Want to play Civilization V Mac? Here's what you'll need...

Oct

Want to play Civ 5 Mac? Here’s what you’ll need…

Posted by Russ Looney

Today we’re posting the first projected system requirements for playing Civilization V on your Mac. Please keep in mind that these are only projected estimates and NOT the final system requirements. Expected Minimum Product Spec Requirements:

Operating System: 10.6.4 (Snow Leopard)
CPU Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-Core)
CPU Speed: 2.4 GHz
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB
Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD2600
Video Card (NVidia): Geforce 8600
Video Memory (VRam): 256 MB
Media Required: DVD-ROM (Physical, boxed copies only)
Peripherals: Macintosh mouse and keyboard

Other Requirements: Initial installation requires one-time Internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client, Microsoft Visual C++2008 Runtime Libraries and Microsoft DirectX. (Edit: A little miscommunication on our end–sorry!) Internet Connection and acceptance of Steam™ Subscriber Agreement required for activation. See www.steampowered.com/agreement for details. We’ll post final system requirements once they have been cemented, likely close to the product’s release. In the meantime, check back with the GameAgent NonBlog regularly. We’ll be posting more info on Civilization V Mac in the coming days, including a Civ 5 Mac Developer Diary! Update: The final specs have been set and can be found on the Civilization V product description page at GameAgent.com. Still have questions about whether the game will run on your machine? Contact our support team with your own system specs, and they’ll be able to help you determine how well the game will run!

Tags: Aspyr, Civ V, Civilization, Civilization 5, Mac, System Reqs Posted Aspyr News, Civilization, Mac Gaming |

http://www.spiffy.me Isa

wwaaaaaaah. CPU Speed: 2.4 GHz || My mac is 2.26 with 4GB ram! (
http://korpil.net/ Korpil

You guys want me to hate my 2.26GHz MacBook… I haven’t bought The Force Unleashed because of that same recommendation
Jonas Maebe

I think it’s really unfortunate that it will only be on Steam. I signed up when they had the free Portal for Mac promo, and my experience has been less than splendid:
a) initially, I couldn’t play offline at all, because of a bug in the Steam client
b) once that bug was fixed, playing offline worked, but I get two warnings about the game being in offline mode and therefore not being able to store some data on the Steam servers every time I start it
c) once, Steam apparently started updating the game but didn’t completely finish before I went offline (I have a laptop). After that, I was unable to play the game until I went online again to complete that update
d) I’m not sure whether this is due to Steam, the Source engine or simply because my system is too slow (MacBook Pro 2.4GHz, 4GB ram, NVidia 320M), but I think that Portal takes quite a long time to start

I very much prefer something that doesn’t put itself between me and the game and just lets me play when I want without all sorts of annoyances (such as with your current games, with a one-time registration and that’s it). Frankly, I don’t think I’ll be buying any games from Steam at all.

Fortunately, I’m currently still playing Civ III and therefore still have Civ IV to buy and enjoy. And even though it’s all via DosBox or Wine on my Mac, I’m enjoying several golden oldies from gog.com as well.
- http://www.gameagent.com BlogLady
  
  Certainly an interesting perspective on Steam and the technology therein. To port certain PC games to the Mac may inherently mean that we must utilize specific technology, and with Civilization V comes Steam for a number of technologies which are beneficial to the gamer.
  
  With previous Civ releases, are you playing lots of multiplayer games or is most of your gameplay single player?
  
  Since Apple has announced the Mac App store (and as part of Apple’s T&C includes limitations on technologies that might include SteamWorks and others) as a user would you prefer a Mac App store version of a game minus certain features (PC to Mac multiplayer could be one, matchmaking, achievements, etc.) , with the benefit being that it is construed as less intrusive? Or are those features worth a perceived sacrifice in autonomy.
  
  Would love to hear people’s thoughts on benefits and drawbacks of the various services
Cougar

There is barely a difference between 2.26 and 2.4 Ghz, you guys should be fine as long as they don’t bump it up any more.

I don’t mind Steam; in fact, I prefer it over having to stick in the DVD every time I want to play. I just hope Aspyr lets us *buy* the game on Steam. I don’t want a DVD nor gameagent’s restrictive download limits.
Truck3r

Why is a DVD-ROM drive a requirement? I usually don’t use that for downloading (or playing) games on Steam…

And more importantly: WHEN will it be available?
please don’t tell me that you are just starting to develop it now…
Cougar

Obviously a DVD drive won’t be required for the GameAgent and (hopefully) Steam versions.

Game’s coming by the holidays.
http://www.gameagent.com BlogLady

We will be announcing shipment dates and pre-order opportunities as soon as next week. Keep checking the blog, FB or Twitter for news and updates!
http://avoidingtherapy.blogspot.com/search/label/fiction the7ofSwords

See, THIS is why gaming on a Mac is difficult. Unless you spring for the Mac Pro tower, you HAVE to by a new machine every year (or two, at most). I can tell you from experience that running at minimum, or anywhere near minimum specs on these games is just a headache. (I was a bit above spec in every category with Dragon Age. It ran, but got very laggy the minute I entered a large area, or where there were many effects going on, and that was with all options turned off.) I’ll be curious to see what final specs are. Whatever they are, you’ll likely need more -quite a bit more.

So now I find myself with two options if I want to play Civ V: I can spend $1200 on a new iMac (or a bunch more for higher options/future upgradeability. OR I can upgrade my old gaming PC to play it for about $300-$400. And in this economy, that’s an even bigger difference than it used to be.

I know this isn’t really the publishers’ fault. APPLE! If you ever want to really sell to the games market, you REALLY need to come out with an affordable, upgradeable machine! (Or, at the very least, stop skimping on the graphics processing power.)

I would MUCH prefer to play this on a Mac, but given budget constraints, I’ll probably have to go the other way.

~7
Jonas Maebe

I play virtually exclusively single player games. I don’t have the DVD problem mentioned by others since I only get digital downloads (the last game I bought on a CD/DVD was No One Lives Forever, and the last Aspyr game I bought that way was Deus Ex).

Achievements are not important to me, but I guess I’m old skool in that respect since I see them popping up in almost every new game And even though I seldom play online against other people (the only game I played a lot that way was Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory), I guess cross-platform compatibility for most games is quite important, and I understand that it’s hard if not impossible to achieve if they use something like DirectPlay on the Windows side (without resorting to stuff like Cider).

I’m still on the fence regarding Apple’s AppStore. I’ve only downloaded free apps from the AppStore for my iPod because I really dislike its strong DRM. It may sound strange, but I guess it would not be too hard to crack the DRM on current GameAgent games should Aspyr go out of business one day ($DEITY forbid) and somehow that idea comforts me. The presumably much stronger DRM systems by Steam and Apple’s AppStore make me feel much less at ease. All issues I mentioned about Steam (probably except for the slow Portal starting) were also exclusively due to their DRM implementation.

It’s also one of the reasons I like gog.com a lot: they don’t have any DRM at all. I do understand it’s harder to do that when releasing new A-titles since, a.o.
a) new A-titles are more expensive, so the incentive to illegally copy them is higher
b) new A-titles are less likely to be picked up out of nostalgia by people who might have “copied that floppy” when they were still younger

In the end, I guess I prefer “keep the honest people honest”-style systems to “treat everyone like a potential criminal” ones, or in other words: I don’t mind minor copy protection stuff, but encasing the whole thing in reinforced concrete does put me off. Given the runaway success of the AppStore for iOS, I realise that I’m probably alone in that, though…
Jonas Maebe

Small, irrelevant, correction: the last game I bought on DVD was actually Battlefield 1942. Which was also from Aspyr And which I also played online quite a bit.
Dana

I bought the game through Steam and play thru bootcamp. But I’m really looking forward to getting it for the mac. (I’m hoping that it’ll be free through Steam since I bought the PC version, that’s what I’ve read anyway).

I’ve found that I’m MUCH more likely to play a game that I don’t have to reboot the system for.

I just wanna know when?!?
Anonymous

Jonas: Do we know for sure that the App Store for Mac will use DRM? From what I understand, it’s just a centralized way to buy and download the same programs we can already do outside the store.

Anyway, I appreciate the Game Agent program because it can look at my hardware and tell me if it meets the requirements for a certain game or not, so I don’t have to guess as to whether the random numbers and letters contained in my video card model name make it equivalent to or greater than the random numbers and letters indicated in the specifications. (I know there are plenty of people who could tell you where a Raedon X4700 stands in relation to a Raedon M8530, but I don’t want to be one of them.) So thanks for that feature.
Lance

My Mac has 2.0 GHz! My wife will kill me if I buy Civ 5 and then have to buy a new computer just to play it. Help me out here guys!!!
http://korpil.net/ Korpil

Wow, I missed the Steam part.

I was a very happy Steam costumer ages ago when I still had a PC (now I have a Computer, thanks), and while it had its rough edges when introduced for Mac, I’m very happy with it.

Yes, it can be annoying to wait ages for a game to be updated, but in the end I love their DRM management, simple and unobtrusive. I love the idea of having my games centralized and thus I can install some games in one computer, and others in a different computer without worrying about licenses, codes or whatever…

The game will even be better if it has access to the Steamcloud to synchronize saved games and settings.

As for the Mac AppStore, I’m still undecided, I think it is a good idea for some kinds of software, but for games, unless they make a Steam-like approach and loosen the constraints, it could work… I for myself would prefer to download a full-featured game from Steam than a slimmed version on the Mac AppStore.
Andrew

I have to say that these specs don’t tell me what I need to know. I have a MacBook Pro, which has an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, which has 256 MB RAM, although I understand that it shares this memory. How does the 9400M compare with the 8600?

I’m also thinking of getting a new Mac Mini. The new Mac Mini has an NVIDIA GeForce 320M, which also has 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory. Would this be better or worse than the GeForce 8600 with 256 MB of memory that is required?
- http://www.gameagent.com Loondogiv
  
  Hi, Andrew, we definitely admit that trying to compare specs can be confusing, to say the least. Even myself and BlogLady often have to ask our tech support for insights into the various system requirements! To help combat in confusion, though, we’re working hard on getting our GameAgent app set up to work with Civilization V. In case you aren’t aware, the GameAgent app will look at your system specs and then tell you whether or not you’re set to play a particular game. You should check it out if you haven’t already.
http://www.gameagent.com BlogLady

Hi Guys. Some good questions in here! We’ll compile these and get some answers for you soon. Also note, we announced pre-order and availability date today of November 23rd! Just in time to get lost in gaming with the family in town.

Happy Gaming
Dann

I am quite happy to see the Steam support (and frankly hope that by support, you all mean ‘SteamPlay’ as I already have purchased Civ 5 (though would be willing to pay a small ‘upgrade to mac’ fee). The Mac App store will be one thing, and nice, but gamers will stick with the horse they rode in on, and frankly that means supporting the larger established cross platform services. Unless Apple does it better… which is always possible.

That said, Civ 5 itself needs a lot of work still. I hope the Mac version keys on the PC versions issues (which area readily apparent in the forums) and looks to show up the PC folks by having those ironed out first. With a blazingly fast PC, I still have yet to complete a medium sized game on Civ 5, and have finally moved on to Fallout NV until the issues are addressed.
charlie

yeah i already have this on mac i believe its the steam version they’ve been porting but not sure it does have a section where u can save and load from steam cloud so i’m pretty sure it is. and anyway those are for sure not minimum requirements as i have c2d 2.26 with 9400m and 4gb and its very playable with the graphics set to low i am having rendering issues probably because it is incomplete when on medium it runs really well too it just won’t render the landscape or any characters just looks like everything is undiscovered but im sure eventually it will be fixed and i’ll be able to play it on medium
simon

How much of a difference do you think the OS will make? I’m running 10.5.8, but I see the minimum requirement is 10.6.4. Do you think I’ll need to upgrade to Snow Leopard, or should it work on Leopard?
Xyth

Simon:

There really is no reason to still be using Leopard over Snow Leopard other than the US$29 price. Snow Leopard is faster and more efficient and stable than Leopard in every way, for gaming, for everything. Especially now that 10.6.5 is out which contains some serious graphics performance enhancements and bugfixes. Leopard will never get those or any other such fixes.
patarroyo

Boy I sure hope that it gets released via Steam too, not just directdownload and hardcopies. And with SteamPlay. I think one issue here might be how Aspyr gets credit for a sell, when so many of us are dual-platform users. I think it would not be unreasonable to ask for those of us interested in a true dual-platform license to pay a slight premium, say 10 dollars, during the game’s initial release, e.g. a six month period.
- http://www.gameagent.com BlogLady
  
  Hi Guys
  
  We obviously have had a lot of people inquire about SteamPlay, which is buy the PC version get the Mac version free (and vice versa). As I’m sure most folks would understand, as a company who invests heavily in the licensing, development and support of great Mac content giving content away for free is a difficult business model to support.
  
  We are still weighing the options but out of curiosity, how many of you have already purchased the PC version and expect a free Mac version? Did you purchase it on the PC to play via BootCamp in hopes you’d get the Mac version? Or did you purchase on the PC and just assumed you’d get a Mac version? Wondering what the expectation is out there.
  
  Thanks
Dakota

PLEASE heavily use Grand Central Dispatch. Try to code it for 16 cores (or more) because next years Mac Pro might have that many. That might sound excessive, but Civ has a shelf life of five years. The PC version fails at using more than two cores (some might say because PCs fail in general), but this is a chance for PC users to get jealous of Mac Users (which of course means more Mac gamers and this more people buying Aspyr games).

Please, give us a game to show PC gamers that there are companies who make good Mac versions for our sake (and your bottom line). I’m confident Aspyr will do well this time, don’t let my hope be misplaced!

Sincerely an avid Civver
Dann

@BlogLady

Given the SteamPlay support for previous CIV titles and the required integration with Steam, I have to say I purchased the title with the expectation that it would be SteamPlay. Not seeing that, I would not likely purchase the title on the Mac. Why? I am supportive of mac publishers, but unless there is significant value added content that is somehow platform specific, Steam presumes the new Steam model… which is SteamPlay.

That said, I and others have indicated that we are not opposed to a slight ‘fee’ for the SteamPlay ability. Right now, with no expansions yet released, my price point would be $5. If it followed the Civ IV model, with two expansions etc, I would be willing to extend cost to each expansion individually.

In the future, it might be wise as well to consider a ‘game +’ option for certain mainstream titles, allowing users to purchase one platform, or at heir choice, a dual client.

Honestly, Steamplay should have been something worked out during the presale period on Civ V and indicated then… instead of months of Mac uncertainty. Those of us serious about Mac clients would have then considered waiting…

But, to your original question, I think myself and others don’t consider SteamPlay getting the game ‘free’. If a title is STEAM and cross-platform, I think the expectation is that SteamPlay is included in the price. Companies which do not (example, Dragon’s Age) lose the respect of the smaller Mac gaming community. In the long run, I would imagine that titles which are SteamPlay will sell better than those that are not.
Myles

I have not purchased Civilization 5, yet, because I’m aware that it’s difficult for independent publishers such as Aspyr and Feral to justify the loss of income presented by Valve’s SteamPlay service. It’s kind of a broken system. I kind of really wish that it was possible for Mac games to also be sold apart from their PC counterparts. Although getting both copies is great, usually only companies who port their titles themselves are able to support this model – Less than outstanding considering how dependent Mac gamers are on companies like Aspyr.

If the title is available on Steam, however, that’s probably how I’ll purchase it, despite not owning a PC – I’m no longer too fond of disk swapping except out of nostalgia, and I dislike the fragmentation of my collection that publisher-driven digital distributors causes.

I hope you guys are able to work this out.
Zaradaqaw

Snow Leopard? Snow Leopard?? SNOW LEOPARD IS A REQUIREMENT???

So the game really cost $79, not $50, plus taking the chance that I would destabilize all my other software that is working just fine right now.

No thanks. You lost a customer.
Ed

Dude, you should have bought Snow Leopard ages ago. It’s hardly expensive and was a good streamlining release. Move on.
John

I just bought the game on Steam, and it doesn’t work on my MacBook Pro 1,1. Apparently, my MacBook has an integrated video card — which isn’t anything you’d learn from System Profiler. Grrrrrrr. I hope someone finds a work around here. This is pretty ridiculous.
Mark

But Civ5 can be played with a 2.26 Mhz mac? Or it will not work?
Mike

Silly question… I have a Mac that is a couple of years old and the video card is ATI Radeon HD 2400, but it appears that the minimum required is ATI Radeon HD 2600. Is it possible to still play on the old one? Or am I completely out of luck?
- http://www.gameagent.com Russ Looney
  
  @ Mike – We do not recommend playing the game on any specs that do not meet minimum requirements. It could cause the game to slow down, freeze, or other problems. That’s about all I know to say regarding your setup. However, you can contact our support team with your system specs, and they will be better able to determine if the game will run on your machine or not. Email (support@aspyr.com), web (http://support.aspyr.com), or Twitter (@Aspyr_Support).
Anton

I wonder if someone has tried to contact Aspyr or Apple and asked if there is going to be produced a patch for the unfortunate once who did not see the small text about the videocard….

I am kind of annoyed because when you list up a number of videocards in the system requirements it is not obvius for all of us that 9400 which is one of the cards in the middle of 8600 and 9600 will not work. So the whole story for me about civilization 5 is a story about 50 Euros out in the blue basically….which is very sad.

When I googled the question about the videcard it is clear that the companies surely earns money on this, because I am not the only one who did this mistake

So yeah…anyone who knows?
Lorryguy

Alright so I’ve been waiting for this game for a while now…and these specs are . Can someone help me see if I can play the game on my 13.3″ MacBook?
My Mac:

Processor Speed: 2GHz
Video Card: NVidia Geforce 9400M
VRam: 256 MB

everything else is in check with the specs.

Please help me! I love the Civilization game on my iPhone and I want to step up to the big boy’s game.
- http://www.gameagent.com Russ Looney
  
  @Lorryguy: The specs posted above are actually the minimum requirements (as projected at the time of the posting). The final minimum and recommended system requirements have been posted and can be found on the Civ V product description page. While it’s still technically possible to play the game without meeting all of these requirements, there would be little that our support team could do to help you in the event that you ran into any technical issues. If you have questions about how well the game will play, you can contact our support team in advance with your system configuration, and they’ll be able to help you determine whether the game will play or not.
Christian allen

Ya Lorryguy. Remember the specs above are recommended. It doesn’t say you need them to play the game. I suggest if you do get the game, lowering your graphics settings so the game can run easier on your computer. Hope that helped.
Anonymous

Thanks Christian Allen i just have to go and buy snow leopard now..oh well
Sid

I already got it off steam but can’t play as I have Operating System 10.5.8 but I have bought Snow Leopard off Apple which will come soon and then I can play!
Sid

Ahhh Crap I also have CPU speed of 2.26, does anyone know if you HAVE to have 2.4ghz or just recommended
Designer

My graphics are overlapping espicially in the beginning sequences. Its like the game is too fast for my computer …I have a 10.6 operating system. what gives??
PC

Why is it required to use Steam to install civ 5 on mac? It’s ridiculously difficult. I returned the game. That’s one less sale for Aspyr.
- http://blog.gameagent.com Russ Looney
  
  Sorry if the Steam integration makes things difficult. You can bypass Steam by getting Civilization V: Campaign Edition on the Mac App Store. It comes with the Mongol and Babylon DLC packs and will soon support additional DLC with the recent release of Mac OS X Lion. One caveat, however, is that it supports only LAN multiplayer, if multiplayer is a strong interest for you.

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