Is it time to jump in?

[Sal]

Summer holidays on the way, the game is on sale with a gold edition (excluding GS, but that is also on sale), so I'm wondering if it's time to get into it.

1) Does the game feel "complete" now? Or, does it at least feel like it has new elements since Civ V? When I was first checking it out it looked like a smoother version of Civ V more than a sequel.

2) Recommended specs say Corei5 4.0 Ghz. Would you get away with slightly lower? I meet minimum specs but the processor is probably just shy of recommended. Obviously I know it will run, but are end turn times late game a nightmare if you don't have a top processor?

3) The big heads. I know, I shouldn't be bothered by something so shallow but when the graphics were first shown they really put me off. It came across as something gimmicky aimed at tablets more than PC gaming. Does the game *feel* like the graphics *look*? Ie, silly and cartoony? Or does it still have the epic civ feel?

 

[Chefofrats]

1) This question makes me doubt if you even bothered to research the game yourself before posting here. The city disctricts alone make a huge difference compared to Civ 5. In my opinion the two games are very different, and Civ 6 is much better than Civ 5. Is Civ 6 complete? I would say it is, all the mechanics interact quite well, there is a huge choice of interesting civilizations, most of the initial issues have been ironed out.

2) The game will probably be very slow for you, since it's not super-fast even on computers with specs well above the minimum.

3) This is completely subjective. I like the graphics, you might not like them. How should I know what you like?

Watch a gameplay video and make your own decision. How would anybody else than you be able to know what you like?

 

[Kibikus]

1) Yes. It has pretty much all of the major gameplay systems of V, and many new ones. For example, playing the map is much more important.
2) See below. I play on a potato laptop and it's okay, but you'll probably have to avoid huge maps with tons of civs.
3) I prefer the VI aesthetic especially when it comes to the map - everything pops out easily, but there are still plenty of gorgeous visuals. I probably like the leader screens from V more, but that's because of the more interesing backgrounds, not the leader models themselves - those in VI are still good, some more than others.

I think you can download a free demo on Steam and check it out for yourself - see if it runs well, and if you can deal with the graphics.

 

[Sal]

1) Yes. It has pretty much all of the major gameplay systems of V, and many new ones. For example, playing the map is much more important.
2) See below. I play on a potato laptop and it's okay, but you'll probably have to avoid huge maps with tons of civs.
3) I prefer the VI aesthetic especially when it comes to the map - everything pops out easily, but there are still plenty of gorgeous visuals. I probably like the leader screens from V more, but that's because of the more interesing backgrounds, not the leader models themselves - those in VI are still good, some more than others.

I think you can download a free demo on Steam and check it out for yourself - see if it runs well, and if you can deal with the graphics.

Thanks Kibikus, good to know it works smoothly on your laptop. I'm not too fussed about massive maps. Regarding point 3, I was wondering more if the graphics style is indicative of a change of tone overall, ie they are going for a more humorous, lighter mood overall. That's fine of course, different people like different things. Anyway it doesn't sound like it.

When it was new it sounded like Civ V with districts and slightly more interesting tech progression to me - and districts have been done before in Endless Legend so that wasn't quite enough for me. If playing the map is more important that sounds promising.

Cheers for the response.

 

[TheyMadeMeDoThis]

1) Those are two questions so
1a) No, it does not feel complete. No itteration of Civ has ever been complete until the GOTY/Gold/Complete edition, civ 6 is no different. There is lots of bugs, room for improvement and lots, LOTS of balancing still to be done... But if you, like myself and many here, enjoy being, somewhat, part of that process and playing around with exploits, this is the time to join.
1b) Are you kidding? 6 plays nothing like 5.... Go check out some pics and trailers dude...

2) I play on an amd 3.6 without a dedicated GPU... its rough around the edges but it plays for me, but I don't care about gfx. The initial load is a bit long (2min on new game, about 4min on resume game after 70% of the map is revealed) but I don't notice it during play.

3) I like the style. I can see how it feels cartoonie and cheap from screen shots (honestly put me off in the early days too...) but when I play it doesn't have that feel at all. After a few turns, all I'm looking at is hexes and icons anyway.

In fact, I often switch to map-view early on because it's easier to spot hills under rainforests that way and often I forget to turn it back until mid-to-late game... So yeah the style doesn't bother me but then again I don't really care I'm here to plunder, nuke and make them cold hard sheckles!

 

[Sal]

1) Those are two questions so
1a) No, it does not feel complete. No itteration of Civ has ever been complete until the GOTY/Gold/Complete edition, civ 6 is no different. There is lots of bugs, room for improvement and lots, LOTS of balancing still to be done... But if you, like myself and many here, enjoy being, somewhat, part of that process and playing around with exploits, this is the time to join.
1b) Are you kidding? 6 plays nothing like 5.... Go check out some pics and trailers dude...

2) I play on an amd 3.6 without a dedicated GPU... its rough around the edges but it plays for me, but I don't care about gfx. The initial load is a bit long (2min on new game, about 4min on resume game after 70% of the map is revealed) but I don't notice it during play.

3) I like the style. I can see how it feels cartoonie and cheap from screen shots (honestly put me off in the early days too...) but when I play it doesn't have that feel at all. After a few turns, all I'm looking at is hexes and icons anyway.

In fact, I often switch to map-view early on because it's easier to spot hills under rainforests that way and often I forget to turn it back until mid-to-late game... So yeah the style doesn't bother me but then again I don't really care I'm here to plunder, nuke and make them cold hard sheckles!

Cool thanks for the response. My processor is a 3.6 as well so I'm glad to know that's viable.

I'm surprised by people saying 6 played so differently to 5 from the beginning (and encouraged). I read a few reviews when it was released that said it didn't add enough new mechanics for their taste, but I guess these days a lot of the game comes later in expansions.

Appreciate you feedback. I have read a lot on it, recently the whole of Arioch's website! I used to buy a civ game as soon as it came out but I was so disappointed with Beyond Earth that I moved to other series, that's why I thought I'd get a sense of where the community is at before getting back on board. I reckon I'll give it a go it seems like everyone is positive about it.

 

[iammaxhailme]

5 and 6 are mechanically relatively similar (except 6 puts districts and wonders on tiles) but the playstyle is pretty different. 6 encourages wider play, encourages more violent play, and is much slower to build things (so TAKING things with the military is more necessary in 6 compared to 5). I usually don't fight any wars at all in a civ 5 game. I'll spam out something like 4-8 cities ASAP in civ 5, and spend basically the rest of the game building every building and improving every tile in them. In civ 6, I usually kill a neighbor or two earlygame in 6, only make a couple of cities myself, but end up with way more than 8 due to capturing.

 

[Casworon]

On point 3). There is a mod that makes the visuals use civ v textures for the terrain and i think this makes the game much more attractive.

In terms of gameplay i much prefer civ vi too civ v. Much more variety in how you can build your civilization