Unexplored lands shows as "clouds"

[Delgar]

I agree with the OP. Unexplored land should be dark - it adds to the sense that you are a brand new civilization starting out and the known world stretches only as far as you can see.

This might seem like a small detail, but Civ crafts a sense of immersion the way few other games do, and this is a blow to that experience.

The known world does stretch only as far as you can see, whether it's clouds or black 'paint'.

I would think that having clouds would create a deeper sense of immersion.

Perhaps the best solution out of all this would be to add an option to turn clouds on or off.

 

[gunter]

Hello there,

I just noticed in some previews that the undexplored land is no longer BLACK. It's actually white, like some clouds.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? I mean one of the best things I loved was starting the Civ V game and exploring. Yea I can still do that, but black had a special feeling for me. Black means the "unknown". Black wants me to not be black.

Hard to explain what I have in mind but ... anyone?

You perfectly explained your feeling that BTW I share. Told that I still have to give the clouds a try so I will postpone my comment later on

 

[Delgar]

If the temp was the same we should have similar terrain everywhere ...you can't have iced ground and jungle at the same temp

Seriously, they could had smoothed the edges a little more. They did it with the borders, so why not with the clouds ?

Completely agreed on this. Love the clouds but they look so hex-ish...even the shadows created by the clouds are hex-ish...hope this is fixed.

 

[War_Pig]

i like them because they make me seem like a God looking down over my lands. Lol

 

[Delgar]

i like them because they make me seem like a God looking down over my lands. Lol

Exactly

 

[Akar]

I would like them if they didnt look so hexish.

 

[mqduck]

It makes sense that the FOG of war would be white... Fog is white (when viewed from above).

NO! No, no, no, no, no. The fog of war is what you can't see at the moment because you don't have units/cities there. I don't grant Firaxis the right to redefine a term that's had the same meaning in video games for at least 14 years. Here's something I made to help remind everyone:

Spoiler :

 

[PinkRose]

In options, you can turn the clouds off.
Yay! Everyone's happy.

 

[Buccaneer]

I am comfortable setting the FoW to "Minimum" and having the empty black space. Sometimes, the clouds spill over into a visible tile.

 

[Bibor]

Unexplored lands should be... unexplored lands, not clouds. It now looks as I've been smoking a LOT of weed and like I have to wave my hand to cut thru smoke to see the map.

As someone suggested, crude pictures saying "<-- here be dragons" would be perfect

 

[Kordanor]

I don't think they are disturbing but annoying as the clouds which are south of the visible landscape always cover half of the tiles directly noth of it. While they look nice, it doesn't feel right.

 

[MarkUCLA]

Clouds
Really
Are
Pretty.

lol
thats a good one.

 

[Vimp]

NO! No, no, no, no, no. The fog of war is what you can't see at the moment because you don't have units/cities there. I don't grant Firaxis the right to redefine a term that's had the same meaning in video games for at least 14 years. Here's something I made to help remind everyone:

Actually, both are fog of war. Both technically speaking as well as in terms of game developers application of the term over the years. Both represent the unknown, but with one representing the unknown of both the land and any units or new developments on the land while the other is just the unknown of units and new developments. Games over the years have used both as fog of war. Some games only had one type or the other and yet they were both refered to as fog of war.

I think clouds representing the completely unknown areas makes the most logical sense because its more realistic and better portrays the atmosphere of the game. The Anno series of games has done this, I think, for its entire series, (minus the last one which they use some compass texture). In nature you don't typically ever see total black unless its night time or you are underground. So it makes sense to use a color that better represents realistic colors of nature. Also, black I found to be depressing, while clouds are more inviting and exciting as exploration has always been about, both in the real world and in games. You are suppose to want to explore since it represents the exciting adventures and curiousity of the unknown, not feel scarred and oppressed by the gloomy darkness.

I have a theory that people who prefer the black are probably people that like violent and sadistic games because of the dark atmosphere that they create.

 

[JWideman]

I prefer this. The "Fog of War" actually looks like fog.

 

[Panda_Power]

On DX11 with max'd settings the clouds look superb! Fluffy and white, some parts thicker than others, but yet you still can't quite see through them as they drift and sway slowly around the unexplored terrain in a light breeze!

Really makes the game stand out!

 

[Rime]

Personally, I find them both confusing and distracting, so I snapped them off and breathed a sigh of relief.

 

[r_rolo1]

As someone suggested, crude pictures saying "<-- here be dragons" would be perfect

To be honest, i was thinking to mod that from the moment I saw that big "civilization V" in the minimap