Civilization V- Might actually be good now. Stay tuned.

[naum]

Civilization V Announced

Civilization V takes this definitive strategy game series in new directions with the introduction of hexagon tiles allowing for deeper strategy, more realistic gameplay and stunning organic landscapes for players to explore as they expand their empire. The brand new engine orchestrates a spectacular visual experience that brings players closer to the Civ experience than ever, featuring fully animated leaders interacting with players from a screen-filling diplomatic scene and speaking in their native language for the first time. Wars between empires feel massive as armies dominate the landscape, and combat is more exciting and intense than ever before. The addition of ranged bombardment allows players to fire weapons from behind the front lines, challenging players to develop clever new strategies to guarantee victory on the battlefield. In addition to the new gameplay features debuting in Civilization V, an extensive suite of community, modding and multiplayer elements will also make an appearance.

Fall 2010. Which means 2012 and 1st expansion before a playable version is available (at least judging from Civ 3/Civ 4 history)…

Love the hexagon tile shift, intrigued how gameplay will modify to suit — i.e., doesn't that really increase the number of tiles "belonging" to a city and hence, core game economics?

[BitWarrior]

Though Civ has traditionally been on the PC, it easily transitions to consoles...I wondering if they'll make this for consoles right off the bat, rather than making a, erm, "Revolution" version.

[naum]

Some screenshots are posted here:
http://www.civilization5.com/

[Sky]

Hope the hex thing works, that's a major change to gameplay.

Some screens over on http://www.civilization5.com/ (dammit naum)

NOTE TO SID: HIRE KAEL or at least make FFH3 an official retail product. He made Civ 4 worth playing.

But yeah. Civ 5. All over it. Civ has always had the best value of any game I've bought (even if Civ4 is mostly thanks to Kael). We'll all buy it and bitch about the changes until the expansion that makes it playable (BtS imo for Civ 4 vanilla).

[AutomaticZen]

Hell yeah.  Hex grid looks like sweet. 

[Malakili]

Oooh, I love the change to hex.  Good choice.

[naum]

Love the hexagon tile shift, intrigued how gameplay will modify to suit — i.e., doesn't that really increase the number of tiles "belonging" to a city and hence, core game economics?

On 2nd thought, not really - what is it, 21 squares now that "belong" to city (5x5 - 4 corners) whereas a hex grid with a 2 tile radius is 19 tiles…

[Lantyssa]

Hope the hex thing works, that's a major change to gameplay.

Hexes are much better for war games.  I approve of this change.

(I find it works better for D&D and other mini games, too.  The only drawback being buildings tend to be square so they don't 'fit' perfectly.  Distance calculations and effects flow much more smoothly though.)

[Nebu]

Can I still kill an jet bomber with a phalanx?  

As an ex-board game enthusiast, I agree that the hex scheme seems a good thing.  Perhaps it's just nostalgia talking.

[BitWarrior]

Dammit, Civ V is a PC Exclusive.

[WayAbvPar]

Dammit, Civ V is a PC Exclusive.

Good. Be nice to have a game without a terrible console-y UI.

I still haven't gotten around to trying FFH. One of these days...

[Aez]

Hex are great for gameplay but ugly for aesthetics.  Look at that retarded border line.  They should programming it to be a straight line, even if it doesn't follow perfectly the actual hex.  Hex should not even be visible anyway; square were not in Civ 4.

[Murgos]

Hex should not even be visible anyway; square were not in Civ 4.

You could toggle the on or off.  Also, borders are rarely straight IRL.

[naum]

Hex are great for gameplay but ugly for aesthetics.  Look at that retarded border line.  They should programming it to be a straight line, even if it doesn't follow perfectly the actual hex.  Hex should not even be visible anyway; square were not in Civ 4.

I always turn the tile grid ON (Cmd|Ctrl-T) when I play.

[Druzil]

I think the change to hex will be nice, it will give the game a different feel even if it doesn't change the gameplay much.  Still, I'd much rather this was an announcement for Alpha Centauri 2.

[JWIV]

Hex are great for gameplay but ugly for aesthetics.  Look at that retarded border line.  They should programming it to be a straight line, even if it doesn't follow perfectly the actual hex.  Hex should not even be visible anyway; square were not in Civ 4.

I always turn the tile grid ON (Cmd|Ctrl-T) when I play.

Yes.  Or at least turning it on and off so I can see how certain things are going to be laid out.  It may be my boardgaming past, but the change to hexes as opposed to squares looks a lot better to me aesthetically.  

[WayAbvPar]

I have never liked hexes, but I don't think it will impact the enjoyment of the game much 

I really hope they made waging war past about 200 AD less of a pain in the ass. I avoid conflict most of the time just because it takes so goddamned long to get through even a small conflict.

Would love to see more natural resouces too- planning city locations around them is one of my favorite parts of the game. Probably why I restart new games over and over.

[naum]

I really hope they made waging war past about 200 AD less of a pain in the ass. I avoid conflict most of the time just because it takes so goddamned long to get through even a small conflict.

Would love to see more natural resouces too- planning city locations around them is one of my favorite parts of the game. Probably why I restart new games over and over.

More natural resources is one of the arcs from Civ 3 - Civ 4 I really liked.

But, definitely with you on the mircomanagement — it's painful past mid game, especially in larger map games with lots of other civs. Surprised that FreeCiv still has some automated commands that the commercial Civ series still doesn't — Patrol for instance, where I can simply toggle a unit/stack to move along a set of points (in a loop) ad infinitum (until accosted, just like Sentry command).

Also, would like to see more on the social engineering aspect, similar to what was done in Alpha Centauri. Instead, Civ 4 took a cowardly route, as all of the religion/government/economic choices really aren't that impactful (at least in comparison to micromanagement of your city placement/tile allotment).

[Sky]

I still haven't gotten around to trying FFH. One of these days...

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171398

Also, would like to see more on the social engineering aspect, similar to what was done in Alpha Centauri. Instead, Civ 4 took a cowardly route, as all of the religion/government/economic choices really aren't that impactful (at least in comparison to micromanagement of your city placement/tile allotment).

That's one of the best things about ffh2, it really highlights how vanilla civ4 is. Playing as Sheaim is a totally different game than playing as Ljosalfar. And the whole Mercurians/Infernals endgame is a great spin on the Revolution period of Colonization.

[AutomaticZen]

Wonder if 'Spearman beats Tank' will work in this game.

[Minvaren]

Still, I'd much rather this was an announcement for Alpha Centauri 2.

Your ideas are intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Also, would like to see more on the social engineering aspect, similar to what was done in Alpha Centauri. Instead, Civ 4 took a cowardly route, as all of the religion/government/economic choices really aren't that impactful (at least in comparison to micromanagement of your city placement/tile allotment).

Agreed.  And please make the AI not trade every single tech with every other civilization by default...

[Bunk]

You could toggle the on or off.  Also, borders are rarely straight IRL.

Don't you live north of the 49th parrallel? 

[BitWarrior]

You could toggle the on or off.  Also, borders are rarely straight IRL.

Don't you live north of the 49th parrallel? 

Whoever drew that line must've been drunk at the time because it gets all fucked up to the right.

[Soln]

much love for FFH and Alpha Cent.  The more CIV gets away from genocide-FTW the better.

[MournelitheCalix]

Civilization V Announced

Civilization V takes this definitive strategy game series in new directions with the introduction of hexagon tiles allowing for deeper strategy, more realistic gameplay and stunning organic landscapes for players to explore as they expand their empire. The brand new engine orchestrates a spectacular visual experience that brings players closer to the Civ experience than ever, featuring fully animated leaders interacting with players from a screen-filling diplomatic scene and speaking in their native language for the first time. Wars between empires feel massive as armies dominate the landscape, and combat is more exciting and intense than ever before. The addition of ranged bombardment allows players to fire weapons from behind the front lines, challenging players to develop clever new strategies to guarantee victory on the battlefield. In addition to the new gameplay features debuting in Civilization V, an extensive suite of community, modding and multiplayer elements will also make an appearance.

Fall 2010. Which means 2012 and 1st expansion before a playable version is available (at least judging from Civ 3/Civ 4 history)…

Love the hexagon tile shift, intrigued how gameplay will modify to suit — i.e., doesn't that really increase the number of tiles "belonging" to a city and hence, core game economics?

Love the hex thing as well.  I loved Civ IV as well, very fun game.  As long as it comes to steam, I will be a happy camper.

[sinij]

I will still buy it even if they just shit in the box...

[dusematic]

Wonder if 'Spearman beats Tank' will work in this game.

That doesn't really happen in Civ 4.  I mean it's technically possible if your tank is at like 0.1 health and the spearman is full.  But a spearman will never beat a tank all else being equal.  It's funny to me that this is the one thing people latch on to with Civ with there is so much more wrong with the game.  Namely, its botched patching process and its botched multiplayer.  Not to mention its absurdly high min requirements for a turn based strategy game and such shitty graphics.


But I've played a lot of Civ in my life and never seen a spearman take on a tank.  And when are all these "tank vs. spear" matches supposed to occur?  Who is playing on such easy difficulty settings that they out-tech the AI by that much?  And if you are winning by that much I think you can fucking spare a one in a million tank loss to a phalanx.  Jesus.

I love the idea of some nerdy asshole sitting in front of his computer for 12 hours, 11 hours after the game became a foregone conclusion on the tutorial difficulty setting suddenly in an outrage because one of his modern armored tanks reduced in strength by several orders of magnitude just lost to a crack troop of muskets.  Insane.

[Speedy Cerviche]

Wonder if 'Spearman beats Tank' will work in this game.

That doesn't really happen in Civ 4.  I mean it's technically possible if your tank is at like 0.1 health and the spearman is full.  But a spearman will never beat a tank all else being equal.  It's funny to me that this is the one thing people latch on to with Civ with there is so much more wrong with the game.  Namely, its botched patching process and its botched multiplayer.  Not to mention its absurdly high min requirements for a turn based strategy game and such shitty graphics.


But I've played a lot of Civ in my life and never seen a spearman take on a tank.  And when are all these "tank vs. spear" matches supposed to occur?  Who is playing on such easy difficulty settings that they out-tech the AI by that much?  And if you are winning by that much I think you can fucking spare a one in a million tank loss to a phalanx.  Jesus.

I love the idea of some nerdy asshole sitting in front of his computer for 12 hours, 11 hours after the game became a foregone conclusion on the tutorial difficulty setting suddenly in an outrage because one of his modern armored tanks reduced in strength by several orders of magnitude just lost to a crack troop of muskets.  Insane.

Relax buddy, it's a civ1 joke where a spearman with a couple of good defence modifiers (mountain, fortress) could have a reasonable chance to beat a battleship or tank.

[ghost]

Can I still kill an jet bomber with a phalanx?  

Groan. 

[dusematic]

I know but Civ I came out 20 years ago.  So since it's not still relevant or funny (especially after the 3rd time its brought up) I can only presume people are serious.

[AutomaticZen]

I know but Civ I came out 20 years ago.  So since it's not still relevant or funny (especially after the 3rd time its brought up) I can only presume people are serious.

Somehow I'm thinking you'll survive. 

They go back and forth.  They fixed it in 2, then flubbed it in 3 (The Random Number God is cold and callous), and flubbed it in a different direction in 4 (promotion and Cultural defense allows for some wonky things).  Mods fixed most of the problems, but combat has never really been the game's point so... eh.

[GenVec]

Lets hope that Kael and team are up for another mod.

To me, FFH was to Civ IV as Counterstrike was to Half Life. I spent every Sunday afternoon for four months playing on a large map, eight civilizations, with our house "RP ruleset". Incredibly fun.

[Tebonas]

Kael really broke me.

The first thing I thought when reading this was "Yay, there might be a Fall From Heaven 3"

[dusematic]

I know but Civ I came out 20 years ago.  So since it's not still relevant or funny (especially after the 3rd time its brought up) I can only presume people are serious.

Somehow I'm thinking you'll survive.  

They go back and forth.  They fixed it in 2, then flubbed it in 3 (The Random Number God is cold and callous), and flubbed it in a different direction in 4 (promotion and Cultural defense allows for some wonky things).  Mods fixed most of the problems, but combat has never really been the game's point so... eh.

Heh.  Oh I'll SURVIVE all right!  But seriously,  I've never played a game where someone was out teched that hard (bronze/modern).  I just don't get the complaint.  It's a game, if everytime someone got a new unit and it couldn't lose to a older unit the game would be broken.  There is a shitton of unrealistic things in Civ, it's not exactly a spot-on historical simulation.  But really, people should just sack up and stop playing on the easiest difficulty setting.  Because that's the only way to out tech someone that much.

[Nebu]

You guys take this gaming stuff WAY too seriously.