Civ4 is the best

[s.bernbaum]

I have a question that is pretty much off topic but has been brought to mind because several posters have used the term. What is a 4X game?

 

[Old Hippy]

^ I've been meaning to get into more mods lately myself. I've tired of the base game to SOME extent (although mostly, I've just been going through some surprisingly hellish caffeine withdrawal that has lasted much longer (weeks) than expected), so some mods might be refreshing.

Trust me, mild headaches and feeling crummy for 3 weeks isn't fun. So many days in a row sleeping 10-12 hours (IE just going to bed shortly after being done with work, or doing a vegetable impression for a few hours then bed) .

I gave up coffee 1 week ago, but just decided to limit myself to 1 a day,(maybe 2) and re the game... I just downloaded standard earth map 18 civs, historical locations and am running it with BAT... I think this is more or less standard game rules... should be fun and already I've noticed that even GP have different effects when settled, than some of the mods I've played recently

 

[AJ11]

I have a question that is pretty much off topic but has been brought to mind because several posters have used the term. What is a 4X game?

I don't normally use whackedoutpedia, but in this case, it does the job

"explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate."

 

[Lemon Merchant]

I gave up coffee 1 week ago, but just decided to limit myself to 1 a day,(maybe 2) and re the game... I just downloaded standard earth map 18 civs, historical locations and am running it with BAT... I think this is more or less standard game rules... should be fun and already I've noticed that even GP have different effects when settled, than some of the mods I've played recently

In standard BAT, there are no game changes whatsoever, because BAT is subject to the BUG Mod's Unaltered Gameplay Rule. If you're noticing different GP effects (other than visual), it's not due to BAT.

 

[Old Hippy]

In standard BAT, there are no game changes whatsoever, because BAT is subject to the BUG Mod's Unaltered Gameplay Rule. If you're noticing different GP effects (other than visual), it's not due to BAT.

No, not what i meant ... i down loaded BAT because I've been playing so many mods that i wanted to get back to basic game play... Bats very good by the way like your hints

 

[r_rolo1]

I never had issues with Civ4's UI, I'm now playing a lot of EU3 DW and that game has much more issues related to the UI than Civ4 ever had. Still, it's no Civ5, not by any chance.

Yup, EU3 UI makes the Civ IV one look shiny and new :/ But have no doubts, the civ IV UI has some serious flaws that do not show much because most people plays slowly enough to disregard them ( the " select the top element of the row after a selection, no matter what" is my favourite ) .

@ attackfighter

The issue is NOT the 3D. In fact the 3D engine in civ IV is seriously underused ( the engine alows various heights of terrain, SMAC style, for a quick and dirty example ) and, if you peruse the civ IV C&C forums you will easily find some mods that make the game far more efficient in that regard. The issue is sloppy coding ... that the previous and most likely later civ games also have in copious ammounts

 

[karadoc]

Civ4 is actually deliberately programmed to have a small delay after any move command - I suppose the point is to let you see the move animation and such before cycling to the next unit.

In K-Mod, I've added an option called Rapid Unit Cycling which disables this delay.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

The issue is sloppy coding ... that the previous and most likely later civ games also have in copious ammounts

I don't get WHY this continues to be an issue though. Not only does having a clear set of development criteria to avoid sloppy code prevent some of civ's greatest flaws, it should also cut down the total amount of time spent attempting to correct or (post release) patch the resulting errors from not doing it properly the first time.

I don't see how a well-run organization repeats the same error for over a decade.

 

[r_rolo1]

I don't see how a well-run organization repeats the same error for over a decade.

Probably because of what I call the Peter-Churchill law: in any human group, you will only get from the leadership/service providers the lower ammount of service that will not make you foam in rage and grab your pitchforks/vote with your feet In other words, Firaxis is being as sloppy as the fanbase and costumers allow while still paying for their product...

 

[uat2d]

Probably because of what I call the Peter-Churchill law: in any human group, you will only get from the leadership/service providers the lower ammount of service that will not make you foam in rage and grab your pitchforks/vote with your feet In other words, Firaxis is being as sloppy as the fanbase and costumers allow while still paying for their product...

Firaxis and everyone else!

 

[r_rolo1]

As we were only talking of Firaxis I opted to not generalise ...

 

[uat2d]

 

[TheMeInTeam]

As we were only talking of Firaxis I opted to not generalise ...

Most genres do not have the "best" titles in them fail so spectacularly. Take the "current best" in any other game genre of your choice, or even a middling game from other genres for that matter.

None of them are as sloppy. Maybe some middling RTS since that's not very big outside of sc2 right now...but TBS seems to have forgotten how to run, which is doubly obnoxious because in theory it should be LESS resource intensive.

 

[attackfighter]

Firaxis and everyone else!

No, FirAxis is one of the few "major" devs to do this. In fact I don't think I've ever played a game as laggy as Civ 4 or 5. The fact is, Sid Meier is just a corporate mascot who wants your money and doesn't care a single bit about quality control. All the money that you give to FirAxis goes towards marketing department, so they can trick sheeple into thinking they are pro developer when in reality they are a sleazy money grubbing thieves.

 

[AJ11]

Most genres do not have the "best" titles in them fail so spectacularly. Take the "current best" in any other game genre of your choice, or even a middling game from other genres for that matter.

None of them are as sloppy. Maybe some middling RTS since that's not very big outside of sc2 right now...but TBS seems to have forgotten how to run, which is doubly obnoxious because in theory it should be LESS resource intensive.

Dude...

Bethesda and Oblivion (and Star Trek Legacy)?

Wizards of the Coast and D&D 4.0?

Squarenix and FF11 through to 16?

Bioware and Dragon Age 2?

Whichever f-wit who owns the rights to Battletech/Mechwarrior and Mechwarrior: Dark Age?

EA and Ultima 9?

It seems that games companies have done nothing but thoroughly KILL their flagship games for the last 20 years...!

 

[attackfighter]

Dude...

Bethesda and Oblivion (and Star Trek Legacy)?

Wizards of the Coast and D&D 4.0?

Squarenix and FF11 through to 16?

Bioware and Dragon Age 2?

Whichever f-wit who owns the rights to Battletech/Mechwarrior and Mechwarrior: Dark Age?

EA and Ultima 9?

It seems that games companies have done nothing but thoroughly KILL their flagship games for the last 20 years...!

Actually Dragon Age 1 was Bioware's biggest fail. DA2 wasn't so bad in comparison.

As for Oblivion? That was declared GOTY 2005 and won 10/10 ratings on several sites. No one seemed to care that it was the worst thing since the holocaust, so you can't really blame Bethesda for it. Oh and don't forget Bethesda essentially killed the Fallout series as well

 

[TheMeInTeam]

It seems that games companies have done nothing but thoroughly KILL their flagship games for the last 20 years...!

I wouldn't for a second dare to suggest the titles you mentioned as flawless.

However, even in the notably buggy bethesda games when you press a direction on the controller/keyboard, the character goes that way! When you press a button to open inventory, it opens the inventory every time. When you cast a spell, it actually casts that spell. There might be all kinds of buggy problems, but failaxis put those buggy problems in their civ games AND managed to botch the controls...therefore they've sunk even lower .

 

[AJ11]

I wouldn't for a second dare to suggest the titles you mentioned as flawless.

However, even in the notably buggy bethesda games when you press a direction on the controller/keyboard, the character goes that way! When you press a button to open inventory, it opens the inventory every time. When you cast a spell, it actually casts that spell. There might be all kinds of buggy problems, but failaxis put those buggy problems in their civ games AND managed to botch the controls...therefore they've sunk even lower .

I know. I wasn't saying you are wrong. I am just saying that Firaxis is merely following a general trend in recent years of racing to the bottom in terms of game quality. They are merely ahead by a nose and a few whiskers.

By the way, if you really want to see a botched up job in terms of controls and general playability of the game, I suggest you take a look at Star Trek: Legacy. It makes Civ4 looks like a Rolls Royce. I kid you not.

 

[uat2d]

And then you have Call of Duty 4 and all the crap that followed it, I hear MW3 still has bugs from the 2007's COD4 days.

 

[Abegweit]

I don't know what S&T means, but K-Mod saves are not compatible with standard saves, sorry. There's a bit of extra information stored, such as some simple tactical memory for the AI, slightly different plot culture, and the state of global warming.

Is there a reason why you cannot load standard saves? I think that's all he wants.