They responded quickly to our questions and requests. With future games it may not take as long, but each game is unique. However, in places where there was a tight tie-in to the Windows API, the port was a real pain. When I got ready to install the pre-release version you sent me, I noticed that the game requires 400MB of disk space. Additionally, 43MB is a large footprint for a runtime binary from a Linux perspective.
Games are always hardware-intensive.
The rest is just as Activision designed it. The game is designed to run from a CD, but due to space limitations on the CD, it can't currently be run that way. The files on the CD are compressed and would have to be uncompressed on the CD to run from there. We have no release plans for a CD-based Civilization, but we are aware of the need for such features and will be looking into that possibility for future games. Civilization is truly a breakout product.