Civ6, Windows 10 and DirectX12 dilemma

[gombac]

Hello fellow Civ fans. Long time lurker, first time poster here.

As you probably know the free Windows 10 promotion is almost over. Given all the bad press regarding the massive spyware embedded in the OS I had decided not to upgrade.

However I recently read that Civ6 will be optimized for directx 12. And directx 12 is only available for Windows 10.

So, should I keep my Windows 8.1 on my Asus ROG rig, or should I upgrade? Will Windows10/ directx 12 be essential to fully enjoy Civ6?

 

[gfeier]

I'm going to patiently wait until it comes out for my Mac.

 

[Acken]

I dont really understand why users think they are protected from spying when not upgrading to win 10... sure it has communications harder to block but i seriously hope someone that is afraid of that to also take necessary measures to stop other forms of spying from your phone company, facebook, google etc etc. Microsoft is just adding onto the pile.
If you re a lambda user believing you re safe by not upgrading to win10 is like believing you ll stop bullets with a t shirt.
I hate it as much as the next guy but I really dont believe it changesthe amount of things corporations already have.

Unless youre making a stand i respect that.

There also must exist hacks to stop such behaviors from your OS.

The gaming industry will obviously move on to directx12. As for your laptop it depends which one it is I guess and how demanding civ6 is.

 

[Mort_Q]

Aside from the spyware, I have no complaints about Win 10.

 

[gombac]

I should ad that my Asus is 1 year old and has a Nvidia GeForce GTX 860.

 

[Larsenex]

I have failed to see the paranoia on Win 10. I upgraded last year from Win 7 and never looked back. I run a VPN and I encrypt my drives. No issues. I also use TOR browser but the vpn covers my tracks.

The platform is stable and very robust but its hard to sell it to folks who see Big Brother everywhere.

Anyway, to answer your question. As many folks have said it may be that we have TWO exe's, one for DX11 and one for DX12. Just stick with what you are comfortable with.

I am very happy for the DX12 interfaces. There are a few here that disagree with me but I can tell you it will improve turn times and it will have an impact on ai processing. Ultimately a fast processor, DX12 and a good Video card will be fast than those three but using only DX11.

As far as eye candy? Well only DX12 allows for more than 6 lighting sources as shown multiple times on the Ashes of Singularity demos. It looks amazing.

Cheers!

 

[master__jj]

If you're really concerned about spyware, you shouldn't use a computer or smartphone

 

[Larsenex]

If you're really concerned about spyware, you shouldn't use a computer or smartphone

^^^ truth... might as well go back to ciphered snail mail and flip a coin.

 

[wayneb64]

Can someone explain how turn times would be affected by Direct X 12? I can see a marginal improvement in frame rates or maybe some slightly better graphics but I just don't see how it can make that big a difference over Direct X 11. (Assuming of course a reasonable CPU, GPU, and memory or on board)

 

[SidFwuff]

So, should I keep my Windows 8.1 on my Asus ROG rig, or should I upgrade? Will Windows10/ directx 12 be essential to fully enjoy Civ6?

You should either upgrade or switch to Linux* and pass on Civ6 for some time.
Microsoft's CEIP (Customer Experience Improvement Program), or the "spyware" in Windows 10, is also in Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1.

In other words, Microsoft is "spying" on you already. Has been for some time already- just like Google (please tell me you don't use Google's search engine or GMail) and Apple (Please tell me you don't use Apple whatsoever).

It depends what you actually consider "spying" though, I suppose. A little bit of research would have shown you that:

- Windows 10, if configured to do so, must upload your e-mail and calendars to their servers to sync to your phone.
- Windows 10, if configured to do so, must record your keystrokes into Cortana to improve its predictability (Just like Google's search engine).
- Windows 10, if configured to do so, must scan your files you backup to OneDrive for signatures that match known child pornography files (just like any online storage such as Google Drive and GMaill) does. This is law in most countries, as Microsoft is responsible for data it stores.
- Windows 10, if configured to do so, must access your location to properly display the weather and other apps.

Note, though, that all of that can be disabled if you wish. In addition, Windows 10, unlike Windows 8.1, also comes with improved security for installed programs which allow you to specifically allow or disallow what programs may and may not access.

About the only thing that cannot be "turned off" is the CEIP, which can be set to "Basic", "Enhanced", or "Full". The "Basic" setting works just like it did for the past decade in Vista: It collects and sends non-personal crash data.



* -Most Linux distros are guilty of spying too. Canonical's Ubuntu, in addition to being the most popular, is the most infamous. It sells personal data to Amazon.

You may just have to give up Civilization entirely, unfortunately. Even buying the board game will likely include some of personal data collection (buying habits) by the store.

 

[gombac]

Thanks for the input, especially Larsenex and sidfwuff. In hindsight I see that I may have put more emphasis on spyware than I intended.

What I should have written was "is The upgrade hassle worth it if you want an optimal Civ6 experience". So larsenex did cover that part too

 

[duckstab]

The laptop on which I play Civ is now about 6 years old. I have no intention of upgrading it from Windows 7 to Windows 10, simply because Microsoft has *never* released an OS that was less demanding on the hardware than an earlier version.

But I have no objection to Windows 10 per se. Spyware, schmyware, who cares anymore? The only thing anybody is ever going to use that data for is to target ads to me that I'm going to ignore anyway. Any online purchases I make are going over HTTPS and if I don't want my ISP knowing about my taste in porn there's Tor for that.

I probably won't be playing Civ6 until I can upgrade my hardware.

 

[MadDjinn]

Can someone explain how turn times would be affected by Direct X 12? I can see a marginal improvement in frame rates or maybe some slightly better graphics but I just don't see how it can make that big a difference over Direct X 11. (Assuming of course a reasonable CPU, GPU, and memory or on board)

the map has 10000 + individual graphic items to load. probably a craptonne more than that really, depending on the size of map.

dx12 means parallel loads for such small things, so.. faster loads, faster adjustments on moving the screen, etc. and that's sort of what they said they'd be working on wrt AMDs press release and Async Compute.

dx12 vs dx11, in general, is a large leap.

 

[Lucius_]

Thanks for the input, especially Larsenex and sidfwuff. In hindsight I see that I may have put more emphasis on spyware than I intended.

What I should have written was "is The upgrade hassle worth it if you want an optimal Civ6 experience". So larsenex did cover that part too

If hassle is more of a primary concern, then it's definitely worth the upgrade. It's nearly hassle-free and going from 8 to 10 should be a 30 minute process.

 

[Sherlock]

I tried to update but the download would just hang. I have a fast internet connection.

Weird. Microsoft.

My PC is four years old. I was hoping to get two more years out of it. If CiVI requires a super-fast modern machine (new and faster than mine) I may wait to play it a year.

 

[rastak]

I upgraded all of my PCs and had no issues.

 

[wayneb64]

the map has 10000 + individual graphic items to load. probably a craptonne more than that really, depending on the size of map.

dx12 means parallel loads for such small things, so.. faster loads, faster adjustments on moving the screen, etc. and that's sort of what they said they'd be working on wrt AMDs press release and Async Compute.

dx12 vs dx11, in general, is a large leap.

But loading only happens once, not per turn. Once it's in graphic memory it's all about render times which should be handled by your GPU. Turn time is mostly waiting for the AI to make it's moves which should be mostly CPU bound with the exception of all the move animations, and that's all GPU time. Screen resolution and map size should have the biggest impact on frame rate and DX12 might be smoother if you overload your rig. Bigger maps mean more AIs and more units meaning more CPU load to calculate their moves, DX12 will not help with that.

 

[Skulbow]

If you are worried about your personal details you shouldn't be living in this century. Soon as you have an email address, smart phone a computer system with Windows, Apple and even Linux and you web browse you are being watched and your information is being gathered. I have stopped worrying about it and realize this is the reason why many terrorist acts are apprehended before they are committed.

And Windows 10 is very stable now and usually not a hassle to get installed.

 

[Thormodr]

Don't want to get Windows 10. I am well aware that I am getting spied on right now with my cell phone gps, iPad, etc. Still, it's a cruddy excuse to say, "I don't mind being spied on with Windows 10 since I am getting spied on already."
I am looking into getting a Steam Machine for my next gaming machine. Probably have to "settle" for DX11 but hopefully that'll be good enough.

 

[mrwho]

I recently got a new laptop with windows 10. There were a few options of startup that sounded rather invasive, so I opted out of them. Are them some invasive features I don't know about that you can't opt out of? I'd definitely upgrade to run VI smoother.