now, don't get me wrong, I love the new Pirates but its part of a trend that puts so much emphasis on creating these pretty looking 3d environments and models that the game itself is weak...this works okay for a relatively simple game like pirates, but for a hard-core strategy game like Civilization game play MUST come first.

Please, please, please give us what WE want first, give us our canals, our new pollution systems, proper rivers, revised combat or whatever else is discussed in these forums BEFORE you turn it into a graphics juggernaut...seriously I wouldn't care at all if civ4 looked exactly like civ3 as long as it was a good game...although a slightly modernized, slightly more colorful interface would be nice...

I'd like the civ1 newspaper to come back and to make solutions to city-trading problems.

One thing that I think is obvious is that Civ IV will probably use the same graphics engine as Pirates!. Therefore, I think the style between the two will be similar, but probably not exactly the same.
As for the screenshots we have seen... they will surely be improved, and even made more unique and a little more different than those of Pirates! in the future.

I am hopeful that when we see the next screenshots, they will be somewhat different than the ones we have seen from PC Gamer, as they were probably a little old.

You never know.

I'd like the civ1 newspaper to come back and to make solutions to city-trading problems.
You know, that makes my nastalgic. :(

You know, that makes my nostalgic. :(

...and I loved the city screen and the advisors surrounding the leader when meeting him/her in Civ 1.

And I loved the advisors dressing different depending on your form of government! Communist advisors in grey and brown polyester suits, that was great! :)

Its possible for Civ4 to have good graphics and good gameplay. For example, Rome: total war looks good both on the in-battle screens but also the strategic map looks very good as well. Rome is also very influenced by civilisation.

Yes I'm getting very nostalgic of Civ games of the past now. I might have to boot up an old computer buried somewhere in storage to play Civ2 and play the advisor screens. You're a foul one Mr. Grinch!