General information
- PC Report - Sid Meier's Civilzation V on Linux
- 2K Games Forum - Official Civilization V forum.
- Steam Community Discussions
- Steam Workshop
- Steam Forum Troubleshooting Thread - Troubleshooting Guide for Windows version.
- CivFanatics very large Civilization community.
Availability
- All Windows and Linux versions require Steam DRM.
Version differences
- The Campaign Edition does not support online play; LAN multiplayer can work with other Mac App Store versions, or with the Steam version, if they are the same version. However, they are often updated at different times, so it can be months before they get the same update and are compatible.
- The Complete Edition includes all DLC.
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
Gods and Kings |
|
|
Brave New World |
|
|
Wonders of the Ancient World |
|
|
Explorer's Map Pack |
|
|
Civilization and Scenario Pack: The Vikings |
|
|
Civilization and Scenario Pack: Polynesia |
|
|
Civilization and Scenario Pack: Mongols |
|
|
Civilization and Scenario Pack: Korea |
|
|
Civilization and Scenario Pack: Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar II) |
|
|
Double Civilization and Scenario Pack: Spain and Inca |
|
|
Cradle of Civilization: Mesopotamia |
|
|
Cradle of Civilization: Americas |
|
|
Cradle of Civilization: Asia |
|
|
Cradle of Civilization: Mediterranean |
|
|
Scrambled Nations Map Pack |
|
|
Scrambled Continents Map Pack |
|
|
Essential improvements
Mods
- Mods are available through multiple distribution channels. Easily accessible through the Steam Workshop, as well as manually installable. Popular sources include CivFanatics.
- You must activate a mod after installing in order to make it work. To do so, enter the Mods menu and tick the checkbox next to the mods you want to activate.
Manual mod installation[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Copy the mod into the
Mods/ folder here.
- Activate the mod in the game.
Notes
- If the Mod Database is corrupted or deleted, any manual mods will be deleted.
|
Increasing the zoom level
Manually edit config.ini[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
config.ini .
- Find and edit:
Minimum Zoom Level = 11.000000
- Save changes.
Notes
- Changing the variable to a lower level will make you able to zoom in closer.
|
Skip launcher
Skipping new launcher[1][2]
|
- Right-click on Civilization V in your Steam Library.
- Select Properties -> Set Launch Options....
- Enter
"<path-to-game>\CivilizationV.exe" %command% , "<path-to-game>\CivilizationV_DX11.exe" %command% or "<path-to-game>\CivilizationV_Tablet.exe" %command% to launch in their respective modes.
- Confirm changes by pressing OK.
Notes
- The path ending in
CivilizationV_Tablet.exe will launch the game in Touch Enabled mode on Windows 8 and later.
|
Skipping old launcher[citation needed]
|
- Right-click on Civilization V in your Steam Library.
- Select Properties -> Set Launch Options....
- Enter
\dx9 , \dx11 or \win8 to launch in their respective modes.
- Confirm changes by pressing OK.
Notes
-
\win8 will launch the game in Touch Enabled mode on Windows 8 and later.
|
Skip intro videos
Delete/rename video files[3][4]
|
- Go to the installation folder.
- Delete the file(s) starting with
Civ5_Opening_Movie
- Go to
<path-to-game>/Assets/DLC/Expansion (if present) and delete the file starting with Civ5XP_Opening_Movie .
- Go to
<path-to-game>/Assets/DLC/Expansion2 (if present) and delete the file starting with Civ5XP2_Opening_Movie .
- Optionally, skip the legal screen as well.
Notes
-
Expansion is the Gods and Kings DLC; Expansion2 is the Brave New World DLC. These are only present if the DLC is installed.
- File names and formats vary based on the game language and operating system (
.ogv for Windows, .mov for OS X and Linux).
|
Skip legal screen
Skipping legal screen[citation needed]
|
- Open
<path-to-game>/Assets/UI/FrontEnd/FrontEnd.lua with a text editor.
- Find line
UIManager:QueuePopup( Controls.LegalScreen, PopupPriority.LegalScreen );
- Replace it with
-- UIManager:QueuePopup( Controls.LegalScreen, PopupPriority.LegalScreen ); .
- Save the file.
|
Skip mods warning
Skipping mods warning[citation needed]
|
1. Open <path-to-game>\Assets\UI\FrontEnd\Modding\EULA.lua with a text editor.
2. Find lines:
--if(not isHide and g_QueueEulaToHide) then
-- NavigateBack();
--end
3. Replace them with:
if not isHide then
NavigateForward();
end
4. Save the file.
|
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System |
Location |
Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\ |
macOS (OS X) |
~/Documents/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/ |
Linux |
$XDG_DATA_HOME/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/ |
- This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.
- The configuration can be found in
config.ini
.
- User preferences can be found in
UserSettings.ini
.
- Graphical settings for DX9 mode can be found in
GraphicsSettingsDX9.ini
.
- Graphical settings for DX11 mode can be found in
GraphicsSettingsDX11.ini
.
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\Saves\ |
macOS (OS X) |
~/Documents/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/Saves/ |
Linux |
$XDG_DATA_HOME/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/Saves/ |
Steam |
<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/8930/ |
- Save files are differently named for each OS, but are compatible when saved with the same version. To use them, you will need to rename them.
System |
Native |
Notes |
OneDrive |
|
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
Steam Cloud |
|
Only 10 saves can be synced. Select "Steam Cloud" in the Save menu to access. |
Video
- Requires a resolution at least 768 pixels tall.
- Direct3D 11 graphical features, including anti-aliasing, are not available in the OS X and Linux versions of the game.
- Functioning using Borderless Gaming.[6]
- Mouse offset may be 15px off vertically.
Change resolution[7]
|
- Change resolution to any other than the current one.
- Click "Apply Resolution". When it asks if you want to keep this resolution, click "No" (This is quicker than manually switching resolution back and forth as was previously advised)
- Screen should be stretched correctly, and hitboxes aligned.
Notes
- May function if you disable always-on-top.
|
Input
Edit CIV5Controls.xml[8]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>/Assets/Gameplay/XML/Units/
- Open
CIV5Controls.xml .
- Change the controls to match your preference.
- Save changes.
|
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Music, SFX, ambience and speech. |
Surround sound |
|
|
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
|
|
|
Traditional Chinese |
|
|
|
Windows-only. |
French |
|
|
|
|
German |
|
|
|
|
Hungarian |
|
|
|
Fan translation. |
Italian |
|
|
|
|
Japanese |
|
|
|
Windows-only. |
Korean |
|
|
|
Windows-only. |
Polish |
|
|
|
Windows-only. |
Russian |
|
|
|
Windows-only. |
Spanish |
|
|
|
|
VR support
Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
53, 80, 1745, 1795, 3074 |
UDP |
53, 88, 1745, 1795, 3064, 3074 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
VR support
Issues fixed
General
Mods disappear, fail to download
Clear the Mod Database[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Go to
cache/
- Delete or rename
Civ5ModsDatabase.db .
- Restart the game, go to the Mods menu, and allow the mods to reinstall.
|
Game corruption
- This may be caused by database files and user settings becoming damaged.
Remove user settings[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Remove
cache/ , Logs/ , ModUserData/ , Text/ and all *.ini files.
|
Checkerboard patterns
Decrease MaxSimultaneousThreads[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
config.ini .
- Halve the value of
MaxSimultaneousThreads (e.g., if it is 8, change it to 4).
|
Gray tiles, tiles not loading
Enable MinimizeGrayTiles[10]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open the configuration file for your graphical mode (DX9/DX11).
- Change the value of
MinimizeGrayTiles = 0 to MinimizeGrayTiles = 1
|
Crash after starting a new game
- This is particularly important on DirectX 9 or graphics cards with low memory.
Fog of War Crash Fix[11]
|
- In the video settings, change Fog of War to low.
|
Can't select units or end turn
- If you have a delay in units responding, or the end turn button does not work, try the following:
Disable EnableGameCoreThreading[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
config.ini .
- Set
EnableGameCoreThreading to 0 .
Notes
- 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.
Change Leaderhead Quality[citation needed]
|
- From the main menu, go to options.
- Go to video settings.
- Change Leader Scene Quality to low.
- Leaders will not be animated.
|
Disable Leaderheads[citation needed]
|
- Open
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\config.ini
- Change
LeaderHead = 0 to LeaderHead = 1 .
- Save your changes.
- Leader screens will be blank.
|
Restore the original launcher
Restore the original launcher[citation needed]
|
- Right-click on Civilization V in your Steam Library.
- Select Properties -> Set Launch Options....
- Enter
"<path-to-game>\Launcher.exe" %command% .
- Confirm changes by pressing OK.
Notes
- The original method of restoring the launcher using a Steam beta access code discussed on reddit[12] is no longer valid and cannot be used to restore the original launcher. The original launcher is still included in the files, so the code is unnecessary.
|
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:
Set network MTU value[citation needed]
|
- Open Windows command prompt (⊞ Win+R and type
cmd )
- Enter the command
set subinterface "Local Area Connection" mtu=1500 store=persistent . Replace Local Area Connection with the name of your network connection (e.g. Wireless Network Connection if you are on wireless)
|
Windows and macOS version mismatch
The macOS version is not handled by Firaxis or 2K Games, so they only develop patches for Windows. Another company (Aspyr) handles the macOS version of the patches, after they have been released on Windows. As a result, macOS 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 macOS until the macOS has also been patched, and vice versa.
Since the launch of macOS Catalina, the macOS version has been updated to 64-bit only, disabling cross-play[13].
Restore local and online cross-play between Mac and Windows since the 64-bit Catalina OS update[14]
|
- Right-click on Civilization V in your Steam Library.
- Select Properties -> Betas.
- Enter
ineedlegacyaccess .
- Confirm by pressing Verify code.
- Select legacy- Beta.
- Wait for the new files to automatically download in your library.
|
- Running at least previous Mac OS Mojave is necessary to make it work as OS Catalina doesn't run 32-bit applications.
- Disabling the "Gods and Kings" DLC in the Multiplayer Lobby's Options could help if the game crashes after launch.
Windows
Unable to run DirectX 11
If the DirectX 11 option is unavailable, try the following.
- Ensure Steam is not running in Compatibility Mode.
Disabling Compatibility Mode[citation needed]
|
- Quit out of Steam.
- Right-click on the Steam.exe application (found in the Steam installation folder) and select "Properties", then select the "Compatibility" tab.
- At the bottom of this tab is a button called "Change Settings for All Users". Click it.
- Make sure Compatibility Mode is unchecked.
- Relaunch Steam.
|
- 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.
Crash and BSOD with DX11 fullscreen on laptops
On some old laptops with a combination of Intel integrated graphics and a pre-GCN AMD GPU, the game will fail to start in DX11 mode if fullscreen is enabled. Such a crash also corrupts some of the internal state of the AMD driver, resulting in a BSOD if you try to start the game a second time, or activate the AMD GPU in any way. The system regains stability upon reboot. This is likely a bug in the AMD driver that will never be fixed due to the end of support for these old GPUs.
Workarounds:
- Use DX9
- Edit GraphicsSettingsDX11.ini and set FullScreen = 0. You may want to use borderless windowed.
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.
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%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5
to the correct resolution (1024x768 Minimum).
Virtu MVP
If the game does not run, or will not start most of the time, and nothing else seems to fix the problem, Virtu MVP might be causing the issue. Try unchecking Civ 5 DirectX 9 and Civ 5 DirectX 10/11 in the Virtu MVP control panel.
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 the installation folder. If you have Gods and Kings, you will also need to delete the videos from <path-to-game>\Assets\DLC\Expansion
"N" Versions of Windows may not be compatible with the opening videos.
Linux
Audio stuttering
To fix the audio stuttering when using PulseAudio just follow this guide:
Setting the default fragment number and buffer size in PulseAudio
If the issue persists, close the game, run pulseaudio -k and start the game again.
Game crashes on launch
If your game crashes immediately after launching it you can try changing your launch options to:
LD_PRELOAD='./libcxxrt.so:/usr/$LIB/libstdc++.so.6' %command%
or:
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libopenal.so.1 %command%
Game crashes randomly on some Ryzen CPUs
If your game crashes to desktop randomly while in game with a Ryzen CPU, modifying the MaxSimultaneousThreads setting in your config.ini file can fix this issue.
~/.local/share/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/config.ini
For 8 core Ryzens, setting MaxSimultaneousThreads to 16 can fix the issue.
MaxSimultaneousThreads = 16
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9, 11 |
|
OpenGL |
3.3 |
OS X and Linux only. |
Shader Model support |
3, 5 |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
macOS (OS X) | |
|
This game is not supported on volumes formatted as Mac OS Extended (Case Sensitive). Support for 64-bit was added in November 2019. |
Linux | |
|
|
Middleware
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP SP3, Vista SP2, 7 |
Vista SP2, 7 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon X2 64 2.0 GHz |
1.8 GHz Quad Core |
System memory (RAM) |
2 GB |
4 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
8 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS Intel Core i3 integrated graphics 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible
| ATI Radeon HD 4800 Nvidia GeForce 9800 512 MB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible |
Sound (audio device) |
DirectX 9.0c compatible | |
macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
10.12 | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz
| Intel Quad Core 2.4 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
2 GB |
4 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
8 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Nvidia GeForce 8600 Intel HD 4000 256 MB of VRAM
| 1 GB of VRAM |
Linux |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
SteamOS, Ubuntu |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core i3 2.4 GHz AMD A10 2.4 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
4 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
10 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce GT 640M AMD Radeon HD 6450 Intel Iris Pro 1 GB of VRAM |
- Ubuntu and other distributions of Linux should be compatible with the game, albeit this isn't guaranteeed.
- Intel Integrated video chipsets (GMA 9XX, HD 3XXX) are officially unsupported with SteamOS and Linux, although they might work anyway.
References