Insane Civ IV System Requirements announced

[AlexandrNyetski]

all i know is that i wan to live long enough to play civ 10 or whatever on a quantum computing setup with essentially infinite RAM available. the future of hardware bodes well for games like this ...

 

[pxb]

And they are insane:

Minimum System Requirements
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later
CPU Processor: PowerPC G5/Intel chipset
CPU Speed: 1.8 GHz or faster
Memory: 512 MB or higher
Hard Disk Space: 3.5 GB free disk space
Video Card (ATI): Radeon 9600 or better
Video Card (NVidia): GeForce FX 5200 or better
Video RAM: 64 MB or higher
Disc Drive - DVD

These system requirements are identical to Call of Duty 2,...

Call of Duty 2 works "fine" on my new basic mini(specs below), but performance does suffer with "some" jerkyness on the highest detail and graphics settings. I settled on this as an interm machine when my hard drive suddenly stopped working. You always hear about this kind of thing, but never think it will happen to you. I'm happy with CoD2 (& CIV IV?)on my mini for now, but plan to upgrade as the intel switchover progresses.


Mac OS X version 10.4.6
Hardware Overview:
Machine Name: Mac mini
Machine Model: Macmini1,1
CPU Type: Intel Core Duo
Number Of Cores: 2
CPU Speed: 1.66 GHz
L2 Cache (shared): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
~$800. (or less)

 

[evanovich]

So would someone mind quickly recapping for me? Will my Powerbook G4 1.67 GHz 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 128 MB VRAM, that I bought only last october, have trouble running this thing? I'm debating whether to cancel my pre-order.

Thanks,
Evan

 

[AlanH]

It's anybody's guess. Your video and memory should be fine but Aspyr are saying a G5 at 1.8 GHz is required. My guess, for what it's worth, based on what I've seen of reviews and such, is that it'll probably be OK, though the CPU *might* slow a bit on huge maps and/or in the late game.

 

[Cougarcat]

So would someone mind quickly recapping for me? Will my Powerbook G4 1.67 GHz 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 128 MB VRAM, that I bought only last october, have trouble running this thing? I'm debating whether to cancel my pre-order.

Thanks,
Evan

Brad Oliver said our machines should be fine, but the endgame will probably be a bit pokey. That's good enough for me.

 

[Helmling]

Call of Duty 2 works "fine" on my new basic mini(specs below), but performance does suffer with "some" jerkyness on the highest detail and graphics settings. I settled on this as an interm machine when my hard drive suddenly stopped working. You always hear about this kind of thing, but never think it will happen to you. I'm happy with CoD2 (& CIV IV?)on my mini for now, but plan to upgrade as the intel switchover progresses.


Mac OS X version 10.4.6
Hardware Overview:
Machine Name: Mac mini
Machine Model: Macmini1,1
CPU Type: Intel Core Duo
Number Of Cores: 2
CPU Speed: 1.66 GHz
L2 Cache (shared): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
~$800. (or less)

Wow, I'm really surprised by this. I'd thought CoD2 was out of the quesiton if I got a new Macbook. This is very encouraging. Could you post a framerate?

 

[NP300]

Someone at Insidemacgames noticed that the disk space required is almost twice the PC version. It should be roughly the same. So perhaps someone at Aspyr made a boo-boo and accidentally used the CoD 2 specs, which are identical. [Edit: well, so much for that theory. At Asypyr's site, CoD2 requires 4.0 GB, not 3.5. Still, how can the Mac version of CivIV double in size??]

Perhaps because it is a universal binary and needs code for both PowerPC and x86?

 

[AlanH]

Perhaps because it is a universal binary and needs code for both PowerPC and x86?

I think it's more complicated than that. The code that has to be duplicated is probably not a big percentage of the total disk space required since there's a lot of graphics, and those files should be common for both processors. So doubling the code part shouldn't double the total space.

 

[vilemerchant]

Why are you guys even bothering? You can build a duel-core PC for less than a grand that will totally 0wn Civ4.

 

[AlanH]

What! And run Windows? You are joking, surely?

 

[ejday]

Why are you guys even bothering? You can build a duel-core PC for less than a grand that will totally 0wn Civ4.

vilemerchant: that was a vilesuggestion.

Speaking of pwning C-IV, I wonder if it's on the shelves yet. I would've ordered mine through IMG but I get a corporate discount if I buy at the Apple store.

 

[Thierryr]

From Aspyr.com newsletter I just received regarding system requirement:
"Civ® IV will be our third Mac game (after Quake 4 and Call of Duty® 2) to ship as Universal, both Intel and PowerPC native, in the box. We recently released system requirements for Civ IV Mac, and there was concern among Mac gamers about the fact that they were higher that expected. This is a good opportunity to take a look at how we sent system requirements at Aspyr.

As a game finishes up full testing for PC or Mac, we begin the process of deciding the final system requirements. If it is a game that started on the PC, we usually take a look at the original system requirements as a base. If it is an original game, or ported from the Xbox or other consoles, we start with some initial estimates of the minimum CPU, RAM, and video card. The testers who have been playing the game for months on a variety of systems can then give feedback about playability with those specs. Our goal in setting minimum requirements for a game isn't to set the minimum to launch the game and start the first level. We strive to set realistic requirements that will allow you to play through the complete game, all levels, on the minimum machine. Often (in the case of PC to Mac ports), this means the requirements are higher than the original platform. Civ® IV is a very good example. The CPU and RAM required to just play a simple, small world for a dozen turns is much different than playing a larger world very late in the game. While by its very nature Civ® IV slows down later in the game, with more units, cities, and technologies, we still wanted the minimum machine to provide a fun, and playable experience all the way to the end of the game. Once we have set the system requirements, we do another round of testing on the exact configuration we've specified, to verify that a game is playable all the way from start to finish.

We’ve also been putting a lot of work into a new gaming application for Mac users. From a development standpoint, this is a massive project and will occupy a lot of time at Aspyr Studios over the next few months as we work to complete it before the end of this year. Look for more information on this project from Aspyr over the next few weeks."

Enjoy
Thierryr

 

[AlanH]

Nothing new there, then

 

[bio_hazard]

Any idea what "a new gaming application for Mac users" means? (from the last paragraph of the aspyr letter above)

 

[AlanH]

I can't see any other way to read it than "a new game that will run on a Mac". Not startling news from Aspyr, I guess? What else would they do? You *could* be optimistic and read into it that it'll be developed as a first-on-Mac title.

 

[bio_hazard]

That was my question- whether it might be something totally new rather than a conversion from another platform. Their emphasis on how much work it was going to take made me hope it was the former rather than the latter...

 

[vilemerchant]

What! And run Windows? You are joking, surely?

Run it full screen you won't even know you're in windows. Or, have a mac and don't run it at all

 

[AlanH]

I see. You're suggesting spending $1000 JUST to run Civ4? That's one expensive game!

 

[vilemerchant]

I see. You're suggesting spending $1000 JUST to run Civ4? That's one expensive game!

This whole thread is about spending 3K to upgrade perfectly functional macs to do just that As an added bonus you'll also be able to play every other game that gets released, instead of waiting a year for a mac port that may or may not ever happen

 

[AlanH]

Not for me. I'll upgrade my Mac when I want to, not when Firaxis/Aspyr tell me to. There may be some Fanatics here who are prepared to put down $xK just to play a game, but that's not me! I can live without Civ4 until the Mac I want next anyway comes down the line.