Civilization V versus Civilization 4.

T

Teutorian

Chieftain
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Not sure if this is the right forum to post this.
I should begin by saying this isn't a debate thread. I've never played Civilization IV.
I'm wondering if I should.

I played a Civilization game back in the 80's on a computer (was it 1 or 2? I don't know)
and loved the concept. Civilization Rev got me back into it on Xbox a few years ago and I got Civilization V and was really excited about it. I love a thinking mans game.

My problem is Civilization V doesn't seem to be it. I sort of like it. I like what it might be.
I just find myself very bored each game after the beginning. After i've explored and figured out who is where and taken a dominant position over my neighbor, etc, I start to lose interest now.

It doesn't matter what difficulty it is on. I've beaten Civ V on the highest difficulty twice and normally played on the second highest difficulty. The moment I feel like i've gotten over the hump I lose interest in the game. I really only enjoy it when i'm threatened.

I also feel like no matter what civilization I choose to play with the game is the same. I build the same buildings, I build the same troops, I do the same things with the troops in war (play defensive and let the AI come into my forces and get grinded to pieces by ranged attacks and formations).

So I love the idea of a Civilization game. I just don't think Civilization V is doing it for me.... yet. We'll see after expansions and content, etc.

So what i'm wondering...

Is it possible to go to Civilization IV from Civilization V? No Hexagons sounds like a really rough transition when you're used to them.

I know a lot of you played IV for a long time and have now made the switch to V and don't want to look back. Is there a lot of things about IV that I would love and could really get into despite inferior graphics and squares instead of Hexagons and all the rest of it? I've heard nothing but praise for the game.

It sounds like IV has so much more depth than V which I think is what i'm looking for.
I'd like to feel like i'm steering a civilization but Civilization V really just comes off as a sort of bland war game. I don't say that meaning to knock it because I do like it...

It just isn't yet what I want it to be.

So Civilization IV? Good choice for awhile? Or too dated and obsolete?

Thanks for any input!
 
Is IV multifaceted with lots of layers of development or do I just have it in my mind what a "Civilization" game should be and with that i'm chasing a unicorn?
 
I have only experience of 2 Civ games, III and 5, but for both I find the early game the most interesting, and unquestionably the most challenging.
I believe it's inherent to the Civilization formula that there will be some turning point in any game after which the game becomes significantly easier.
It is not like an RPG where the enemies will become tougher as you move on, or with bossfights at the end.

If you've played a Civilization game before, there's also a chance that that some of the amazement you had from seeing one settler develop into a real civilization that moves through the ages, with railroads and everything appearing, will wear off.
I'm not sure people aren't expecting too much every time a new Civilization game comes out.
 
Teutorian said:
Is it possible to go to Civilization IV from Civilization V? No Hexagons sounds like a really rough transition when you're used to them.
Click to expand...
Using a different tile model (hexagons versus squares) was a good design decision.
I also like the solution to the wonder movies in the series, a picture + phrase and the zooming out.
Nothing will ever beat the civ2 wonder movies. The animation + music were so perfect chosen.

Civ4 is far superior in gameplay, specially diplomacy + resource manipulation.
 
Civ 5 just doesn't compare. Given the relative advances in technology since civ4, 3, etc, it is truly shocking that the game got worse. Though the same thing is happening across all genres of gaming; dumbing down.

I believe this is due to two things; 1) Increasing player base 2) Reducing costs of game production

It's very sad and a great shame. I have only had a couple of SP games of civ and it really does play itself. All we are left with is MP, which of course means pressing next turn for 3 hours until the last human player quits.
 
Moderator Action: This thread is more about Civ4, so is more appropriate for the Civ4 forum (subject to local mod discretion). Moved.
 
I'd recommend Civ IV Complete. I think it's the greatest game ever. There is such a wealth of mods for it.

I'd been asking for hexes for a long time, and pre-ordered the collector's edition of Civ V.
I got a several hundred hours worth of playtime and my money's worth, but I'll probably never play it again. My lingering impression is that V dictated avictory type from the point of leader selection as opposed to IV which feels more like a blank canvas for me to recreate the world.
 
Firaxis has been declining since Alpha Centauri. AC is leagues ahead of the "strategy" games Civilization IV and V pretend to be. Civ 3 was also pretty good.

AC was great because it was fun for all ages. Great if you're a kid or adult. Civ 3 is more for 16 year olds (bare minimum strategy, focus on "cool" stuff) and Civ 4 is more for 8 year olds (cartoony graphics, cookie cutter strategy, training wheels, etc). It's hard to determine what age category Civ 5 is most suited for since it barely has any content and is fundamentally broken, not to mention B-O-R-I-N-G. You'd have thought that Firaxis would learn to make a game more complex than spamming End Turn after the disaster of Civ 4 - but no instead they decided it was an awesome idea and implemented it further in Civ 5:rolleyes:

But anyways, what I'm getting at is that this "Civ 4 vs Civ 5" competition is like the special olympics. The real Olympics are being fought between Alpha Centauri, Civ 2, Civ 3, Europa Universalis 3 and a few others. Those are the truly great empire building strategy games of this age.
 
Wow, this may be the first time I've ever heard anyone say that Civ IV is less complex than III. I played and loved both, but Civ IV is a step up in complexity in almost every way. In fact, I'd consider it the deepest game in the Civ series, and in some ways it's even got more to it than SMAC (though in other ways, much less so).

Anyway, I feel like Civ IV will provide more of the experience that you're looking for. Sometimes the game can get you stuck in a rut a bit, but that can usually be easily cured by trying a different approach. I'm a builder guy myself, and I like to create big, wonderful cities, so obviously I end up going for either Space Race or, more frequently, Cultural victories. It never gets old for me, either. Watching your culture become more refined, more educated, more cultured... War is for barbarians. But I always leave war on, because that constant threat of being invaded adds a tension that a typical "sandbox" style game wouldn't have.
 
LOLOLOLOL what is this? Saying that III is more complicated than IV. That's a first, 1,2, and 3 were all much easier and less complex games than 4. This guy is probably playing on Noble and is all like omg to ez I'ma go back and play a hard game like 2 where I can buy the AIs cities! Damn that's so hard!
 
Civ5 is missing much of the complexity of Civ4, IMHO. I just wasn't able to play without being bored and frustrated. It just seemed too easy to go out and stomp the neighbors. I was playing at a lower level to learn the game at first, but even the higher levels seemed so simplistic that it was just dull.

... When it didn't crash or lock up, that is. ;)

Listen to Rusty Edge, OP, and pick up Civ4 Complete. Thousands of hours of fun await you. I promise. :)
 
Civ5 has some cool elements to it but as a whole it just doesn't quite work. They just don't have it balanced well enough plus they removed a bit of 'good stuff' that existed in previous civs.

Civ4 is what you want and for 20$ you can get it and all expansions.

And no idea why that one guy said civ1-3 are best. I played em all to death and they were all great fun but civ4 has all of that +more.

=> definitely download the ai mod and the unofficial patch. My thanks to those who maintain that stuff.
 
TheWilltoAct said:
I... what? Now we have Civ 4 being trolled in its own forum.
Click to expand...

Zx Zero Zx said:
LOLOLOLOL what is this? Saying that III is more complicated than IV. That's a first, 1,2, and 3 were all much easier and less complex games than 4. This guy is probably playing on Noble and is all like omg to ez I'ma go back and play a hard game like 2 where I can buy the AIs cities! Damn that's so hard!
Click to expand...

Moderator Action: If you don't like someone else's post, please do not accuse them of trolling, and please don't start making an attack on them. Address the points, if you must reply.
 
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