Civilization 4

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by saldana

in case anyone misses me, i will be spending the evening kissing my wife's ass to get her to let me by the game on the way home from work tommorow(unless i can con her into going to get it for me after dinner, in which case you most likely wont hear from me for several days.)

Woah. Your wife wont even let you go near the game? That's a harsh woman you've married there...

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally Posted by moriarty

20 minutes and that's all you came up with. I read that in 3 seconds on their press release. Now get back to playing and write a real report damnit.

Hey, I noticed the lion AI too!

[saldana]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Woah. Your wife wont even let you go near the game? That's a harsh woman you've married there...

she remembers how many nights i said "just one more turn" in civ3 and didnt come to bed for 3 more hours.

[judicial clerk]

she remembers how many nights i said "just one more turn" in civ3 and didnt come to bed for 3 more hours.

Is "civ3" code for the twenty year old nanny from Finland?

[RailsFS]

Played for about 2 hours today.....and so far, I really like it. The promotions really do feel right. I guess my main gripe so far (too early to be certain) is the speed of the game. In that short amount of time, my civ has advanced to 1300AD, and it just doesn't feel like we've gotten that many techs and such.

Definitely a different feel than any of the previous games, so the developers got that right. I can't wait to play a few SP games, then dive into MP.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Woah. Your wife wont even let you go near the game? That's a harsh woman you've married there...

sounds like just bad AI progamming

[saldana]

Originally Posted by judicial clerk

Is "civ3" code for the twenty year old nanny from Finland?

how did you know we have a 20 year old nanny??? she isnt from finland though.

[saldana]

dola, about the game, for people playing on their laptops, what is the control like to move around the map, without a number pad, it was a little bit of a pain in the ass.

[RailsFS]

Originally Posted by saldana

dola, about the game, for people playing on their laptops, what is the control like to move around the map, without a number pad, it was a little bit of a pain in the ass.

I assume you mean without a mouse plugged in?

[saldana]

Originally Posted by RailsFS

I assume you mean without a mouse plugged in?

actually i phrased the question pretty poorly....how easy is it to move UNITS around the map without the number pad of a full keyboard...is the mouse more functional than it was in civ3...having to drag all the way accross a large continent was a pain, or go one square at a time with the keyboard

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

I've heard high-end ATI cards only. Mine is a 9800 Pro, and my game works fine.

I hope this isn't true. My main computer has one of the newest ATI cards

[Passacaglia]

Lame. My laptop has the failed to initialize renderrer problem, and my desktop has SkyDog's black problem (only grassland and flood plains show up).

[RailsFS]

Hmmm, well dragging the mouse over continents never bothered me THAT much in previous games, so maybe my opinion won't matter as much. I can tell you that, set to default, the maps are a bit smaller, so there isn't as much dragging. Also, you can bypass the dragging entirely by clicking on the globe (map of the world) and then right clicking the square you want the unit to go to. If you hold the right click down, it will tell you how many turns it will take to reach that spot. I haven't played civIII in years, so I don't remember if you could do that before, but hope this helps.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Lame. My laptop has the failed to initialize renderrer problem, and my desktop has SkyDog's black problem (only grassland and flood plains show up).

you tryin to start somethin'?

[Airhog]

Ive got it, but I am hesitant to play it. Will fire it up soon though and check out the tutorial at least.

[henry296]

I have a Dell laptop with a ATI Radeon 9000 with 64 MB... should I be worried?

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by RailsFS

Played for about 2 hours today.....and so far, I really like it. The promotions really do feel right. I guess my main gripe so far (too early to be certain) is the speed of the game. In that short amount of time, my civ has advanced to 1300AD, and it just doesn't feel like we've gotten that many techs and such.

Definitely a different feel than any of the previous games, so the developers got that right. I can't wait to play a few SP games, then dive into MP.

Hmmm...that actually had been my biggest concern, that they would turn this into a RoN/one sitting game because gamers nowadays are too impatient to play it out for 20-30 hours. But, I have no idea if this is just bullshit on my part or not.

To all civers: For comparison purposes, how long did an average main game of Civ3 take you?

[Buccaneer]

I am also amazed at those trying to play strategy/3D type games on laptaps. I had never thought it would have been possible.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I am also amazed at those trying to play strategy/3D type games on laptaps. I had never thought it would have been possible.

I threw Dungeon Siege II on my laptop just to see what would happen, and was surprised to find that it plays quite nicely.

[Pumpy Tudors]

[Bee]

Pumpy is my hero

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I could kiss you.

[Ben E Lou]

Dola:

On the mouth.

[saldana]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I am also amazed at those trying to play strategy/3D type games on laptaps. I had never thought it would have been possible.

i played knights of the old republic 2 and the bards tale on mine, no problems at all

[TargetPractice6]

Originally Posted by saldana

i played knights of the old republic 2 and the bards tale on mine, no problems at all

Wow. I don't see how you could play KOTOR2 on a laptop or desktop without problems.

[Airhog]

Played through the tutorial so far. Now, these impressions come from someone that has never played Civ III. I have played plenty of Civ II though. Just from playing the tutorial the pace of the game seemed better. I really only had one complaint with Civ 2, and that was the endgame. I enjoyed playing upto the industrial age, and then I just got bored with it. I think there was too much micromanagement needed to play during the endgame for my tastes. It will be interesting to see how Civ 4 handles that.

[Airhog]

Sorry, that last post got way off topic. I liked what I see so far. The whole city, hamlet thing is different, although I am not sure it is much better than say roads everywhere. And the growing over time thing is more realistic I think. I will try to post more thoughts once I actually start my first game.

[Pumpy Tudors]

SkyDog gonna kiss me on mouth

[sachmo71]

If you don't have hardware transform and lighting on your video card, will the game run?

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

SkyDog gonna kiss me on mouth

Just be glad you're not an inflatable penguin.

SI

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

SkyDog gonna kiss me on mouth

What better, a kiss on the mouth from SkyDog, or good AI?

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

What better, a kiss on the mouth from SkyDog, or good AI?

jb would want both if you could cuddle afterwards.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

jb would want both if you could cuddle afterwards.

Sorry Pumpy...Bucc is my new hero.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Anyone else getting a "failed to initialize renderer" error message when they try to launch the game?

Eerie...my Seinfeld DVD that I bought today displayed a "failed to entertain RendeR" message when I tried to view it....

[Celeval]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

If you don't have hardware transform and lighting on your video card, will the game run?

That seems to be the problem causing the black terrain / invisible leaders. My wife's laptop is having it (Dell Inspiron 700m, only a few months old), mine is not.

[jbmagic]

I love the AI, I Want to Kiss the AI

[Kam]

I just finished my first game. I only played on Cheiftain, so I could get a feel for it. I won with a space victory in 2020 - I did not have any goal other than to test the game, so I am sure that I could have won earlier.

Only one war, I was England and I fought Spain and Japan. All the right units won...my War elephants lost to machine guns, my infantry beat archers, etc.

It was a pretty easy level, I was far ahead in technology, but I had very little military. So when I went to war, I was unprepared. I was left to pillaging, so my antique military could at least accomplish something. I built some fighters and bombed cities but I had no real ground troops.

Overall, it feels like a very good game.

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by Kam

I just finished my first game. I only played on Cheiftain, so I could get a feel for it. I won with a space victory in 2020 - I did not have any goal other than to test the game, so I am sure that I could have won earlier.

Only one war, I was England and I fought Spain and Japan. All the right units won...my War elephants lost to machine guns, my infantry beat archers, etc.

It was a pretty easy level, I was far ahead in technology, but I had very little military. So when I went to war, I was unprepared. I was left to pillaging, so my antique military could at least accomplish something. I built some fighters and bombed cities but I had no real ground troops.

Overall, it feels like a very good game.

It is a little disappointing to know that you finished in such a short time. I generally look forward to playing a nice, long, multi-night game of Civ. However, if the time is compressed because you aren't having to direct workers or manipulate units, then this may not be a bad thing.

Any thoughts as to why the pace seems to be quicker, and whether or not that is a good thing? Anyone?

[Celeval]

Originally Posted by Buzzbee

It is a little disappointing to know that you finished in such a short time. I generally look forward to playing a nice, long, multi-night game of Civ. However, if the time is compressed because you aren't having to direct workers or manipulate units, then this may not be a bad thing.

Any thoughts as to why the pace seems to be quicker, and whether or not that is a good thing? Anyone?

Well, for one, there are three time scales - Quick, Normal, and Epic. They affect how quickly units & buildings are built / research is completed / etc.

[Galaxy]

that boz

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Celeval

That seems to be the problem causing the black terrain / invisible leaders. My wife's laptop is having it (Dell Inspiron 700m, only a few months old), mine is not.

Thanks!

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Buzzbee

It is a little disappointing to know that you finished in such a short time.

Also recall he was playing on Chieftain and did not have to build that many units. At the higher levels with more military, and probably more wars, the game would go longer.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Just played through the tutorial and then continued on to the end of the game it generates. Easiest level, and you're way ahead of the Indian civilization before they get their first city, so it's impossible to lose. Played about and hour and a half altogether and wiped out the Indians for the win.

Some thoughts...

Gameplay is smooth. The keyboard shortcuts, the ways to automate things, and the interface all work to make the game very easy to play. In this regard, the game seems polished, although I obviously need to play more.

I really like the way units get experience and promotions. You can also rename any unit (this may have been in Civ III already?).

I still have no idea what the AI is like, as the easiest level seems, well, rather easy. The opponent, India, is quite passive and you've got a huge headstart.

City development is quite different. I'd tell you more but I really don't understand exactly how it's different. It hasn't "clicked" for me yet. I think I'm still in my Civ II/Civ III mindset.

Religion seems very cool, but it sure confused me. I founded a national religion in Buddhism, but then I got Moses as a great Jewish prophet. He just kind of walked into Rome one day. Not sure where he came from, but there was some desert nearby, so that could explain things, I guess. Anyway, he could build something really cool if he went to his Jewish holy city, which was Delhi, in India. Humm, I'm pretty sure you don't win the game by building really cool things for your enemies, so I figured that was a bad idea. Confused, I hid him at a nearby winery for a thousand years or so. He seemed happy, but I'm not sure my civilization was better off for it. Then I founded Confucianism (not sure how that happened either, but I think it had something to do with discovering the Code of Laws), and got a minor prophet, I think. Not sure what I was supposed to do with him either, so I hid him in some iron mine for the rest of history. I'm pretty sure hiding prophets in various places around the world is not the most effective way to use these guys, but as I said, certain things in the game haven't "clicked" for me yet. Occasionally, I'd get notice that such and such a city adopted a certain religion, which was kind of neat. Why it was kind of neat I have no idea, but I remember thinking, "That is kind of neat." Then I would get confused and just go build more praetorians so I could smush the Indians.

Anyway, so far so good. Time to start a real game. Second difficulty level for the easy win?

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

Just played through the tutorial and then continued on to the end of the game it generates. Easiest level, and you're way ahead of the Indian civilization before they get their first city, so it's impossible to lose. Played about and hour and a half altogether and wiped out the Indians for the win.

Some thoughts...

Gameplay is smooth. The keyboard shortcuts, the ways to automate things, and the interface all work to make the game very easy to play. In this regard, the game seems polished, although I obviously need to play more.

I really like the way units get experience and promotions. You can also rename any unit (this may have been in Civ III already?).

I still have no idea what the AI is like, as the easiest level seems, well, rather easy. The opponent, lace w:st="on">Indialace>, is quite passive and you've got a huge headstart.

City development is quite different. I'd tell you more but I really don't understand exactly how it's different. It hasn't "clicked" for me yet. I think I'm still in my Civ II/Civ III mindset.

Religion seems very cool, but it sure confused me. I founded a national religion in Buddhism, but then I got Moses as a great Jewish prophet. He just kind of walked into lace w:st="on">Romelace> one day. Not sure where he came from, but there was some desert nearby, so that could explain things, I guess. Anyway, he could build something really cool if he went to his Jewish holy city, which was Delhi, in lace w:st="on">Indialace>. Humm, I'm pretty sure you don't win the game by building really cool things for your enemies, so I figured that was a bad idea. Confused, I hid him at a nearby winery for a thousand years or so. He seemed happy, but I'm not sure my civilization was better off for it. Then I founded Confucianism (not sure how that happened either, but I think it had something to do with discovering the Code of Laws), and got a minor prophet, I think. Not sure what I was supposed to do with him either, so I hid him in some iron mine for the rest of history. I'm pretty sure hiding prophets in various places around the world is not the most effective way to use these guys, but as I said, certain things in the game haven't "clicked" for me yet. Occasionally, I'd get notice that such and such a city adopted a certain religion, which was kind of neat. Why it was kind of neat I have no idea, but I remember thinking, "That is kind of neat." Then I would get confused and just go build more praetorians so I could smush the Indians.

Anyway, so far so good. Time to start a real game. Second difficulty level for the easy win?

Isn't it something like... if another civ adopts the religion you discovered, there's a better chance of them liking you?

[Eilim]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Isn't it something like... if another civ adopts the religion you discovered, there's a better chance of them liking you?

Yep, plus you get gold from them, and an easier chance of exerting cultural control I beleive.

I'm really loving the "great gerson" aspect of it.You really can boost your individual cities or even your civ as a whole depending on what you choose to do with them.

[SunDevil]

Here is a beta tester who created a walkthrough for everyone who is on the fence buying the game, or something to tie over the people who are waiting for it.

http://www.kalikokottage.com/civ3/sullla/civ4intro.html

[Butter]

Why would they make this game so graphics heavy that you need an advanced video card to run it properly?

Crap.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Why would they make this game so graphics heavy that you need an advanced video card to run it properly?

Crap.

32 MB of video RAM is NOT and advanced video card. Not since 1998.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Samdari

32 MB of video RAM is NOT and advanced video card. Not since 1998.

The T&L support appears to be the problem. I'm getting the black screen of death on a 4-month old laptop. I can run AOE 3 on it, EE2, and SimCity4, but not really Civ4. That's a problem for a TBS game. It would be easier to swallow if it were an RTS with pretty graphics, but this is a freakin' TBS. Anyone with sense even turns off the animations after about 15 minutes of playing the first game in Civ games. I really don't get it either.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

It would be easier to swallow if it were an RTS with pretty graphics, but this is a freakin' TBS.

I find fewer & fewer TBS out there, most these days seem to be determined to be eye candy that happens to include some words. YMMV, but that's how I feel about them.