How excited are you?

My excitement has steadily diminished as they've released more and more info...

I'm probably hovering around 1 to 2 stars, hopefully info out of E3 will change that, but it's unlikely.

Well, the hexagonal cells are certainly an improvement, or would be without the limitation of one unit per tile. Certainly putting a limit on stacking units is reasonable, and does change the tactical aspect of the game, but one per tile is, in my opinion, not reasonable. The major issue with me, however, is the Steam requirement. This gets a net score of three stars, which I think is generous.

Dark_Jedi06 said:

My excitement has steadily diminished as they've released more and more info...

I'm probably hovering around 1 to 2 stars, hopefully info out of E3 will change that, but it's unlikely.

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Pretty much the same, only 1 more star usually. Steam kind of killed the 5 for me. But I am still hopeful that it won't ruin it totally. Oh well.

PieceOfMind said:

I'm confused, is the definition of a gamer more dependent on how often or how long one plays games or rather how many games one owns?

For example, many people who play flight sims (I own a couple such games) spend a lot of time in those games yet flight simmers tend to not go into other genres much. If a flight sim was released with Steamworks, I doubt it would be very popular.

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It's almost impossible to define such things in a way everyone finds acceptable. In my personal view a "Gamer" is someone who plays games as a hobby. For example, someone that just plays Flight Sims is not a "Gamer" in my eyes because their hobby IS Flight Sims. As a gamer I play all genres equally, looking for quality games any where. It's these type of people I'm certain don't have a problem with Steam because Steam is convenience and community, exactly the thing gamers crave.

In response to Kaelic's post, I would say the Steam "enjoyers" tend to be the people who buy games regularly. That's not a bad thing, but it does make sense given a lot of the advantages of Steam (having games in one menu, one account etc.). Hypothetically if I only owned and played five games at all, and one of them was on Steam and the other four weren't, I would be more likely to view Steam as a nuisance than a nice thing.

Could it be that many civfanatics play relatively few games (or 'title's as publishers call them) and hence are more likely (than the general "gamer" population) to fall into the camp of those who don't want Steam?

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I'd certainly love to see some metrics on "Amount of PC games purchased : Steam Hate" ratio around here. I do personally feel the people complaining are just not PC gamers. They play 1 or 2 games and that's it. So yeah, in that sense Steam seems like a nuisance to them to just play that single game.

Unfortunately for these types of people, CiV is probably more popular in the gaming circles than in the niche circles. They want to make sure they embrace what PC Gamers want, and that generally is features like Steamworks.

oh yeah you ought to love steam, if you don't you are no gamer...

well then, I am no gamer. how sad is that.

lol ^^

Moved by me from the Steam FAQ thread...

Drakarska said:

@ White Elk: Elemental is beginning to look rather good at this point bro. So far the research has been promising. Besides, need something to do before Halo: Reach comes out and occupies the kids and my time. The significant other may get a little preturbed, but i can probably make it up to her

Hmmnnn. Wait a tic. Doesn't Reach also come out in September? heh, could be fun as well.

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Elemental is nearing to be a sure thing for me. I like the fantasy genre, but would prefer a TBS with a historical basis which can then be modded for fantasy and sci-fi. But Elemental looks great, and seems to be what I'm looking for in a replacement for Civ. My fall entertainment budget was stretched to include Civ5 along with the latest book in the WOT series. I'm fairly certain that Elemental has taken Civ5's slot (but Civ5 is definitely out of the picture for now... perhaps for next year or the year after, if/once a gold edition is released that is steam free... would be a bonus if 2k was out of the picture). Elemental is a Stardock game. Stardock is a developer/publisher that I begin to respect.

Elementals limted edition pre-order comes with an expanded manual, a poster, a cloth map, a music CD, And a pewter dragon! (LoL I do like dragons and wouldn't mind the addition to my collection) No chunks of game content... as I think it should be (special early release scenarios aside). But most impressive is that a pre-order grants access to a beta version of the game. Stardocks Elemental totally stomps Steams Civ5 pre-order package!

I am most impressed by Stardocks openness and accessibility! The developers are right there in the forums participating. No layer of hollow talking chessy marketing between the gamer and the developers. The devs are a tangible and welcome presence in the fan community. They publish a developer journals, discuss feedback and suggestions, post updated news and participate in mod development discussions. In short there is an environment fostering trust and mutual respect between the gamer and the developer/publisher/distributor. Good stuff. Appears to be something I can support and be happy I did. I'm getting excited again about getting a new TBS game this fall. Beginning to forget about Civ5 already. Water under the bridge. 2k spilled the milk, theres nothing for it now but to move on and find a replacement. Sorry Sid, Civ is brilliant! But 2k dropped the ball on my toe once too many times!

thanks for the hint!
and furthermore:

NOTICE: Your order contains at least one Pre-Order item that will not be charged to you at this time. You will only be charged for the items in your cart that are available at this time. Your preorder will be saved in our system, and when the product becomes available, you will be charged and notified.

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...purchased

Gelvan said:

thanks for the hint!
and furthermore:

NOTICE: Your order contains at least one Pre-Order item that will not be charged to you at this time. You will only be charged for the items in your cart that are available at this time. Your preorder will be saved in our system, and when the product becomes available, you will be charged and notified.

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Is that from Stardock (Impulse) or Steam? I know that Stardock does not charge for pre-order until the game is released. The exception in Elementals case being that you are charged for the game if you opt to download the beta version (all Elemental pre-order packages include the beta test option). Your validation key for the beta and final release are the same. Once the validation key is activated, you are charged for the game. So don't download the beta unless your ready to pay. Makes sense to me.

it's from stardock (impulse) ...thanks to you I made an impulse buy
edit: the beta test is down at the moment, but will be back later this spring (according to the page)
well anyway, the important part for me is an enhanced manual and the map.
thank you!

Gelvan said:

it's from stardock (impulse) ...thanks to you I made an impulse buy
edit: the beta test is down at the moment, but will be back later this spring (according to the page)
well anyway, the important part for me is an enhanced manual and the map.
thank you!

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LoL, your welcome. Hope it works out. I'm as sure as I can be that it will! I can't wait to get the game. I am glad that a fellow CivFanatic mentioned the game a few weeks ago. Will order as soon as I gather the money. Willing to buy the limited edition if any are left (only 10,000 copies) by then. Might have to wait till fall though, or even add it to a holiday wish list. A little more reading about the game and the company today, has made this a sure sell!

Beta 2 is said to be released later this week or next week. Apparently all pre-orders will be charged then. It seems that orders placed after a certain time must wait for the next beta release. There is some info here.

This is a quote from an official Stardocker (bolding by him/her)...

All pending orders will be charged through and granted access when we open up Beta 2.

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I quess Beta 2 counts as a release as relates to pre-order charge. Just a couple months before final release.
Modders are already hard at work!

ori said:

Moderator Action: I'd appreciate it if the discussion remained civil[ized], that includes refraining from unfounded speculation about the identity of people in favor or opposed to a specific feature of the game and includes improving general posting behavior by some people in this thread.

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I thought I made a fairly reasoned argument as to why someone who doesn't play a lot of games might see it as annoying. Not sure what you're getting at, we can't speculate anything about why people think a certain way? Interesting rule

hm, well your argument is of course completely correct. most people on this forum are quite fanatic for a (1) game called Civilization... And therefore, if your fairly reasoning is correct, it makes absolutely no sense, to publish a Civ with a program that appeals mainly Gamers... other than higher sales, of course.
if higer sales translate also in a great Civ game: great. then Civ6 must be very cool ^^

Before steam I would vote *****, because there are much changes which have great pontential (combat-systems, hex, new diplomatic system)
Now ***. I only have slow internet. When i buy civ 5 from steam, I will have to wait awfully long for downloading
I think I have to wait for some reviews, before buying the game

Kaelic said:

Funny how most Steam haters are either middle aged, conservative or non-gamers in general (and stick to a few niche games).

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Tamed said:

All the Steam haters in the world are not going to take the wind out of my sails, or hundreds of thousands of other gamers. They're only depriving themselves.

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First, to clarify, no one dislikes Steam for all the good features it incorporates.

I, for instance, disagree with the controversial DRM / Hidden DRM methods Steam employs, is not upfront about, and most Steam users don't know exist.

Steam is the #1 force behind 'You don't own any part of the game you bought (even the right to play it), we do; and we can take the game back from you if we please'.

So if we dislike things like that, and we are 'Steam-Haters' because of it,
Does this mean that you are a "Freedom-Hating Corporate-Control and Greed Mommy-State-Server DRM Lover"?

(I'm not calling you this, as you called everyone else haters, I'm only asking for clarification; because I don't believe you are anything like that for enjoying Steam; We all hope Steam does bring an enjoyable experience to gaming)

cyril25376 said:

Before steam I would vote *****, because there are much changes which have great pontential (combat-systems, hex, new diplomatic system)
Now ***. I only have slow internet. When i buy civ 5 from steam, I will have to wait awfully long for downloading
I think I have to wait for some reviews, before buying the game

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There will be boxed copies available in the store, which allows you to install the game from a disk.

2K Greg said:

There will be boxed copies available in the store, which allows you to install the game from a disk.

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That'll save a big chunk of downloading; but you still have to download Steam. And even if Steam is included in the box, you still must connect to, and register with Steam. Then you have to download and install client and game updates before being able to play. You can't just play the game out of the box.

The_J said:

Before steam anouncment: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★.
Afterwards: [].

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Same. I've got to say, it's the first time I've been so massively disappointed before something was even released.

Last I heard all you download is the decryption code

civ_king said:

Last I heard all you download is the decryption code

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Before playing Civ5, one must first download any client and game patches. Judging by past Civ releases, it is fair to assume that even on release day, there will be a patch available for Civ5. And since Steam has already released 15 client patches so far this year, I would say it very possible to need a new client patch when first opening the box. (more than 30 client updates last year.. an average of one every other week). Civ5 will not be playable, even in offline mode, until all pending client and game patches have been installed.