Now, i've been whining about being disappointed over Civ5 quite alot. But i have still somewhat liked it. Not the gameplay, or balance, or combat.. But still been somewhat hopeful, especially with mods.
But then i started playing Civ4 again this week and i noticed dozens of things i thought in my mind that Civ5 had, because "lol why would they not include that? don't be ridiculous!".
I had to literally go back to Civ5 for each thing just to check, to make sure i wasn't imagining how much was missing..
So obviously we know of the big things, no diplomacy, no tech trading, no corporations, no religion.
But all the small things really stunned me.
1. Civ4 has individual civ specific voices for the units. Everytime you click on a unit it feels like it is an actual human being you guide, as opposed to a Civ5 generic "Swoochpm" sound.
With so much money thrown into voices in Civ5, they couldn't afford to record 2-3 unit-select sounds for each of the few civs in the game. But a lower budget Civ4 could?
2. Civ4 has globe view, allowing you to view the entire map from above the clouds, making it feel like a real planet as opposed to a table with pawns on it.
With millions spent on graphics in Civ5, they couldn't possibly manage to code a globe view, even with a 2d terrain (no, the strategic view does not count). Where did all this money go? Into tessellation?
3. Civ4 has far better, and more audible, ambient sounds. When over a jungle the entire soundscape immerses you in a massive cocoon of jungleness. In Civ5 you can barely hear it. Same with the music, there's great music in Civ5 but even at max it is so incredibly quiet that you can't enjoy it.
4. Civ4 has music for each age level and civ when you zoom in on a city rather than just generic 'citynoise', not to mention the main menu music which captures the enjoyment and excitement of building a civilization. Civ5's main menu music is so incredibly drab and depressing, including the background 'image' which all create an atmosphere of something so dull and grey devoid of any joy or playfulness what so ever.
Again, millions spent on the visuals and audio in Civ5, yet while bragging about having symphony orchestras recording it, the compositions are so utterly drab and mediocre. A symphony orchestra is only as good as the notes on the paper they play to.
5. Civ4 has actual interesting maps, with beautiful sprawling jungles (that aren't desaturated gray-green) and filled to the brim with details everywhere you look. As opposed to endless flat empty land.
So much effort spent on the magical hexes and natural terrain & graphics, yet they fail to produce results surpassing that of Civ4 maps with mapscripts in python that has been out for 4 years already, made by private modders just for lulz. Not even being paid for it.. (Planet generator, Perfectworld2, SmartMap, Tectonics)
6. An obvious one, several leaders per civ, all animated.
Again, millions spent on graphis and 'amg full screen leaders'. Yet they fail to have more than 1 leader per civ? The voiceovers barely qualify as an excuse in terms of being too much work, with no civ voices for unit selection, and given how most civs in Civ5 barely even say anything what so ever when you offer or accept a deal. 1-2 unique lines at most. Sometimes they are even completely quiet, a la Civ4.
I need not go on. It really surprised me. Civ4 is even better and more detailed than my memory made me believe. You know you always have nostalgia clouding the truth in some cases, i really thought i was being overly hard on Civ5.
But after reinstalling Civ4 i just can't comprehend how many small details are utterly lacking in Civ5.
It is like comparing a pepperoni pizza to just 1 slice of pepperoni laying on the floor.
Moderator Action: Merged with rants thread.