New Civ 4:BTS Interview with Mantzaris on IGN!

[mice]

I'd like the espionage element to help with diplo victories. In some way influence civs to vote for you or open up channels that let you get more diplo modifiers.

 

[Gaius Octavius]

Can't you build roads in BtS anymore?

There's something else that's interesting about that picture... what the heck is there that's new in it?

I've looked at it carefully and I can find no new features in it. There's a carrier, destroyer, and several other exisiting naval units, a jet fighter flying overhead, and infantries running around. In fact, what's interesting is what's NOT in it--cruisers! I saw the Pentagon, Spiral Minaret and a few other wonders, but nothing's new! What's the deal?

 

[Nikis-Knight]

Maybe it was an old pic IGN had and they needed one more to space the article? Anyway, I don't see anything new there either.

 

[chaz1356]

Honestly, I think the spy bar would be great as long as it is in the diplomacy screen and you can adjust it for each civ rather than it being as important and in the same place as the research bar etc. I just hope we can cause wars between other nations.
Ex: Say Nation X is very strong and so is Nation Y and both are in your way so you decide to great havok in each nation and somehow blame the damage in Nation Y on Nation X and vice versa so they eventually attack each other and grind each other down to a point where you can cleanly take over the continent.

 

[50_dollar_bag]

There's something else that's interesting about that picture... what the heck is there that's new in it?

I've looked at it carefully and I can find no new features in it. There's a carrier, destroyer, and several other exisiting naval units, a jet fighter flying overhead, and infantries running around. In fact, what's interesting is what's NOT in it--cruisers! I saw the Pentagon, Spiral Minaret and a few other wonders, but nothing's new! What's the deal?

I also noticed that nothing appeared to be new, that is until the lack of roads made me think that hovercraft technology had been discovered, or everybody flew around in flying cars, or off-road segways, or those floating skateboards like in Back to the Future.

 

[Gaius Octavius]

Hah. This is funny. In regard to BtS, I once said a while back:

Either way, how far ahead are we going? Put it this way: Where we're going, we don't need...roads.

 

[mitsho]

I thought at first that this screenshot is from a scenario, but that seems less likely now. In any case, we don't know, we'll see.

mick

 

[kniteowl]

I think we shouldn't assume the worst until we actually tried the espionage feature for ourselves.

It seems from my point of view, that the name of the features are a bit of a put off. I wouldn't mind if they renamed the espionage slider to the Diplomatic Slider or Foreign Policy Slider and change the Great Spy to the Great Diplomat. Just the names anyways... they keep the same abilities as the original espionage and Spies but have different names.

 

[mitsho]

but Spy sounds spicier than Foreign Affairs it's all about the candy

 

[kniteowl]

but Spy sounds spicier than Foreign Affairs it's all about the candy

LOL... yeah I guess so.. if it's to make it flash and shiny, then it's all good.

 

[Martinus]

I agreed that a technology would probably unlock the espionage slider. And the technology I mentioned appears later than (that is; to the right of) drama in the technology tree.

They said espionnage will become available earlier than it is now. My guess it will be unlocked by something like Civil Service.

 

[mitsho]

What do you expect? It's modern marketing world. It got to sell, it certainly will do better with Great Spies (first connection: bond --> cool) than with Great Diplomats (first connection: politics --> boring, slow, old man, etc. ...). It's not a question if I do think this is a good situation, but it's just free market. We get what we want, and we want shiny things.

mick

PS: Or perhaps Divine Right? The other techs are too loaden with good things imho. (Paper would also be possible)

 

[LAnkou]

He does look a bit like he's run into a window.

I would rather say that he does look like his computer run windows

back to BtS, with this new cuirassier unit, i think Conquistadores will move from a knight UU to a cuirassier UU...

Will there be an axeman UU? a longbow UU? don't think so, since these two are definitely key unit in the game...
Just imagine a protective longbow UU!!!

 

[Martinus]

back to BtS, with this new cuirassier unit, i think Conquistadores will move from a knight UU to a cuirassier UU...

That wouldn't make any sense at all.

The cuirassier is a unit that comes AFTER cavalry - it is essentially a Napoleonic era mounted unit, and cavalry is also moved on the tech tree to come later than it does now.

Conquistadors were mounted units of the renaissance era - if they are not cavalry UU now, there is even less reason to make them either cavalry or cuirassier unit after BtS comes out.

 

[Martinus]

What do you expect? It's modern marketing world. It got to sell, it certainly will do better with Great Spies (first connection: bond --> cool) than with Great Diplomats (first connection: politics --> boring, slow, old man, etc. ...). It's not a question if I do think this is a good situation, but it's just free market. We get what we want, and we want shiny things.

mick

PS: Or perhaps Divine Right? The other techs are too loaden with good things imho. (Paper would also be possible)

Paper sounds reasonable too, but already it gives an ability to trade maps, so my vote would be for Civil Service. On the flip side, they should remove the irrigate bonus thingie away from Civil Service (since it doesn't make much sense) and give it to Engineering or something similar.

 

[LAnkou]

I may have misunderstood what a cuirassier is, but to me, cuirassier comes before cavalry...

Since english isn't my mother language, i went to wiki to understood what a cuirassier was, and the picture of the armor and the helmet made me think of a conquistadores....a knight with an armor limited to the torso and the helmet, that's the way i imagine conquistadores...

 

[flyingchicken]

I believe Mr. Mantzaris said cavalry will be "pushed back" to require Rifling. Since Rifling is a later tech than Military Tradition (IIRC), then cuirassiers (named after their armor, though that is not relevant in this paragraph) will come before cavalry.

 

[Willowmound]

Definitely, cuirassers before cavalry.

 

[Methos]

I believe Mr. Mantzaris said cavalry will be "pushed back" to require Rifling.

Correct, as stated here:

Cavalry got pushed back to require rifling, thus extending the age of the musket and making the beeline to Military tradition less of a dominant strategy.

 

[Watiggi]

"Extending the age of the Musket"! What strength does the Cuirassers have to have in order to extend the age of the musket, especially if Knights are strength 10 and Musketmen are strength 9? Prehaps the Cavalry will have a strength of 16 and Cuirassers a strength of 13?