2014 Mini and Civilization VI

[mauka]

Purchased Civilization VI from Steam to run on my gaming PC, but just for kicks I downloaded the game to my 2014 Mini with i5 2.8, 16GB and 1TB Fusion drive. This is my everyday computer for browsing, email, iTunes, and light photo editing - all of which it does quite well.

Monitor is Samsung 32” WQHD (S32D850T) @ 2560 x 1440

Performance in Civilization VI is playable (early in the game), but noticeably slower than it is on my game PC (i5 3.4 GHz quad core with Nvida GTX 1060).

Graphics on the Mini were set to 2560 x 1440 with anti-aliasing off and performance sliders all the way to the left, these are the default settings selected by the game installation.

With the default settings the game looked pretty good but aliasing was clearly visible. Some UI actions, such as selecting items in the attribute "trees", seemed "choppy and sluggish" to me. I also noticed that the game AI took longer to calculate it's moves, which I suppose is due to the slower dual core CPU in the Mini.

I did experiment by turning on AA and moving the sliders to the half-way point, and the game looked better but the UI selection problem got much worst. In the game options I did see changes that might address the UI elements, but I didn't experiment with them.

Please understand that these observations are based on running the game for a short time with only a very few assets on the board. It's reasonable to expect performance would decrease as the game progresses and the number of game assets increases.

I'm posting this for anyone thinking about buying this game for their 2014 Mini. Please know that the the 2014 Mini DOES NOT meet the OS X requirements for the game, which are:

• Operating System: OSX 10.11.6 (El Capitan) and MacOS 10.12 (Sierra)
• CPU Processor: Intel Core i5 (4 cores)
• CPU Speed: 2.7 GHz.
• Memory: 6 GB.
• Hard Disk Space: 15 GB.
• Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 6970.

FYI - my avatar is meant to be taken with a dose of sarcasm...

 

[kiwipeso1]

Purchased Civilization VI from Steam to run on my gaming PC, but just for kicks I downloaded the game to my 2014 Mini with i5 2.8, 16GB and 1TB Fusion drive. This is my everyday computer for browsing, email, iTunes, and light photo editing - all of which it does quite well.

Monitor is Samsung 32” WQHD (S32D850T) @ 2560 x 1440

Performance in Civilization VI is playable (early in the game), but noticeably slower than it is on my game PC (i5 3.4 GHz quad core with Nvida GTX 1060).

Graphics on the Mini were set to 2560 x 1440 with anti-aliasing off and performance sliders all the way to the left, these are the default settings selected by the game installation.

With the default settings the game looked pretty good but aliasing was clearly visible. Some UI actions, such as selecting items in the attribute "trees", seemed "choppy and sluggish" to me. I also noticed that the game AI took longer to calculate it's moves, which I suppose is due to the slower dual core CPU in the Mini.

I did experiment by turning on AA and moving the sliders to the half-way point, and the game looked better but the UI selection problem got much worst. In the game options I did see changes that might address the UI elements, but I didn't experiment with them.

Please understand that these observations are based on running the game for a short time with only a very few assets on the board. It's reasonable to expect performance would decrease as the game progresses and the number of game assets increases.

I'm posting this for anyone thinking about buying this game for their 2014 Mini. Please know that the the 2014 Mini DOES NOT meet the OS X requirements for the game, which are:

• Operating System: OSX 10.11.6 (El Capitan) and MacOS 10.12 (Sierra)
• CPU Processor: Intel Core i5 (4 cores)
• CPU Speed: 2.7 GHz.
• Memory: 6 GB.
• Hard Disk Space: 15 GB.
• Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 6970.

FYI - my avatar is meant to be taken with a dose of sarcasm...

You can use strategic view, which reduces the detail to play in underpowered machines at an acceptable speed.
I suspect the main problem is with your HD4000 iGPU, as my HD5000 has no issues.
Additional factors which can slow the game down as it progresses is the number of opponents and map size,
eg when I run maps of size "Civ5 huge" it can take a minute for the game to cycle through the barbarians and other players.
There are a few settings you can optimise in gameplay to set a better pace.

 

[jpietrzak8]

I suspect the main problem is with your HD4000 iGPU, as my HD5000 has no issues.
Additional factors which can slow the game down as it progresses is the number of opponents and map size,
eg when I run maps of size "Civ5 huge" it can take a minute for the game to cycle through the barbarians and other players.

Just a couple of notes here.

- First, @mauka is talking about a 2014 Mini with the maximum-speed CPU (2.8 GHz). Therefore, his GPU is the Intel Iris 5100.

- Second, @mauka is talking about the newly-released Civilization VI (Six), not the 2010 game Civilization V (Five).

 

[mauka]

Aloha kiwipeso1 and jpietrzak8, Hau'oli Makahiki Hou to you and everyone else.

Yeah I thought the only thing "better" about the 2014 Mini was the graphics performance. I had a 2012 Mini before the 2014, it was a base 2.3 dual core with HD3000 graphics; so the 2014 was a step up for me. Bought it refurbished with 16GB, which I may not need but will be a plus when I resell.

But thanks for the tips on map size and strategic view. My PC is the 'goto' box for games, but I thought it would be nice to have an ongoing game on the Mini as well. Impressed with the game so far, it appears to have lots of depth and competent AI, perfect for relaxed long term single play.

FYI - my avatar is meant to be taken with a dose of sarcasm...

 

[jpietrzak8]

Impressed with the game so far, it appears to have lots of depth and competent AI, perfect for relaxed long term single play.

Good to hear! Civ V is one of my absolute favorite games, so I'm hoping VI will be a good sequel.

Right now, though, I'm in the unfortunate position of not having a Mac powerful enough to run VI (my latest Mac is a 2010 Mini), while at the same time having a machine powerful enough to run the game, but that one is a dedicated Linux box. It'll probably be years before a Linux port of VI is available...

 

[kiwipeso1]

Just a couple of notes here.

- First, @mauka is talking about a 2014 Mini with the maximum-speed CPU (2.8 GHz). Therefore, his GPU is the Intel Iris 5100.

- Second, @mauka is talking about the newly-released Civilization VI (Six), not the 2010 game Civilization V (Five).

Right, so @mauka has recommended iGPU specs according to aspyr (or more than adequate in real usage), but a puny dual core i5 which won't cut it for processing specs.
And you @jpietrzak8 don't have any mods yet, so you fail to understand the reference to Civ5-Huge maps mod, where the "Civ-5 Large" and "Civ-5 Huge" maps are added to the tiddly little default "large" & "huge" map sizes of Civ-6.

I would suggest that you at least try to keep up with what will work before you correct someone who has played civilisation since Civ1.
[doublepost=1483355577][/doublepost]

Good to hear! Civ V is one of my absolute favorite games, so I'm hoping VI will be a good sequel.

Right now, though, I'm in the unfortunate position of not having a Mac powerful enough to run VI (my latest Mac is a 2010 Mini), while at the same time having a machine powerful enough to run the game, but that one is a dedicated Linux box. It'll probably be years before a Linux port of VI is available...

Linux version is coming to steam after the "Aztec DLC for everyone" is released in late January, (90 days after PC launch).
I think Linux will get Civ 6 in time for the winter patch, or at least by the time I'm ready to get the steam version also.

 

[jpietrzak8]

Right, so @mauka has recommended iGPU specs according to aspyr (or more than adequate in real usage), but a puny dual core i5 which won't cut it for processing specs.

Sorry! I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining. But you were talking about a graphics card he didn't have.

Also, he already understood exactly that he was running the game on a machine that didn't meet the minimum specs. (Particularly since he posted the minimum specs himself.) So this was more a statement of what might work on sub-minimal spec machines, rather than a general question of how to get Civ 6 to work.

And you @jpietrzak8 don't have any mods yet, so you fail to understand the reference to Civ5-Huge maps mod, where the "Civ-5 Large" and "Civ-5 Huge" maps are added to the tiddly little default "large" & "huge" map sizes of Civ-6.

Indeed! I don't even have Civ 6 in the first place, as I don't have a machine on which to run it. (Which I think I did mention in my second post.)

I would suggest that you at least try to keep up with what will work before you correct someone who has played civilisation since Civ1.

Er, but I have played Civilization since Civ 1. (Well, at least up until this most recent release...)

Linux version is coming to steam after the "Aztec DLC for everyone" is released in late January, (90 days after PC launch).
I think Linux will get Civ 6 in time for the winter patch, or at least by the time I'm ready to get the steam version also.

Good to hear! I'll be waiting for it.

 

[Boyd01]

I had a 2012 Mini before the 2014, it was a base 2.3 dual core with HD3000 graphics

Something is wrong there, the base 2012 Mini has a 2.5ghz i5 and HD4000 graphics. http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i5-2.5-late-2012-specs.html

I think you actually had a 2011 base Mini, which had a 2.3ghz i5 and HD3000. http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i5-2.3-mid-2011-specs.html
[doublepost=1483373081][/doublepost]

@mauka is talking about a 2014 Mini with the maximum-speed CPU (2.8 GHz).

Just to nitpick, that is not the maximum CPU for the 2014 Mini, there is also a 3.0ghz model. http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-3.0-late-2014-specs.html

 

[mauka]

Aloha Boyd01 - you're right, I looked up my order and it was an i5 2.5 with HD4000 graphics.

That was my 2nd Mini, the one before that had an optical drive. I had an iMac for a few years as well. I really hope Apple gets it together and updates the Mini (and other computers), and stops removing ports and upgradeability.

I usually sell my Mac's with one year of Applecare remaining, which will be in March for my current mini. If there aren't Macs that interest I may keep this one or junp ship in 2017.

 

[sleconte]

Good to hear! Civ V is one of my absolute favorite games, so I'm hoping VI will be a good sequel.

Right now, though, I'm in the unfortunate position of not having a Mac powerful enough to run VI (my latest Mac is a 2010 Mini), while at the same time having a machine powerful enough to run the game, but that one is a dedicated Linux box. It'll probably be years before a Linux port of VI is available...

The good news is that Civ 5 runs just fine in Steam for Ubuntu - been into it a bit while off from work. I have too many titles in Steam already without needing to add Civ6 at full price Waiting, waiting.