Civilization VI for Mac "Coming Soon" - Aspyr

[Xyth]

Found an FAQ on Aspyr's site:

https://support.aspyr.com/hc/en-us/articles/213487546-Civilization-VI-FAQ

Key points:

• They're pushing for same-day release but can't promise it.

• Steam version will support cross-platform multiplayer, AppStore version will not.

• It will not support Metal. This is concerning given Apple seem to be abandoning OpenGL in favour of it.

No mention of mod compatibility, but I'm not hopeful given Firaxis or Aspyr's track record.

 

[bbbt]

Is that a 13"? In my opinion it's outright deceptive of Apple to label those 'Pro'. Never buy a Mac without discrete AMD or Nvidia graphics if you intend to play recent 3D games.

Yeah, it's a 13 inch. I didn't think I really played anything graphically intensive (Pillars of Eternity, Age of Wonders, those sorts of games - all of which run fine), so I didn't even really consider the graphics card when I got it. I guess Civ is a lot more graphically intense than it seems. Lesson learned.

 

[stealth_nsk]

It will not support Metal. This is concerning given Apple seem to be abandoning OpenGL in favour of it.

Windows dropped OpenGL ages ago, but OpenGL games still work as there's built-in OpenGL emulation on top of DirectX. I assume Apple will go the same way, especially now with OpenGL growing strong with mobile and WebGL. Nothing to worry about.

 

[j51]

What's Metal?

 

[God of Kings]

What's Metal?

Metal is an API: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_(API)

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

HooHah! My early 2012 iMac beats all the minimum specs! I can put off upgrading for at least another year. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

Of course, the basic game better be pretty good 'out of the box' because if Civ V is any indication, it may be a year or more before any Mods work on the Mac...

 

[Xyth]

Windows dropped OpenGL ages ago, but OpenGL games still work as there's built-in OpenGL emulation on top of DirectX. I assume Apple will go the same way, especially now with OpenGL growing strong with mobile and WebGL. Nothing to worry about.

It's not that they'll drop compatibility, it's that we've never had full compatibility: Sierra still uses an OpenGL 4.1/4.2 hybrid, which is now more than 5 years out of date. Given Apple seems to be putting all their effort into Metal instead, Civ 6 will be substandard in terms of graphical performance to the Windows version (even on the same hardware) and won't see any improvements in future versions of macOS.

To be fair, Metal is better than OpenGL in some ways (e.g. compute shaders), but still inferior in others (e.g tessellation shaders). So a Metal version of Civ6 right now wouldn't necessarily be any better than an OpenGL version, but at least it would improve over time.

 

[oakdragon]

It's not that they'll drop compatibility, it's that we've never had full compatibility: Sierra still uses an OpenGL 4.1/4.2 hybrid, which is now more than 5 years out of date. Given Apple seems to be putting all their effort into Metal instead, Civ 6 will be substandard in terms of graphical performance to the Windows version (even on the same hardware) and won't see any improvements in future versions of macOS.

To be fair, Metal is better than OpenGL in some ways (e.g. compute shaders), but still inferior in others (e.g tessellation shaders). So a Metal version of Civ6 right now wouldn't necessarily be any better than an OpenGL version, but at least it would improve over time.

Does that include the more recent Macs? I'd always assumed my 650's lack of support for anything newer than 4.1/4.2 was partly a hardware issue.

 

[wiggawuu]

I guess my $2,000 mid 2014 macbook pro wont be able to run this game. lol I got 16gb of ram, 3Ghz i7, Laptop don't have quad core. and my 1536 iris doody card.

The crappy, simplistic kiddie art of civ 6 is waaaay to demanding! lol bs

Good thing I don't play games that much anymore.

 

[oakdragon]

simplistic kiddie art of civ 6 is waaaay to demanding!

I have to agree with that sentiment. The idea that anywhere-near complex graphics should be required for something like a Civ game is preposterous.

 

[godeater]

Looks like I'll have to run in strategic mode since my late 2013 MacBook Pro has the 1536 Iris graphics card. Alas.

Good thing I've budgeted for an upgrade come Christmas.

 

[narmox]

IMO there's a difference between the art style and the actual requirements for rendering all the animations on the map, rendering the wonder movies, leader animations, etc. Must be why the requirements are higher, let alone probably some inefficiencies with the code being ported from DirectX to OpenGL.

Now to find out if Intel HD 4000 graphics are lower or higher than Iris Pro (probably lower considering I have a 2012 Mac Mini...)

 

[oakdragon]

IMO there's a difference between the art style and the actual requirements for rendering all the animations on the map, rendering the wonder movies, leader animations, etc. Must be why the requirements are higher, let alone probably some inefficiencies with the code being ported from DirectX to OpenGL.

Now to find out if Intel HD 4000 graphics are lower or higher than Iris Pro (probably lower considering I have a 2012 Mac Mini...)

Lower.

 

[narmox]

Lower.

Yup, confirmed by Wikipedia "Intel Iris Graphics and Intel Iris Pro Graphics are the IGP series introduced in 2013 with some models of Haswell processors as the high-performance versions of HD Graphics."

 

[Xyth]

Does that include the more recent Macs? I'd always assumed my 650's lack of support for anything newer than 4.1/4.2 was partly a hardware issue.

All Macs. OpenGL is the API (set of commands) built into the OS that controls the graphics hardware. Your 650 supports OpenGL 4.3, it's OS X that doesn't.

I guess my $2,000 mid 2014 macbook pro wont be able to run this game. lol I got 16gb of ram, 3Ghz i7, Laptop don't have quad core. and my 1536 iris doody card.

That's because Apple used midrange chips from 2012 in a laptop they released in 2014.

The crappy, simplistic kiddie art of civ 6 is waaaay to demanding! lol bs

Good thing I don't play games that much anymore.

I have to agree with that sentiment. The idea that anywhere-near complex graphics should be required for something like a Civ game is preposterous.

Its still fully rendered in 3D with dynamic lighting, shadows, shaders, etc. Civ6 also has a lot more animation than Civ5. It's definitely a more complex graphics engine, they just went for a more 'cartoonish' artstyle in comparison to Civ5's more 'realistic' one. Which you prefer is a matter of taste. I agree that such demanding graphical requirements shouldn't be necessary for a 4X strategy game, but it's not a new change. Firaxis started going down that path with Civ4.

 

[stealth_nsk]

I agree that such demanding graphical requirements shouldn't be necessary for a 4X strategy game, but it's not a new change. Firaxis started going down that path with Civ4.

Well, there's an option to start in Strategic view for those who want to play strategy without fancy animations.

 

[wiggawuu]

All Macs. OpenGL is the API (set of commands) built into the OS that controls the graphics hardware. Your 650 supports OpenGL 4.3, it's OS X that doesn't.



That's because Apple used midrange chips from 2012 in a laptop they released in 2014.





Its still fully rendered in 3D with dynamic lighting, shadows, shaders, etc. Civ6 also has a lot more animation than Civ5. It's definitely a more complex graphics engine, they just went for a more 'cartoonish' artstyle in comparison to Civ5's more 'realistic' one. Which you prefer is a matter of taste. I agree that such demanding graphical requirements shouldn't be necessary for a 4X strategy game, but it's not a new change. Firaxis started going down that path with Civ4.

well folks, then I say goodbye to the Civ franchise. I'm 35 years old, played them all. Its been good. Time to move on. I have a PC, but I like playing on my laptop these days sitting on my couch. I think the civ series are past their prime anyways. I'll hang around for a while once the game is released on Mac just to truly see if people can run the game. its Moderator Action: <snip> dumb no one can run the game on a mac right now until they release new macbooks. lol pathetic

 

[wiggawuu]

ohh, the fact that more people now than ever are using mac's....like seriously apple...get your crap Moderator Action: <snip> together. Apple could totally capture the majority of the gaming market if it wanted to. Windows is trash.

 

[Xyth]

For those wondering if their Mac meets these requirements, here's a rundown:

• MacBook: No
• MacBook Air: No
• 13" MacBook Pro: No
• 15" MacBook Pro: October 2013 or newer
• iMac: some 2012 models, everything since should be fine

Would appreciate some double checking on this, iMacs in particular as I'm not too familiar with those. Have added this list to the first post.

 

[oakdragon]

For those wondering if their Mac meets these requirements, here's a rundown:

• MacBook: No
• MacBook Air: No
• 13" MacBook Pro: No
• 15" MacBook Pro: October 2013 or newer
• iMac: some 2012 models, everything since should be fine

Would appreciate some double checking on this, iMacs in particular as I'm not too familiar with those. Have added this list to the first post.

My Mid 2012 MBP (15") should work, at least on low settings. I hope it'll manage better than that.