Civ. 3 on the new intel Macs

[Casper1984]

What I think happened was that right after I got my computer I used an older moniter to install my software, as the moniter i ordered had yet to come, this could have caused a resolution problem, After switiching moniters and readjusting the resolution I am thinking that that is what fixed the problem.

 

[Startaff]

First of all, since it's 11 (ELEVEN!) months since I last posted to this forum... Hello to everybody!

Now the question: I'm probably going to buy an Intel-based Mac in a few months and I'm currently still owning a plain-vanilla CivIII (no C3C or other such amenities...)
Would this work (maybe via Rosetta)?
If yes, would the extra power of a CoreDuo MacBook over-compensate the Rosetta "bottleneck" and go faster than in my current G4 1MHz Powerbook?

Thanks to everybody and ciao!

 

[AlanH]

Welcome back

By the time you get an Intel-Mac there *should* be a Universal Binary patch for Civ3 Complete, and I would recommend that for a full-on Civ3 experience on your new Mac. Alternatively, I believe vanilla version 1.29b2 has been found to work OK under Rosetta, but maybe that depends on the model you get. I haven't seen reports on how it runs on the basic MacBook.

I wouldn't recommend getting a low-end Mac if you ever plan to play Civ4.

 

[Startaff]

Thanks Alan for your prompt answer!

I think I'll go with a MacBook Duo as soon as my wife will finish off her G3 iBook (the HD has gone, the chassis is cracking: it shouldn't take long...)

I'm not so worried about Civ4 as I'm still struggling with plain C3. At about 2 games per year, I'm not going to run out of challenges very soon...

Ciao

 

[AlanH]

Another option will be to pick up a cheap copy of Windows Civ3, discarded on eBay by a Civ4 fan, and run that under Boot Camp. 'Course that does mean getting and running Windows XP on your beautiful new Mac .

 

[Startaff]

Another option will be to pick up a cheap copy of Windows Civ3, discarded on eBay by a Civ4 fan, and run that under Boot Camp. 'Course that does mean getting and running Windows XP on your beautiful new Mac .

That's an EXTREME solution!

 

[dan1983@amerite]

Hi everybody. I just bought a new intel core duo macbook, and i am a newcommer to the world of mac. I have a couple of questions. Do you think Civ 3 complete and civ 4 (when it comes out) will be able to run on this macbook (NOT macbook PRO)? To be honest I don't know the difference between powerPC and intel core duo processors...Thanks for the info.

 

[AlanH]

Hi. Welcome

You should be able to run Civ3 Complete on your MacBook with no problem.

The jury is still out on Civ4 with the MacBook. Reports from users say it runs the Windows version of Civ4 well under Windows and Boot Camp. Boot Camp is Apple's dual boot facility that allows you to run Windows on your MacBook. However, its integrated video processor is not included in Aspyr's list of approved video systems for Civ4. BUT they haven't tested it yet, and it seems surprising if OS X can't run it and Windows XP can, with the same CPU and video processor.

Your MacBook uses an Intel CPU. PowerPCs were the CPU chips in previous Macs (and still are in some current high end Macs) and they use a completely different hardware instruction set. The Intel CPUs have considerably better performance than the old PowerPCs they have replaced in portables.

Unless you want to run Windows (see below), the main issues for you are that some software hasn't been recompiled to run native on an Intel CPU yet, and has to use an emulator called Rosetta that somewhat reduces performance. This currently applies to Civ3 Complete as well as to some heavy duty products like Photoshop and M$ Office. Civ3 Complete is due to be updated to a "Universal Binary (UB)" soon to remove this limitation, and will then run native on your system.

An Intel CPU can run Windows at native speed and with full access to the system hardware, because that's the CPU architecture that all Windows systems use. PowerPCs can only run Windows in a software emulator which reduces its performance and prevents it from using all the hardware features of the computer.

 

[dan1983@amerite]

Thanks for all the info. So from what I understand teh Rosetta emulator is already included in the operating system that comes with the macbook. No need to download anything. I will try installing windows xp on my mac once im download the BootCamp program. Again, thanks for all the info!

 

[AlanH]

Yes, the Rosetta emulator is part of OS X for Intel Macs. No download required, and it cuts in transparently when you try to run any Mac software that hasn't been compiled for Intel CPUs. If you have run any non-universal binary application you have already used it.

 

[tao]

Thanks for all the info. So from what I understand teh Rosetta emulator is already included in the operating system that comes with the macbook. No need to download anything. I will try installing windows xp on my mac once im download the BootCamp program. Again, thanks for all the info!

And you should add CivAssist II since it is tremendeously easing gameplay.