Civ 5 thread

There was a system req thread a while back ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam.../507658-system-requirments-civ5-official.html ) that sort of spiraled off into cpu choice debates, I haven't seen an actual game info thread though... so here it is?

The hardware reqs are:

Metacritic has C5 listed as a 93 right now, it'll go +/- 3 when more reviewers get the game.

The devs hosted a 2 hour live gameplay/Q&A stream, broken up into 2 parts below (spoiler, lol overheated gpu). It's good to watch if you want to see the graphics in action and want to know what's changed from C4.
Civilization V Live Gameplay Part 1, Watch Greg, Community Manager, and Garrett, Producer, play Civilization V! 2KGames on USTREAM. Gaming Entertainment
Civilization V Live Gameplay Part 2, Watch Greg, Community Manager, and Garrett, Producer, play Civilization V! 2KGames on USTREAM. Gaming Entertainment

You can pre-order C5 from various retailers, each seems to have a different perk listed in the link:
Civilization V Pre-Order
Personally I went with the D2D preorder, for a few reasons. First, you can save $5 using the coupon code PAX before sept 21. Second, D2D's preorder perk is receiving the first DLC for free. Third, no matter who you buy from, you must link the game to Steam to be able to play it; since the majority of my games are on steam anyways (and I was going to buy from Steam's store first before a bit more research) this is great. You can pre-load the game now if you bought from either steam or D2D. You also get Civ 3 for free with D2D, if you don't already have it then yay free stuff right?!

Speaking of DLC's they have already planned 2, with more coming later for sure; the 2 announced are the "Cradle of civilizations map pack" (which includes all 4 maps from the pre-order retailers, excluding D2D), and the "Double Civ Scenario pack" (assuming it includes 2 new civs and a scenario..) which can be had for free via D2D preorder. They'll probably sell for 5-10$ once they are released like other DLC's.

Ok so standard game info aside, the actual gameplay has changed a lot from C4 judging from the stream/replays. Aside from being a whole new game with new stuff, they removed a bit of sillyness it looks like too. Religion has been removed from the game, units with superior tech can no longer be defeated by inferior tech (ie, an experienced archer can't take down a tank anymore, FINALLY). Hexes instead of squares for movement, no more unit stacking (generals exempt). Just watch the video streams if you want more info.

And finally, I'm guessing C5 is going to be pretty popular around here, so you can either join the main NBR steam group, or we can create a new group like the L4D and bfbc2 crew have done. Just be sure you have a few (ok, a lot of) hours to play when you start multiplayer

5 days to go, blargh.

 

I liked Civilization 4, picked up the 3-1 combo a few years ago (no Colonization) and always thought it was just as good as Civilization 2 which I played when younger. I've yet to see a game in the core series which didn't make people stay up all night to finish sessions though.

 

Isnt that the best part!

 

Yeah great.

 

Fine if you're still schooling and enjoy vacations, not so good for those of us who hold down full-time jobs and really can't afford the lack of sleep on efficiency.

Htwingnut: Very nice picture, in your case the game is even worse with infants in the household also vying for time.

 

I will literally cry if I can't get it playable on my notebook.

 

I remember how excited I was when buying the first Civ game. I was 11 years old and on holidays in USA for the first time (I since have moved over here). I was carrying it so proudly around the mall, that box and manual was amazing.
Civ is the only game that has always vanished away time, where time goes when your playing is anyones guess, one more turn... just one more. I even got my Dad into playing it, he would disappear for hours and eventually would turn up downstairs eyes bugging out feeling dehydrated from a marathon Civ session...so he says
Now Civ 5 is here and I am so excited, also very depressed as I wont be playing it anytime soon. I'm another statistic who lost his job this summer, means even $50 is a lot of money to me right now and no matter how much I try to justify a reason to buy it, I know I just cant...
So I'll be waiting to hear what you all think of it...

 

LOL yeah. Actually the good thing about Civ games is they are turn based. So I can play throughout the day. I get 5-10 minutes free time sporadically, so I can play a few turns, then go do what I gotta do, come back, play some more, etc.

 

Assuming you can actually pull yourself away from the keyboard.

I've never got over the fact that Civ IV includes an alarm function in the game. Unfortunately it was well thought.

 

Yeah, pulling yourself away isn't easy, but when your kids are beating on each other or screaming at you it's a little easier.

 

Does the D2D version not include Nebuchadnezzar like the Steam version? I'm still sort of confused about the preorder bonuses.

 

The 'chad only comes with the deluxe version, Direct2Drive: Buy Sid Meier?s Civilization V Digital Deluxe Edition Download, it's the same way with steam.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. I just got the Deluxe from D2D and preloaded it (and installed Civ 3!). Let's hope this netbook can run it.

I have some questions though:

How can I access the soundtrack? Was it downloaded with the preload? I don't see it in the steamapps\common\(civ5) folder anywhere.

Also does D2D email me the code when the first DLC is available, since it's a pre-order? For some reason I can't access the My Account page on D2D (I click my username and the arrow next to it, nothing happens, issue with my browser I guess.)

 

pre-ordered with D2D, thanks!

 

Have an 8600m GT DDR3 GPU - will that suffice or is it going to be pretty poor performance? I'd be happy with medium settings.

 

Here's a helpful guide to what you can expect
2K Forums - View Single Post - System Requirements FAQ

And for a pretty direct comparison of what you can expect to look at (high vs low settings), there's a few screens here How To Beat Three People At Civilization V Multiplayer

 

Would I be able to download it from Steam after midnight tonight?

 

Dammit, I guess I'll have to buy it. I loved the other Civ's but I also hope it works on my netbook (SU4100 / GMA 4500MHD) because that's what I'll have the most opportunity to play it on.

 

If you pre-ordered it via steam or d2d you can already pre-load it... mine is 100% loaded and just awaiting the 0day activation patch

As for gameplay, from browsing the manual a bit it looks like france and egypt have very powerful bonuses... germnay and the ottomans on the other hand are kind of sad

 

Do the French come pre-loaded carrying white flags?

Spoiler

I can say that because I'm French

 

Louis XIV was actually game breakingly overpowered in Civ 4 on all but the hardest difficulties.

 

Got it to run on my 1810T in DirectX 9 mode, but it's barely playable. Not worth it, uninstalling.

 

can't wait to install this soon. The Civilization series is one of my all time favorites. Once I saw the game got the obligatory solid scores, I immediately pre-ordered...

now to plan my conquest...

 

It runs excellent on my laptop at 1920x1080, all detail settings maxed, no glitches or problems for me, even at stock clocks and with multiple other windows and apps running in the bg. The interface and graphics are eyecandy, amazing soundtrack and the opening cutscene was insane. haven't had time for a full game yet, but I hope to test it out this weekend.

 

if I purchase the digital copy of Civ 5 from D2D or Steam ... when I am in the USA ... and in a few days time I go to Asia ... will I still be able to play that Civ 5 that I just bought ?

 

I would hope with Steam you can play in any country, but I'm not sure.

I don't think there is any geofiltering, except on your credit card billing address when you check out in Steam, although you can pay by paypal. It does ask you to check a box indicating you live in the country of your billing address.

I would be shocked if there is geofiltering DRM in Steam. There are certainly a lot of people who travel frequently and we would all be very angry if software we paid for suddenly stops working when we cross a border.

 

well I think that some games are geofiltered by Steam ...

for example I bought L4D2 from Steam when I was in Asia ... when I am in the USA, I cant play it ...

But some games are ok ... I also bought Witcher - Enhanced Edition in Asia ... when I am in the USA, I am able to play it ...

 

you may want to post your question on this official thread to be 100% certain before you buy it.

Civ5 Official Steamworks FAQ - 2K Forums

 

yo need to watch out steam did this to some one who bought CS on it it think i'll likely get a box verison or an impule version but steam is out of the question for me i got a laptop for a reason i move around

 

Just wanted to share that I downloaded the demo. It was playable on lowest settings. This was with a "small" map, mind you. There were moments of slowdown or delay in having some of the textures load when moving across the map. But easily playable.

T8300
8600M GT (ddr3)
Win XP
4gb ram (~3.5gb)

 

The game is fantastic btw. Works great on my gx640. 1650x1080 max settings. Im not sure if its using dx10 or 11 though since the intro option's are "Dx9" or "dx10/11". I'd imagine it would have to be dx10 cause i highly doubt my 5850 could handle max on dx11 as well.

 

It is absolutely playable on my larger notebook...even on a bit higher settings than lowest, although it was on 1440x900 so it might work even better on 1280x800.

 

On my desktop, i7 720, GTX 465, I have framerate issues running it max with DX10/11. On the other hand, running it max on DX9 I have no issues. The odd thing is with DX10/11 it will run fine for like 30 minutes, but then the GPU will clock down. Even odder, is that the GPU isn't running hot at all maybe 71 C.

 

I was surprised that it didn't tax the CPU more - maybe after a long game with many combat units in play it would be a different story. I didn't realize until afterwards, but I was actually playing on "Power Saver" mode, which throttles the CPU in my laptop. Does anyone know if Civ5 actually utilizes multiple cores/hyperthreading?

 

Well i'd assume since a "Quad Core" is recommended it would use them.

 

Review's out on gamespot, curiously enough some other reviewers have marked this iteration down on release. The new hex-based system and anti-stack of doom features are interesting, but I liked the Civ4 approach to religion and its influence on diplomacy.

I'll wait and see since I need a more powerful system to enjoy the game properly. Review for those interested.

 

What do you think, should I get Steam DD for Babylon, or buy for 25€ less basic one?

 

I asked someone in Steam chat whether the digital deluxe version was worth it and he said he felt like he wasted the $10. I think the only difference is it makes available Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon as a civ and provides some behind the scenes interviews. it's Euros 25 additional? In the US, the regular version is $50 and the digital deluxe version is $60. Maybe the Euro version comes with some other extras?

 

What is everyone's thoughts on no unit stacking? I will download the demo and see, but it seems that would really kill city defense. One unit per city? That seems kinda lame.

 

It's interesting actually. It becomes a different sort of game, you actually have to think a bit more about strategy and tactics, as opposed to just steamrolling through everyone with 40 stacked modern armors. The game seems to be weighted in favor of defense, at least in the very early game on chieftain mode, which is all I've tried so far. Cities can attack invaders with arrows or artillery fire, even if you have no combat units stationed in the city.

 

Been awol with my head stuck in civ 5 for the better part of 2 days

That's odd, my G73 is running everything high (med tesselation) on dx11 at 1080p without any issues. A desktop 465 should have no trouble handling this, perhaps a driver issue?

@wingnut: I love the new hexes and no stacks of doom. It was a real pain to have to move the SOD in late game previous civs, so much waiting. Also yeah it does balance the game out more, if you want to go military style in early game you need to choose your civ carefully and be very sneaky with your troop movement. It doesn't kill city defense since up until modern era (stealth bombers + modern tanks) cities are far more powerful than units, it takes about 2 ranged + 4/5 melee to bring down a small city in reasonable (3 turns) time. Even then expect to lose most of your melee unless you bring a great general with you. I haven't taken a capital out without samurai medics + fighter jets yet...

Game is awesome so far, about the only complaint I have is that germany sucks even for early game, and that there's a small interface bug when you rebase aircraft to carriers, the little | 3 | icon will remain at where you rebased to in addition to the carrier itself, so you have icons in the middle of the ocean

 

I bought Civ 5 from Direct2Drive and downloaded it on Steam yesterday. Unfortunately the game keeps freezing up after 3-4 minutes, regardless whether I am in a game or at the menu. There are a lot of complaints on the 2K forums about the same/similar issues.
I have it running in DX9 mode now, 10 minutes so far no problems, but I'm not holding my breath because it is freezing for people in DX9 mode too.

They really should have tested this game more before they released it.

 

is your GPU overclocked by any chance? I usually overclock mine to around 550/1150 MHz for most games, but Civ5 crashed when I did that.

 

I might be getting civ 5 soon because I loved the 3rd/4th one to death..... anyone planing on some hardcore all night gaming sessions..... Hard to find other players who even like the game let alone play it in mutiplayer

 

I find civ as a fun multiplayer game only with close friends. There's a lot of down time between turns it's good to have a conversation with someone you know. Not that I don't want to chit chat with you guys, but if we don't have much to talk about, it gets boring real quickly.

 

working perfectly at all high settings for me. specs are in my signature. installation was smooth (20 minutes). I am a regular steam member, so registering through steam was not an issue at all.

only had a chance to play for about 2 hours yesterday (was only supposed to be 45 minutes, but ... you know how it is with Civ). what I played, I loved. The non-unit stacking provides a lot more depth (although there is a mod out if you still want to stack). Allying with city-states and being incentivized to destroy barbarian cities was cool. Liked the way Culture points can be used to get bonuses from social orders.

A lot of the rest felt like same Civ, especially the Tech Tree and resource benefits. This is a good thing, as I loved Civ4. I'm looking forward to many many years of playing the original and all the fantastic mods that will surely come out.

 

also, the full 230 page manual is up on the Civ website here... good for those who want to do some serious reading before buying the game
Civilization V Manual

 

Hopefuly I can pick the game up tonight with my bro's target discount (ftw!) Anyone want to start a forum wide game eventually... idk just a thought..... All i know is that my gpa will very much likey drop atleast a point as soon as i get it....must finish 2000 word essay before buying....MUST FINISH......CANT FIGHT IT.....DANG IT!!!!! ok ill be right back.... *Jumps in car and rushes to store*

 

How do you all feel about the AI? Each review i've points out the game has AI issues, i.e. stupid decisions, tactics and negotiations. 1up.com went so far as to say that it won't replace Civ 4 until they fix the AI. I haven't bought it yet but i'm tempted.

 

Get the demo. You get a good taste for it that way. I started a game with the demo and so far AI hasn't done anything too stupid or too spectacular yet, well except for keep trying to attack my city and dying spectacularly.