So where's the catch in BtS, I wonder?

[Shigga]

No, this is not a BtS-bash. I'm not even talking features here, at least not in detail. I absolutely love what I read about BtS so far, and if things are only half as good as they sound BtS is gonna be awesome. Actually, it sounds too good to be true. I wonder, where's the catch?

Now let's take a look at the facts:

- BtS is the the biggest XP ever released- so big they could easily make two xp's of it and get away with it.
- They made the game moddable on a very professional level, even more with BtS
- Firaxis seems to have listened to the fanbase like never before with BtS
- The Vanilla-Warlords-BtS triad somehow feels very... complete

From an optimistic point of view, I'd say they learned a lot and they focus on replayability big time.

The nagging little pessimist in me wonders, why do they give away an opportunity for making even more revenue? Possible conclusion: It's a strategic decision. That said, two possible reasons for it keep tapping on my shoulders:

a) Firaxis wants to quit the franchise. No ciV, ever. Nor more XP's for IV.
b) We're not gonna see a new XP/Civ V in a loooooong time

I tend to prefer the latter b/c it better fits the move to say bye with a big bang ensuring at the same time that the franchise will be still on ppl's minds when they return to make a new incarnation of our beloved game by making it moddable as they did. Trust the civfanatics to keep the franchise alive!

What do you think?

 

[RedRalph]

I dont know much about the economics of gam sales, but judging by the entusiasm here, and in any reviews I've seen of BtS, its going to sell relatively well for an XP, and will be playable enough to keep people interested in the franchise for many years, leading me to belive there will be a CV...

Maybe thats just because I couldnt bring myself to believe there wont be a CV

 

[Mattsingen]

I think they are balancing on a thin thread to not make a CIV game where you have to micromanage every aspect of the game but those how like that aspect get their needs meet.
In some ways XP’s are a good way of letting people decide how they like to play the game. A CIV V would need a new game engine that I scaleable so it adapts to the hardware you are on to make it playable for many years. It’s probably less expensive to make XP’s than make a hole new game.

 

[Mirc]

- BtS is the the biggest XP ever released

Source? I seriously doubt it. Maybe the biggest Civ expansion, but that's normal since all expansions have been bigger than previous ones.

 

[Shigga]

I'm talking franchise, of course, so what I meant is that BtS is the biggest ever XP in the history of the Civ-Franchise. Still I'd bet it ranges pretty high on list of the biggest XP's in gaming history ever

 

[Commander Bello]

I think it is safe to assume that any further XP (which I doubt) or version will last for quite some while.

With Vista, 64bit systems will become more popular. Flash memory support may become an option as well.
With DirectX10, new options will become available as far as graphics are concerned.
With multicore cpu's becoming more and more popular, new games will have to be written accordingly.

All these things need some time and some experiences.

Don't forget, the graphics engine in Civ4 was/is a licensed one. So, it may be some years old now.

At the end of the day, NOW has been the right time to issue some expansions still making use of "old" technologies. New technologies are at the horizon but you don't know yet which will become really a significant one and which will not.

Therefore, I would assume that a Civ5 (I do not really believe in a next XP) might be issued end of 2009, earliest.

 

[Swedishguy]

Is it good or bad that the game will be more complicated? Or, should, I say, bad or good?

 

[Shigga]

@Bello: Yeah, techwise it is a time of turmoil right now.

I also think your estimate on when Civ5 will be due is a good shot. I just looked up the release dates of the previous iterations, it is a rough 5-years frequency. I also share your view on the possibility of another XP for IV, guessing there will be none.

I hope the franchise is too attractive in terms of revenue to let it fall foor good.

OTOH I really wonder what they could possibly put into 5 we do not have already, except for minor details.

 

[sneaky]

I think it's a fitting end for the CIV IV cycle. CIV IV was a great game and BTS will offer much replayability making sure the cycle will stand the test of time.

That said, we can probably expect CIV V in 2008/9 so it would be a great idea to issue a last big expansion before moving on to the next big cycle.

 

[El Koeno]

OTOH I really wonder what they could possibly put into 5 we do not have already, except for minor details.

Poland?

(just kidding )

 

[Willowmound]

a) Firaxis wants to quit the franchise. No ciV, ever. Nor more XP's for IV.

Why on earth would they want to do that?

Now, as for Civ V not coming out for several years, I'm fine with that. Wait for the next generation of computers. Civ IV is gonna last us well.

 

[El Koeno]

I hope they wait for a while. Civ is still a good game, and doesn't need a sequel just yet.

 

[V. Soma]

I also estimate Civ V as 2009 Fall earliest, but that is all fine with me

 

[woodelf]

No catch. They just love us here at the CFC and made this just for us.

 

[Shigga]

Does "us" include that never satisfied mob constantly ranting about HRE, Hitler, Native Americans, Poland or some other real or imagined shortcoming of BtS?

I sure do hope there is no catch but economy follows it's own set of rules

 

[Stilgar08]

Personally I don't believe in Civ V in '09 and presume it might be later (2011maybe).

I'm all happy with BtS and am eager to play it - and I'm quite sure I will have my share of fun for several years..

But:
I'm wondering if anyone here is concerned about the announced change of platform which will be undertaken with Civ-Revolution announced for X-Box.

I'm not really a console-guy and hope they won't go there exclusively. As far as I understood, CivR will only be on console? I hope this is just an "excursion" and not the future main-channel...

 

[cybrxkhan]

according to previous statistics...

Civ1 was released in 1991.
Civ2 was released in 1996. five years difference.
Civ3 was released in 2001. five years difference.
Civ4 was released in 2005. four years difference.

so, that places Civ5 around 2009, but given technological difficulties, prehaps 2010, if they even bother to. then again, theres that funny "Civilization:Revolution", so who knows, maybe even 2011!

 

[Virulent]

I don't see why anybody would expect a 3rd XP for Civ IV. After BtS I don't think there is really anything else to add besides leaders and Civs.

As for Civ V I'm not sure where else they could go with the Civ formula without changing enough stuff so it's no longer Civ.

 

[Gaius Octavius]

This is the catch, and I'm frankly suprised more people haven't said something about it...

It costs $29.99 and you have to wait several days for it, most likely...

Okay, the real catch: they've exposed many more SDK checks to Python and XML. Wonderful. As a modder, I'm looking forward to it.

If you're a common player, this is a nightmare. It means the late game will now be incredibly laggy, because Python checks in SDK are one of the major sources of lag. If you have a slow computer, time to say bye-bye.

 

[Gaius Octavius]

or wait for someone to mod out the python calls.

Calling Dr. Kael... Dr. Kael...