Parallel Desktop 5 - Hexagons are coloured black when zoomed in

[pcmacciv5]

Hi I have a 27 inch imac and am running parallel desktop 5.
Just bought civ 5 and downloaded from steam however my hexagons are coloured black when zoomed in but not when zoomed out. This really sucks on graphics with game play. Anyone else had this problem - however everything is running fine.

 

[AlanH]

Hi

I upgraded to Parallels Desktop v6 before I got Civ5, as I was aware that version 6 has improved DirectX support. So I don't have personal experience of version 5 problems, but other posters have reported issues.

Your problem may be a combination of the older PD version, plus newer graphics hardware. Maybe even an out of date DirectX 9 driver?

Have you tried different graphics settings?

 

[pcmacciv5]

i was think of deleting my windows 7 drive and installing one with 64 bit. That is going to be annoying and time consuming. I have tried the different graphics settings it did not work. I think upgrading the drives will have to be it. Flushed $100 down the tube - I hope not. Are you going to buy the mac version too? I will upgrade the drivers and get back to you thx.

 

[AlanH]

Are you going to buy the mac version too?

Sure, it's almost compulsory for me, as I moderate the Mac forums and support and administer the Games of the Month. I'm hoping that, having bought and registered my Windows copy on Steam, I *might* get access to the Mac version free - but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[pcmacciv5]

Could not update my drivers - probably have to update windows 7 to 64 bit. Does not make sense that any none special terrain would be a black hexagon.

 

[altalt667]

Wow, I can't even get that far into the game on my MacBook Pro running Parallels 5 and Windows 7 64-bit. It crashes in the into video. Does anyone have suggestions about what mode I should run Parallels in?

 

[AlanH]

As I said above, I haven't run Civ5 in Parallels version 5, so I have no idea whether it is supposed to be possible. I do find Parallels is unstable if I try to run multiprocessor, so I only give it one core. Maybe that's just me, though.

Other than that, I would recommend version 6 if you can bear to pay for the upgrade. It claims to be substantially faster for game graphics, and there was a v6 patch last week that specifically mentioned improved Civ5 compatibility.

You could try setting the .ini file to disable the intro movie, to see if you get any further - though that may just be sticking tape over the root cause. On my system, the file is at C:\Documents and Settings\Alan\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\UserSettings.ini, and you can edit it to change "SkipIntroMovie = 0" to "SkipIntroMovie = 1".

 

[markh]

Alan, can you give a rough idea of how the performance of Civ 5 is using Parallels 6 compared to running it using Bootcamp ? As I bought the DVD of Civ 5 I assume I won't get the Mac-Version through Steam without paying again and I would like to get rid of the Windows Partition. I would sacrifice some performance for not rebooting all the time.

 

[AlanH]

Sorry, I don't have a Bootcamp partition. I have a Mac, and I want to use it as a Mac. I only run Windows programs intermittently, so I want access to my Mac environment at all times.

Civ5 works well enough in Parallels 6 for my purposes, which is only to discover how to run and support a GOTM series, and to hopefully help Mac users here. The main specific issues in Parallels are that I see repeated graphics "ghosts" of roads and other indentations in the terrain, and it's a bit choppy when panning around the map in between turns. These didn't go away with last week's Parallels patch.

I think I burned out with Civ3, and I have never played a Civ4 game to a finish. I *did* play the first Civ5 TSG to a victory, but wan't very impressed.

 

[Xyth]

Alan, can you give a rough idea of how the performance of Civ 5 is using Parallels 6 compared to running it using Bootcamp ? As I bought the DVD of Civ 5 I assume I won't get the Mac-Version through Steam without paying again and I would like to get rid of the Windows Partition. I would sacrifice some performance for not rebooting all the time.

It's definitely not worth it. I found it way too slow and buggy, getting worse as a game progresses.

 

[AlanH]

I should emphasise that I already own Parallels for other reasons, including supporting a Linux virtual machine. I probably wouldn't buy it purely for Civ.

 

[borad]

The problem with Civ V in Parallels is the crappy emulated video (though it's better than Fusion). It's just frustrating.

 

[Methos]

including supporting a Linux virtual machine.

You run a VM on another VM? That's interesting.

 

[AlanH]

No, Parallels can run linux distis as well as Windows ones. I assume you were thinking Cygwin?

I run Centos4 in Parallels, which allows me to compile C/C++ code to run on the GOTM server.