Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth

[Tebonas]

I'm quite optimistic, this is Firaxis. They will have to let me down quite a bit after the turn-around on Civ5 and the marvelous Xcom-Remake before I don't trust them on a new game release.

[Typhon]

"Man has to leave a destroyed Earth to find a new home".  How is that in any way different from AC?  We're not dystopian!  Give me a break.  It's impossible to not compare it to AC.  I dislike being pessimistic upfront, but this project leaves me cold.  I'll be pleasantly surprised if it isn't generic and lacking.  The only way this is different from AC is tone.

Based on them starting with, "we aren't really AC", I was hoping for something grander.  Like a economically, culturally and militarily battle for a solar system.  You faction starts with certain tech, on a certain rock and you ramp up and compete from there.  I was hoping for something more than revisiting the, "start from scratch cause you left Earth in a hurry" scenario.

[eldaec]

Seems like they are doing Civ but without real world 'lore'.

Which doesn't seem like a great idea, but you never know I guess.

[Paelos]

I think the execution of the game will be fine. It will be a playable, semi-enjoyable empire game.

But it could be great, and they seem intent on making something fairly bland and user-directed.

[Phildo]

This thread is a fantastic example of how acronyms can be confusing.  Despite a love of Civlization and Colonization, I somehow missed the boat on Alpha Centauri.  So every time I read "AC" in this thread, my brain translates it into Assassin's Creed.

e: I'm sort of looking forward to this, btw.

[Rendakor]

This thread is a fantastic example of how acronyms can be confusing.  Despite a love of Civlization and Colonization, I somehow missed the boat on Alpha Centauri.  So every time I read "AC" in this thread, my brain translates it into Assassin's Creed.

I'm glad it's not just me that's doing that.

[Bzalthek]

Well, to be honest, the first 4 posts did flat out say Alpha Centauri. 

[Yegolev]

Asheron's Call was nothing like Civ.

[Rendakor]

Asheron's Call is another AC game I didn't play.

[Yegolev]

I was in the beta but I have taken this fact off my resume.

[Simond]

Is it wrong that I'd prefer an official Fall From Heaven type thing over this?

[Ingmar]

Considering where that guy ended up and what resulted? Yes.

[eldaec]

Or a new Colonization. That'd be cool.

You could even apply a licence to it, CivotR, or SWCiv. I just think the game benefits a lot from referencing established stories.

[lamaros]

So this is coming out soon and it still seems like it probably won't be great. Anyone found any evidence to indicate otherwise?

[Megrim]

As near as I can tell, consensus seems to be: wait until two expansions, then buy it, much like Civ 5.

[Malakili]

A friend of mine played it a bunch at Firaxicon and he said it is pretty solid. He is insanely into the Civ series though, so he is probably biased.  My plan is to get it on steam sale at some point.

[Merusk]

Anyone who went to Firaxicon is as a reliable reviewer as folks who go to Blizzcon.

I'm interested because I love 4x games, but I'm waiting this out.

[MrHat]

I have it prepurchased and will be losing sleep at the end of this month.

Pretty sure I fall in the CivLife category though.  It's likely my most played game series of all time.

[Merusk]

Ditto, but I don't see enough different from Civ5 to justify the purchase.  Hell, even on the CivFanatics forums they appear to be making 1:1 comparisons to a lot of Civ5 stuff because it's the same engine.  Seems like BE is just a mod.

[Sky]

Being a mod isn't a bad thing (cough obvious reference cough). But it has to be an interesting use of the tools, pushing the engine to be better and adding in diverse content. That's been Firaxis' traditional weak point, as evidenced by most Civ titles requiring two expansions to be good and the Civ 4 'mods' like Colonization.

I keep hoping that they learned something from the development of X-Com.

[Merusk]

Being a mod isn't a bad thing, no.

Expecting me to pay $60 for a mod IS.

[WayAbvPar]

Luckily I have way too much shit to play to even contemplate buying this at release. I will wait at least until the holidays, and more likely for the first expansion.

[Sky]

Being a mod isn't a bad thing, no.

Expecting me to pay $60 for a mod IS.

http://kael.civfanatics.net/

I know I go on about it, but if you haven't dug into it, you really should give it a shot. Also, free.

[Shannow]

except the 9.99 for Beyond the Sword?

[calapine]

Or a new Colonization. That'd be cool.

You could even apply a licence to it, CivotR, or SWCiv. I just think the game benefits a lot from referencing established stories.

We had a new Colonization (it was based on the Civ IV engine) and it sucked.  

I expect this to be decent (ie., not a catastrophe), but underwhelming. From the details out so far it seems to be light on game-play complexity. Nothing for the old-skool Alpha Centrauri crowd.  

The playable "nations" and leaders look very generic and uninspiring. Which is not a dealbreaker for a 4x game, but a missed opportunity none the less. Compare that to AC Miriam Godwinson or Pravin Lal.

[lamaros]

"We were really inspired by Alpha Centauri, so we decided to make a game that is nothing like it apart from copying the thematic background, because we feel that gamers are too stupid to like things because they actually know what they like, and will just enjoy this because we've told them it is what they will like."

It might still be an ok game, but I'm not getting the good feeling.

[calapine]

"We were really inspired by Alpha Centauri, so we decided to make a game that is nothing like it apart from copying the thematic background, because we feel that gamers are too stupid to like things because they actually know what they like, and will just enjoy this because we've told them it is what they will like."

It might still be an ok game, but I'm not getting the good feeling.

I think they are just saying that because AC has such a special reputation among Civ fans. They sort of have to.

[lamaros]

No they don't. No one young enough to not have played AC cares, and those who have played AC and loved it won't be fooled. Lip-service isn't going to sell games.

[Teleku]

Or a new Colonization. That'd be cool.

You could even apply a licence to it, CivotR, or SWCiv. I just think the game benefits a lot from referencing established stories.

We had a new Colonization (it was based on the Civ IV engine) and it sucked.  

I expect this to be decent (ie., not a catastrophe), but underwhelming. From the details out so far it seems to be light on game-play complexity. Nothing for the old-skool Alpha Centrauri crowd.  

The playable "nations" and leaders look very generic and uninspiring. Which is not a dealbreaker for a 4x game, but a missed opportunity none the less. Compare that to AC Miriam Godwinson or Pravin Lal.

What exactly is every bodies gripe with the colonization mod/expansion?  It plays exactly like the original, but with civ 4 graphics.  Which, if that's the complaint (that they didn't make a more in depth version with new stuff), then sure.  It's just that I only ever here people complain about not liking it without specifics.

As far as this game goes..... Looks promising, I'll see how word of mouth reviews look after release.  Firaxis is pretty good at mod support, right?  Perhaps this is a good opportunity for a FFH level Alpha Centuries mod.   

[Nevermore]

"We were really inspired by Alpha Centauri, so we decided to make a game that is nothing like it apart from copying the thematic background, because we feel that gamers are too stupid to like things because they actually know what they like, and will just enjoy this because we've told them it is what they will like."

It might still be an ok game, but I'm not getting the good feeling.

But it worked out so well for that last Master of Orion!

[Lantyssa]

 

[Montague]

"We were really inspired by Alpha Centauri, so we decided to make a game that is nothing like it apart from copying the thematic background, because we feel that gamers are too stupid to like things because they actually know what they like, and will just enjoy this because we've told them it is what they will like."

It might still be an ok game, but I'm not getting the good feeling.

But it worked out so well for that last Master of Orion!

Jesus, trigger warning that shit. 

[Typhon]

Also pre-ordered it.  Will report back to the hive as soon as I know anything.

[Shannow]

except the 9.99 for Beyond the Sword?

and nevermind cause  for some reason I have a copy in my steam library. woot.

[Sky]

muhahah