Pirates, Really?

[agamemnon_of_the-bronze_]

i am not understanding why Pirate Republic is being added to this game. Firaxis is not committed to any facsmile of historicity. their priorities are totally off. We are adding a non-civilization to civilization BEFORE adding Ottomans? we are missing major major eras of key civilizations. This development team needs a wake up call. Iceland hopefully will be a medieval/exploration based viking civilization at least. Pirate Republic is not a real civilization and should not be in the game period. but at least don't add this fantasy civilization before REAL civilization that are conspicuously missing such as HRE, Austria, Edo Japan, Aztecs/Monty, Alex, byzantium, Brazil, Ottomans, renaissance italy/venice... i could go on. please rethink your priorities of who deserves inclusion in this game. REAL civilizations deserve priority.

 

[IntelligentDisk]

i am not understanding why Pirate Republic is being added to this game.

I think because a "Pirate Republic" should be offering a unique playstyle which I can see being fun for plenty of people. Personally I'm looking forward to the art surrounding them - the appearance & the music.

 

[j51]

I think because a "Pirate Republic" should be offering a unique playstyle which I can see being fun for plenty of people. Personally I'm looking forward to the art surrounding them - the appearance & the music.

There are countless longer lived polities from history that could use whatever gameplay they give to them. They just aren’t this romanticized bs.

 

[j51]

That said. At least it’s a free add on. If you don’t count them, this pack still includes one civ for each age. So the balance isn’t off either.

 

[Gorbles]

Pirates, really.

The Flying Gang did exist, so.

 

[WillK96]

It's a free update. I'm usually against these kinds of decisions too, but (1) it is thematically appropriate with the DLC, (2) it should provide a unique playstyle for a maligned "age" where railroading is a big concern, and (3) it's free. I wouldn't look at it as if they are "adding a non-civilization before a real civilization." They are just giving the current players a new civ for free as a thank you.

Edit: I'll also add that its not really a "fantasy" civilization in the common sense of the word "fantasy." Pirates did exist, and they did maintain some semblance of several polities in the Caribbean in the 17th and 18th centuries.

 

[Kurtbob]

I would have preferred a Barabay state instead, but the inclusion of the Ottomans may hint at an Ottoman design that includes a Barbary element similar to Civ5's Ottomans. Happy its all free of course

 

[WillK96]

TBH I have more of an issue with the Bermuda Triangle being a natural wonder than the Republic of Pirates being a playable civ.

 

[Kurtbob]

100% agree. It's a complete fantasy natural wonder.

 

[ehecatzin]

I am dissapointed this is the first Caribbean civ that makes it to the game, I really hope we can get Taino and Haiti later on. As for it being fantasy...I mean, It's not really fantasy, only super short lived and very romanticised. If they keep it historically accurate it may be fun to get a bunch of Privateers and maybe some named pirates if they have a Unique unit, similar to Conquistadors.

(I still think the timeline is weird for them but that's a larger issue)

I don't want to harp to much against it because at the end of the day, It's part of a free DLC, if I find it too odd, I can just as well disable it and call it a day, All that said, Blackbeard as leader I think It's really cool, looking forward to it.

Also please...please don't make the Palace building a giant skull, please, don't

I would have preferred a Barabay state instead, but the inclusion of the Ottomans may hint at an Ottoman design that includes a Barbary element similar to Civ5's Ottomans. Happy its all free of course

The theme of the bundle would suggest so, I still hold a bit of hope Ottomans are Exploration only so that we can have a Byzantium vs Ottomans showdown, but It's super unlikely.

 

[ehecatzin]

TBH I have more of an issue with the Bermuda Triangle being a natural wonder than the Republic of Pirates being a playable civ.

YES THIS. I was very happy at the addition of the Great Blue Hole. I really don't want fantasy Natural wonders, because somehow It's always the Caribbean that gets al that bullfeathers... Bermuda Triangle, Fountain of Youth, El Dorado.

 

[j51]

Yeah, hopefully they’re fun. It’s also funny that they’re in the Exploration age, but the Mughals and Ottomans are modern.

 

[untitledjuan]

Arguably, these kinds of Caribbean pirates were part of the wider English or British civilization, which is already in the game. Including them as a separate civilization would be like having America as a civilization and an additional "Cowboy" civilization, or a Spain civilization and a separate "Conquistador" civilization. It really is a very weird choice. I already wonder what their city list could possibly be.

 

[Lord Lakely]

I think the criticisms of this civ are fully valid, and I am willing to bet their kit could have gone to another civ.

 

[Nikolai II]

I have no problem with it. It's a DLC so you can just disable it if you don't want to play with them or against them.

 

[ehecatzin]

Arguably, these kinds of Caribbean pirates were part of the wider English or British civilization, which is already in the game. Including them as a separate civilization would be like having America as a civilization and an additional "Cowboy" civilization, or a Spain civilization and a separate "Conquistador" civilization. It really is a very weird choice. I already wonder what their city list could possibly be.

I think people mentioned back when they were leaked, that mods could just as easily change them to be Exploration England, and yeah, they are pretty much on the money.

man I'm changing my signature, we really need a medieval era, Normans and Pirates in the same Era...*sigh*

edit: I would also argue that Spain is already a Conquistador civilization, there's not an ounce of Castille and reconquista in there.

 

[Sagax]

We are adding a non-civilization to civilization BEFORE adding Ottomans?

Annoying correction: We are adding a non-civilization to civilization ALONGSIDE adding Ottomans. They are both included in this update.

Pirates being free for now definitely softens the blow somewhat. In another timeline, I wouldn’t have minded them being a last addition at the end of the game’s support cycle. I will say, though, they better offer quite a shakeup in gameplay, or else there is indeed little justification in picking them over any other more “grounded” Caribbean entity.

 

[Nikolai II]

Annoying correction: We are adding a non-civilization to civilization ALONGSIDE adding Ottomans. They are both included in this update.

No? There is a part 1 and part 2 mentioned in the blog post? And Ottomans are part of the second part.

 

[Luxerne]

Though I know that the civ's uniques and city names will presumably be based on the historic Pirate Republic in the Caribbean, in my mind it feels like it can serve as a broad "archetypal" civ depending on which leader or antiquity civ you have going into it... not "Han China or Egypt transitioning to the Caribbean Pirates" but "Han China or Egypt becoming a Pirate Republic"

So, I'm not mad about it.

 

[Xandinho]

The fact that it’s free makes things a bit better, at least it doesn’t feel like you’re paying for something you don’t want. Still, it doesn’t erase the feeling that all that work and effort could have been invested in a real civilization, like the Taíno, who are from the same region.

Personally, I think the Republic of Pirates should have been something added near the end of the game’s development cycle, a different and fun feature to give the game more life, not one of the first civilizations released.

As everyone has already said, at least it’s free.