Solution for "Version mismatch" error for Mac users playing with PC users

[n0_spam]

"Version mismatch" error is caused by a newer version of game, introduced in November 2019. This update was only to Mac users, and now they can't play with their PC friends. The solution to the problem is to install previous version of ALL the packages (including DLCs). This post describes how to do this.

But first, some introduction:

A) This is based on the information about how to roll over older versions of a steam game, taken from here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1086279994

B) This is not going to work with 64 bit Mac OS, just 32 bits.

C) After downgrading you won’t be able to play with other Mac users, unless they also downgrade their game.

D) Here I assume you have all DLCs, and you need to replace all of them.


Now, lets continue with explanation on how to install downgraded version.

1. Type in your web browser
   
   steam://open/console
   
   and click on “Open link” to open console in your steam app
   
   
2. Copy-paste from here to the console the following commands to download previous version of the packages:
   
   
   download_depot 8930 34481 5711972141799136814
   
   download_depot 8930 34482 293951968877529027
   
   download_depot 8930 34483 3910588445040143320
   
   download_depot 8930 34484 9131316072741390333
   
   download_depot 8930 34485 1865183405869601470
   
   download_depot 8930 34486 6971270737631976614
   
   download_depot 8930 34487 4966216658623765073
   
   
   download_depot 8930 34490 606994205662565075
   
   download_depot 8930 34491 2047815699880579752
   
   download_depot 8930 34492 3311842813097187638
   
   download_depot 8930 34493 1148476131207894920
   
   
   download_depot 8930 34494 893561351379836699
   
   download_depot 8930 34495 576095814009008786
   
   download_depot 8930 34496 4022289502817061773
   
   download_depot 8930 34497 8892530755683233694
   
   download_depot 8930 34498 2865804471296023531
   
   
   download_depot 8930 102000 1870263936259062326
   
   download_depot 8930 102001 9221941862915432283
   
   download_depot 8930 102002 965961373928029358
   
   download_depot 8930 102003 4151764525658255518
   
   
   download_depot 8930 210450 6264361000315827028
   
   download_depot 8930 210451 2973148354856561592
   
   download_depot 8930 235582 1533069807487939850
   
   download_depot 8930 235583 7031001621577176910
   
   download_depot 8930 235587 6614670000834743471
   
   
   download_depot 8930 235588 2007573375151766257
   
   download_depot 8930 266721 929701703085505943
   
   
   This might take a while (an hour or so, depending on internet speed) to download all the packages. You can check if the downloading still going on by clicking on “Downloads” button on the bottom of the console window
   
   
3. Now you need to locate your Civ5 folder, as well as the folder where downloaded packages went to. In normal installation the game is siting here:
   
   ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Sid Meier's Civilization V
   
   and downloads are here:
   
   ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/Steam.AppBundle/Steam/Contents/MacOS/steamapps/content/app_8930
   
   but this might vary. (Here ~/ stands for home folder, like /Users/$MyUserName)
   
   
4. Now you need to copy downloaded packages to the civ5 folder. The trick is to make it correctly, keeping all package connections together. I used rsync command with X11 terminal (you can use other terminal, if you prefer)
   
   But first you need to exit civ5 and steam
   
   So, I typed:
   
   
   rsync -av ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/Steam.AppBundle/Steam/Contents/MacOS/steamapps/content/app_8930/dep*/Civilization\ V.app/* ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Sid\ Meier\'s\ Civilization\ V/Civilization\ V.app/
   
   
   
5. Just in case, to avoid new updates, you should modify appmaifest file for Civ5. In my case the file sits in
   
   ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/appmanifest_8930.acf
   
   You need to open this file in an editor and change "StateFlags" parameter to “4”.
   
   
6. Thats it! Try to run the game and enjoy playing with your PC user friends.

If you have difficulties, I can try to help you figure out the problem.

Good luck!


P.S. Fixed rsync command in step 4.

[Bureaucrat]

How do you manually merge the depots?

[Runkies]

open one depot folder drag the Civ V.app some where.
Right click show package contents

then open the next depot folder in another window
show package contents again, and drag and drop the contents into the first one.
when it asks click merge.

repeat until all depots have been done.

once thats done replace the civ.app in your steam folder with the new one you made and launch civ through steam as normal

[VVizard]

ok, did that. It loads the older version but right after the intro I get "texture load error" and it quits. Please, help.

[Bureaucrat]

When I drag the files onto each other I don't get the option to merge, just to replace.

[Runkies]

引用自 Hemmingstedt：

When I drag the files onto each other I don't get the option to merge, just to replace.

you dragging the folder called "Contents" from inside the Civilization V.app ?

[Bureaucrat]

Yeah

[Dojo Kanojo Cho]

The mods ought to pin this to the top of the Discussion board as this problem is super common with Civ 5 Mac users.

Thank you for making this guide!

[scullay]

Hi, thank you so much for making this, I've desperately been trying to find a fix. I'm not super tech savvy though and some of the downloads didn't work correctly -- "download_depot 8930 34482 293951968877529027", "download_depot 8930 210451 2973148354856561592", and "download_depot 8930 235583 7031001621577176910" said "Manifest Not Available". I also got the error message "Missing License" for "download_depot 8930 235587 6614670000834743471" and "download_depot 8930 235588 2007573375151766257". Will this affect how the rest of the process will go once I try to merge everything?

[Runkies]

引用自 scullay：

Hi, thank you so much for making this, I've desperately been trying to find a fix. I'm not super tech savvy though and some of the downloads didn't work correctly -- "download_depot 8930 34482 293951968877529027", "download_depot 8930 210451 2973148354856561592", and "download_depot 8930 235583 7031001621577176910" said "Manifest Not Available". I also got the error message "Missing License" for "download_depot 8930 235587 6614670000834743471" and "download_depot 8930 235588 2007573375151766257". Will this affect how the rest of the process will go once I try to merge everything?

missing licence usually means you dont own that specific DLC
not sure about the other ones

[Stefan]

When Hitler found out that cross-platform was gone...

https://youtu.be/6OfgIA8OKV0

[alex.underwood]

Hello! Thanks for this, I feel I am getting close to fixing it. I ran through everything in the OP - all the locations were the same for me, so I just had to copy & paste the commands.

I have found, however, that when at the Civ V splash screen thing, there is no Launch/Play icon. Could the auto-update that I interrupted be responsible for this?

[Stefman]

I'm trying this out because the legacy beta has been really glitchy for me. I'm just have trouble with the X11 terminal rsync. I'm trying to type in what you said but syntax error keeps showing up. Does this still work or am I just wasting my time?

[wpazzurri]

Hello! G&K is the only DLC causing me problems - could you please let me know which of the above links is the G&K-specific one, so I could try just fixing that one? Everything else works fine, so I don't want to mess with them by downloading every package.

[Argurion]

Is this fix working for anyone aside from the author at this point? I'm not seeing a lot of success stories in the discussion, but I'm eager for a proven solution.

[Bureaucrat]

Personally it didn't work for me at all and I just built a PC. So the answer is sadly no I think.