Barbarian King
Prince
- Joined
- May 4, 2010
- Messages
- 356
There were sprawling cities and empires far before the modern era. And looking to see an empire is indeed the entire point I’m making: going back to 5 or 4 doesn’t feel like an empire. I see one tiny square or hex with some generic buildings surrounded by mines or farms. It feels like looking at a Settlers of Catan board, not looking at a massive empire.
I think it was Civ 3 that had the generic buildings, in Civ 4 and 5 you saw the buildings you built in your cities. I know this whole debate really boils down to aesthetic preferences, but for me 4 & 5 got the balance right of being able to watch your cities grow yet still have the map feel like it is a large empire. Large empires are mostly rural land, so that's the visual I like to see in history themed empire games. I like both city builders and 4X games, but Civ's aesthetic seems to be trending towards that which is more appropriate for city builders than 4X, and I hope they reverse this and reduce the city sprawl in future.