Proposal to Firaxis

I have been working on a potential project that would involve Firaxis and a number of people here in the Civ Community.

The proposal would have the top mod makers, animation designers here from the net come together and work on a CD project called “Best of the Net”. We would all work as a team, pool our efforts, ideas and concepts in order to come up work that is nothing but top quality. Our ultimate aim is to have this CD included in the next expansion: Civilization III: Conquests. Currently, the proposal has already been submitted and we are awaiting for a response from Firaxis & Atari.

The CD would contain:
• New Versions of the Top Mods made for the game – such as DyP, Ancient Mediterranean & TETurkhan and a few more…
• New Unit Animation & Leaderheads: Minimum of 100 units & 10 animated leaderheads with supporting Civilopedia art. All of which will be specifically designed for the mods found on the CD – so in essence 10 new Civs.
• New Sound Effects
• New Interface Screen: Completely transform the menu screens into a new distinct look
• New Terrain Types
• 5 New Scenarios: Very unique & innovative in comparison to anything made for the game to date


If you haven’t been contacted by me yet but feel you have something to contribute to this project, then please fill out the following form and submit it to me as soon as possible at: ray@xrayproductions.net
(Note: this is not a solidified deal and still is pending on a decision by Firaxis & Atari).


1. Legal Name
2. Alias used in forums
3. Age
4. Mailing address
5. Phone Number (including area code & country code if outside Canada or the US)
6. Email
7. What is your area of expertise and what skills do you possess that could be useful for this project?
8. Do you have examples of some of the work you have done? (please provide links if possible)
9. How much time do you have to give towards this venture?
10. What amount of compensation are you seeking for the work you will render?

I am willing to do testing on anything that needs testing, and I hope that the project gets a nod from Firaxis. There are some worthwhile things currently out on the internet that would be nice to have integrated into Civ3.

If Firaxis shoots you down, maybe you could just compile CFC contributors together and make a cheap CD to put on eBay as a fundraiser for CFC.

Originally posted by teturkhan
New Unit Animation & Leaderheads: Minimum of 100 units & 10 animated leaderheads with supporting Civilopedia art.

Click to expand...

I'm not too sure that there are 100 units of a professional enough quality to include on the CD. And most would probably still need civilopedia art created for them, or altered. Also, I think that if Firaxis just included reference to this website, or others, then anyone interested could find units or leaderheads themselves. It is handy to have extra mods included on the disc though, as they were in PTW.

Sorry if I sounded miserable above.

That sounds like a great idea. I hope they say yes.

If Firaxis shoots you down, maybe you could just compile CFC contributors together and make a cheap CD to put on eBay as a fundraiser for CFC. - superslug

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, your suggestion is not legally permissible.

I am however optimistic they will give this proposal serious consideration. Ultimately, what we are proposing is a win-win situation for everyone. Mod Makers etc win because they will get compensated for their hard work and effort put into the project. Firaxis wins because they would now have an excellent CD produced for them, which would make “Conquests” a better value and ultimately transpire into more sales. The Civ Community wins because they get all these new units, Civs, scenarios not to mention new & vastly improved versions of their favourite mods.

There is a wealth of talent available online – tapping into it is just smart business.

I think this is a great idea. Hopefully many mods, scenarios etc will be in. And as TETurkhan said, everybody wins.

Great Project. I'm in!

Sounds like an excellent idea! I hope it works out.

Great idea!
Hope they accept...
Seeing as they added user-created content in PtW, I think this would very possibly be agreeable to them. Really hope so.

Originally posted by Grandraem
I'm not too sure that there are 100 units of a professional enough quality to include on the CD. ...

Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood the concept of the CD. It would be atleast 100 new never before seen units made specifically for the mods and scenarios on the CD!

I am definitely behind this project and am really hoping Firaxis/Breakaway/Atari sees the value of something like this.

Seeing as they added user-created content in PtW, I think this would very possibly be agreeable to them. Really hope so. - ShadowFlame

Click to expand...

I have to tell you though it’s not as simple as that. My proposal does require that the people creating this CD be compensated. Creating units, leaderheads, making mods & scenarios can take tremendous amounts of time & effort, especially when you are striving to do top notch work as we are. Many of us have real life to deal with such as bills, families etc… In order to put out a product that is top quality, all factors that hinder us would have to be removed. Consider that by paying people for their work, it would enable them to spend the time required for such an endeavour. The more time they have – the better the final product. In addition aside from some people here in these forums who will be working on the art for this project – I have assembled group of professional designers along with a few programmers. They will design units etc according to the specifications of the mod makers. Having units created and customized is a mod makers dream – it is mine anyways! This will of course result in new and vastly improved versions of people’s favourite mods. The goal is to empower the mod makers, give them everything and anything they need. The Civ Community wins by this, the mod makers win, and Firaxis wins because they get an awesome CD – to include in a 2CD set for “Conquests”.

The key question is will additional sales by having this “Best of the Net” CD included in Conquests offset costs incurred in paying our team. Will Civ players, fans think there would be value in what we would create…?

I like the idea!

amazing idea i hope it works. maybe u could include some of the countries that peoeple were dissapointed that dont get in the expansion. u could also include the already made leader heads and units for sctland, cuba and vietnam, ho chi fidel and robert bruce are are really good leaderheads by sween

Robert the Bruce and a number of other leaderheads were included on PTW. We will be however creating new never before seen units and leaderheads for this venture. If there is room left on the CD we may however include those again.

BTW, Sween is aboard on this project!

Originally posted by teturkhan
• New Terrain Types

Click to expand...

Mmmm. I think this is the most important thing that this game needs. Don't you remember Colonization? The variety of terrain types and their functions was really cool I never could understand why they didn't they do the same in Civ3.
Besides, do you see grasslands, plains and forests almost whereever you are? Or do you see other terrains as well ?

Awesome idea! I think it is time for the Civilization Fanatics community to rise up and prove itself! :worshp: :worshp: :worshp:

But the downside is that the idea will probably not make it into Conquests. Just too late. The Beta testers would have to test the new CD too which they will not get because there will not be enough time to create the CD and put it in so they can test it.

Great idea though! Hope that the Conquests developers think that too!

over 30 people are ready to go and in a heart beat I could get many many people to help with testing... I am confident we have enough time but your right the longer it takes the less likely this will transpire.

Originally posted by teturkhan
Robert the Bruce and a number of other leaderheads were included on PTW. We will be however creating new never before seen units and leaderheads for this venture. If there is room left on the CD we may however include those again.

BTW, Sween is aboard on this project!

Click to expand...

kewl all new leaderheads.. and sween is in
i like his leaderheads.

what countries could you expect to be making.. i know its too early to tell.. and i know it might not even happen.. but still :0

i never knew robert bruce was o nthe CD but he is hungary for some reason. but i dont see fidel castro anywhere

Nice idea, though obviously my maps are not of much interest it seems...

Hope they answer positively, even though when money is involved....