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Civilization IV

First impressions - a bit overwhelming to start with, the graphical detail + sheer number of resources/improvements & units made it hard to get into & i thought id give up on it. Perhaps it didnt help that ive had a cold & been on a week long civIII binge. After a good few hours im starting to get into it now, really enjoying the little details & the camera zoom which feels vaguely like 'warrior kings'.

Maybe its too early to say whether it'll have the same replayability after the novelty wears off, but at least you can finally group & move units simultaneously.
 
This is really laggy - especially large map endgames which tend to crash. using the zoom takes ages. This is on a 9800 with 1gb ram.
 
Psychonaut said:
cant you get someone with broadband to d/l it?
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Nah, I have loved Elite, Populus, Civ and several rip-offs for years...
Computer games are one of the few things I wouldn't download- if you have a licensed copy then you usually get tasty add-ons :)

I just want to know if this is worth getting and I trust an Urbaniters opinion more than a journos ;)
 
If your hesitant it might be worth hanging on a bit - hopefully later editions will be less laggy.

Now that ive got into it, it feels quite natural, like CIvIII. The negotiations are much more interesting, partly due to the religious affiliations. You can see a breakdown of exactly why someone is annoyed/cautious/pleased etc & predict the likelihood of an invasion. The Civics screen is a great addition too, allowing you to progressively fine-tune your government according to your needs at different stages.

On the downside, the inclusion of some conquest-type scenarios would have made the package seem more complete, its obvious theyre holding material back for add-ons. Taking the piss imo. If a costly expansion is blatantly premeditated, there has to be a LOT of extra development involved. Id be wanting something pretty groundbreaking if i was a paying customer.
Big load/save times detract slightly too, although it is still manages to be Very addictive.
 
Don't need the conquest-type senarios but take your point..
Nice addition of the Civic screen....

>wets lips in anticipation<
 
Psychonaut said:
On the downside, the inclusion of some conquest-type scenarios would have made the package seem more complete, its obvious theyre holding material back for add-ons. Taking the piss imo. If a costly expansion is blatantly premeditated, there has to be a LOT of extra development involved. Id be wanting something pretty groundbreaking if i was a paying customer.
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Doesn't the blurb say they have designed it to be 'moddable' which should mean that there will various user-made scenarios around fairly soon?
 
TeeJay said:
I'm sure someone will make a "glorious world-wide anarcho-socialist revolution" scenario for the oppressed working class gamers out there. ;)
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I've always wanted to see something like that in Civilisation! No idea how they'd model it and get it to work gameplay wise while being accurate to the ideology though...
 
Kid_Eternity said:
I've always wanted to see something like that in Civilisation! No idea how they'd model it and get it to work gameplay wise while being accurate to the ideology though...
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They could have jugglers and unicyclists as the civs unique units :D
 
Kid_Eternity said:
I've always wanted to see something like that in Civilisation! No idea how they'd model it and get it to work gameplay wise while being accurate to the ideology though...
Click to expand...
Well you could replace one of the "religions" with anarcho-communism, and change all the unit names and techs for one of the nations/factions to appropriate revolutionary ones. Your job would then be to liberate the whole world from the clutches of capitalism, using an ideologically pure route.
 
They have added some more civilisations to Civ IV:
The Polish: Long have these hardy people existed in the unfavorable location between Germany and Russia, and have been overlooked as a major player in European history. Although much was destroyed in WWII, these proud people have outlasted the worst conditions and persevered with nothing more than potatoes and polka music. They are even America's third biggest ally right now in the fight against terror in Iraq. That tells you something!
Special Unit: Polka band. Replaces the archer. This unit has a special attack that can lower the culture of any city it enters.
Leaders: King Paskiewicz (seductive, warlike), John Paul II (religious, seafaring).

The Canadians: The Canadians have a long and rich history, going back as far as the age of discovery when the French fur trappers landed and refused to speak other language even though they were totally outnumbered. Then came the revolutionary war and Canada became the refuge for England, keeping the culture and even a picture of the Queen on their coinage. This was replaced by the loon bird when it became the new ruler of England. Then, the Kids in the Hall made some great sketch comedy, making Canada a valid country.
Special Unit: The Mounties. Replaces the cavalry unit. This unit can't attack but it looks pretty cool.
Leaders: Bryan Adams (cultural, warlike), Wayne Gretzeky (puck handling, slap shots).

The Tibetans: We are adding the Tibetans as a playable civilization just because they've been around for thousands of years. Although they don't produce any goods or have a national army, they can make those cool designs out of beads, and that's got to count for something. This civ gets a special religion bonus that keeps all your cities happy, but they have a weakness against Communism, and the space program.
Special Unit: Monk. Replaces warrior. This is the only unit allowed to be built by this civilization. They can't attack or defend and can be destroyed simultaneously when stacked.
Leaders: Dali Lama (religious, cultural), Beastie Boys (humor, rapping)
Click to expand...
http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3279
 
TeeJay said:
Well you could replace one of the "religions" with anarcho-communism, and change all the unit names and techs for one of the nations/factions to appropriate revolutionary ones. Your job would then be to liberate the whole world from the clutches of capitalism, using an ideologically pure route.
Click to expand...

Yeah but how would it work? With other systems you direct what happens, how would a game model a playable version of Anarchism?
 
Kid_Eternity said:
Yeah but how would it work? With other systems you direct what happens, how would a game model a playable version of Anarchism?
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I have only played Alpha Centauri which is similar, but not identical to, the Civ games. I am also not an anarchist, so I feel reluctant to speak on behalf of the ideology.

However, the situation in the game is that your "civilisation" (ie the one which you are a member of) is in direct conflict (or competition at any rate) with various other "civilisations". If there was a region where anarchism was in effect, and it came under attack, is it inconceivable that the self governing communities would come together in mutual self defence? That this self defence would be coordinated somehow?

I suppose you would be better off starting a new thread about how anarchist societies defend themselves against external attack and how they coordinate large scale projects that go beyond one single community etc.

Presumably you could then use these ideas to model your "civilisation".
 
Still growing on me. I don't like having to click at the end of EVERY turn, but the barbarian cities are a nice touch. Religion is ace, and the music is very good too. I haven't won yet. :o

I still miss Provost Zakharov and the University of Planet. They ought to remake that game.
 
Kid_Eternity said:
Can't you toggle the option to end turns once you've done all you can like in Civ 3?
Click to expand...

If you can I haven't found the option yet- annoying as it really disrupts the flow of the early game.
 
You can, found it earlier, its in the settings somewhere (sorry that's not much help, it's late...). About the game, seems ok, playing through the tutorial (more for novelty because I've never done that before on a Civ game) and it's Sid Mier guiding you through! Odd stuff. Haven't tried the online version yet though...
 
Stigmata said:
If you can I haven't found the option yet- annoying as it really disrupts the flow of the early game.
Click to expand...
It's on the main (first) tab of the options screen - tick/untick the 'wait at the end of turn' thing. As soon as all units are down to zero movement, the turn will end automatically.
 
Cheers. :o

Still haven't won a game, and i'm only playing on Warlord! I have a good feeling about my Buddhist Arabian island empire though...
 
Good interview here with the creator Sid Mier, more importantly he "hints" (I use the word loosely though) a version of Civ for the DS! Maddly enough this was something me and a mate were talking about this weekend just gone (as part of our weekly "What we would do with the games industry if we owned everything"!)! Check out the comments after for people getting as excited as me! :D :D :D
 
my bro in law type person has found his copy to be buggy as hell - especially the crashing once you have a large map (as mentioned above).

is this common? any recmonded ways of dealing?
 
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