Actually, I think you mean Civ IV.
That would be conceited of me, given I only ever uploaded two mods for it
Which Civ is best Civ?
- Thread starter aimeeandbeatles
- Start date
That would be conceited of me, given I only ever uploaded two mods for it
Fippy
Mycro Junkie
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- Mar 17, 2013
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- 14,036
4 always wins in those polls on neutral ground (aka not in specific forums 
) with real PC gamers.
Yup these days we have to differ between desktop and mobile gaming, with consoles thrown into the mix too.
Same on serious best games of all time lists (aka not those who worship stuff like Pokemon but peoples who know real gems like Baldurs Gate or Day of the Tentacle).
Civ2 was almost perfect for it's time thou and is or can be rated equally high.
Personally i dun even consider 5+6 as Civilization games.
) with real PC gamers.Yup these days we have to differ between desktop and mobile gaming, with consoles thrown into the mix too.
Same on serious best games of all time lists (aka not those who worship stuff like Pokemon but peoples who know real gems like Baldurs Gate or Day of the Tentacle).
Civ2 was almost perfect for it's time thou and is or can be rated equally high.
Personally i dun even consider 5+6 as Civilization games.
Akka
Moody old mage.
Civ4 obviously.
Not even a contest.
Not even a contest.
Josu
Emperor
IV without doubt
VI's Gathering Storms is awesome as well
VI's Gathering Storms is awesome as well
TheMeInTeam
If A implies B...
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2008
- Messages
- 27,989
A bunch of nostalgic OT farts the lot of you!
I've played them all after the first one. There are problems in every game, but 4 had the most depth, fewest broken elements, and best UI (measured by how easily the player can accomplish things in the game with # inputs or access information) by a wide margin. 5 and 6 never resolved the cluttering issue inherent to 1upt at the size scales used for units vs cities, and are a lot slower to play. They also both comically over-favor defending in war, to the point of damaging the tension and "survive test of time" elements of Civ. Army positioning should matter, and modern Civ devs have signaled that they don't understand this by actually making defending easier in relatively recent patches.
All that said, I would grade 6 as the 2nd best in the series as a lot of the depth that was added to 4 but stripped from 5 was restored via how the eurekas, units, and policy cards interact. 4 still has the best mechanics to balance expansion and play in a way interacting with the map, but 6 is quite legit in this regard too. If 6 wasn't far easier on high difficulties, ~2x or more slower than 4, and didn't struggle with basic things like input buffering I would rate it more closely to 4. but as it stands it's still behind. It doesn't have fundamentally broken incentives like 5, nor does it have quite as heavy input load like 2/3 (it also has more depth than 2/3).
Oof, pretty rose-colored memories of early civ here
.Civ 2 and 3 were badly outcompeted by their contemporary turn-based strategy games. This was the era of Warlords 2, Warlords 3, HOMM 2/3, and MOO for example. Early civ games were not on the level of those titles, though being on the level of Warlords 3 or HOMM 3 is a high bar indeed, cleared by the golden age of Blizzard but not much else. Too bad warlords swapped out of TBS and HOMM fell off a cliff after 5. Firaxis managing a reasonably solid title in Civ 6 should get a nod for the longevity at least, even if it would be really nice if they picked up someone who knows how to make input-optimized + consistently accurate UI at some point.
So 4 > 6 > 5 > 3 > 2, in terms of mainline civ titles I've played. I'd put alpha centauri either just after 6 or 5.
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2011
- Messages
- 4,801
A decent number of folks still reminiscing about Civ2 yet we rarely see you in our forums, or at least hear from you. I've always wondered, as some of the threads there still get 1000s of views, if some of you are lurking or their is simply some sort of "bot" perusing the threads.
Much has changed in Civ2 lately with the Test of Time Patch Project. We now have the ability to utilize lua scripting in our scenarios, which allows so much more freedom. Have any of you been following Over the Reich (don't bother going back to 2011 on this one, just read the newer stuff to get an idea), Napoleon, Cold War, Caesar's Gallic Wars, Midway, or the latest Medieval Millennium (the last of which is a traditional open world civ game rather than a scenario)? What we're doing these days is incredible compared to what was available even five years ago.
Just as one example, in Over the Reich (which has tens of thousands of lines of codes) here's a few interesting things lua has brought to Civ2:
-A working weather system
-A unit promotion/demotion system, where, for example, healthy B-17s will turn into the one in my avatar after they're damaged
-Munitions and payload, so that bombers can only attack once per sortie
-A radar system to spot enemy units out of visual range, and countermeasures
-Build restrictions so that only certain cities can build certain units
-The ability to transfer veteran status from different units (so an early model Spitfire can give its veteran status to one of the later models)
-A system where enemy units will attack you on your turn (reactions)
-Enhanced "airlift-esque" abilities that tracks if a path to a target can be found along a railyard or not. If the railyard has been destroyed, you can't "lift" the unit there
-A strategic bombing mechanism whereby attacking units outside of a city (factories, oil refineries, ports, railyards, aircraft factories, special targets, urban centers) destroys improvements in the city (for example, destroying urban target units destroys happiness improvements within a city)
And so very much more...
As another example, Napoleon features much of the above with some other enhancements:
-A "zone" system where certain areas must be occupied lest the AI know to take advantage of it
-An attrition system and supply system whereby units in Russia will take damage in winter
-A diplomacy system wherein certain cities are transferred back to certain civs after the conclusion of certain wars (when certain objectives are met)
The Cold War has much of all of this plus:
-A rebel spawn device where the USSR, USA, Non-Aligned, and Chinese can attempt to influence global affairs by funding rebels/freedom fighters across the planet
-A weapons sale system wherein the superpowers flood the third world with antiquated equipment
-A nuclear arms treaty system for MP which limits the amount of nuclear units you can have (if you sign up) and has consequences if you fail
-A probability system where events like the Cuban Missile Crisis may shake out historically or there may be a twist, to keep things fresh
Finally, Medieval Millennium basically has all of this stuff, but is a modpack that completely transforms Civ2 into a medieval experience. Every single detail is changed, yet every single detail is familiar. If you enjoyed the base game, you would enjoy this.
Have any of you been lurking and noticed this the past few years?
Much has changed in Civ2 lately with the Test of Time Patch Project. We now have the ability to utilize lua scripting in our scenarios, which allows so much more freedom. Have any of you been following Over the Reich (don't bother going back to 2011 on this one, just read the newer stuff to get an idea), Napoleon, Cold War, Caesar's Gallic Wars, Midway, or the latest Medieval Millennium (the last of which is a traditional open world civ game rather than a scenario)? What we're doing these days is incredible compared to what was available even five years ago.
Just as one example, in Over the Reich (which has tens of thousands of lines of codes) here's a few interesting things lua has brought to Civ2:
-A working weather system
-A unit promotion/demotion system, where, for example, healthy B-17s will turn into the one in my avatar after they're damaged
-Munitions and payload, so that bombers can only attack once per sortie
-A radar system to spot enemy units out of visual range, and countermeasures
-Build restrictions so that only certain cities can build certain units
-The ability to transfer veteran status from different units (so an early model Spitfire can give its veteran status to one of the later models)
-A system where enemy units will attack you on your turn (reactions)
-Enhanced "airlift-esque" abilities that tracks if a path to a target can be found along a railyard or not. If the railyard has been destroyed, you can't "lift" the unit there
-A strategic bombing mechanism whereby attacking units outside of a city (factories, oil refineries, ports, railyards, aircraft factories, special targets, urban centers) destroys improvements in the city (for example, destroying urban target units destroys happiness improvements within a city)
And so very much more...
As another example, Napoleon features much of the above with some other enhancements:
-A "zone" system where certain areas must be occupied lest the AI know to take advantage of it
-An attrition system and supply system whereby units in Russia will take damage in winter
-A diplomacy system wherein certain cities are transferred back to certain civs after the conclusion of certain wars (when certain objectives are met)
The Cold War has much of all of this plus:
-A rebel spawn device where the USSR, USA, Non-Aligned, and Chinese can attempt to influence global affairs by funding rebels/freedom fighters across the planet
-A weapons sale system wherein the superpowers flood the third world with antiquated equipment
-A nuclear arms treaty system for MP which limits the amount of nuclear units you can have (if you sign up) and has consequences if you fail
-A probability system where events like the Cuban Missile Crisis may shake out historically or there may be a twist, to keep things fresh
Finally, Medieval Millennium basically has all of this stuff, but is a modpack that completely transforms Civ2 into a medieval experience. Every single detail is changed, yet every single detail is familiar. If you enjoyed the base game, you would enjoy this.
Have any of you been lurking and noticed this the past few years?
Ziggy Stardust
Absolutely Sane
Their best song
I played Civ I on my Amiga. A trireme sank my battleship.
I learned Civ II on a friend's computer. I loved it when the Military Advisor was so pleased that he wandered around singing, and I'd make my Throne Room look weird (fancy throne in a cave, or fancy walls, floors, and hangings, with a dumpy little wooden chair).
After Civ II: Test of Time, I realized I didn't need any others, and can't fathom not playing on a four-level map where you have to consider your strategic options and moves in 3 map dimensions (if you make a new city on the surface world above or below the map where one of your enemies' units can just teleport and kill your new city thisfast, you are in trou-ble...).
I've read the SMAC novels, and found them interesting (3-book series, by Michael Ely; not easy to find these days, and can be rather expensive). The game itself... I find Civ III and beyond to be too busy. There's information overload, too much, too fast. I prefer a more relaxed game, so I've stuck with Civ II: ToT. It has giant bumblebees, dwarves, and kraken that can carry birds below the ocean. It's a challenge to build cities on orbital platforms, because if you don't do enough terraforming, they tend to die of starvation. And you can start on Alpha Centauri if you prefer (in the Original Extended version).
I learned Civ II on a friend's computer. I loved it when the Military Advisor was so pleased that he wandered around singing, and I'd make my Throne Room look weird (fancy throne in a cave, or fancy walls, floors, and hangings, with a dumpy little wooden chair).
After Civ II: Test of Time, I realized I didn't need any others, and can't fathom not playing on a four-level map where you have to consider your strategic options and moves in 3 map dimensions (if you make a new city on the surface world above or below the map where one of your enemies' units can just teleport and kill your new city thisfast, you are in trou-ble...).
I've read the SMAC novels, and found them interesting (3-book series, by Michael Ely; not easy to find these days, and can be rather expensive). The game itself... I find Civ III and beyond to be too busy. There's information overload, too much, too fast. I prefer a more relaxed game, so I've stuck with Civ II: ToT. It has giant bumblebees, dwarves, and kraken that can carry birds below the ocean. It's a challenge to build cities on orbital platforms, because if you don't do enough terraforming, they tend to die of starvation. And you can start on Alpha Centauri if you prefer (in the Original Extended version).
I drop in now and then (I posted relatively recently, "relatively" meaning within the last few months). I used to spend a lot more time there. Nowadays I spend most of my time either reading or writing fanfic.
I'm not computer-literate enough to do any patching without someone showing me what to do and what does and does not merit panic if I screw up. Therefore, I have a Win XP to play these games on, but haven't been inclined lately due to my XP computer no longer being able to access the internet.
Akka
Moody old mage.
Man, you can't rate that stinking turd of 5 above 3 or SMAC !
SMAC is a great game but its not a Civ game. You don't take a culture through 6000 years of Earth's historical developments. Beyond Earth was a big disappointment.
Civ II was better in every way than I. It is also very easy to mod.
Civ III I never liked, probably least favourite of the series. Corruption was terrible, felt too wargamey.
Civ IV best of series. Good balance between features and playability. Entertaining for mediocre players like me but still a challenge for better players.
Civ V meh, not as bad as 3.
Civ VI OK but too slow and feature-bloated.
Civ IV > Civ VI > Civ V > Civ II > Civ I > Civ III.
Colonization (the original) was also good. Like Beyond Earth the remake was a disappointment.
Civ II was better in every way than I. It is also very easy to mod.
Civ III I never liked, probably least favourite of the series. Corruption was terrible, felt too wargamey.
Civ IV best of series. Good balance between features and playability. Entertaining for mediocre players like me but still a challenge for better players.
Civ V meh, not as bad as 3.
Civ VI OK but too slow and feature-bloated.
Civ IV > Civ VI > Civ V > Civ II > Civ I > Civ III.
Colonization (the original) was also good. Like Beyond Earth the remake was a disappointment.
Patine
Deity
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2011
- Messages
- 11,065
Civ2 is a masterful classic - not too overdone in features, but not overly simplistic, not relying on high-end graphics, but not those sliding square units, very easily moddable (the most easily from an individual user's perspective of any iteration), and you're not chained to civ/leader identities, and thus can play (or make scenarios with) anything or anyone you want. And ToT gives features like the possibility of up to four coterminous maps with different terrain and layout that can be travelled between and settled on. Of course, there are lingering limits that seem irresolvable - like the seven player + barbarians cap...
Civ 3 brought me to Civfanatics and I spent so many hours playing it that it would rate as number 2 for me. I played in many of the monthly events that Crackers staged.
yung.carl.jung
Hey Bird! I'm Morose & Lugubrious
the best Civ is Rome, but I also have a faible for Babylon, Korea and Nubia
emperor justinian would like to know your location
so you left out the best one? interesting choice
Gen 2 Pokémon should be on any GOAT Video James list. I'd fight you for it.
emperor justinian would like to know your location
so you left out the best one? interesting choice
4 always wins in those polls on neutral ground (aka not in specific forums
Yup these days we have to differ between desktop and mobile gaming, with consoles thrown into the mix too.
Same on serious best games of all time lists (aka not those who worship stuff like Pokemon but peoples who know real gems like Baldurs Gate or Day of the Tentacle).
Civ2 was almost perfect for it's time thou and is or can be rated equally high.
Personally i dun even consider 5+6 as Civilization games.
Gen 2 Pokémon should be on any GOAT Video James list. I'd fight you for it.
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Chukchi Husky
Lone Wolf
I found Civilization IV the hardest, far too hard to play even on the easiest difficulty, so it must be the best one.
