Civ3 Mac & Civ3 Windows comparison

[Jaybe]

I have had Civ3 running on an HP Pavilion 7935 since 10/31/01. I had gotten the computer specifically for running Civ3. It is 1.3GHz, has a 17" monitor and 512MB of RAM, running Windows XP.

I now have a G4 iMac (iLamp), 800MHz, 15" LCD monitor, 768MB of RAM, and just purchased Civ3 for Mac. Playing Civ3 with OS X. Standard Civ3 installation. The monitor resolution on both computers is 1024 x 768.

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The music in the intro movie on my HP skipped and stuttered terribly, so I would always abort it (later I switched to the 'this castle is impregnable' short -- worked much better and is a laugh). On the iMac, the intro movie plays beautifully, without a hitch.

I have only played a few hours so far, and I hope to continue with later posts, but for now:

Unit animations: Macintosh unit animations within a tile are MUCH faster. Workers are working on speed. OTH, movement animations pause between each tile, so it's a jerky movement.

Domestic Advisor: This screen is UGLY. The fonts involved (with font smoothing ON) have a rough pixel border around them. Part of the situation is being on an LCD monitor, but the F1 screen is much worse than typical. I haven't personally loaded extra fonts into the computer yet, so I know it SHOULD not be a font conflict problem.

I hope to determine tonight if I can change the bic file using the Editor from the Windows version and use it on the Mac....

[Gatekeeper]

Jaybe:

Well, I'll keep peeking in on this thread as your updates are made — that is if the power to the server building in Greece remains reliable.

Gatekeeper

[Wiglaf]

have had Civ3 running on an HP Pavilion 7935 since 10/31/01. I had gotten the computer specifically for running Civ3. It is 1.3GHz, has a 17" monitor and 512MB of RAM, running Windows XP.

Knowing HP your Pavilion PC probably has integrated video (and knowing the iLamp you've probably got at least a solid Geforce 2 or 3 in there, maybe a 4) as opposed to a card...that'll explain why the mac is superior as far as the opening video, unit animations, framerate, etc.

[Grrr]

I agree with Wiglaf here. And the fact that the Mac has more RAM. How do I get this short intro movie you talk of though.

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by Grrr
... How do I get this short intro movie you talk of though.

I'm at work, so I may not have the full file names correct:

It's called "Security Briefing" and is in the movies folder. "Intro" is your intro movie, so change the name of "Intro" to something else and rename Security Briefing to Intro.

[Jaybe]

I hope to determine tonight if I can change the bic file using the Editor from the Windows version and use it on the Mac....

Started a game from a modified bic file (via the Editor of Civ3 Windows) -- no problemo.

Sigh.... yet another patch coming.

[Grrr]

Thanks Jaybe.

[Jaybe]

SNARL!!
I downloaded the 1.21 patch for Windows, moved my game-in-progress saves to my Mac, but cannot open them from Civ3 Mac. I intended to continue my 1.17 game on my Mac and start a new 1.21 game on my Windozer.

OTH, I haven't yet tried setting their Type & Creator.

[Jaybe]

After setting their Type & Creator codes, I was able to continue my windoze game on my iMac. I have 40+ cities, and there are still some 14 civs on this huge map. I am noticing that the "Please Wait..." periods between turns is a tad long (haven't timed them).

With this many cities, the F1 is very unresponsive: click on '+' or '-' on the science -- it goes 'bomp' at me and then takes 5-10 seconds for it to move and let me know how long research is. On Windozer it takes maybe 1 second. Again, it's 1.3GHz compared to my iMac's 800MHz G4.

There is some hazard at this point that I will cease playing Civ3 on my iMac due to the F1 and between-turn delays. Won't happen for a while though.

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by Jaybe
...
With this many cities, the F1 is very unresponsive: click on '+' or '-' on the science -- it goes 'bomp' at me and then takes 5-10 seconds for it to move and let me know how long research is. On Windozer it takes maybe 1 second. Again, it's 1.3GHz compared to my iMac's 800MHz G4.
...

I am SHOCKED!
I turned Off Quartz rendering, and F1 changes have no delay whatsoever. Perhaps even LESS than on Windoze!

[Gatekeeper]

Jaybe:

In the pre-patch version of Civ III Mac, it's a known issue that enabled Quartz Rendering slows the game down. But I believe one of the patches was supposed to have solved that problem.

Gatekeeper

[Jaybe]

As a to-date summary, my only complaint at this time is the delay between turns in a large game. I just have to be more patient relative to my Windozer which is more than 1.5 times my iMac's MHz. With Quartz rendering turned off the advisor screens look fine and are quite responsive.

Can't really think of any other substantial differences (other than no Editor, yet).

Oh -- one more complaint: New versions of Civ3 are developed for Windows first, then ported to the Mac!

[Jaybe]

Installed Civ3 on a 400MHz G4 at work, playing on a standard map (8 civs). Speed not really a problem yet in 300 AD, but I am in contact with only one (now VERY minor) civ.

Looks like I better get a decent graphics card for my Windozer HP, because the animations there are sloowwww....

[Gatekeeper]

Jaybe:

So how slow is Civ III Mac on the 700 and 800mhz iLamps? I hope it wouldn't take more than a minute or so for the AI to finish turns in the latter part of the game, particularly if one isn't playing on a giga-map with all 16 civs.

Gatekeeper

[Jaybe]

Gatekeeper:

On my G4 iMac, the only game I have played is that one I was talking about at the beginning of this thread. Late game, it was taking ... well, LESS than 10 minutes between my turns.

OTOH, this WAS a Huge map, 16 civs (uh, 8-10 civs towards the end). Three of the other civs were Large, even at the end, though I had the most real estate. I ended up with about 575 units, plus about 10 workers (plus foreign workers).

The reason it has been the only game on my iMac is that I JUST FINISHED IT last week, and no I wasn't slackin'. Actually, I am meticulous, I micro-manage, and just don't play 'fast' -- more like chess, without a clock. I was probably playing 20-30 hours per week. It was a great 3-1/2 months!