Civ 1 Features I would like to see in Civ 3

[CornMaster]

I remember back in the day when I played Civ 1. Nothing thrilled me more than winning a game and watching the Civilization replay. The first time I played Civ 2 and won I was extremely disappointed not to see the replay. For those who don't know what the replay is it is the history of the game that you just finished. It shows a map of the world and each civilization on it. It shows how they progressed and developed over the years. A line at the top of the screen would tell what happened each year of the game (major events like gov't changes, civilization defeats, units and tech discovered, etc.) I've always wondered what the other civilizations were doing while I was growing.
Another thing I would like to see in Civ 3 would be a better map generator. I like playing games on maps with lots of islands, and the generator usually give maps with huge continents or almost islands but with one small block of land joining them. I would like to see a generator with more options that would allow the map to be better shaped how the player want's it without have to make the map themself.
Thank You

Visit my Civ 2 website at http://www.geocities.com/thecornmaster

[tniem]

There have been a couple of threads dealing with replays and how to reward the victor after the game. Take a look, they might be burried a distance, if you have anything to add to them, reply and the thread will be resurrected. One of the better ideas that I saw in those posts was a history book that detailed your major events and battles, but I would only be paraphrasing, so take a look.

[MidKnight Lament]

Here 'tis: History Book as an ending of the game

btw, I agree. The replay in Civ I was cool.

- MKL

[STING]

the replay kicked ass.... even from Civ1 for Windows it was removed.. the bastards ;-p

[Chris Pine FIRAXIS]

[Par4]

OMG a wink what could it mean, is Firaxis acknowledging a replay is going to be in Civ3 or are they just trying to confuse us , either way they read they still read the forums

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(stupid cant use hotmail)
gamma_par4@hotmail.com
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Your game will get worse
[This message has been edited by Par4 (edited May 26, 2000).]

[Father Beast]

I was fond of the city view. It came on every time you built an improvement, and you would watch the building appear on the view. In civ 2, I looked at it a few times, but quit since it was hard to tell which improvements were which, and even the wonders from the improvements.

[Chris Pine FIRAXIS]

hey Chris - Could you visit some other threads on this forum and wink at some other things too!



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~~~I am who I am, who I am - but who am I?~~~

[tniem]

A double wink. Is that like a double negative? Or does it mean that is definitly going to be in the game? I'm not even sure what he is winking at any more!

[tniem]

Father Beast I agree. Only problem with the City Views were that in a city of a million it looked like there were no more than a thousand people living in your city. There needs to be some backdrop to make it look larger. But I think in Civ III that I hope to see wonders and larger city improvements on the actual map in kind of aoe fashion.

[MidKnight Lament]

Maybe he's got some dust in his eye.

- MKL

[Hasdrubal]

What I should like to see return in Civ III is gameplay that is lightyears ahead of all competition!!
Chris + the developers at Firaxis, take your time, make a game that will kick some ass and show the world just which team is on top!


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Ceterum censeo Romanem esse delendam.

[Theben]

Does this mean they're sticking with the "you build it once it's done" approach? I was kinda hoping for a more Birth of Federation style of infrastructure development.

I agree, the replay was great. But it could use improvement. FE, the civ1 version never showed color changes when the empires split. It also tended to have little bits of color of former owners left in place when another civ conquered or destroyed the original city. And SMAC doesn't show any historical timeline at the top like the 1st did.
The city view is okay, I just wish it was placed further from the 'exit city' button...I can't tell you how many times I clicked it by mistake and had to wait for the city screen to load to exit.

[STING]

The cause of the CivI-addiction was the simplicity of the game, you could easily manage your empire.

Civ: CTP maybe has alot of more features, but without a userfriendly/easy interface, they are quite useless and don't generate the same addiction as Civ1 did.

Civ2 was (still is) a highly addictive game, its less simplistic but still posesses an easy-to-use interface.. well maybe this is just me I don't know

So i really hope Civ3 will bring us an easy interface They just have to find the right balance between versatility and usability

My two cents.


STING
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BorgIRC.net http://www.borgirc.net
webmaster@borgirc.net

I completely agree. The first time I played Civ 1 was on vacation a few years ago and man I played that thing the entire 2 weeks we were down there. And when I got home, I bought it for my own PC. It's definitely a classic. When Civ 2 came out, i had to have it as well and it was just as addicting.

So Firaxis...KISS (Keep it simple stupid)



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~~~I am who I am, who I am - but who am I?~~~

[MidKnight Lament]

I can't help but find this amusing. We on the forums often come up with complicated systems for every aspect of the game, generally making them more and more complicated as we get excited about our ideas. And yet, the results of Civ so far have always used relatively simple concepts. So it's a little funny to read us imploring them to keep it simple when that's what they've done along, despite our often complex ideas.

No offense intended, but it gave me a laugh.

Haha, yah I thought that too. We've come up with everything from a 10 point UN to an entire religion/economic/political system to a system of making more units. Yet we all seem to want a simple game. I don't propose
we stop, b/c I know I've enjoyed the ride.

Loyal Apolytoners! - keep the great ideas coming!!

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~~~I am who I am, who I am - but who am I?~~~

[Hasdrubal]

In my opinion, what makes the gameplay in Civ so addictive, is that every aspect of the game is simple and crystal clear. In Civ, you know exactly what a library does, unlike a library in SimCity. The same is true for it's economic, diplomatic, war, etc. models. Yet, all these easy to grasp models interfere in a wonderfully balanced, intertwining way. It plays a new, fresh and unpredictable game every time, with the player being fully aware of just what's going on. There is absolutely no offense in establishing this, it is a compliment!
IMHO, no matter how interesting all the proposed additions on these forums are, they should stick with the simple concept and just expand upon it. Make the model work even more better, in new intricate ways, expanded upon a bit more without losing sight of just what exactly it is that makes this game work!

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Ceterum censeo Romanem esse delendam.

[MidKnight Lament]

OrangeSfwr - I'm glad you understood what I was getting at. I was worried I was going to come off sounding like a *****.

- MKL

[UltraSonix]

Oh, anything for a clean interface!
I was just thinking that the game's interface should be fully customisable, eg on/off world map, on/off unit stats. But I'm sure Firaxis would have already thought of that...


Just testing: .

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No, in Australia we don't live with kangaroos and koalas in our backyards...

[EnochF]

nudge nudge, say no more...

[Yog-Sothoth]

Yes, give us back the replay. It was a great feature.

Lets all have a "We love the replay day"

[bagdar]

I'd like the diplomacy screen to look like what it was on Civ I. The Mimics on the faces of the leaders were increadibly fun, and it felt like talking face to face with Hammurabi or Shaka. I think that Civ II's 3D heralds are no match for the enjoyment Civ I's diplomacy screen offered.
[This message has been edited by bagdar (edited January 10, 2001).]

[airdrik]

I just got finished with a game of civ 1 myself and one of the things I just got a kick out of was the cheezy grin the diplomats/advisors give you when you do something they like. Not that a mismatching cheezy grin should be included in civ 3, but if durring diplomacy you do something they like then they smile, or if you do something they don't like they get a frown on their faces.

Also, gotta love the replay. I had fun watching as my clan (the Zulu) enveloped, first africa, then the world.

[Ralf]

quote: Originally posted by bagdar on 01-10-2001 05:23 PM The Mimics on the faces of the leaders were increadibly fun, and it felt like talking face to face with Hammurabi or Shaka. I think that Civ II's 3D heralds are no match for the enjoyment Civ I's diplomacy screen offered.

I certainly agree with you

I remember Napoleons facial expressions then he was about to be wiped out, with only one pathetic city left. I played the game on an Amiga-600, with 7.14Mhz 68000-processor. Between 5-7 minutes it took to generate those world-maps. The latter, i can do without.

Speaking of Civ-1, by the way. Both Civ-1 and Civ-1 for Windows can be downloaded for free. Check out: http://www.bhlegend.com/php/show.php3?list=strategy

Just DONT download several files at the same time. You get temporarily banned. One of the best/biggest abandonware websites is http://www.theunderdogs.org/

Also, the REPLAY-feature in Civ-1 was of course great.
Finally; Catastrophes preventable by improvements was a feature that was "streamlined away" in Civ-2. I want it back in Civ-3.

[Bereta_Eder]

I got lost. I don't know where to place my suggestions so I'll do it here. (phew, talking about a HUGE site...!) I'll stick to the thread's topic.

I'd like to see in CIV III:

1. The replay (I think we have established that


2. The disasters. I miss them. Impredictability is great. At least give us a choice and more score if we chose to have them.

3. The faces of the leaders in CIV I were better, funnier and more useful (easier to interpet) that the dancing of the emmisaries in CIV II.

Everytime I remember the Mongol leader (Ghekis Han -mispelled?) and his constantly pissed -off expression I laugh!
Plus I think that having an historic figure like Alexander the Great (even a caricature) staring you full in the face certaintly adds more depth than an emmisary who keeps wearing a tunic in 2020.

4. I never understood those winding roads in the middle of the cities in civ II. I'd like to have back the «clarity» of city view that existed in CIV I.

P.S. CIV and CIV II are the BEST GAMES EVER. Take your time on #3
[This message has been edited by paiktis22 (edited January 11, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by paiktis22 (edited January 11, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by paiktis22 (edited January 11, 2001).]

[bagdar]

I believe it's probably too late for us to pose these wishes, since firaxis says they do have a playable version already... but anyway, maybe they already did something about these and they can wink at us.

So by now, I have these:
1-the replay
2-the diplomacy screen
3-disasters
4-Newspaper reports
5-a city view that didn't look like a horizontal ant farm, or the model of a public park. The settlers actually moving onto the site and making those little huts or tents.

Some other things that I like especially about Civ I:
the animation sequence in the beginning, the "The wise men of .... discovered the secret of ...." screen , [it's all about the graphic and humor atmosphere of civ I that I couldn't find in civ II] and lots of memories attached to that game. In fact, still today, some weather conditions remind me of Civ I. What an intoxication!

-By the way, yes, civ I and II are the best games ever. I can't imagine how civ III will be if they keep their promise of surpassing the classics! (given that the game works on my computer of course...)
[This message has been edited by bagdar (edited January 12, 2001).]

[bagdar]

Remember these, that came with the newspaper reports, on top of the title?

*Lions Defeat Gladiators 7-0!
*Mayor fiddles as city burns!
*Earth is round Columbus claims!
*Latest Olympic Games results!
*Attila sorry for misunderstanding.
*Cleopatra's beauty secrets! Section B.
*Iliad tops bestseller list, see BOOKS.
*Crusade ends in disaster, Press blamed.
*Renaissance imminent, scholars claim.
*We Love King? Latest poll results.
*Rain, Rain, more Rain! Noah predicts.
*Great Wall damaged, Vandals suspected.
*Nostradamus fortells future: Trouble ahead!
*Marie Antionette's diet secret: Cake!

[Ralf]

I agree with everything, Bagdar, except this:

quote: Originally posted by bagdar on 01-12-2001 04:43 AM 5-a city view that didn't look like a horizontal ant farm, or the model of a public park.

What is the alternative? Square buttons, like in Civ-1? If its possible to do something better of it, then sure - im all for it.

quote: The settlers actually moving onto the site and making those little huts or tents.

No, no, no This means built-in AI pathfinding problems, leading to very inefficient AI city-placements and expand-strategies. AI-settlers shoudnt found cities at all. Check out this threadh for an alternative, much more effective solution. Read my last post for a short summarization. Never mind the misleading title - this threadh quickly turns to something else, further down.


One thing i really DID enjoy in the AMIGA-version of Civ-1, was the intro-tune that was played during the looong map-generating waiting time. The MS-DOS version of that tune was much more lame.