Civilization VI for Mac "Coming Soon" - Aspyr

[Oleary]

Sorry for the gajillionth post of this nature but I'm v much a layman and nobody has asked about my specific spec's yet.

I have an early-2014 Macbook Air, but it was fully tricked out at the time. I see I don't meet the 2.3 GHz or graphics requirements as listed. I realize it's all a guess at the point, but if you're reasonably knowledgable, how likely do you see it that I'd be totally F'd, even with all graphics settings set to the minimum?

MBA early 2014
processor: 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7
memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5000 1536 MB

Aspyr has this on their site:
Minimum System Requirements

PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS:
Operating System: 10.11.6 (El Capitan) and 10.12 (Sierra)
Processor: Intel Core i5 (4 cores)
Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz
Memory: 6 GB
Hard Drive Space: 15 GB
Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 6970
Video Card (NVIDIA): GeForce GT 650
Video Card (Intel): Iris Pro
VRAM: 1 GB
Peripherals: Macintosh mouse and keyboard, Steam Controller (optional)

I'm guessing the Intel 5000 is below Iris. Steam has a 2 hour return window, so you could always try. My understanding is you'll be able to play in strategic map mode also, so perhaps.

 

[oakdragon]

Hey, Aspyr! You can send CivVI over to Steam now and release a patch again in a few days if you need to. We don't mind!

 

[Xyth]

Sorry for the gajillionth post of this nature but I'm v much a layman and nobody has asked about my specific spec's yet.

I have an early-2014 Macbook Air, but it was fully tricked out at the time. I see I don't meet the 2.3 GHz or graphics requirements as listed. I realize it's all a guess at the point, but if you're reasonably knowledgable, how likely do you see it that I'd be totally F'd, even with all graphics settings set to the minimum?

MBA early 2014
processor: 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7
memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5000 1536 MB

Well below minimum spec. MacBook Airs are just not designed for 3D gaming.

 

[noahtressuave]

Well below minimum spec. MacBook Airs are just not designed for 3D gaming.

Strange, because I play other 3D games without issue. Civ V works perfectly, even with graphics set to medium. Kind of nuts to me that Civ VI would be that much more demanding, even at minimum settings. And frankly it's kind of mind-boggling to me that they're really putting out a game that isn't playable on such extremely common devices. They'll be losing tens of thousands of players, myself included, and I've been playing obsessively for 20 years, so needless to say I'm pretty upset. It'd be one thing if my specs were horsehocky, but relatively speaking, my laptop is pretty decent, and I can't reasonably afford a new one any time soon.

Anyway, thanks. Sorry for the rant.

 

[Ondolindë]

If you have Win 10 already, why not use bootcamp? In the long run, much easier?

I thought about it, but I got the latest trial version of Windows 10 because I signed up for their Insider Program. I haven't forked up the money to actually buy Windows yet, but it is a thought, especially for certain Mods coming our way, I'm sure. But for right now, I'm set for at least 30 days in the event that Aspyr crushes our hopes to have it released on the same day.

 

[oakdragon]

I was just noticing a couple of interesting notes from Aspyr-Blair on the steam forums, posted about 24 hours ago. Good news, all in all:

"We are still targeting Friday along side the Windows version...internally, we have a fairly high level of confidence that we will hit that date,"

"Pre-load on Steam is a little weird. We currently dont have plans to pre-load, because if we dont hit that 21st date for whatever reason, the Mac pre-load can have potential detrimental effects on the Windows side. Obviously nobody wants that."

 

[Xyth]

Strange, because I play other 3D games without issue. Civ V works perfectly, even with graphics set to medium. Kind of nuts to me that Civ VI would be that much more demanding, even at minimum settings. And frankly it's kind of mind-boggling to me that they're really putting out a game that isn't playable on such extremely common devices. They'll be losing tens of thousands of players, myself included, and I've been playing obsessively for 20 years, so needless to say I'm pretty upset. It'd be one thing if my specs were horsehocky, but relatively speaking, my laptop is pretty decent, and I can't reasonably afford a new one any time soon.

Firaxis and Aspyr aren't really to blame in this case, Apple is. Over the last 5-6 years they've been putting underpowered graphics cards in most of their laptop range (everything except the 15" MBP). To use your MBA as an example, yes they released it in 2014, but it's built with a CPU and GPU from 2012. And an integrated Intel GPU at that, which are considerably less capable than discrete NVIDIA or AMD GPUs of the same age. On top of that, in macOS Sierra they are still using an OpenGL 4.1 and 4.2 hybrid – which dates back to 2011! In other words, even if you have a top of the line iMac with the best GPU that Apple sells, OpenGL games like Civ6 can't access all of its capabilities.

 

[angryjack]

woooow. i bought the game an hour before the fictional pre load start, without even bothering that my brand new Macbook 12 inch could run it. well guess what do i find out. i won't. I loved that company until this very moment. Is there any way it will run the game? or is there any way to get the money back?

 

[Xyth]

woooow. i bought the game an hour before the fictional pre load start, without even bothering that my brand new Macbook 12 inch could run it. well guess what do i find out. i won't. I loved that company until this very moment. Is there any way it will run the game? or is there any way to get the money back?

Pretty sure Steam have a refund system available. Those MacBooks are not remotely designed for gaming (weak GPU, no dedicated VRAM, no cooling...).

 

[OAFK]

Sorry if I'm being dense so what year MBP is required to run civ6? in the initial post 2012 or newer was acceptable, has this changed to mid 2014? 2015?

 

[Oleary]

Sorry if I'm being dense so what year MBP is required to run civ6? in the initial post 2012 or newer was acceptable, has this changed to mid 2014? 2015?

I have a late 2013 MBP that meets the minimum GPU but is only 2.3 vs 2.7. It is an I7 though, so I'm somewhat hopeful. Game is suppose to arrive today (though it's coming USPS, so no guarantees). I'll let you know if it runs. It will go on my iMac first though, so may be tomorrow assuming it arrives at all. Maybe someone with the game will reply before.

 

[OAFK]

Thanks Oleary

 

[Oleary]

Sure, but I just realized the Mac version isn't ready yet... Will still update as soon as it's live.

 

[manu-fan]

It's not on the Steam downloader any more. Who knows when it will be released now.

 

[contrasupra]

For what it's worth, I have a late-2013 13" MBP that was below minimum specs for the Mac port, HOWEVER, it is running pretty smoothly in Bootcamp. It's not blazing fast, but definitely serviceable so far on a standard-sized map (can't comment on the late game since I've only played 100 turns or so). It's actually running better than I originally thought - there were some issues, like the screen edge scrolling and the delay on showing a movement path that I had chalked up to sluggishness with my system but seem to actually be issues with the game itself. So if you have a Mac that's below spec, it might be worth a try. Also, to whoever mentioned not wanting to pay for Windows, I have a trial version of Windows 10 and it is my understanding, unless something has changed, that it will actually continue to work basically indefinitely without activation. It will have some limitations - I think you can't do a lot of customization of the OS and it has a watermark in the bottom right, but that disappears when you have a game in fullscreen mode.

 

[godeater]

I'm in the same boat as the poster above; the late-2013 MBP GPU is a bit below par for the Mac port specs. Am debating using Bootcamp just for Civ VI as a stopgap measure until I get a new computer. I'm encouraged by the early report that Civ runs reasonably well under that configuration.

 

[God of Kings]

At least the new Macs will come out before an official Mac version (Steam or Mac App Store) is released.

 

[manu-fan]

Aspyr responded to my tweet:

"It's more of the PC Launch celebration... We really are working towards launching it today if possible."

EDIT: And another one:

"Weekend is possible. We are working hardcore overtime.

 

[n8mac]

BTW if you are looking for graphics card choices for your Mac Pro, you can get non-Mac cards that have been flashed to work with Macs at MacVidCards.com. That's where I got my GTX 680 and it's great with Adobe Premiere, etc.

Yeah I got this old Mac Pro earlier this year and love it. It may be big and puts out a lot of heat but it gets the job done. I already put in a GTX 670 card in it, 4gb version, along with 16gb ram and SSD. Just waiting on Civ 6 release now.

 

[ELRACj]

Let me end this thread by saying.. Its out now (as of like 15 minutes from this post!). ;D Happy playing ya'll!!