Hey there guys, well ive been playing Civ since the Commodore Amiga 
I loved the first and second, couldn't get into the third however... liked the forth and well I kinda like the fifth too. With the caveat i guess of the issues highlighted with bugs etc.
I am very excited at the prospects the modding community can bring for Civ 5. But yep here are my thoughts - (and im running it of a decent rig, windows 7 64 bit.)
Likes
*Pretty Graphics!
* The new combat mechanics. This is a long overdue change and removes the horrible stacks of doom form Civ4. I take far greater care of my units now, I love that they don't automatically perish after combat. Now before I never cared for renaming units, but NOW... I actually regret the removal of this feature! Because the units are now so much more valuable, that you do actually get more attached to your veterans! In effect its a turn based Rise of Nations!!!
* Happiness! Now I much prefer that this has been consolidated into one value - it forces us to trade for luxuries with a much greater imperative. The issue is not one of very boring micro-management. What I would prefer to see however is more exciting penalties for poor scores (starting with local, and ultimately nationwide rebellions.)
* City States! I quite like these, but feel frustrated that they are limited to single cities (at least I think they are!) I would much prefer that they exist as minor nations, with the potential if helped enough to become proper fledged civilisations.
*Streamlined buildings/technologies. I think this is bringning things back to their core and allows for a less convoluted gaming experience.
Dislikes
*Social policies. This to me is a slightly flawed attempt at combining civics, ie, idelogies with shall we say, cultural elements. I believe it would be better if we could have something like the social policies work for 'cultural development' ie. those defining characteristics of the people, their traditions etc. But that there should be a seperate set relating to ideologies/ be it political/economic. We know that in history civilisations have swung wildly from monarchies to republics, religious to secular and so forth. This element - and the RPG style human element feels distant and mechanical.
*AI Diplomacy - I would prefer more options and better intelligence on my relations with foreign powers. I believe that city state allies should automatically make peace with your enemies if you do.
*Combat AI - can do with improvement but this has been discussed!
*Ambience. The lack of videos, and options (how do you play your own music?!) The intro video is incredible, I love that! Its really magical, and its a shame that we can't maintain this immersion and feeling throughout the game. Perhaps its not for everybody, but in future mods, I would love to see more RPG elements added to the game, to give more personality to your advisors, to feel more 'character' you could say from your civilisation, its story, and its peoples.
*Lack of a game replay! This is very absent!
*General rough edges! Missing articles in the civilopedia etc.
-
Overall though, I see this game as very promising. Of course it should be complete and feel that way. It doesn't but... it does provide a great foundation for our modders, and tbh it is there skills as much as the game developers that lead to the perfect blend of Civ for most of the players here.
// I actually work as a filmmaker, and will eventually try to work on some little edits for cool videos for Civ 5 for wonders, and other RPG elements if they might be useful in mods etc
I loved the first and second, couldn't get into the third however... liked the forth and well I kinda like the fifth too. With the caveat i guess of the issues highlighted with bugs etc. I am very excited at the prospects the modding community can bring for Civ 5. But yep here are my thoughts - (and im running it of a decent rig, windows 7 64 bit.)
Likes
*Pretty Graphics!
* The new combat mechanics. This is a long overdue change and removes the horrible stacks of doom form Civ4. I take far greater care of my units now, I love that they don't automatically perish after combat. Now before I never cared for renaming units, but NOW... I actually regret the removal of this feature! Because the units are now so much more valuable, that you do actually get more attached to your veterans! In effect its a turn based Rise of Nations!!!
* Happiness! Now I much prefer that this has been consolidated into one value - it forces us to trade for luxuries with a much greater imperative. The issue is not one of very boring micro-management. What I would prefer to see however is more exciting penalties for poor scores (starting with local, and ultimately nationwide rebellions.)
* City States! I quite like these, but feel frustrated that they are limited to single cities (at least I think they are!) I would much prefer that they exist as minor nations, with the potential if helped enough to become proper fledged civilisations.
*Streamlined buildings/technologies. I think this is bringning things back to their core and allows for a less convoluted gaming experience.
Dislikes
*Social policies. This to me is a slightly flawed attempt at combining civics, ie, idelogies with shall we say, cultural elements. I believe it would be better if we could have something like the social policies work for 'cultural development' ie. those defining characteristics of the people, their traditions etc. But that there should be a seperate set relating to ideologies/ be it political/economic. We know that in history civilisations have swung wildly from monarchies to republics, religious to secular and so forth. This element - and the RPG style human element feels distant and mechanical.
*AI Diplomacy - I would prefer more options and better intelligence on my relations with foreign powers. I believe that city state allies should automatically make peace with your enemies if you do.
*Combat AI - can do with improvement but this has been discussed!
*Ambience. The lack of videos, and options (how do you play your own music?!) The intro video is incredible, I love that! Its really magical, and its a shame that we can't maintain this immersion and feeling throughout the game. Perhaps its not for everybody, but in future mods, I would love to see more RPG elements added to the game, to give more personality to your advisors, to feel more 'character' you could say from your civilisation, its story, and its peoples.
*Lack of a game replay! This is very absent!
*General rough edges! Missing articles in the civilopedia etc.
-
Overall though, I see this game as very promising. Of course it should be complete and feel that way. It doesn't but... it does provide a great foundation for our modders, and tbh it is there skills as much as the game developers that lead to the perfect blend of Civ for most of the players here.
// I actually work as a filmmaker, and will eventually try to work on some little edits for cool videos for Civ 5 for wonders, and other RPG elements if they might be useful in mods etc
