The Civ Page

Microprose
Civilization

Macintosh Civilization

The FAQ for civilization is very PC-biased. This page is an effort to provide Macintosh users with useful information about Civilization and related games on the Mac.

Civ Related Software & Files

  • Instructions on how to use pc Civ 2 mods on the Mac.

  • The latest Microproseupdater takes your version of Civ to 1.1.

  • If you got lucky and purchased one of the final copies of Civ that were in stores, you got version 1.1.2. A kind soul sent me an update he created with ResCompare that will update 1.1 to 1.1.2. Note -- this is not a Microprose release, so use at your own risk. This updater includes lots of little fixes, including the addition of a dialog-box to warn you when your monitor is not set to 256 colors (which causes system crashes on some models).

  • Gavriel State's extension to allow Civ to run on System 7.5.2 and later, and Mike Byrne's FAT Binary version.

  • Dave Baum has written a cheat program that lets you add gold, settlers, and technology to any civilization in a saved game.

  • There are various ResEdit hacks you can make to the game (cheats and copy protection removal). I've taken them out of the Macintosh Game Hack and Patch List and put them in a separate file, but definitely check out the GHPL for all your copy-protection removal needs.

  • BoNfiRe has created some ResCompare patches that will implement various cheats and cracks to your Civilization application.

  • The next offering is some information I have assembled for cracking the saved game format. The Mac Civ Hacks collection contains:

    • Programs written by Dave Baum that pack and unpack the saved game into a resource that you can edit with ResEdit. He includes a basic file format description to get you started.
    • There is a file containing a USENET post with the PC saved file format. It's basically the same on the Mac, so this should prove useful to potential hackers.
    • The third item is a program I wrote that lets you change what level of difficulty you are playing at. I never tested it extensively, but it seems to work. And it is source code that you can use as a starting point for your own cheats.

  • I also tried making a program to let you change what civ you play, but it is very buggy -- it seems this data is stored in more than one location, and I'm only changing it in one of them. If anyone is interested in this program or the source code for this and my level changer program, email me at mark@lilback.com. This stuff is not for the inexperienced. The code is a Think C 7.0 project, and it uses TCL 1.1.3.

Civilization II News

Civilization II is shipping and working great! I must have for any gamer. If you're looking to use PC-mods with the Mac version, check out these instructions from one of programmers who worked on the game.

A demo version has been posted to the MacSoft site in both PowerPC and 68K versions.

The other big news is that MacSoft has the rights to redistribute the original version of Civilization for the Mac. Right now they are working on a few bug fixes (including the one that requires the CivHack Patch), and will hopefully have it on store shelves in a few months. It should be priced under $20.

All this news comes from a pretty high up source at MacSoft who I spoke with at MacWorld. He also told me that our letter writing campaign to Microprose is really what made the difference in getting Civ II on the Mac. He said Microprose was totally neutral about it, but the large quantity of mail they received convinced them that there was indeed a strong market for the game. Way to go 'netters!!!

For more info on Civ II, be sure to check out Romulo Romero's Civv II for the Mac page.

Availability of Civilization

How do you get a copy? Wait a month or so and you should be able to get it from MacSoft. Make sure to purchase it from a Mac-friendly retailer. My source told me that Circuit City has a problem with giving shelf-space to Mac games, so don't buy from them. Also, MacWarehouse is the only major mail order shop that won't work out a fair deal for game distribution. So I'd switch ordering to the others folks like MacMall, MacConnection, MacZone, and Cyberian Outpost.

Missing a file? Don't ask me to send you a copy. Wait a month and you'll be able to buy a new copy for a few bucks. And please buy it! Right now the Mac games market is in a questionable state because of the negative press about Apple. Go to your local retailer and buy both Civ and Civ II. The more copies sold means more games will be offered at local retailers, and the more games that will be produced.

I attended a conference at MacWorld on game development. Both the developers on the panel said that no one is making Mac-only games right now because of the uncertain market. We've really got to start buying more Mac-only or Mac-first games to show that there is still a huge market for them, no matter what the press might say about Apple.

Technical Support

System 7.5.2 and later have some problems running Civilization. Mainly, the game crashes. This is because of a error Apple introduced in the system software and has yet to fix (as of 7.5.5). However, Mike Byrne of Solar Systems Ltd. has created a FAT version of Gavriel State's an extension that fixes this bug and will let Civ run on newer versions of system software.

If you're having problems running Civ, here are some other things to try:

Playing CivNET on the Mac

CivNet is a Windows product, but it can be played on the Mac. I personally have a 6100 DOS compatible running Windows 95 that I use to play them. You can pick up a DOS card for a 61xx series PowerMac or Performa for $150 at MacMall. Yes it means going over to the dark side, but I'm willing to do it for Civ.

The other solution is SoftWindows from Insignia, or Virtual PC from Connectix. You'll need version 3.0 or later. This will cost around $300, and it is incredibly slow on a 66 MHz PPC 601. When I played the computer version of Avalon Hill's Civilization under SoftWindows, I'd find myself running to the store, watching a sitcom, cleaning the house, etc. while waiting for the computer to make its turn.

DOS cards also exist for other NuBUS and PCI Macintoshes, but are more expensive. Prices start at around $600, and you'll defiantly want to up the RAM to 16 MB.

This is all the Mac-specific information I know of related to Civilization. If you know of anything else, please let me know so I can add it to this page.