New Rig necessary which one though?

[Ashmantious]

I know I am going to need a new rig to play Civ VII, my current computer barely runs Civ VI (especially in late game). Since Civ VII is going to be released to Playstation (I currently don't have one) does it make sense to get a PlayStation (cheaper than a new gaming rig)? Folks who have played on both, is there anything about Playing on PlayStation that would make you reluctant to do so? I don't really use mods so not having that as an option isn't a concern for me.

 

[AriochIV]

The only Civilization I've played on a console is Civ Rev, and I don't recommend the experience. A console controller is not an ideal input mechanism for any kind of complex strategy game like Civilization. In Civ Rev they dumbed it down for the platform; I don't know how they plan to deal with in in Civ7.

 

[pokiehl]

I wouldn’t want to play Civ on console. It locks you out of using mods and means you need to pay Sony or Microsoft an annual fee to play online.

Otherwise I think Civ 6 translated well to console (with some graphical concessions), and I imagine Civ 7 will too.

 

[InsidiousMage]

is there anything about Playing on PlayStation that would make you reluctant to do so?

The controls mostly. There is a lot of information that is just harder to access or inaccessible on console. The lack of a mouse also hurts and there are a lot more steps to do basic things. Civ6 had a bunch of late game and crashing issues at one point but that was because of the poor quality of Aspyr's port of NFP than anything inherent to the game being on console. I would only consider Civ7 on console if its done by Firaxis otherwise I wouldn't bother.

with some graphical concessions

Having played on Switch, PS4, and PC I don't there are any real noticeable differences between the different versions unless you are probably playing on a super high-end PC.

 

[pokiehl]

Having played on Switch, PS4, and PC I don't there are any real noticeable differences between the different versions unless you are probably playing on a super high-end PC.

I was mainly referring to “clutter”—the filler buildings, resources, trees, etc. generated to fill the map out. I’m pretty sure the iOS and Switch versions generate the lowest level. Not sure about PS4 or Xbox though.

 

[InsidiousMage]

I was mainly referring to “clutter”—the filler buildings, resources, trees, etc. generated to fill the map out. I’m pretty sure the iOS and Switch versions generate the lowest level. Not sure about PS4 or Xbox though.

I'm still kind of shocked that Civ6 came out on the Switch and even more so that they managed to get to run (mostly) well. I can see them cutting down on the details on the Switch version but the big stuff like leader and unit animations were completely fine from what I remember.

 

[AffineConstant]

I wouldn’t want to play Civ on console. It locks you out of using mods and means you need to pay Sony or Microsoft an annual fee to play online.

Otherwise I think Civ 6 translated well to console (with some graphical concessions), and I imagine Civ 7 will too.

Thus I'd look at a Steamdeck, given OP's general interests.

I'd make sure it runs Civ VII first, but if VII runs on PS4/Xbox One it should run there. Take Civ with you wherever you go for roughly the cost of a new Playstation, and get mods at the same time!

 

[Quintillus]

Considering that we now know there will be a gameplay reveal on August 20th, it probably makes sense to wait until then to see if there are any hints as to system requirements, so long as your current hardware holds up that long.

I agree with what others have said - the controls are more flexible on PC. A mouse gives precision, a keyboard gives the possibility for shortcuts for pretty much everything, as well as an easy way to search the Civilopedia. VI did not lean in to keyboard shortcuts, but when Firaxis did lean into that in III and IV, the shortcuts really sped up the gameplay. My hope is that they'll add that back to VII - rather than going with a near-lowest-common-denominator approach for controls, add shortcuts on the PC version and any other platform that has the capability to add them.

That said, I doubt you'll need a proper "gaming rig" unless you really care about high-end graphics. Civ has traditionally been more limited by CPU power (for AI turn times,) and memory (on large maps). Yeah, it has pretty graphics now, so it's more graphics-dependent than it used to be, but Firaxis isn't going to want to shut customers out by having too high of requirements.

Perhaps the right calibrating question is, what do you have right now?

 

[leif erikson]

New Zen 5 processors coming out the end of July.
New generation of video cards later this year.

 

[AriochIV]

New Zen 5 processors coming out the end of July.
New generation of video cards later this year.

If he's worried about the cost of a PC, then bleeding-edge processors and video cards are probably not in his future.

 

[leif erikson]

New families of processors and graphics cards mean that the older models may often be found on sale at more reasonable prices.
Additionally, buying zen 4 AM5 allows upgrades to the new processors later, so making a purchase of last gen a good deal as you have a future upgrade path that allows you to use your motherboard and memory from zen4.

 

[tedhebert]

Well being able to play it on steamdeck, switch, xbox and playstation means we don't need a new rig at all IMHO

still buying a new alienware aurora R6 rig with an I9 and an RTX 4080 because I've been waiting for this in order to buy it

 

[pokiehl]

I think if any iteration of Civ pushes the envelope of system requirements beyond absolute bare minimum, this’ll be it. Gaming-caliber PCs are more common than ever, and PC building as a hobby has never been more popular.

I just don’t think a $400 college student laptop with integrated graphics is going to cut it anymore, at least for a pleasant experience.

 

[Nikolai II]

If he's worried about the cost of a PC, then bleeding-edge processors and video cards are probably not in his future.

New stuff means old stuff at lower prices. Game is not out before next year. It is wise to wait until the next tech gen is out.

 

[AffineConstant]

Well being able to play it on steamdeck, switch, xbox and playstation means we don't need a new rig at all IMHO

still buying a new alienware aurora R6 rig with an I9 and an RTX 4080 because I've been waiting for this in order to buy it

Entire new GPU class coming out at CES (January), as an fyi/

 

[GIO888]

What Quintillus said?

Focus your spending cabbage on the best CPU, RAM and Graphics card you can afford.

Er, just realized that's basically the whole rig anyway...........

 

[tedhebert]

Entire new GPU class coming out at CES (January), as an fyi/

Honestly, there’s ALWAYS a new technology JUST around the corner when you buy, so at one moment, you just gotta dive…

Wouldn’t have changed my choice of rig IMO, so I’m probably just missing out on a probable price cut

 

[vorlon_mi]

A bunch of interesting questions. I purchased my current machine in 2020, to play Civ6 and other TBS games at that time. Civ7 will be coming out in 2025, so the standards for GPU and graphics cards have gone up.

At the same time, I don't expect them to abandon the console market. I expect that Civ7 will run on some version of the Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and even iPad and Android tablets. While the standards for those devices have also gone up, they haven't exactly tracked with the PC and Mac standards.

I may not need a new rig to play Civ7, because they are releasing for a broader market. I may *want* a new rig, if I want to be ready for the new generation of games that will come.

 

[pokiehl]

Honestly, there’s ALWAYS a new technology JUST around the corner when you buy, so at one moment, you just gotta dive…

Wouldn’t have changed my choice of rig IMO, so I’m probably just missing out on a probable price cut

Right; there will always be something newer around the corner. It's also important to consider the enjoyment value you get from getting to enjoy your upgraded PC for a longer period of time.

Because tech is always improving, I just don't really take into account new product launches unless they're really really close to my planned purchase anyway. I'd rather just get more time to enjoy what I bought.

 

[Dedrytus]

Just don't buy Intel 13th and 14th Gen CPUs and you should be fine.