No 3D view: HOMM4 graphics are quite enough!!!

[Neomega]

3d will be awesome, you'll be able to zoom in and watch your citizens working perhaps, perhaps zoom in on battles, etc...

ZThe best thing is, unlike most games, in this 3-d environment you will have all the time in the world to look around. Camera control will not be an essential life and death skill like many current RTS games.

I can't wait to mod it...

 

[Jon Shafer]

3d will be awesome, you'll be able to zoom in and watch your citizens working perhaps, perhaps zoom in on battles, etc...

ZThe best thing is, unlike most games, in this 3-d environment you will have all the time in the world to look around. Camera control will not be an essential life and death skill like many current RTS games.

I can't wait to mod it...

Now this is the kind of thing that makes guys like snoochems believe the way they do.

How would being able to zoom in on citizens working or individual battles improve the game?

All it would do is suck up resources that could be spent on things like gameplay or the AI, etc.

I believe if they avoid falling into the trap of trying to do things like you just suggested, then 3D will be fine. It's if they decide to use 3D to turn it into a Civ/SimCity hybrid where "eye candy" takes precedence over gameplay, that 3D will sent Civ down the toilet.

 

[Neomega]

Now this is the kind of thing that makes guys like snoochems believe the way they do.

How would being able to zoom in on citizens working or individual battles improve the game?

All it would do is suck up resources that could be spent on things like gameplay or the AI, etc.

I believe if they avoid falling into the trap of trying to do things like you just suggested, then 3D will be fine. It's if they decide to use 3D to turn it into a Civ/SimCity hybrid where "eye candy" takes precedence over gameplay, that 3D will sent Civ down the toilet.

technophobes..... sounds as rediculous as the people who say pen and paper role playing games are so much more fun....

there does not necessarily have to be a trade off. Once an engine is created, the actual variety that can be created around it could be simpler.

So all the time taken rendering individual frames in 2 d animations could be recorded in 3 d animation full movement instructions.

Oh, and sim-city is a really fun "game".

 

[CyberChrist]

If I want to see workers and battles more detailed I'll play Rise of Nations or one of the many other RTS games out there.

Assuming a move toward RTS is not what they intend I fail to see why 3D would be needed. Of course, I could be failing to spot an angle that would actually make this improve on an Empire building strategy game like Civ, but surely there are other more important areas in dire need of improvment and certainly more worthy of throwing development bucks after than the graphics.

While I am not going to make any final decission on whether the 3D thing is going to ruin Civ4 yet, I sadly got a sneaking suspicion that Civ3 will be the last of the Civ series that I will have permanently installed on my system.

 

[Hygro]

3D will be nice because it will probably mean the game will be played out on a sphere. making a more realistic planet.

sounds as rediculous as the people who say pen and paper role playing games are so much more fun....

The advantage being that you aren't limited in plot and situations, and that by having all participants human the level of depth and creativity has the potential of being far, far greater than any video game "rpg"

 

[warpstorm]

That means some of us will be dissapointed.

I think this is a truism. No matter what design decisions Firaxis makes, somebody won't like it.

 

[warpstorm]

So all the time taken rendering individual frames in 2 d animations could be recorded in 3 d animation full movement instructions.

Neomega is correct. With the proper tools it is less effort to make things in 3D than the current Civ3 2D fashion. Nearly all artwork in Civ3 started as 3D models and animations. They then had to massage it down to 2D. Kinda a pain in the ass to do.

I predict that C:IV will still be turn-based and tile-based. I predict it will still feel like Civ. There's too much $$$ at stake for Firaxis to diverge from the core "Civ-ness".

This reminds me of the arguments when animated units were suggested (they'll ruin the game, what's wrong with little squares with icons anyways, you are making it too much like an arcade game, etc.). The graphics presentation has changed over time as it is. Compare the look of modded Civ3 with the look of out of the box Civ 1. The look is very different. I still feel both feel like Civ to me. I guess it wasn't the look that was the core "Civ-ness".

Why is 3D needed? I guess it's not, unless you want a big publisher to actually publish your games and give you the upfront money to make it in 2004. There are certain things that will keep big publishers from funding a game in this era. Lack of MP, being on a PC only, and lack of 3D being a few. You might get a game financed with one of these strikes against you (much easier if you are part of a franchise or have an excellent track record). With two or all three, you can kiss the contract goodbye.

 

[snoochems]

C&C general sucked. Maybe it sucked because the game sucked, and had nothing to do with the move to 3D.
Red Alert 2 was probably my favorite or the bunch there.

Zues... that's another game that i liked. No, make that loved. In fact, i love all those building games... until it went 3D.

All in all, i was hoping Civ 4 was going to allow me to do the things that i really wanted to do in Civ 3. you know, larger scale, more balanced etc. But with this move to 3D, i can't see how that is going to happen, actually i think it may make things worse.

At least i will always have Civ Conquests.

 

[MattII]

How many 3D TBS games have been made. If it can be pulled off well its going to be a major achievement. Is the game going to be exclusively 3D or a 2D-3D mix.

 

[Gingerbread Man]

I remember this uproar with C3: Conquests. Get over it. Don't make a huge whinge about something you have no idea about - that's called prejudice.

Mind you, when they bring out their first screenies, I'll be having a good look. I trust them to bring out something just as good, if not better, than civ3. If they dont, well, lets not worry about that unless it happens.

 

[Deranger]

I can't await to see Civ 4 in 3D, i'm sure it will be awesome. I play civ since 93 (i think), and it's graphics were always nice, but 2D has its limits. I'd love to zoom and rotate around the map, setting 'north' where i want it to be. And I don't think there will be problems with the performance, there are already some older 3D games that look much better and are running smooth on even lower machines. I remember my 450er AMD, where Civ3 was soo slow, while better looking 3D games like 'earth 2150' (that also uses square-based maps) were running much better. If you limit the visibles according to the zoom level, there will be no problems.