Questions about Civ 3 Complete

[ulex]

Hello!
After more than a decade without playing civilization, I'm back (I played civ1 in my youth). I've been analysing which version to buy. My system is an iBook PowerPC G4 800, so I suppose I must stick with Civ 3 Complete...

Question is, is this an improved version of the original Civ 3, or just the same with addons? Are there significant known bugs in C3C? Is it updated to 1.21g out of the package?

Thanks

 

[AlanH]

Hello, welcome

Civ3 Complete is the same basic game as Civ3 vanilla, but with two significant enhancement packs. Play the World added more civilizations and units, brought additional victory conditions, and added multiplayer. Conquests added yet more civilizations, adjusted some of the game balance, like corruption and armies, and added more new concepts like scientific and military great leaders.

Civ3 vanilla is shipped as version 1.21g or older, if you can still buy it. There's an updater to get it to version 1.29b2, which was never a released product, but is the most stable and capable of the vanilla products. I don't think MacSoft still ship it or support any vanilla versions.

Civ3 Complete installs the Play the World and Conquests applications, revved up to the latest and last Windows versions. Play the World is at version 1.27f, and incorporates all the vanilla features up to Windows version 1.29f. Conquests is at version 1.22.

That should confuse you

 

[ulex]

Civ3 vanilla is shipped as version 1.21g or older, if you can still buy it. There's an updater to get it to version 1.29b2, which was never a released product, but is the most stable and capable of the vanilla products. I don't think MacSoft still ship it or support any vanilla versions.

So if I understand Civ3 (in complete) comes 1.21g out of the package and I can upgrade to 1.29b2. Considering that I'm a bit alergic to beta software, is this upgrade really a beta, or can I trust it eye-blinded?

Just one curiosity, if it's trusty, why it is still a beta??

 

[AlanH]

No. Civ3 in Complete comes as Play the World version 1.27f and Conquests 1.22. No upgrade are needed, and it doesn't have a vanilla-only option.

There will eventually be a patch to fix some Mac-specific problems, but they will not change the game play in either PtW or Conquests.

 

[ulex]

No. Civ3 in Complete comes as Play the World version 1.27f and Conquests 1.22. No upgrade are needed, and it doesn't have a vanilla-only option.

There will eventually be a patch to fix some Mac-specific problems, but they will not change the game play in either PtW or Conquests.

Ok thanks, now I understand... Ready to buy!

 

[cliktokill]

can you play just a regular (no conquest/ptw) with the scandanavians, koreans, celts, etc. if you bu complete?

 

[AlanH]

You can play PtW or Conquests if you buy Civ3 Complete. You can't play "vanilla" Civ3 using it. However, I don't think there's much difference between "vanilla" and PtW, except for the additional civs and one or two extra buildings and units. The game rules are near enough the same, so we've been able to run the "Classic" Game of the Month for both vanilla and PtW players with the same maps and the same results tables.

Scandinavia and Korea didn't exist in vanilla Civ3, they arrived with PtW. A set of mods was created to add them and other PtW Civs to vanilla so that we could use them in GOTMs, but they were not exactly the same as the Firaxis versions of these civs.