New Macbook Pro crashing when trying to play Civ VI - (GPU Crash?)

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youlovefuture wrote:

Subsequent digging through forums/reviews show this is a known issue. Many negative reviews in the App Store for the game state the same.

Seems you have discovered you are not alone which means you need to contact the developer/publisher of the game for support. It is not uncommon for games to cause graphical glitches or anomalies. It is one of the main problems people report regardless of the game or the hardware used. It may or may not indicate a hardware issue. Personally I don't really consider Macs suitable for higher end games.

To check for possible software issues you can post an EtreCheck report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper. You definitely want to minimize the number of third party drivers and apps that are active while you are gaming as they can easily interfere with a game. You can also run the Apple Diagnostics to look for hardware issues.

Dec 6 2020 Solution

Machine: 2020 iMac 3.3 GHz

OS: Big Sur

Civ 6 Ver 1.0.7.9

Issue: Civ 6 seems to be causing two types of crashes, 1.) a catastrophic crash requiring a hard shut down of the machine, 2.) a more minor game crash, which allows access to OS to force quit Civ 6 app. The first crash seems to be related to a GPU issue that Aspyr is aware of but has not fixed. I would experience the catastrophic crash every 20-30 minutes, even when running no other apps.

Solutions:

1. Put the app into low resolution mode. Close the app and Steam. Locate the app file through a Finder search looking for "Civilization VI" (the app is in the Library not the app folder). Right click app and choose Get Info. Check "Open in Low Resolution." This prevented most (but not all) catastrophic crashes for me.
2. Adjust display options in Civ 6. These worked for me: resolution 2560x1440, anti-aliasing: disabled, performance and memory impact: low. Advanced options: Frame limiter: 30 FPS. High Quality Visual Effects: Low.

It's unfortunate we can't take advantage of the Mac's 5k retina, but the game still looks fine and this allowed play without any crashes.

Hi, I have the exact same problem only I have a new iMac (August 2020). I raised an issue with Aspyr 25 days ago and followed it up but they never reply. I contacted 2k and they did reply but they gave me instructions for a PC user and have not replied to my request for Mac instructions, although this was only two days ago.

I have tried everything I can think of. I lowered the resolution, I upgraded the RAM by 32gb, changed the mouse to a non-bluetooth mouse and I have loaded the saved game onto my MacBook Pro, played a few turns without any issues, then saved the game and loaded it into my iMac only for it to crash after a few actions.

If I get a solution I will post it here for you.

I have this exact problem as well. Aspyr is hopeless, and I'm desperate. The only way to fix it that I know of is to downgrade to Mojave from Catalina. I tried it, and it works. But it's unfortunate that the OS seems to be at the center of it.

Thanks so much for that. It is not easy to downgrade to Mojave as I need to back everything up and then reinstall, so can I just ask: did you play Civilization VI through to the end of the game a few times? If I reach a point where the game keeps crashing, I can load it on my MacBook Pro and continue playing, and that has macOS Catalina.

I haven't completed a game yet since downgrading, but I've made it way further than I did without it crashing. With Catalina I would start crashing around turn 80, and it was pointless to play after that. With Mojave, I've had a couple of games past turn 200 now without any crashes.

I should note though that downgrading definitely has drawbacks. For example, you have to re-download all applications (as Catalina apps won't work on Mojave). Photos in particular doesn't work anymore, so your entire photo library is inaccessible unless you have a pretty competent understanding of how computers work.

I downgraded my old MBP (2014) that I wasn't using anymore and kept my new MBP (2020) with Catalina because the downgrade was too dramatic for my practical day-to-day use.

Thank you so much for your help. It was incredibly helpful. I think I will just have to wait until the develops sort the bug, but at least now I know what's wrong and that there's not a lot I can do unless I want to downgrade.

I have a 16in MBP and have the exact same issues. One of the issues beyond the crash that makes me have to restart the computer (or just Force quit the game and relaunch the finder) is how hot it makes the computer run. It will run hot and loud right off the bat. A solution for this is the change the frame rate in the game options to 30FPS or 20FPS. I didnt notice any change in the graphics at all and the games runs way way cooler. It will still run a little warm as it is using a decent amount of memory but it is much better now. That doesn't fix the GPU crash but it does deal with your overheating issue.

I have exactly this problem with identical graphics corruption. I have a long note in Evernote detailing all my experiences, things I've tried, interactions with Apple Support and Aspyr, screenshots, etc..

One relevant thing not mentioned here, that you may consider trying... You can setup Bootcamp and install Windows 10 in a separate partition using about 60GB of space. Install Steam and Civ VI there. This will work and the game will run very well. This is what I do. It does require rebooting to play the game, but considering that I usually sit down to play for a while, the reboot is a small time to wait.

I would like to note that even in Windows, Civ VI will have some minor graphics corruption. It's hardly noticeable, but it exists. This suggests to me there may be something more fundamental going on... like a problem in the design/build of the MacBook Pro discrete graphics.

Also, I played the open dev beta of Humankind on macOS in Steam and I believe I saw some similar graphics problems (i.e., similar to the Windows graphics problems) in this game also... but the open dev is over and I never had a chance to go back and verify it.

Oh... and Windows 10 can be used free. When unlicensed, some features are disabled, but nothing that affects game play other than a watermark in the bottom right suggesting activation after running Windows for 30 minutes. https://www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

I find this can be a good solution until the problem is fixed.

I installed Windows on my Mac. This is relevant because some graphics problems persist under Windows on the Macbook Pro. I believe there may be a fault in the design of the hardware (or a firmware bug). It's a guess. The problems are less severe under Windows on the Macbook Pro and limited to subtle artifacts in the rendering. I see the same subtle artifacts under macOS, but of course, eventually, Civ VI under macOS causes exactly the graphics "crash" in the screenshot at the top of this post.