Jeff Morris on Gamespy

MarkG · May 24, 2002, 17:08

http://www.gamespy.com/e32002/pc/civ3interview/

Quote:

GameSpy: Tell us about Regicide and CTF. I mean, how does CTF work in a game like Civilization?

Jeff Morris: Well, it's not necessarily a flag. It could be a relic or an artifact. You've got to get it from their city and take it to your own. Regicide puts that Civ's leader in one of their towns. If you take the town, you take the leader out and win the game.

Quote:

Like, now you can order a cannon or bomber to auto-bombard a square or city. You can do that with a stack of units, effectively ordering a stack of bombers to keep attacking the same square every turn.

Quote:

In play-by-email we've included player passwords and admin passwords. If someone quits halfway through a long game, the admin can replace them with an AI or another player. Then there's the "meta-games."

GameSpy: What are the meta-games?

Jeff Morris: Things like Regicide and Capture the Flag. We've also let players set victory conditions so you can win a game by capturing a single enemy city -- first one to lose a city loses the game! Or maybe a culture victory or something like that. We've even added Victory Points to the game as an option.

Quote:

GameSpy: So are you adding scenarios to the expansion?
Jeff Morris: Absolutely. We've got 10 multiplayer scenarios…

Quote:

GameSpy: Many fans, myself included, clamored for a World Map with Historical Start Locations for Civs. Will that be included?

Jeff Morris: No, that will be offered free in the update in June -- the one with the scenario editor. We want to make sure the tools are out there long enough that when Play the World comes out -- all this content will be there already. But that map, the scenario editor, and the content won't require the expansion pack.

Spiffor · May 24, 2002, 17:17

Elimination sounds cool. Very fast paced action !
I think a part of the contest will be to choose the Persians or the Iroquois before the others, on the setup screen

Edit : And really, having a free scenario editor, in less than a month... How could I be even more joyful ???? Firaxis, thanks ! Everything is forgiven now

(not that I had much to complein about)

Nikolai · May 24, 2002, 18:55

Well, this surely looks good!

And if they have 10 scenarios only for MP!

Just think how many it must be if we count the single player that will come too!(I guess we'll get those too, right?

)

notyoueither · May 24, 2002, 19:18

Very cool. I wonder if the editor is going to come with some other 'patches'.

Alex · May 24, 2002, 19:36

Wow... Kudos to Firaxis for this.

But then I guess how big that update will be... You know, my connection is still on the Ancient Age...

Thrawn05 · May 24, 2002, 20:29

Quote:

GameSpy: Many fans, myself included, clamored for a World Map with Historical Start Locations for Civs. Will that be included?

Jeff Morris: No, that will be offered free in the update in June -- the one with the scenario editor. We want to make sure the tools are out there long enough that when Play the World comes out -- all this content will be there already. But that map, the scenario editor, and the content won't require the expansion pack.

Mmm, so... they are making us their beta testers again?

Jon Shafer · May 24, 2002, 20:35

Free editor. Well, that answers my question. Hehe, cool.

I want to see a cool Rome scenario now.

TechWins · May 24, 2002, 22:38

This is really really awesome sounding.

Switch · May 24, 2002, 23:12

Quote:

Originally posted by Thrawn05
Mmm, so... they are making us their beta testers again?

Yeah, but this time for free!

Thank you Firaxis, for historical start positions. That is all I wanted, plus SP scenarios like in SMAC, though Marla's map was also really good.

Thrawn05 · May 24, 2002, 23:41

Quote:

Originally posted by SwitchMoO

Yeah, but this time for free!

Thank you Firaxis, for historical start positions. That is all I wanted, plus SP scenarios like in SMAC, though Marla's map was also really good.

I don't really mean it that way. I mean that, if PtW is coming out in Nov/Dec, and having us beta test their new editor, what's with the wait then. Shouldn't THEY test the damn thing. I won't download it.... the one I have already crashes enough.

alva · May 25, 2002, 00:06

i do see a lot of people eating their words and come back to this place

, oh yeah and the game aswell offcourse

DarthVeda · May 25, 2002, 01:21

I doubt I'll be eating my words anytime soon. From what it sounds like they're not going to be shipping any single player scenarios of interest with the game (only those which will fit in the closeminded engine with a modified start).

As for the use of the word scenario, I think Firaxis is being pretty liberal according to their own discriptions. The MP "scenarios" sound like nothing more than maps with modified start positions.

Quote:

GameSpy: Are you going to ship a scenario editor with the expansion?

Jeff Morris: We're shipping it separately as a free download, but scenarios really figure into multiplayer. If you start a multiplayer game on a random map and you start adjacent to iron and someone else doesn't, the advantage you're going to have is going to ruin the game. The scenarios let us go in there and say "everyone gets six grasslands, all irrigated and with roads."

As you can see, the "scenario" is apparently just an accelerated startup. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but it doesn't look like you have the option of a random map game...

DarthVeda · May 25, 2002, 01:35

Also this is extremely disconcerting:

Quote:

GameSpy: What about single-player? Civ 2 shipped with…

Jeff Morris: Yeah, the problem with that is the modified tech tree, artwork and how it heavily modifies the game. Turns in a WWII scenario don't really work if one turn represents a year. Rather than take that upon ourselves, we're letting the people who really love the history of the eras do it. We're giving them the tools to do it.

So the message I'm getting from Firaxis here is:

We'll give them the capability to create scenarios if they want, but because of the physical limitations of the engine, we've decided that we don't want to put our name on any scenarios at this time.

I say:

Hey look, I just took Berlin in my ww2 scenario with my Modern Armors and B-2's. So who cares if it's 2184 and the Russians were sending a ship to Alpha Centauri?

*holds a small party as the scenario capabilities of Civ3 have just reached the beta Civ2 stage*

Jon Shafer · May 25, 2002, 01:35

Well, they said they were making 10 scenarios... maybe it's just me, but I doubt they mean 10 custom setups...

DarthVeda · May 25, 2002, 01:37

I wouldn't think it beyond them. It's also worth noting that it seems not one single player scenario is going to ship with the expansion pack.

Jon Shafer · May 25, 2002, 01:41

Cut them some slack. At least a little, they're trying to help us out, which is much more than most companies do. They're releasing more patches than about the first 10 games you'll find out there combined. That and their patches are doing much more than any others. That and they're releasing a much more powerful editor, which, frankly, they really don't have to. Call it a marketing ploy, the fact remains that people who want to make custom scenarios can without getting the XP.

DarthVeda · May 25, 2002, 01:55

By scenarios, I assume you mean "accelerated startup maps."

They don't deserve any slack in my book. Their marketing strategy has been nothing but insidious and underhanded, their product shoddy, and their promises surprisingly empty.

And what of all these patches? Well you can't very well sell an expansion if you loose your entire market base, now can you?

"Whenever you exploit someone, it never hurts to thank them. That way, it's easier to exploit them the next time."

Jon Shafer · May 25, 2002, 02:01

The fact is, that they'll get an incredible amount of sales whether the hardcore fans are in love with their product or not. The fact that they're trying to improve upon their product beyond the point where it matters (in current sales) counts for something in my book. Do you really think them releasing patches for 8 months makes up for the sales they'll gain due to that from the XP? I suppose it's a possibility, but I doubt it. If you find the capitalistic world so corrupt, then you can scream at them all you want, but, if they're as bad as you say they are, they won't care anyways.

MarkG · May 25, 2002, 05:15

Quote:

Originally posted by Thrawn05
Mmm, so... they are making us their beta testers again?

some attitudes just never change...

Immortal Wombat · May 25, 2002, 10:01

Quote:

some attitudes just never change...

Like the earth goes round the sun. There's a stick-in-the-mud theory...

The free scenario editor sounds good though, beta or not. Regicide and capture-the-flag sound like they're jumping on the AoK bandwagon, but might be fun I suppose. Fun enough that someone made a "chess" mod for CtP.

Locutus · May 25, 2002, 10:16

A chess mod?

About regicide and capture the flag: if Firaxis would give the fans a scripting language, they could add that themselves...

Theseus · May 25, 2002, 10:52

I think that Firaxis is ahead of the curve (but not perfect) in learning to deal with the new paradigm of gaming... a free-wheeling interplay of releases, patches, forums, chats, mods, scenarios, etc. This while being required to meet the paramount demands of being associated with a much larger public company.

Well done.

JtheJackal · May 25, 2002, 11:33

They gives us what we want and people still complain. Tsk Tsk.

SpencerH · May 25, 2002, 13:35

It looks like the game is approaching what it should have been when it first came out.

Panag · May 25, 2002, 15:24

Quote:

Originally posted by SpencerH
It looks like the game is approaching what it should have been when it first came out.

hi ,

nope , its even going to go further , ......

have a nice day

Panag · May 25, 2002, 15:27

Quote:

Originally posted by Thrawn05

Mmm, so... they are making us their beta testers again?

hi ,

so what , .....its because the players keep asking and asking , .....

at least they give us something , ....other company's would not even think about it , ......

have a nice day

moomin · May 25, 2002, 20:23

A scenario editor for MP only? Pray not.

Jon Miller · May 25, 2002, 22:57

nope

scenario editor is coming out in june, months before MP does

it will be downloadable

probably a copy will come with PtW

so if you don't download it get it there

Jon Miller

Mikhail · May 26, 2002, 02:00

I could really care less about what scenarios firaxis includes. Fan-made ones are invariably better.

Any world map they make will probably be poor when compared to Marla or KittenofChaos's (kitten's is better, btw. accurate resource placement)

Besides. I'd say 80% of everyone will buy the Expansion first and foremost for the civs. If I really cared about multiplayer, I wouldn't be a civ fan.

aebbeka · May 26, 2002, 09:32

Finally! A good PBEM system! I can't wait!