Screenshot analysis!

[smartcanuck1988]

What is going on here in the ocean?

I think it's a glitch. It pops out of nowhere in Writing Bull video: https://youtu.be/t1VrQv4UO9U?t=14m42s (it will show up ~14:47 south of Manchester).

I don't understand German though. He shows a text saying it's an early game so I'm interpreting it as that he asked and they said it's a glitch.

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

What is going on here in the ocean?

Visual bug/glitch.

 

[Grumpbeard]

That makes more sense than lost city of Atlantis.

 

[Cerilis]

Either a bug or someone is showing off the art styles for the different aztecs city buildings.

 

[Wolle68]

I think it's a glitch. It pops out of nowhere in Writing Bull video: https://youtu.be/t1VrQv4UO9U?t=14m42s (it will show up ~14:47 south of Manchester).

I don't understand German though. He shows a text saying it's an early game so I'm interpreting it as that he asked and they said it's a glitch.

That's exactly what he says in German.

 

[EthelredFTL]

What is going on here in the ocean?

Bug


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Fourmi1]

Grapeshot... on a catapult? I hope this is just a WIP thing.

Why not, imo, by grapeshot, they mean "many little projectiles" as those which were used with onagers (the most similar siege weapon I know)... moreover, since there is no more trebuchet and it is supposed to be an upgrade for siege weapons, it fits perfectly with cannons (but I have to admit that no so perfect with bombard), artilleries (as shrapnel), and mobile rocket launcher (as Jeriko )

 

[moysturfurmer]

Some regally insightful shots of techs and policies in Marvozir's latest. Looks like all routes turn into railroads when you research railroads. And the chivalry policy suggests there are both light and heavy cav in the medieval renaissance and industrial eras. Detailed info about the two different museums. Some interesting colony-focused policies. On a tablet so I can't take screenshots.

 

[Krajzen]

Some regally insightful shots of techs and policies in Marvozir's latest. Looks like all routes turn into railroads when you research railroads.

How unrealistic! But lazy part of me loves that, building railroad network in big established empire was always such pain (even worse than roads themselves)

 

[Haggbart]

How unrealistic! But lazy part of me loves that, building railroad network in big established empire was always such pain (even worse than roads themselves)

Agreed. Maybe you should've been given the option to upgrade each route for a sum of gold, adding a tactical dimension. But via a menu, not by using units.

 

[kaspergm]

How utterly disappointing about the railroad upgrade being automatic. That is the wrong direction to take the game.

 

[Metecury]

How utterly disappointing about the railroad upgrade being automatic. That is the wrong direction to take the game.

It is the only way to avoid making it an overpriced tedious work as otherwise you would need builders to waste on all hexes containing roads to upgrade them.

 

[kaspergm]

It is the only way to avoid making it an overpriced tedious work as otherwise you would need builders to waste on all hexes containing roads to upgrade them.

It is most certainly not the only way around that. It could be done by the (military) engineer (which would be both logical and straightforward in terms of the game mechanism). Or it could cost some gold. Or be done by the builder without taking charges, like the repair action. There's a good range of options between "using a builder charge" and "happens automatically and instantly and for free".

 

[Hakan-i Cihan]

It is most certainly not the only way around that. It could be done by the (military) engineer (which would be both logical and straightforward in terms of the game mechanism). Or it could cost some gold. Or be done by the builder without taking charges, like the repair action. There's a good range of options between "using a builder charge" and "happens automatically and instantly and for free".

I would like it if the builder and/or the military engineer could improve roads to railroads without using charges but expending all movementpoints. There could be an additional gold cost for maintaining the railroads or once for improving it.

 

[Alphons Rodulfo]

If roads are automatically transformed to railroads for free there are two possible effects that come to mind:
1) Assuming only the roads on your territory get upgraded, you can no longer build railroads in enemy territory for rapid troop deployment.
2) The civ with the largest road network will benefit most from the free upgrade. So this change seems to benefit the expansionist civs more than the weak or tall civs. That seems an undesirable effect.

 

[Haig]

Would like to learn more about the colonial policies.

 

[Hakan-i Cihan]

If roads are automatically transformed to railroads for free there are two possible effects that come to mind:
1) Assuming only the roads on your territory get upgraded, you can no longer build railroads in enemy territory for rapid troop deployment.

If you mean a road to enemy territory through neutral territory, yes then you are correct. But roads/railroads in enemy territory didn't decrease movement cost, so if you meant that it would not be useful anyways.

 

[mitsho]

From an in-game standpoint, upgrading roads to have bridges (no costs of crossing rivers) has always been automatic. So to extend that to railroads has some continuity. While building railroads by hands makes intuitive sense and looks like logical action, one has to ask what benefit it really brings to gameplay. In civ2 when they reduced movement costs to zero, it was a clear gameplay benefit that required investment - see also airlifting units. In civ6 it seems to be just another reducement in movement cost (like bridges). On the other hand, upgrading them manually seems like tedious work and would require quite a lot of managing, even if they can minimize micromanagement (f.e. you most definitely would want the railroads on the same tiles as the roads, but you could imagine some short-cuts to mass-upgrading them). So yes, scrapping that (like the distinction between workers and workboats) in favour of less busy work in the later stages of the game seems logical. After all, each decision should matter, no?

 

[kaspergm]

While building railroads by hands makes intuitive sense and looks like logical action, one has to ask what benefit it really brings to gameplay.

For me, it's a question of investment balancing returns. If you want to upgrade quickly, you need to pump out a lot of whatever-units do the upgrade. If you only invest in a few units to do it, it'll take a long time. That's imo. a good way to offer the player something to consider. Plus having to upgrade them manually is a great way to limit a huge empire, which is both realistic and good for gameplay. In Civ5, it's a huge resource drain (both in terms of gold and in terms of worker allocation) to upgrade railroads when you have a super-wide empire, and the super-wide empire needs the railroads more than anybody. So I think that's a very good way to put a little challenge in the way for a wide empire.

 

[stealth_nsk]

Manual railroad construction is a very boring thing to do. On the other hand, fully automated construction looks like a wasted opportunity to me. I could imagine some really cool strategic choices behind.

For example, it may require builder charges, but bring a lot of bonuses for connected cities.

Or railroad may not require builder charges, but decrease the appeal rate of the tiles, for example.

Both approaches could be interesting. And I believe with so much time from the press build to release, the railroad could end up with something like this (considering reviewers understood about automated railroads completely).