Just got civ3 complete, what next?
- Thread starter mbnmac
- Start date
dojoboy
Tsalagi
You'll not be able to play MP w/ PC users, but you can PBEM and take in SGs w/ PC users. There has not been a patch yet released for C3C, but one is in testing.
What unofficial patches did you have in mind?
Virtual Alex
King
What the hell!? I can't play multiplayer with a PC friend?! (C3C)
Virtual Alex
King
Wow I am so pissed off!
timerover51
Deity
Virtual Alex said:
That in not Firaxis games fault, as my son and I have that problem with several games where we have both Mac and PC copies. The problem is the DirectX graphics used by Microsoft which will not allow the Windows platform to operate with a Mac. It is quite frustrating in one respect, but since we have multiple Mac, including an Ibook, we use them for playing. The option for playing with a PC friend is using the hot seat setting, but you have to be in the same room. For online playing, you might consider getting a Mac Mini, and using Bootcamp to set it up to run Windows. That will run you about $600, but it will run.
It's actually not the graphics in DirectX, but the multiplayer protocol - DirectPlay. Firaxis don't have to use DirectPlay, but by doing so they make cross-platform multiplayer porting much more difficult.
AlanH said:
Not just difficult, impossible. It was once reported that Westlake Interactive (while working on the Civ 3 port for Macsoft) had outright asked Firaxis not to use DirectPlay for the networking in PTW (which was under development at the same time) so that Mac-PC networking could be done. They flat out ignored Westlake knowing the result.
timerover51 said:
Therefore, yes it is Firaxis's fault.
JoAT
I only said "much more difficult" to avoid using "impossible". I can't win! If I had said "impossible", you or someone else would have pointed out that nothing's impossible. It may be uneconomical, extremely difficult, have an unrealistic timescale, or land you in court. But if it's been done on a PC it must be technically doable on a Mac.
Exactly.
Much as I love the game of Civ, and respect the Firaxians I've talked with, I get increasingly upset that every time I have asked about it, they say the intend to use MS-specific tools to the greatest extent possible (e.g., DirectX, DirectAudio, DirectPlay, etc.), making it harder and harder to port successfully to any other systems. 
Brad Oliver
Civ3/4 Mac programmer
Padma said:Much as I love the game of Civ, and respect the Firaxians I've talked with, I get increasingly upset that every time I have asked about it, they say the intend to use MS-specific tools to the greatest extent possible (e.g., DirectX, DirectAudio, DirectPlay, etc.), making it harder and harder to port successfully to any other systems.
I don't know if that's the case with Civ4. They seem to have made quite a bit of effort to lessen their direct dependency on non-cross-platform solutions.
For example, they used GameSpy's networking stuff which gave us a fighting chance on the Mac (vs. DirectPlay). They also used Gamebryo and GFC (responsible for the graphics and UI). While those do exist on top of DirectX on the PC and there is no Mac version, versions do exist for other platforms (just not the Mac). They even used a cross-platform sound library. Unfortunately, it happens that there are no Intel Mac versions of that library and what Mac versions that did exist were outdated, so we had to rip it out, but I can't fault Firaxis for the effort.
I'm glad to hear that, Brad. The times I asked the question (purely speculative on my part), I was rebuffed, not quite rudely, with a "No, we don't intend to ever do that" response.
Virtual Alex
King
There are plenty of games that work seamlessly on PC and Mac and it sure doesn't seem that hard to do. Blizzard, Bungie, and who ever makes Command and Conquer did a good job with it. Why not civ!
gah!
ok, tried to install the 1.29 path (in alans sig) seemed to work fine, no wit need the original disk... which is in the drive!
any help?
and while we're on the suject, can i get a set-by-step way to make the game not need the disk? its annoying just spinning in the drive whne i'm on skype (on ibook, so speaker issues...)
ok, tried to install the 1.29 path (in alans sig) seemed to work fine, no wit need the original disk... which is in the drive!
any help?
and while we're on the suject, can i get a set-by-step way to make the game not need the disk? its annoying just spinning in the drive whne i'm on skype (on ibook, so speaker issues...)
ancestral
Warlord
Actually, that's because those companies (or at least 2 out of the 3) do their own porting with cross-platform in mind. Blizzard programs their own Mac and PC versions of the game (lately with simultaneous releases yes!) The same was true with classic Bungie (Marathon, Myth, Oni) though no more now (see: Microsoft).Virtual Alex said:
Umm! The 1.29b2 patch is for the original Civ3. There is no patch for Civ Complete currently, though one is in the pipeline. What exactly are you trying to do?mbnmac said:
No. It's an anti-piracy measure by Aspyr, and any attempt to circumvent it is frowned on in the forums.
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