Question (Request): What is (should be) in the box? (!)

Atahualpa · June 16, 2001, 04:37

Okay I expect following things to be in the box:
1.) One or More CD/DVD of this cool piece of civilization history!!!!!!!
2.) Manual or Quick Reference

But apart from that I would like to see:
1.) Plastic figure of one of the units (and not only in the US version!!!)
2.) A poster
3.) A tech chart
4.) A T-Shirt
5.) Some stickers, so that you can nerve your only-first-persons-playing-friends

6.) A full newspaper from the time 4000BC declaring you to the ruler of a civilization and other stuff that happend around that time (could say: A new Ruler is born... and the various articles could explain some of the civilizations. And with the right kind of humor, this paper could be really funny!)
7.) A mousepad
8.) More plastic figures
9.) An order notice to buy additional plastic figures
10.) Cards of all the units, so that you can play those games together (you know the cards a re shuffled and then all the cards are given to you and another person equally. Now you start comparing. One starts out saying: Movement: 5 and the other one compares his unitcards movement attribute and when he is higher he wins and gets your card and gets to say the next attribute, when he loses he has to give the card away and the other one can say an attribute. The game ends when one has all cards)

Anyone else got something to add?
Ata

Ralf · June 16, 2001, 05:25

Quote:

Originally posted by Atahualpa
But apart from that I would like to see:
1.) Plastic figure of one of the units (and not only in the US version!!!)
2.) A poster
3.) A tech chart
4.) A T-Shirt
5.) Some stickers, so that you can nerve your only-first-persons-playing-friends

6.) A full newspaper from the time 4000BC declaring you to the ruler of a civilization and other stuff that happend around that time (could say: A new Ruler is born... and the various articles could explain some of the civilizations. And with the right kind of humor, this paper could be really funny!)
7.) A mousepad
8.) More plastic figures
9.) An order notice to buy additional plastic figures
10.) Cards of all the units, so that you can play those games together (you know the cards a re shuffled and then all the cards are given to you and another person equally. Now you start comparing. One starts out saying: Movement: 5 and the other one compares his unitcards movement attribute and when he is higher he wins and gets your card and gets to say the next attribute, when he loses he has to give the card away and the other one can say an attribute. The game ends when one has all cards)

Please, try to be realistic.

Releasing PC-games is commercially somewhat risky business. Look at CTP-2. Even if a repetition of that failure is totally unlikely with Civ-3, a tiny company like Firaxis must nevertheless take a first-things-first approach:

Release the bare main game (with manual + poster only). If that game prove itself to be great success, then...
Release (over time) 1 or 2 enhanced Alien Crossfire-stile addon-packages to Civ-3. If these addon-packages proves themselves to be commercially worthwhile & successful, then...
Release one sumarized Civ-2 style "Collectors edition", with all of above + a Civ-2 style "official game-guide". The latter should also be released separately of course.

As for the rest of you suggestions, I dont care. Anyway, its much smarter to let third-party companies produce & distribute such items separately, and just reaping the license-fees. Stuffing it all up in a a game-box is just ridicules. Take the T-shirt for example: We all have different body-sizes, dont we.

Ilkuul · June 16, 2001, 07:54

For me the absolute essentials, apart from the CD/DVD, would be a THICK, CHUNKY manual, and the poster. I don't know what this game guide is that you mention, Ralf -- never had that for Civ2; but I can easily see it as a later add-on, available separately.

Your other suggestions, Ata, are nice -- esp. (for me) at least one plastic figure -- but I can see Ralf's point that Firaxis needs to be sure Civ3 is a commercial success before they include a lot of optional extras like that.

Roll on the great day!

AncientPharaoh · June 16, 2001, 10:22

I remember that Comand&Conquer: Red Alert 2's special edition had a pewter figure of either an Allied 'Chrono Legionair' or Soviet 'Telsa Trooper'.

They could maybe do something like that, for a special edition type thing if it's a really huge success.

Sirotnikov · June 16, 2001, 10:35

How about a "I am proud to play Civ III instead of going out on fridays!" T-shirt?

Seriously, I've seen people with Red Alert 2, T-shirts, and nothing publishes a game better than T-shirts.

If they include a free T-shirt, people will probably wear it (some will), and that means free commercials walking around town, in computer stores and in schools / colleges / universities.

A poster is cool, but it stays home. It will only advertise Civ III if many people come to visit me and see my room, which, if I'm an addicted Civ III player, that doesn't happen much

.

June 16, 2001, 11:05

Sim City 2 and 3 had order forms in the box for T-Shirts and I bought both of them. And yes I have the Unit from Red Alert. I,m really surprise that Hasbro did not make any units for sale from either Civ 2 or SMAC. I believed they would have sold a fair amount of them. I also believed if Firaxis would offer some of their Art work it would sell. (Both SMAC and Civ 2/3).

Inverse Icarus · June 16, 2001, 11:24

i always liked the tech tree poster in civ 2.

and i'd wear a t-shirt that said somehting like "i spend more time with civ than with my girl".

Ralf · June 16, 2001, 13:10

Quote:

Originally posted by UberKruX
i always liked the tech tree poster in civ 2

I just hope they dont make it as big & cumbersome as the SMAC-poster.

The Civ-2 poster-size should be the maximal norm.

Quote:

Originally posted by joseph1944
Sim City 2 and 3 had order forms in the box for T-Shirts and I bought both of them.

Hmm. Thats perhaps a more probable idea!

SerapisIV · June 16, 2001, 13:17

Even better would be a laminated Civ2 sized tech and unit poster especially for plotting possible pathways in the tech tree with a dry-erase marker.

Inverse Icarus · June 16, 2001, 15:40

will the marker come with the game?

i aint spending the dollar.

Ralf · June 16, 2001, 15:54

Quote:

Originally posted by UberKruX
will the marker come with the game?

i aint spending the dollar.

I see no "only kidding" smilies in your reply. Dont tell me - are you serious?

TechWins · June 16, 2001, 16:36

I won't pay a $1.00 for some stupid marker so I can write down my strategies on a laminated tech tree poster. I do have a thing called a memory which will help not waste a dollar on a marker.

UberKrux how did you get an avatar?

How often does the ranking of what you are go up? I ask this because I turned to a Chieftain at about 40 posts. Does that mean I'll turn to a Warlord at 80 posts?

Inverse Icarus · June 16, 2001, 16:40

tech, ANYONE can have an avatar, its under control panel>options.

you have to be a KING or higher to get a CUSTOM avatar.

if ure below that you can pick one they have supplied.

Immortal Wombat · June 16, 2001, 17:59

Techwins :
31 - chieftain
100 - warlord
300 - prince
500 - CUSTOM AVATAR
1000 - king
3000 - emperor
10000 - deity

Yes! A CivIII marker pen

Provost Harrison · June 16, 2001, 18:08

I presume that cow must be a standard avatar (?!), as he neither has the post count nor the registration date to qualify for a custom avatar...

Zopperoni · June 16, 2001, 18:20

Oh yeah, also throw in a mug, a keychain, maybe even a 22" monitor...

Zopperoni · June 16, 2001, 18:22

And yeah...where did they get that cow from?

TechWins · June 16, 2001, 21:18

Thanks UberKrux and Immortal Wombat. I thought you couldn't get any avatar until you had 500 posts or more.

Sabre2th · June 16, 2001, 23:25

isn't this thread exciting?

i'd settle for just the game, personally. who really needs all that extra stuff?

b&i_c · June 17, 2001, 02:14

Well I just think the game, a tech tree, a manual, and then order forms for T-shirts/posters would be good enough, and practical.

Rasputin · June 17, 2001, 06:10

well i would like to get all sort sof stuff for free !@!!! but realistically to make ita commercial success all i would need is probably the complet civ serious from 1-3 but seeing this is different company maybe not feasible...
A poster of tech paths is easier to learn from than a manual or an onscreen display so pretty essential...

would be good to see the game come on a dvd isntead of cd and have better and more video stuff and more options on hte music side ...