Next Civilization Game Announced

[Telefrog]

Civ fans rejoice! Sid Meier announced that he is working on another Firaxis developed Civ game! Civilization Network (http://www.facebook.com/civnetwork) will be a free to play Facebook game. :confused:

I wanted to let you know we'll soon be looking for beta testers to help us develop a unique new way to play Civilization. Ever since we finished Civilization® Revolution™ last year, I've been looking at ways of expanding the Civ gameplay experience to include solo, competitive and cooperative play to take advantage of the uniqueness of social networks. We're calling this project Civilization® Network™ and the full game will be available next year on Facebook. Civilization Network will allow you to join together with your friends to create the world's most powerful, richest, smartest, or just plain coolest civilization. You can coordinate your strategy to win great battles, share your technology to jump ahead of your rivals, lobby your family and friends to form your own government and win vital elections, manage and grow your cities to maximize production and happiness, spy on your enemies, and work with your friends to create the great Wonders of the World. The game will offer everything you enjoy in Civ in a fully persistent environment - you can play as much as you like, whenever you like, and it'll be free to play.

Facebook games are normally criticized for being low-rent versions of Drug Warz or social networking ad smammers. Maybe this will be the Holy Grail for gamers and social marketing?

[Cit Phil Cit]

Meh. Give me Alpha Centauri Redux, standalone - or a version that dovetails from CIV IV space race victory - and then we can get excited about this.

[carnage11]

Free sounds good. Shit I play all those stupid apps on Facebook anyways. Bejeweled Blitz, Farmville, Mafia Wars, Barn Buddy, Fish World, etc. etc. lol

This will just be another time sink. That's what's sweet about Civ games though, you can play a little and come back later.

[DoctorFinger]

Civ 5 plz, kthkbye

[Hotcod]

i think a break to try something new is a cool thing to do, what ever happens they are going to learn a lot and maybe we'll see an expanded full on mmo like civ game in the future which could be awesome

[Chris_D]

The bar has been set pretty low so far for Facebook gaming so I'm sure this has a chance of being a huge hit. That doesn't mean I won't be blocking it if it starts spamming me via my friends.

[Vandabo]

I've said it many times before, but I'll repeat it again: I will blow Sid Meier for a new Alpha Centauri.

[CappinCanuck]

Okay, so that will take up the next month or two, what REAL project are you working on?

[Vigil80]

Civ 5 plz, kthkbyeOkay, so that will take up the next month or two, what REAL project are you working on?
QFMFT

Reading the thread title was like finding a winning symbol on a scratch-off ticket, and reading the actual post was like finding out said ticket was paid in pesos.

Sid, Sid, Sid, you're supposed to be a visionary, not an also-ran. For the first time my ambivalence toward "social networking" is transformed into enmity.

[SilentScreams]

I came into the thread all exited thinking they had announced Civ 5, instead we get a Facebook app.
While I do use Facebook, and have even played a bit of Mafia Wars, I can't actually see myself using this.

[Hotcod]

ya screw innervation and free things that could dramatically raise the bar for web based games just because it's using a social site as a platform to introduce social play!

[DoctorFinger]

Telefrog will die the death of a thousand screaming rats for the cruel joke he pulled with the headline

[Wraith]

Everyone wants to see civ 5, of course, but it's still nice to see Firaxis bringing civ to other platforms. I'm interested to see what they come up with. (Hopefully not just a quick and dirty civ 2 or 3 adaptation.)

[Whunpo]

Facebook and Civ. My two worst addictions. I'm scared. Somebody hold me?

[Hotcod]

Facebook and Civ. My two worst addictions. I'm scared. Somebody hold me?

ok.... but only 'cus you asked nicely

[Superman's Dead]

Actually...if they make it very similar to an MMO with a persistant 'world' and civilizations all entirely run by players, like a play-by-email version of the game...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

[Whunpo]

ok.... but only 'cus you asked nicely
Thanks, I think I'm going to be OK. :o
Actually...if they make it very similar to an MMO with a persistant 'world' and civilizations all entirely run by players, like a play-by-email version of the game...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Dude, I know. That sounds....fucking hot, to put it lightly.

[Vigil80]

It isn't that I think the idea at it's core is a bad one. I just believe that it's going to be hamstrung by being stuck on FB. Release it as a digital download or something.

FB is neat and all that, but does everyone have to fellate it all the time?

[carnage11]

Actually...if they make it very similar to an MMO with a persistant 'world' and civilizations all entirely run by players, like a play-by-email version of the game...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Yes this sounds fun, and very frustrating at the same time. Just think, logging onto Facebook first thing in the morning, only to find that your buddy stayed up all night and destroyed or conquered all of your cities.


It always pisses me off in Mafia Wars how I get attacked constantly, and if I don't bank my money it all gets stolen from me. I don't mind someone attacking 2-3 times to get xp, but damn 12 times and stole $700k? Yeah..I'm adding that bastard to the hit list. :p

[Ten19]

Facebook.

Seriously?

:|

[Deadend]

I am happy about this. Now I can counter-status spam my friends with a GOOD game.
I get where Firaxis is going, as Civ 4 was really complicated and had tons of shit, what would Civ 5 do? Add even more shit and dilute the core experience? Do they add more things to simulate? Urban Sprawl? Global Warming? Acid Raid? Damming Rivers and population relocation? Subsidization of aspects of the economy when involved in international trade? Diseases and immunities? Where do you stop?

I loved Civ Rev, as it pared the rules back to the fun stuff, yeah it was simplified, but it still had plenty of valid choices, which is what makes the Civ games good, having multiple choices and where there is no BEST choice every time.

Civ Rev, and Civ Facebook are important for Firaxis as it lets them contemplate what to do with the series.

[Wibble]

Aww, does this mean they aren't working on a real civ game? :(

"And after this... CIV FOR THE DS! AND THE iPHONE!" :'(

[SilentScreams]

Aww, does this mean they aren't working on a real civ game? :(

"And after this... CIV FOR THE DS! AND THE iPHONE!" :'(

Unfortunately, this is the way I see Civ going. It's getting more and more casual with every new release.
While I understand that they want to try new things, I don't think they should forget about the people who made Civ what it is.

[Ink Asylum]

"New Metroid Game Announced...


...for Nokia N-Gage."

Also, there is a Civ game for the iPhone already, I believe.

[Vandabo]

I am happy about this. Now I can counter-status spam my friends with a GOOD game.
I get where Firaxis is going, as Civ 4 was really complicated and had tons of shit, what would Civ 5 do? Add even more shit and dilute the core experience? Do they add more things to simulate? Urban Sprawl? Global Warming? Acid Raid? Damming Rivers and population relocation? Subsidization of aspects of the economy when involved in international trade? Diseases and immunities? Where do you stop?

I loved Civ Rev, as it pared the rules back to the fun stuff, yeah it was simplified, but it still had plenty of valid choices, which is what makes the Civ games good, having multiple choices and where there is no BEST choice every time.

Civ Rev, and Civ Facebook are important for Firaxis as it lets them contemplate what to do with the series.

Civ 4 actually simplified some aspects of the Civ, but it did add some new concepts at the same time. The thing is, I think it was the simplest Civ game to pick up and play yet.

And if they did a new Alpha Centauri, they could just increase the production values while keeping most of the same gameplay mechanics. Maybe just make up a new 'origin' story for the colony and go from there.

[SilentScreams]

Unfortunately, I think somebody else (EA?) is sitting on the Alpha Centauri IP at the moment, and if Firaxis aren't making it, then I don't want it.

And while Civ 4 was certainly easier to get into than Civ 3, it was also significantly more complex. It took a lot longer to master than Civ 3 for sure.

[MagGnome]

I just don't get this. Every Facebook game and app I've played is hardly interactive at all. Maybe I'm missing something, but the ones I've "played" can barely be called "games" - they are just a series of static screens, almost like a choose your own adventure book or something. Are there actually Facebook apps that use Flash or something and feel more like real games?

Edit - Also, I hate what Facebook has turned into. It was nice when it first came out, but ever since it went mainstream it's turned into a constant stream of spam and crap from all of my "friends".

[J Arcane]

Civ Rev is already on the DS, and the iPhone. And NGage has a modified port of CivII.

[Hotcod]

I just don't get this. Every Facebook game and app I've played is hardly interactive at all. Maybe I'm missing something, but the ones I've "played" can barely be called "games" - they are just a series of static screens, almost like a choose your own adventure book or something. Are there actually Facebook apps that use Flash or something and feel more like real games?

Edit - Also, I hate what Facebook has turned into. It was nice when it first came out, but ever since it went mainstream it's turned into a constant stream of spam and crap from all of my "friends".

farmville is interactive if stupid, bajewblitz is horidly addictive and there's a huge number of aps that are in essence just flash game sites with highscores. The limits you've ran in to have nothing to do with the medium but with the makers trying to do as little as they can to see returns

[MagGnome]

I must have just played the worst of the worst then, nevermind.

[Ink Asylum]

Does anyone know how to filter game announcements from friends in your Facebook stream? I want to see their real updates, not spam from whatever games they're all playing.

[SilentScreams]

I think if you click the cross on the notification it gives you the option to hide messages from that particular game.

[MagGnome]

The annoying part is that you have to do that for every game and every app. I think you can block them all in the options, which is what I should do.

[Ink Asylum]

Aha! Thanks for that tip. I've just blocked the games that pop up most frequently, like Mafia, Farmville, and Yoville. That should clear up the feed a bit.