Ok guys.. Civ3 is out! EU2 is in!

[Geon]

What about the AI in EU2? In the first the AI was worse(!) than the civ2 ai! They would ignore your efficient seige force knocking out their capital while their 100/100/10 collossus would be attriting themselves dry trying to take out some level 3 fort 2 provinces away. That is what made me quit that game. And what about the ridiculous alliances? Spain, turkey, hafsid empire and the Mughal empire declares war on denmark-norway and the incas? All looked hopeless when I saw SS's of EU2 in beta that showed the same exact engine as EU. (not to mention a message that russia was allied with ethiopia).

Oh and whoever said that aoe was not a strategy game did not play multiplayer at a high level. There was much depth and many ways of defeating the opposition. And amoung the top, good tactical ability was paramount, setting up kill zones, balancing military/economy, knowing when to rush anti-rush or boom.

Compared to civ2 which the winning strategy was ICS, SSC, and howitzers.

Edited to add: Just checked out the EU2 forums, and it's interesting to see that the game is having a lot of the same opinions as civ3. Stuff like "Waiting for new patch before voicing opinions" and too many imbalances/bugs. Also, game released to early due to the PUBLISHERS(with x-mas around the corner what did you expect?). The major difference is that at this point in EU2 community it is all still polite and patient.

 

[sheeprock]

Could someone tell me what the actual bug is with air superiority? I've had the computer successfully knockout my bombers with their fighters more than once...seems to work ok for me...

 

[FrosTi]

Europa Universalis 2 is Europa Universalis with so many more features... It is less expensive than Civ3 and is better than Civ3 too...

 

[siouxpermarket]

OK, some background.

I followed the Civ III hype right up to the release date and on 'til today. About two months ago I decided not to be an early adopter. Fifty or sixty bucks still means something to me, especially for something that I know is going to eat up days of my time in, er, quasi-productive fashion.

I'm glad I didn't spend--partly because of the bugs (that corruption thing sounds brutal), but even more so based on the subsequent positions of Firaxis ("The President will not comment on that") and Infogrames ("You vil transchlate NUSSING unless ve say it. All uf your mods are belonk to usssss").

Screw that noise. See you in a year at the bargain bin, boys. Learn some corporate manners by then and we'll talk.

Anyway, I realized in the aftermath that my two all-time favorite games, CivII and the flawed but perfect SMAC(X), both had one thing in common. Namely, Bryan Reynolds (and the team he poached from Sid). I am very excited to see what he and BHG are quietly up to while this thing is blowing up in slow-motion in his ex-employer's face.

In the meantime, EU2 sounds like a possibility, especially since Best Buy is letting it go for 30 bucks this week. However, I have one reservation, which you can maybe help me overcome.

That is: I don't like real-time. I'm turned-based to my bones.

A few weeks ago, speaking of the bargain bin, I found a cheap copy of the Starcraft Battle Chest. The design was smooth and the gameplay was smoother. A nice piece of work. But I just don't like that feeling of being on the clock. So I carefully re-boxed it and plan to put it under the tree for my son, who is a big Age of Empires fan.

So based on your love of EU2, what do you think? Will I be spending the 30 on another future Christmas gift? Or will I be hoarding it for my selfish xenofungus-loving self?

 

[damunzy]

I have a statement and a question about EU and EU2. In EU1 I found it very difficult to trade, impossible actually. I could not figure out what I was doing and the manual was no help. I do not consider myself a dumb person.....did anyone else have this problem? The second question hinges on the answer for the first, is the trading improved in EU2?

 

[Hommer]

What you mean as a trade in EU?..

 

[damunzy]

Bump for Pellaken.

 

[gael]

I've already talked about this this game on some anther thread.
Whats the deal on all the pop-ups when you speed it up?
I just bought the game two days ago and i feel like I'm on a porn site.
Doe's this not bother any one?

 

[Pangur Bán]

iLiAS, you've hit the nail on the head . I recently bought EUII and it truly makes civ3 look like a joke, a complete and utter joke! I don't want to go over the top, but everything in it, the tactics, the atmosphere, the accuracy, the maps, etc, make civ3 look like it was made 2 decades ago.

On the one hand I'm happy to get the gaming experience on the other hand I'm sad that I had thought civ has fallen so far behind. Now, I no longer imagine that behind the civ project lie people of vitality, eager for innovation and gaming quality...all I imagine now are greedy, lazy, decadent fat-cat developers cynically squeezing money out of the gamer by releasing a rehash of a previously brilliant game.

EUII shows firaxis up. They had years to develop civ3 from civ2 but the game title has almost stagnated; in many ways it's behind CTP2, a game that was made years before. If the EU title expands to encompass all ages - as it surely will- then only ignorance on the part of gamers or a complete overhaul of the civ title can keep it alive. Unlike civ2, Civ3 is not a benchmark in strategy game history...perhaps only a sad lesson on how success can rip the vitality out of any project.

EDIT: this is only my feeling!

 

[Flak]

Originally posted by calgacus


On the one hand I'm happy to get the gaming experience on the other hand I'm sad that I had thought civ has fallen so far behind. Now, I no longer imagine that behind the civ project lie people of vitality, eager for innovation and gaming quality...all I imagine now are greedy, lazy, decadent fat-cat developers cynically squeezing money out of the gamer by releasing a rehash of a previously brilliant game.

I really don't blame the developers as much as the publishers and the direction the gaming industry in general has taken. Game's are 'scheduled' for release it seems before they are even technically specified. The idea that customers want to buy the title, instead of the content, rules the way games throughout the industry are marketed. Some games are able to escape this trend (EU, Sims, small independent projects such as OG3 ). But the situation is tragic right now.

Originally posted by calgacus

EUII shows firaxis up. They had years to develop civ3 from civ2 but the game title has almost stagnated; in many ways it's behind CTP2, a game that was made years before. If the EU title expands to encompass all ages - as it surely will- then only ignorance on the part of gamers or a complete overhaul of the civ title can keep it alive.

I don't even know if this can help. Releasing a huge game like Civ III in the state it was in not only hurt the Civilization name, I think it hurt the gaming industry in general. There are literally millions of customers now far more skeptical of this title and any game released in such a blind rush. Maybe in the long run this will be good for the industry as they will see that they must win the respect of the people from whom the money comes (the customers) right from the start. But I think there is going to be some real suffering before that comes about.

I am looking forward to the time again when innovation rules over Profit motivation.