Civ III Release Date Pool

Lee Johnson · December 20, 1999, 23:55

Do not adjust your crystal ball. We control the horizontal. We control the vertical...

So... Strategy Gaming Online is suggesting a 3Q 2000 release for Civ III, eh?

No. Way.

I just don't see it. Yeah, Brian and his Merry Men have been chugging away on the game for awhile already, but a July-to-September release? It just isn't going to happen. This game is going to be big, and the expectations surrounding it are going to be high--the highest of any of Firaxis' projects to date, including SMAC or Sid's Dino game. Firaxis is not going to shove it out the door until it's darn good and ready.

I'm going to go out on a limb with a little gentleman's wager: 2Q 2001. We might get lucky and see it in March 2001, but no earlier than that. I'm looking forward to Civ III, but I do not expect to see it in 2000. Period.

I now await the outraged cries of those who would tell me I'm full of it. Go ahead, I can take it.

December 21, 1999, 00:51

I completely agree with Lee, but if it does come out in 2000, it will be more ridden with bugs than CTP was. I don't think that Firaxis will do this, they are too small a company to do this.
However they are involved with EA, to what degree I am unsure, and EA has alot of marketing types, who are more than willing to put out premature buggy games.
[This message has been edited by Sophanthro (edited December 21, 1999).]

Koyaanisqatsi · December 21, 1999, 15:28

November 2K will be the release date, but it will slip to April or May of 2001.

Old Bear · December 22, 1999, 01:04

Marketing stragety suggest late November of 2000, or May of 2001 to hit the big selling times for xmas or summer. If they have been at this more than 6 months, I go for Xmas. Bugs be damned- CTP ignored the advice of it's play testers(of which I was one) and you see what a mess it is, but they had good initial sales. After all it's the bottom line, not the lines we write that they truly care about.

Biddles · December 22, 1999, 04:12

Bell has hit it on the nose. It will be postponed, just like SMAC was.

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- Biddles

"Now that our life-support systems are utilising the new Windows 2027 OS, we don't have to worry about anythi......."
Mars Colonizer Mission

Pecisk · December 22, 1999, 12:26

There's no official release date, so I can only guess...
Release won't be in 2000, for sure. They will show us some scrach info (what will CivIII look like) and videos in E3'2000.
Most of you are wrong about publisher - CivIII will be published by Hasbro. Don't be afraid, Firaxis still is developer, but with no Sid in team - Sid is working on Dinos game (still in Firaxis). Of coarse, he will have some influence.

I think release dates: CivIII - 2001 March-May
Dinos game - 2001 November - 2002 March

Happy Xmas

Peter.

[This message has been edited by Pecisk (edited December 22, 1999).]

Ari Rahikkala · December 22, 1999, 15:15

I don't even care of the release date. The best way to ensure a that a game is good is to make it good. And that needs time.

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Seeking enlightenment.
Lightening fast.

Biddles · December 24, 1999, 02:18

Yes, but I still want to play this game .. (I was going to say this century)... before I die. You could put off releasing the game indefinately and make it great, but it is useless if you don't give anyone the chance to play it.

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- Biddles

"Now that our life-support systems are utilising the new Windows 2027 OS, we don't have to worry about anythi......."
Mars Colonizer Mission

Darkstar · December 25, 1999, 06:03

Guys, when Jeff and other Firaxians were asked about this, they said that 2001 is way too long. There is no way any company would wait that long...

And I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's about to go BETA. That means 4 months until it's on the market.

I guessed at an initial release date as being set Q1 2000 (March) with a couple month delay, ending with a Late May release. And that's what OGR has it listed as, last they got any info about it.

Just a few short seasons away, and our dreams, hopes, and expectations will meet reality. And the talk about Civ4 will begin.

And I would think Q3 to Q4 of 2000 will be the targetted release of DinoCraft. A Sid Game, borrowing elements from Age of Empires 2 (Epochs/Levels)... RTS game using a modified Gett/Ant engine.

-Darkstarr

The Joker · December 26, 1999, 17:04

Wow. This is a really interesting discussion. Why don't we all sit around and argue on things we have absolutely no ideas about. None of us have any ideas about when Civ3 will be released. I am not even sure how long they've been making it. But knowing the gaming industry we will propably see a publishing date, then it will be postponed, then a new publishing date, then it will be postponed, then a new publishing date, then it will be postponed, then a new publishing date and then we will see the game.

Also, if I was to give Firaxis any good advices (not that they are likely to listen to them) I would say Take your time. There's nothing worse than having a halffinished game that we've all waited for, only to find out it brings no real news, and is full of bugs. Far better if they take their time, check out suggestions (reading our Wish List should take a few years...), make public beta tests and above all: make something new and revolutionary. And make it work.

Biddles · December 26, 1999, 22:00

Where did you find that out from Darkstarr?

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- Biddles

"Now that our life-support systems are utilising the new Windows 2027 OS, we don't have to worry about anythi......."
Mars Colonizer Mission

December 27, 1999, 22:30

Jusdt cant wait for thr games release... hopefully the beat a testing will remove a lot of bugs not found in civ 2

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Rasputin The Mad Monk,
Ra Ra Rasputin, Lover of the Russian Queen

Akbar · December 28, 1999, 02:01

Spring 2000? Your dreaming.

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Up there it's their time, but down here it's our time.
It's our time down here!-Mikey, esteemed Goonie.

December 28, 1999, 04:54

He's right Akbar, CivIII has been in production for a fair amount of time now.

There are sites that say 2Q 2000. So we do know some fair ideas about the release date, however, I do think that because it's such a big game, it will be a bit longer, but not well into the year 2001, that's ridiculous. It's not a fricken movie!

Anyway, so many complain about the bugs, I complain about the gameplay. The better they can make the game, the longer I will wait. The bugs? c'mon, do you really care more about the bugs than the gameplay itself?

December 28, 1999, 05:01

Actualy the bugs remind me of the thread about one of the team members on CivIII talking about a alpha version. Doesn't that make you WONDER?

Darkstar · December 28, 1999, 06:43

We've had interesting talks with Jeff and Tim. And there are the chats with Brian around when people were asking him how long the development would take (like 18+ months), in which he laughed and said they'd be doing good to claim 9 months and end up using 12 to make it.

Release dates are EASY to find. Just look them up in game rags and with game retailers. Then slide the first set you come across around by one to two quarters back, and you generally in a realistic prediction for most games. Now, that's not saying that a lot of games wouldn't do better letting the development team slide it back even further, but marketting and economic pressures force the publishers to get nasty about contract dates and obligations and not getting any more money. Or so we hear from most developers.

Jeff said that they were ABOUT to go Beta, when he was talking about them discussing which Beta method they should use for Civ3. I only saw a snippet of the entire virtual conversation, but that with other things tends to add up.

Such as, Brian had originally said they'd stencilled in Feb 2000 back before they signed an OFFICIAL deal about it, seems to me that they are on track for a May 2000 release. Back ends (delivery dates) always slide, after you get past the framework and start getting into the meat, and discover it takes more time then you originally thought to get in all the requirements.

I'm not expecting anything revolutionary. Just evolutionary. And something a lot closer to SMAC then Civ2. After all, it's SMAC that has been based on... one that's been stretched, tweeked, improved, and otherwise modified. And I'm REAL curious how they did mountains... or if they use straight SMAC terrain. Guess I'll have to wait and see...

I haven't been following this as close as other things though, so I wouldn't suggest you bet your payroll on it.

-Darkstarr
(who had to edit a few spelling mistakes...)
[This message has been edited by Darkstarr (edited December 28, 1999).]

December 28, 1999, 07:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Darkstarr on 12-28-1999 05:43 AM
Jeff said that they were ABOUT to go Beta

where???
I've only seen him saying
"I'm investigating how to do an 'open' public beta right now for both Civ III and Sid's game (versus a 'closed' or 'screened' public beta, like with SMAC)
just because he's working on it, it odesnt mean they are there yet...

Quote:

Such as, Brian had originally said they'd stencilled in Feb 2000 back before they signed an OFFICIAL deal about it

again, where? when asked during this summer, Brian had said to us "early next millenium"

perhaps I'm lacking the correct links...

Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS · December 28, 1999, 20:30

Civ III is about to go beta? I got to start paying attention at those Monday lunches!

jkm
firaxis games

December 28, 1999, 21:06

lol, I'll take it as a "no"

can you tell us at which stage things are now JKM???

December 28, 1999, 21:11

oh, I see you posted "Not even REMOTELY close"(to beta) in the other thread...

yes, a news item is coming any minute now...

shimmer · December 28, 1999, 21:47

Let us also hope that Firaxis doesn't try (and I don't think they will)and push this game out for the Christmas rush next year. I just as excited to play the game as anyone else but I'd rather wait for a while then have a bug-ridden game.

Darkstar · December 29, 1999, 05:54

Mark, yeah, I FOUND the original place of that. Oh well. At least we got an update out of it. So I don't mind being so wrong... I had originally recieved that in email, and had mistaked something the sender sent as part of Jeff's statement here at Apoly. My apologies, guys. That doesn't NORMALLY happen. (Must have been wishing on my part...)

Still doesn't mean the 5/2000 release date is off. Now does it? I'm sure Firaxis's ...umm... assistants in distributing the game will still pressure them as strong as they can.

Not close to beta? That's good news in my book. I can wait. As long as it's a good game, I'll like it. I'll try not to expect a game too fun. Somewhere between Civ2 and Civ. That's all.

Remember, bug ridden is a matter of personal opinion. But I'm sure that Firaxis will kill all they can. They'd rather not spend 6 months chasing bugs down after the release when they could be working on something new and interesting.

Thanks for the info, Jeff! As always!

-Darkstarr
(Just slightly embarassed...)

Patriqvium · December 29, 1999, 07:42

Btw, Brian's mention about "early in the next millenium" may mean anything between 2001-2200...

connorkimbro · December 29, 1999, 11:24

Did a bit of searching and found this. . dated mid-March of 99

Quote:

"There's been a lot of discussion and design work done," he said. "It needs to be more than an evolution of Civ II. We don't want a new formula, but we want it to feel like a Civ III and not a Civ II with enhancements".

So apparently they've been working on it for ALMOST a year now already. . if they've got a good team, november of next year seems possible. .

Theben · December 29, 1999, 12:05

That is good news. About the bugs, I wouldn't want Firaxis to chase down each and every one before release. True, I'd like them to get most and the worst of them, but companies have realized that gamers will find the rest quickly. That's what patches are for. If the choice is between getting a good game in May and a patch in July, or waiting until August for the game, I'll pick May.

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Theben
Co-Moderator of the Civ3 Forums

Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS · December 30, 1999, 01:09

It's so early it's hard to really categorize Civ III. I'd say we're still in the prototype phase, though signifigant design and art work has been initiated. I won't engage in any wild speculation about a date, which is ALL any release date you hear about is..

jkm
firaxis games
[This message has been edited by Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS (edited December 29, 1999).]

FinnishGuy · December 30, 1999, 04:08

Quote:

I'd say we're still in the prototype phase, ...

Very good news indeed (IMO). This means the List v2 suggestions also have a chance of making it into the game.

BTW jkm, any hint about how much the Lists (v1 and v2) are having impact on Civ3?

December 30, 1999, 07:28

I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE DAMN RELEASE DATE I WANT TO SEE THE SCREENSHOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

zaz · December 30, 1999, 11:20

Game released on March 15,2001
4th patch released so the game is actually playable released Sept 1, 2001

Harel · December 30, 1999, 11:22

Quote:

Originally posted by Darkstarr on 12-28-1999 05:43 AM
We've had interesting talks with Jeff and Tim. And there are the chats with Brian around when people were asking him how long the development would take (like 18+ months), in which he laughed and said they'd be doing good to claim 9 months and end up using 12 to make it.
This message has been edited by Darkstarr

Where are you LIVING Darkstarr?!
Games don't take 12 months to complete!
Take, for example, Free-space2, which is after all just a re-vock of the old engine. It took more then a year, and they worked like crazy.
Games take 18 months normally, and we are talking about average companies and average games.
Strategy games take a lot longer. StarCraft took 26 pure months of work, and it wasn't a technological breakthourth. So does most other strategy games.
Civ III will take two years of development, like every respectable game from a respectable company takes.
The only difference is, that most companies only declare the new games publilcy when on advanced stages of the game.
What did you think? To make the basical engine for even a simple screen-shot is atleast 80% of the programming right there!
Firaxis told us about civ III when they just had the idea... It still way-way-way off, sadly...