Isn't it about about time for expansion pack?

[deanej]

There's just one problem with the Warlords comparison... it's not true. Civ5 + DLC < Warlords. You're still missing the major gameplay changes. Warlords had vassal states, new traits, and the great general in addition to the new civs/leaders and buildings. Civ5 has... nothing to show in this area. Absolutely nothing. Civ5's patches only add a bit of new content compared to civ4's patches at best (yes, civ4 had patches). The only major new feature civ5 has seen (Hotseat) only affects multiplayer and was in civ4 out of the box!

 

[CoolLizy]

The only major new feature civ5 has seen (Hotseat) only affects multiplayer and was in civ4 out of the box!

And took Civ III two different expansion pacts to get right. -_-

Warlords had vassal states, new traits, and the great general in addition to the new civs/leaders and buildings. Civ5 has... nothing to show in this area.

The Civ V DLC has new civs/leaders with new "traits" (id est unique abilities); the great general is just a glorified unit addition when you get down to it, something you can say the Khan addition replicates in Civ V; and new buildings have been added to the game without having to buy anything. That leaves vassal states, which... never really worked very well, even after a second expansion and countless patching. For the most part, you've listed gameplay additions (new civs, traits, buildings, etc.) as "major gameplay changes". If that's the case in Warlords, I don't see why it isn't in Civ V.

 

[GlobularFoody]

And took Civ III two different expansion pacts to get right. -_-



The Civ V DLC has new civs/leaders with new "traits" (id est unique abilities); the great general is just a glorified unit addition when you get down to it, something you can say the Khan addition replicates in Civ V; and new buildings have been added to the game without having to buy anything. That leaves vassal states, which... never really worked very well, even after a second expansion and countless patching. For the most part, you've listed gameplay additions (new civs, traits, buildings, etc.) as "major gameplay changes". If that's the case in Warlords, I don't see why it isn't in Civ V.

I don't think you're seeing the big picture here. Expansions add new things for *all* Civs, not just the $5 one you just paid for. There needs to be new tech, new units, new buildings, new leaders, etc, basically new everything for *all* civs, and this would fit nicely into a $30 expansion. Besides, other than the leaderhead animation, voice, and narrator introduction, NOTHING about the new Civs they sell couldn't have been done by a modder. The unit graphics for every Civ are identical except for the UUs. Look there, another thing that could be in an expansion, unique unit graphics for each Civ.

 

[CoolLizy]

I don't think you're seeing the big picture here. Expansions add new things for *all* Civs, not just the $5 one you just paid for.

And the Wonders DLC doesn't count because...?

Besides, other than the leaderhead animation, voice, and narrator introduction, NOTHING about the new Civs they sell couldn't have been done by a modder.

In other words, other than everything, the new Civs could have been done by modders? How is this any different than the new Civs in, say, BtS? Or for that matter, Civilization IV: Colonization which was little more than a glorified mod?

Look there, another thing that could be in an expansion, unique unit graphics for each Civ.

Europa Universalis III and its countless Paradox-produced cousins all have unit graphic pack DLCs you can buy. Why would you need a full-blown expansion pack for a minor feature 2K could stick in another DLC pack that modders could do instead?

 

[headcase]

And the Wonders DLC doesn't count because...?

Because they're wonders. I think I could make a new wonder, sans image, in 15 minutes, and I have no modding skill whatsoever. 8 minutes to figure out how to change the XML, 5 minutes to make sure the numbers for the wonder are balanced with the rest of the game, 2 minutes to look up something that sounds profound on Wikiquote (I'm onto you Firaxis!). All right, some of them are more complicated, but most aren't.

 

[Durgat]

Considering that they've been dropping the price on the game considerably lately, also announcing a Game Of The Year edition, and there has been an absence of updates for awhile. It is plausible that they're preparing a crowd to drop the bomb at some point very soon. 2kGreg has been silent for 3 weeks now.

 

[Sullla]

Or it's equally plausible that Firaxis has moved on to other projects at this point, and there's nothing further coming down the pipeline. Personally, I very much doubt that there are any plans for an expansion; it's been over a year, and there's never been any indication that an expansion was planned or in development. Civ4's Warlords expansion came out 9 months after the base game, and we're now 12 months post-release for Civ5, with no word that an expansion is in the works. 2K Games doesn't want expansions, they want to sell you individual civs and wonder packs through downloadable content. Whether you like it or not, that's the future of this series.

 

[Scrooge]

Because they're wonders. I think I could make a new wonder, sans image, in 15 minutes, ...

Hey, I can provide you with images, np, in say - 15 mins? Shall we make some DLCs and get rich Rich RICH!

There's always a good time for an expansion pack! Modders Unite!

 

[Scrooge]

... 2K Games doesn't want expansions, they want to sell you individual civs and wonder packs through downloadable content. Whether you like it or not, that's the future of this series.

And it's amazing how many CivFanatics are happy to bite the bullet...

 

[builer680]

And it's amazing how many CivFanatics are happy to bite the bullet...

Them and the ones over at the 2k forums as well. Check this guy out. This consumer mindset, in varying degrees, is fairly prevalent... and imo it's a major reason an expansion may never come for Civ V. If you can make $5 for each transaction on work that any basic modder could do for free... why bother making expansions with new mechanics and all the work that would entail? Boy I sure love DLC.

 

[lschnarch]

I would argue that the patches are already adding major gameplay features. The game plays radically different than when it first came out.

The game may have been changed, but for good reason.

Diplomacy at the start was a major failure and in total, it was an insult to the customer.
Social policies have changed at least with any of the "big" patches, which means that the whole system was still in development when the game was released.
The addition of stone was mainly to give the player at least some means to increase production rates which were much too low in the beginning.

Yes, the game has changed compared to the release state. But it has changed to fix the most glaring flaws, faults and weaknesses of what we have paid for.
The game has been patched, that's all.

 

[Kerosene31]

Them and the ones over at the 2k forums as well. Check this guy out. This consumer mindset, in varying degrees, is fairly prevalent... and imo it's a major reason an expansion may never come for Civ V. If you can make $5 for each transaction on work that any basic modder could do for free... why bother making expansions with new mechanics and all the work that would entail? Boy I sure love DLC.

There's a thread right below with a bunch of people hoping for an expansion pack.

An expansion pack that expands game functionality will sell a lot more and ultimately get more people into Civ V (if it is good) and sell more civs and other DLC.

I think their recent silence and lack of DLC civs shows they are working on something bigger.

 

[builer680]

There's a thread right below with a bunch of people hoping for an expansion pack.

I'm aware of that, and I agree with your point that follows. I'm simply pointing out the other side of the coin, which is the motivation *not* to release one. For my money, I'd bet the financial considerations favor no expansion and continued DLC, if even that. For all I know, they're done with V. Guess we'll see.

 

[Kerosene31]

I'm aware of that, and I agree with your point that follows. I'm simply pointing out the other side of the coin, which is the motivation *not* to release one. For my money, I'd bet the financial considerations favor no expansion and continued DLC, if even that. For all I know, they're done with V. Guess we'll see.

The expansion most likely will be "DLC". Just different DLC from the civs.

 

[builer680]

The expansion most likely will be "DLC". Just different DLC from the civs.

Also probably true... IF there is one. I suppose I should have differentiated from the current type of released DLC and a potentially mechanic changing and mechanic introducing expansion pack also released as DLC.

 

[Selous]

I think their recent silence and lack of DLC civs shows they are working on something bigger.

lets hope that isnt the facebook civ ....

 

[CoolLizy]

Because they're wonders.

Which are a special case because...? I'm honestly not following you; you keep changing your stance. You say DLC doesn't add things for all civs, and then when I point out that this is in fact untrue you say it doesn't count because you can just edit some XML files (which is completely irrelevant to my point).

Regardless, it still doesn't matter. The Wonders are still content for all civs and in the past you would only get them packaged in full-blown expansion packs. Furthermore, they didn't just "change the XML", they put in the work that goes into creating the actual game assets so that the wonders don't just look like jarring scribbles someone threw together in Paint one day. Just because you can swing a hammer it doesn't mean you can build a house.

I think I could make a new wonder, sans image, in 15 minutes, and I have no modding skill whatsoever.

Most people could throw together a game in RPG Maker in a few afternoons. Does that mean we should stop buying video games altogether? And again, you're only finishing part of the job. Those images don't make themselves you know.

 

[Scrooge]

... This consumer mindset, in varying degrees, is fairly prevalent... and imo it's a major reason an expansion may never come for Civ V. ...

Fret not my dear friend - an expansion pack is coming for sure: it'll include an obligatory patch to fix some outstanding issues and all previous DLCs (yay suckers who bought early!). It also may have some cheapo added content to justify price which will be close to vanilla product. After all, issues or no issues, it works - doesn't it? So why not charge for the patches and game balances if they can bundle 'em up? When - it will be out as soon as sales drop below a certain level. Be sure of that.

... Those images don't make themselves you know. ...

Yes they do, for me, as I'm a pro images person

 

[ohioastronomy]

Which are a special case because...? I'm honestly not following you; you keep changing your stance. You say DLC doesn't add things for all civs, and then when I point out that this is in fact untrue you say it doesn't count because you can just edit some XML files (which is completely irrelevant to my point).

Regardless, it still doesn't matter. The Wonders are still content for all civs and in the past you would only get them packaged in full-blown expansion packs. Furthermore, they didn't just "change the XML", they put in the work that goes into creating the actual game assets so that the wonders don't just look like jarring scribbles someone threw together in Paint one day. Just because you can swing a hammer it doesn't mean you can build a house.



Most people could throw together a game in RPG Maker in a few afternoons. Does that mean we should stop buying video games altogether? And again, you're only finishing part of the job. Those images don't make themselves you know.

The DLC model is replacing the expansions, and it is very costly per hour compared to a full game or an expansion. That's the reason why I won't buy DLC for any game under any circumstances. Defending DLCs and then asking for expansions is a contradiction; these are two completely different sales philosophies and they don't go well together. Get some saps to pay 5$ each for 10 civs...or sell 10 civs in an expansion along with a bunch of game changes for 20$. Hmm...choices, choices...

 

[Rince]

I'm 99% sure that there will be an expansion and that it will be announced soon.
The CivIV expansion weren't announced a long time in advance either IIRC.