Just another incomplete game.

[Bertilsson]

Hey let's concentrate all efforts in making cool graphics.
Gameplay, balancing the game so that it would be fun more than 3 hours, removal of bugs and implementing orignally intended features can allways be done later.

Best part is that when customers start demanding patches and fixes we can allways say that we are too busy making another never to be complete game.

Don't know if firaxis or atari is to blame so I'll just avoid buying products from both in the future.

 

[Volstag]

Opinions vary I guess. I've yet to see any bugs, and I've logged a good 15+ hours of entertaining play.

-V

 

[rupertlittlebea]

Oodles of bugs.

Mostly game logic bugs. Some make the game a hoot to play.

My favorite bug is "Musical Governors". (will not discuss this here, but it exists)

Then there is the Giag-Bucks bug. Easy way to get very rich fast. You should have enough money to buy a European Kingdom by the time you are 30.

Graphics bug, the game randomly decides what to display on your second sail while sailing, always displays the pirate small emblem while at port.

Play annoying bug, no way to speed up the "foot dragger express" (land combat).

Sailing bug, you cannot sink your flagship (reef or fort attack, can loose it through capture).

Game feature bug, what does the shrunken head or golden cross really do anyway? We all know what they are supposed to do, but do they really do anything?

 

[Tatran]

The only bug (if it is one?) I've seen is
after pirates took a ship of mine it just
won't move and lays near the some pirate
haven.Unable to capture it back and the
pirates don't use the ship.

 

[bigchief]

There are plenty of bugs, but I don't think it's as bad as most games that come out, but I do agree with the original poster. The game is not near what it could be. It's mostly all eye candy. You have to work hard to come up with creative ideas on how to play the game, if you want to replay it much at all.

I have argued that the game was dumbed down because a version is being made for the XBox. I don't know if that's the reason, or if Firaxis/Atari just gave us a half done game. They think if they put Sid Meier's name on it, that people will buy the game no matter what, and they are probably right, but it won't keep happening. People have never bought Sid Meier's games because of the graphics. They bought them because they were fun, challenging, and made people think. This may be an Atari game, but it's not up to the Sid Meier standard.

They say the game is "open ended" and they have called it a "role playing game" and a "strategy game". It's none of those. You do the same stuff every game, over and over. They couldn't even be bothered to add some names to the list, so that the criminals and ships wouldn't keep having the same name.

So, it's not the bugs that bug me, it's the lack of effort on the developers' part. The game is good, but it could have been so much more.

And, if they didn't care to finish it, they could have given us a construction set, so that we could do it ourselves.