Mac Civ5: Latest FAQ

[Xyth]

New Civ5 FAQ from Aspyr: http://blog.gameagent.com/2010/11/10/civilization-v-mac-faqs-v2/

You’ve got questions, and we’ve got answers! We’ve been gathering up all of the questions directed our way and have done our best to answer them. You can check out the latest batch of questions and answers below.

If you have questions about the game that are not answered below or in our previous Civilization V Mac FAQs post, please send them our way! You can comment on this post, tweet to @Civ5Mac, post to our Facebook wall, or send your inquiry to gameagent@aspyr.com. Finally, please note that many of your questions regarding Steam are still being worked out, but we promise to get them answered before the Civilization V Mac release of November 23!

What languages can I play Civilization V Mac in?
We are supporting French, German, and English for both the Audio and Text.

Will there be a demo?
A demo for the Mac is not currently planned.

For multiplayer, will Mac and PC gamers be able to play together?
Yes, although this feature is dependent on versioning. The released Mac version will not be able to see the internet PC multiplayer games that are currently available in the lobby. Mac users will be able to see LAN games that are available and will be able to play Mac-to-Mac multiplayer. Once we are patched to the point where we match the PC version, then this will be possible.

Will Civilization V Mac require the disc?
The boxed version will require the disc for install, but after installation and authentication, the disc will no longer be required.

What do system requirements mean?

Minimum System Requirements:
These are the very lowest possible specs you can have before you start to experience performance issues with the game. Being below the minimum system requirements can cause problems we cannot fix. If you just meet the Minimum Requirements, you should be able to enjoy the game on minimum graphics settings. We DO NOT recommend purchasing a game if you do not meet the Minimum System Requirements.

Recommended System Requirements:
If you meet these requirements, you will have a better experience of software usability. These guidelines are set to suggest what hardware a user might need to get optimal performance our of their game.

What if I’m just below the minimum specs? (i.e. 2.26 GHz v 2.4 GHz)
We DO NOT recommend purchasing a game if you do not meet the Minimum System Requirements. If you purchase a game without meeting minimum system requirements we will be unable to provide support from a customer care perspective.

What sorts of problems or performance issues can I expect if my hardware does not meet minimum requirements?
Performance issues could include slow downs, crashes, graphical issues, and not launching, among other problems. It is impossible to predict specific problems for individual users.

Will there be support for the game after launch? Patches?
Yes, Aspyr is working hard at incorporating PC patches into the Mac version and plans on supporting the Mac version fully through its lifecycle.

Will patches released by Firaxis on the PC also patch the Mac version?
No, the Mac will have its own set of patches.

Will the game come pre-patched?
Civilization V Mac was ported from the shipped version of the PC release with some additional bug fixes that were released via later PC patches. We are already hard at work at incorporating the latest patches into the release version and hope to be caught up quickly with the PC version.

What about DLC?
Aspyr fully plans to support Civilization V via DLC.

Is there a Special Edition for the Mac?
There is currently not a Special Edition for the Mac for sale to the public. Aspyr has a very limited number of Special Editions signed by Sid Meier himself which we are giving away as part of our pre-order incentive. Preorder your copy of Civ V Mac (either boxed or digital) at GameAgent.com to be entered to win. Also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more opportunities to win in the coming weeks.

Good news on disc not being required, everything else more or less as expected. Cross platform multiplayer will break every time a patch comes out.

We’ll be providing more information on mod support and the SDK in our next Civ V Mac FAQs post which will likely be published some time next week.

I'll be awaiting this next FAQ with much trepidation indeed.

 

[AlanH]

Aspyr fully plans to support Civilization V via DLC

Interesting. DLC will surely include custom DLLs at some point. The specific use of "fully" implies some mechanism for dealing with those, though I suppose it *could* be done in the same way as Civ4, with a complete recompiled executable for the mod, incorporating the DLL code.

 

[Xyth]

I can't imagine Firaxis putting out many DLC with .dll changes because if players are able to mix and match which DLC they have it would severely mess up multiplayer availability. Already, the Babylon and Mongol DLCs are unplayable on multiplayer and they're just graphics, sounds and modular xml.

I imagine any .dll changes would happen as part of official 'expansion DLCs' similar to Warlords and BTS. In this case Aspyr would just need to put out an all new executable.

 

[AlanH]

Yeah, you're probably right. I was trying to be uncharacteristically optimistic

 

[Xyth]

Right now our version is the Vanilla Civ V. There is not currently a special edition or additional DLC available. Once we’re released on Mac and patched to be on par with PC, we’ll move to DLC and formally announce the release plan, costs, etc. thereafter.

DLC (Babylon, Mongols) not available at launch and could have different pricing. This is both curious and worrying as there is no reason a new Civ should not be compatible in both versions. If they aren't compatible we can kiss any chance of mod compatibility goodbye.

I think that this is more a case of the Aspyr/GameAgent person not properly understanding how these DLC work and giving a generic answer though.

Because the title utilizes SteamWorks and requires the Steam application for authentication there is no difference in purchasing the game from gameagent, at stores in a box, or elsewhere. It is the same application across the board.

Likewise, if Aspyr chooses to support Steam Play (buy one get one free), this too will be universal and will not be dependent on where the game was purchased.

There we go. At the moment you do NOT get the Mac version for free if you've bought the PC version already. This might change in the future though. A lot of people were asking that.

 

[gethe]

DLC (Babylon, Mongols) not available at launch and could have different pricing. This is both curious and worrying as there is no reason a new Civ should not be compatible in both versions. If they aren't compatible we can kiss any chance of mod compatibility goodbye.

I think that this is more a case of the Aspyr/GameAgent person not properly understanding how these DLC work and giving a generic answer though.



There we go. At the moment you do NOT get the Mac version for free if you've bought the PC version already. This might change in the future though. A lot of people were asking that.

Where did you get this from?

 

[Xyth]

Where did you get this from?

Answers to comments in the FAQ linked in the first post.

 

[Lachlan]

Do you plan an History Rewritten for "Civ V" ?

 

[Xyth]

Do you plan an History Rewritten for "Civ V" ?

A mod like History Rewritten will be impossible to create on Civ5 for a long time, mostly because the art just doesn't exist yet. In the case of the leader art, it may never exist. Too many unknown factors for me to decide yet, no-one has access to the full SDK yet and we need to see how well Aspyr will support Mac modding. Most importantly Firaxis needs to make Civ5 fun to play before I even consider switching. It bores me already, which is unheard of for any Civilization title before.

So yeah, no idea yet. Certainly not anytime soon.

 

[Farrapo]

Will the Mac version also be run and maintained via Steam and will the same account account id be valid for it?

Will scenarios and mods and GOMs produced for the PC version also work on the Mac version?

Will those of us currently running the PC version in a virtual machine on a Mac be granted a discount to switch to the Mac version?

 

[Xyth]

Will the Mac version also be run and maintained via Steam and will the same account account id be valid for it?

Yes.

Will scenarios and mods and GOMs produced for the PC version also work on the Mac version?

We don't know yet. They're supposedly going to put out another FAQ next week that will tell us more about this.

Will those of us currently running the PC version in a virtual machine on a Mac be granted a discount to switch to the Mac version?

See post #5. Unlikely in my opinion.

 

[Me,myself,and,I]

Will those of us currently running the PC version in a virtual machine on a Mac be granted a discount to switch to the Mac version?

Nope, we will get it free like EVERY OTHER STEAM GAME that has both Mac and Windows versions.

 

[AlanH]

Nope, we will get it free like EVERY OTHER STEAM GAME that has both Mac and Windows versions.

This may be true for people who bought the Windows version from Steam, but I can assure you that owning a BOXED copy of the Windows version of Civ4 Complete does not entitle me to a free Steam copy of any of the Aspyr Civ4 for Mac titles. I have tested it.

 

[Skwink]

Nope, we will get it free like EVERY OTHER STEAM GAME that has both Mac and Windows versions.

Aspyr likes to make money. How would they make money if you bought it from the Windows Producer, so you could play on Mac? It would be a dumb move for Aspyr.

 

[Xyth]

Nope, we will get it free like EVERY OTHER STEAM GAME that has both Mac and Windows versions.

You need to read this link: http://blog.gameagent.com/2010/11/16/call-for-comments-to-steamplay-or-not/

 

[Lachlan]

Could be have First DLC Babylon for free ?

For granting to have the Mac Version of Civ 5 ?

 

[Xyth]

Could be have First DLC Babylon for free ?

For granting to have the Mac Version of Civ 5 ?

Probably not. Unless Aspyr do something weird the current DLC should be completely compatible with both versions. Aspyr have stated they're not making a deluxe/special edition so we'll most likely just have to buy Babylon for US$4.99. Mongols will be free though, as they are for Windows.

Incidentally, Aspyr are putting out a final FAQ on Monday.

 

[Skwink]

Probably not. Unless Aspyr do something weird the current DLC should be completely compatible with both versions. Aspyr have stated they're not making a deluxe/special edition so we'll most likely just have to buy Babylon for US$4.99. Mongols will be free though, as they are for Windows.

Incidentally, Aspyr are putting out a final FAQ on Monday.

So Firaxis released civs will work for us Mac users too?

 

[AlanH]

There is no DLL customisation happening yet. All current mods contain only XML, graphics and lua script adaptations. Unless Aspyr have really screwed up, all these should work on the Mac version.

 

[coffee junkie]

You need to read this link: http://blog.gameagent.com/2010/11/16/call-for-comments-to-steamplay-or-not/

I read.

A repeat of already said : both a Windows and OS X version should have been released at the same time !

I’ve waited for Civ5 on Mac because I have no interest in installing BootCamp on my machine.

I'm not sure Aspyr is guilty about this. From the beginining, I found Firaxis very "unclear" about a Mac version of Civ5 and there needs to be better communication between Firaxis and Aspyr on future releases of the Civ franchise for sure !!!

Come on ... to all the Mac users who bought a PC version ( ciderized or bootcamp or whatever emulation ) : why should we play a game with issues, glitches and so on ...

Oo

So, if you have to pay for your Mac games BECAUSE you were too hurry, this is not Aspyr fault ( for once )

Before talking of what is SteamPlay or not, let's talk about Civ5 itself. Then, let's talk about Steam.

It's really getting on my nerves to have this : "Initial installation requires one-time Internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client."

Gosh ! I only want to play Civ5 on my Mac ! If it's Steam playable, better but not an obligation as it is for now.