Open Questions

[mudblood]

In about six months Civ IV will be published. Like it or not, this probably means that 80-90% of the gameplay decisions have been made. Firaxis may jettison an idea that does not work. They may add a big idea or two (but if that is the case, they probably know already what that idea may be), but mostly, at this stage of development they’ll be doing the other (huge) tasks: putting I in the AI, overlaying the game with graphics, balancing gameplay, deciding what details to add (should we add Pol Pot or Shaka Zulu as a leader?), and debugging the game.

At this stage, most of our ideas are no longer going to get in the final game. And until we’ve played the game we won’t be able to talk about modding the game, because we won’t know what we need to fix. For the next six months the closest we’ll get to Civ IV is figuring out what’s in that game that Firaxis will create.

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve gotten a lot of information from different sources about the game. In fact, we’re crossing over from a point where I’d say that we don’t know a lot about the game to one where we have a fair idea what the game will be like. Civrules has accumulated a huge amount of information about the game. But what are the things we don’t know? There are good reasons to accumulate a list of questions about the game. An intelligently phrased question can answer other questions. Knowing what you need to know can allow you to slot new information right in. Also, I’m not a reporter, but what if (for example) there were one reading this site for background before he/she was given a sneak peak at Civ IV at E3, what questions would you want him/her to ask?

We need to work from what we do know to what we don’t know. Please base your questions on what we (up until this point) know about the game. As I can see it, there are three types of questions:

1) Counting. There are seven religions in the game, we know 4 (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism), what are the other 3?

2) Mechanics. How do you convert a city from one religion to another?

3) Complaining/Speculative. Please ask this kind of question in another place. Why did they include/didn’t they include x? or Since they’re adding religion as a major element of the game, why did they decide not to include “World Conversion” as a type of victory condition?

My questions follow.

 

[mudblood]

I’m working from the information put up here, Apolyton, and by MRex.

Following Civrules’ (URL) order:

page 1. IV. Landscape

1. There are 31 resources, we know 13 (Bananas, Deer, Dyes, Fish, Elephants, Gold, Horses, Pigs, Rice, Sheep, Whales, Wheat, Wine), what are the other 18?

2. Are there different categories of resource?

3. Can you trade all, some, or any of the resources?

4. Terrain improvements. How many are there? We know 6 (Mines, Pastures, Wineries, Watermills, Windmills, and Proto-Factories). Do workers construct them? How many improvements are there that are not resource improvements?

5. What types of terrain will the game include?

6. Resource Improvements. Is there one for each resource, or one for a general type of resource (Pastures for Sheep and Cattle)? We know one (Wineries) for certain.

page 2. I. Civilizations

1. There are 19 civilizations, we know 10 (Americans, Arabs, Aztecs, Chinese, Egyptians, Germans, Indians, Japanese, Mongols, Persians), what are the other 9?

2. There will be 28 leaders, we know 7, (Washington, Roosevelt, Montezuma, Bismark, Ghandi, Genghis Khan, Cyrus), what are the other 21?

3. What characteristics will differentiate civilizations (traits, UU’s, etc.)?

II. Governance

Religion

1. There are seven religions in the game, we know 4 (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism), what are the other 3?

2. How is a city converted from one religion to another?

3. How does a city resist conversion?

4. How late in the tech tree is the last religion (will a new religion appear toward the end of the game, or will they all be established early)?

5. If you choose not to establish a religion, will the next civilization to discover that advance gain the option to create it, or is it lost forever?

6. Is there any benefit to establishing a religion?

Civics

1. What are the categories of civics options? Are the 5 something like Religion, Economics, Health, Military Mobilization, and Civil Rights?

2. There are 25 civics options, we know 7 (Free Market, Environment, Slavery, Free Speech, Conscription, Emancipation, and Religious Tolerance), what are the other 18?

Great Leaders

What are the features of the five types of Great Leader?

III. Cities

1. There are 102 city buildings (a lot!), we know 5 (Workshop, Temple, Monastery, Forge, Shrine), what are the other 97?

2. There are 30 Great Wonders, one is the Parthenon, what are the other 29?

3. Will there be Small Wonders or something like them in Civ IV?

4. Will some buildings be unique (to be built once per civilization or Great Leader)?

IV. Technologies

1. There are 85 technologies in the game, we know 29 (Agriculture, Alphabet, Calendar, Chemistry, Civil Service, Code of Laws, Compass, Construction, Currency, Drama, Engineering, Feudalism, Fishing, Hunting, Literature, Machinery, Masonry, Mathematics, Meditation, Metal Casting, Mining, Monarchy, Monotheism, Music, Optics, Philosophy, Polytheism, Priesthood, Theology), what are the other 56?

V. Armies and Conflict

1. Will each civilization have a unique unit?

3. There will be 83 units in the game, we know 12 (Archer, Crossbowman, Galley, Knight, Pikeman, Worker, Merchant, Missionary, Spearman, Scout, Chariot, Warrior) what are the other 71?

4. There are different types of unit. How many are there? We know 1 (Melee). Will units belong to more than one category?

5. There are 41 experience bonuses in the game, what are they?

 

[Civrules]

I have to say excellent first posts here!
These are indeed the key questions we all should be asking.
Like you said, we know quite a bit, but it is clear that over the coming months, there is a lot more that will be revealed.
Hopefully, at E3, we will get even more details. There’s a massive amount of things we have yet to learn
Once again, excellent composition of the things we don't know/should be asking.

 

[mudblood]

I have to say excellent first posts here!
These are indeed the key questions we all should be asking.
Like you said, we know quite a bit, but it is clear that over the coming months, there is a lot more that will be revealed.
Hopefully, at E3, we will get even more details. There’s a massive amount of things we have yet to learn
Once again, excellent composition of the things we don't know/should be asking.

Thanks Civrules!

I just want to add (after examining MRex's photographs one more time) two more resources to the total: gems and oasis. Which means 15 down, 16 to go.