeway in first gear. The engine will overheat and the ferrari is getting overtaken by combi-vans.

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Nope. I just loaded Civ V, changed the graphics settings to high, and quit. (The vent was uncomfortably hot to touch just from these 1440 options screens.) I let it cool down, booted up Civ V again, played for a couple of hours in 2880, and it was running hot but not uncomfortably so.