BBC Civ 5 Video Preview (new in-game footage)

[Ahriman]

The way I'm reading this is as if people think that anybody who works in the BBC or just lives in Britain has no clue about Civilization

Nothing to do with Britain; its surprise that a news organization as reputable as the BBC is covering videogames in a serious and respectful way.

Normally gamers and geeks are ignored or mocked by mainstream media.

There's nothing anti-British here, you're over-sensitive.

 

[Schuesseled]

Shirk says "they'll surrender now" after he nukes the enemy.

Diplomacy statement from Elizabeth "we will never surrender". [Which could just be flavor.]

maybe he just means they are going to try and negotiate a peace. It'll be interesting to see ai make descisions like that "holy crap, ive been nuked" *beg for mercy*

 

[Samus_au]

Nice video. And after not being very excited about the animated leaders, the more I see them the more I like them. Monty's voice sounds really cool too.

Also, keep in mind none of what we see in these videos is just random gameplay footage. All of it would have been picked to show of cool looking scenes, war, big cities, etc. How did Dennis know Monty would surrender? (HA!) Because that game was stacked in such a way, so he could then show off more of the 3d leaders behavior and speech. So don't stress too much about behaviors, combat outcomes etc.

Why is September so far away?

 

[Ahriman]

Because that game was stacked in such a way, so he could then show off more of the 3d leaders behavior and speech. So don't stress too much about behaviors,

Oh, absolutely. But it does introduce the possibility of some kind of surrender mechanic, which may or may not be more than willingness to give up some stuff to make peace.

 

[Samus_au]

Oh, absolutely. But it does introduce the possibility of some kind of surrender mechanic, which may or may not be more than willingness to give up some stuff to make peace.

Yeah I agree there, I was speaking in general about all of the videos.

As for surrender, with vassals gone I guess this will just force them into permanent alliance with you with some other benefits from their land, resources etc.

 

[Joel E]

its surprise that a news organization as reputable as the BBC is covering videogames in a serious and respectful way.
Normally gamers and geeks are ignored or mocked by mainstream media.
QUOTE]

Video Games are Mainstream Media now. The Gaming industry has long since surpassed the movie industry in annual revenue.

I would automatically assume that that reporter has played CIV. Anyone born after 1975 is at a high risk of being a gamer.

 

[Ahriman]

The Gaming industry has long since surpassed the movie industry in annual revenue.

Can you source this please? I would be surprised if video games alone (PC + console) were bigger than movie sales, as long as you included DVDs sales.

Bigger than sales of tickets in theatres, maybe.

And respectful media coverage remains rare.

Anyone born after 1975 is at a high risk of being a gamer.

that interviewer wasn't born after 1975....

 

[Never]

Nothing to do with Britain; its surprise that a news organization as reputable as the BBC is covering videogames in a serious and respectful way.

The BBC are really good and no adverts with the BBC ever.

Most noticeable launches in the tech world are video reviewed by the BBC and often the critique proves more reliable than those of the large gaming websites. They started regular coverage of e3 ages ago.

For an idea how the wide audience the BBC caters for here in the Uk is a program called 'Click' or something like that (shown really late at night) where they actually review websites.

BBC Radio 4 is also really good.

 

[Joel E]

I guess if you added DVD sales and rentals to Box office it doesnt quite work:

http://gamer.blorge.com/2009/01/27/video-games-beat-home-movies-global-recession-is-helping/


This is the event I was reffering to, 2007, I remember because It came up in a meeting with an analyst the was advocating investment in Nintendo. At the time I was very surprised at the numbers:

http://us.i1.yimg.com/videogames.yahoo.com/feature/video-game-sales-break-records/1181404

That guy looks under 35 to me but whatever. 1975 was an arbatrary date. The point I was trying to make was the lots of people play games who you wouldn't think of as "gamers" if you saw them on the street.

 

[Joel E]

sorry for double post...

CBC also has a great radio show about internet trends and technology called Spark.
http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/program/spark

 

[civ_king]

okay, CBC is awesome, this proves what about BBC?

 

[Mercade]

Really interested in managing citizens on the Global Map

Yes, indeed. There's apparently some toggle that will bring up an overlay of what previously was the city screen, but it seems quite handy to do that sort of management from the main screen instead of having to go to the city screen. Very interesting.

 

[Carver]

I was quite concerned about Civ5, but that video looked awesome, I must admit.

 

[Joel E]

okay, CBC is awesome, this proves what about BBC?

Nothing. I wasn't trying to prove anything.

Our friend Never from the UK was singing the praises of the BBC and its nerd inclusive programing. I was relating our experience in Canada.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

I know a lot of people are lamenting the focus on combat, but lets not forget that this is the "whizz-bang new feature" that Firaxis is marketing to people who aren't already die-hard fans of the series. I've no doubt that, as we get closer to September (I agree, why is it *soooo* far away ) we'll see the various gaming magazines (like IGN & Gamespot) deal with the other mechanics-like Social Policies, the Economic Model & Diplomacy!

Aussie.

 

[Ituralde]

Yes, indeed. There's apparently some toggle that will bring up an overlay of what previously was the city screen, but it seems quite handy to do that sort of management from the main screen instead of having to go to the city screen. Very interesting.

The way I see it, there still is a City Screen, which looks like this:

http://e3.gamespot.com/image_viewer...e3-details/2/?full_size=1&rgroup=e32010_story

It just has way less panels than the old City Screen we're used to and shows a much larger faction of the map around the city. If you watch the BBC video this is the exact Screen that is up at 00:45. You can see the presenter clicking on Rome and then there is a very smooth transition to the City Screen.

Then at 1:11 after anothe switch from the City Screen to the Stragey Map and back again to the City Screen Dennis Shirk starts allocating workers. You can see that he can position the Citizens in a ring of 3 around the city of Rome. All of this happens in the City Screen.

So honestly I have no idea what you and Krikkitone are referring to? I'm really curious whether I missed something? To me it sounds exactly the way it worked in Civ IV, where you could access the build queue without going into the City Screen, but still had to go there to micromanage which tiles are being worked.

At 1:24 Dennis Shirk mentions that a player doesn't have to enter the City Screen and that Governors would take care of the tile allocation. This was also possible in Civ IV.

So while I like the look and feel of the new City Screen not much has changed about the general mechanics behind it.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

The way I see it, there still is a City Screen, which looks like this:

http://e3.gamespot.com/image_viewer...e3-details/2/?full_size=1&rgroup=e32010_story

It just has way less panels than the old City Screen we're used to and shows a much larger faction of the map around the city. If you watch the BBC video this is the exact Screen that is up at 00:45. You can see the presenter clicking on Rome and then there is a very smooth transition to the City Screen.

Then at 1:11 after anothe switch from the City Screen to the Stragey Map and back again to the City Screen Dennis Shirk starts allocating workers. You can see that he can position the Citizens in a ring of 3 around the city of Rome. All of this happens in the City Screen.

So honestly I have no idea what you and Krikkitone are referring to? I'm really curious whether I missed something? To me it sounds exactly the way it worked in Civ IV, where you could access the build queue without going into the City Screen, but still had to go there to micromanage which tiles are being worked.

At 1:24 Dennis Shirk mentions that a player doesn't have to enter the City Screen and that Governors would take care of the tile allocation. This was also possible in Civ IV.

So while I like the look and feel of the new City Screen not much has changed about the general mechanics behind it.

Well, the change in presentation is similar to a change in mechanics... the visibility of the rest of the surrounding map is VERY significant in that it essentially means there is no 'city window' just a 'city overlay/menu' on the strategic map, which you never need to leave except for diplomacy.

 

[Ituralde]

And while I'm going through the video in slowmo.

At 1:41 after the Roman ship had bombared the English ship you can see some numbers going up both from the Roman and the English ship? I can't make them out though. It could be that they say +XP, which would make sense that both ships gained experience from the exchange.

And right after you can see the Combat Odds when he's bombarding the Coastal town. Once again you can't make out specifics, but the City seems to have some defense rating. Instead of Major Victory it simply says Ranged Attack where the Odds/possible outcome are displayed.

 

[Ituralde]

Well, the change in presentation is similar to a change in mechanics... the visibility of the rest of the surrounding map is VERY significant in that it essentially means there is no 'city window' just a 'city overlay/menu' on the strategic map, which you never need to leave except for diplomacy.

I guess you're referring to the fact that units are also visible in the Civ V City Screen.

Other than that the only thing has changed is that the menus of the City Screen have become smaller thus revealing more of the terrain. Take a look at this City Screen from Civ IV.

http://apolyton.net/upload/view/70050_Civ4ScreenShot0093.JPG

It also shows the strategic map. It is only occluded by the large menus on the left right and bottom. They are slightly opaque though, you can still make out parts of the map through them. All Civ V has done is make those large menus smaller and push them to the side of the screen.

Either way, I guess we're talking semantics here. We can agree that the new City Screen is a much appreciated visual improvement on the old one!

 

[Willowmound]

Hey...that BBC reporter knew his stuff! You don't think he...na, surely not...just well briefed.

Ha ha. Because, surely, reporters aren't real humans. No way do they have lives and interests and stuff. Only problem is, reporters aren't "briefed". Gathering information is what they do, that's their job. It's they who brief you.

No, I'm inclined to think this reporter actually was human. What a thought.