Concerned: Is too much info visible?

[anandus]

One concern I have for Civ 6 is that possibly too much info is visible.
You can tell at a glance which disctricts and buildings someone has built, how far they are with getting a great person, how far along building a wonder they are, etc.

Of course you can stay in the fog of war as long as you can, but I expect spies (which I think you can't block) and such to lift this fog of war, giving your competitors a good view of your state of affairs.

What do you think, has unstacking the cities laid too much information bare?
And how will this play out in games, especially multiplyaer games?

 

[homan1983]

Districts and tile improvements aren't automatically shown, you have to scout the area to see the map and such details AFAIK

 

[Bibor]

No, the more info the better. Hiding info adds nothing to gameplay quality, at least in single player.

 

[BrokenBokken]

I don't think this is a worthy worry

 

[Deggial]

Less concerns, more anticipation, guys!

 

[Wellfooled]

Having this information available will, I hope, allow from strategy where there otherwise would be none.

Information on rival nation's Great Person progress is the difference between a heated race and losing a desired Great Person to an enemy nation without contest or fanfare. Information on a Rival's Wonder progress means the difference between "Ah shucks" and "If we raid their industry we can slow them down enough for us to catch up!"

I hope having this kind of information makes for a more interesting game, with more contest.

 

[Acken]

I think its good for the game. Civ has a lot of "gambling" mechanics where you get screwed if a competitor does something. Example are building a wonder or trying to get a religion.
Getting more information there will allow more enlightened choices which I think is a good thing.

 

[blackcatatonic]

No, the more info the better. Hiding info adds nothing to gameplay quality, at least in single player.

This. After the way Civ 5 was in the beginning before they even made the diplomatic modifiers visible (what a brilliant idea that was!), I am definitely in the 'more is more' camp when it comes to information.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

This is why games are designed by professionals. It's harder than it looks.

 

[anandus]

No, the more info the better. Hiding info adds nothing to gameplay quality, at least in single player.

I'm mainly thinking about multiplayer.
In singleplayer it doesn't matter that much, of course, what the AI can see, and I guess those concerns are greatly reduce regaring singleplayer games.

Having this information available will, I hope, allow from strategy where there otherwise would be none.

Information on rival nation's Great Person progress is the difference between a heated race and losing a desired Great Person to an enemy nation without contest or fanfare. Information on a Rival's Wonder progress means the difference between "Ah shucks" and "If we raid their industry we can slow them down enough for us to catch up!"

I hope having this kind of information makes for a more interesting game, with more contest.

Actually I'm expecting less contest and excitement. If you can see that someone is already halfway a wonder, then you're not going to bother building it, of course.

It reduces the 'wonder race, who will win?'-aspect of the game, making it a lot less exciting.

 

[DJ_Tanner]

One concern I have for Civ 6 is that possibly too much info is visible.
You can tell at a glance which disctricts and buildings someone has built, how far they are with getting a great person, how far along building a wonder they are, etc.

Of course you can stay in the fog of war as long as you can, but I expect spies (which I think you can't block) and such to lift this fog of war, giving your competitors a good view of your state of affairs.

What do you think, has unstacking the cities laid too much information bare?
And how will this play out in games, especially multiplyaer games?

The info still represents a choice, for the most part. As you mentioned you can stay in fog of war but others can still sniff it out. That is the good thing. It requires resources and a choice to be able to access that information.

Want to see in the capital then you need a spy there, want to see the surrounding districts then, if they are spaced out, you need units to grant vision. All those require some form of resource to grant the information. And that information may or may not even be useful. Which I think makes for a good thing.

 

[Wellfooled]

Actually I'm expecting less contest and excitement. If you can see that someone is already halfway a wonder, then you're not going to bother building it, of course.

It reduces the 'wonder race, who will win?'-aspect of the game, making it a lot less exciting.

I see where you're coming from and having this information won't always result in interesting gameplay, but I also think that it often will. In the situation you describe (your rival is halfway done with a wonder you want to start building now), it never was a race and there never was any question who would win (it will be the guy with the head start).

If you're blind to what's going on there isn't anything you can do to change that. You wouldn't even realize that something needs to be changed for you to win that Wonder, but by having information (Their progress on the wonder, where their districts are, how far away you both are to a Great Engineer that could speed the Wonder progress, what enemies they have that you might sway, do they get any production through trade routes, etc) you can now make a play to change your fate.

You could attack his production by plundering trade routes and pillaging industrial districts or instead you could try to beat them to a Wonder speeding Great Engineer or you could bribe their enemies to attack him and force him to change his production to more military matters, etc. All of this because you have information. If that information wasn't there you'd have instead made an attempt at that Wonder that was doomed from its conception, with no race and no contest.

 

[cazaderonus]

One concern I have for Civ 6 is that possibly too much info is visible.
You can tell at a glance which disctricts and buildings someone has built, how far they are with getting a great person, how far along building a wonder they are, etc.

Of course you can stay in the fog of war as long as you can, but I expect spies (which I think you can't block) and such to lift this fog of war, giving your competitors a good view of your state of affairs.

What do you think, has unstacking the cities laid too much information bare?
And how will this play out in games, especially multiplyaer games?

I wouldnt see this as a bad thing at all. The only part i might agree is regarding the race for Great People. Especially against the AI as i know i will be able to react accordingly to get a GP i want when AIs might not act as effectively with those same informations.

But the unstacking part ? I like it very much. In CiV i sometimes look inside a capital thanks to the embassy to see what buildings are in there, just to check for a hint of a specific tech and then decide if i have a chance at a specific wonder. Worse, sometimes i'd look for the template of a wonder being built....

So those info you could get in V, but they were hidden in some ways. So i welcome more transparency.

 

[Krajzen]

I'm concerned that not enough info is visible :0

 

[Ryika]

I'm mainly thinking about multiplayer.

I still don't get it. If I've learned anything in the years of semi-competitive RTS it's that being able to gather more information is better, because the more information you have, the better decisions you can make and the more strategical you can play.

If anything, being able to gather more information by scouting is a GREAT thing in my books. Being active in gathering information is a skill that should rewarded - as is shielding ones secrets from the eyes of other players by keeping them away.

 

[ehecatzin]

I think it's great there's so much info at a glance, you have to keep a scout near enemy territory to see it, and once they close their borders it should be harder.

The gossip system, as well, it gives you info but you've got to work for it.

And while spies should be able to lift the fog of war, I imagine a system similar to religious units battling will be in place for spies, I don't think it will be as easy as just parking one without the other civ being able to do anything about it.

 

[shaglio]

One thing I'm interested to see, in terms of available information, is whether newly founded AI cities will be revealed instantly. In Civs 1-4, if you explored an area and the AI later built a city there, you wouldn't know until you re-explored the area. This was annoying when I would try to settle a city only to discover, much to my chagrin, that the AI beat me to the spot. Civ 5 was the first game where AI cities immediately appeared on the map as soon as they were built, even if they were in the fog of war. Which I preferred, but I must admit it was less realistic. I don't recall having seen this situation arise in any of the videos I've watched.

 

[AlpsStranger]

Quite the opposite.

I understand your ( no offense but ) rather marginal concern here, but it's well worth the tradeoff of just having that much clarity.

I'm selling Steam trading cards, finding nickels in the couch, etc. for Civ6 at this point. I'm so excited!

 

[Elhoim]

I see where you're coming from and having this information won't always result in interesting gameplay, but I also think that it often will. In the situation you describe (your rival is halfway done with a wonder you want to start building now), it never was a race and there never was any question who would win (it will be the guy with the head start).

If you're blind to what's going on there isn't anything you can do to change that. You wouldn't even realize that something needs to be changed for you to win that Wonder, but by having information (Their progress on the wonder, where their districts are, how far away you both are to a Great Engineer that could speed the progress on, what enemies they have that you might sway, do they get any production through trade routes, etc) you can now make a play to change your fate.

You could attack his production by plundering trade routes and pillaging industrial districts or instead you could try to beat them to a Wonder speeding Great Engineer or you could bribe their enemies to attack him and force him to change his production to more military matters, etc. All of this because you have information. If that information wasn't there you'd have instead made an attempt at that Wonder that was doomed from its conception, with no race and no contest.

Exactly what I was thinking. Changes it from a gamble to an strategy.

 

[Lilykamen]

I love the possibility of having more information.

Particularly the idea of knowing about the wonders sounds wonderful. (heh!)
My reaction to lose the wonder race, AGAIN, is just like the Steam achievement. "Seriously?".