I've been playing the civ franchise practically since its inception, and I can tell you that it has always been a rather plodding game ... that's sort of always been its appeal to a certain crowd. It is to other video games what a box of crackers or a bag of popcorn is to a chocolate bar. Duller, less rich and exciting, but somehow more satisfying in the end.
Yeah but that begs the question, which one is better with peanut butter ;-)
The hardest thing to learn about Civ is it isn't formulated. You can spot a n00b on these forums with the common threads we see of "Who is the best leader/Civ/unit/tech/etc." The real time strategy market is much more mainstream right now. And man those games are all about formulas. Because each RTS usually has 3-5 formulas that can't be beat. (Except by one of the other formulas if not the same one.) Civ has so many formulas that are valid, it can feel overwhelming for all newcomers. Every single person I have turned onto Civ has ran into this problem first. The first thing I do is show them how to easily access the civilopedia. (Especially about right clicking on the tech tree.) Explaining the city screen usually takes around 10-15 mins. Once that is done, wham. We run into formula time again. "What should I build?" Of course formula time #1 was "Who are the best leaders to play as?" These are questions a veteran can even steer you wrong in on Civ. The best questions a player must always ask "What is MY strategy playstyle" and "How can I reach the conditions for victory with it." All other answers will fall into place with that usually. Then come onto here and discuss other people's strategies and determine how you value them.Rusty Edge said:My concern is that CIV has already become pretty complex for people to learn, and that the more choices it offers, the more daunting it becomes for new players, and harder for them to find the fun of it.
...All I needed to hear was a friend of mine said that discovering the tech for tanks first, gives you a free tank in every city. This was enough to let me know I need not purchase revolutions. I agree its good for people stepping into the series but lets not take steps backwards....
Then why not grant 4 tanks per city? If there are more valuable/equal techs in the game it gets even worse. Is being the first person to build tanks not enough? WHy not do away with production and have techs just grant you free units upon completion. Production is part of the game. By adding a tech like this you have now added a bonus to production through superiority in science. After having almost made it through rebalancing Civ 4s civs (UU/UB) and units in general I fail to think that Firaxis made a system that hard to balance actually be balanced. I would bet money there are far fewer valid formulas in Civ Rev. Simply because it is obviously a much simpler game.WilltoAct said:The first person to get the tech is not necessarily the most powerful. Perhaps they just beelined it, at the expense of other more/equally valuable techs. Maybe you have one city, or perhaps just a few large ones.
I definatley hope that CIV will not follow in Revs graphical appeal. Discovering natural wonders is cool. Hopefully CIV will follow Col 2's graphical style.
All I needed to hear was a friend of mine said that discovering the tech for tanks first, gives you a free tank in every city. This was enough to let me know I need not purchase revolutions. I agree its good for people stepping into the series but lets not take steps backwards.
The hardest thing to learn about Civ is it isn't formulated. You can spot a n00b on these forums with the common threads we see of "Who is the best leader/Civ/unit/tech/etc." The real time strategy market is much more mainstream right now. And man those games are all about formulas. Because each RTS usually has 3-5 formulas that can't be beat. (Except by one of the other formulas if not the same one.) Civ has so many formulas that are valid, it can feel overwhelming for all newcomers. Every single person I have turned onto Civ has ran into this problem first. The first thing I do is show them how to easily access the civilopedia. (Especially about right clicking on the tech tree.) Explaining the city screen usually takes around 10-15 mins. Once that is done, wham. We run into formula time again. "What should I build?" Of course formula time #1 was "Who are the best leaders to play as?" These are questions a veteran can even steer you wrong in on Civ. The best questions a player must always ask "What is MY strategy playstyle" and "How can I reach the conditions for victory with it." All other answers will fall into place with that usually. Then come onto here and discuss other people's strategies and determine how you value them.
The big question in that is "What is MY strategy playstyle?" Because if you have played alot of formulated strategy games, the game has always determined that for you. But turn based games can usually cover more ground and generally offer you your own choices in:
Personally my analogy would be - CIV is a beloved series of books, and I'm afraid to see the movie version ( Rev) because I might not care for the interpretation, but I'm pleased with the publicity and interest it's created.
One point, the reward is not 1 tank per city... just one tank (all unit producing techs give a "first to" award of one of the units)... besides the very first techs which give no awards
some give one building or a Great Person, some give +1 pop per city and some give +1 or +2 production, science, or culture, to each city per turn [Industrialism and corporation each give +5 gold per turn per city the highest yield]
overall it is quick and simple... good when you don't have much time and want to have a basic game.
Certainly I think there is nothing inherently wrong with a tech granting an immediate benefit be it a unit or a new ability, and I rather think it makes the tech race that much more fun. The bonus you recieve isn't "free" in any way shape or form, it likely required considerable energies dedicated solely to rapid technological advancement.
Firaxis (and by extension the civ franchise) is a business, not a club, sometimes people tend to forget that.