Sid Meier's Civilization V
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Developers | |
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Firaxis Games | |
Publishers | |
2K Games | |
Release dates | |
Windows | September 21, 2010 |
macOS (OS X) | November 23, 2010 |
⤏ Go to series page | |
Sid Meier's Civilization | 1991 |
Freeciv (unofficial) | 1996 |
Sid Meier's Civilization II | 1996 |
Civilization II: Test of Time | 1999 |
Sid Meier's Civilization III | 2001 |
Sid Meier's Civilization IV | 2005 |
CivCity: Rome | 2006 |
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization | 2008 |
Sid Meier's Civilization V | 2010 |
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth | 2014 |
Sid Meier's Civilization VI | 2016 |
Sid Meier's Civilization VII | 2025 |
Key points
- Game is actively maintained by Firaxis, with periodic updates.
- Patches tend to introduce severe bugs into the game.
- The Mac OS X version is outsourced to a third party, causing periodic conflict and incompatibility with the Windows version.
General information
- 2K Games Forum - Official Civilization V Forum.
- Steam Forum - Older Steam forum for Civilization series.
- Steam Civilization V Discussion - New Community Discussions for Civilization V (Steam account required).
- Steam Workshop
- Steam Forum Troubleshooting Thread - Troubleshooting Guide for Windows Steam versions.
- CivFanatics very large Civilization community.
Availability
- All versions require Steam, including retail.
- There is a version sold in the Mac App Store called Campaign Edition. This is not compatible with retail or Steam DLC or expansions, and lacks online multiplayer.[1]
Gold Edition
- This is the recommended version of Civilization V, as it contains all current DLC except Brave New World and Scrambled Continents Map Pack.
Gold Edition Upgrade
- If one has Civilization V base game in the Steam account, then one can upgrade to Gold at a reduced price.
- The upgrade is not a store item, it can only be found on the Civilization V Steam Store page.
Game of The Year Edition
- Some outlets are still selling the less desirable Game of the Year Edition, which is a less complete package than the Gold Edition.
Included DLC | Not included DLC |
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Civilization and Scenario Pack: Mongolia (Free) Explorer's Map Pack Civilization and Scenario Pack: Denmark - The Vikings Civilization and Scenario Pack: Polynesia Double Civilization and Scenario Pack: Spain and Inca Cradle of Civilization: Mesopotamia Cradle of Civilization: Americas Cradle of Civilization: Asia Cradle of Civilization: Mediterranean Babylon |
Brave New World expansion Gods and Kings expansion Korea Wonders of The Ancient World DLC.[2] Scrambled Continents Map Pack |
Improvements
Mods
- Mods enhance and expand game content.
- The Mac OS X version does not officially support mods or Steam Workshop; see Civilization V Mac : Maps and Mods for manual installation instructions.
Steam Workshop and subscriptions
- The easiest way to find mods is to browse Steam Workshop.
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Manual mod installation
- Mods from other sources than Steam Workshop can be installed.
- CivFanatics is a good place to find mods not listed on Steam Workshop.
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Activating mods
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Miscellaneous
Improving waiting time between turns
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Increasing zoom level
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Game data
Configuration file location
Windows
OS X
Save game location
- Windows and OS X saves use the same format but the file names are different, so files must be renamed to switch operating systems.
Save game cloud syncing
Template:Save Game Cloud Syncing
Soundtrack locations
Video settings
Borderless fullscreen windowed
- Functioning using Borderless Windowed.[3]
- Mouse offset may be 15px off vertically.
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Input settings
Remapping
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Audio settings
Issues fixed
- In most cases, fixes and bugs apply for all versions, including Brave New World and Gods and Kings.
Basic troubleshooting
Many problems with the game can be fixed with these steps:
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Secondary installers
If Civilization V doesn't launch after installation, make sure the following programs are installed:
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Unable to run DirectX 11
If the DirectX 11 option is unavailable, try the following.
- Ensure Steam is not running in Compatibility Mode.
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- This may also be caused by out of date drivers.
- DirectX 10/11 Mode will not work on XP.
- Not all video cards are capable of running DirectX 10 or 11, even with Windows 7. Intel Core i3 integrated graphics do not support DirectX 11 Mode in Civilization V.
Steam Workshop issues
- Mods may disappear, or subscribed mods will not download. Deleting the mods database can resolve this.
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DLC troubleshooting
- DLC may not be available or installed after purchase.
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Game corruption
If for any reason, the game will not work and the other fixes here do not help, you have strange behavior in the game (such as a damaged interface/no interface), or the game suddenly begins crashing on loading a game, you may have problems with the database files, user settings, corrupted saves, or other damaged data files. These are stored in %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5
. Everything in this folder can be deleted, and will be regenerated the next time the game is run, using the original factory settings for the game, with the following exceptions:
- Saved games, logs, replays, or other user created data will be deleted unless a backup is made. This does not apply to Steam Cloud saves.
- User settings (config.ini, GraphicsSettingsDX11.ini or equivalent, UserSettings.ini) will be removed and replaced with the default settings. All preferences, including screen resolution, will be reset and need to be changed.
- All mods will be deleted. Steam Workshop mods will be redownloaded automatically, however mods from other sources will have to be reacquired.
Problems with files in the user folder are not checked by other troubleshooting means, for instance, verifying the game cache will overlook these files. Deleting the contents of this folder may correct many problems with the game. It should be done as a last resort, however.
You could also try deleting the contents of the %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\cache
folder first, followed by the .ini files listed above, if you wish to preserve your data.
Complete reinstallation
If none of the above work, do the following to reinstall the game:
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Video and graphics issues
- Many game problems are caused by outdated drivers. The latest patches are optimized around the newest drivers, and may not work with old drivers.
Stretched resources
Resources and other visual effects in the game can appear stretched out or create lines across the screen. This is caused by old video drivers.
Missing textures on Intel HD Graphics
Using recent drivers from Intel with Civilization V for Intel HD Graphics on DirectX 10 may cause problems with textures. The only current workarounds are playing in DirectX 9 mode, or downgrading to an older driver.
Issues with opening movies
If the game crashes to desktop or loads to a black screen, then there may be an incompatibility with the video files. Deleting the WMV video files from the Civilization V folder may allow the game to run, as the expense of losing the opening movies.
The video files for Civilization V are located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\sid meier's civilization v
. If you have Gods and Kings, you will also need to delete the videos from C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\sid meier's civilization v\Assets\DLC\Expansion
"N" Versions of Windows may not be compatible with the opening videos.
Issues with resolution (screen cutoff)
Sometimes after installing the game, the game resolution will be larger than the screen and parts of the game will be cut off. To fix this, go into options and change the game resolution. If you are unable to access the options, manually edit GraphicsSettingsDX9.ini
or GraphicsSettingsDX11.ini
(depending on which DirectX mode you use) in %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5
to the correct resolution (1024x768 Minimum).
Checkerboard patterns
- This can be caused by insufficient video memory. Try the following:
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Gray Tiles/Tiles Not Loading
- In recent patches, the way tiles were loaded during scrolling was changed. This can lead to slow loading times or an abundance of gray tiles on the screen after scrolling.
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Black Squares
- The screen may contain a number of black squares (not gray).
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Disappearing cursor
- Enabling pointer trails in Windows may cause the cursor to disappear or act strangely. Disable this feature while playing.
Black screen (anti aliasing issue)
- Enabling anti-aliasing on DirectX 11 mode may cause the game to turn black. It is recommended that you enabled anti-aliasing through your graphics software, and not the game. If antialiasing is enabled and this issue is present (causing the screen to be black), you can edit
GraphicsSettingsDX11.ini
to fix this.
Error messages
Nebuchadnezzar icon missing and error messages (Babylon DLC)
- The Babylon DLC might cause error messages to appear when selecting the civilization you wish to play with. Nebuchadnezzar's icon's will appear as red squares. To fix this issue, do the following:
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Texture errors
If you are getting several error messages saying "Terrain texture error" and "Texture load failed!" that mention a file with cerro_de_potosi in the name, this is caused by some old files from a previous version. [4]
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Performance and crashing
Crash after starting a new game
- The game may crash after starting a new game.
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Can't select units or end turn (EnableGameCoreThreading)
- If you have a delay in units responding, or the end turn button does not work, try the following:
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- This has been improved in the latest patch, but the problem still exists.
- Turning down graphics settings may also correct this.
Leaderhead crash
- The game may crash when meeting other leaders.
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Multiplayer
- The latest patch resolves most of the reported multiplayer bugs.
Multiplayer Games Dropping or Disconnecting During Play
Sometimes players will be dropped after a multiplayer match has progressed for several dozen turns or more. After reloading the game, the player will repeatedly disconnect. This problem can be caused by an insufficient MTU value on the network connection. Changing it before starting the multiplayer game can often fix the problem. To do so, enter the following in the command prompt:
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OS X and Windows version mismatch
The OS X version is not handled by Firaxis or 2K Games, so they only develop patches for Windows. Another company (Aspyr) handles the OS X version of the patches, after they have been released on Windows. As a result, OS X patches are released later than Windows patches. You cannot play multiplayer unless the versions match, so after a Windows update, you cannot play online against OS X until the OS X has also been patched.
Miscellaneous issues
Achievements not unlocking
- To unlock achievements, you must be playing single player with no mods enabled.
- Some achievements can only be unlocked in scenarios.[5]
Overheating
- Civilization V has been connected to overheating of graphics cards on some computers (especially high end graphics cards).
- Overheating symptoms include increased fan noise, graphical corruption, and computer freezes/automatic shutdowns. While there is no official fix, there are a few workaround for the issue.
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System requirements
Windows | ||
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Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | XP SP3 | Vista SP2/7 |
Processor (CPU) | ||
System memory (RAM) | ||
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 8 GB | |
Video card (GPU) | 256 MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT / nVidia GeForce 7900 GS video card, or Core i3 integrated graphics* | 512 MB ATI 4800/nVidia 9800 or better video card |
- Windows 8 supports touchscreen.
macOS (OS X) Minimum Recommended Operating system (OS) 10.6.4 Processor (CPU) System memory (RAM) Hard disk drive (HDD) 8 GB Video card (GPU) (ATI): Radeon HD 2600; (NVidia): GeForce 8600
256 MB of VRAM(ATI): Radeon HD 2600; (NVidia): GeForce 8600 or better
512 MB of VRAMReferences
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/civilization-v-campaign-edition/id439924718?mt=12
- ↑ http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2752375
- ↑ Tested by Andytizer.
- ↑ http://steamcommunity.com/app/8930/discussions/0/828933455499744502/#c828933455553714128
- ↑ http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2901641
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