Civ4 specs?

[Havral]

Y'know, I can normally rely on the game's website to publish the system specs for a game, but frankly the Civ4 website is a triumph of style over content.

I've poked around a few other sites and... Can't find squat. I'm interested in Civ4 mainly for completion (Got Civ2-3+packs, as well as AC and CTP2 in my collection), and it's actually a Civ game I might actually start playing with the same zest that I reserved for Civ2.

But from the screenshots I can't tell if it's going to be a system hog or not. Everything I've seen has ping-ponged between "looking a bit like a posh Civ3" and "insanely detailed".

So... Yeah, what do the specs on the box say? Got at least another week 'fore it reaches these shores.

[Sirian]

I've poked around a few other sites and... Can't find squat.

Really? Wow. We're not usually the most on top of such things. (I can't remember the last time someone came here with such a question!)

However... we -do- have the answer.

From the actual README:



If your machine is up to spec and you get the game, maybe we'll see you around in some games? If not, best wishes.


- Sirian

[Havral]

Yep, should be able to run it.

Thanks.

[Badesumofu]

This is probably a silly question... but I am an adict and I need my fix. Can I scrape it in with 256mg running XP? maybe a small map?

I am getting a new computer as soon as my tax return comes through anyway, but the wait has already been agonising. I thought I'd be playing on the 28th (old Australian release date), now it is November 3rd. I guess I've been playing Civ2 for 9 years or so, so I can wait another couple of weeks. 2GB of RAM should see me set.

[Sirian]

This is probably a silly question... but I am an adict and I need my fix. Can I scrape it in with 256mg running XP? maybe a small map?

I am getting a new computer as soon as my tax return comes through anyway, but the wait has already been agonising. I thought I'd be playing on the 28th (old Australian release date), now it is November 3rd. I guess I've been playing Civ2 for 9 years or so, so I can wait another couple of weeks. 2GB of RAM should see me set.

If you have a fast hard drive and you are willing to let it grind a bit, you can run Civ4. I've played Large maps with lots of swap file access and had a good time, but you have to be willing to tolerate some slowness.

Definitely need a lot of RAM to run Huge maps!


- Sirian

[Ribannah]

In contrast to the readme.htm, the manual says that 256 MB is sufficient with no exception for Windows XP.

[Havral]

But the general rule of thumb is that the readme is always more accurate than the manual.

A quick question: How many scalable (graphical) options are there? My specs are a 1.8GHz Athlon 64, 1GB RAM, a decently fast hard drive, and a craptacular GeForce FX5200. I have every faith in my computer being able to work with the tricky calculations with due care and attention, but I don't trust my card to render them.

[Badesumofu]

Thanks a bunch Sirian. Thanks also for the map reference, and all your other work on Civ4.

I find that I can often run games (albeit badly) below minimum specs. I made a mistake in getting only 256 MB with my current system. The rest has served me very well (GF4 MX, AthlonXP 2000+). I often set my swap file up to a couple of gigs to try and extract as much performance as I can. I also disable useless 'services'. I can often choke out a game that claims to require 384/512 megs. I guess Civ4 requires 512 to run a full size game. If they put 256 as the min requirement, then people with only 256 would be spitting when they found they couldn't run a full size game.

I hoped i could at least play a smallish game before my new computer arrives (only a matter of days before I order it now)

[Hacp]

Thanks a bunch Sirian. Thanks also for the map reference, and all your other work on Civ4.

I find that I can often run games (albeit badly) below minimum specs. I made a mistake in getting only 256 MB with my current system. The rest has served me very well (GF4 MX, AthlonXP 2000+). I often set my swap file up to a couple of gigs to try and extract as much performance as I can. I also disable useless 'services'. I can often choke out a game that claims to require 384/512 megs. I guess Civ4 requires 512 to run a full size game. If they put 256 as the min requirement, then people with only 256 would be spitting when they found they couldn't run a full size game.

I hoped i could at least play a smallish game before my new computer arrives (only a matter of days before I order it now)

256 extra MB of PC2700 is only like 20 bucks AR at CC.