pre-release info New First Look: Catherine the Great

[queenpea]

All hail the baby crown of Catherine The Great! Anyone have info on what this piece was called historically? Most sources only refer to the Great Imperial Crown, which is something very different.

 

[Nikolai II]

Catherine, eh? Good stuff. Can't wait to play her.

 

[ehecatzin]

My predictions for the final two leaders, in that case, are Frederick and one of the following options:

Akbar the Great
Tokugawa Ieyesu
Mehmed II
Ismail I
Lili’uokalani

I'm resigning myself to no latin american or mesoamerican leader. From those, I'd like to see Lili'uokalani the most.

 

[Thenewwwguy]

I'm resigning myself to no latin american or mesoamerican leader. From those, I'd like to see Lili'uokalani the most.

i feel the same—if Mexico was receiving one of its many suitable leaders, they probably would’ve revealed them alongside Mexico. The only reason I still have faith (cope?) for lili’uokalani is because she’d be a modern leader but hawaii is a exploration civ

 

[CivKirk64]

MONDAY Surprise! I'm disappointed that no one has already joked:

"I thought start bias would be horses"
Seems powerful paired with Russia but feels like you have to wait it out for a civ that works well with her.

It's kind of too bad you cant pick a leader after you found the capital, IE I got stuck in the north, I wish I picked Catherine to start.

 

[Xyael]

she will just roll on the game. She starts the game with science to have the codexes then she go on cultural from exploration age with science climbs all alone. Plus the fact that, with the additional slot for great works, she will be able to have districts with high gains for the scientific victory in age of exploration while being focused on finding relics.

She looks OP

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

she will just roll on the game. She starts the game with science to have the codexes then she go on cultural from exploration age with science climbs all alone. Plus the fact that, with the additional slot for great works, she will be able to have districts with high gains for the scientific victory in age of exploration while being focused on finding relics.

She looks OP

I wouldn't say OP, but she knows her assignment.

 

[Uberfrog]

I am a little disappointed they went with Catherine again… it would be nice to see a Russian/Rus leader who wasn’t The Great eventually. Maybe they felt constrained by a Modern Era Russia civ, and wanted to avoid Soviet leaders? But then we have Himiko with Meiji Japan, so…

Absolutely no reason we couldn’t have had Ivan IV or Alexander Nevsky or Olga of Kiev. I would have also been happy with Lenin! It doesn’t look like we’ll have any 20th century leaders at launch.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

I am a little disappointed they went with Catherine again… it would be nice to see a Russian/Rus leader who wasn’t The Great eventually. Maybe they felt constrained by a Modern Era Russia civ, and wanted to avoid Soviet leaders? But then we have Himiko with Meiji Japan, so…

Absolutely no reason we couldn’t have had Ivan IV or Alexander Nevsky or Olga of Kiev. I would have also been happy with Lenin!

I'm fine with Catherine if we have to have a head of state. If not, I wouldn't have minded Rasputin.

 

[Potworny]

I never realised that she wore a comically tiny crown.

 

[Uberfrog]

I'm fine with Catherine if we have to have a head of state. If not, I wouldn't have minded Rasputin.

Rasputin would have been a very funny choice!

 

[SirMediocrity]

I just saw the first look video. While Catherine the Great isn't exactly a creative choice, it's nice to have her return.

 

[Thenewwwguy]

I am a little disappointed they went with Catherine again… it would be nice to see a Russian/Rus leader who wasn’t The Great eventually. Maybe they felt constrained by a Modern Era Russia civ, and wanted to avoid Soviet leaders? But then we have Himiko with Meiji Japan, so…

Absolutely no reason we couldn’t have had Ivan IV or Alexander Nevsky or Olga of Kiev. I would have also been happy with Lenin! It doesn’t look like we’ll have any 20th century leaders at launch.

tbh i think the best solution to represent communism without dragging up unwanted skeletons would be to make Marx a leader in game, bar the inclusion of one of the less controversial communist leaders (Ho Chi Minh, Thomas Sankara, Rosa Luxemburg, Lenin)

Marx also has the distinct advantage of being much longer ago

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

I never realised that she wore a comically tiny crown.

Heavy was the head that wore the crown. Until she complained and they made a smaller one.

 

[Evolena]

Strange that Catherine & Russia are so focused. Everything is about culture, science & tundra. I don't recall any civ/leader combos with so much overlap. Also weird to have a Russia with no expansionist abilities.

Hatshepsut + Egypt : Economic + Cultural + Desert + Navigable River
Trung Trac + Maurya : Militaristic + Scientific + Vegetated
Pachacuti + Inca : Economical + Expansionist + Mountain
Amina + Persia + Songhai : Economical + Expansionist + Plains + Desert

Thought that's only the Attributes and Starting Bias, not the detailed abilities.

 

[queenpea]

Can any Russian speakers on the forum discern if the voice actor is speaking with a German accent?

 

[Sagax]

Can any Russian speakers on the forum discern if the voice actor is speaking with a German accent?

I suppose I qualify.

Hard to discern amidst the narration, but she appears to speak proper, almost radio-host quality Russian. And boy does she roll her Rs, even by the Russian standards.

I’ll assess this again when we get cleaner footage (probably in-game at launch).

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

I suppose I qualify.

Hard to discern amidst the narration, but she appears to speak proper, almost radio-host quality Russian. And boy does she roll her Rs, even by the Russian standards.

I’ll assess this again when we get cleaner footage (probably in-game at launch).

I think you can get a better listen from this clip.

 

[queenpea]

I suppose I qualify.

Hard to discern amidst the narration, but she appears to speak proper, almost radio-host quality Russian. And boy does she roll her Rs, even by the Russian standards.

I’ll assess this again when we get cleaner footage (probably in-game at launch).

Interesting, thank you for that insight. I believe Catherine learned to speak Russian as a young adult and spoke with a strong accent. In my opinion, it would have even been understandable if her voice actor spoke German.

 

[Sagax]

Interesting, thank you for that insight. I believe Catherine learned to speak Russian as a young adult and spoke with a strong accent. In my opinion, it would have even been understandable if her voice actor spoke German.

To be fair, the language of the Russian court at the time was actually French (so much so, that the entire first chapter of War and Peace, where Russian nobility discuss Napoleon’s military advances, is written in French). So if FXS really wanted to lean into historical accuracy, she would be speaking French, but that’s one of those cases where historical accuracy should probably take a back seat in favor of “layman’s immersion”.