A case for forum members easing up on 2K a bit

[2K Greg]

I'm doing everything I can to get that FAQ out the door. I said before the end of June and I'm still shooting for that. I had not anticipated it taking this long!

But it's not like I can't get that done and work on other features at the same time.

I think you'll be pleased with the features I am writing; my intention is to give you guys specific details about the game mechanics that you can't normally get from preview articles.

 

[pleasenoname]

Hello Elizabeth,

I was wondering if there is any kind of plan for a co-operative mode of multi-player? Women have expressed their desire for such a mode and I also like co-operative multi-player games better than competitive.

 

[2K Elizabeth]

Hello Elizabeth,

I was wondering if there is any kind of plan for a co-operative mode of multi-player? Women have expressed their desire for such a mode and I also like co-operative multi-player games better than competitive.

Only women? I'm sure some guys would dig it too.

I'll let Greg do the honors of filling you in on all things multiplayer in his feature, though. They're coming along wonderfully!

 

[2K Elizabeth]

I'm just waiting for the FAQ that Greg promised before the end of the month.
I will give him a fair chance to answer all the questions that have been asked......but "awesome features"? Please, just answer the questions....honestly and completely, and skip the "awesome feature", no PR spin, just answers.

I'm pretty much as far from PR as you can get. Tried it out when I was a wee lass... Decided to never return.

Greg's FAQ is almost done (as he just said.) There are just a couple more points to get all the details on - I figure you'd rather those than to hold us to a date and get a less full set of answers, yeah?

 

[tom2050]

The beauty of Steam is that the things that worked "fairly well" in Civilization IV will now be awesome in Civilization V (unless the things I'm thinking about are entirely different from the things you are - you were vague!)

As for gameplay like hexes and one-unit-per-tile, of course Steam doesn't help with that. That's not what the service is used for - but for connecting people, making an awesome community, helping with stuff like mods and multiplayer... Greg's working away at some awesome features to fill you in on all the details, too.

Thank you.

The claim that Steam saved Firaxis time and money to further develop the game... is a purely misleading statement that many of the SSS continue to say with a passion.

When they say 'develop the game', I think solely of the game itself (hexes, combat, diplo, economic model, etc). The Steam DRM does let users connect to the web in-game, mod services, auto-update (as long as one can opt out of course), purchase DLC, matchmaking and acheivements, other MP connections. These are all great things.

Perhaps you are correct though, some mix together the word game and gameplay with things that are indirect game content. It's the same thing with the claim that Steam saves everyone tons of money with their sales, when it was shown in reality the sales save a few dollars on average, but non-sales do not.

 

[EmpireOfCats]

[M]y intention is to give you guys specific details about the game mechanics that you can't normally get from preview articles.

Thanks, we appreciate that, and will make every effort to try to seem like we could at least manage to pretend to be patient .

 

[azzaman333]

Thank you.

The claim that Steam saved Firaxis time and money to further develop the game... is a purely misleading statement that many of the SSS continue to say with a passion.

When they say 'develop the game', I think solely of the game itself (hexes, combat, diplo, economic model, etc). The Steam DRM does let users connect to the web in-game, mod services, auto-update (as long as one can opt out of course), purchase DLC, matchmaking and acheivements, other MP connections. These are all great things.

Perhaps you are correct though, some mix together the word game and gameplay with things that are indirect game content. It's the same thing with the claim that Steam saves everyone tons of money with their sales, when it was shown in reality the sales save a few dollars on average, but non-sales do not.

As long as the game isn't being region-priced, it's almost always cheaper for me to buy on steam.

 

[Dargoth]

Ive got a question for Elizabeth or Greg

Are the Steam Civ 5 Deluxe edition extras (Specifically the the extra civ and the scenario) be made available to people who bought the game retail?

Ie are you going to provide the content as DLC/Future Expansion?

 

[lietkynes]

I dont get all the fuss about steam. I never used it so I may be wrong but.. as I understand I can just go to steam once to activate the game and then play my Civ5 forever without having to hear anything from them again in my life. Is that correct ?

 

[azzaman333]

I dont get all the fuss about steam. I never used it so I may be wrong but.. as I understand I can just go to steam once to activate the game and then play my Civ5 forever without having to hear anything from them again in my life. Is that correct ?

You'll have to log into steam to play.

 

[Commander Bello]

I dont get all the fuss about steam. I never used it so I may be wrong but.. as I understand I can just go to steam once to activate the game and then play my Civ5 forever without having to hear anything from them again in my life. Is that correct ?

In order to be able to play Civ5 (whether obtained via Steam or by a retail copy doesn't matter), you will have to install the Steam client to your system.
Then, the Steam client will have to connect to the Steam servers and will have to download any available patch for itself and the game you are going to activate.
After all patches have been downloaded and the game finally has been activated, you will have to set the game to offline mode manually.

After that, you can play without having to connect to the Steam servers, yet the Steam client will be loaded and started each time you want to play Civ5.
It will briefly try to find open internet connections (as your firewall may tell you) but allegedly will do nothing more.

But in case you would ever check via Steam for updates and patches or in any other way using the Steam client for online mode, the process of downloading patches for the Steam client, the game and finally having to manually set it to the so-called "offline mode" again will have to be repeated.

 

[azzaman333]

You'll have to log into steam to play.

I simplified your post.

 

[Thyrwyn]

You'll have to log into steam once to play.

I have corrected your simplification.

 

[PieceOfMind]

It's funny that whenever a steam-virgin comes along they get pounced on by both sides. It's like politics and swinging voters.

You'll have to log into steam at least once to play.

I have further qualified your correction to a simplification.

 

[EmpireOfCats]

I have a request for Elizabeth or Greg. Let me say right away that they are not going to like it.

There is an ongoing discussion in a thread named "Was this really necessary?" about the original version of the Civ V website's description of the Ottoman Empire that included a derogatory statement about Americans. The line in question has since been removed, but the discussion shows no sign of ending [full disclosure: I'm a vocal part of the discussion]. I can't find an official statement by either Firaxis or 2K about why that line was included, how it got removed, and what their official position on the whole affair is, and if the original statement is, as claimed by some, still part of the Civilopedia. If missed that statement, my apologies, please direct me to the link.

I would be grateful if somebody from either company could take the time to publish something however small in that thread to end the discussion once and for all, so we can all go back to debating the really important things in life, like if the B-29 would have been a better choice than the B-17 as the American UU, or if the pastures are the right shade of green.

Again, I realize this is less than pleasant. But I think it is better for everybody involved to get this over with sooner rather than later.

 

[Thyrwyn]

LOL well said, both of you. Though for the record, I am Steam-neutral.

 

[azzaman333]

I have corrected your simplification.

That's just wrong. You have to log into steam to play steam games, or use offline mode which has its own issues.

 

[PieceOfMind]

That's just wrong. You have to log into steam to play steam games, or use offline mode which has its own issues.

If you run steam in offline mode, you are still using Steam. You could say you're not logging on to a steam server.

 

[azzaman333]

If you run steam in offline mode, you are still using Steam. You could say you're not logging on to a steam server.

Using offline mode you're not logging in, which is what I said. I didn't say anything about using steam.

 

[Krill]

azzaman, how did you get warned for trolling, and then troll another moderator?