Only 30 Civs in base game (+ Shawnee)

[Verified_Confection_Being]

"Just" is an understatement given what adding a civ entails. Already having a wonder makes things a lot easier, but until the mod tools release, uniques won't have their own model and even with the tools, this game has so incredibly detailed art that making custom models won't be a quick undertaking.

With AI art being a thing now i wouldn't be surprised seeing Modders absolute slap all respect away from Firaxis with how quick they can pump out reasonable quality modded civs.

 

[JNR13]

With AI art being a thing now i wouldn't be surprised seeing Modders absolute slap all respect away from Firaxis with how quick they can pump out reasonable quality modded civs.

- AI art certainly won't slap the respect away from Firaxis
- AI still sucks for 3D models
- AI isn't trained on the game's art style
- AI isn't trained much on many historic objects
- Many modders refuse to use genAI on principle

Overall, I don't think it will play any notable role in filling out the game with mods of near-Firaxis quality.

 

[Kyriakos]

AI art is no joke indeed, by now afaik it can create consistent variations of the same object, including moving objects.
As for the models, given the stuff going on already, I will be very surprised if they are that detailed in-game (it would then lag).
Not that it's easy to find a lot (enough for quality, I mean; numerically they will be a lot) of people to mod the game for free - any game - and while talented modders will always exist, the more numerous/intricate the work is, the less chance of a consistent modded style.

 

[Leucarum]

Agreed with this being a problem which resolves itself with time. But the cost of getting a game with a sufficient lineup to support the age system including a lot of DLCs does not make me all that amused with firaxis *wags finger accusatorily at obvious corporate greed*

Hopefully there are good modding tools close to launch....

 

[Verified_Confection_Being]

- AI art certainly won't slap the respect away from Firaxis
- AI still sucks for 3D models
- AI isn't trained on the game's art style
- AI isn't trained much on many historic objects
- Many modders refuse to use genAI on principle

Overall, I don't think it will play any notable role in filling out the game with mods of near-Firaxis quality.

This is the failing of every criticism of AI really. It gets you the 80% of the way there so you can spend the time perfecting the 20% that makes the difference. Its a beautiful tool in applying the Pareto principle, and thats what will enable better quality mods, not 100% reliance.

I would be genuinely surprised if AI isn't being used at firaxis in their workshops for Civ VII personally.

 

[Siptah]

However, how much money should we be expected to shell out for this game exactly?

I‘d say around $150-170 to get to a civ setup that many people in these forums would have deemed suitable for launch with 42-50 civs.
Or you wait five years and buy it for the price of a sandwich.

 

[JNR13]

This is the failing of every criticism of AI really. It gets you the 80% of the way there so you can spend the time perfecting the 20% that makes the difference. Its a beautiful tool in applying the Pareto principle, and thats what will enable better quality mods, not 100% reliance.

I would be genuinely surprised if AI isn't being used at firaxis in their workshops for Civ VII personally.

For 3D models, it certainly will not get you 80% of the way. Beyond that, you're still ignoring that most modders do not *want* to use AI for several reasons. Some Firaxis devs are also quite open about rejecting AI and most video game artists seem to agree.

Some have been able to create genAI leader screens for Civ VI that are somewhat passable but still very obviously AI and not quite fully in line with the game's art style; Static images; Of modern people.

 

[stealth_nsk]

I wonder if this means that there is a hard cap on 10 players per game, I always used to play with 18 civs, it felt fun, I guess that won't be possible as much anymore.

1. We know Firaxis is going to launch with not so big maps, while adding more civs later
2. We expect 8 more civs even in planned DLC, which means 13 civs per age in a year
3. More civs will be added with future expansions and mods

So, we'll probably have 10 civs per game at launch (or even less depending on the map size), but I totally expect the civ cap to be at least 15 around the first expansion.

 

[ColtSeavers]

I’m not surprised that Goths would be out for vanilla, but this would mean that the presence of many wonders in the game is not indicative of a correlated civ also being in the game.

(Referring to the tomb/mausoleum of Theodoric)

I missed that, is it confirmed, that the Goths are out for Vanilla?

 

[queenpea]

I missed that, is it confirmed, that the Goths are out for Vanilla?

Nothing is confirmed, but that won’t stop me from my hysterical panicking!

 

[8housesofelixir]

1. We know Firaxis is going to launch with not so big maps, while adding more civs later
2. We expect 8 more civs even in planned DLC, which means 13 civs per age in a year
3. More civs will be added with future expansions and mods

So, we'll probably have 10 civs per game at launch (or even less depending on the map size), but I totally expect the civ cap to be at least 15 around the first expansion.

Personally, the fact that FXS decided to pump 8 more civs in smaller DLCs within the first year after the launch implies that they have a slow (but steady) pipeline for civ designs, and they want to keep the launch date as it is, rather than postpone it to wait for the civ roster to reach 39. Game development schedules can be pretty slow and inflexible.

 

[ColtSeavers]

Nothing is confirmed, but that won’t stop me from my hysterical panicking!

I see!

 

[stealth_nsk]

Personally, the fact that FXS decided to pump 8 more civs in smaller DLCs within the first year after the launch implies that they have a slow (but steady) pipeline for civ designs, and they want to keep the launch date as it is, rather than postpone it to wait for the civ roster to reach 39. Game development schedules can be pretty slow and inflexible.

The process is a bit uneven. Usually finishing graphics and fine-tuning abilities is something which is done at later phases, so while FXS know each civilization and leader already, it's clearly not "holding back content".

Speaking about slow and inflexible, a year is a large time. Tamar of Georgia became a civilization meme at summer 2016 (at that point FXS clearly didn't have any plans for her) and in February 2018 she was released as part of the expansion pack. So, a year and a half from idea to release.

 

[ColtSeavers]

I think at this point developers bang their heads to the wall for ever mentioning the term "historical path". It causes more harm and confusion than gives any clarity.

To me, it's just "options unlocked based on previous era civilization".

I think, the Devs are banging their heads at the wall for not implementing a Leader instead of a Civ switch!

 

[Eramas]

Definitely a bit disappointing, but that's basically what I expected.

 

[Zaarin]

I would be genuinely surprised if AI isn't being used at firaxis in their workshops for Civ VII personally.

Any studio using AI art and not disclosing it needs to be shuttered yesterday.

 

[chaosprophet]

I think, the Devs are banging their heads at the wall for not implementing a Leader instead of a Civ switch!

Unlikely, the dev diaries shows they at least are confident and have solid reasons why they decided to go for age and civ transitions while keeping leaders.

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

Personally, the fact that FXS decided to pump 8 more civs in smaller DLCs within the first year after the launch implies that they have a slow (but steady) pipeline for civ designs, and they want to keep the launch date as it is, rather than postpone it to wait for the civ roster to reach 39. Game development schedules can be pretty slow and inflexible.

The problem with your argument is that they're not "postponing" the content. This content can be argued is removed and put behind an additional paywall. We're not getting "the rest of the roster later" for free, we have to pay for it.

 

[Zaarin]

I think, the Devs are banging their heads at the wall for not implementing a Leader instead of a Civ switch!

"Oh, man, I really wish we'd sapped all the human interest out of our game instead of having a really good idea that would shake up the gameplay from previous titles!"

 

[Lord Lakely]

However, how much money should we be expected to shell out for this game exactly?

Not much because at this rate, I'll be buying it in five years when the anthology goes on sale, instead of in five months.