PLEASE: No Steamworks discussion here. There's already a thread for that. Let's try to keep this thread to gameplay.
Gamespot has some E3 coverage on Civ V. Some of it is still pretty thin, but I like what I'm seeing so far. Particularly now that there's a more visual look at how the one unit per hex & ranged combat systems will work (along with zone of control!), it seems like defending a border will be a lot more practical now.
Also some neat thingsa bout how the AI can react to units massing on the border, how city-states impact gameplay (such as the ability to join alliances with them, or liberate ones others conquered), and the replacement of annoying modal dialogs with notifications.
Any other thoughts?
In case nobody else has posted it, go here and see really excellent video play through summary of Civ 5. The text follows the video, so do either. Dang. I got sort of choked up near the end.
Just my two cents. This will be a great game. No doubt of this. Whether it is so on release is another question. I am going to download the FREE DEMO on the 21st and see if the Demo likes my machine and if I like the game. I think I will like the game and my rig is well over Recommended Specs, but ...
I do not forget that Civ 4 was really buggy on release. Or that it took two expansions and a patch level that reached 3.19 for BTS before it was stable. Of course, we all assume that Civ 5 will be flawless and bug free on release day, don't we? ... Not!
Of course, unless you pre-order you miss out on the Babylonian Civilization ... but eventually there will be a DLC that will probably include it down the line.
Don't get me wrong, Tridus. I really do like what I have seen of the game so far.
The hard decision for me was to decide whether I pre-order the boxed special edition (with artbook, CDs, DVD, figurines) or the online deluxe version (with Babylon). I bank on the fact that Babylon will be offered as DLC later. Can't buy two copies of the game.
I don't care so much for the combat. I love the city building and resources and such. I didn't see anything about that.
Here is a 13 min video with a little bit of everything in it.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilizationv/video/6275453/sid-meiers-civilization-v--video-walk-through?&tag=stitialclk%3Bgamespace#toggle_video
So far: what is see is a much improved/streamlined UI based on Civ Rev, and a new way to expand your influence. Mostly eye candy and the hex system.
Well I think that the one unit per tile combat system is going to have the biggest impact on gameplay by far. I'm not sure that anything else is all that dramatic, although there are a lot of little changes I approve of.
Fair enough, that's my favorite part of the game too. But maybe with the combat redone you will like that part of the game more. I think many of us would agree that Civ had great city building and discovery and all that, so that was the part least in the need of an overhaul. Meanwhile your always going to have to engage in combat, and the fact that it was your (and my) least favorite part of the game suggests it needed to be the main focus for improvement. Plus in some ways the fact that there is less emphasis on pumping out giant stacks of units if you want to have a chance of fending off an invasion may let you focus more on the economic part.
True. I am not going to even look at it until after the 1st or 2nd expansion. I am also pissed at the retarded DLC policy. Not because I am a fanboi or anything of the sort, but I am sticking with Elemental. I was really disappointed with Civ 4.
The civics system seems to have been greatly expanded and based on your culture. This seems to be a good development.
The old 'tech trading' system seems to have been negated as well, which is good, I think. But what I have not seen at all is any hint of how the actual research works? Is it much like it used to be or are they doing something weird there? That's kind of key to me, that it's not been 'streamlined' into obscurity.
The rest seems to be mostly slicker interface, terrain matters more (you could allways go around terrain with a stck of doom (TM) but now terrain seems to be more possible to use in defence and offence.)... also, cities can defend themselves, that's good, I think. Realistic, at least. I am probably getting Civ V. (One of the guys i play with ONLY plays Civ IV currently, he won't even try anything else.).
AFAIK the tech tree functions basically the same way (though with the usual rearranging). What's changed in research is that there's no research slider. Gold and beakers are now two seperate things, you don't turn one into the other.
To me accessible means there is not much of a learning curve which means there isn't much depth to the game. I don't care if I have to spend years learning the intricacies of the game, just for Sid's sake don't make it shallow! I DO NOT WANT a Civ that any casual gamer can "pick up and play" and win. I lost I don't know how many games of Civ 4 before I won one, and my ratio of wins to losses is low to this day.
I also own Civ Rev for my PS3, being a series fanatic and all. I can't lose that game, it's so easy. I play on the hardest difficulty and the same strategy works all the time, because every AI no matter what nation always does the same thing (that being, continually demand money or technology to not declare war on your for the next N turns). Yes even Gandhi comes after you. How to win every game? Refuse every demand and close every diplomacy window that appears. The AI actually needs your help to be any threat, so just starve them. Although it's fine to drain their gold by selling them ancient techs that can't threaten you (they always buy a tech they don't have, regardless of the cost or the situation). Oh, and sail your first ocean-worthy ship around to find Atlantis for the always game-winning (as in game-breaking) burst of free technologies. Yeah, once I was done getting the bust of every leader into my Hall of Wonders I never picked it up again.
So please we want a game with the depth and inaccessibility of Civ 4, and bring back the throne room mkay
That's interesting, I wonder what types of things generate research then.
From the video, I see a couple neat things in Civ V. Looks like you can spend culture to buy traits for your civilization, and I think that's pretty cool. That's like one of those "Why didn't I think of that before?" moments. Also, from one comment the narrator made, I think you might get a cultural bonus for being the first to sail a ship around the world. And if that's the case, that's...like...awesome.
I played Civ IV once, and no more. There went $49.99. Civ III I played a lot, but the problem with these civ games is that it simply takes TOO LONG to play. Some of us have simply too many real-life responsibilities for these length games. Games are supposed to relieve us of the stress of our everyday lives, but Civ expects to BE our everyday lives.
HA!!!
I was watching a live feed of a Civ 5 gameplay broadcast. 'Lo and behold.. a feature is broken. it works on one computer and not on another. The steam cloud feature doesn't work on everything. No game comes out perfectly.
Just sayin'
You guys do know that you can set Civ4 to play at different speeds right? Want a game that finishes in a couple hours? Play Quick, or even with advanced start.
Want a game that slows down growth and techs and everything? Play Marathon! (Or Epic is my sweet spot).
Want a game that speeds production of units but keeps buildings and techs slow? Make a simple mod yourself.
Want a fantasy setting? Play FFH2, or the Warhammer mod, or the Fire and Ice mod, or...
that's the cool thing about civ4 today, all the well developed and supported mods, so that even if you get bored of the base game you can try something completely different, yet still the same.
Then again if you just don't like the Civ series then you just don't like it, though why you bother to post in a thread about civ5 would be a good question.
When does this come out again? So very excited!
Next Tuesday.
There were some really neat things in there. I particularly liked how the fog of war adapts based on the terrain. He could see a hill that was outside his normal view, because they're easier to see (same with the volcano natural wonder).
Yeah definetly gonna try it ! I want to build lots of wonders once again
There's an interesting new podcast that talks about the AI and describes some of the unique civilzation bonuses, the transcript and video for it can be found at http://www.civilization5.com/#/community/podcast_transcript_8
The civilization bonuses seem pretty interesting and more relevent, with things like the Aztecs getting bonus culture everytime they defeat a unit and germans being able to recruit barbarians to join their armies.
The AI talk is interesting too, and sounds cool, but you always have to take AI talk from the developers with a certain grain of salt. Even Elemental was touted as having great AI before it was released.
Streaming Video Part 1
Streaming Video Part 2
Impressive to watch live, especially the game crash which will not be in the release version! Promise! Using a "brute of a machine" but specs nobody could seem to remember for some reason. hmmm ...
Exploring the landscape was visually much more interesting. The user interface is much better than I expected. The combat looks like it fits into the game in an entertaining way; and this is a good thing because I think there will be more combat than previous Civs, due to the presence if the city states and other reasons. Random events are out, there are volcanoes but they don't erupt, etc. No religion, but perhaps it can be modded back in. Probably the palace cannot be modded back in and I think they should have included that.
Overall, the live video stream increased my enthusiasm a bit. It will be a long time, like years, before Civ 5 attains the patch level and sophistication of Civ 4 BTS, but it provides a base game that should allow it to evolve far beyond Civ 4 BTS eventually. Visually this game is a real treat; which could have its downside.
Dark visions of a blast of hot air like unto a hair dryer blowing out the back of my computer continue to torment me. Even so, I feel an increasing urge to join the lemmings and pre-order. Steam is now pre-loading the game but it will not activate until the 21st.
Modding tools and what sounds like a save editor, possibly operating in the live game?, will be revealed on the official site this week.
What I saw in the game is that my machine won't be able to run it if I expect anything at all to look good. THey either need to find a way to optomize the graphics and reduce polygon counts, or we with slower machines have to turn everything down and the game loses almost all of it's shine. Which is why I am passing on this game for now.
There is a difference between "depth" and "unnecessary and tedious complexity of rules". Take, for example, the Asian game of Go. You can learn the rules in less than five minutes, and yet it offers more strategical depth than any other game that I know of. (And you'll never master it.)
I agree, though, that in video games terms, "accessible" usually is a marketing term that stands for "dumbed down".
The demo comes out on the 21st. Give that a try and see how it runs.
If someone asked me if the board game Settles of Catan is accessible, I would say yes. I mean yes it is fairly easy to pick-up and play, get into it during the first game. Is it an easy game to win... no, because there is strategy that shifts and changes, especially because of the random element. Accessible doesn't have to mean dumbed-down, but with the gaming industry, I wouldn't blame anyone for assuming the accessible is a bad thing.
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