Civilization V

[Wraith]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4842118277_c84ab5e330_b.jpg

Civilization V


RELEASE DATE: September 21, 2010


NEWS & PREVIEWS:


2010-03-11: Civ V interview: losing religion, and teaching the AI to lie (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=238687&site=pcg) (PC Gamer)
2010-03-10: Civilization V Preview (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3178285) (1UP)
2010-03-10: Civilization V Impressions - First Look (http://gdc.gamespot.com/story/6253246/civilization-v-impressions-first-look) (Gamespot)
2010-03-10: Impressions: Civilization V or 'I Wanna Hex You Up' (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/impressions-civilization-v-or-i-wanna-hex-you-up/) (Joystiq)
2010-03-10: Civilization V Preview: Small Changes, Big Differences (http://kotaku.com/5489814/civilization-v-preview-small-changes-big-differences) (Kotaku)
2010-03-10: Civilization V To Eradicate Road Spaghetti? (http://kotaku.com/5489834/civilization-v-to-eradicate-road-spaghetti) (Kotaku)
2010-03-09: Sid Meier's Civilization V Preview (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/sid-meiers-civilization-v-preview) (Eurogamer)
2010-03-09: Civilization V's Jon Shafer and Dennis Shirk Interview (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/civilization-v-interview) (Eurogamer)
2010-03-08: Civilization V Preview 2 (http://pc.ign.com/articles/107/1075587p1.html) (IGN)
2010-03-05: Civilization V Preview (http://pc.ign.com/articles/107/1074732p1.html) (IGN)
2010-03-03: Recent Civ5 Previews (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=355785) (Civ Fanatics)
2010-02-26: Debut Trailer (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-trailer-civilization-v/62387) (Gametrailers)
2010-02-18: Firaxis Press Release (http://www.firaxis.com/news/news_detail.php?id=761)
2010-02-18: Civilization V announced for autumn (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/civilization-v-announced-for-autumn) (Eurogamer)
2010-02-18: Civilization 5 Announced, Coming This Fall (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=15698) (CoG)


DETAILS:


18 Civilizations, 1 ruler each
Hex grid
City States
Ranged bombardment
Advisors
Mod-friendly
Multiplayer (internet, e-mail, LAN, hotseat)
In-game community hub


CIVS (LEADERS):

America (Washington)
Arabia (Harun al-Rashid)
Aztec (Montezuma)
China (Wu Zetian)
Egypt (Ramses)
England (Elizabeth)
France (Napoleon)
Germany (Bismarck)
Greece (Alexander)
India (Gandhi)
Iroquois (Hiawatha)
Japan (Oda Nobunaga)
Ottoman (Suleiman)
Persia (Darius)
Roman (Julius Caesar)
Russia (Catherine)
Siam (Ramkhamhaeng)
Songhai (Askia)


CITY STATES:

Budapest
Florence
Rio de Janeiro
Singapore
Venice


LINKS:


Official Site (http://www.civilization5.com/)
Firaxis (http://www.firaxis.com/)


SCREENS (Flickr Set (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/sets/72157623487338268/)):


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4378968075_71b791bf33_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4378968075/) http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4378967853_c419102a03_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4378967853/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2760/4379726842_c2f1ed95e2_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4379726842/) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/4378970671_f4d1e0d3d7_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4378970671/)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4060/4378968025_8660dd779e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4378968025/) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2788/4379723552_ce7c71b880_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4379723552/)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4379058721_a3e2e0a743_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4379058721/) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2735/4379813268_88d7a0a40d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4379813268/)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4379058437_a6f927ebc4_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4379058437/) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4420547110_90392b0398_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4420547110/in/set-72157623487338268)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4419779627_d258687955_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4419779627/in/set-72157623487338268) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2638/4420547028_57d9172c49_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4420547028/in/set-72157623487338268)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2701/4419779853_06f33710f8_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4419779853/in/set-72157623487338268) http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4419779793_0ec0fe3eec_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4419779793/in/set-72157623487338268)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2791/4419779837_9d529c3be8_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4419779837/in/set-72157623487338268) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2704/4419779775_6588aa964f_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4419779775/in/set-72157623487338268)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4419779809_a93d803777_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4419779809/in/set-72157623487338268) http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4422808853_8828455f12_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4422808853/)

[Dukefrukem]

2nd! ;)

[CappinCanuck]

2nd! ;)

Third!

P.s. I'm loving the hex after a few more screenshots.

[Drayven]

Where's my Civ:Rev 2 announcement :P

[Spectre-7]

Really loving the new visual style. I hope they bring Christopher Tin back for the theme song... I still queue up Baba Yetu every now and again, because there's something just a little magical about it.

[Cit Phil Cit]

Beep beep beep.

[Doogie2K]

I still want my fucking Alpha Centauri II.

That being said...this'll do. ;)

[J Arcane]

Where's my Civ:Rev 2 announcement :P
Not to rain on your parade, but I don't think that'll ever happen. No for a while at least. Much as I enjoyed the game, it seems like it didn't do that great, considering how quickly the price plummeted.

Still need to get it for my PS3 though, it's a nice break from regular Civ.

What I really wanna see is a Civ game for Android.

[Acidpoptart]

What I really wanna see is a Civ game for Android.

Oh god. That would be the end of me.

[Wraith]

Firaxis and Intel will show off the (apparently brand new) Civ5 engine at GDC.Firaxis, 2K Games, and Intel are pleased to present the world premiere game engine and technology sneak peek of Civilization V, launching this fall! You'll learn how Firaxis developers have used the newly released GPA 3.0 PC platform tools and Threading Building Blocks to offer Civ V playability on a myriad of systems; from the rapidly expanding mainstream mobile gaming market, all the way up to the multi-core high-end enthusiast demographic. Millions of Intel(R) Core i3, i5, and i7-based systems are ready to play - will your title scale?
GDC (https://www.cmpevents.com/GD10/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=10981), via Gamasutra (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26995/)

[J Arcane]

Oh my God, if Civ5 got ported to Android I would spooge myself.

Sadly it'll probably just be for the damn iPhone.

[Scull]

No Civ on the Android would be the death of me and my productivity. This must not happen.

[Wraith]

First trailer:

Announcement Trailer (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/062/062125/vids_1.html) (IGN)


Seeing if the embed works... Nope, either IGN isn't allowing embedding, or CoG's IGN video tag is broken.

[Wraith]

Now up on Gametrailers.

62388

[Purple Santa]

Where's my Civ:Rev 2 announcement :P

That comes out that will be my second trip to game rehab since the first one did me in too.

Maybe i'll have a new self built PC to play Civ V on :) Dare to dream...

[SilentScreams]

Anyone else notice in one of the screenshots that there are some archers shooting from range like siege weapons? That makes me happy. Finally archers will be able to do something other than cower in cities!

I wonder how borders work now. In one shot, the border expands 2 hexes out from the city one way, then 1 hex the other way. I was assuming that the cities workable area would just be the 18 hexes around it instead of the 20 in the old "fat cross" but I'm not so sure how the whole thing will work now.

[Farsight]

I assume culture will determine borders, like it did last time around.

[Darkmatter]

WTB Americans who acknowledge that Canada is a major country. PST!

[Doogie2K]

So now are we getting a bunch of celebrity voices for the tech quotes, instead of just Spock? I think I heard Morpheus as the first one.

[CappinCanuck]

WTB Americans who acknowledge that Canada is a major country. PST!

Hehe, it is and it's known but we're also too similar to Americans. I always add Canadians with a mod hehe. I can hope though, it'd be fun at least.

[J Arcane]

If you ask me, I've always felt Americans too were out of place in a game that starts in pre-history.

If present at all, they should be a possible name for a colony that rebels later in the game, not a starting civ.

[Panthera]

Yeah, really. Kind of like how Empire: Total War does it - a handful of the European nations have an emerging faction that can happen if their new world colonies rebel. United States, Mexico, New France, etc.

[MagGnome]

I'm going to be all over this game when it comes out. This has easily shot up to the top of my 2010 Games list, with Elemental being in a close second place.

[Xydarc]

So now are we getting a bunch of celebrity voices for the tech quotes, instead of just Spock? I think I heard Morpheus as the first one.
Sounded like David Keith to me. I hope Leonard Nimoy does some of them, he was great in IV.

[Saladin]

Sounded like David Keith to me.

Or possibly Keith David?

[Doogie2K]

Sounded like David Keith to me. I hope Leonard Nimoy does some of them, he was great in IV.

I listened again, and having just played the token Keith David conversation in Mass Effect 2 (in the early game anyway), I stand corrected. That is totally KD.

[Spectre-7]

David Keith:

http://tomlarson.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/david-keith.jpg?w=180&h=193

Keith David:

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/12499/keith.jpg

I've always wanted to cast them in a buddy cop movie together. Someday...

[Farsight]

"Kicking bad guy ass and taking names! David and Keith and Keith and David! Coming Fall 2010!"

[Hotcod]

To me it sounds more like there going to voice each of the leaders. All the quotes seem political in one way or another (wouldn't be surprised if there historical quotes either) rather than even the grandious spock ones. You also get a change in voice when you get a change in "civ"

[Wraith]

As long as they have the option to turn it off, I'd be fine with that. I'd imagine it could be annoying the umpteenth time another leader gripes when you won't join them in a war. But it could still be cool. I haven't actually listened to the audio of the trailer yet, but I wonder if they did voice the leaders, if they'd try to go for a realistic accent or how they'd handle it.

[Xydarc]

Or possibly Keith David?
You are correct sir. I always get that mixed up.

I listened again, and having just played the token Keith David conversation in Mass Effect 2 (in the early game anyway), I stand corrected. That is totally KD.
When I heard his voice in the trailer, I immediately thought "Counselor Anderson?".:D

[Wraith]

Civ Fanatics has some Civ V preview details (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=355785), from print magazines via their forum members. Sounds like major changes to how the game is played.

[SilentScreams]

Damn, they're not holding back. I think it's good that they are willing to take chances and implement such drastic changes. I just hope it doesn't backfire.
I'm glad tech trading is gone though. I won't miss having to constantly keep on top of who has what tech and trying to tip trades in my favour to get 2-3 techs for one of mine.

[Wraith]

Cities expanding one hex at a time, with certain terrain taking more effort to win, is certainly a major change. And up to 3 hexes in each direction for workable city radius. And only one defender inside a city.

[Wraith]

From one of the threads referenced in that post:6. New "Civilisation tree": This tree has a lot of astles, called "Social Policies". These astles contain certain paths, one of them is the path of "Tradition". Each of these astles gives a civ a certain advantage (per example special units). A civ can follow one of these paths strictly and make a deep progress in that tree on that path, but the civ can also follow parallel several different paths but doesn´t make such a deep progress in each of these paths.Not sure what they mean by "astles," but it sounds like the Civics system in Civ IV, changed to a tree structure.

[Spectre-7]

Not sure what they mean by "astles," but it sounds like the Civics system in Civ IV, changed to a tree structure.

Maybe they meant aisles? Not sure... I don't often say this, but the English skills in that thread were appalling.

[MagGnome]

They didn't say that there will only be one defender per city. They said that they will only be one unit per tile, which is a great change. Larger cities will be able to have more defenders if this is the case.

I'm so glad that unit stacking will be a thing of the past. Nothing is more annoying than attacking an enemy unit only to discover that those archers were hiding three catapults and a dozen other guys. Having everything viewable right there on the playing field is a HUGE change, and one that I wholeheartedly welcome. I think it will make the game a lot more strategic and take some of the emphasis off of just building as much as possible.

Edit - I am disappointed to here that religions are likely on the chopping block.

Also, "boni" as a plural for bonus is hilarious.

[Spectre-7]

Ahhhh... I miss holding off a bombing raid with the 30+ warriors I'd stacked and forgotten about a few millennia before.

[Hotcod]

battle lines! exactly what I wanted to hear. I think they are trying to get most of the conflict from out of cites and in to the land scape. It was damn annoying being unable to hold a choke point if one big stack of units happened to slip by you and so on.

[J Arcane]

Yeah, the "one unit per tile" thing is probably a good thing for the combat. It forces actual battle lines, reduces the amount of build up needed to succeed in war, and prevents pure human wave tactics. Now they just need a zone of control mechanic and they'll be all set.

Civ4 combat always seemed to wind up boiling down to "build a shitload of units more advanced then the other guy, then hammer their cities until they're all dead" for offense, and "just put a bunch of guys in there and load up on defense improvements" for defense.

[SilentScreams]

My only fear is you'll eventually get to the point where you can't see any of the land because every hex is loaded with a military unit. If armies get as big as they do on Civ 4, then it won't take long at all for that to happen.

[MagGnome]

battle lines! exactly what I wanted to hear. I think they are trying to get most of the conflict from out of cites and in to the land scape. It was damn annoying being unable to hold a choke point if one big stack of units happened to slip by you and so on.

Choke points? There's no such thing in the Civilization games. :p


Yeah, the "one unit per tile" thing is probably a good thing for the combat. It forces actual battle lines, reduces the amount of build up needed to succeed in war, and prevents pure human wave tactics. Now they just need a zone of control mechanic and they'll be all set.

Civ4 combat always seemed to wind up boiling down to "build a shitload of units more advanced then the other guy, then hammer their cities until they're all dead" for offense, and "just put a bunch of guys in there and load up on defense improvements" for defense.

It wasn't just Civ 4 - 3 was like that as well and I'm pretty sure 1 and 2 also featured that kind of combat "strategy". I've always felt that the combat in the Civ games was very weak, so I'm glad to see they are overhauling the entire system. The possibilities are very exciting!

I wonder what this means for nukes? Hopefully you can have another unit on the same tile as a nuclear weapon or other similar devices. I also hope that workers can occupy the same space as military units.


My only fear is you'll eventually get to the point where you can't see any of the land because every hex is loaded with a military unit. If armies get as big as they do on Civ 4, then it won't take long at all for that to happen.

I don't think that will be a problem. The tiles in Civ 5 appear to be much larger than those in previous Civ games, so having a unit on a tile shouldn't obscure the landscape like it did before.

[Wraith]

They didn't say that there will only be one defender per city. They said that they will only be one unit per tile, which is a great change. Larger cities will be able to have more defenders if this is the case.I meant in the particular hex the city occupies. The link said that new units have to move out of the city as soon as they're built, so I figured that meant one defender in the city's hex. Though you'd probably keep a number of defenders around your city / in its radius (though it's not strictly a radius anymore).

Unless we get cities that occupy multiple hexes or something, which would mean more defenders per city, but still one per hex.

[MagGnome]

I meant in the particular hex the city occupies. The link said that new units have to move out of the city as soon as they're built, so I figured that meant one defender in the city's hex. Though you'd probably keep a number of defenders around your city / in its radius (though it's not strictly a radius anymore).

Unless we get cities that occupy multiple hexes or something, which would mean more defenders per city, but still one per hex.

It says that cities occupy more tiles as they grow. It also says that only one unit is allowed per tile.

Thus I came to the conclusion that larger cities, with multiple tiles, can have multiple units defending them. :p

[Wraith]

I thought that meant the city's "radius" of workable hexes grows one at a time, though the city itself just occupies a single hex.

Well, regardless, a single unit per tile changes city defense quite a bit. If you let a bunch of enemy units get too close to your city, you don't have a stack of defenders to fall back on.

[MagGnome]

Either way it's a welcome change, IMHO. In the previous games it was impossible to conquer a larger city without a ton of units. That makes some logical sense, but moving that many units was a complete pain in the neck. I hope that these new changes will lead to more strategy and less unit-spamming.

[DeathtollWRX]

I didn't mind having to build 40 mechanized infantry to crack a city. Now only one unit per hex. That's going to change the game too much! Having to rethink how to play a sequel is new to me :)

Actual battle lines? Color me interested.. Not trading for tech is gonna not be cool. I loved pounding my enemies with superior infantry to get better techology in other fields I did not research.

[Wraith]

IGN preview (http://pc.ign.com/articles/107/1074732p1.html), covers some of the same info we've seen already.


influenced by Panzer General (hex grid, one unit per hex)
combat focus on movement/position outside of cities
greater focus on diplomacy than previous Civs
unaligned city states
removed religion, espionage systems
influenced by Civ Rev - cleaner interface, advisors, but no cartoony look/feel
improved event notifications
more accessible, still deep, detailed as PC Civ should be
highly moddable; in-game browser for community content/interaction


And: Be sure to check back with IGN next week as we reveal exclusive new details on the game design and overall content of the new game.

[CappinCanuck]

removed religion, espionage systems


This makes me happy. Founding a couple religions and building the wonder that gives you gold per city with that religion was way too powerful IMO.

[J Arcane]

I never minded religion, and I hope someone mods it back in in some capacity, albeit maybe one with player naming.

Espionage sucked ass though as implemented, as all it was was an added vector to drain funds from everything else you already had to keep up with. It was neat some of the things you could do, but most of them were uselessly temporary, and they could've easily been done without tacking on a whole new tax category and points.

I haven't seen any mention of dumping corporations yet though, and that worries me. Those were the worst of all the additions to the game. The only way to prevent them from becoming a net drain on your country was to micromanage the hell out of them and farm all the satellite offices over seas. The computer never built them, either for lack of AI, or for good AI, and I never build them. They added nothing to the game, so unless they've fixed them considerably, I hope they've been dumped too.

[Wraith]

I never minded religion, and I hope someone mods it back in in some capacity, albeit maybe one with player naming.

Espionage sucked ass though as implemented, as all it was was an added vector to drain funds from everything else you already had to keep up with. It was neat some of the things you could do, but most of them were uselessly temporary, and they could've easily been done without tacking on a whole new tax category and points.

I haven't seen any mention of dumping corporations yet though, and that worries me. Those were the worst of all the additions to the game. The only way to prevent them from becoming a net drain on your country was to micromanage the hell out of them and farm all the satellite offices over seas. The computer never built them, either for lack of AI, or for good AI, and I never build them. They added nothing to the game, so unless they've fixed them considerably, I hope they've been dumped too.I've seen the AI build corporations, and spread them to my cities.

I liked the religion feature, especially for the culture boost and extra money it brought in. And it added to the diplomatic aspect, with others loving / hating your Civ, depending on your religion (though they could've balanced that a bit, with more varying degrees).

[Panthera]

I think religions work fine within the context of Civilization IV, which really has to be looked at as a whole. The balance of it is actually quite different from previous games. There's no reason why a new Civilization game - especially one so radically different - has to define itself by what it does and doesn't carry over from the previous one in the series.

[DoctorFinger]

To me the religions gave you an extra reason to really push for some of the non-military Techs.

[J Arcane]

As well as, in the expansions, offering a much more achievable early game victory.

I always found the military option to be a difficult victory to ensure in early game, to do the small difference in stats between units.

[Wraith]

IGN has a more lengthy preview (http://pc.ign.com/articles/107/1075587p1.html) now, with new screenshots.

Taking a look at it now...

[Panthera]

God those screenshots are beautiful. I love how hex-based terrain looks.

[Wraith]

A lot of good info in that article, some expanding on changes mentioned previously.


Having a defender in your city's hex is optional. City will defend itself, improved with buildings/tech.


One unit per hex makes terrain more important in combat.


Tactics of keeping ranged units protected from melees. Ranged units can soften up melee defenders (and city defenses?), while saying off the front lines.


Can swap adjacent units (move one up to the front line, bringing the other back to heal).


Civ AIs have four levels of strategy. Lowest to highest: Tactical (controls units in battle), Operational (chooses battles to fight, makes units available), Strategic (manages city building, production), Grand Strategic (chooses victory condition to pursue).


City-states can be captured, but offer more benefits if they're independent, but friendly. Can spur conflict between civs competing for their bonuses.


Each civ leader has a flavor. Preference for certain tactics (expansion, naval warfare, conquest, etc.). Level of flavor adjusted randomly when game starts. (If base flavor is an 8, may start anywhere from 6 to 10.) Can change based on context.


Each leader also has unique traits. (Not like Civ IV, where some leaders had the same traits.) None specified yet.


Diplomacy screen full 3D environment (not just a backdrop). Leaders speak in their own languages. Have different personalities (example of different leader responses when you defeat a civ).


Research pact between civs. Costs cash up front. 15% boost to research, 20 turns. Can be broken off by war.


One luxury resource hex is enough for your whole civ to benefit (trade the rest), but resource hexes have limited use. One iron deposit lets you build/maintain 5 iron-based units. Need more resources for more units.


Borders grow one hex at a time, based on culture. "Good" tiles (more food) are easier to earn than "bad" tiles (forest, mountains).


No city defections, but border tensions can spur conflict with neighbors.


Geographic variations for terrain. Culture-specific music. War and peace playlists.


Terrain-specific sounds. And if unit falls in one type of terrain, it sounds specific to that terrain. Positional sounds (for surround sound systems).



And we know the large majority of the 18 civs & leaders in the game now (only one leader per civ), and a few of the independent city-states.

CIVS (LEADERS):

America (Washington)
Arabia (Harun al-Rashid)
Aztec (Montezuma)
China (Wu Zetian)
Egypt (Ramses)
England (Elizabeth... though some articles reference Victoria)
France (Napoleon)
Germany (Bismarck)
India (Gandhi)
Japan (Oda Nobunaga)
Mongol (Genghis Khan)
Ottoman (Suleiman)
Roman (Julius Caesar)
Russia (Catherine)
Songhai (Askia)
Viking?
TBA
TBA


CITY STATES:

Singapore
Rio de Janeiro
Budapest
Florence

[Hotcod]

One of the biggest changes to the game is the new one-unit-per-hex restriction. Previous Civ games have been dominated by the "stack of doom" where players create an unstoppable super unit by piling all of their units in a single square. That strategy is not available in Civ V, which should, the designers reason, pull combat away from the cities. Now when an invading army enters your territory, you'll want to send your spearmen and warriors and swordsmen out to fight them in the fields around your towns. Cities will automatically defend themselves now, and can benefit from increased defense based on certain structures or technologies, so you don't necessarily need to garrison a unit for defense but you can if you want to.

It sounds reaaaaaaaaly really good to me! The way they are dealing with the AI is rather damn cool.

[Wraith]

Eurogamer interview (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/civilization-v-interview?page=1) with lead designer Jon Shafer and producer Dennis Shirk. And preview here (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/sid-meiers-civilization-v-preview).

[Wraith]

Ooh, we get to see a little bit of the (probably pre-alpha) interface in the background of this Eurogamer pic. Smallish version below. Click here (http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/1/0/0/2/0/2/8/Dennis_Shirk_Civ_V_Producer.jpg.jpg) for huge res.

http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/1/0/0/2/0/2/8/ss_preview_Dennis_Shirk_Civ_V_Producer.jpg.jpg

[Wraith]

Cropped:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2691/4420215733_fda3f6a2f4_o.jpg

We see:


Top left: science, gold, culture, health/happiness?. Not sure what the "0/500" thing is.
Bottom left: selected unit (Settler) icon, name, movement. Primary action buttons (build, ?, goto, sleep), with button for showing Secondary Actions.
Bottom right: "Skip unit's turn"?
Center right: Foreign advisor suggestion dialog. "Explore the World: Consider sending your Warrior to explore new territory."
Top right: Turn count, current year, ?. Diplomacy options?
Gameplay: We see a settler unit on the map. Nice view of mountain range.


From the preview:But something that only really struck me after watching the demonstration, taking notes and going home to have another scout around Civ IV, was the organisation of the icons on the screen. With your options aligned along the left-hand side of the screen, rather than in a blue-backed panel on the bottom with swathes of empty space around square icons. The most common use of the unit (say, Build City for Settlers) is bigger than the rest, and lesser used icons (say, delete unit) are hidden in a sub-menu.

[Wraith]

About one-unit-per-tile:Jon Shafer: Have you played Panzer General? It's kind of a similar situation. You have ground units, and air units. You also have hexes and one-unit-per-tile. We've got three layers of units - civilian units can stack with military together. You can have a worker unit and a warrior unit on the same tile, but not two of either.

Dennis Shirk: Units take longer to build now, they're more expensive, and they're a lot more important to you, because you need to keep them alive. You can't just spam tons and tons of units. You could before, but we wanted to make it more interesting. So you have to make more decisions, advance in technology faster, and work towards building stronger units.So... are the three layers Ground units, Air units, Civilian units? You could have a fighter, a tank, and a settler on the same tile?

[MagGnome]

About one-unit-per-tile:So... are the three layers Ground units, Air units, Civilian units? You could have a fighter, a tank, and a settler on the same tile?

That's what I'm guessing. It makes sense that way.

The changes to the combat are fantastic, to say the least. Combat has always been my least favorite part of the Civilization games, and now it sounds like it's actually fun and strategic, which it never was before.

[Hotcod]

I do love the amount of screen real estate they are trying to free up. If they can slim down the options show on screen in a way that makes sense than it will make me a very happy man.

[MagGnome]

I agree. Civ IV has too many unnecessary little icons on the screen. It makes it hard to find the options that I need.

Then again, that might be because I play the game at 1920x1080. :D

[Wraith]

Joystiq Preview (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/impressions-civilization-v-or-i-wanna-hex-you-up/)

Kotaku Preview (http://kotaku.com/5489814/civilization-v-preview-small-changes-big-differences), and a bit on roads in Civ V (http://kotaku.com/5489834/civilization-v-to-eradicate-road-spaghetti).

[Wraith]

And more previews from 1UP (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3178285) and Gamespot (http://gdc.gamespot.com/story/6253246/civilization-v-impressions-first-look).

[Wraith]

From the Gamespot preview, a bit of combat:The combat demonstration we watched showed a land invasion of America along two fronts, with enemy spearmen guarding General Washington's town on both sides. Our ranks consisted mainly of warriors, spearmen, and a few archers, and though our relatively weaker warriors unfortunately started on the front lines ahead of our spearmen, we were able to use Civ V's new switch move order to have the two units swap positions, and then we pit our spearmen against theirs. Those crafty Americans set themselves up behind a river, which gave their units a natural terrain bonus, but we softened up our foes with a volley of arrows from a stack of archers placed atop a nearby hill. By softening up our foes and weakening their remaining health, we effectively reduced their terrain advantage and were able to mop them up with our own spearmen, which were at full strength. Meanwhile, on the western end of the border, our troops encountered worse luck. Washington had built his empire around a one-hex-wide choke point in the mountains and blocked it off with spearmen backed up by archers. Because only one unit can occupy any one hex at any given time, there was no way to pass through the mountains without going through the enemy spearmen--cases like these will require your own archers (and other ranged units) to soften up the front lines. However, archers themselves will be extremely fragile and can be easily decimated if they're engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

And as it happens, in Civ V, units may no longer be garrisoned inside your cities, so defending your holdings will have two aspects. One--all cities will automatically defend themselves based on their current growth level and any defensive structures you may have built inside. Two--you'll want to make sure you defend your key cities with army units, possibly building fort structures nearby to enhance your defenses. This task may or may not be as impossible as it sounds since Civ V's "conquest" victory condition has been tweaked to require you to capture all enemy capital cities, as opposed to capturing every single city on the map. Again, these are big changes and are really pretty bold--but they seem like they could add real depth and exciting new direction to the series. Oh, and one last note--although Civ IV's religion system (which was met with mixed reactions) won't be making a comeback, we're assured by Firaxis that the feature wasn't simply cut without any plans for other new features to replace it.

[SilentScreams]

Every time I see new screenies of this game, I'm blown away by how good the terrain looks now, especially those snow capped mountain ranges.

I suppose it's a good sign for Civ V that I no longer feel like playing Civ IV, because they have already outlined a bunch of new features that I now feel like I can't play without...

[Whunpo]

Every time I see new screenies of this game, I'm blown away by how good the terrain looks now, especially those snow capped mountain ranges.

I suppose it's a good sign for Civ V that I no longer feel like playing Civ IV, because they have already outlined a bunch of new features that I now feel like I can't play without...

Geez, same here. While reading about Civ V, I just feel like "Why bother playing Civ IV now?" But then I remember that the game is cocaine, and I put the disc back in.

[MagGnome]

I'm really curious as to how Capitals are going to work this time around, given the changes to the Conquest victory condition.

If you lose your Capital, are you eliminated from the game, or will you be able to recapture it? Obviously your Capital will no longer be moving to another city if your current one is captured. I wonder if you can switch Capitals, as you could in previous games by building a palace?

[SilentScreams]

I guess losing your capital probably won't mean game over unless the guy who takes it has everybody else's at the same time for the Conquest win.
That's pure speculation of course. I mean, we don't know if you can raze cities now or not. If you can, it'd make it pretty hard to win it back...
Then again, look at Civ IV...if you lose your capital, chances are you're having a very bad game anyway. I can count on one hand the number of times I've lost such an important city and managed to get the win.

[MagGnome]

Good point. Losing a capital is often game over in Civilization.

[Wraith]

Civ Fanatics has a preview roundup (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=356719), and from the forums, a pretty comprehensive list of confirmed civs/leaders/features/etc (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=355156).

[Hotcod]

Good point. Losing a capital is often game over in Civilization.

I think it will more likely taking and holding a given number of the capitals on the map. So out of the 8 players you need to have control of 6 of the capitals to win and maybe you have to hold those for a given amount of time. What it would mean is that if you lose your capital you are not out of the game and you could try and retake it.

In fact it might be in the interests of the other players to help you. If your loss has put some one in sight of the winning goal then the other players maybe inclined to help you take your city back blocking the other guys win. Of course they could try and take it for them selfs or turn on you once you've gotten it back but it provides for some much more interesting options.

It would also stop a rush to cap capital cites, since you'd be all but surrounded by the players cities and armies if you just went for there capital. So while you wouldn't have to capture other cites to win it would make strategic sense to take cites on your march to the capital to weaken his forces and secure your flanks. Taking cites would also benefit you in other ways too.

Mixed with the new unit make up it looks like we are going to see a real boost to strategic play while at the same time bring the "kill every one" way of winning more in to line with the other ways of winning.

As for if you get a new capital when you lose yours then the only thing I can suggest is you get a kind of "government in exile" so you get a city that acts like a capital but does not count towards a victory if taken.

[MagGnome]

I'm curious about another thing as well - if you lose your capital, will you be able to build a palace in another one of your cities and make that your capital instead? I sort of doubt it, given the new victory condition.

I have so many questions!

[Wraith]

PC Gamer interview (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=238687&site=pcg)

Religion system was cut because it didn't mesh with their new take on diplomacy. They want AI civs to care more about how you act towards them, not what religion you're running.

And the AI can sometimes act nice, then stab you in the back.


One example I mentioned before was if you settle near an AI, they ask you to please not do it, and you have the opportunity to tell them, 'Don't worry, we'll be nice,' or 'We don't care what you think, whatever'. And if you're more direct, then that's something that people recognise, but they won't hold it against you. But if you say that you're going to be nice, and then you go back on your word, then that's a much more serious incident and players will take notice of that. The AI can also perform in that same manner, where they'll respond to you and say, "Oh, we're just passing through, don't worry about it," and then they'll attack you.
And a bit more on city-states: I was playing an excellent game the other day. City states that are close to your borders are candidates for you to take, because they give very good resources. I ended up taking a neighbouring city state, and that immediately sparked off a war with another civilization that was getting benefits from being friends with that city state. That war went on for some 200 years, with them trying to liberate the city state and me trying to keep and claim what I felt was mine.

[Wraith]

Civilization V goes classy with its special edition (http://www.destructoid.com/civilization-v-goes-classy-with-its-special-edition-178634.phtml) (Destructoid)

http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/178634-CivV.jpgWhen Civilization V journeys to retail outlets on September 21, you'll have the opportunity to get the $99.99 version in North America. Quite a jump in price, isn't it? This is what the extra cash gets you:


5 metal figurines by Reaper Miniatures
A 2-disc CD soundtrack
A behind-the-scenes DVD (oh joy!)
Most importantly, a 176-page hardcover art book
Is that a mech?

[ShivaX]

Civilization V goes classy with its special edition (http://www.destructoid.com/civilization-v-goes-classy-with-its-special-edition-178634.phtml) (Destructoid)

http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/178634-CivV.jpgIs that a mech?

Ummm... Yeah it sure is.

Not sure how I feel about that.

[Wraith]

Bit larger res at Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/5583378/civilization-v-develops-snazzy-100-edition):

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/07/classy.jpg

[Doogie2K]

Ummm... Yeah it sure is.

Not sure how I feel about that.

Look like different infantry units through history, with the Mech presumably being the Future Tech endgame dealie.

[ShivaX]

Look like different infantry units through history, with the Mech presumably being the Future Tech endgame dealie.

Presumably, but that doesn't excuse fantasy units in Civilization.

If you want to go with "Full Spectrum Warrior" or whatever thats fine. Throwing a fucking mech in there doesn't mesh with reality or even "gonna happen soon". I've been annoyed by Fusion Power being in the games for quite sometime, especially since by Civ's standards we should've developed it in the 90's sometime along with the Cure for Cancer.

But I can forgive Fusion Power because it could be close. I can't forgive mechs since they're not even remotely close. Hell Powered Armor or something is far more plausible. Exoskeletons. Not Jenners. I can understand wanting something past "Infantry" or "Mechanized Infantry". The easy solution would be "Modern Infantry" to show the vast difference between say a WWI soldier or Panzer Grenadier and a modern US soldier (you know like Modern Armor shows the gap between Shermans and Abrams).

I mean will there be orbital weapons? Starships? Rail guns?

[J Arcane]

Someone didn't play Beyond the Sword . . .

[Vigil80]

I never counted on Civ to be ultra-realistic, anyway. It hasn't been that long ago that we had spearmen poking tanks to death. I like having some futuristic units available. Why should Civ stop at our present?

Besides, if it's anything like the previous games, I'm sure it won't be long before there are unit changing/replacing mods.

Someday I want them to make a Civ game that switches over to something like Galactic Civilizations once you pass the space age. Conquered the planet? That's good for a start.

[J Arcane]

I want Spore, but turn based and with a bit more Civ4-ish hardcoreness.

[Vigil80]

Yeah, I suppose I did just describe what Spore was supposed to be, didn't I?

I'm concerned about them giving the AI the ability to "lie." AI is never as good as it sounds like it will be, and continuously having games where the AI always lies sounds rather tedious.

[SilentScreams]

Weren't the Mechs in BTS optional? As in you had to play a specific game type to have them available?

[Vigil80]

Come to think of it, I haven't seen any mechs, either. And I bought Civ4 Complete.

[SilentScreams]

I'm fairly sure it was an official mod that came with BTS. I'd have to load it up to check though.

[ShivaX]

Weren't the Mechs in BTS optional? As in you had to play a specific game type to have them available?

Well they sure as hell weren't in the base game.

Mods can do whatever.

[MagGnome]

I don't really mind having futuristic units in the end game, as Civ has never been all that realistic anyway.

I'll be passing on the collector's edition though.

[Stoke]

I don't recall mechs being part of BTS but I always play a custom game. I'll have to check and see if theirs a mech game type this afternoon as I think it would add a bit of fun. I would have no problem with future tech being in Civ V, even if it's not plausible for the near future.

[J Arcane]

Next War adds a "future age" to the game, which includes a mech that you can build only three of but is uber as hell.

[MagGnome]

How many spearmen does it take to kill a Mech? One or two? :p

[Wraith]

Box art:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4842118277_c84ab5e330_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/easytotype/4842118277/)

[ClannerDelta]

That box art is quite terrible. Also, that T34 is going to rape those archers. :p

[Vigil80]

Not the worst I've seen. The game's concept isn't the easiest to convey. Looks like it could be a poster hanging in some kind of museum, which is appropriate.

[Doogie2K]

That box art is quite terrible. Also, that T34 is going to rape those archers. :p

That's what you think. Remember the spearman!

[SilentScreams]

Not the worst I've seen. The game's concept isn't the easiest to convey. Looks like it could be a poster hanging in some kind of museum, which is appropriate.

I'd actually buy this cover in poster form.

I don't mind it, but I think they could have gone with a "less is more" approach to the cover. It's a bit too busy. It's not like Civ needs to advertise itself to anyone at this point.

[SilentScreams]

So apparently there will be a demo in September "before the game is released".

Probably a good move, since Civ V sounds quite different to anything we've seen before in Civ.

[Telefrog]

The system requirements (http://www.civilization5.com/#/community/system_requirements) have been published.

System Requirements

Operating System: Windows XP SP3/ Windows Vista SP2/ Windows 7
Processor: Dual Core CPU
Memory: 2GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB Free
DVD-ROM Drive: Required for disc-based installation
Video: 256 MB ATI HD2600 XT or better, 256 MB nVidia 7900 GS or better, or Core i3 or better integrated graphics
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX version 9.0c

Recommended System Requirements

Operating System: Windows Vista SP2/ Windows 7
Processor: 1.8 GHz Quad Core CPU
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB Free
DVD-ROM Drive: Required for disc-based installation
Video: 512 MB ATI 4800 series or better, 512 MB nVidia 9800 series or better
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX version 11
Other Requirements: Initial installation requires one-time Internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client, Microsoft Visual C++2008 Runtime Libraries and Microsoft DirectX.

Fairly beefy.

A lot of people had issues with Civ IV at launch because it required a better GPU than the integrated processor that many of them had. Eventually, it sorted out as the low-end consumer systems caught up, but I wonder if these requirements will hurt Civ V?

[Drayven]

I'm currently sporting a 7800gt so I have a feeling my machine might struggle. Anyone know if there's gonna be a release day version for the mac like through Steam or something?

[JayK47]

What the hell? A quad core and a 9800 GT for a damn civ game? 8 gigs? Sounds more like Crysis than civ. They are going to alienate most of their fans with this unoptimized crap. Well, I have one more reason to pass on this.

[Farsight]

A quad core and a 9800 GT for a damn civ game? 8 gigs?

That's recommended, not required. It just means they can make use of it.

It's a turn-based strategy game, there's a wide gulf between "best possible" and "playable".

[Telefrog]

That's recommended, not required. It just means they can make use of it.

It's a turn-based strategy game, there's a wide gulf between "best possible" and "playable".

Well, that's a bit optimistic. Civ IV ran like complete crap on the minimum "required" specs when it launched. (In fact, most games' minimum specs lead to the same frustration.) I predict the same pattern here.

[J Arcane]

I wouldn't worry about the video in a Civ game.

Worry about your CPU. Civ IV was very CPU intensive for the same reason games like Dwarf Fortress and SimCity4 can still drag down high end machines.

There's just a lot of shit going on at once, and that takes some juice in the CPU to manage at any effective speed.

[J Arcane]

That's recommended, not required. It just means they can make use of it.

It's a turn-based strategy game, there's a wide gulf between "best possible" and "playable".
Right. I played Civ IV on a 1Ghz Athlon with a Radeon 7200. I wouldn't recommend it, but it was playable, it just meant the duration between turns could be rather long. I still played the death out of it though.

I'm sure this will be playable on minimum specs, it just won't be for the impatient.

[biosc1]

I'm just happy that it looks like I can play it on my netbook. Civ 4 plays just fine, so 5 may just need some bells & whistles reduced and patience between turns ;)

[Hotcod]

There's some kind of "strategic view" that vastly reduce graphic detail. No idea if you can play the game fully in that mode but I see no reason why not

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/08/500x_civ_v_hands-on_preview_iv.jpg

http://kotaku.com/5602257/400-turns-of-civilization-v

[SilentScreams]

The recommended specs are about what I was expecting. I'm good to go. Now just release the demo please.

[MagGnome]

I make the recommended just fine. :D

That's a good feeling!

[Wraith]

There have been a bunch of previews posted this week.


Kotaku: 400 Turns Of Civilization V (http://kotaku.com/5602257/400-turns-of-civilization-v) (The link Hotcod posted.)
ExtremeTech: Civilization V: A First Look (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2367392,00.asp)
Joystiq: Preview: Civilization 5 in under an hour (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/05/preview-civilization-5-in-under-an-hour/)
Destructoid: Hands-on: Sid Meier's Civilization V (http://www.destructoid.com/hands-on-sid-meier-s-civilization-v-180840.phtml)
Shacknews: Civilization 5 Hands-on Preview (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/65017)
IGN: Civilization V Preview (http://pc.ign.com/articles/111/1110263p1.html)
GiantBomb: Civil Service: The Road to Civ V (http://www.giantbomb.com/civil-service-the-road-to-civ-v/17-3013/)

[SilentScreams]

Thanks for those links Hotcod and Wraith. Also thanks for nothing! The wait was already too hard. :)

[Vigil80]

I'm looking forward to this more and more. I'm rather impressed by the UI. It does appear as streamlined as advertised. From the screenshots, it seems to relay a lot of information without looking like a spreadsheet. But more than that, I'm also pleased by the art style. The unit icons are large and appealing, and remind me of art in posters from the 1940s or so.

I'm a little disappointed that they scrapped the planet view, though. Given that the landscapes look more like aerial photographs than ever, it would have been quite pretty.

I can't wait to stay up for a couple days playing this when it comes out. :D

[Vyzov]

There's some kind of "strategic view" that vastly reduce graphic detail. No idea if you can play the game fully in that mode but I see no reason why not

I'm not sure where it was mentioned but you can play the game from the strategic view.

[Doogie2K]

Wow, DX11 support. Nice. What the heck for, I wonder?

For me, I can "only" do whatever DX10 shit they put in there. I'll live. I meet the recommended other than lack of DX11.

[JayK47]

A turned base strategy game should run on a majority of gaming PCs. My PC is not even 3 years old and I am just over minimum. I don't want to chug through the game or have every possible feature turned off. I may as well keep playing Civ 4. I remember playing Civ 2 on the Playstation, and by end game, the computers turn took anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to finish. So if that is acceptable gameplay, then I am not surprised I need the latest and greatest PC to run Civ 5. Ridiculous. So did they plan this, or did it just happen? "Oh damn, we forgot to optimize it. Oh well, release it!" Duh.

[Vigil80]

The recommended specs don't seem that bad to me. They sound middle-of-the-road, except possibly for the CPU and DX11. But I doubt that it's going to look like a totally different game in DX11 than in 10, or even 9.

[Farsight]

A turned base strategy game should run on a majority of gaming PCs.

Who says it won't?

My PC is not even 3 years old and I am just over minimum. I don't want to chug through the game or have every possible feature turned off. I may as well keep playing Civ 4. I remember playing Civ 2 on the Playstation, and by end game, the computers turn took anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to finish. So if that is acceptable gameplay, then I am not surprised I need the latest and greatest PC to run Civ 5. Ridiculous. So did they plan this, or did it just happen? "Oh damn, we forgot to optimize it. Oh well, release it!" Duh.

You're making a lot of very premature assumptions in order to throw a fit.

[J Arcane]

Who says it won't?



You're making a lot of very premature assumptions in order to throw a fit.
Sorry you're so ignorant. ;)

[CappinCanuck]

A turned base strategy game should run on a majority of gaming PCs. My PC is not even 3 years old and I am just over minimum. I don't want to chug through the game or have every possible feature turned off. I may as well keep playing Civ 4. I remember playing Civ 2 on the Playstation, and by end game, the computers turn took anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to finish. So if that is acceptable gameplay, then I am not surprised I need the latest and greatest PC to run Civ 5. Ridiculous. So did they plan this, or did it just happen? "Oh damn, we forgot to optimize it. Oh well, release it!" Duh.

Not all PCs sold in 2007/2008 were the same model. Mine's of the same year and fairly over the recommended, but I would still hardly call those requirements the 'latest and greatest.' I would recommend you just stick with Civ4 if you're so worried about it.

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased. I don't know how far off 6 is but I'm guessing this will be it for a number of years. I'm glad they scaled it higher for more longevity.

[MagGnome]

Why does it matter if the game is turn-based or not? There are still a LOT of calculations being made, so it makes sense that a beefier processor will help the game run significantly better.

[SilentScreams]

Why does it matter if the game is turn-based or not? There are still a LOT of calculations being made, so it makes sense that a beefier processor will help the game run significantly better.

I guess the point is that you don't need to be pulling 60 frames per second to play the game, because you don't need fast reactions.

Honestly though, those specs are pretty low. To call them the "latest and greatest" is laughable.

[ShivaX]

A turned base strategy game should run on a majority of gaming PCs. My PC is not even 3 years old and I am just over minimum. I don't want to chug through the game or have every possible feature turned off. I may as well keep playing Civ 4. I remember playing Civ 2 on the Playstation, and by end game, the computers turn took anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to finish. So if that is acceptable gameplay, then I am not surprised I need the latest and greatest PC to run Civ 5. Ridiculous. So did they plan this, or did it just happen? "Oh damn, we forgot to optimize it. Oh well, release it!" Duh.

So it runs on your PC and you're complaining it should run on your PC?

As far as a gaming PC those numbers are pretty damned low.

[J Arcane]

Why does it matter if the game is turn-based or not? There are still a LOT of calculations being made, so it makes sense that a beefier processor will help the game run significantly better.
IME, turn-based games, and games that use a turn-based ruleset underneath a real-time frame, tend to be the most CPU intensive games, because they involve a fair deal more random calculations in the course of a turn.

NWN and Dwarf Fortress come to mind here.

[biosc1]

IME, turn-based games, and games that use a turn-based ruleset underneath a real-time frame, tend to be the most CPU intensive games, because they involve a fair deal more random calculations in the course of a turn.

NWN and Dwarf Fortress come to mind here.

and chess games. Chess games from various developers used to bring my PCs to their knees over the years.

ps..you should try the new DF, it seems to run much better on lower specs (could be just me though).

[MagGnome]

That's what I was thinking as well.

Although would you really classify Dwarf Fortress as turn-based? I thought it was entirely real time?

[Panthera]

NWN is a terrible example. RPG mechanics might as well not exist as far as CPU burden is concerned. Stuff like movement plotting, AI decision-making and line of sight calculations are the real burdens, all of which are trivial in NWN.

[biosc1]

That's what I was thinking as well.

Although would you really classify Dwarf Fortress as turn-based? I thought it was entirely real time?

depends on how slow you computer is...and your cat population.

[MagGnome]

Ha! Good point. I really need to start up DF again. It's such a gem of a game.

[J Arcane]

That's what I was thinking as well.

Although would you really classify Dwarf Fortress as turn-based? I thought it was entirely real time?

It's sort of TB, because it handles everything in steps, they just go by so fast.

I never had any problems running it, I just know it can be a real hog, especially at higher levels of play.

NWN is a terrible example. RPG mechanics might as well not exist as far as CPU burden is concerned. Stuff like movement plotting, AI decision-making and line of sight calculations are the real burdens, all of which are trivial in NWN.

Someone never played much NWN with the machines that were actually out at the time. Those line of sight calculations alone were actually one of the biggest problems in the game, as the game actually handled things like Spot checks and the like constantly in real-time.

A lot of the problems in NWN's engine came from applying game rules that in tabletop play might be used once in a while or abstracted, in a continuous real-time fashion.

Then you had the problems that came from the fact that literally everything was still being handled in turn order according to initiative and everything, just like real D&D, it was just trying to do it fast enough the player couldn't notice.

[Vandabo]

I remember trying to play Civ4 on my old laptop, that did not go down well. Although I didn't mind using minimum settings to play the game, as much of it was just fluff and eye candy. I don't go to Civ games for eye candy, I just need the important info displayed as concisely as possible. My current computer easily hits the recommended, so it will be nice not having to worry about performance, but even still I may turn the eye candy down to make things clearer depending on the interface.

[JayK47]

Well if I am the only guy who thinks those recommendations seem high, than feel free to pre-order. I'm an old school fan of Civ, and quite frankly, have not really enjoyed any of them since Civ 2 for the PC. Civ 4 is ok, but only because of online play, which is still buggy today. I can't say that I am looking forward to the release of Civ 5. But I know my friends are, and there will be pressure to buy it. I sure as hell will not upgrade for Civ 5. This may be a blessing in disguise and my excuse to not purchase.

And how is latest and greatest being misunderstood? Does everybody have Vista or Windows 7? There are no XP holdouts? Everybody has a quad core CPU? 4 gigs of RAM? Really? I don't rush out to buy games if my PC isn't at least close to the recommended requirements. Who wants to hang out around minimum? Not me. I remember what BF2 looked like on low settings. Worse than UT.

This game will need a smooth running demo before I buy.

[ShivaX]

And how is latest and greatest being misunderstood? Does everybody have Vista or Windows 7? There are no XP holdouts? Everybody has a quad core CPU? 4 gigs of RAM? Really? I don't rush out to buy games if my PC isn't at least close to the recommended requirements. Who wants to hang out around minimum? Not me. I remember what BF2 looked like on low settings. Worse than UT.


System Requirements

Operating System: Windows XP SP3/ Windows Vista SP2/ Windows 7
Processor: Dual Core CPU
Memory: 2GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB Free
DVD-ROM Drive: Required for disc-based installation
Video: 256 MB ATI HD2600 XT or better, 256 MB nVidia 7900 GS or better, or Core i3 or better integrated graphics
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX version 9.0c

Recommended System Requirements

Operating System: Windows Vista SP2/ Windows 7
Processor: 1.8 GHz Quad Core CPU
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB Free
DVD-ROM Drive: Required for disc-based installation
Video: 512 MB ATI 4800 series or better, 512 MB nVidia 9800 series or better
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX version 11
Other Requirements: Initial installation requires one-time Internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client, Microsoft Visual C++2008 Runtime Libraries and Microsoft DirectX.

If you're complaining you can't run a new game maxxed out... welcome to PC gaming.

And 4 GB of RAM and a Vista/Win7 is pretty much the standard now for PC gaming as are those video cards, and its not like their required to run the thing. The only thing that made me even look twice was the Quad core, since I'm running a Dual, but I'm far from concerned about it since I'm sure my Dual Core 3 Ghz will manage just fine. I might have to turn down some shadows or something else I'll never notice in a worst case scenario.

[J Arcane]

Do you even understand the difference between "recommended" and "minimum"?

[ClannerDelta]

Civ 5 brought the world to a screeching halt when it revealed to computer users everywhere that, in fact, their PC's might actually have to be upgraded at some point to run things at maximum settings. This is a shock, no, a revelation which had never been encountered before.

I find myself looking forward to it more and more. I've always hated the way army stacks worked and this is looking a lot more fun.

[nabokovfan87]

Vid on GB of CIV V.

and for those whining about will thier PC run it:

http://www.canyourunit.com

http://www.yougamers.com go to games, find civ v

[MagGnome]

Civ 5 brought the world to a screeching halt when it revealed to computer users everywhere that, in fact, their PC's might actually have to be upgraded at some point to run things at maximum settings. This is a shock, no, a revelation which had never been encountered before.

I find myself looking forward to it more and more. I've always hated the way army stacks worked and this is looking a lot more fun.

I heard that the game requires more power to run than Civ IV did. This is madness! :eek:

[biosc1]

Hey, I can play Civ at max video quality

http://a.imageshack.us/img708/161/capturegam.jpg

[J Arcane]

And apparently you can read Cyrillic too.

[Panthera]

In Russian!

[SilentScreams]

Hey, I can play Civ at max video quality

http://a.imageshack.us/img708/161/capturegam.jpg

You must have a Magic PC!

[Vandabo]

Oh my god does that picture bring back memories. So many days...

[biosc1]

Oh my god does that picture bring back memories. So many days...

My brother and I had to schedule times because we both wanted to play so often. Only one computer, 2 boys and a game they loved. Yes, there were many beatings.

[JayK47]

Hey, I can play Civ at max video quality

http://a.imageshack.us/img708/161/capturegam.jpg

Sweet. My favorite post in this thread so far. And a far better game I bet too;)

[Ink Asylum]

Ah....I remember the days when losing a single fight would destroy every unit stacked on that tile.

[Wraith]

More previews:


Rock Paper Shotgun: A Dozen Or So Hours With: Civilization V (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/08/06/a-dozen-or-so-hours-with-civilization-v/)
plus States Of The Nation: More Civ V Thoughts (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/08/10/states-of-the-nation-more-civ-v-thoughts/)


Destructoid: Diving deeper into Sid Meier's Civilization V (http://www.destructoid.com/diving-deeper-into-sid-meier-s-civilization-v-181212.phtml)

[Vigil80]

I'm a little miffed that the hex grid no longer allows for moving due north or south. It'll be like the old Fallout days, watching a unit zigzag back and forth to move up or down. No straight north-south coastlines/mountain ranges/etc either, it would seem.

I'm still optimistic that the other improvements surrounding the grid changes will be more than worth it. I just happened to notice while looking at screenshots that the hex doesn't quite eliminate all the jank, as some previews seem to allude.

[NotJeff]

(deleted guild wars stuff)
Wrong thread entirely. Sorry.

[Panthera]

I'm a little miffed that the hex grid no longer allows for moving due north or south. It'll be like the old Fallout days, watching a unit zigzag back and forth to move up or down. No straight north-south coastlines/mountain ranges/etc either, it would seem.

I'm still optimistic that the other improvements surrounding the grid changes will be more than worth it. I just happened to notice while looking at screenshots that the hex doesn't quite eliminate all the jank, as some previews seem to allude.

Hexes allow for straight lines in six directions instead of four. Diagonals always looked funny.

[Wraith]

Gamasutra interview: Building Civilization V (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/5966/building_civilization_v.php)

[Vigil80]

Are you bringing back John Adams' music for the modern period of history?

JS: We are not.
If Adams was the one responsible for that choral track in Civ 4, the one that went "the people...are...the heroes...now..." or whatever, I have to say thank goodness. That song was maddening. I dreaded getting to the modern era because of that track. Finally, I remembered to just shut the music off.

Having region specific soundtracks sounds much better. But if a civilization has crappy music, that will influence my decision of which to play. :p

[Wraith]

Nice surprise in my inbox today, letting me know that Amazon dropped the price for release date delivery on my preorder to 99 cents (was $5.98). And:We realize that many of our customers are huge Sid Meier's Civilization Vfans, and we're happy to offer Release-Date Delivery at this new, lower rate.

[Farsight]

Yeah, I pre-ordered 4 games through them for this fall, and they did that on all of em. Makes it a nice deal when you add in no sales tax.

[Vigil80]

Steam pre-loading just started. I'm suddenly tempted to search for a way to crack the pre-load for play.

[CappinCanuck]

Steam pre-loading just started. I'm suddenly tempted to search for a way to crack the pre-load for play.


If you don't search for a way to crack it, don't post or msg me about it. ;)

[Spectre-7]

Ars Technica -- The city-states in your pocket: first look at Civilization V (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/reviews/2010/09/first-impressions-civilization-v.ars)

[Vigil80]

2 hours of gameplay, first early game, then mid game. Was streamed live today I think, but I didn't find out about it until just now. Luckily, these things get archived.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9553042

[Wraith]

Anyone notice this yet? September 21, North American release date for Civ V, is also the International Day of Peace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Peace).

[Stoke]

Anyone notice this yet? September 21, North American release date for Civ V, is also the International Day of Peace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Peace).

And yet, Gandhi still won't hesitate to rape your ass. ;)

[Spectre-7]

And yet, Gandhi still won't hesitate to rape your ass. ;)

Thanks. I just had to fight the urge to change my user-title to "Gandhi the Ass-Rapist".

[SilentScreams]

It's sat there. In my Steam library. Taunting me.

[Stoke]

It's sat there. In my Steam library. Taunting me.

Is it taunting you with bad grammar? :p

[Vigil80]

Some raw notes from the gameplay stream:

Part 1

Civilopedia is huge as ever, and searchable.
Happiness is empire wide, not city-specific. Low happiness will cause empire wide debuffs to research and production.
Natural wonders (Old Faithful, Krakatoa, etc.) provide bonuses when discovered, and can be worked.
City-states won't ever found new cities, but can take cities over in war.
Civs and city-states will have individual personalities. Ex: Catherine tends to be cooperative; the Budapest city-state is generally militaristic.
Social policies replace civics & religions. There are 10 in all, and each provides a short tree that specializes a civ in certain ways. Ex: Military, expansion, improving the capital. Some policies are mutually exclusive (Piety & Rationalism, Autocracy & Freedom)
Pact of Secrecy is a new diplomacy option in which two civs can agree to work against another without openly declaring war.
Renaming of your leader, civ, cities, is still in. Units can be renamed when they recieve a promotion.
Occurrences such as spearmen beating tank are "mathematically impossible."
"Gold has been expanded to do a lot more." Ex: Any unit or building can be purchased if you can afford it regardless of technologies or policies.
Sliders to determine research/cultural spending have been removed.
City influence expands 1 tile at a time. Tiles are chosen by the AI in a predictable way; unique resources are prioritized. Next tile to be expanded is highlighted. Influence tiles can also be bought with gold.
Tiles for cities to work can be chosen manually, automatically, or a combination of the two. A tile can be "locked," designated to always be worked, with other tiles left to the AI governor.
Steam cloud support is in. Players are given 10 save slots in the cloud.
Disease, pollution, and global warming are out.


Part 2

Total number of units a civ can have at once is hard capped. Cap is based on a combination of factors, including number of cities and population.
Roads cost gold to maintain. Civs must be selective in building them. Roads in neutral territory are paid for by whoever built them.
Individual transport boats are out. Now units simply turn into transports when entering water tiles. Appropriate research still required.
Random events, such as volcano eruptions or nuclear plant meltdowns, are out.
Resources are extremely limited in what they provide. Ex: If you have 1 tile of horses, you can build 1 mounted unit.
Two of your adjacent military units can swap places.
Conquered city-states can be liberated, restoring them and making them a staunch ally of their liberator.
Cities are capable of defending themselves, and must have their HP worn down before they can be conquered.
Great People are still in.
"No cheats in Civ 5." However, a "tuner" program will come with the game's mod tools that will allow you to do such things as spawning units.
Military units have a "zone of control" which inhibits enemy unit movement.
Worker automation is back. "One guy's job through the whole project was working on automation."

[Stoke]

If we buy a retail copy, can we load that key into Steam and have Steam Cloud support?

[Wraith]

I think you need Steam to play it, regardless of how you buy it. - You can play it in offline mode all you want, but have to log into steam at least once [after installation] to validate. So I would assume steam cloud support applies to all.

[CappinCanuck]

If we buy a retail copy, can we load that key into Steam and have Steam Cloud support?

I think you need Steam to play it, regardless of how you buy it. - You can play it in offline mode all you want, but have to log into steam at least once to validate. So I would assume steam cloud support applies to all.


Bingo. That's why I was pushing for people to nab it off D2D while it was $40. Soon as D2D gives me my key, I plug it into Steam. Then I see which one downloads faster... heh. Or the preload... either way, not worried.

[c0m3d14n]

gameplay part1 (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9553042)

gameplay part2 (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9553920)

[CappinCanuck]

gameplay part1 (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9553042)

gameplay part2 (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9553920)

Holy nerds batman...

[c0m3d14n]

just finished part 1
there are a lot of changes i like very much ;)

[ClannerDelta]

Ok, I want Alpha Centari with the hex grid and no stacking. I've always loathed stacking. For a game that seemed to want you to think, it seemed like a serious flaw to allow sheer mass to win out in every situation. I'm glad it's being reworked.

I'm also glad that it seems unit preservation is much more important now.

[Vandabo]

Ok, I want Alpha Centari with the hex grid and no stacking. I've always loathed stacking. For a game that seemed to want you to think, it seemed like a serious flaw to allow sheer mass to win out in every situation. I'm glad it's being reworked.

I'm also glad that it seems unit preservation is much more important now.

I've been wishing for another Alpha Centauri since finishing the first Alpha Centauri. God DAMN I love that game. The tech tree lore in that game is better sci-fi than I find in most sci-fi books. The unit customization is awesome and creates a lot more replayability, and the story is truly epic. How many games have you evolve your species into demigods of pure energy? It's like you start out as the astronauts in 2001 and end up putting Monoliths on planets.

[CappinCanuck]

Ok, I want Alpha Centari with the hex grid and no stacking. I've always loathed stacking. For a game that seemed to want you to think, it seemed like a serious flaw to allow sheer mass to win out in every situation. I'm glad it's being reworked.

I'm also glad that it seems unit preservation is much more important now.

I've been wishing for another Alpha Centauri since finishing the first Alpha Centauri. God DAMN I love that game. The tech tree lore in that game is better sci-fi than I find in most sci-fi books. The unit customization is awesome and creates a lot more replayability, and the story is truly epic. How many games have you evolve your species into demigods of pure energy? It's like you start out as the astronauts in 2001 and end up putting Monoliths on planets.

If you're jonsing for a modernized SMAC, I think there was a fairly accomplished SMAC Civ 4 TC Mod. Might have been named PlanetFall. Someone brought it up on COG before I think.

[ClannerDelta]

If you're jonsing for a modernized SMAC, I think there was a fairly accomplished SMAC Civ 4 TC Mod. Might have been named PlanetFall. Someone brought it up on COG before I think.
There's a pretty awesome Dune mod for Civ 4, I might look for Planetfall too. Give me something to do before Civ 5 hits.

Also, holy shit I'm a nerd. I just watched 2 poorly groomed individuals playing Civ 5 for 2 fucking hours and liked it.

[Vigil80]

Hey, I'd only really classify one of them as poorly groomed.

[Ghostbear]

Great notes on the gameplay video Vigil. Thanks.

[Vigil80]

Sure thing. Thought it might be nice for someone who didn't necessarily want to sit and watch all 2 hours.

[Vandabo]

If you're jonsing for a modernized SMAC, I think there was a fairly accomplished SMAC Civ 4 TC Mod. Might have been named PlanetFall. Someone brought it up on COG before I think.

That's interesting, and thanks for posting, but after reading about it I think I'll pass. What made Alpha Centauri so enjoyable for me was the care that was put into it's writing and presentation. The movies for the "special projects" and the quotes for all the techs... that kind of thing. Take that stuff out or water it down, and it becomes just another strategy game.

Back on topic, so far I'm pleased with most of what I'm seeing/hearing about Civ 5. I'm really glad they are bringing it more in line with reality. Part of me will probably miss creating a giant army of a dominating unit and just marching around laying waste to everything, but I'm sure I'll get over it.

[CappinCanuck]

There's a pretty awesome Dune mod for Civ 4, I might look for Planetfall too. Give me something to do before Civ 5 hits.

Also, holy shit I'm a nerd. I just watched 2 poorly groomed individuals playing Civ 5 for 2 fucking hours and liked it.

Hey, I'd only really classify one of them as poorly groomed.

It's the one on the right with the long hair.... that's the one. He got this little side smile when the first random even popped up that looked damn right sexually perverted. It creeped me right out. Just like the guy I caught taking pictures outside my highschool.

Edit: Maybe the other guy :P He looks a bit shiny and sticky everywhere else.

[MagGnome]

I think it's great that they are streamlining certain things and great expanding others (such as gold), but I find it odd that pollution is out. I hated pollution, but it makes sense to have it in there if done right. It would be neat to show more environmental impacts of your empire growth.

I'm really glad that they are changing the way gold works. It always felt sort of pointless to me in past Civ games. "Oh look, my huge empire only has 300 gold!" Yet somehow that's considered a lot? :confused: Hopefully the new system is more "realistic".


Back on topic, so far I'm pleased with most of what I'm seeing/hearing about Civ 5. I'm really glad they are bringing it more in line with reality. Part of me will probably miss creating a giant army of a dominating unit and just marching around laying waste to everything, but I'm sure I'll get over it.

It seems like a lot of things are becoming more "realistic" while others are being simplified or removed altogether. I have some reservations about things being removed (such as the aforementioned pollution), but as long as the game remains sufficiently deep I'll be happy. I just don't want this to become as watered down as the console versions were. :eek:

I would love to pick this up next week, but I'm likely going to hold off until sometime in the first half of next year. I really can't see myself having the time to dive into this just yet.

[Vigil80]

I think it's great that they are streamlining certain things and great expanding others (such as gold), but I find it odd that pollution is out. I hated pollution, but it makes sense to have it in there if done right. It would be neat to show more environmental impacts of your empire growth.

I'm really glad that they are changing the way gold works. It always felt sort of pointless to me in past Civ games. "Oh look, my huge empire only has 300 gold!" Yet somehow that's considered a lot? :confused: Hopefully the new system is more "realistic".
I just considered a gold to be a kind of unit of measurement. I think of 1 gold as being a thousands of gold pieces, or ten million dollars, or something.

I have some reservations about the ways that they are streamlining some things, too. I thought pollution and random events added a certain something. But, nothing to do except wait and see.

[ClannerDelta]

Pollution rarely did anything. Sure it might mean you skip a forge in a city, but that was about as deep as it got.

The random events... I don't really see why they are out entirely. A simple on/off option when creating the game would solve that. Personally, I hate them, but I can see why some people might like them.

[Vandabo]

I've never really thought that Civ games have portrayed the economy very well, especially international economies. I realize that in order to make one that was very realistic would require an entire simulation of its own, but I think they could make one a bit better.

[ShivaX]

I'm really glad that they are changing the way gold works. It always felt sort of pointless to me in past Civ games. "Oh look, my huge empire only has 300 gold!" Yet somehow that's considered a lot? :confused: Hopefully the new system is more "realistic".


Well gold was always an abstract idea of wealth. Think of it as tons of gold if you want it to seem relevant and somewhat reasonable throughout history.

I like the new system because money actually matters now. Expanding borders is primarily a function of gold. Maintaining roads and the like. Has to be better than "I'm not in negative and thats all that matters," of all the other Civs. I mean all gold told you was how high you could bump your research.

[Hauser1981]

Can't Wait till i finally get my Hands on this game. Will Probably try a Civ game online for the first time with Civ5

[IIntrude]

Can't Wait till i finally get my Hands on this game. Will Probably try a Civ game online for the first time with Civ5

Yeah same here, I cannot wait for some online games with everyone here. Should be great fun.

[Vandabo]

I've never gotten into mutliplayer Civ games. I tend to think of Civ as a game to be played in a single 18 hour sitting, while forgoing all normal necessities of human life. Also, just because I'm obsessed with Civ games doesn't mean I'm necessarily very good at them.

[Ink Asylum]

These are the biggest eyebrow raisers to me.


Sliders to determine research/cultural spending have been removed.
Disease, pollution, and global warming are out.

Everything else is gravy to me.

[Panthera]

I can guarantee you that the moment pitboss drops I'll be hosting one.

[biosc1]

These are the biggest eyebrow raisers to me.


Pollution and global warming were only ever minor inconveniences in the past and pollution was probably more annoying than an effective gameplay deterrent.

[Stoke]

So with no global warming that means I can go on a nuclear rampage eh?

[c0m3d14n]

These are the biggest eyebrow raisers to me.
Everything else is gravy to me.

there was an explanation in the gameplay video why they removed the sliders, that satisfied me, but i cant remember what it was ;)

[Vigil80]

I never liked the sliders. Combined with the spotty usefulness of gold, they seemed like an afterthought. They may as well have had a checkbox for "just keep me at the break-even point."

Now your empire simply has various independent resources, similar to a number of RTS games. Research, happiness, culture, and gold have relationships, but they also have distinct sources that generate them. You can boost something with something else - like using surplus gold to hurriedly buy a culture building - but the extent to which one fuels another sounds like it's been de-emphasized.

Regardless, I wouldn't be surprised to see some Civ Classic mods that bring back some of the cuts in short order, if the mod tools are as big a deal as they seem to make out.

[c0m3d14n]

i skipped through the stream again, the reason they removed the sliders is: "gold has been expanded to do a lot more throughout the game" ... "you are not spending all your gold on research"

i really like the new gold and resource mechanics.

[MagGnome]

I can guarantee you that the moment pitboss drops I'll be hosting one.

Hopefully it won't take an eternity like the current game. :p

[CappinCanuck]

D2D Preorders can be preloaded now folks.

[digitalErich]

Steam has been pre-loading for a few days now, too.

[SilentScreams]

You know you need help when you spend two hours watching people play Civ...and want more.

I agree with one of the comments on the second video though...the Japanese Civ trait (full combat damage even when the units health is depleted) seems extremely powerful. I don't know any of the others except Germany, but compared to Germany's trait, the Japanese one is awesome.

[ClannerDelta]

You know you need help when you spend two hours watching people play Civ...and want more.

I agree with one of the comments on the second video though...the Japanese Civ trait (full combat damage even when the units health is depleted) seems extremely powerful. I don't know any of the others except Germany, but compared to Germany's trait, the Japanese one is awesome.

Germany's trait seems like it would give you a huge boost early and the Panzer would give you an edge in the late game. Japan's does seem strong, but just look how powerful range is. You'd need to shift your focus to a ranged army, but it seems like it would be easier to overcome than that video would suggest.

First attack with Melee units then focus them down with ranged units (where I'd assume it would be the other way around when fighting other Civs).

[Panthera]

Sweet, preloading on steam with my D2D key. So excited!

[biosc1]

Sweet, preloading on steam with my D2D key. So excited!

oRLY?

Interesting...I wish I had picked it up during that deal D2D had :(

[SilentScreams]

6 days and 9 hours to go...

Damn you guys for getting it on Tuesday!

On the bright side, I have two weeks off work to play it.

[Wraith]

Reviews are starting to come in (like it matters to anyone in this thread).

PC gamer: 93 (metacritic)
Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/review-civilization-v-184136.phtml): 9.5

[Panthera]

Reviews are starting to come in (like it matters to anyone in this thread).

PC gamer: 93 (metacritic)
Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/review-civilization-v-184136.phtml): 9.5

I am not going to delete my preloaded copy SO HARD.

[NotJeff]

Looks like D2D is selling the same digital deluxe edition as Steam minus the Mesopotamia map pack, but you get the first pay DLC (2 new civs and some scenarios) plus CivIII complete for free.

[CappinCanuck]

oRLY?

Interesting...I wish I had picked it up during that deal D2D had :(

That's why I was posting it so hard... $40 was so win for Civ5. You can still get the Digital Deluxe version for $50 at D2D though. They have a $10 off 50+.

[Vigil80]

Nice, pithy, 13 minute video that touches on some of the high points of new Civ 5 strategy.

http://www.giantbomb.com/thirteen-minutes-of-civilization-v/17-3239/

[AliasRomanian]

Has anyone set up a multi-player match game for this yet?

[Vigil80]

You mean for a video feature or review? I haven't seen it covered extensively. Just a few words in reviews here and there mainly saying that multiplayer works ok, but the simultaneous turn-based play can somewhat tilt the game in favor of people who act faster.

As for normal players, I'm sure matches won't be hard to find come Tuesday.

[AliasRomanian]

You mean for a video feature or review? I haven't seen it covered extensively. Just a few words in reviews here and there mainly saying that multiplayer works ok, but the simultaneous turn-based play can somewhat tilt the game in favor of people who act faster.

As for normal players, I'm sure matches won't be hard to find come Tuesday.

Yeah I just want to play some multiplayer games with turns :).

[Farsight]

Blah, you can't play a Civ game multiplayer on day 1! It'd be like watching babies trying to have sex!

SO WRONG!

[Satertek]

Pre-Order in. Not sure what the Mesopotamia thing is, but I guess I'll have it. (A custom scenario maybe? Never played any anyway, heh)

[SilentScreams]

So the Joystiq review says we should take the recommended specs very seriously.
Hope you guys have your quad core CPUs ready to go! :)

[Vigil80]

I have everything covered except I only have a dual core CPU. But, it's a fast one. :)

[MagGnome]

I have a tri-core CPU.

Oh sh...

[Doogie2K]

So the Joystiq review says we should take the recommended specs very seriously.
Hope you guys have your quad core CPUs ready to go! :)

Fuckin' rights.

Oh wait. My video card is in the mail. Boo. :(

[nabokovfan87]

So the Joystiq review says we should take the recommended specs very seriously.
Hope you guys have your quad core CPUs ready to go! :)

Think of it as a strategy game, with lots of physics and such. I wouldn't imagine it takes a lot to play the game, just takes a lot to have nice and fancy battles.

Just scanned my pc, aparently it is DOUBLE what I need:

http://www.yougamers.com/gameometer/10410/

[SilentScreams]

That site doesn't work for me. It just freezes on the analyzing screen after a while. My PC should be fine though.

I have a 2.83ghz quad core, 4gb of Corsair DDR3 and a 4870X2. Of course, all 4gb of the RAM doesn't get used because I'm on XP, but I can't see 500mb of RAM making a huge difference, especially since it's high end RAM in the first place.

Civ being Civ, I think the CPU will be the most important part. Everything else is just dependant on how high you want the graphics settings.

[SilentScreams]

Game Informer review (http://gameinformer.com/games/civilization_v/b/pc/archive/2010/09/17/reforged-into-a-masterpiece.aspx) - 9.75

I encourage everyone, from strategy newbs who spend most of their time in online FPS matches to grognards who could teach me a thing or two about the optimal distribution of forces in hex-based combat, to give Civilization V a shot. As a hardcore strategy gamer who is no stranger to planning out my empire's production dozens of turns in advance, I've already turned to Civ V for my world-conquering needs – but at the same time, if anything is going to rear a new generation of strategy gamers like the very first Civilization did for me, it's this.

Gaming Nexus review (http://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/Civilization-V/Item2785.aspx) - A

Civilization V is, once again, going to consume countless hours of my life in turn-based bliss. With the "boardgame" feel and the slick, polished features, I know I'm in for many sleep-deprived mornings. Fans of the series, or turn-based 4X games in general, will have a blast with this for a long time to come. And while it might be a little daunting to newcomers, Civilization V is also a great place for those who might want to wet their feet in the 4X pool.

Can. Not. Wait.

[MagGnome]

I want this game so bad! I hate making myself wait for it. :(

[Wraith]

Joystq (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/17/civilization-5-review/): 5/5 starsWhether you're a veteran of the whole series, a convert from Revolution or someone totally new to the franchise, understand this: Civilization 5 is a game that needed to happen. For a game so very, very large, it delivers everything in an easy to understand package no matter what route you take to playing it. The core Civilization experience is still there, but it's like an efficiency expert came in and streamlined everything that had gotten clunky with the series. It's a "friendly" strategy game. Can one even call a strategy game friendly? Well, I just did.
Game Informer (http://gameinformer.com/games/civilization_v/b/pc/archive/2010/09/17/reforged-into-a-masterpiece.aspx): 9.75/10
Game Trailers (http://www.gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=12779): 9.4/10

[Ink Asylum]

I barely meet the minimum specs. Hope there's a demo.

[Wraith]

There is. Available on release date.

[Ink Asylum]

Well, hopefully I'll be able to turn down some of the settings and not have it melt my machine.

[MagGnome]

I'll be downloading the demo for sure, even though that's likely a bad idea. :o

[jpublic]

Just off the top of my head, I'd find it hard to believe there's not some minimal netbook mode for this game.

[Crowe]

It makes me so happy to see them changing it up the way they have. Making 1 unit per tile and giving them health is just awesome. I hated having to load up on a billion units only to watch my tanks get rolled by archer.

[MagGnome]

I couldn't agree more, Crowe. The new combat structure is what I'm most excited about. It sounds more like Age of Wonders and other strategy games now, which is a huge improvement.

[biosc1]

Just off the top of my head, I'd find it hard to believe there's not some minimal netbook mode for this game.

Considering how well Civ 4 plays on my netbook, I can imagine Civ 5 can play minimally on my little guy.

Probably just going to get screwed on late game 'end turns' when it really has to crunch numbers.

[Akela]

Well, hopefully I'll be able to turn down some of the settings and not have it melt my machine.

Nothing a pool of liquid Nitrogen cannot fix.

Just sayin'.

It makes me so happy to see them changing it up the way they have. Making 1 unit per tile and giving them health is just awesome. I hated having to load up on a billion units only to watch my tanks get rolled by archer.

This.

[J Arcane]

In case you missed it, last night Civ5's twitter feed posted the full game manual: http://bit.ly/CivVManual

[Ink Asylum]

Nothing a pool of liquid Nitrogen cannot fix.

Just sayin'.

Seeing as I use a laptop that might be hard on my fingers.

[SilentScreams]

Has anyone ever actually gotten a tank killed by archers? I see it said everywhere, but it's never happened to me. These people must really suck at the game. :D

Just off the top of my head, I'd find it hard to believe there's not some minimal netbook mode for this game.

There's a strategic view that turns the whole map into 2D hexes and uses icons instead of models. I'm guessing that'd run pretty well on a netbook. Not exactly visually stimulating, but it gets the job done.

Edit: Check 16:30 in this video (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9553920) to see what I mean if you haven't seen it already.

[ShivaX]

Has anyone ever actually gotten a tank killed by archers? I see it said everywhere, but it's never happened to me. These people must really suck at the game. :D


In the original Civ I lost 10 bombers in a row to a single spearman. It was an Indian spearman. I can still see the crappy grey city in my nightmares.

I was so pissed I calculated the odds at the time. I forget what they were now, but it was lottery-winning unlikely.

[SilentScreams]

In the original Civ I lost 10 bombers in a row to a single spearman. It was an Indian spearman. I can still see the crappy grey city in my nightmares.

I was so pissed I calculated the odds at the time. I forget what they were now, but it was lottery-winning unlikely.

Heh, I bet. I've lost battles where I had >99% chance of victory in Civ IV before and it's pretty annoying, especially if it's a really important one.

On the bright side, I've just realised that while the demo may be on release day for you guys, it's actually 3 days early for me. Awesome. I hope it's a fairly lengthy demo...it has to last me until Friday! :)

[jpublic]

Yeah, my Dad was a major fan of the series, but he quit on Civ4 when he got frustrated with the way he could have a stack of Tanks and a Phalanx could defend a city from them.

He was also really ticked off with the way the diplomacy worked, how it was very clear the computer Civs weren't playing against each other as much as they were playing against the player.

[Ink Asylum]

I don't know about that second part. Sometimes I will play games where a number of other civilizations are at war with each other but peaceful with me.

[IIntrude]

While watching the GT vid, I saw battlemechs... :) Looks like I don't have to wait for a mod for that.

[Vigil80]

Has anyone ever actually gotten a tank killed by archers? I see it said everywhere, but it's never happened to me. These people must really suck at the game. :D
Those kinds of things happened to me more in Civ3 than Civ4. I can't recall defeats quite as insane as some that these guys have mentioned, but I definitely had my share of losses that made me gape at the screen.

I also fought against the notion of the stack of doom. Solitary units were how I tried to play in the first place. I'd put down one infantry and one artillery to defend a city and stop there. Unless I knew an enemy stack of doom was coming, anything more seemed too inefficient.

I'm expecting the new combat system to feel much more natural.

[Knightsaber]

In the original Civ I lost 10 bombers in a row to a single spearman. It was an Indian spearman. I can still see the crappy grey city in my nightmares.

I was so pissed I calculated the odds at the time. I forget what they were now, but it was lottery-winning unlikely.

I was physically present during that event. I remember that. He isn't kidding about calculating the odds. It's still funny.

[IIntrude]

I agree, the combat system upgrade is the most exciting change for me, aside from the snazzy new graphics. Tues can't come fast enough. I am now trying to decide what nation I will lead.

[SilentScreams]

I always start with the English for obvious reasons. I didn't really like any of their leaders in Civ IV though so I didn't stick with them. I ended up playing as either the Dutch or the Ottoman Empire mostly.

I'll probably play the Byzantines a bit in Civ V just because I bought the Deluxe edition to get them. I feel obligated.

[carnage11]

I always start with America. I always play on Chieftain too. :p

[IIntrude]

I am thinking of going Japanese

[Spectre-7]

I am thinking of going Japanese

You really think so?

[IIntrude]

I do, I think I am turning Japanese.

[Ink Asylum]

I have a fondness for Russia because I like Catherine's combination of talents in Civ IV. I enjoy pumping out culture to expand my borders and her wealth bonus allows me to tip more money into research to climb the tech tree quickly. I rarely go for a military victory in IV since it requires such an investment of time and resources, so I usually aim for a science victory. That may change in the sequel and I'm looking forward to having a more strategic, less numerous army to control.

[CappinCanuck]

I want to join in and pick a civ but I can't find a complete list :(.

Edit: Nm, :D. Big, "Pick your Civ" thing pops up first thing on the website. Probably the Iroquois...!

[Vigil80]

I'll probably start out with the Romans. A production bonus in other cities for buildings built in the capital sounds really useful.

Think I might try the Greeks after that. Combine their Hellenic League ability with the patronage policy, then rule the world's city-states.

[Farsight]

I pick a Civ entirely by the numbers. I'm usually trying the hardest difficulty I can manage, so I need a Civ whose bonuses feed my playstyle. :)

I do hope this Civ has some form of Civ-Revolution's Achievements. I beat that game with every possible Civ, simply because it kept track that I had done so. I guess I could do that the old-fashioned way w/ a pen and paper, but it's not the same, man. :)