Civilization 5

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Esoteric

Minimum Requirements

Operating System: Windows® XP SP3/ Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
Processor: Dual Core CPU
Memory: 2GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB Free
DVD-ROM Drive: Required for disc-based installation
Video: 256 MB ATI HD2600 XT or better, 256 MB nVidia 7900 GS or better, or Core i3 or better integrated graphics
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX®: DirectX® version 9.0c

Recommended Requirements

Operating System: Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
Processor: 1.8 GHz Quad Core CPU
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB Free
DVD-ROM Drive: Required for disc-based installation
Video: 512 MB ATI 4800 series or better, 512 MB nVidia 9800 series or better
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX®: DirectX® version 11

It looks like I can't run that either. Just like I can't run SCII.

[Esoteric]

Don't worry, I can run it maxed. No sweat.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Itse

Looks very promising, especially if they've actually managed to make the game more managable. I found Civ IV to be too much like work.

Unfortunately I'm not sure if my laptop will handle it. Should, but barely.

But that's what demos are for, and that also comes out in two days. Until then.

And based on the deluxe edition miniatures,

there's mechs!

The game has definitely been lacking in future tech, it seems they have done at least something to fix that. A layer or two of future tech weapons and buildings would definitely improve the endgame part.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpos...0&postcount=98

[Street Pharmacist]

My laptop has all the requirements except the video card. I have an integrated Intel in my HP. What are my chances? My GF bout me a pre-order already. Spending $600 more to play a game seems crazy

[FanIn80]

Integrated video = no video card at all.

Considering it's a video game...

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Integrated video = no video card at all.

Considering it's a video game...

Not really. If it’s anything above an Intel integrated chip, there’s a good chance the game will be playable on lower detail settings. I routinely run X-Plane, Civ4, and Silent Hunter III (my big 3) for example, on a 9400m at 20+ frames per second. The only thing I can’t do is turn on lots of crazy antialiasing.

Plenty of laptops are packing decent entry level graphics chips these days - it’s really only the Intel integrated stuff that fails to keep up.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by amorak

It's going to take more than a few days after release for this to be out on the scene.

The way the new steam protection works is that the game, randomly, contacts the steam server to get required parts of the game.

In essence, the game on your HDD is missing small, critical portions, that the game randomly requests from the steam server in an effort to combat piracy.


It's taking up to a month after commercial release for the scene to get a game out, now (purely for back purposes...What happens if steam goes bankrupt?! I don't want to lose what I bought).

Are you sure about that? My understanding is that Steam doesn't load the entirely of the content until release day, effectively stopping all pre-release piracy, but after that the content is completely loaded. If it's missing portions, even at random, offline mode wouldn't work and people would be wailing and gnashing their teeth.

[FanIn80]

nm

[photon]

Originally Posted by Bob

Are you sure about that? My understanding is that Steam doesn't load the entirely of the content until release day, effectively stopping all pre-release piracy, but after that the content is completely loaded. If it's missing portions, even at random, offline mode wouldn't work and people would be wailing and gnashing their teeth.

I think that's what he meant, that before release parts are missing, but after release, the content is completely loaded.

His description of random bits missing is of course not accurate, if that were the case it would be possible to pirate because everyone would have different parts missing, get enough together and you reconstruct the original. Plus keeping track of who has what random bits missing is just wasteful.. far easier to simply deploy the 99.5% of the game for preload, and then have the rest download on release day.

After release, it depends on what additional copy protection stuff is in there beyond the simple steam stuff.. if it's just steam it'll get released almost immediately.

Plus Steam isn't the only source for games so sometimes games are out being pirated a month before the game is released.

[Thor]

Damn tease, Civ 5 just finished a quick 17.3mb upload and the civ 5 symbol pops up and in steam you could click 'play'...

TEASE, DAMN YOU STEAM!

[Thor]

Dammit, says release now September 23rd!

[Bob]

It unlocks tomorrow at 8:00 AM MST. I suspect plenty of people will be "sick" at that time.

[Thor]

Not for me in Iceland, midnight Thursday our time

[Street Pharmacist]

I guess I'm buying a desktop. DAMMIT !!!!!!!!!

[amorak]

Originally Posted by photon

I think that's what he meant, that before release parts are missing, but after release, the content is completely loaded.

His description of random bits missing is of course not accurate, if that were the case it would be possible to pirate because everyone would have different parts missing, get enough together and you reconstruct the original. Plus keeping track of who has what random bits missing is just wasteful.. far easier to simply deploy the 99.5% of the game for preload, and then have the rest download on release day.

After release, it depends on what additional copy protection stuff is in there beyond the simple steam stuff.. if it's just steam it'll get released almost immediately.

Plus Steam isn't the only source for games so sometimes games are out being pirated a month before the game is released.

Actually my description is VERY accurate and what you just said is EXACTLY what happens. The pirate community for steam protection games has to wait for the hacking community to get all the pieces together and then figure out how to get them into the game.

Did you wonder why these games require a persistent internet connection to play...?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Purchased.

[Esoteric]

Yeah, Civ 5 only requires an internet connection the first time that you run the game, but subsequent connection no longer require connections.

Steam games are tough to get around, and I'm fine with that. I buy 95% of my games.

[photon]

Originally Posted by amorak

Actually my description is VERY accurate and what you just said is EXACTLY what happens. The pirate community for steam protection games has to wait for the hacking community to get all the pieces together and then figure out how to get them into the game.

Alright what you are trying to claim is confusing.

If we're talking about preload, then the entire game is loaded on your computer (minus any patches). Check the Civ 5 directory right now, it's all there.. tga files, xml files, wmv files, lua files. It's there but you can't open a single one of them. Not because "the game on your HDD is missing small, critical portions, that the game randomly requests from the steam server in an effort to combat piracy" because if that were true, most of those tga, xml, wmv, lua files would be readable. But none of them are, zero.

So it's not because it randomly requests important parts, it's because all the files are encrypted. Upon launch Steam downloads the decryption key along with any last minute changes/files, and decrypts the full game and activates it.

If we're talking about after you're running the game, "the game on your HDD is missing small, critical portions, that the game randomly requests from the steam server in an effort to combat piracy" still makes no sense, because at the same time it would have to be deleting those small, critical portions as well, and since Steam doesn't know the next time you might be connected to the Internet and the only time you need to be connected for the single player versions of games is to activate.

Some games add their own levels of copy protection on top of Steam's activation, like Assassin's Creed 2 needing an Internet connection to play, but that was Ubisoft, not Valve.

The default Steam activation isn't difficult to bypass once the decryption is done, the Batman game last year was out on the torrents the day it was released. I remember that one because they had an additional protection in the game that made it impossible to get past a specific point if you were using a cracked version, and the Valve forums were full of lulz of sekrit pirates wondering how to get past a specific point.

[Ducay]

Last time I remember a game that needed a constant internet connection was Settlers 7 IIRC, it took forever for the scene to break because it basically needed someone to play the whole game and figure out which parts were being called form the server and when; and then they had to figure out how to crack that mechanism. Fun times

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Last time I remember a game that needed a constant internet connection was Settlers 7 IIRC, it took forever for the scene to break because it basically needed someone to play the whole game and figure out which parts were being called form the server and when; and then they had to figure out how to crack that mechanism. Fun times

the thing is though with those types of copy protections, it has the opposite effect on crackers that developers hope it will. instead of deterring them, it makes them that much more focused on beating the protection. the people that crack these games don't do it because they're cheap or even because they're particularly avid gamers, they do it so that their reputation in the "scene" can get bigger and they have something to brag about to the next guy who couldn't crack the game as quickly. all these super complicated protection schemes are doing is training those guys on how to be better hackers, at the same time as pissing off the actual paying customers who are the only ones who are inconvenienced (like Assassin's Creed 2, which was cracked the same day it was released if i recall correctly)