I hope Civ 7 has a lot of visual attention to detail like Civ 6 and Civ 5 did

[pokiehl]

I think the addition of immersive details is as important to the aesthetic experience as the overall art style, so I wanted to highlight this.

Civ 6 had many nice visual touches:
- Day and night cycle (so awesome!! I love this the most)
- More cultural variations of clutter buildings. Nearly every single Civ in Civ 6 had its own palace model, for instance.
- Manual camera rotation to better appreciate the views of your empire
- The addition of cliffs to make the coastline more visually interesting
- Waves rolling gently into flat land and crashing more aggressively into cliffs
- Unworked tiles looking different than worked tiles (unworked Pastures have the cows and sheep outside of the pen; unworked Plantations show the plants inside are dead; unworked Mines don't have the cart moving around; etc.)
- Doves flying over Holy Sites
- Certain unique districts get their own building styles too (The Phoenician Cothon has unique models for the Lighthouse, Shipyard, and Seaport...I wish all districts had this)

Civ 5, of course, had the fact that different continents had different textures. Forests, deserts, mountains, and so on look one way on your continent but different on your neighbor's continent. I was really disappointed this never came about in Civ 6.

Anyway, I wanted to say I am grateful that the artists for Civ 6 put in all these details. Some of them you may not notice individually, but I think it's undeniable that together, they are greater than the sum of their parts and add to the player's experience.

I'm really hoping the same details and more come back in Civ 7

One thing that keeps coming to mind for me is a purely visual 'seasons' system. It'd be nice to see the map slowly transition through the 4 seasons, just like it does day/night.

 

[Shirotora Kenshin]

Agreed. (y)

I hope and actually are sure and expect, that the game will be beautiful, with a lot of those details, even details we have not seen or thought about yet. Combined with the music, which will also be beautiful again, this will be very nice. Just for the seasons, i know it sounds great at first, but it has to be implemented well… so that the seasons does not change too fast, or too slowly, and of course players should be able to turn it off or / and choose one season they like the most. A highly customizable game is always nice. I‘m very excited about August 20th when we will see the map =)

 

[TempusFugit]

Small touches definitely adds a lot to a game. One of the best examples of this in the strategy game genre is Heroes of Might and Magic 1 and 2, which had a ton of animations on the game map, lots of environmental sound effects related to what were around your chosen “hero” and just a lot of attention to music, sound design, animations and art. There was no strategy game before these which had done anything comparable, not even in the RTS genre, and even now both of these games hold up remarkably well when compared to modern games.

The discussion about visuals in gaming is often very shallow and simplistic, and I think that the popularity of slogans such as “graphics doesn’t matter, only gameplay does” has contributed to this.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

The two types of graphics on the game map that make the most difference to me (besides the basic decision of what kind of graphics and color platte to use) are:

Cultural and Technological distinctions, as you posted: especially I would like to see the differences that attend new architectural and environmental technologies: use of wood truss roofing, mud brick versus fired brick, advent of a Skyscraper Tech to actually change the way your cities look, etc. Couple these with specific distinctions as to culture or cultural group and for me the map comes alive.

Animations on the tiles. The current trend (visible in both the new games ARA and Memorialpolis and the older game Humankind) is to have people and animals wandering about as 'background' to the basic map tiles. I like this very much, especially if it, too, were coupled to the state of your cities, pastures and fields - wild animals getting into abandoned or non-worked pastures, fewer people wandering about the city after a Natural Disaster reduces the population, etc.

 

[Leyrann]

of a Skyscraper Tech to actually change the way your cities look

How about we do away with the "modern city is a skyscraper forest" entirely. Look at London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome. (Let alone the many cities worldwide with lower technological prowess being employed in construction)

Skyscraper forests are an American and East Asian thing primarily, not a worldwide thing.

There should be variety in how modern cities look, too.

 

[pokiehl]

There should be variety in how modern cities look, too.

Absolutely this. Civ 6 for all its success with visual detail completely fails in the architecture department as the game goes on.

The number of distinctive city styles steadily decreases from the classical era to the renaissance to the modern era. By the end game, cities all basically look alike and it’s a massive disappointment.

I think it might even be cool if they took artistic license for “future era” city styles and did “remixes” with traditional architecture.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

How about we do away with the "modern city is a skyscraper forest" entirely. Look at London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome. (Let alone the many cities worldwide with lower technological prowess being employed in construction)

Skyscraper forests are an American and East Asian thing primarily, not a worldwide thing.

There should be variety in how modern cities look, too.

"Skyscraper forest" is more of a meme than a reality. I lived in New York City for a while, and even in that concentration of population on Manhatten Island, there is a fairly large percentage of the area that is not skyscrapered over. The problem is, of course, that that smaller ratio of terrain to tile to graphic in the game makes even a single skyscraper dominate a tile/District visually. Judicious graphic design could, I think, solve that problem for us, so that adopting 'skyscrapers' becomes less of an All Or Nothing proposition.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

The other point is that Skyscrapers are generally not appropriate unless the ratio of land available to Business/People that desires to be there is very low - like Manhatten Island or the center of large cities - nobody builds skyscrapers out in the suburbs. Likewise, skyscraper-type buildings are not appropriate for all purposes - a skyscraper Factory or industrial structure would have major problems moving materials and goods vertically, so it's far more efficient to put the factory out in the suburb and spread it out horizontally.

That means not all Districts should get skyscrapers.

It also means, as @pokiehl posted, that more graphical variety could/should be applied to Civ VII's modern cities. Even if the City Center is a glass and concrete skyscraper core, the rest of the city could be varieties of greenbelt, neighborhood, light industrial, road/mass transit net works.

And there are a host of 'non-traditional' building/architectural materials and styles that are being experimented with. Down in Oregon they've built a wooden skyscraper (well, Skyscraperette, its only about 12 stories, I believe), while elsewhere they are working on Green Buildings covered with plants on the sides and roof, modern rammed earth structures, laminated wood forms and other Different Looking buildings.

All this without even going for the truely Strange: Fuller's Geodesic Domes, massive Arcological Structures, Districts built on artificial land in bays and coastal areas, etc. The last Era(s) of the game should see an increase, not a lessening, of graphical delights in our cities.

 

[ButtBillionaire]

I think it might even be cool if they took artistic license for “future era” city styles and did “remixes” with traditional architecture.

This is what I'm hoping they've done. Again, that is, since they already did something similar in Civ5 with each of the architectural "regions." Middle Eastern/African modern cities retained dome-like constructions at the top of their skyscrapers, while Native American ones could resemble very elongated versions of the pyramids of Mesoamerica.

Presumably the reason why skyscrapers and modern buildings look so similar - and why cities in Civ6 eventually lost all variety - is because the West pioneered modern construction techniques and urban planning, and those things would influence ideas of what a modern city should look like in the rest of the world. But in Civ we live through a world in which cultures from all corners of the globe develop these technologies and can become highly influential in their own right, not just Western ones. It's fun to think about how they might have been inspired by their own existing building traditions when designing them, and I think Firaxis should take inspiration from that, like they did for Civ5.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

This is what I'm hoping they've done. Again, that is, since they already did something similar in Civ5 with each of the architectural "regions." Middle Eastern/African modern cities retained dome-like constructions at the top of their skyscrapers, while Native American ones could resemble very elongated versions of the pyramids of Mesoamerica.

Presumably the reason why skyscrapers and modern buildings look so similar - and why cities in Civ6 eventually lost all variety - is because the West pioneered modern construction techniques and urban planning, and those things would influence ideas of what a modern city should look like in the rest of the world. But in Civ we live through a world in which cultures from all corners of the globe develop these technologies and can become highly influential in their own right, not just Western ones. It's fun to think about how they might have been inspired by their own existing building traditions when designing them, and I think Firaxis should take inspiration from that, like they did for Civ5.

- And, as posted, there are a lot of 'alternative' architectural and technological styles that could be modeled for Late Game Era or even Near Future cities.

Frankly, the more variety and 'personification' of our cities on the game map, the better.

 

[HktkNban]

To me, beautiful military units are more important than beautiful terrain and buildings.
Unfortunately, Civ 6 has the major problem of ugly graphics of military units compared to Civ 5.
I sincerely hope that Civ7 will improve the ridiculous "Nanuchka class corvettes are missile cruisers" and "B-52s are stealth bombers" situation.

 

[Chuma]

No doubt it will considering how long it has taken to develop. CIV VI does look quite a lot different to CIV V which looks different to CIV IV and CIV III. Considering I had about a 20 year gap between CIV III and CIV VI it was a big jump.

 

[BuchiTaton]

"Skyscraper forest" is more of a meme than a reality. I lived in New York City for a while, and even in that concentration of population on Manhatten Island, there is a fairly large percentage of the area that is not skyscrapered over. The problem is, of course, that that smaller ratio of terrain to tile to graphic in the game makes even a single skyscraper dominate a tile/District visually. Judicious graphic design could, I think, solve that problem for us, so that adopting 'skyscrapers' becomes less of an All Or Nothing proposition.

It would be nice if districts actually represent a more natural city growing, so on par with make them be contiguos and mixed (instead of thematically predetermined) the presence of skyscrapers in some districts would have an actual reason. Personally I think Corporations would be the best option to justify in a gamey way the presence of skyscrapers into a recognizable mechanic.

By the way this also brings back the idea of have early-middle game elements like Workshops as different from Industries, not only being "old-worse vs new-better" version but a real alternative. For example Industries could be more productive when they are availble at late game, but at very late game Workshops still are different since they would be more enviromental friendly and attract tourism, so a player going for a cultural victory would gain from their artisanal prestigious textiles, jewelry, cuisine, etc.

 

[Leyrann]

"Skyscraper forest" is more of a meme than a reality. I lived in New York City for a while, and even in that concentration of population on Manhatten Island, there is a fairly large percentage of the area that is not skyscrapered over. The problem is, of course, that that smaller ratio of terrain to tile to graphic in the game makes even a single skyscraper dominate a tile/District visually. Judicious graphic design could, I think, solve that problem for us, so that adopting 'skyscrapers' becomes less of an All Or Nothing proposition.

It goes even further than that though. The most notable example is probably Rome, where the highest building in the entire city is... St Peter's Basilica, built in the 16th century, at a little over 130 meters. Which I believe is actually required by law, even - as in, buildings aren't allowed to be higher than it.

But as a more general example, her in the Netherlands we have the same population density as the state of New Jersey, the single most densely populated US state (by far), and our "skyscrapers" rarely pass 100 meters (330 feet) in height. And are only found in three cities.

This is what I'm hoping they've done. Again, that is, since they already did something similar in Civ5 with each of the architectural "regions." Middle Eastern/African modern cities retained dome-like constructions at the top of their skyscrapers, while Native American ones could resemble very elongated versions of the pyramids of Mesoamerica.

Presumably the reason why skyscrapers and modern buildings look so similar - and why cities in Civ6 eventually lost all variety - is because the West pioneered modern construction techniques and urban planning, and those things would influence ideas of what a modern city should look like in the rest of the world. But in Civ we live through a world in which cultures from all corners of the globe develop these technologies and can become highly influential in their own right, not just Western ones. It's fun to think about how they might have been inspired by their own existing building traditions when designing them, and I think Firaxis should take inspiration from that, like they did for Civ5.

I strongly agree. As a Geoguessr player, architecture is insanely distinctive. You can pretty much discern individual European countries based on just that, let alone the rest of the world.

 

[BackseatTyrant]

It goes even further than that though. The most notable example is probably Rome, where the highest building in the entire city is... St Peter's Basilica, built in the 16th century, at a little over 130 meters. Which I believe is actually required by law, even - as in, buildings aren't allowed to be higher than it.

But as a more general example, her in the Netherlands we have the same population density as the state of New Jersey, the single most densely populated US state (by far), and our "skyscrapers" rarely pass 100 meters (330 feet) in height. And are only found in three cities.

It's not just for cultural reasons, or even budgetary reasons. The truth is that skyscrapers fundamentally become a matter of diminishing returns beyond a certain height. Like, in terms of building tall to prevent urban sprawl, 10-12 stories seems to be the optimal number; beyond that, the elevator shafts start to take up too much of the building's total volume, and elevators are not something you can skip out on with tall buildings (imagine 500 people at once waiting for the same elevator)

 

[Haig]

So many graphics-related things I can't wait to see:

- Are leader screens back to full screen?

- What does unexplored map/fog of war look like?

- How many soldiers are in military units?

- What kind of cool details buildings and nature have?

 

[Tortosa]

From Civ 3: fidget animations. It added a nice little extra liveliness to units just standing around.

 

[Quintillus]

I am a barbarian who had not noticed most of these (though I had noticed cliffs), and who disabled the day/night cycle during my first game because it's easier to see things during the day.

By that I mean that the strategic gameplay is good enough that I'm usually engrossed in it, looking at my empire at a high-level vantage point, and rarely zooming in and noticing the finer visual details.

That said, a season cycle could be good in historical scenarios. I'm thinking of the Napoleonic Europe scenario in Civ III, a season system was obviously missing. Where was General Winter? I don't think a season system would mesh with the epic game, but for scenarios, yes please. Napoleonic Europe had one turn per month, and that would work well, and encourage seasonal campaigns (or not, but we all know how that ended for Napoleon). Even in my Attila: Total War campaign where it's one turn per season (and four seasons per year), it's a nice visual reminder of the season, and can be a bit of a nuisance to deal with if trying to operate in Scotland.

(Also thinking back to Civ III, while there were only five culture-based city styles in that game, they were distinct enough that I noticed the differences. So maybe there is something to that... I'm not likely to notice if each civ has a unique palace if the rest of the city's the same, but if the whole city has a different style, even if there are fewer overall variations, I'll probably notice)

 

[Mekkh]

I think these types of details make or break a game. One thing I absolutely adore with CIV IV (and pirates!, and other Firaxis games from that area) are the audio cues. When you click on a city, you hear a bustling city, zooming in on cows, you hear mooing, zooming in on mines, you hear hammering. Adds so much to the experience

 

[Vandlys]

I think these types of details make or break a game. One thing I absolutely adore with CIV IV (and pirates!, and other Firaxis games from that area) are the audio cues. When you click on a city, you hear a bustling city, zooming in on cows, you hear mooing, zooming in on mines, you hear hammering. Adds so much to the experience

It's the same for Civ VI. You can hear all you described plus bells on holy sites and more.