Demo was alright. I didn't expect that you could do that much with a free sample actually. Yes the file was a big download, but that's what I have high speed broadband for.
Computer performance: the demo removed all fears of under performance with my computer. I did have an older card that the 2k thread indicated would barely handle minimum spec , so the other day I replaced it with a new but cheap ATI 5670, on my Core 2 quad machine. The demo ran without complaint on its default graphic settings, so I ramped all the graphics settings to max and restarted. Once again no problem or noticeable glitches for the entire 100 turns. Turn wait times weren't bad at all.
Game play: Didn't change the settler setting as I wanted to see what the game was like before going for something more challenging.
I found myself automatically taking a more exploratory and diplomatic approach, not worrying too much about defending borders. I was surprised that some city states I bribed favor didn't take too long to go neutral on me again - I expected the same rate of change in attitude amongst them all.
Lizzy was quick to taunt on both loads. On my second game load I had allied with a city state after taking out a neighboring barb camp that they were scared of. This was a city that Lizzy was getting friendly with, and she rudely suggested I back off on the smooching. So I declared war on her and took out the only unit of hers that I could see. Her city fired on me, but I backed off to heal, and when I went back in she quickly offered a cease fire, giving me both a down payment and per turn gold. I tried pushing for her horses as well, but she wouldn't be pushed any further. I took the settlement because it was getting close to the 100 turns anyway. I hope she is a fair bit tougher to take on higher difficulty settings.
City states are pretty hard to attack. I didn't build up enough forces to take one out in the 100 turns despite the difficulty level.
Now the downside - I have to wait at least a few more days before the full game arrives.
