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"Core 2 Duo" games on a Core Duo machine??

B

BetrayHeart

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 28, 2009
2
0
Hi there,
My first gen MBP exceeds all sys reqs for Civ IV Colonization (2 gigs ram, 2ghz cpu) EXCEPT it has a Core Duo processor, not a Core 2 Duo...Is there a chance this game will still function on my mac (even poorly would be okay ;)??? Any ideas would be great, I'm willing to order it if there's a chance it will work!
 
could you just buy it and if it doesn't work, return it to the shop?

I don't understand why a C2D is needed, as far as I know all they have over Core Duo is 64bit support. Maybe someone else has the answer to that
 
Games developers have a terrible habit of artificially tying down their game to configurations they like the look of. For example, consider the amount of games that simply stop working between 10.x upgrades, even though they could still run - but you're told that it's the wrong system. Often the same will happen with a processor they don't like, even though in practice the game could run just fine. :(
 
-Ryan- said:
Games developers have a terrible habit of artificially tying down their game to configurations they like the look of. For example, consider the amount of games that simply stop working between 10.x upgrades, even though they could still run - but you're told that it's the wrong system. Often the same will happen with a processor they don't like, even though in practice the game could run just fine. :(
Click to expand...

Now that's not true. With OSX there are so many driver and software updates that make it easier for developers. Take Snow Leopard, devs can make use of new OpenGL and CPU features built into OSX itself. Some options just wont work under older OSX versions.
On the PC side of things well, that doesn't happen very often. Software is developed for all systems with some requirements (CPU clockspeed, GPU pixel shader version etc).
 
BetrayHeart said:
Hi there,
My first gen MBP exceeds all sys reqs for Civ IV Colonization (2 gigs ram, 2ghz cpu) EXCEPT it has a Core Duo processor, not a Core 2 Duo...Is there a chance this game will still function on my mac (even poorly would be okay ;)??? Any ideas would be great, I'm willing to order it if there's a chance it will work!
Click to expand...

It will work. The same happened to me with COD4. Can't comfirm Civ IV though but I think the same will happen to you. My configuration was the same as yours.
 
BetrayHeart said:
Hi there,
My first gen MBP exceeds all sys reqs for Civ IV Colonization (2 gigs ram, 2ghz cpu) EXCEPT it has a Core Duo processor, not a Core 2 Duo...Is there a chance this game will still function on my mac (even poorly would be okay ;)??? Any ideas would be great, I'm willing to order it if there's a chance it will work!
Click to expand...

why would Civ 4 Colonization need more than normal old Civ 4 needed? I played the old civ 4 on a Core Duo 2ghz Macbook Pro just fine. Unlikely to be a CPU problem there... except that a Core Duo 2ghz is slower than a Core 2 Duo 2ghz.
 
raggedjimmi said:
Now that's not true. With OSX there are so many driver and software updates that make it easier for developers. Take Snow Leopard, devs can make use of new OpenGL and CPU features built into OSX itself. Some options just wont work under older OSX versions.
On the PC side of things well, that doesn't happen very often. Software is developed for all systems with some requirements (CPU clockspeed, GPU pixel shader version etc).
Click to expand...
In the 90s, games were made to 'just work'. They would at least try and run on any computer, regardless of whether it met the minimum or maximum requirements. However, today when a developer is making a game they sometimes go as far as literally writing clauses into an installer that won't even allow the game to be installed if it doesn't fit their seemingly arbitrary rules. Why not just allow the game to install anyway to see if it will work? :confused: I'm not talking about OS X in particular here (in fact, mainly about Windows seeing as that's where most games are from), but it's the same with applications on all platforms. It may or may not work, but why not let us try ourselves?
 
-Ryan- said:
In the 90s, games were made to 'just work'. They would at least try and run on any computer, regardless of whether it met the minimum or maximum requirements. However, today when a developer is making a game they sometimes go as far as literally writing clauses into an installer that won't even allow the game to be installed if it doesn't fit their seemingly arbitrary rules. Why not just allow the game to install anyway to see if it will work? :confused: I'm not talking about OS X in particular here (in fact, mainly about Windows seeing as that's where most games are from), but it's the same with applications on all platforms. It may or may not work, but why not let us try ourselves?
Click to expand...

Because they wont work. The only example I can think of in the PC market is Shattered Horizon - this requires DX10 so it wont run under DX9. Why? It uses technology only available in DX10.
There is so much supporting technology built into both OSX and DirectX now, it's nothing like the old days where developers had to hardcode everything. That would be near impossible to do now with the scale of modern games, which is why these technologies exist.

One of the reasons they don't let you install it (although to be fair, I've only ever seen this under OSX. Even games that would never work on my hardware can be easily installed) is because under no circumstances would it work.The library would refer to tech that isn't present on either the hardware of software.

They may seem it to you, but arbitrary rules they are not. As a developer myself I let people install my games even if they won't run. My most recent releases make use of the Pixel Shader 3.0 tech that is present in all modern cards, but using an older GPU the graphics would be horrible, as in black textures where PS 3.0 shaders are used. If a developer doesn't want you to see that they will stop you at the installation level.
 
Thanks everyone for your feedback. What a supportive community!! This gives me renewed confidence, and I am definitely willing to buy it now that there seems to be at least a chance it will work (can't return it if it doesn't though...in China, have to buy from gameagent unless I want to wait another 6 months)...Thanks again everyone :D
 
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