[R&F] Zulu First Look

[Returning Lurker]

One trick pony, thy name is ka-Senzangakhona. Seriously though, while I am disappointed by the Zulu’s design and generally disappointed with Rise & Fall’s civ choices (won’t be buying it until it goes on sale) I admit I don’t actually mind the Zulu’s inclusion in general. Maybe it’s just because I adore the history of South Africa but I don’t see why some people object to the Zulu so strongly and claim their appeal is purely pop-culture. Yes their singularly unified EMPIRE was short lived (just like the Inca, the Aztec, arguably Japan, etc) but the history of their people and their culture stretches back long before Shaka and contiues to this day. Besides, while I’d love to see more South African civs I admit none of them are realistic options. SA’s second largest ethnic group, the Xhosa, would be a good option but their leader would probably default to Nelson Mandela and he’s far too recently dead to be usable. Khoisans are a unique non-Bantu people that ground Dutch expansion to a crawl for a long time but their marketability is pretty much zero. Speaking of the Dutch I’d personally LOVE a Boer civilization as they are one of the most unique colonial cultures and have had hugely disproportionate impact on both South Africa and the world compared to their meager numbers, but I think it’s safe to say that in the current political climate including such a side would be... tactically inadvisable. Especially since their most famous leader would be Paul Kruger and while he is an INCREDIBLY big character, never personally owned slaves, and was actually quite moderate in his views on race relations in comparison to his peers, the fact that he is such a symbol for Afrikanerdom means that he’s likely never going to see the light of Civ outside of mods. Which is a shame, because he and the Boers could have a lot of interesting and unique loyalty and civilian unit mechanics.

What was I talking anout again? Oh right! I don’t like Korea or Scotland but I do like Zulu. Because I’m weird.

 

[Guandao]

@Kimiimaro status report on the Zulu First Look Youtube comments?

 

[SammyKhalifa]

Besides the lips, this statue's face kind of looks like... abraham lincoln, I guess? Not a face that I would pick as sub-saharan african

To be fair Abraham Lincoln's face probably isn't something you'd necessarily single out as European.

.

 

[Uberfrog]

@Kimiimaro status report on the Zulu First Look Youtube comments?

Now why would you go and ask a silly thing like that?

 

[EricTheGreat12]

His character is quite.... dissapointing to say the least

Whereas his CIV 5 counterpart seemed like a combination of mysterious/dangerous, this one seems too overtly friendly. Shaka was a warlord, not a peaceful warchief who smiled to you as if you were his best buddy; this seems to be an odd decision that they seem to be taking with most leaders in this game.

 

[Guandao]

Now why would you go and ask a silly thing like that?

For the lols?

 

[Josephias]

Does Nubia use the Zulu Civ5 colors? I don't remember.
But Green is such a bad color choice for the Zulus. Their lands weren't that green (I might be wrong about this though).
Sadly, no Zulu people even play Civ. I've never met any South Africans on this site either.

I like green - it is a callback to Civ I (tough that was a brighter green).

But, really... they got quite unimaginative with colors for this expansion: Red on Dark Red (Mongolia), Light Blue on Blue (Mapuche), Light Green on Green (Zulu), then two "on whites" (Scotland and Georgia), and a reversed assignation (Chandra)... I'm guessing Civ6 citybar design does not help much in getting potential color choices.

 

[Thormodr]

Shaka Zulu it is! It’s refreshing to see that Impi are not an early game unit. No more early Impi rushes. I like the fact that it’s a pikeman replacement.

The Ikanda is cool and capturing cities has some neat abilities.

Good colour scheme. I love green.

The music is very good, too. Quite pleasant on the ears.

Overall, I like Shaka Zulu. I wonder what his agenda is, though?

Edit: Agenda is Horn, chest, loins. Fancies corps and armies and likes those who have them. That could be fun.

 

[ombak]

Is it just me or did Sarah have even more enthusiasm than normal when she said "Shaka leads the Zulu..."?

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

I like green - it is a callback to Civ I (tough that was a brighter green).

But, really... they got quite unimaginative with colors for this expansion: Red on Dark Red (Mongolia), Light Blue on Blue (Mapuche), Light Green on Green (Zulu), then two "on whites" (Scotland and Georgia), and a reversed assignation (Chandra)... I'm guessing Civ6 citybar design does not help much in getting potential color choices.

I had to watch it again to make sure. I thought the secondary color was a very light yellow this whole time.

 

[Guandao]

Shaka Zulu it is! It’s refreshing to see that Impi are not an early game unit. No more earl Impi rushes. I like the fact that it’s a pikeman replacement.

The Ikanda is cool and capturing cities has some neat abilities.

Good colour scheme. I love green.

The music is very good, too. Quite pleasant on the ears.

Overall, I like Shaka Zulu. I wonder what his agenda is, though?

He likes you if you have Corps and Armies....

 

[ChocolateShake]

His character is quite.... dissapointing to say the least

Whereas his CIV 5 counterpart seemed like a combination of mysterious/dangerous, this one seems too overtly friendly. Shaka was a warlord, not a peaceful warchief who smiled to you as if you were his best buddy; this seems to be an odd decision that they seem to be taking with most leaders in this game.

He doesn't seem very intimidating, I agree. Maybe his angry/displeased stance will give us more of his previous vibe. I think Gorgo is the most intimidating leader in the game, aside from angry Wilhelmina of course

I think Robert the Bruce has a more commanding presence. Though it might be that we saw his denouncing/war animation and we haven't seen Shaka or Genghis's yet.

 

[Thormodr]

He likes you if you have Corps and Armies....

Thank you. I just saw it on Sarah’s twitter, as well. Cool stuff.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Is it just me or did Sarah have even more enthusiasm than normal when she said "Shaka leads the Zulu..."?

The video also went straight to talking about the Impi before the other abilities as well. Usually they don't go straight to the UU first.

 

[Thormodr]

Is it just me or did Sarah have even more enthusiasm than normal when she said "Shaka leads the Zulu..."?

That is odd considering Sarah is definitely not a warmonger.

 

[Scaramanga]

That is odd considering Sarah is definitely not a warmonger.

She is such a wonderful person she feels happy that other people are happy.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

Doesn't he look like his actor in that Zulu miniseries, Henry Cele?

Oh, god. Wow. That's him.

 

[Wielki Hegemon]

Does Nubia use the Zulu Civ5 colors? I don't remember.
But Green is such a bad color choice for the Zulus. Their lands weren't that green (I might be wrong about this though).
Sadly, no Zulu people even play Civ. I've never met any South Africans on this site either.

This is Zululand Kingdom Flag (I know same as Lithuanian I can see green, so why is it a bad choice?

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

That is odd considering Sarah is definitely not a warmonger.

Yeah, that is just the chat.

 

[steveg700]

So basically, if the AI ever does achieve any degree of competency at combat, we'll have a bunch of civ's that should roll other civ's utterly thanks to their unilateral focus on combat bonuses.