Civilopedia

[TheMarshmallowBear]

Am I the only that is slightly bothered by the Civilopedia, it used to be a place for information, including historical one. a long paragraphs.. now it's not only short.. but the way the phrase certain sentences is actually vulgar to me.

I mean, look at this :
"The "mech" is a Modern Armor unit on steroids. It has a shockingly high Combat Strength, allowing it to stomp virtually any unit it meets into paste. It can also move after attacking. The GDR gets a penalty when attacking cities, but frankly, who cares? It's really cool!"

I mean c'mon.. I know GDR doesn't exist, but at least give it a proper descpirtion and not something for a child.

Also another example
"This pattern repeats itself until the sun explodes and all life is wiped off of the face of the planet." - Meritocracy

Who writes like that? How is that in any way historical?

Am I really that prude?

Is this another rant thread ?

 

[The_Quasar]

Perhaps the Civilopedia was written by kids?

Maybe there should be another version.... that is worth reading and readable!

 

[EulerMcE]

I'd guess they write that way to signal that the information presented is simplified. They'd probably get hammered more if they wrote something more technical that was laden with inaccuracies. I would say using vulgar language is a way for them to absolve themselves of some responsibility, making it overly clear that it's not a textbook or proper reference.

Also note how I preface my sentences with statements implying uncertainty. Don't hurt me if I am wrong.

 

[AfterShafter]

While I do agree that the Civilopedia is woefully simple, I think considering it vulgar might hint towards being a *wee* bit oversensitive. It's more colloquial than vulgar in my eyes. Then again, maybe you could accurately rebut me that I'm jaded by watching the horror stories that show up on the news so often?

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

I think the main issue that i have with Civ 5's Civilopedia (may I actually remind you that I don't think Civilopedia technically even exists in this game? There's no button for "Civilopedia" is there? Or is there one in th emian menu) is the fact they talk to us like bunch of 12 year old kid.... where's the historical facts?

 

[AfterShafter]

Yeah, "Civilopedia" is only mentioned on the startup menu under options, and that was added after release if I can recall. The Civilopedia is worse and worse every game, but I think it's a squeaky-wheel-gets-the-grease type situation. Not many complain, and when they do, they are far less vocal about it than other things, so when Firaxis is divvying up how much time to spend on what, the Civilopedia gets the short shrift.

If I have a really big problem with it, it's that gameplay concepts are actually very poorly explained in it. I remember looking at units and improvements in the past and thinking "ok, this actually does a very poor job of telling me exactly how this thing operates." Not sure if this has changed, and I can't even recall what I was looking at, but, it left a lot to be desired.

Civilopedia is not so good. Hope they put a bit more time into it for the next game.