GeneralZift
Professional
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2019
- Messages
- 921
Taking a step away from Civ7 and towards Civ games in general, I'm finding a trend where the game effectively gives you all the information on every single player easily accessible from the touch of a button.
So some might say this is a useful tool, but I disagree.
When I play as a Civ / Leader I'm not an omniscient god so I don't expect to know everything. That's represented by the fog of war at least.
So why is it that I know the exact amount of science, culture, military strength, gold that any given player has or is getting per turn at any given time?
The game would be far better if these values were obfuscated via several means. For example, you may be able to know who is Leading in science, but not the exact science amount of every single player.
Next, it would give spying some actual use. As you spy on a player, you would get handy info such as their empire-wide yields and military strength. Moreover they could double down and let the spy reveal enemy positions. Finally - that sounds realistic and useful.
There is little point, particularly in a multiplayer game, of being able to mass a secret army, if everyone on earth, anywhere on the map, even in the antiquity age, is aware of that army.
In Catan, a player's cards are hidden. This gives them agency and strategy via the ability to bluff and surprise opponents.
The same is true for many strategy games.
Make intel a key part of Civ, and you'll find that a lot of nuance will join the series, without bogging it down with overly-complex mechanics.
So some might say this is a useful tool, but I disagree.
When I play as a Civ / Leader I'm not an omniscient god so I don't expect to know everything. That's represented by the fog of war at least.
So why is it that I know the exact amount of science, culture, military strength, gold that any given player has or is getting per turn at any given time?
The game would be far better if these values were obfuscated via several means. For example, you may be able to know who is Leading in science, but not the exact science amount of every single player.
Next, it would give spying some actual use. As you spy on a player, you would get handy info such as their empire-wide yields and military strength. Moreover they could double down and let the spy reveal enemy positions. Finally - that sounds realistic and useful.
There is little point, particularly in a multiplayer game, of being able to mass a secret army, if everyone on earth, anywhere on the map, even in the antiquity age, is aware of that army.
In Catan, a player's cards are hidden. This gives them agency and strategy via the ability to bluff and surprise opponents.
The same is true for many strategy games.
Make intel a key part of Civ, and you'll find that a lot of nuance will join the series, without bogging it down with overly-complex mechanics.
