Computer Games 'Pimp your Civ4' article

[Kael]

Brett Todd wrote a good article in the November 2006 issue of Computer Games. It covers a lot of the mods that we are working on here.

Links:

Article page-1
Article page-2
Article page-3

 

[Dom Pedro II]

This is awesome!

 

[Splinter13]

Very interesting, Thanks for this update Kael.. Very interesting to see the CivFanatic work go into a popular article

 

[TheLopez]

Now I feel slighted... they made no mention of any of my mods...

 

[Dom Pedro II]

They were probably focusing on mods rather than modcomps

 

[Déja]

hah, makes me wish I had announced details of my project sooner

 

[Shqype]

That's cool, they mention Illyria under the TAM section... that's my creation

 

[Dale]

Cool, AoD gets another review.

 

[Kael]

Now I feel slighted... they made no mention of any of my mods...

Yeah, there were a few mods I think should have been inlcuded and werent (and a few perhaps that should be the other way but who am i to judge).

I was particuarly impressed with his review of Sevomod 3 where the author says "If any of these mods is a must-have, it's this one." High praise for an excellent mod, congrats Sevo!

 

[Impaler[WrG]]

I agree with Lopez, they should have pointed out that to a great degree the large mods are collections of many smaller components made by people outside of the "mod team" or "mod leader". They dont realy destinquish between Mods and Mod components, inded I would SevoPedia and EthnicalyDiversUnits to be closer to components then Mods as they arn't ment to be played in isolation and have been incorporated in more then half the major mods outtheir, Someone reading this article might get the false impression that something as huge as the Sevo mod was made wholey by Sevo from scratch. Sevo mod is by Sevo in the same way Civilization is by Sid Meiers, theirs a lot of support and mod makers are very good at pointing out and giving credit to their support teams. The article mostly glazed over this modular aspect of the Moding community which would have been an interesting article in and of itself as it shows that everybody and anyone can make usefull contributions without having to make a full blown total convertion or Mod pack. Programers are the unsung heros of many of these mods as they made the rule changes the article praises so higly.

 

[Kael]

I agree with Lopez, they should have pointed out that to a great degree the large mods are collections of many smaller components made by people outside of the "mod team" or "mod leader". They dont realy destinquish between Mods and Mod components, inded I would SevoPedia and EthnicalyDiversUnits to be closer to components then Mods as they arn't ment to be played in isolation and have been incorporated in more then half the major mods outtheir, Someone reading this article might get the false impression that something as huge as the Sevo mod was made wholey by Sevo from scratch. Sevo mod is by Sevo in the same way Civilization is by Sid Meiers, theirs a lot of support and mod makers are very good at pointing out and giving credit to their support teams. The article mostly glazed over this modular aspect of the Moding community which would have been an interesting article in and of itself as it shows that everybody and anyone can make usefull contributions without having to make a full blown total convertion or Mod pack. Programers are the unsung heros of many of these mods as they made the rule changes the article praises so higly.

Thats true, and why I look at the article as a success of CivFanatics. How many of those mods aren't from here? Regardless of the names mentioned (and I know its always cool to see your name in a magazine) it is a group success and all the regulars should be proud to see us so well represented.

I know that I am just one of many working on Fall from Heaven (I have a personal pet peeve that they always list my name in articles and not the rest of the team) but even beyond the team Fall from Heaven wouldn't be what it was without the rest of the community here. Either from players giving direct feedback on ideas or from people like TheLopez, TGA, etc etc that have taught the rest of us their tricks.

 

[Dom Pedro II]

If we get even a handful of people coming to CFC for one mod mentioned and stick around for more, it will be a success for all of us.

 

[Spartan117]

Now I feel slighted... they made no mention of any of my mods...

Dont feel left out for the reasons dom pedro made and plus everyone here knows of your mod components that you have made. Most, if not all, modpacks have used some of your mod components in making their mod.

 

[Dale]

Unfortunately, it's always the way with games/mods. It's always the lead who gets the most credit. Whether they be the person who's name is on the box, or the lead designer, or producer. What of Oggie who created so many of the wonderful graphics in Civ4?

It's these people who also deserve the praise. The people who contribute to components of the mods. People like the Lopez. As a lead myself on some projects in the past, I ALWAYS ensure that anyone who contributed to the project gets their wrap, either in-game on a credits screen I made or in the main documentation. Aside from that, I can't think of any other way to highlight that the project was a combined effort. Take my combat mod as an example. In the main documentation I list every person who contributed to the mod, even to the testers and original discussion.

On the other side of the coin, if someone then uses any component I've written, and it produces a great project, then I am happy that my work has contributed to a great product. So I feel if as long as the project leads do everything they can to highlight the fact it was a team effort, there really isn't too much else we can ask for as contributors.

At the least, we at CivFanatics know who they are and appreciate their work.

Dale

 

[strategyonly]

Well isnt it always the same every where, take the BARTENDER, does he get credit for the drink he made, NOOO the waitress does and not only that , she gets the TIP. But without the people that make up the items, the people that get the credit would NEVER be.

 

[Leif]

I agree with Kael, with or without names, this is a great victory for the entire Civfanatics community.

 

[Wyz_sub10]

I agree with Lopez, they should have pointed out that to a great degree the large mods are collections of many smaller components made by people outside of the "mod team" or "mod leader". They dont realy destinquish between Mods and Mod components, inded I would SevoPedia and EthnicalyDiversUnits to be closer to components then Mods as they arn't ment to be played in isolation and have been incorporated in more then half the major mods outtheir, Someone reading this article might get the false impression that something as huge as the Sevo mod was made wholey by Sevo from scratch. Sevo mod is by Sevo in the same way Civilization is by Sid Meiers, theirs a lot of support and mod makers are very good at pointing out and giving credit to their support teams. The article mostly glazed over this modular aspect of the Moding community which would have been an interesting article in and of itself as it shows that everybody and anyone can make usefull contributions without having to make a full blown total convertion or Mod pack. Programers are the unsung heros of many of these mods as they made the rule changes the article praises so higly.

Good points. But the reality is that many among the community don't know exactly who's work goes into what, let alone a reviewer who is has to search for good mods, download and play them, and review them. It's not practical to recognize everyone in a short blurb, although it would be nice. The article has links to the threads, though, where people should be better credited.

People like TheLopez who do a lot of the "unglamorous" tech work miss out on the kudos. But at least they're recognized here - by us - when this happens. And people directed to this site because of the article, will quickly get to know his work, and C.Roland's, and Jeckel's, etc.

As for Sevomod, specifically, well...Sevo deseves a huge amount of credit, because while he didn't author all thiese components, he has been maintaining them as part of Sevomod. And really, what's good for some of us (publicity-wise) is good for all of us.

...that, and Canada Mod got mentioned.

 

[purplexus]

I like the fact that the Canada Mod was mentioned in that article. People shouldn't laugh that there might be a Canadian empire one day. who knows?
with over half of the worlds fresh water supply in Canada the vast amounts of land and resources and with the world becoming more and more resource hungry, Who knows? Maybe this is only the beginning of a giant empire one day. Either that or someone may conquer Canada in order to get at those resources. Or the world will finally create a "Star Trek Replicator" by then. Time will tell. But in the year 2300 and Canada is the economic superpower of the day... At least they can now go back to playing Civ IV on their dusty old computer and go thank goodness someone made a Canada Mod.

OH TO DREAM....and with me running the country at that time with all the gorgeous supermodels bending head over heals in order to please me.
AHHHHHH that is the life.

I can hardly wait. Cryogenically freeze me now. I DEMAND YOU!.