Civ-ville

[naum]

A letter from Sid about Civilization World

We have some exciting news to share with you about Civilization for Facebook! As you can see from the new look of this page, the official title for our game is Civilization World (Civ World). Why a name change you say? The name better reflects the main theme of the game; in Civ World you will be joining your friends to form nations, which will compete with other player-nations to rule the world. Civ World’s shaping up to be a really fun Facebook game, as well as another addictive Civilization experience.
 
We’re also happy to announce that we intend to launch the Closed Alpha test version of the game on January 12th, and you can sign up to become part of our development testing team starting today!  Would you like a chance to join the test? Then we’ll need you to form a team with your friends, and sign up for the alpha test as a team. Why a team? Because to win in Civ World, you’ll need to collaborate with your friends in order to do well in the game and become ruler of the world, so in our early Alpha testing, we’re grouping people together to simulate how the game will work when it’s available to the world at large. In the final game, you’ll be able to sign up individually (although we’ll love it if you invite your friends), but to participate in Closed Alpha, you’ll have to enter as a team. It’s up to you how you organize your testing team. Your team can be anywhere from 5-50 people. 
 
What we’ll need from each team will be a team name and a team captain. Each team member will need to register on our sign-up page  www.2kgames.com/civworld/alpha and enter their team name and captain’s name, along with some other information. Teams will receive their acceptance confirmations beginning January 10th. Teams are how we ensure you get to play in the same game as friends. However, Civ World is a game of shifting alliances and powers, with civilizations and factions rising and falling all the time. You may not always be playing on the same side as your teammates -- in fact, you're just as likely to be their opponents! We’ll ramp up the size of the Alpha test squad as we progress in development, so hang in there if your team is not part of the first round. We’re looking forward to bringing you into the game, so go out there and get your testing team together!

[Xanthippe]

Who's putting the team together?

[schild]

I'll join, but I'm not putting the team together.

[Sand]

Im in.

[Rendakor]

I'll join, but I'm not putting the team together.

[luckton]

Did a team ever rise up from this behind the scenes?  Or are ya'll still waiting for someone to lead?

[Rendakor]

I think we're still waiting; otherwise, I didn't get the memo.

[luckton]

Well I'm willing to get this started if others are.  We need at least 5 people, a Team Name and decide the leader's name.

[Rendakor]

The team name should be Bat Country; anyone else out there still want to try this?

[luckton]

Maybe I should PM the people that responded to this and inquire?

[JWIV]

I'm in to play this.

[MuffinMan]

I'm in. I've been been hoping to get a beta invite.

A few weeks ago I posted on their facebook page "You do not have enough energy to attack Germany. Would you like to spam your friends a million times?" They responded with "Shaun: CivWorld doesn't give any benefit for spamming your friends with requests, so don't worry about that ;)"

I remain skepitcal.

[luckton]

Alright, so we've got:

Luckton
MuffinMan
JWIW
Rendakor

...and maybe the peeps from earlier.  I will PM you lot with the instructions, since I'll be jumping on the knife by divulging my name for the Team Captain form.

[MuffinMan]

Already working on stealing your identity. Make sure to send Sinij an invite.

[luckton]

Already working on stealing your identity. Make sure to send Sinij an invite.

PM me with what you get...would be interested to see what holes I still need to fill/block.

[MuffinMan]

I'm actually a Nigerian prince and I have a large sum of money I would like wire you.

[luckton]

I'm actually a Nigerian prince and I have a large sum of money I would like wire you.

OMG    My SSN is on the way, plz send monies kthx!

[schild]

People should sign up via Luckton. I won't be doing anything with Civ.

[Rendakor]

Signed up using your info luckton, thanks for putting this together.

[luckton]

That puts us at four signups so far then, assuming people I sent the info to sign-up but didn't confirm with me that they did it.  Need one more.

[Xanthippe]

I can't get the link to work (maybe it's the macbook?) or I'd sign up.

[MuffinMan]

I had to back up to http://www.2kgames.com/civworld/alpha/ and it worked. When you click the facebook connect button it takes you to registration.php.

[Xanthippe]

I'm sorry, I'm backing out.  I won't sign the testing agreement due to the presumptions in the last paragraph that I'd have to agree to.


I would not violate confidentiality, but in trying to think of a worst-case scenario for myself, why would I ever want to give up any presumptions of anything in case of a court fight?  Anyway, I don't sign crap that limits my rights like this does without crossing out such sentences.

[luckton]

Well, either we haven't been accepted yet or we haven't gotten enough applicants.  Either way, here's some videos of this games upcoming awesomeness.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/24/civ-world-screenshots-and-video-will-conquer-your-curiosity/

[Margalis]

So what bullshit monetization scheme that ruins the game does this one feature?

[luckton]

So what bullshit monetization scheme that ruins the game does this one feature?

With any luck it'll be the same kind of stuff one find in browser games like Evony, Travian or Ikariam; boosts to unit/resource production, but nothing that would truly bar you from enjoying the game without either whoring yourself off to dozens of FB people or cashing in FB credits.

[luckton]

Open beta is apparently launching next week.  Prepare for war.

[luckton]

IGN has a decent preview up.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/118/1180685p1.html

Every person in CivWorld is essentially a city-state. Once in a game (which can have up to 200 players), you then band together with others to start a civilization. Together you decide the direction you want to take your group. Like other Civilization games, CivWorld takes place in historic eras of time, such as the Medieval, Industrial, etc. Every era has a set of victory conditions, giving players various ways to win said period. It's up to you and your fledgling confederacy to decide whether you're going to try and win by making money, building an army to fight wars, or to advance your civilization through science and culture.

The challenge, and fun, comes from how much you enjoy coordinating. Even if you're not always playing together, you and your civ partners have to stay in constant contact. As the civilization progresses, players who push forth certain assets like culture or production will be automatically appointed positions such as Cultural or Interior Minister, with the most successful player being made King. These positions do not grant anyone totalitarian control, but they do give additional responsibilities. Positions of authority give you more votes on civilization wide decisions – like going to war – and are highly coveted. Specific positions like Cultural Minister also give benefits that allow you to do things like dedicate more resources towards producing world wonders (an essential component for cultural victories). Positions are earned, not appointed, and so serve as another goal to work towards if you want additional power.

[luckton]

Apparently I'm the only one that still cares about this game 

Open beta went live today.  Will try it out when I get home from work, since it's one of 'those' kinds of FB games.

[Paelos]

I care. I just want to see what it's like first without playing it. The Empires and Allies thing left me cold and mad.

[naum]

[luckton]

I care. I just want to see what it's like first without playing it. The Empires and Allies thing left me cold and mad.

I hear ya.  From what I've seen of the previews and videos, this should be a LOT more promising    Will let you know how it goes, if/when I get in.  Remoted into my home computer right now, but the server's hammered.

[luckton]

Kotaku chimes in with it's opinion of the game.

The way they write it, it almost sounds like they like it better than TOR

[luckton]

Got in last night after work.  The game really does give me the feeling that I'm playing a real social game, interacting with others in real time, without having to whore myself out via FB friend requests.

Seems kinda slow starting off, but I guess that's because I'm still learning the ropes.  I would highly advise a read of the Kotaku article, since it basically says what I'm feelig right now.

[Rendakor]

I fired it up last night too; I hope it picks up in speed eventually, because there isn't a lot you can do at first.