Aspyr/Civ5 Coming

[dojoboy]

Well, I love History Rewritten, but I don't want ciV for the mods, I want the base game. I played Civ IV moddless, and it was still a great game. (I still do sometimes, HR is a HUGE job for my Macbook to handle)

I agree, and the only Civ4/BtS mods I use are for graphics and the GOTMs. Mods have rarely, ever excited me.

 

[AlanH]

Turns out I was wrong. The XML -> SQL is handled by Civ5 itself, not ModBuddy, so we should be able to make or edit XML and LUA based mods without it. I imagine we're going to end up with a modding situation roughly the same as Civ4.

That's correct. It does look as if a lot of the mod functions can be carried out by hand using a text editor on a Mac. Below is my take on how the SDK functions might have to be replaced.

The four components provided by the SDK are:

ModBuddy
The big area where ModBuddy helps is in configuration management. If you build a mod by hand with a text editor, you will also have to make sure that all the mod id, version numbering, files, entry points, actions and compatibility elements are correct in the modinfo file. ModBuddy also provides xml and lua code editors with syntax coloring and code completion etc. This should be able to be done using BBEdit or Xcode, with appropriate plug-ins. And it deals with packaging and submitting your mod to the Mod Hub, but you can still distribute mods independently of the Mod Hub by 7zipping them into a .Civ5Mod file.

Note that you can also include sql text files in your mod, which is potentially very powerful. You can do far more with one line of sql than with a page-full of XML for some tasks. Adding one hit point to every unit in the game is a simple example. It should also be possible to script sql calls in lua.

FireTuner
There is also a debugging facility called FireTuner. It provides a window on the running state of a game, with access to all the sqlite data structures, and event logging. Some of its capabilities are actually available using Firefox sqlite browser plugin, and may also be supported by some Mac tools. Note that sqlite is the part of the HTML5 spec that supports local storage in web browsers, and is also an underlying technology in OS X CoreData.

Nexus
DDS files have to be uncompressed RGB images with alpha channel. In the SDK, these are processed by the Nexus tool to be compatible with the game, which uses a proprietary compression format. I'm not clear on whether it will be possible to create mod Art without Nexus or some Mac equivalent.

WorldBuilder
WorldBuilder will have to be ported, but that's probably no big deal.

 

[civ_king]

The Porting Team hacked Civ V to run on OS X without windows, however they only have a full game download

Moderator Action: URL removed pending checks that it is not a violation of Firaxis copyright.

(IIRC it allows you to run it through your Steam account)

 

[Keinpferd]

(IIRC it allows you to run it through your Steam account)

Too bad, they only have the full game download! Damn!

 

[rickb]

FireTuner
There is also a debugging facility called FireTuner. It provides a window on the running state of a game, with access to all the sqlite data structures, and event logging. Some of its capabilities are actually available using Firefox sqlite browser plugin, and may also be supported by some Mac tools. Note that sqlite is the part of the HTML5 spec that supports local storage in web browsers, and is also an underlying technology in OS X CoreData.

Actually the cool thing about the Firaxis Live Tuner is that it works over a network connection (even locally) so you could run the Tuner on one machine and have the game running on another.

 

[AlanH]

Actually the cool thing about the Firaxis Live Tuner is that it works over a network connection (even locally) so you could run the Tuner on one machine and have the game running on another.

Forgive me if I am less than enthusiastic about FireTuner. It just made the task of providing cheat-resistant Games of the Month a heck of a lot harder!

 

[RangerJoe]

I too hope for a steam distribution for Civ 5. I've become a big fan of playing Civ IV both on my Mac and when I'm in Boot Camp.

 

[Frederico]

Promising rumours:

We've received reliable word that Civilization V for the Mac is due very soon -- likely in the coming weeks.

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/07/civilization-v-coming-to-mac-very-soon/

 

[Skwink]

Promising rumours:

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/07/civilization-v-coming-to-mac-very-soon/

*High fives everyone in this thread*

Lot's o' Civ V hate going around, but who cares, I want to try it!

 

[iamliberal]

I just read on macrumors.com that it was posted on 10/7 that Civ 5 for Mac was coming soon. I'm totally excited! I just hope my late 2009 Macbook can handle it.

 

[Skwink]

I just read on macrumors.com that it was posted on 10/7 that Civ 5 for Mac was coming soon. I'm totally excited! I just hope my late 2009 Macbook can handle it.

That's where I am. Mine is a early 2009, I got it a couple weeks before the revealed the new Macbooks.

 

[asix79]

One question that would be worth asking is this: Is the Aspyr release going to be available via Steam upon release, or will it be a separate purchase?