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I most certainly do not work for Paradox or AGEOD. I am not a beta tester either. There is no motive of any kind on my part except that I think that AGEOD is one of the "good guys" and deserves the exposure. A small gaming company that still makes quality games and genuinely cares about their customers. Something that Firaxis seems to have forgotten in their quest to go mass market/casual.
I see you are fixated on the graphics.
Strong disaffection with the game doesn't require ulterior motives.
I can't think of a more staggering display of incompetence in a recent big-budget title, the state it shipped in shouldn't have entered testing. The way happiness worked didn't so much allow an exploit as it was fundamentally broken, and ANY serious mathematically-inclined player should have noticed this straight away.
A traditional strategy game that is designed by people who don't think like serious, mathematically inclined players is bound to suck (which unfortunately doesn't necessarily equal commercial failure).
Yes, that problem was easily fixed while others still plague the game... but it was a very telling one because it was so basic and yet so crippling. Like building a car without brakes. Even if the obvious is fixed later, it means someone wasn't thinking initially and nobody was doing meaningful testing of a pre-production model.
If serious testing had taken place, this would have overshadowed the hundreds or thousands of minor issues that should be smoothed out before releasing version 1.0. Now it's too late unless we get a decent-sized team together to rework the flawed system for something like a full-sized expansion pack or a total conversion.
Civ5 gives the strong impression of being made by people who don't understand games or at least doesn't care about them. Lots and lots of clicks per meaningful choice, a fragile combat that needs to be propped up by systematically butchering everything else, lazy forumspeak in official game terms...
there are worse games, but few that were as disappointing.
Anyway, as bad as the game was, it has opened my eyes to new game companies that I had never heard of before [...] In that way, there is a silver lining at least.
Although I had my doubts about the gameplay (1upt made me wonder 'How the heck are they going to pull this off well?'), it was the marketing decisions that saved me from buying it immediately. I'm generally quite the sucker for limited editions as well.
But Steam requirement, pre-order bonuses and non-transparent plans for DLC right from the start -> 'I'm going to wait until I get a deal that won't make me feel milked like a cow'.
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Civ5 is't an isolated case, mainstream gaming is becoming worse about the same way Hollywood did when everything needed to be a blockbuster. Fortunately, indie developers give us some fresh air and niche developers still take fans of their genre seriously.
Yes, there does appear to be quite a vibrant "PC game only" niche of developers out there who do not require Steam, develope for X-Box or Nintendo, nor would stoop down to the level of Facebook gaming. I would agree that the direction some game companies are following has had the effect of making one examine and more competetively compare the products of other PC game developers. All in all, that's probably not a bad thing for consumers to do and I feel that I've personally been better off for it and made a few recent PC game purchases as a result.
Here's my rant.
I'm getting that urge to play Civilization again. But which one? I don't want to play 4 mainly because the graphics are ugly and dated. I also don't want to play because there is a specific way I play all of my games and I never deviate from that path.
I don't want to play 5 because it is a steaming pile of crap. The thing that pisses me off the most about 5 is the OVERWHELMING feeling of "encumbrance". Playing this game is not enjoyable because they put so much crap on your shoulders that weighs you down and prevents you from actually having a good time.
I want to play a classic Epic style game, but in 5, all Epic means is turns are multiplied by 5. Sure you have 5 times longer to play, but it also takes 5 times longer to build anything!
I want to build a Civilization that is robust and prosperous. Truly, a Civ where "the sun never sets". Sorry, after more than 4 cities it will become impossible to maintain happiness and you will never unlock another social policy. Lesson learned? Build fewer cities. Have a small empire. Is THIS the game we all know and love??
I want to build a huge army. Sorry, everything in this game costs an insane amount of money (even the roads). No money to support a large army. Better just have 1 experienced unit that you send everywhere. Furthermore, 1 unit per hex makes it so impossible and frustrating to move more than 1 unit around at a time that I'm not even going to bother.
I want to launch a huge attack on an enemy that occupies another continent with a massive sea borne assault. Sorry, the RIDICULOUS embarkation system in this game coupled with 1 upt makes that so frustrating that it's a logistical nightmare. Furthermore, why risk losing all my units it took 40 turns each to build to an errant pirate ship? Since all pre industrial naval units have a line of sight of no more than, what 2 tiles, it's impossible to protect your units. It can also take 3-4 turns to destroy an enemy ship. And in each turn they can destroy one of your units that it took 40 turns to build!
Simply put, this game is so much work (and frustrating) that it's simply not fun to play. Hopefully I can pick up a copy of BTS.
... and then try the many mods ... you can even play Star Trek ... or a wargame like mine ... or dozens of others.Here's my rant.
I'm getting that urge to play Civilization again. But which one? I don't want to play 4 mainly because the graphics are ugly and dated. I also don't want to play because there is a specific way I play all of my games and I never deviate from that path ..... Hopefully I can pick up a copy of BTS.