Help !! Never played any Civ games before

[Bowtome]

Hi, I know I can google etc and have.

But I need to know from the people who are addicted to this game what can I expect. For example:

How long does a game take:
How long does a MP game take:

Are the battles good, i.e can I place my troops and wait for the AI whatever to make a move, then move my troops or issue commands.

Can I build a city and see it in fine detail, like age of empires type games (I know AOE are RTS and this is turn based)

I do come from RTS games but am getting older now and need a slower pace.

Is it tactics that win, or can you win if you have no idea what you are doing?

I nearly bought 4 last week, then saw 5 was out, so will wait for that.

Is the game addictive? Will I play it for 2 hours instead of just popping in for 30 minutes.

Many thanks to all who reply.

Any who post search yourself, or google it, please don't bother posting.

Thanks

 

[Wezqu]

The game time usually depens of how big is the map, how many other civilization is there, what way you want to play it and how many turns you want to choose. If you play with a small map it might finnish fast.

You move your troops on your turn and AI moves its on its own turn. So yes you can set your troops where you want but you have to move them there first.

Civ IV you could see buildings you had build in the city like if you build pyramids there were one pyramid in the city. Its not certain if this is the case in Civ V.

Yes this game is addictive I have played almost whole day Civ IV until I notice that its already night. Still you can also keep the game times small if you have the strenght of will.

 

[Trapper439]

Is it addictive? Is it addictive?!

Put it this way, one of my best Civ memories is of a game I didn't even play.

Back when I was playing Civ2 a friend of mine started his first ever Civ game on my PC after we'd come back from soccer one night. He was doing his PhD at the time and he really used to get stressed if our soccer game went for too long, because he knew deep down that he should really be spending every valuable minute studying. But he started a game anyway.

I went to bed, and found out later that he'd gone home at 6AM the next morning, cursing himself for not studying, and also for waiting too long to declare war on the Indians. He'd only realised that he'd been playing for that long when the sun came up.

"Just. One. More. Turn.": The mantra of a Civ player.

It's very hard to stop playing a game once you've started.

And tactics are essential on the higher skill levels. Look through some of the succession game threads (a succession game is where 5 or so players collaborate on a single-player game) and you'll find some of the best Civ players in the world having heated discussions about where to settle the next city, or what a particular worker unit should be doing. The debate can be at the same level as that seen on chess website forums when a Grand Master is taking on the entire membership of the site. This game has real depth to it, to put it lightly.

I usually spend about 6 hours on a game, but I've noticed in the Game of the Month results tables that many of the players that are better than I am can take around 20 hours.

If you can afford it, I'd highly recommend buying Civ 4. Having played Civ since its first incarnation, I'd say that at the very least it will give you a greater appreciation of Civ 5 when it comes out in 2 months.

 

[Alki]

You will not win on any but the easiest levels if you don't know what you are doing.

The battles aren't as involved as, say the TW series, and you could win a fight as that isn't as much about skill as knowing the odds. But battles isn't really the heart of The Civs gameplay.

 

[12agnar0k]

For a starting place to get into the Civ franchise, I would suggest either,

1. Wait for Civ5. Though it won't be out for 2 months, and thats 2 months you could of been playing Civ. When you finally get Civ and become completely addicted you will kick yourself for wasting 2 months of your life not playing Civ.
Also if you decide you hate it completely, which isn't unreasonable, Civ may not be for everyone, you will kick yourself for buying a full price game when you could have brought a much cheaper version to try out.

2. Buy Civ4 now and try the game out, Civ4 is the best of the series so far, but you will have a steep learning curve, make sure to get Civ4 and the expansions and play Beyond the Sword right off the bat, its so much better than the "Vanilla" version as we call it which is the original.
You should be addicted and know everything you need to know soon enough.

3. Another alternative is to introduce yourself at a less immersive level, by playing a Civ game not quite so complex, which would be Civilisation Revolution for Xbox360 or PS3. Its a good "starting point" if you have and like consoles.

Good luck, I hope you become yet another helplessly addicted civ slave in no time.

 

[Bowtome]

Thanks all

I have bought civ 4 complete edition for £7-63 brand new with free delivery. Just like buying 2 computer mags for £4-99 each where I only look at the pictures, so no worries if I don't like it.

 

[LaRate]

How long does a game take:
How long does a MP game take:

My average game time with 2 human players and 12 AIs on a huge map is about 9 hours (usually partitioned over three evenings)

Are the battles good, i.e can I place my troops and wait for the AI whatever to make a move, then move my troops or issue commands.

Battles are very basic at least in Civ4, if you expect something like Age of Empires or Total War (both of which rely on real time battle) you will be disappointed. There is no ranged attack, no flanking, few special abilities (some of these things are announced for Civ5). However, there is a system of unit promotions and terrain bonuses.

Can I build a city and see it in fine detail, like age of empires type games (I know AOE are RTS and this is turn based)

No - in Civ4 you can zoom in and see special buildings - but a 15 pop city will look almost exactly like a 30 pop city (much too few buildings, that is - their representation is more symbolic)

I do come from RTS games but am getting older now and need a slower pace.
Is it tactics that win, or can you win if you have no idea what you are doing?

It's game strategy rather than military tactics that wins the game - building an army is only little part of it. Maintaining your economy, keeping your citizens happy, keeping up in science etc. are all to be taken care of.

I nearly bought 4 last week, then saw 5 was out, so will wait for that.
Is the game addictive? Will I play it for 2 hours instead of just popping in for 30 minutes.

For me it's the most addictive game there is. I never managed to play it mere 30 minutes.

 

[Dbob]

Try Freeciv, it is a free open source clone of Civ and will give you a good idea what to expect from the rest of the series. Graphically it is simplistic, but its a solid game.

 

[Schuesseled]

Hi, I know I can google etc and have.

But I need to know from the people who are addicted to this game what can I expect. For example:

How long does a game take:
How long does a MP game take:

A game can take anywhere from 1 or 2 hours to a couple of weeks. All depends on what speeds your are playing, how well your playing, what type of victories your shooting for, how much free time you have etc.

Are the battles good, i.e can I place my troops and wait for the AI whatever to make a move, then move my troops or issue commands.

Civ 5 seems to have the best combat tactics yet, the defense strats in other civ games involved stacking as many units together in a city and waiting, in this game you''ll get to arrange your troops out in the field, and when the enemy declares war, take the fight to them as they cross your borders.

Can I build a city and see it in fine detail, like age of empires type games (I know AOE are RTS and this is turn based)

Not in the way you mean, you won't be positioning each building yourself, and you don't get anywhere near that level of scope to view a city. The thing civ does have is the city screen, which allows you to examine your city, assign tiles to be worked, examine what buildings you've built, check your citizens etc.

Cities are viewed like looking from really high up.

Is it tactics that win, or can you win if you have no idea what you are doing?

You can win without having a clue, and the advisors will be there to guide you. (civs tutorial aspect)

I nearly bought 4 last week, then saw 5 was out, so will wait for that.

I would recommend buying civ 4, but civ 5 will be dramatically different (in a good way), so youll have to unlearn everything you pick up from civ 4.

But if you are keen to try civ, you can download a demo of civ 4 from the official website. www.civilization.com

Is the game addictive? Will I play it for 2 hours instead of just popping in for 30 minutes.

You'll probably find yourself playing all night and all day, and then wondering how your kids got so old one day.

 

[kozzer]

one more turn....

 

[12agnar0k]

Thanks all

I have bought civ 4 complete edition for £7-63 brand new with free delivery. Just like buying 2 computer mags for £4-99 each where I only look at the pictures, so no worries if I don't like it.

Thats a good choice, not too expensive either.

My advice, installing all three games (Vanilla/Warlords/BeyondTheSword) will be necessary to play beyond the sword, update it to the latest update to remove all the bugs and get playing.

If you have no idea's on the concepts then yes it will be a steep learning curve as the game contains lots of details, it will also be very different from RTS games, Civopedia can be acessed easily inside the game (top right corner) or by right clicking on a specific tech/building/unit on the tech tree, utilising the Civilopedia should allow you to better understand mechanics, thiers lots of information in there.

Good luck with you first game, I would recommend just going to play-now and clicking ok continually till you start the game, ignore all the choices for your first game and you will play a random civ on a standard map, choose map type continents for your first game if you want as it contains navy+land aspects of combat/expansion.

Have fun. Let us know how your first look at the game goes and if you need anymore tips we are here to help.

 

[brianshapiro]

Just out of curiosity, is anyone actively protecting the rights to the original game, Civ1.. issuing legal challenges against downloads?

 

[Bowtome]

Many thanks all

 

[ori]

Just out of curiosity, is anyone actively protecting the rights to the original game, Civ1.. issuing legal challenges against downloads?

2k has been selling Civ1 as part of the Civilization Chronicles pack as recently as a couple years ago, so they are still actively marketing the game.

 

[Randall_Flagg]

I have every Civ game ever made, I still play all of them. I know i am fan, but there is no game better then the civ franchise, the 1st rail road tycoon comes close, but since sid ruined railroad with that crap he made, civ is clear winner.

Just one more turn...... I cannot even begin to guess how many nights i stayed up saying just one more turn. this is no joke, you will lose alot of sleep the 1st month 5 comes out. Embrace it and, one more turn.

 

[Shiggs713]

Thanks all

I have bought civ 4 complete edition for £7-63 brand new with free delivery. Just like buying 2 computer mags for £4-99 each where I only look at the pictures, so no worries if I don't like it.

Now your soul belongs to Sid!

 

[paradigmx]

First thing to know about Civ is that if you've never played a Civ game before, it will overwhelm you, there is a lot to be concerned with. Between the tech tree, units, buildings, wonders, foreign nations, happiness, healthiness, production, commerce, religions, and culture, you will most likely spend your entire first game trying to figure out how to piece the game together, as well as the next 3 games.

Learn the game as you go, keep this forum close and be ready to spend hours in the Civilopedia. I have been playing Civ since the 1st one came out and I was all of 11 years old, this game is ingrained in my head, I have had dreams about Civ games on more than 1 occasion. Yet, after all this time I can still learn something new about the game. I have never had a game repeat, even if I picked the same map, with the same Civs and same starting locations the game would turn out differently, I have also never really had a bad game, there was always something about every game I played that wanted me to press on.

Now, I know nothing about Multiplayer really, not competitive anyway, sometimes me and a friend gang up on the world, but never against each other, that's just our style.

"One more turn" isn't just our motto, it's our religion.

 

[LDiCesare]

Will I play it for 2 hours instead of just popping in for 30 minutes.

Two hours. I usually play two hours more than what I intended to, like 6 or 8 hours in a row, resulting in sever sleep deprivation.

 

[Geek113377]

How long does a game take:

that depends on how early in the game you win/lose, how well you know the game, what game speed you choose (there are 4 from marathon to quick), and how fast your computer is (if you rig is slow, then it will take much longer to do everything). when you are just beginning and having to read all the hints and information, it will take much longer than when you have been playing it for a while and memorized the important stuff. i found that after playing for a while, you can get up into the modern age (and end the game) in 2 to 3 hours.

How long does a MP game take:

that also depends on the same things as above (when victory is had, noobieness, game speed, and rig speed), but if you are playing a network game there is a fifth factor: network speed. if your, or someone else's, internet is very slow, that will slow down the whole game for everybody.

Are the battles good, i.e can I place my troops and wait for the AI whatever to make a move, then move my troops or issue commands.

the AI will move their units during their turn (sometimes at the same time as you, if it is a simultaneous moves, which is only available in multiplayer). they will only attack your units if they think they can win, so don't expect them to slaughter their entire army to defeat a few units. wars overall are great, battles didn't really exist in civ4, except as 1 unit vs 1 unit or stack vs stack, but with 1upt in civ5, there will be multi-unit battles with lines of soldiers and ranged units behind them.

Can I build a city and see it in fine detail, like age of empires type games (I know AOE are RTS and this is turn based)

the first picture will give you a good view of the city from the main game screen (far right, 2/3 of the way up, you can also see some late-game naval combat, and the second will show you the city screen, where you can view and change things about the city (like which tiles it's working and what it's producing, how many specialists of what type....

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

Is it tactics that win, or can you win if you have no idea what you are doing?

on the easier difficulty levels you can flounder about as a noob and still have a chance of winning, but on higher levels you really have to have a grand strategy, strategy, tactics, and logistics.

Is the game addictive? Will I play it for 2 hours instead of just popping in for 30 minutes.

most likely, unless you are a very self-restrained person or have somewhere to go after 30 minutes.

 

[Mark Havel]

There is a tutorial in the vanilla version of the game. It is not much compared to the sheer complexity of the game, but that's still a start which will guide you through the most basic mechanics of the game.
But don't expect your first game to be a success. Actually, my second one was, but I'm still wondering how I've managed to do it, given the current hardships I'm living in my third and fourth game.