Okay, here's my impresions of what is wrong with Civ3:
-
Graphics. They look too dodgy for me. Yeah, they may've picked a theme, but it looks ugly!
-
Diplomacy. What? I can't even have every player on the diplomacy-map screen?
-
Diplomacy. The AI will still ask stupid things.
-
Diplomacy. (again) Doesn't ANY designers out there know how to implement "Withdraw troops" properly except for us here?
-
Resources. Three games in a row I was locked out of saltpeter by a group of Civs friendly to each other (consequently making me have to wage war by myself against 2 or 3 gunpowder civs).
-
Resources. One oil or rubber resource on the map? What's with that?
-
Civ Abilities. Most of them are pretty pointless and useless, limited to early-game strats only. (See below for my b*tch on gameplay).
-
Units. Same old problem. Ridiculous outcomes.
-
Trade. "Hello Mr President. I have the only oil source in the world surrounded by 50 tanks and artillery. You want some oil to build tanks? Yes? Well how about you give me all those 5 techs I don't know, Washington DC, Boston and Philadelphia, contact with the other 6 Civs, your complete world map, and your hourses resource for one oil barrel. Yes? Good. Deal."
-
Defending. "Hmm...... I discovered you, you have no idea where I am on the other side of the map, I haven't traded my maps with anyone, you declared war on me, and yet now you have ships and planes approaching my one weakly defended city at the back of my Civ? What gives?"
-
Culture. TOO STRONG!
-
Corruption. Even with Forbidden Palace 3/4's of your Civ is useless, except as Pop producers.
-
Gameplay. The amount of early strats in Civ3 that can be manipulated, is incredible. Lumberjacking. Using Pops to finish improvs. All these strats make MP (if it EVER comes out) unattractive, and so easy to win the game by mid-game. Besides, even not using any of these strat manipulations it's too easy to win.
Basically, it was not what it was hyped to be.
Dale
(Note to self: must read whole posts...)
