Official Site: Hot or Not?

[Undertaker798]

The site is up, but is it a good site?

What do you think?


I think: That its a good site now, i am random and looking at the site more carefully i realised the info missing was there or will be added during the stages up until Civ4 release.

 

[evil_linus]

well, seems like we all (3 so far.. ) agree, don't it?

 

[Flak]

At some point, they've got to get some info regarding modding up.

 

[Willowmound]

It's brand new! Give them a break. More info is sure to follow.

 

[Rexflex]

They really need to fix that blog link for the modding, and the absence of certain leaders is worrying people. But other than that it is a brilliant site and I'll be looking out for further content.

 

[Wolfwood]

Ah, I just love hearing those tunes in the background while browsing the site. I think that I cannot stop myself from preordering the game now...

 

[ipris]

looks great. had to watch the unit videos

 

[SilentMage]

The official site is very good! The music is just...

The game hasn't come out yet, so cut them a little slack for some of their sections having little to no information, like the Modding section.

 

[Dida]

barely provides any info at all. it sucks .

 

[Willowmound]

Have any of you ever developed a site? Filling a website with content is quite a large job. It takes time. Usually no site is "complete" when it launches. If you don't like it, don't go there. Wait for it to fill up with stuff. Then pretend it's brand new in February.

 

[Novaya Havoc]

Oh, come on. Most of the Civ info has been posited from the Civ 3 info site.

Most of the leg-work for the Civ 4 site is design and flash. Yeah, I can see that taking a long time.

But the content should be there. Unless the absent leaderheads aren't finished (Napoleon, Liz, Bismarck, et cetera), all civ info and leaderhead info should be present. Really. 18 civs, and what? 26 leaders? And then you copy-paste (with the exception of Mali) the blurbs from "Civ of the Week" in Civ III. That is a DAY's work of web design, if that.

The longer process is getting images to bulk the design and layout of the site. The site is beautiful, and the music is gorgeous. But I think what people REALLY expect from the Civ4 official site is the list of civs, teaser images of civ leaders. Come on. For the average consumer, in-game screenshots are fairly boring. They blend together, for the most part.

Civ4.com should pimp the music, wonder screens, some in-game shots, and especially the CAST OF CIVS. Those are the neccessities of what is -- esentially -- an official advert for the game. The rest is all bonus.

But it still is reeeally pretty to look at.

 

[QiZhe]

The site design and all is pretty attractive, with the flash and the music. But the info does leave a bit to be desired. The missing leaderheads were a bit disappointing, and the disappearance of some of them gave me quite a scare. Another thing I noticed as that the Spiral Minaret theme download link gives me Ancient Soundtrack Cromer.

 

[Willowmound]

Oh, come on. Most of the Civ info has been posited from the Civ 3 info site.

Most of the leg-work for the Civ 4 site is design and flash. Yeah, I can see that taking a long time.

But the content should be there. Unless the absent leaderheads aren't finished (Napoleon, Liz, Bismarck, et cetera), all civ info and leaderhead info should be present. Really. 18 civs, and what? 26 leaders? And then you copy-paste (with the exception of Mali) the blurbs from "Civ of the Week" in Civ III. That is a DAY's work of web design, if that.

The longer process is getting images to bulk the design and layout of the site. The site is beautiful, and the music is gorgeous. But I think what people REALLY expect from the Civ4 official site is the list of civs, teaser images of civ leaders. Come on. For the average consumer, in-game screenshots are fairly boring. They blend together, for the most part.

Civ4.com should pimp the music, wonder screens, some in-game shots, and especially the CAST OF CIVS. Those are the neccessities of what is -- esentially -- an official advert for the game. The rest is all bonus.

But it still is reeeally pretty to look at.

These things might be put up on the site over the next few weeks, some new stuff every day. Makes you keep coming back. Build the suspense. Of course, for most people on CFC, the suspense is already built way too high, but they might not take that into account. If on the other hand the site stays this barren for more than a week, I'll join with the complainers.

 

[Novaya Havoc]

Remember -- the Civ list is designed in flash. Flash is a heckuva lot harder to edit than, well, any web-programming script. Why? It's a multimedia nightmare of doom.

If they had designed Civ4.com like Civ3.com (basic, lovely, html) I would agree with you about adding new info. But the web developers have to change the flash animations to accommodate new leaderheads, new unit animations, change the order of the civs on the left list, and so on.

They could have changed this all by today if it were not in flash. This is why I hate flash. I never understood the huge need for web sites to have flash, because it overshadows (and harms) web content.

-B

 

[SilentMage]

barely provides any info at all. it sucks .

I think: Its a good site but needs a bit more information.

I think for the average consumer this website is everything they would expect and more (especially w/ the music -- I can't emphasize that enough!). We're just hardcore Civ players who've soaked up so much pre-release info about CIV (that the average consumer most likely doesn't know about) that anything less than what we're used to is not enough and therefore bad.

The information provided on the site is what you would find on most websites that are reserving the game for consumers (such as Amazon and Gamestop) plus a great deal more dynamic content than that.

From a marketing point of view, the official website is doing it's job exactly the way it's supposed to. From a Civ-addict's point of view, it does not. But then again, it primarily is geared towards the majority of consumers who wouldn't initially know about websites like www.civfanatics.com or apolyton.net.

 

[Novaya Havoc]

From a marketing point of view, the official website is doing it's job exactly the way it's supposed to. From a Civ-addict's point of view, it does not. But then again, it primarily is geared towards the majority of consumers who wouldn't initially know about websites like www.civfanatics.com or apolyton.net.

No, it's not. It's misrepresenting and downplaying the most commercially viable elements of civ: the civilizations themselves, their leaders and traits, and elements like world wonders, religions, and so on.

The "average consumer" that is interested in a RPG/Strategy game often wants to feel a personal connection to the "story." And since this is an historical game, that personal connection is even more important.

Even looking at C-Fanatics, you will see several polls or questions about what civs, what leaders, what traits, who will you play first? and so on. This is the bulk of the market -- not how many moves you get on railroad tiles.

Civ4.com has not clearly shown the civs, their leaders and traits, their unique units, and so on. It has not given a comprehensive list of world wonders, religions, or other elements that will establish a personal connection between the game and the player.

So I highly disagree that it is doing "exactly what it is supposed to" for the average consumer. Sure, it gives a fair preview in a pretty package, but it isn't maximizing its potential as a web-marketing tool.

-B

 

[Willowmound]

Remember -- the Civ list is designed in flash. Flash is a heckuva lot harder to edit than, well, any web-programming script. Why? It's a multimedia nightmare of doom.

If they had designed Civ4.com like Civ3.com (basic, lovely, html) I would agree with you about adding new info. But the web developers have to change the flash animations to accommodate new leaderheads, new unit animations, change the order of the civs on the left list, and so on.

They could have changed this all by today if it were not in flash. This is why I hate flash. I never understood the huge need for web sites to have flash, because it overshadows (and harms) web content.

-B

I did not consider that, but now that I have I must say you have a point. I don't like flash much either. But surely, they must intend to finish the site before the game goes on the shelves!

 

[Jaybe]

It was stunning when I first looked at (and heard!!) it. It will get better with time -- especially after game release.

 

[Evie]

Poor at opening - the mistakes with leaders, which are now fixed, where particularly godawful - but I expect it to improve over the coming days (some of those mistakes already being fixed).

 

[pjdodd]

Civ4 site is awful.
Too flashy, in every sense. Flash is sooooooo late twentieth century.
Not enough detail.
Says "Look at me I'm showing off" when it should be saying "I'm the best because...blah blah blah" followed by clearly structured links.