So far...

[Velociryx]

...I'm mightily impressed, but I will refrain from saying much beyond that at the moment. I'm still...immersing myself in it.

I think it's really cool to see familiar terms from SMAC starting to crop up here....and in the fledgling essays I'm putting together re: my own game observations, I too, am finding myself relying on the language that was developed in SMAC/AC.

One of the more interesting things about this new game is the unique strengths and weaknesses of the various playable civs. This includes most obviously, each Civ's special unit, but also the concept of Golden Ages (mentioned in another thread here). I'm still puzzling various aspects of the game out, but the civs seem pretty well balanced so far (tho I've not nearly played them all). I've yet to win on anything higher than Regent, but my eyes are cast to higher levels...

Anyway, my one observation so far is that the Golden Age, and a given Civ's ability to make use of one in a given historical epoch has vast, far-reaching implications, and will likely be the basis for the beginnings of a Vel's Civ Guide?

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

PS:
The other observations I'll make early on are two-fold:

Frist - Kudos on the AI and Trading screens. My only gripe there is there's no auto-renewal for trade goods, but I think this has been mentioned here previously. The AI is so much improved, however, that there is simply no comparison.

Second - Resources. Their importance to your success is sooooo vital, and that, more than any other single feature in the game, adds a level of realism that we've not seen before in the Civ series. It also opens up the very real *need* to go to war to accomplish limited, specific objectives (ie - secure a source of coal).

This is a fantastic development!!!

-=Vel=-

[Master Marcus]

Just want to say over that, in short, is how much improved is the AI next to what pessimists have feared in the past months. Civ III has just passed the test. What hit me the most is the AI expansion: in a normal map+8 civs, your opponents ( Regent) expand at a fast pace and in the Middle Ages they colonize all available small islands - even the 2-square ones.

Also the cultural influence is extremely potent and works well.