Civilization IV

[Kryten 0]

Civilization 4  is coming! Are you going to play it?

On a related note, I found  this site for people who love Civ too much

 

BTW: 333 posts!

[the_new_simman 5]

I am really looking forward for this game. I've been a really big Civilization fan since Civ II. As soon as the demo comes out I'll be downloading it.

[Joesocwork 4]

Yeah I'm looking forward to the worsening marriage and bloodshot eyes at work too!

Civ III was definitely just as addictive as II, and the gaming concepts of culture & national boundaries really pushed the game forward like regional/inter-city play has for Sim City,  but I did miss the music and much of the atmospheric production values of II.   The one thing I know they'll probably never do but I'd put in a wish list is to allow the game to be open-ended like Sim City.   Regardless, here soon comes the sleepless nights to a computer near me!

[the_new_simman 5]

Date: 9/20/2005 10:03:24 PM Author: Joesocwork

Yeah I'm looking forward to the worsening marriage and bloodshot eyes at work too!

Civ III was definitely just as addictive as II, and the gaming concepts of culture & national boundaries really pushed the game forward like regional/inter-city play has for Sim City,  but I did miss the music and much of the atmospheric production values of II.  The one thing I know they'll probably never do but I'd put in a wish list is to allow the game to be open-ended like Sim City.  Regardless, here soon comes the sleepless nights to a computer near me!

quote>

I totally agree with you. Sometimes the game does get a bit hard to manage. I just wish there was a sandbox mode where I could mess around all I wanted with no limits. That would be awesome.

 

Insomnia here I come..

[JohnB 66]

This looks really cool, but I'm used to Rise of Nations more myself. What are the main differences between the two games anyway?

[Kryten 0]

What!?! Someone who hasn't played Civilization?!? Impossible!

Well, Civ 1, 2, & 3 (don't know about 4 yet although I don't expect huge changes) are all turn-based. You take a turn, then the next player, and so on. They're also much larger scale than Rise of Nations - instead of having 6 or so cities, you can have dozens or even a hundred or more on the largest maps (in Civ 3).

 

There's also much more politics & diplomacy than in RoN and Empire Earth. In my experience (which is limited), diplomacy in RoN & EE consists largely of threatening your neighbours to get them to give you resources. This can happen in Civ, but you can also make deals to trade goods, maps, research, and non-aggression or mutual defence agreements.

[JohnB 66]

Date: 9/22/2005 11:35:09 AM Author: Kryten

What!?! Someone who hasn't played Civilization?!? Impossible!

In my experience (which is limited), diplomacy in RoN & EE consists largely of threatening your neighbours to get them to give you resources. This can happen in Civ, but you can also make deals to trade goods, maps, research, and non-aggression or mutual defence agreements.

Well actually in Rise of Nations you kind of send in the troops and destroy your neighbour's merchant to take over their resources.

 

But this sounds interesting, Turn based eh? So this would be a great multiplayer game as well. I might try the demo later. I really don't have time to play games like these. They become very addictive and take over all of your time.  

[toxicpiano 125]

Date: 9/22/2005 4:36:26 PM Author: JohnB

Date: 9/22/2005 11:35:09 AM Author: Kryten

What!?! Someone who hasn't played Civilization?!? Impossible!

In my experience (which is limited), diplomacy in RoN & EE consists largely of threatening your neighbours to get them to give you resources. This can happen in Civ, but you can also make deals to trade goods, maps, research, and non-aggression or mutual defence agreements.

Well actually in Rise of Nations you kind of send in the troops and destroy your neighbour's merchant to take over their resources.

But this sounds interesting, Turn based eh? So this would be a great multiplayer game as well. I might try the demo later. I really don't have time to play games like these. They become very addictive and take over all of your time. 

quote>

like simcity?

 

[your_adress_here 11]

I never played. Is it like Rome: Total War?

[JohnB 66]

Date: 9/22/2005 5:12:15 PM Author: your_adress_here I never played. Is it like Rome: Total War?

quote>

Well I'm not sure. Here is the homepage of Rise of Nations. http://www.microsoft.com/games/riseofnations/

 

Civilization is very similar to Rise of Nations. Basically you have to progress an entire civilization of people, with the country of your choice, from the Ancient age to the Information age. 

 

Its kind of like Sc4 but historic, and you concentrate more on the military then the city itself, although you need to have a lot of resources and wealth in order to create a large army.

 

Check out the website and try the demo. The demo lets you play a big chunk of the game.

[horrorkid64 0]

Date: 9/22/2005 10:50:49 PM
Author: JohnB

Civilization is very similar to Rise of Nations. Basically you have to progress an entire civilization of people, with the country of your choice, from the Ancient age to the Information age.

quote>

Better put it the other way around: RoN and Age of Empires are very similar to Civilization. But Civ is more based on tactics and strategy rather than on fast clicking and memorizing hotkeys.

[Compromise 1]

I have only played in this area Age of Empires 2 and Empire Earth 1 and 2.

This sounds like a intresting game. Might give it a go along with Rise of the Nations if another one comes out.

[Joesocwork 4]

I've played RoN and Rome: Total War, but I haven't tried Age of Empires yet.  I think the RoN team were originally a part of Sid Meier's group but broke off to do their own thing.

When I said open-ended earlier, I did mean sand-box like play where you could pick and choose.  But I also meant where a player could continue to grow and manipulate their game indefinitely, like SimCity.  What  I would really like to see in a future computer would be a SimNation concept where there would be controlled cities that had distinct features and evolve as part of the region as a whole.  In SC4D, the interaction between the cities is there but so far is quite limited.  I've created a thread on this idea before in the past here and at the HomeSite.  And in terms of the turn-based war games, let's face it, the cities are there to help win the game and once that's done and you've built everything that's pretty much it. 

 

Oh well, even if I don't see that I still look to the sequels to my favorite games!

[decola 0]

omg omg omg, i can't wait! Civ3 was awesome, i lost so much sleep playing it and thinking to myself 'Just one more turn'
Im loooking forward to it. Oh, RoN is kind of like civ with like civ with real time battles, civ is turn based.

[Compromise 1]

Date: 9/23/2005 11:37:12 PM Author: Joesocwork I've played RoN and Rome: Total War, but I haven't tried Age of Empires yet.

quote>

It is a good game but is quite old so I would wait to Age of Empires 3 if you want somthing fantastic.

[Kryten 0]

I think that RoN, AoE, & EE are very different games from Civilization.

First of all, there's the fact that Civ is turn-based, unlike RoN etc. which run continuously.

RoN etc. are basically RTS games with a strong tech tree component. The tech tree has traditionally been much more central to Civ, although RoN & EE are getting close to the same level of importance.

Civ is much more strategically oriented, RoN etc. are more tactically oriented.

RoN etc. are much more concerned with collecting resources (wood, food, gold, etc.). In Civ this is much more automated and of less importance.

And finally, lets not forget that many of the innovations that RoN etc. brought to the RTS genre were copied from Civilization (two that come to mind are the tech tree and trade).

[TheJerseyDevil73 13]

Civilization

It is the best strategy game. But can be slightly repetitive.

Also 3 was nearly the same as 2 with almost no signs of any change in the game. From what I have seen of 4 it is an exact copy of 3 down to every aspect. But again from 2 to 3 and now 3 to 4 slighlty better graphics. And maybe a new unit or two. This will be a great game. But don't expect alot of change. Not that its needed. They shouldn't call the Civilization 1-4. But 1.1-1.4 as every version shows little change. More so improved exact copies.

None the less. I'm looking forward to it.

[horrorkid64 0]

Date: 9/26/2005 7:47:19 AM
Author: TheJerseyDevil73

Civilization

It is the best strategy game. But can be slightly repetitive.

Also 3 was nearly the same as 2 with almost no signs of any change in the game. From what I have seen of 4 it is an exact copy of 3 down to every aspect. But again from 2 to 3 and now 3 to 4 slighlty better graphics. And maybe a new unit or two. This will be a great game. But don't expect alot of change. Not that its needed. They shouldn't call the Civilization 1-4. But 1.1-1.4 as every version shows little change. More so improved exact copies.

None the less. I'm looking forward to it.

quote>


From what I heard, they made quite a lot of changes. They added religion, changed the government system (it's more like in Alpha Centauri now) and redesigned the technology tree. Also the game will be very customizeable.