Tell me honestly what you think of Civ4 graphics

[stwils]

I am getting a new computer in the fall, and one of the things I was looking forward to was being able to play Civ4.

But today I saw a few screen shots and just could not be thrilled. The soldiers were too big, the towns crowded with stuff jammed together, and it reminded me of how Age of Kings (AoE2) had oversized buildings as opposed to the original Age of Empires' simple beautiful graphics.

Civ 1 graphics seem primitive today, but they are fun because the whole representation is so abstract.

Civ3 graphics are beautiful, and so enjoyable.

So what does everyone see in Civ4? If you know a site that shows some better looking graphics than the ones I saw, please point me in that direction.

Is it the game play that attracts everyone to Civ4? Are the graphics endurable because of the game? Or do you get used to them.

Maybe the screen shots I saw were not representative. I'm hoping...

stwils

 

[devilhunterred]

civ iv graphics arent that impressive at all, it could have been much better

 

[History_Buff]

When I first saw the screenshots for the game, I thought the same thing, that the soldiers were way too huge for the map. But once you start playing, its not a big deal, because a lot of the screenshots are really zoomed in, and from a normal zoom level, it's no big deal, and I rather like them.

The graphics aren't amazing (so it's playable on lower end comps), but it definitely isn't going to ruin the game.

 

[Napo981]

Graphics are ok.

Of course, they aren't impressive, but I wonder how graphics for a turn-based game could be impressive. Maybe combat animation could look better.

I don't play Civ4 for graphics anyway. I like bette they put their cash on gameplay rather than graphics.

 

[Red Door]

The graphics suck, they deserve to be on a game like "Sesmae Street: Fun House IV."

The epic world feel of Civ can only be done with 2-D graphics again.

 

[devilhunterred]

battle animations are clumsy and akward....yea

and for CIV V i would really want the units scaled down to a reaslistic size but you can still see them with zoom in

the cities are not a bunch of jammed packed pixels

wonders you built are easily visible

man i just wish graphics in civ iv is better

 

[Raja_Lalim]

hi.. the graphics are great for turn based strategy.. it's 3d, civ3 isn't. the big-sized army is just a simbolic. like playing chess. the strategy that matters.

Raja_Lalim

 

[Zanmato]

The graphics are ok I suppose but is nothing special, only the scale is impressive. I've seen better texturing and the biggest problem with the graphics is that the 3d models used are have far too many polys in them. This is why lower end GFX cards can't handle the later stages when you have a few dozen units on screen. The animation looks rather stiff but as other have said not many play Civ for the graphics. The developer just jumped on the 3D bandwagon for this version, perhaps if they didn't more of us would complain that the graphics are rubbish. Damned if they don't and damned if they do because some computers can't handle the demand without hardware upgrades.

 

[Goodgimp]

The graphics suck, they deserve to be on a game like "Sesmae Street: Fun House IV."

The epic world feel of Civ can only be done with 2-D graphics again.

Uh huh... what does 2D or 3D have to do with how epic a game feels?

 

[devilhunterred]

playing a 2D game in the year 2006 will put a lot of people off

civ game with 3D graphics can definitely be done, look at how amazing game visual can be like HL2 DOOM3 GT4 Fear, and with the next gen games like Fall of Men, Warhawk etc

the development team for civ iv were just too lazy

 

[weasel77066]

There are some handsome graphics paks from modders listed on this site. Personally, for civ4 I thought the original wasnt good enough, and I use a grphics program I DL from here called Blue Marble. Its very good and it works with warlords as well. I also downloaded a scaling program from here that lets me adjust the size of various elements of the game including the text.
Poke around and check some of these, You can set the graphics how you like them. People on here do some really fine work for the game.
Heck even as nice as the civ3 graphics were, I didnt use them either, I added new graphics for terrain, cities and improvements.
PS- I wish I could remember the authors' names of the programs I installed for civ4- for proper credit, but I can't remember.

 

[Red Door]

Uh huh... what does 2D or 3D have to do with how epic a game feels?

Have you ever played Civ 3? If you have, you should get what I mean. The 2-D graphics don't make your computer go crazy, and they make the world's bigger, with better animations, and etc.

 

[BeefontheBone]

playing a 2D game in the year 2006 will put a lot of people off

civ game with 3D graphics can definitely be done, look at how amazing game visual can be like HL2 DOOM3 GT4 Fear, and with the next gen games like Fall of Men, Warhawk etc

the development team for civ iv were just too lazy

None of the games you mentioned are TBS games - an FPS is an entirely different kettle of fish, with far fewer objects being rendered at any given time (provided your map optimisation's been done properly, anyway), a fanbase who expect the system requirements to be high (in contrast to Civ's) and a reliance on visual representation of things. Civ needs things to be reasonably clear onscreen (rather than photorealistic) and has to handle many objects - the number of people who complain about slowdown late-game is big enough as it is, it'd be worse with higher definition graphics.

Soren made an interesting point in an interview in PC Gamer this month - they started working on naturalistic terrain for the game, i.e. no clear tiles, and discovered that it was hell to play and confusing. Sacrificing gameplay and performance to improve graphics is not a good way to sell decent games.

That said, the animation glitches are very irritating and strike me as being something which could be improved. Anyone who has issues with the scale and the terrain should get Blue Marble and the CivScale utility - you can drastically improve the terrain's appearance and tweak the unit/building scales (and interface colour) to your heart's content.

 

[Mr. Civtastic]

I think the graphics are pretty good for a civ game. I was more impressed when I saw civ IV new then I was with civ III and II.

 

[jeejeep]

I don't see how people can say the actual quality of graphics was better in civ 3. Now, if having 3-D graphics crashes your computer, that's a different story.

 

[3 EMS]

The graphics have grown on me. At first, I liked Civ III graphics better. Now that I'm used to them I really don't think about them anymore. Except for some little annoying things that don't need to be there. Tank tracks. birds flying out of a jungle/forest, and bananas falling from trees. Some people might like them but I find them distracting.

Overall, I find the graphics appealing now even if they don't need to be 3d.

 

[Artosoft]

The graphics have grown on me. At first, I liked Civ III graphics better. Now that I'm used to them I really don't think about them anymore. Except for some little annoying things that don't need to be there. Tank tracks. birds flying out of a jungle/forest, and bananas falling from trees. Some people might like them but I find them distracting.

Overall, I find the graphics appealing now even if they don't need to be 3d.

Hei, I like that. I hope they put some little rabbit playing on the grass .

Regards,
Arto.

 

[Naokaukodem]

Who give a **** of the graphics... they are ok by the way... although that's not that that will make the game to be better. (wow 3 "that" in the same sentence )

 

[The Great Apple]

The default ones are ok. They don't need to be any more detailed - you can see what's going on, and they're by no means ugly. I would certainly suggest having a look at the Blue Marble terrain pack in C&C - IMO it makes the game look alot nicer.

 

[Naokaukodem]

As for "oversized" units i think this idea is oversized.

As for Civ1 graphics being fun because of their abstractness, it is a truth that needed to be said, thanks.