Is it Possible to Set Up Civ-V to play like Civ-III...?

[SaxonBrawler]

So I have just learned that I no longer have the ability to play Civ III due to a Win10 upgrade. As the Firaxis 2K support team advised me, they no longer support Civ III and can not offer a work around to the protection features built into the CD at start up. Despite spending hours trying to find a workaround on various Forums, it seems there is simply no way to get around this fact.

Sadly, I decided to uploaded Civ V on my Steam account and thought I would give it a try.

After about 20 hours of trying to get through this game and learn all the nuances of how it all works, I have found that Civ V has changed so much from the game play of Civ III that it's not even fun to play. Civ III might not have been as complex or as pretty graphically, but it was a simple and fun game to play.

Now while I'm sure many of you are quite happy with what Civ V offers in play style and graphics, for old-school players like myself who have been playing Civ III since it came out back in 2001, there's a lot to be said for the simplicity and lack of graphic "bling" seen in Civ V.

My question is, is there anyway do change the game-play and/or graphics settings so Civ V it is more like Civ III...?

Thanks!

 

[Axolaan]

You can get a DRM-free version of Civ 3 on GOG for very little. It should work on Windows 10. https://www.gog.com/en/game/sid_meiers_civilization_iii_complete

 

[Magirus Deutz]

I am a huge fan of the AoI scenario in Civ3 and fully agree with SaxonBrawler.
Unfortunately the game get stucked after about 1 third of the moves.
Same happens with other "build in scenarios".
I have tried it on both Win 10 and 11. 11 is even worse - no full screen.
Actually, I am considering buying an old laptop and install windows 8 on it.

 

[vorlon_mi]

I continue to play Civ3 on my Windows 10 machine. Yes, I had to re-buy it from Steam, since the old CDs will no longer work.
Yes, I do a little setup step before launching the game, because my laptop has WAY more pixels than they imagined when Civ3 was released.
But if you want to keep playing Civ3, you can. Just repurchase it from either Good Old Games (GOG) or Steam.

To the original question, Civ5 is a different game. They changed several key aspects of game play, which means that my Civ3 instincts, tactics, and strategy will not work. Civ5 has the option of *buying* units or many buildings with gold; in Civ3, one could *finish* constructing a unit or building with gold, but only one thing/object could be worked on or completed in a turn. Of course, 1UPT is a big change from Civ3. The Civ3 victory condition Conquest (eliminate all the other players) is gone in Civ5. The Civ3 Domination victory (control 66% of the land and 66% of the population) was replaced by "Conquer all the original capital cities."

I love Civ3 for simplicity of its game mechanics and streamlined map. Unexpectedly, I love Civ Beyond Earth -- especially with the Rising Tides expansion pack -- much more than Civ5 with all its expansion packs. Why? The key reason is global happiness (Civ5) vs. global health (BERT). As coded in the unmodded game, Civ5 penalizes expansion with lots of cites. That goes against the main reason why I love Civ3 -- Expansion! For BERT, however, it is possible to grow and research your way out of a health deficit. Expansion does pay off, in the mid game.

Bottom Line: Consider picking up BERT on Steam sale, if you want to experiment with a game based on the Civ5 engine and ruleset.
Definitely keep on playing Civ3 on your new(er) computer.

 

[Licentia]

Check out the C3X mod as well for Civ 3, which makes the game even better.

 

[aieeegrunt]

I repurchased Civ3 on steam and it worked fine for me on 10 and 11

You have to exit out of the initial splash screen with Escape Key tho or it may crash.

I strongly recommend getting the Flintlock Patch