dh_epic
Cold War Veteran
I think you can expect to see anywhere between 4 and 8 new civilizations in the next expansion. That's the way it's been historically. Also, all bets are off because Civ 4 functions on new leaders, not new civs. So you may only see 2 new civilizations, but 8 new leaders.
The way I see it, over a long enough period of time, nearly every suggestion for a new civilization would make it in. It's simply a question of priorities.
If there's a gap in an important part of history that can't be told without a certain civ in the game, then that immediately takes a higher priority. The end result is you're left with substitutes in other parts -- China stands for Vietnam and Korea. Arabia stands for Babylon and Sumeria. England stands for the Celts, the Germans for the Dutch, and the Spain for the the Portugese. These substitutions may seem insulting to the most hardcore purists, but when you take a step back you realize that you can't possibly include this level of detail in the first version of the game.
I'm modestly happy with the leaders in Civ 4 -- with the exception of Mongolia, let alone two leaders. But with that, here are the top 8 for the next version (in my humble opinion), ranked in terms of priority:
1) Turkish/Ottoman: For hundreds of years, one of the biggest, richest, and most cultured empires in the world.
2) Dutch/Netherlands: One of the great colonizers. (Seafaring)
3) Abyssinia/Ethiopia: The ONLY civilization to resist European colonization. More than China or India can say. Takes on a legendary importance in religious thought.
4) Portugese: One of the great colonizers. (Seafaring)
5) Phoenicians: Had an empire that stretched from Lebanon to Libya. Founded Carthage. Invented the Alphabet. (Seafaring)
6) Vikings: Discovered the new world, and the ancestors of great Scandinavian countries. (Seafaring)
7) Slavs: kind of a meta civ, but there's a very rich history of civilization somewhere between Germany and Russia.
8) Mayans: Very rich and unique art, architechture, recreation, and ceremonies. Seperately invented writing and the number zero.
The way I see it, over a long enough period of time, nearly every suggestion for a new civilization would make it in. It's simply a question of priorities.
If there's a gap in an important part of history that can't be told without a certain civ in the game, then that immediately takes a higher priority. The end result is you're left with substitutes in other parts -- China stands for Vietnam and Korea. Arabia stands for Babylon and Sumeria. England stands for the Celts, the Germans for the Dutch, and the Spain for the the Portugese. These substitutions may seem insulting to the most hardcore purists, but when you take a step back you realize that you can't possibly include this level of detail in the first version of the game.
I'm modestly happy with the leaders in Civ 4 -- with the exception of Mongolia, let alone two leaders. But with that, here are the top 8 for the next version (in my humble opinion), ranked in terms of priority:
1) Turkish/Ottoman: For hundreds of years, one of the biggest, richest, and most cultured empires in the world.
2) Dutch/Netherlands: One of the great colonizers. (Seafaring)
3) Abyssinia/Ethiopia: The ONLY civilization to resist European colonization. More than China or India can say. Takes on a legendary importance in religious thought.
4) Portugese: One of the great colonizers. (Seafaring)
5) Phoenicians: Had an empire that stretched from Lebanon to Libya. Founded Carthage. Invented the Alphabet. (Seafaring)
6) Vikings: Discovered the new world, and the ancestors of great Scandinavian countries. (Seafaring)
7) Slavs: kind of a meta civ, but there's a very rich history of civilization somewhere between Germany and Russia.
8) Mayans: Very rich and unique art, architechture, recreation, and ceremonies. Seperately invented writing and the number zero.