How about a "Netbook Mode"?

[kinghajj]

I just purchased an Acer Aspire AO722, and I've managed to run Civ V fairly well at completely-minimal settings with the strategic view. I haven't gotten to the late game stage yet, so I don't know how long the end-of-turn times might take, but so far it's reasonable. It would be nice, however, if there were some way to automatically load into strategic view--in fact, a way to completely disable the normal view so that those textures/models wouldn't have to be loaded, thereby reducing memory. And the loading times should be faster, too, which is currently the worst part of playing on this machine (both loading the game and loading a save.)

[stethnorun]

Netbooks are not gaming machines. It would be the same as asking for a "wrist watch" version of Civ 5. I know some games have decided to include a "netbook mode" but that is way outside the norm.

[ShakaRob]

Netbooks are not gaming machines.

I'd love to see a lighter weight mode. For 2 reasons:

1. Not everyone can afford a PC that meets that minimum requirements Civ5 has, yet can afford Civ5. I myself have logged 400-500 hours of Civ5 time, though I am playing on a below-spec Intel Core 2 duo with 2GB RAM. I'm about a year away from having the $$$ to get a new snazzy i5 beast.

2. When I'm trapped in a lengthy yet useless meeting at work, would be fun to remote in (from work to home) with my iPad using LogMeIn, Jump Desktop, etc. and squeeze in "just a couple more turns". :) I haven't come across something I can use *outside* my home network yet that had a good experience, though when connected directly to my wireless WAN while at home the Splashtop app works quite nicely --- like when sitting on the porch and remote control playing Civ5 on the PC in the basement.

A leighter-weight version would be easier for me play Civ5

[stethnorun]

Sure, they could add in more options to "downgrade" the graphical experience. But attaching the words "netbook mode" to something like that would mean that they have to allow for most netbooks to run it. That's just not going to happen, nor should it. Civ 5 is a modern AAA game, not some indie 8-bit graphics game.

Sorry, but if you want to play in the big leagues, you need the hardware. If you can't afford a decent PC, there's Civ Rev on the consoles (and even handhelds), older Civ versions (Civ 2 should work on a netbook, no?) and CivWorld is coming. You have lots of options, but Civ 5 may not be one of them until you can save up for a decent PC (and I'm not even talking high end...a $500 PC should be able to run Civ 5 at medium settings just fine).

[kinghajj]

Fine, then call it "2D-only mode" or something else. The point is that I want to play the game without loading and storing unnecessary data. I have a gaming-capable machine, too, and I think I'd still like a mode like this because Civ V still takes a long time to load on that machine.

[sectoid]

Fine, then call it "2D-only mode" or something else. The point is that I want to play the game without loading and storing unnecessary data. I have a gaming-capable machine, too, and I think I'd still like a mode like this because Civ V still takes a long time to load on that machine.

If you want to play Civ with some low-end machine, why not play freeciv. Or civ 2 via emulator. Some might want to play Crysis 2 maxed out with ultra-high textures on their cellphone but thats not really possible is it?

[kinghajj]

If you want to play Civ with some low-end machine, why not play freeciv. Or civ 2 via emulator. Some might want to play Crysis 2 maxed out with ultra-high textures on their cellphone but thats not really possible is it?

...because Civ V is nothing like Civ 2 or Freeciv?! And your point about Crysis 2 misses that I only want the simple 2D strategic view to work well on netbooks; obviously the AI can't really be improved, so it will have to be slow on slower processors, but the memory for 3D graphics isn't strictly necessary to play and enjoy the game. So why not have an option to skip loading it?

[stethnorun]

...because Civ V is nothing like Civ 2 or Freeciv?! And your point about Crysis 2 misses that I only want the simple 2D strategic view to work well on netbooks; obviously the AI can't really be improved, so it will have to be slow on slower processors, but the memory for 3D graphics isn't strictly necessary to play and enjoy the game. So why not have an option to skip loading it?

Yeah seems reasonable. The only remaining aspect to all of this is priority. With so many things needing attention, unless this is a 5 minute "fix" (of course it isn't), I don't see this getting any amount of attention anytime soon, if ever.

[sectoid]

...because Civ V is nothing like Civ 2 or Freeciv?!

Ooh, u mad. I'm sorry.

But besides 1upt and hexagons, Freeciv and Civ2 are very much like Civ 5.. ;)

[lietkynes]

You can play awesome games on a netbook: if you like 1upt combat you can play UFO:Enemy Unknown, if you like Civ games you can play Alpha Centauri. Why would you want to play a modern game that is not designed for a netbook ? Civ5 belongs to PC.

[sectoid]

I dunno why he torpedoed my suggestion for FreeCiv so quickly. When I was working in a big office, we used to play FreeCiv all the time. It didnt even bother normal work too much cause we had no turn timer. If you were busy, you were busy and your turn could take hour or two. Great fun. And everyone could play without purchasing anything.

Ofcourse these games were mostly between techies (who do nothing but goof off) and helpdesk workers (goof off while talking to a customer). :)

[Strudo76]

... It would be nice, however, if there were some way to automatically load into strategic view--in fact, a way to completely disable the normal view so that those textures/models wouldn't have to be loaded, thereby reducing memory. And the loading times should be faster, too, which is currently the worst part of playing on this machine (both loading the game and loading a save.)


Yeah seems reasonable. The only remaining aspect to all of this is priority. With so many things needing attention, unless this is a 5 minute "fix" (of course it isn't), I don't see this getting any amount of attention anytime soon, if ever.

I think what the OP is asking for could be a 5 min fix actually. Add a ini file option that forces the game to start in strategy view mode, the thought being that if the game is started in strategy view, and never switched to the standard view, the textures for the standard view wouldn't be loaded. Whether the programming allows this with such an option is another story though, as it's unlikely the game would have been designed with this in mind. I guess if the textures are only loaded "on demand" then it could have the desired effect?

[Strudo76]

I dunno why he torpedoed my suggestion for FreeCiv so quickly.

I think it has something to do with the OP not wanting the play FreeCiv, but actually wanting to play Civ5.

[sectoid]

2D-strategic view was mentioned. Since I doubt there is ever going to be "Civ5 Lite" or such, I offered an option. Oh well I dont really care.

[ShakaRob]

?..why not play freeciv. Or civ 2 via emulator?

Civ5 (or Civ4 or that matter) is nothing like Civ 2 or FreeCiv.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Civ2 back in the day but welcomed Civ 3 when it came out and never looked back. Ditto for Civ 4. Civ 5 took some getting used to, but I've warmed up to it now to the point where I finally uninstalled Civ4/BTS. In none of these cases was it the graphics that wow'd me, it was the improved engine, AI and new twists on game play. In fact, it was some of the Civ 5 eye-candy instead of decent balance and a functionl AI that caused my initial not so great impression. The only thing I miss from Civ 2 is Gandi saying his words are backed with Nuclear weapons.

What I'd like and I think the OP would like to see is a graphics lite version. To me game play and graphics are two different things. No matter how pretty it is, if the engine blows then why play? If the engine rocks and the game concept us sound, I'm much more tolerant of unpolished graphics.