SJSerio
Centurion
The following are my thoughts, speculation and analysis of the features listed by Firaxis in accordance to the recent announcement of Civilization V. I have broken down and responded to each point (highlighten some key statements in the feature list), and include additional thoughts toward the end.
While there is not much that I can respond to in this statement alone, afterall, seeing is believing, after looking at some of the screenshots available, I am intrigued by the direction that they are going. I think that the hex tiles are a good direction and should be interesting. I also like the look of the graphics, however, I do get a little worried that we may have some issues when it comes to larger maps and more civs (when they become available) on a map. Those of us that love playing epic games may still be hindered like Civ IV. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. I am looking forward to seeing it in action.
I am looking forward to seeing more of the interface for the game. The screens of the leaders did not appear to have any interface buttons on them, so I would like to see how they fit in. The big news that I see here is the "set of trusted advisors"! If this means that the advisors of old return, count me in!
Well, this is not too surprising! I am interested in seeing who will be included. Of course, the following mainstays are definite:
With that being 13 right there, the remaining may be recurring civs or brand new ones. Some recurring contenders are, of course, Carthage, Celtia, Ethiopia, Aztec, Inca, Maya, Viking (Scandanavia) and Arabia. Possible new ones (or, at least ones that I would like to see) include Israel, Poland, Australia, and Canada (after all, these last two have a lot of popular members in the Civ community). Of course, two things could effect the results to a degree, the moddability (ease of adding new civs) and how the new City-States work, both of which I discuss further below.
Not too much was revealed in this statement. I am looking forward to seeing how the whole diplomacy works. Perhaps the biggest revalation in this statement is in regards to City States. It brings to mind a few questions...
Whatever the case, I can't wait to find out more!
The screenshots I viewed offer an intriguing look at the battle system, though I still remain a bit skeptical. The indications, as well as some of the presumptions that I have read, seem to be towards one unit per tile. I am curious as to how this will work out given the scope of the game. On a regional world, that may work, but on a full global world, it could get a bit cluttered. Plus, how will city defence work if you can only have one unit per tile?
With the push for internet only multiplayer, I am happy to see that hotseat and LAN matches make a return. hotseat may not get much use, but do make it good for playing multiple civs at once (a personal preference of mine). As far as some of the community features, it is nice that they are including access to Civ fansites right from in-game. It could potentially make hooking-up much easier, plus sharing game stories. Also, the inclusion of acheivements is a nice touch. I'm not an acheivement fan, but I don't hate the system, and I think it will be a good add-in for the Civ community. (Though, I wonder how it might affect "cheaters") Somehting else that intrigues me is the ability to "share scenarios". That leads me to the last statement...
While this statement is promising, I have to admit that I heard it before and was a bit let down. They make the same claim with Civ IV, but I was not too happy with the results. While it was true that the Civ IV engine had a lot of flexibility for modding, you really had to be an expert to take advantage of it even for some of the most simplest of mods.
That said, I am hoping that the tools available will allow for good customization at a minimum, and include fairly easy ways to add new things. At base, the game should include a good map editor (in game is fine, but an external one should be available as well). Also, the game should include a scenario, rules editor that allows you to change certain aspects (like unit/building costs, etc... basically what could be done in XML with Civ IV). Another thing that would be nice, and that I began to recently think about, would be if certain elements could be edited, added and shared like in The Sims or Spore. It would be great if you could make your own units or leaders and Civs through an editor and them share them with others. I guess we shall see!
Finally...
There are still many questions that have risen up or have been left unanswered. For example, what are the fates of:
Some of these, I have already seen posts of speculation and rumors around the boards. Multiple leaders is one key one that I would like to learn about soon. Also, religions, according to some posts, are out, but I have not seen any official statements yet (as of the time of writing this). Personally, I think the loss of religions would be a step back and really take away from the progression of the game. Yes, the system in Civ IV had its flaws, but it did improve some with the expansions and had some great potential with a little more improvement (adding more religions and controlling spread... I didn't think that a nation should be able to adopt a religion as its state if it wasn't available in the capital, for example).
When it comes to Wonders, assuming they are still in the game (which would seem safe, as they are a big part of Civilization), one that I am hoping for is the Colloseum (with Arenas replacing them as standard buildings). Others I would expect to see are all of the seven ancient wonders (Pyramids, Collossus, etc), and most of the mainstays for the past few games.
At any rate, it is going to be a long summer, but hopefully we won't have to wait too long learn the answers to some of the questions that I have posed. I am sure that it will be at E3 (and likely playable) and GDC is right around the corner, too, so I am sure we will learn more then, too.
While there is not much that I can respond to in this statement alone, afterall, seeing is believing, after looking at some of the screenshots available, I am intrigued by the direction that they are going. I think that the hex tiles are a good direction and should be interesting. I also like the look of the graphics, however, I do get a little worried that we may have some issues when it comes to larger maps and more civs (when they become available) on a map. Those of us that love playing epic games may still be hindered like Civ IV. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. I am looking forward to seeing it in action.
I am looking forward to seeing more of the interface for the game. The screens of the leaders did not appear to have any interface buttons on them, so I would like to see how they fit in. The big news that I see here is the "set of trusted advisors"! If this means that the advisors of old return, count me in!
Well, this is not too surprising! I am interested in seeing who will be included. Of course, the following mainstays are definite:
- Rome
- Greece
- Egypt
- England
- France
- Germany
- Spain
- America
- Russia
- China
- Japan
- India
- Persia
With that being 13 right there, the remaining may be recurring civs or brand new ones. Some recurring contenders are, of course, Carthage, Celtia, Ethiopia, Aztec, Inca, Maya, Viking (Scandanavia) and Arabia. Possible new ones (or, at least ones that I would like to see) include Israel, Poland, Australia, and Canada (after all, these last two have a lot of popular members in the Civ community). Of course, two things could effect the results to a degree, the moddability (ease of adding new civs) and how the new City-States work, both of which I discuss further below.
Not too much was revealed in this statement. I am looking forward to seeing how the whole diplomacy works. Perhaps the biggest revalation in this statement is in regards to City States. It brings to mind a few questions...
- How will they work (obviously)? and
- Will this open the door for civs beyond the standard 18 (as unplayable civs, but with their own representation)? For example, that could mean that civs beyond the core 18 could be included as minor states, such as Sparta, Troy(?), Israel (?), to name a few.
- (Somewhat related) Will there be related cultural starts in the generated maps like in Civ 3?
Whatever the case, I can't wait to find out more!
The screenshots I viewed offer an intriguing look at the battle system, though I still remain a bit skeptical. The indications, as well as some of the presumptions that I have read, seem to be towards one unit per tile. I am curious as to how this will work out given the scope of the game. On a regional world, that may work, but on a full global world, it could get a bit cluttered. Plus, how will city defence work if you can only have one unit per tile?
With the push for internet only multiplayer, I am happy to see that hotseat and LAN matches make a return. hotseat may not get much use, but do make it good for playing multiple civs at once (a personal preference of mine). As far as some of the community features, it is nice that they are including access to Civ fansites right from in-game. It could potentially make hooking-up much easier, plus sharing game stories. Also, the inclusion of acheivements is a nice touch. I'm not an acheivement fan, but I don't hate the system, and I think it will be a good add-in for the Civ community. (Though, I wonder how it might affect "cheaters") Somehting else that intrigues me is the ability to "share scenarios". That leads me to the last statement...
While this statement is promising, I have to admit that I heard it before and was a bit let down. They make the same claim with Civ IV, but I was not too happy with the results. While it was true that the Civ IV engine had a lot of flexibility for modding, you really had to be an expert to take advantage of it even for some of the most simplest of mods.
That said, I am hoping that the tools available will allow for good customization at a minimum, and include fairly easy ways to add new things. At base, the game should include a good map editor (in game is fine, but an external one should be available as well). Also, the game should include a scenario, rules editor that allows you to change certain aspects (like unit/building costs, etc... basically what could be done in XML with Civ IV). Another thing that would be nice, and that I began to recently think about, would be if certain elements could be edited, added and shared like in The Sims or Spore. It would be great if you could make your own units or leaders and Civs through an editor and them share them with others. I guess we shall see!
Finally...
There are still many questions that have risen up or have been left unanswered. For example, what are the fates of:
- Civics
- Vassal States
- Great People
- Wonders (and what ones will be available)
- Unique Units
- Unique Buildings
- Multiple Leaders and who will they be
- Espionage
- Revolutions (Will they be back in?)
- Air Units (will they still work the same as the previous couple of games)
- Religions
- Are Mountains still inpassable?
- and much more...
Some of these, I have already seen posts of speculation and rumors around the boards. Multiple leaders is one key one that I would like to learn about soon. Also, religions, according to some posts, are out, but I have not seen any official statements yet (as of the time of writing this). Personally, I think the loss of religions would be a step back and really take away from the progression of the game. Yes, the system in Civ IV had its flaws, but it did improve some with the expansions and had some great potential with a little more improvement (adding more religions and controlling spread... I didn't think that a nation should be able to adopt a religion as its state if it wasn't available in the capital, for example).
When it comes to Wonders, assuming they are still in the game (which would seem safe, as they are a big part of Civilization), one that I am hoping for is the Colloseum (with Arenas replacing them as standard buildings). Others I would expect to see are all of the seven ancient wonders (Pyramids, Collossus, etc), and most of the mainstays for the past few games.
At any rate, it is going to be a long summer, but hopefully we won't have to wait too long learn the answers to some of the questions that I have posed. I am sure that it will be at E3 (and likely playable) and GDC is right around the corner, too, so I am sure we will learn more then, too.
