The time draweth nigh! (civ3)

Sarxis · August 21, 2001, 16:54

Only a few more months and Civ III will be upon us. I hope it is not a disapointment, but how can it be?

As soon as I am done with my current pbems, and I have played the ultimate single player (masturbation) game (Hotseat by myself with all of the original factions), I am uninstalling AC/X.

Great game, best TBS ever, but I have never quite forgiven Firaxis for not releasing the version 3.0 patch for SMAX.

"Things change, even people change; but CIV (er.. Sid?) is forever!"

-Ibet Eiu Khan!

Avenoct · August 21, 2001, 19:31

I'm glad to see your honest posting Anunikoba. Surely you aren't alone in getting ready to uninstall Smac. I wonder, how many games do people keep on their harddrives at a time? What with hard-drives getting amazingly huge, even faster in many cases than applications increase in size, it's theoretically possible to keep most games installed, to revisit from time to time.

I reluctantly admit that I too will probably switch over to CIV 3 for a time, but I won't be uninstalling SMAC I don't believe. The SMAC community will suffer a major dent and slowdown with CIV 3, but I've been convinced that it won't die out, just as CIV 2 forums won't die out. I'm not sure how CIV 3 will be programmed, but I've found SMAC to have a nice balance, sort of an introduction, to it's modifyability. Certainly, it's given all of us countless hours not just of play, but of strategy discussion, etc..

We have only to look forward to ever-increasing complexity in strategy games....yet....there is a ceiling. It will be a very long time before truly better AI sees commercial release, and the reason is simple: It's a dumb market. Imagine a SMAC where the AI played like an expert human player. Well, it would still be playable by the novice strategist, and it would be great for the experts, but it just won't happen. It's way too much work just to placate the die-hards. I would guess that 1 month after CIV 3's release, there will be masters of the game. This is really too bad. I long for the day (maybe CIV 34?) when the strategy approaches that of Chess, while maintaining the vast complexity and beauty of a graphical Strat game. But, as long as 95 percent of the market is made up of folks who will never master the game, publishers will only release games with the minimum level of AI to please that majority. Maybe I'd better stop whining and go back to Chess.

-Smack

bondetamp · August 21, 2001, 20:47

Quote:

Originally posted by Smack
Maybe I'd better stop whining and go back to Chess.

But Chess doesn't have crawlers!

This is a major shortcomming of this so called "classic" board game.

Ned · August 21, 2001, 21:26

I agree that there no longer exists any reason to uninstall games to install a new one, a practice which ended for me when I bought my current computer with 30 megs 8 months ago. The market now has 80 MB drives entering the market for around $100. You may want to drop by Frys, or the equivalent in your area, and buy a slave drive if you don't want to buy a new computer.

Here is a link to the Seagate site http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/index

Ned

Deimos · August 21, 2001, 22:09

Ned,

I believe you meant to use GB instead of MB in your post. Unless, of course, your actually posting through a Time Gate and speaking to us in your future.

If you are, I'd REALLY like the technical readouts on that gadget. It would certainly help me in planning my investment strategy.

johndmuller · August 21, 2001, 23:10

Quote:

Originally posted by bondetamp
But Chess doesn't have crawlers!

Imagine the furor when they introduced (shudder) KNIGHTS

Geez Cicero, how is my AI going to handle those funny looking things?

Sarxis · August 22, 2001, 03:21

I totally agree that SMAC/X has definately become a classic and immortal game amonst true TBS enthusiasts. I will probably revisit it again sometime for nostalgia, and to check out Deirdre's tree love once more. But I am the kind of human that needs to move on, or else I could actually get really good at something- heaven forbid! But it's mostly a time thing- I always strive to play the best games out there, which leaves little room for the classics.

The Commodore · August 22, 2001, 15:54

Uninstall Smac/X? Never...after all, I have Pharoh to dich, as well as IG2. That will give me enough room until the E.V.E. beta(http://eve-online.com/), and I'll have more hard-drive space by then. It's all a matter of priorities.

Oh, just FYI: With 512MB of RAM and a 48x CD ROM, you can play most games off the CD.

Diva · August 29, 2001, 07:35

Some old games are really good, much better than the current crop. I have often heard of the legendary M.U.L.E. but haven't had the chance to actually play the game. Some great old games I have played before include UFO: Enemies Unknown and Master of Orion. Dispite their aged look they are still highly addictive.

What I am trying to say is Civ 3 won't replace SMAC/X.

It will replace Civ 2, however. Anything a player can do in Civ 2 can be done in Civ 3. Okay, almost everything

It's also designed to overcome/minimise the design flaws in Civ 2, not to mention patching all the bugs.

It also helps to have multiple computers, so when I play SMAC/X the Civ addict can play his game.

jewlguy · August 31, 2001, 08:38

I certianly hope we don't lose some of our greater knowledge givers to CIV3. Even I will be loading it up (Can't resist a new stratigy/build/explore game to play

)for variety is the spike of life. However, I cannot forsee leaving the lovely Deidre and the rest of the gang behind. We need you guys. I hate reinventing the wheel, so to speak.