the voters:
A = sandbox players, they are enjoying the exploration
B = sandbox players upset by an aspect or two
C = a mix of everything, more pessimistic sanbox players, or overly optimistic challenge players
D = challenge players who are holding out for future patches and expansion packs to fix myriad of problems
F = challenge players who have given up hope already considering the dire straits situation the game is in
Not true, I'm for the most part 90% sand box player. Oh, a natural wonder, seen one seen them all.
Oh, you mean two Civs gobbled up the entire continent across the ocean again. I wonder how that happened (Civ A declares war against Civ B, Something happens, one Civ surrenders 5 cities. . . every game. . . )
Oh cool, my neighbor has Silk! I better just go take it since there are no consequences and I can easily beat several if they declare war on me, and if I choose to be friendly with them they'll just sell me out the second the plop a city in the middle of one of my trade networks. . . I could ask them not to settle by me, but they'll just hate me. . same thing every time. . .
Cool, sheep. . . I love finding useless things. . .
Oh cool, it's Elizabeth, maybe we'll have some naval battles. . .oh, wait. . .
The only good part for me as a sandbox players is the default map scripts are better. .
Look at the poll results as of today, Oct 18, 2010, at 4:36 PM EDT. The largest single category in terms of percentage is "B" = Good. Its true for both the CivFanatics Forum and the 2K Games Forum.
I voted "A." A lot of folks said it was very bad but still the largest voting block was "B."
Just watch how that changes after the patch is released.
As of today, the 19th of October, combined A&B votes are 6 more than D&F. There being more F's than A's.
Assuming a 0-4 point scale the game scores a 49%. . .
A=4pts, 48x4=192
B=3pts, 131x3=423
C=2pts, 98x2=196
D=1pt, 120x1=120
F=0pt, 63x0=0
470 votes x 4 possible points =1880 possible points total.
192+423+196+120=931
931/1880 = A pretty big F.
I only gave it a D based on the mod community, nothing on the part of Firaxis. Even if the patch covered every major issue and completely fixed AI- a 49% is a pretty big flop for a launch.