Announcing Civilization Network!

I can't help but wonder if this Facebook thing is really just a way to test if the Civilization formula can translate to a persistent world, and if that then is the first step towards some kind of a Civ MMO. Otherwise I don't see much incentive for them to do this if it's going to be free to play. Unless some of the developers have just been sitting around coding this in their spare time, which makes them almost as pathetic as modders :( .... ;)
 
Haha... Yes, all we know is that civ fanatics rule the world, The first order of business will be to set the date to 4000 bc. (and start building a worker)

@Sub & Exordus, ya, how insulted we should be that an industry heavyweight personally marketed his new project to us. Don't we all deserve a handwritten invitation on scented paper delivered by Sid to our door? Maybe a hug too?

A hug would be nice.
 
Thanks Sid, for recognising this site. It is by far the best site on Civ, a credit to the moderators and Administrators. I have never really stopped playing Civ and now as I move into modding I'll learn more.

As to Facebook / Civ, good luck with that. At least we know that Civ 5 is still a long way off. Civ 4 is damn good and will take a lot to beat it.
 
I can't help but wonder if this Facebook thing is really just a way to test if the Civilization formula can translate to a persistent world, and if that then is the first step towards some kind of a Civ MMO. Otherwise I don't see much incentive for them to do this if it's going to be free to play. Unless some of the developers have just been sitting around coding this in their spare time, which makes them almost as pathetic as modders :( .... ;)

Well... a fly on the wall of the Facebook boardroom is rumored to have heard this conversation:
"Our demographics are troubling. After the initial buzz, our only growing demographic seems to be women in their 40's."
"Yeah... the desperate houswives."
"How can we broaden our demographic?"
"Well... we don't really need to broaden our demographic! What we need to do is monopolize our strong demographic. Give them what they want most, and they'll all be here."
"What the heck interests women in their 40's most?"
"Ummm... men in their 40's?"
"Yeah, but not stupid men, they want doctors, lawyers, etc to chat with".
"How the hell do we give them that?"
"Hmmm... I've heard that there are some computer games that have as strong position in this male demographic as we have in the female. Civa... something or other. Too bad we don't know anything about making decent games."
"Hey, there was some nerd here from Firaxis trying to sell us something, maybe he knows... lets check it out."
...
"OK, so we'll pay the development costs up front, plus a guaranteed token payment to Firaxis. You get great big exposure to a wide market that will be pushed by word of mouth, we'll not only broaden our demographic but give our core constituents what they are wanting. Whaddya say, deal?"
 
I love Civ, but hate Facebook. Still, it was very nice of Sid Meier to come here himself. I wonder if he'll ever read some of the non-Civ forums and see what he's indirectly responsible for? :lol:
 
I love Civ, but hate Facebook. Still, it was very nice of Sid Meier to come here himself. I wonder if he'll ever read some of the non-Civ forums and see what he's indirectly responsible for? :lol:
The last thing we want is for Sid Meier to spiral into depression and alcoholism.
 
This is a great move. Making another PC Civ that's revolutionarily different and way better than CivIV is really hard. The future lies in multiplayer. Can't wait to test this game, and best wishes to Chief Meier and Firaxis!
 
Well... a fly on the wall of the Facebook boardroom is rumored to have heard this conversation:
"Our demographics are troubling. After the initial buzz, our only growing demographic seems to be women in their 40's."
"Yeah... the desperate houswives."
"How can we broaden our demographic?"
"Well... we don't really need to broaden our demographic! What we need to do is monopolize our strong demographic. Give them what they want most, and they'll all be here."
"What the heck interests women in their 40's most?"
"Ummm... men in their 40's?"
"Yeah, but not stupid men, they want doctors, lawyers, etc to chat with".
"How the hell do we give them that?"
"Hmmm... I've heard that there are some computer games that have as strong position in this male demographic as we have in the female. Civa... something or other. Too bad we don't know anything about making decent games."
"Hey, there was some nerd here from Firaxis trying to sell us something, maybe he knows... lets check it out."
...
"OK, so we'll pay the development costs up front, plus a guaranteed token payment to Firaxis. You get great big exposure to a wide market that will be pushed by word of mouth, we'll not only broaden our demographic but give our core constituents what they are wanting. Whaddya say, deal?"

:) Well, certainly Civilization is a well-established game franchise. I'm not sure Facebook would have much incentive to foot the bill for any of the development though. But I realize Firaxis has other reasons why they might want to develop this game rather than just as a testing platform for a Civ MMO... it's just good marketing. Expand your base with a free game and keep existing fans interested while you work on the next thing. I mean, I can't imagine the development time and costs for a Facebook game can be even remotely close to what a "real" game would be, so it's probably a minor sacrifice on their part.

Also, reading through the Gamasutra article Firaxis has linked to on their website, I noticed this bit:

Like typical Facebook games, Civilization Network will be free-to-play, although Meier did not reveal any monetization methods, which may or may not include virtual item buys and advertising.

So maybe if you want to have the "just plain coolest civilization" as Sid put it, you have to shell out the bucks for prettier stuff.

As for the game details themselves, I especially like this part:
"You can coordinate your strategy to win great battles, share your technology to jump ahead of your rivals, lobby your family and friends to form your own government and win vital elections, manage and grow your cities to maximize production and happiness, spy on your enemies, and work with your friends to create the great Wonders of the World."
I can only imagine what horrible, corrupt, ultra-violent government my family and I would create if left to our own devices! :lol:
 
Hello Mr. Meier,

Just wanted to thank you for Civilization, Colonization and Railroad Tycoon - your games have meant a great deal to me, and the Civ-series have stuck with me since my childhood. I've played and loved every major PC-release, and I still play IV. So yeah, thank you.

Can't say I'm interested in this game, though. Hurry up and announce Civ V instead. Please? :)
 
I think I’ll pass. But look at it this way, this game can create a new customer base. In the long run that can open for our eagerly awaited Civ 5. :)
 
I predict 2011.

It'll be the 20th anniversary of CivI.

And it'll give us over a year to play before the apocalypse, which I believe may ensue when an expansion comes out, but there aren't enough copies. CivFanatics revolt, bring about fall of civilization as we know it, and start again at 4000BC.

This just made my day! :lol::lol:

As for this new version of Civ – I’m eager to see how it turns out!
 
Now a fan.

I would expect that Civ: Facebook will be crossplatform on the user end. A bit more basic than Civ IV, though a little more advanced than Civ III in many respects.

A few questions...

1. Will any version of Civilization be used as the basis?

2. Will software be required? Will a browser be preferred?

3. Will the game run on Linux or Apache servers? If Linux, would this mean a Linux version of Civilization for home play?

4. What about mods? Will there be arenas set up for the playtesting of mods on a limited or wide basis? Could mods be adopted for official play?

5. Will there be a home version?

6. Going back to mods; are there any from III or IV that might make it into the official game.

7. Will there be user groups, under any name? Common interests etc.?

That's all I could think of at this moment. I hope the Facebook project is going well, your other projects as well. Looking forward to hearing more about Civilization: Facebook. :)
 
Gorramm it Sid, do you WANT me to fail EVERY class? The two biggest time sucks for me... combined.
 
First of all; welcome, Sid, and thanks for the notice!

Second: I am with the many people here who say that what we want is NOT a simpleton's civ. But perhaps the best way to ensure this is to become a beta-tester?

In any case, I'd be very happy to beta, make sure to drop another notice in this thread once the application testing is up.
 
It sounds like some of the "strategy" games already on facebook or iphone, but hey, if you can make it worth it/different I'm interested. :)
I have faith. The interface will be different, and it seems like it would need to be less complex on the surface (yet with the addition of potentially many other people involved in decision making, a whole new level of complexity added.)

It probably won't be a lot like the standard single player game that has kept me so glued to my PC for almost twenty years, yet I have faith that it will maintain the classic "Just one more turn..." feel that all of Sid's games have. If it has that, and it should, then I'm sure I'll love it.
 
Sounds like great fun, I'm game. Sign me up. :)

To the concerned people in the thread, I wouldn't worry. To repeat a phrase I once heard in reference to Civ4 many years ago: If there's a chance of a profit, there's a chance of a Civ5. ;)
 
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