Last CivFanatics Preview: Filling in the Gaps!

[Melendwyr]

India and America have the only UUs in the game that don't become outdated.

And India has acess to theirs for the whole game.

What's the benefit of having that extra movement point, though? If it's useless, who cares if I have it for the whole game?

 

[Heav]

1 question:
Still AI builds roads everywhere??

 

[kryszcztov]

Thanks for the effort.

One tiny gripe - I guess it's official that the Roman UU will be the Praetorian... which is just dandy 'cept the Legions, not the Praetorians, were the true military force of the Roman empire. The Praetorians were bodyguards who meddled in politics from time to time, and served in a few military campaigns. Yet, they were small in number(never exceeding 9000 men total), and it is a travesty to neglect the Legion, the most innovative and successful military unit for hundreds of years, in favor of a handful of bodyguards.[/rant] I'll be changing that right quick once I get my copy.

I also think the Romans should get their Legionaries back. But when you think about it, the Persians get their Immortals for the second time, which somehow were equivalent to the Praetorian Guards (small elite unit).

Furthermore, a few points on some UUs.
- The Immortals seem to be oddly depicted for the second time : first, a replacement for the swordsmen, and second, a replacement for the chariots. Many history buffs said here that the Immortals were soldiers with bows and light equipment... Also, it is strange to see this unit using graphics from a horseman and still replacing the chariot. Add to this that the Persians originated from the Zagros Mountains in today-Iran, were an Indo-European tribe emerging in the Iron Age, whereas chariots' main period of glory took place in the Bronze Age in Semitic empires of Mesopotamia and the Egyptian Neo-Empire.
- Why reverting back to Civ1 and Civ2's Phalanx ? Civ3's Hoplite just seemed fine to name the Greek soldier. Also, are Greek shields round ? The terrain colour in the back makes it confusing...
- The French Musketeer has 2 movement points ?? This is so far the real oddity out of those UUs.

Otherwise this sounds good. I can't see how promotions will work yet, but they do seem important, even more than a simple strength upgrade. The ability to choose the upgrade unit is also a welcome addition, and it seems to profit early UUs more.

 

[alancsilver]

Accoring to article.......

Mongolian Keshik (Mounted Unit. Replaces the Standard Horse Archer):
6 Strength, 2 Movement, 33 Hammers
The Keshik requires Horseback Riding, Archery and Horses for a resource. The unique abilities of this unique unit are: 1 First Strike; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Ignores Terrain Movement Costs;
=================================

Does this mean that the Keshik can pass over mountains as well?

 

[Mardil]

- The French Musketeer has 2 movement points ?? This is so far the real oddity out of those UUs.

Dartagnan made an round trip to England while the queen was dressing for a ceremony... Definitely, it's worth 2 movement points.

 

[Civrules]

Accoring to article.......

Mongolian Keshik (Mounted Unit. Replaces the Standard Horse Archer):
6 Strength, 2 Movement, 33 Hammers
The Keshik requires Horseback Riding, Archery and Horses for a resource. The unique abilities of this unique unit are: 1 First Strike; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Ignores Terrain Movement Costs;
=================================

Does this mean that the Keshik can pass over mountains as well?

As a terrain, mountains in Civ4 are not passable at all. But it still ignores other terrain movement points.

 

[Sirian]

Well, I've been playing Civ3 for a few years as opposed to Civ4. The "Shield" usage hasn't completely gone away...
But it will.

It won't for me! (Don't even try to persuade me! Might as well talk to the wall.)

 

[Civrules]

It won't for me! (Don't even try to persuade me! Might as well talk to the wall.)

You might be right. Maybe I spoke too soon.

 

[remconius]

Does jungle have an unusually-high movement cost, or something? What could possibly justify giving India such a weak UU, otherwise?

If workers had movement 1, movement 2 would be a huge advantage. I'm just not seeing what makes movement 3 so useful.

What's the normal cost for a worker?

I read 60 shields/food for a normal workers somewhere else, so 1/3 discount is nice.

And a whopping 100 shields/food for a settler btw.

 

[Melendwyr]

I read 60 shields/food for a normal workers somewhere else, so 1/3 discount is nice.

That's not a discount. Civrules has already said he messed up - the cost is 60.

I thought the cost for a normal worker was 30 prod/food. (edit) Yes, according to the pre-release info. on this site, a normal worker costs 30 food/prod.

Twice the cost for a single extra movement point.

 

[ValeronSidhe]

After about three years I finally took the time to make an account and reply myself The article is very nice! However, two questions arose when I was reading the piece.

1. The new difficulty "Settler" has been added before Chieftain. Does this mean that Civ IV has an even more easy mode than Civ III had? Or does it mean that Chieftain is now tougher than it was in Civ III? (meaning that Civ IV's Settler is comparable with Civ III's Chieftain)
2. I noticed the error tooltip on one of the screenshots. A sound file could not be found. I hope this is not a bug or anything. I'm pretty curious about the wonderful music I've read (and heard a few samples) about.

 

[Darwin420]

Civrules you, well, umm... RULE!!!

 

[QiZhe]

As a terrain, mountains in Civ4 are not passable at all. But it still ignores other terrain movement points.

Gunships and Air Units can still pass over mountains right? Speaking of which, are there still transport air units that can perform drops?

 

[Craterus22]

BTW, interesting to see no one is mentioning anything regarding the no Civ limit rule, even on a Duel-sized map.

The first mod I wanted to make when playin civ3 was max civs on every map - its nice to know that aren't putting in useless limits concerning number of civs on a map making us do "busy" work.


My question, as always, is - does HOF record modded (maps, rules, programming changes, etc.) games?

 

[Ex Mudder]

That's not a discount. Civrules has already said he messed up - the cost is 60.

I thought the cost for a normal worker was 30 prod/food. (edit) Yes, according to the pre-release info. on this site, a normal worker costs 30 food/prod.

Twice the cost for a single extra movement point.

That number was likely taken from a screenshot of a quick game, in which everything costs half.

In Epic games, I think evrything costs 50% more, but there are 50% more turns (600 odd vs 400 odd vs 200 odd).

Makes deducing numbers from screenshots a royal pain.

 

[ipris]

glad to get more details on the spy unit. looks to be an improvement over civ 3.

 

[Nigelium]

This is it gentlement/ ladies... the long wait for civ4 will finally come to an end by tomorrow at 9AM...its been a beautiful guys damn i can't wait to own u all online

 

[strollen]

You might be right. Maybe I spoke too soon.

Shields never made any sense to me as measure of work. Hammer makes a lot more sense... It will be an easy change for me. Now culture vs luxury slider that will be a little tougher.

 

[Louis XXIV]

BTW, interesting to see no one is mentioning anything regarding the no Civ limit rule, even on a Duel-sized map.

Well, I did stuff like that in Civ3 (I had a game with a tiny map and 31 civs).

BTW, what's up with the Camel Archer? It looks like it costs twice as much (based on the pre-release info, correct me if the Knight's price is wrong) with no other change. Is that correct?

EDIT: Good info about spies. I guess they removed diplomats from the game?

 

[Civrules]

Well, I did stuff like that in Civ3 (I had a game with a tiny map and 31 civs).

BTW, what's up with the Camel Archer? It looks like it costs twice as much (based on the pre-release info, correct me if the Knight's price is wrong) with no other change. Is that correct?

EDIT: Good info about spies. I guess they removed diplomats from the game?

The pre-realease info (soon will be changed to the Info Center) isn't all that correct with unit statistics.
Eventually I'll be updating it.