Civ MMO?

[binhthuy71]

Although there wasn't a raft of information in the article it did mention that XL is recruiting story designers and mission designers. That suggests to me that the game is going to be just another MMO with the difference that you'll play as the Egyptians, or some other civ, rather than as orcs or wizards. I can't see many of Civs gameplay elements translating to an MMO:

"Level Up! You have accumulated enough points to become a Level 33 Worker. Your Manure Bonus is increased to 15% and you can earn The Purple Loincloth by making 5000 Mud Bricks."

 

[Thormodr]

Although there wasn't a raft of information in the article it did mention that XL is recruiting story designers and mission designers. That suggests to me that the game is going to be just another MMO with the difference that you'll play as the Egyptians, or some other civ, rather than as orcs or wizards. I can't see many of Civs gameplay elements translating to an MMO:

"Level Up! You have accumulated enough points to become a Level 33 Worker. Your Manure Bonus is increased to 15% and you can earn The Purple Loincloth by making 5000 Mud Bricks."

Lol. Don't forget to include a $4.99 option for more manure bricks.

They've already "MMOed" Civ to an extent with Civilization 5. You've got social policies for skill trees. Easy victories for casuals and newbs that don't want to have to struggle to learn the game and become good at it. The game has a leveling up and unlocking things vibe already.

They already laid the foundation. A full blown MMO would just be the next logical step.

EDIT: That should read "newbs".

 

[binhthuy71]

They've already "MMOed" Civ to an extent with Civilization 5. You've got social policies for skill trees. Easy victories for casuals and noobs that don't want to have to struggle to learn the game and become good at it. The game has a leveling up and unlocking things vibe already.

True that. It almost feels as if there are two games now, one is made up of Prince and below while the other starts at levels above Prince.

 

[logintime]

Just saw this earlier today:

http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/21/xl-games-making-civilization-mmo/

Oh, you've got to be kidding me!

 

[Jarwy]

Civ MMO? Ah, gotcha gotcha. Ding up to the future era, then settle in the part of the world that has PvP enabled to farm unique buildings and wonders.

Ofc there is a slight problem with the concept. MMO's don't have an ending where as a civ game is all about getting there.

 

[Truthy]

I hope this doesn't happen.

 

[Skwink]

There is if they get the idea that the other markets should become the main one. There is no need to "look to other markets" with the series.

That's not how it works. Companies like money. This has a potential to make money. It's not like anyone's said anything about this replacing regular Civ.

 

[JWAT44]

Speaking of a Civ MMO: I guess Age of Empires Online is the most natural comparison/forecast available. Age of Empires Online is ok, not as grindy as most MMOs *coughWorldofWarcraftcough*, though I can understand why most Civ veterans would poopoo the idea of an MMO (after all, it's a generally terrible timesink of a genre with poor gameplay and arrogant jerks online to boot). Still, have hope!

Age of Empires Online, if it's any indication, is a nice positive step forward for strategy game MMOs. The problem is I don't see strategy game MMOs really satisfying veterans in the long run. Age of Empires Online is a simplified mix of all the previous Age of Empires games from I-III and Age of Mythology. A Civ based MMO will likely also be simplified, but who knows, it may have its own charms. Age of Empires Online certainly has a lot of potential, though having played through it, I will say it's rather limited in content right now.

i wish the real AoE franchise had kept going instead of changing it to mmo (AoEII is one of the besst games ever) and i really hope it doesnt happen to civ too

 

[SpearMan153]

looked at the aoe online site - those cartoony graphics make me want to vomit...

 

[PoliticalPro]

Civ is my offline fun. MMOs are my online fun.

If the game is GOOD, and rewards open world pvp, and killing carebears. Im ok with this. If this is another arena only pvp game (im looking at you WoW), it will suck...

I remember being with a fully geared Warlock @ the gate of Stormwind in a PvP server. Everyone was on teh no pvp mode. fornicate that man. I wanna kill people, and see them cry to my uberness.
That's why I played a lot of Lineage2. It's a korean grindfest but you can kill anyone, anywhere.

 

[Thormodr]

looked at the aoe online site - those cartoony graphics make me want to vomit...

One thing it has going in it's favour is that it's a lot less taxing on systems.
The more people that can play your MMO game the better.

Not that I'm defending the game really as I haven't played it yet. Just the idea that graphics are the end all and be all of things. If the gameplay is solid, graphics can be overlooked.

 

[Morningcalm]

The graphics are cartoony, yes, but they have charm, and some of the effects are very nice. A popular YouTube person (I think it was Halibut or TotalBiscuit?) who normally does WoW videos reviewed Age of Empires Online and commented on how he loved that the donkey trade carts "pranced." You wouldn't get that sort of hilarious animation in a realistic-graphics game.

Thormodr is also right to point out it's less taxing on systems. Blizzard made a similar decision to go cartoony-but-stylish in WoW, and it paid off in spades. I'm guessing the Civ MMO designers will make a similar decision, and we already know of two games sporting such aesthetic designs: Civ Rev and Civ World.

I will say that I miss the realism of Age of Empires II/III graphics though. I think that realism was part of what made the immersion so strong in those games. A Civ MMO lacking realistic graphics will definitely turn most veterans off.

 

[Menzies]

That's not how it works. Companies like money. This has a potential to make money. It's not like anyone's said anything about this replacing regular Civ.

Yes, but if it fails I'm sure some executive is going to be blaming it on Civ series as a whole. What that would mean, who knows. Maybe they'll just bugger the entire series to "fix it" and "make it profitable", you never know. I know it isn't something we should really be worried about, but this is just ridiculous!