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First Reviews of Civilization V
An anonymous reader submitted linkage to a story explaining why Hemos has been twitching for a week in anticipation: "Defying the urge to phone-in an unambitious sequel and coast on past successes, Sid Meier's Civilization V is anything but a lazy rehash. It feels almost as if someone described the concept of the renowned 19-year-old turn-based strategy series to a talented designer who'd never played it, and let him come up with his own version. It's similar enough to be familiar to veterans, different enough to be fresh, and its polish and accessibility make it a great place for new players to pick up one hell of a Civ addiction."
Just... another... one...
I didn't see anything in the review related to DRM. That's an essential subject for any game review these days.
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No offense, but are you surprised? People seem to forget how ludicrous Civ IV's specs were at release...
Living With a Nerd
Seriously? That's too much for you? I'm sorry that you haven't bought (or upgraded) a computer in 4 years, but I don't see why developers should have to cater to you by making their products worse for the rest of us. A system meeting these requirements wouldn't cost more than MAYBE $200 used.
They need better hardware to make the AI smarter, not just for better graphics.
-- Let us endeavor so to live that when we pass even the undertaker shall be sorry. -- M. Twain
Why? My current operating system runs everything I need fine, including StarCraft II. I'm not a big gamer, I have other things to do with my life, but StarCraft and Civilization are the exceptions to the rule. ;)
And I'll have you know that my neckbeard is quite clean.
The only thing on there that is even remotely "heavy hitting" is requiring a discrete graphics card. However if you are a computer gamer, well then you should be well aware that games need a discrete graphics card, and they aren't expensive (A 5750 runs it great and costs $110-130 or so and is current technology).
A dual core with 2GB I consider to be the minimum sort of system you should have these days for desktop usage. It is not expensive, and well worth it. A dual core CPU really makes things much smoother and more responsive, even if you are just doing basic office productivity stuff. The ability for the processor to actually do two things at once is a big gain in terms of responsiveness. RAM is also big performance wise, and really cheap. I recommend 4GB, even for desktop usage, but 2GB minimum. Less than that and you are swapping when you don't need to.
Those are NOT onerous system requirements, particularly for a game. They aren't demanding the highest end system. Hell even their recommend requirements are tame: 1.8GHz quad, 4GB of ram and a 4800/9800 series GPU.
Personally, I'd say if you can't afford a dual core system and a mid range graphics card from a few generations ago, you probably can't afford a new $50 game either. In that case, stick with Civ 4 or Civ 3 (or 2 or 1). They haven't stopped working. You can still play them. Hell if I end up not liking Civ 5's gameplay and can't mod it to my likes, I'll go back to Civ 4 since I do like it.
I do not find it very legit to whine about not having the rather reasonable system requirements, while still saying that $50 is a fine price to spend. Save that $50 for a better computer, something that will do better for EVERYTHING you do, rather than spending it on a new game.
You are in grad school and have three kids. When were you planning on playing video games?
I don't want three blind men describing an elephant incorrectly. I want Civ.
"Enough of this wretched, whining monkey life." -- Marcus Aurelius, _Meditations_, Book 9, 37
We still don't have Alpha Centauri 2
:(
That's all I ever want.
Nothing else.
Just that.
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
For single player, wait for an expansion to fix the AI. The review in PCGamer said the AI does really stupid things with its combat units, like send them headlong into battle without regard to unit type, so its ranged units go right up to your melee units, and its melee units get trapped behind its own ranged units. The game balance is preserved simply by giving computer players more units. Given that this is the most tactical Civ yet (due to elimination of unit stacking), it's clear from the review it suffers even more from AI limitations than Civ IV did (before the Civ IV expansions).
I think you think Starcraft II is more complicated than it really is. Think about it, honestly...what is there to keep track of behind the scenes, second by second? Hit points, unit locations, resources, and build queues. That's about it. Now look at a Civ game, and all of the things that simultaneously happen each time one turn ends and another begins.
You honestly think there is less to compute in a Civ game than in Starcraft II, just because Civ is turn based?
Living With a Nerd
I'm not sure about out-of-the-box support for this, but Civ V is much more mod friendly than Civ IV was and I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to make a mod addressing color blindness.
Murphey's fighting Occam, and we're in the stands.
One person on CIV Fanatics reported they got the game early but were unable to install it till the appointed time. Steam blocked them.
To me this is unacceptable. They had the boxed game. We have a DRM system which states that that is not enough to play a game. They reserve the right with thirty days notification to change/void the agreement.
In other words, they can prevent you from using the product you purchased. No longer is the $50 for having a game you can play when and where you want to, it only applies when and where they permit you.
Steam is invasive and essentially arbitrary.
I did find it humorous how many derided the retailer at being at fault for selling the game. With users like this what hope is there for the old model.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
The only way you got to Mega cities was mostly to do with keeping people happy, not so much about keeping them fed, and since Religion gave you an early burst in happiness, you had a more productive city than everyone else, so you generated more research, and were able to get a great person sooner (usually a priest! no doubt). Then they get to Monarchy sooner so they can just do that "military keeps people happy" civic and then they've got an a mega city that works because its so well defended. So then whoever gets the first priest ends up using the priest to get another religion. And Bam, before you know it, One person has founded 4 or 5 of the religions, and has an amazing economy because of it, has good culture to spread better than you can, and has the happiness available to use slavery to catch up on the infrastructure
Historically, that strategy worked pretty out well for the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Chinese, and many others.
You forgot real-time path finding with a horde of units interfering with each other.
Now look at a Civ game, and all of the things that simultaneously happen each time one turn ends and another begins.
What simultaneously happens? The unit orders are sequenced.
You honestly think there is less to compute in a Civ game than in Starcraft II, just because Civ is turn based?
Well, um, YES. There's a difference between localized, separate battles at the end of every turn versus battles that update dozens of times a second all over the map. That you have thought about this and tried to equate the two is mind boggling.
Ten years from now, when Steam no longer works or supports your game, you'll find out that you were just renting it.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
What simultaneously happens? The unit orders are sequenced.
Economic calculations. Research calculations. Diplomatic calculations. Borders expanding/contracting. Etc, etc, etc. These things don't just happen on their own...every little nuance, every single little piece of data you see in a Civilization game (which, lets face it, can be overwhelming at times) has to be calculated.
Well, um, YES. There's a difference between localized, separate battles at the end of every turn versus battles that update dozens of times a second all over the map.
A map that, by comparison to an endgame Civilization map, is pretty small. You are also still continuing to focus on just fighting. You do know there's far more to Civilization games than just fighting...right?
That you have thought about this and tried to equate the two is mind boggling.
I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, I'm not saying you're right or wrong... I'm just saying that there's more going on behind the scenes in a Civilization game than you realize.
Living With a Nerd
Reminds me of my play style in Civ II - I stay peaceful for most of the game, often only exploding into conflict in the modern era. Railroads help troop movements; this and some other things seem to make waiting be in the human player's favor.
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
But let me play, even if it takes 5 minutes between turns instead of 1.
The only thing that can't be slowed down is the graphics.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
There's psychological value in owning a game that's worth a lot more than $1.30. I'm simply going to be happier playing my game, as opposed to one that's been lent to me, even for free.
Public libraries work for a lot of people. They have no problem getting a book, reading it, and never touching it again. Other people buy books and hang on to them, spending thousands of dollars amassing a private library that they can refer to whenever they need. Steam may be a good option for the first group, but it will never fly with the second.
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I can go down to the library and borrow a book for 0 dollars. By your logic this must be the utmost value proposition in entertainment. 0 dollars per hour, you can't get any better than that. Yet people continue to spend money on books they can keep forever. Why is that? Figure that out and you'll understand why Steam isn't acceptable to many of us.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!