Bump - for anyone interested

[BlueHooHoo]

quote:

Originally posted by OneFootInTheGrave


who are you working for? IFGM or?

whaaa.... another three weeks, argh




Yep, I got a legitimate copy of the game, I do work for Infogrames (UK). Been playing it pretty solidly for the last day or two. :-)
I think I may need to upgrade/tweak my PC though, as it feels a little "sluggish" on my current system.


Couple of quick observations:

Animated units and the landscapes look very good.

Can't irrigate land from sea squares...aaarggh ;-)

The diplomacy interaction with other civs is great fun.

Nice feeling of running an "entire nation" rather than a group of individual cities.

Culture/boundaries system works well (love subverting foreign towns to the cause!)

Civlopaedia is excellent and provides useful information when you need it.

[tishco]

show or tell us something new whcih firaxis are hush hush about, any ideas anyone, i had one but fogot it!

[Earthling7]

- Animated units and the landscapes look very good.
Better than CtP? They weren't too bad.

- Can't irrigate land from sea squares...aaarggh ;-)
Makes sence. It's saltwater. About time to correct that.

- The diplomacy interaction with other civs is great fun.
Can't wait to try it

- Nice feeling of running an "entire nation" rather than a group of individual cities.
Another CtP influence?

- Culture/boundaries system works well (love subverting foreign towns to the cause!)
Will be interesting to witness that.


How is the AI performing?

[UKScud]

Tell us a little more about your game...What map are you playing on..the big Earth map?

How is the resource model working out?

[Solver]

Blue, what about sounds? Does each unit make its unique sound when clicked on, moving, etc.? That's one of things I loved about CtP - each unit made unique sounds, and had no less than 3 of them.

[Mankind]

does every civ have his own national anthem/hymn like/from civ3 ?

it's important

[BlueHooHoo]

It looks better than CTP. There doesn't seem to be any way to adjust resolution from the game main-menu so I was playing at the standard 1024*768. With just 1 level of zoom.

Scrolling across the map was a bit slow on a PC running XP (much better on a Win ME machine (not sure if this was due to the OS or different machine specs. ?)

The units have different sounds, e.g. nice little shout of triumph when promoted from veteran to elite etc..

I started playing on the standard sized earth map at Chieftain level (stop laughing, I didn't want to get stuffed too early on!). Chose the English, the extra scout unit lasted all of 4 turns before being killed by a minor tribe barbarian! Couldn't find an option to set starting position so the English were based in the S.W. USA, with the French to the north and the Russians in Central America LOL.

Didn't really test the AI at Chieftain but didn't spot anything obviously dumb. The unit path finding was OK (still a bit flakey using GOTO across long distances).

Like the way the resources work with the bonus, luxury and strategic types. Some only appear after certain discoveries, just discovered saltpeter after researching invention, its all located to the North in French territory...Aaaarghh.

[Solver]

Sounds most nice . But man, there is an ability to run higher than 1024x768.

What's the specs of Windows XP machine?


Better than CtP - wow!

So, at Chieftain you get an extra unit? I thought starting units are a Settler and a Worker.

Anyway, sounds absolutely great.

[Locutus]

BlueHooHoo,
Most important question I have: can you turn off fancy things like animations, sounds, etc? This could speed up the game a bit, quite useful for people on low-end systems (like me)...

[UKScud]

just discovered saltpeter after researching invention, its all located to the North in French territory...Aaaarghh.

Well, go get those French and take that saltpeter!!!

It sounds as though you are in the middle game, which is where several reviews say that the new aspects of the game really start to kick in.

How much by way of combat has occured in your game in the Early Years...have you tried to take cities or is it more difficult than in Civ2?

[LaRusso]

i am absolutely droooooooling over this sneak peak
btw, 4 civs on american continent.....the rest are on the 'mainland'?

[BlueHooHoo]

Most important question I have: can you turn off fancy things like animations, sounds, etc?

In the preferences menu there are options to :

Animate battles
Animate our manual moves
Animate our automatic moves
Animate friend moves
Animate Enemy moves

each is switchable on/off



from the provisional PDF manual

Requirements
Before you install the Civilization® III CD-ROM game, make sure your computer has everything you need:
• 300 MHz Pentium® processor or better (for best performance, we recommend at least a 500 MHz Pentium);
• At least 32 MB (megabytes) of RAM (for best performance, we recommend 64 MB or more);
• 4X speed CD-ROM drive (or faster);
• Video card compatible with DirectX® 8.0a and capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution and 16-bit color depth;
• Sound card compatible with DirectX 8.0a;
• Mouse (or some other device that fulfills the same function);
• Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP;
• DirectX 8.0a (which you can install as part of the installation process); and
• Sufficient empty space on your hard drive. How much you need depends on how much of the game you choose to install. The minimum required is 500 MB.



I've only just started with the game and new things are just beginning to make a real impact. Not engaged in any open conflict with enemy civs yet (just pesky barbarians!) looks like the French will be the first to suffer my military genius (ahem).

[Sarxis]

Originally posted by BlueHooHoo
Animated units and the landscapes look very good.

Can't irrigate land from sea squares...aaarggh ;-)

The diplomacy interaction with other civs is great fun.

Nice feeling of running an "entire nation" rather than a group of individual cities.

Culture/boundaries system works well (love subverting foreign towns to the cause!)

Civlopaedia is excellent and provides useful information when you need it.

I never had any doubts

[Locutus]

Thanks, BlueHooHoo! You're doing us all a great favour, esp considering the fact that, instead of answering our questions, you could actually be playing the game
That's very good to hear about those animations

*jealous*
BTW, one other question: where do you live? I want to send a hitman to your house and have him steal your copy of the game for me
*/jealous*

[Jason Beaudoin]

GET THOSE FRENCH BASTARDS!

...oh wait... I'm francophone! ...nevermind!

Let us know about air combat when you get to that stage, because I'd like to know how that is animated. I'd like to know what it actually looks like when two fighters duke it out.

[LaRusso]

did you make any colonies? were they of any use? does empire growth pose any problems (as in ' too much territory grabbing might be bad). how quick is expansion?

[Skanky Burns]

Would you mind posting the civilopedia entry for ICBMs?? That would contain a wealth of knowledge about any MAD things if included in Civ 3. Thanks for the info so far as well, BlueHooHoo

[Th0mas]

Originally posted by Solver

So, at Chieftain you get an extra unit? I thought starting units are a Settler and a Worker.

If Bluehoohoo was playing as the English/British then he automatically gets a scout unit at the start because they are an Expansionist Civ.

[Solver]

Yep, I'd certainly be playing the game, not answering questions .

Blue, can you post the manual now? I think you've already broken the non-disclosure agreement... .

I'll be playing from a 500MHz AMD-K6PC, having Windows Xp and 256 MB RAM. Should be good, I think.

If Bluehoohoo was playing as the English/British then he automatically gets a scout
unit at the start because they are an Expansionist Civ.

Oh, right, I forgot .

[LaRusso]

solver, u bought a new monitor?

[Th0mas]

So Bluehoohoo, You blew out the candles, closed your eyes ...... and hay presto

CIV III - 4 weeks early

what a fantastic Birthday present!

Some people may call you a lucky bast@rd....personnally I think it was good planning.

So when did you join Infrogrames, I only wish I had thought of it!

[Jason Beaudoin]

When I get the game, I'm going to play one game, and then I'm going to post my thoughts for all of the Europeans out there that have to wait another two weeks before they get their copies. I'll try to answer any questions that come my way, to replay the favour of so many others that got the game before the general public. You can hold me that the promise!

[Earthling7]

Oh you lucky...

I'm wondering if I should play one last Civ2 game as a goodbye gesture...

[Chowlett]

Most important question of all - when's the UK release date?

[Robert Plomp]

POST THE PDF MANUAL
have mercy with us !

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Locutus
you could actually be playing the game

Hmm, maybe I gave BlueHooHoo an idea, he hasn't responded since I posted this

[Solver]

Originally posted by LaRusso
solver, u bought a new monitor?

You bet .

[yin26]

HURRAY! GO SOLVER!

[LaRusso]

you spendthrift after all that whining 15 or 17''?

[FrostyBoy]

BlueHooHoo: I'm a graphic designer and I am really looking forward to editing the graphics, have you looked at the editor yet? are there graphic files you can just open up like in Civ2? If so, what formats are they?

(wanna send them to me so I can edit? )