Thinking about buying Civilization III on Steam or just getting Freeciv. Which one?

[skaldicpoet9]

I am about to get a netbook computer and plan on using it to play some less resource intensive games. I want to play a good game of Civilization when I get it but am unsure as to which version of Civ I should get between Civ III and Freeciv. I have only played Civ 2, Civ IV and Freeciv. I haven't really gotten into any of these yet so my only impressions so far are superficial at best. I liked the flashiness of Civ IV but Civ IV is out of the question for netbook gaming. Civ 2 was entertaining and Freeciv seems to be quite similar to Civ 2 in terms of graphics and gameplay. I have watched a few videos on youtube of Civ III and I have to say I do like the interface and graphics a lot more than Freeciv but that isn't really a big deal for me, however it is nice to have a somewhat pretty game to look at especially when you are investing as much time as Civ games require.

Anyways, I would like to know what your recommendations are as far as Civ III vs Freeciv goes. One of the big things I would like to be able to do on the netbook is get in on some multiplayer matches, so whatever game is best for online multiplayer (or play by e-mail) is probably the best Civ for me. However, I haven't really been able to discern whether or not Freeciv or Civ III would be better for playing games with other people. Even though multiplayer is a big deal for me don't let it get in the way of telling me why Freeciv is better than Civ III or vice versa. I want to know what the best possible game of Civ would be.

Thanks in advance

 

[Sparthage]

First of all, welcome to CFC! I haven't played Freeciv, and so will have to look it up. But the reason that I like civ3 out of all of Sid's civs. After looking at wikipedia and seeing it compared to civ2, I think that you would enjoy civ3 better due to the improvements made from civ2 to civ3. But don't take my advice if anyone else offers their opinion and plays freeciv as much as I play civ 3.

 

[GamezRule]

Civ 3 > FreeCiv

Also, a netbook has a resolution that may be to small for Civ3.

 

[CKS]

There are some work-arounds for the resolution issues, though; look in the technical support forum.

I've never played Freeciv, so I can't really comment on which is better. I like Civ3 better than Civ2.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Freeciv is basically Civ 2.5.

 

[Lanzelot]

I have played Civ2 for years, and it's a great game. It will also probably run on a netbook without a problem. I've tried FreeCiv on Linux like 6 years ago, and didn't like it as much. (Though it may have improved since then.)

But I think that some key features of Civ3 make it more interesting than Civ2, for example:

• the way artillery/bombers/ship bombardment works
• the culture concept
• the enhanced diplomacy possibilities
• the resources concept

I have an Asus EeePC with 10" screen and 1024 x 600 resolution, and I managed to get Civ3 to work smoothly on that. However, it wasn't easy...

• It doesn't have a CD drive, so I installed it via an external USB-drive. It is also possible to install it, if you share the CD drive of your desktop via LAN, mount that on your netbook and install from there. (No need to use Steam, just buy the CD on Ebay, should be at $5 these days.)
• Next you need to download the following No-CD patch. (You have no CD drive, remember...)
  http://www.civforum.de/showthread.php?t=29799
  Just go to post #6, download the rar file and replace your Civ3Conqests.exe with the one contained in the rar.
  
  Don't worry, this is an "official" no-CD patch released by Fireaxis in 2006! The reason was that a German computer magazine included Civ3 as a gymmick for its readers in a 2006 issue. But once the 1.22 patch was installed, the game did no longer accept the CD that came with the magazine... and so Fireaxis was forced to ship this patch. I verified that the patch works ok with the German and the English version of C3C.
• Then you need a tool that virtually enlarges your screen resolution to 1024 x 768. Otherwise Civ3 will refuse to start. I'm using "MoveMe" (a freeware tool) and it works ok.
• Finally, if your Netbook runs Windows 7, you need to apply the usual workarounds to make Civ3 run, e.g. set the XP compatibility mode and run as administrator. (See also the "Technical Support" forum, if you can't get it to work.)

Lanzelot