Civ VII VR first look

[marius_kaparius]

This looks terrible, it is interesting to see elements of the old UI though. The city banner has some interesting icons on it that I cannot fully make out

 

[Gedemon]

mmhhh... I don't think that Civ is really a game which needs VR (in contrast to anything first-person).
I guess the games will get slower, as you a) will need to search way more through the tiny map b) because you might just stand there looking at the graphics, even despite the lower resolution.

This didn't say anything about MP in VR.
I mean that could be interesting. Imagine that you're playing with some friends, looking at them around the table, then pull up the trade screen and gesture at the map while your buddies see the same.
I doubt this will be in, but it could be cool.

They mention MP in the video.

I sometime play in VR with my brother, our avatar are visible to each other (and most of the time legless as it's the hardest part to track for the headset)

I'm not against the idea of a version of civ in VR, but I'm not sure about that version.

The graphism are ok for the Quest, but would have been much better in PC VR. IMO with the PC level of details, you could meet the leaders in front of your/their palace, in their capital city, not around a table for example.

And the map visualization is too small (maybe we can zoom out more, but maybe it shows the max already in the trailer, again could be from the Quest hardware limits)

 

[Morgawr]

I was expecting it to work like the VR headset in the movie 3 Body Problem. You put it on and you’re truly immersed in the game, walking around your capital in 1st person if you choose. When is that version coming?

 

[Tekamthi]

I was expecting it to work like the VR headset in the movie 3 Body Problem. You put it on and you’re truly immersed in the game, walking around your capital in 1st person if you choose. When is that version coming?

Yeah this is what they need to do imo -- to really add some depth as the later eras roll on, I should be able to visit my capital's schools, and read storybooks to the children... and my advisors whisper important updates about war and peace into my ear

 

[fantsu]

Play the game with Nintendo Labo VR headset on Switch, and it looks better.
This is just a joke, right? Made me chuckle.

 

[Pistol90]

WHO ASKED FOR THIS.

And much more similar things in Civ7

Who asked for:
-narative events
-civ change
-culture rework
-multiplayer focused maps
-etc, etc

They really lost the plot with Civ7, at least at this early stage.

Lets hope they return to winning formula with expansions.

 

[marius_kaparius]

WHO ASKED FOR THIS.

And much more similar things in Civ7

Who asked for:
-narative events
-civ change
-culture rework
-multiplayer focused maps
-etc, etc

They really lost the plot with Civ7, at least at this early stage.

Lets hope they return to winning formula with expansions.

Narrative Events: I didn't ask for them but I enjoy them a lot.
Civ Change: I had an idea even more flexible than what they allowed (Civs as collections of Traditions that you can build like a deck)
Culture rework: Tourism was confusing, there I said it.
Multiplayer focused maps: They've already addressed this. I put this one on the publisher

 

[vorlon_mi]

I guess I'm in the minority, then. I think this looks amazing!

The pointing with both hands makes intuitive sense. The infinite camera rotation should make it possible for me to more easily pack/unpack my army commanders, where I've been known to mis-click once every 20 turns or so. Having the leaders around the table is good. Yes, the underlying game still has issues with city connections, whack-a-mole missionaries, and pacing in different parts of different ages. But being able to see the directions to grow a settlement from different views will help me grow towards resources, as well as place my specialists well in Exploration.

I'm not quite sure why wonders are also shown in a separate room, since they don't disappear from the map. Is that a sort of "Hall of Fame", for mementos or other achievements, across games?

Almost good enough to get me to spring for a VR rig, given that I will be playing Civ7 for the next 7 years or so.

 

[vorlon_mi]

In several games, I've had Amina hostile towards me for 2 ages. I can just imagine her across the table, furious with me, giving looks that could kill!

 

[MutilationWave]

Yeah this is what they need to do imo -- to really add some depth as the later eras roll on, I should be able to visit my capital's schools, and read storybooks to the children... and my advisors whisper important updates about war and peace into my ear

A second camel has hit the resource bar.

 

[MutilationWave]

Narrative Events: I didn't ask for them but I enjoy them a lot.
Civ Change: I had an idea even more flexible than what they allowed (Civs as collections of Traditions that you can build like a deck)
Culture rework: Tourism was confusing, there I said it.
Multiplayer focused maps: They've already addressed this. I put this one on the publisher

Oh man I didn't know how bad I needed deckbuilding mechanics in civ, you're brilliant. Maybe you could even use copies of some of your opponent's cards after being exposed to their culture through trade, religion, etc. This is a winning idea, especially with Balatro bringing deckbuilding games mainstream.

 

[Tekamthi]

I think this looks amazing!

curious, have you used the quest before? i have, and my experiences with it leaves me amazed at the idea, but not the trailer

my quest mostly collects dust as i dont game much outside of civ, havent found any killer app for it since buying it ~6 months ago, its a bit of an ordeal to get it all setup and put on comfortably, the apps that move around in 1st person make me insta sick -- but personal shortcomings aside, its one of my most treasured devices rn, its just so impressive to use -- even a bad version of civ is gonna be dope

but when i look at it only via the lens of my 2d gaming background, it does look kinda meh -- something doesn't translate in a 2d trailer about a VR app, i think that's part of the issue here

...also....$80 ?!#!?? most i've spent on anything on quest is $15 so far -- it still gives me mobile app vibes for the mostpart, pricing is kinda whack

 

[vorlon_mi]

curious, have you used the quest before? i have, and my experiences with it leaves me amazed at the idea, but not the trailer

my quest mostly collects dust as i dont game much outside of civ, havent found any killer app for it since buying it ~6 months ago, its a bit of an ordeal to get it all setup and put on comfortably, the apps that move around in 1st person make me insta sick -- but personal shortcomings aside, its one of my most treasured devices rn, its just so impressive to use -- even a bad version of civ is gonna be dope

but when i look at it only via the lens of my 2d gaming background, it does look kinda meh -- something doesn't translate in a 2d trailer about a VR app, i think that's part of the issue here

...also....$80 ?!#!?? most i've spent on anything on quest is $15 so far -- it still gives me mobile app vibes for the mostpart, pricing is kinda whack

No, I have not owned or used a VR headset.

Agree about the price. I'm justifying (to myself) paying full price for Civ7 by amortizing it over the 7 or more years I will play it.
Buying a VR-specific version would need its own FROI calculation (Fun Return on Investment)

 

[Tekamthi]

its a tough call then imo -- i'm torn between wanting to sell mine cuz i don't really use it, but wanting to keeping it just cuz of how neat it is. civ 7 price point keeps me firmly on the fence lol

ie i could sell it all and buy pc version and finish ahead a couple hundred $$ -- as much as i'd like to see civ in vr i am leaning towards this

 

[Kwami]

The idea of giving Meta and Zuckerberg money for a VR headset is enough to keep me away from Civ7 VR. I can't imagine wanting my gaming devices tied to the company that owns Facebook of all things.

Maybe I'll reconsider if they let the game work on other VR headsets.

 

[Gori the Grey]

If Rameses were one of the leaders, we'd at least know where the legs had gone, amirite?

 

[Dreadnought]

Can anyone actually play VR long enough at a time to enjoy Civ? After only a little while the eye strain and fatigue set in

 

[tman2000]

Does the narrator sound a little strange to anyone else?

Outsource firms have started using voice modulators to expand the scope of work they can do. But, there are lots of young people creating new accents and so forth all the time.

 

[bbbt]

That doesn't make it any less of a waste of resources when the core game on the core platform was released in such a bad state.

They could have paid the third party to help release a finished product rather than some vanity project that no one asked for.

From my understanding of the porting industry, it depends whether this was work-for-hire or whether the porting company is acting as the publisher and taking the risk and basically paying 2K a fee. The later is how Aspyr used to work for Mac games (where they licensed the games, took the financial risk, and was the publish for the Mac). I'd guess that's how it's working for this, as Meta wants games to drive sales, and if Zuckerburg is weighing in at all, Civ is one of his favorite games:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10103194377473731&id=4

Edit: Well, it looks like I'm wrong. 2k paid at least 6+ million (!!) for this: https://www.playsidestudios.com/new...-landmark-work-for-hire-development-agreement
I assume that means iOS and/or android versions are coming too (which that company also does) because I can imagine they'll sell enough meta quest copies to even warrant that....

 

[Siptah]

Edit: Well, it looks like I'm wrong. 2k paid at least 6+ million (!!) for this: https://www.playsidestudios.com/new...-landmark-work-for-hire-development-agreement
I assume that means iOS and/or android versions are coming too (which that company also does) because I can imagine they'll sell enough meta quest copies to even warrant that....

To be honest, I'm still surprised that there never was any mention of civ 7 coming to iPads. When they said the launch will be multi-platform, I expected iPads to be included at first. But this agreement could explain that it will come later down the road. The other possibility of course being that civ 7 isn't planned for iPads at all. But I find that hard to believe, given the switch 1 is probably the weakest platform performance-wise (but also maybe the 2nd strongest sales-wise). Judging from my very limited bubble: everybody I know personally of whom I know that they play civ games owns civ 6 (also) on iPad.