GameSpy preview including two new screenshots!

[The diplomat]

The diplomacy screen looks really good. It seems like we really will be able to wheel and deal with the AI.

Did you folks see the city screen? We can see the number of food/shields/luxuries each tile is contributing. It looks good.
I finally see what they meant by the city screen is on the map.
You will notice that the game just darkens the rest of the world and superimposing the city info on the map. This will avoid having to flip through screens. I see what Firaxis meant by keeping the player on the same map as much as possible.

Ralf: I remember that we discussed a lot about the city screen. What do you think of how civ3 shows the food/shield/luxury of each worked tile? it looks like the icons are little bigger. The amount of ressources that each tile is producing is a lot more obvious than before. I like it.

Civ3 is smokin' hot, people!

------------------
No permanent enemies, no permanent friends.

[Kautilya]

There is another screenshot on page two and lots of leader pictures on page 3 as well. I really hope that the maps are going to better than what we have seen so far which is not upto the quality of CTP2. Everyone says that these is just preliminary stuff but if so why would Firaxis keep releasing the pictures.

[Kautilya]

Nothing much new about the gameplay in the text but I came across this which might give a clue about Firaxis' priorities:

"We've completely animated all of the units in the
game," says Briggs, "that has been a real time killer. There are over 15,000 frames of animation
in the game.""

Now I like cool animations as much as the next man but I really would have preferred them to spend massive amounts of time on AI or gameplay rather than unit animations.


[This message has been edited by Kautilya (edited May 17, 2001).]

[Buck Birdseed]

*disclaimer*: That is not my write-up. Someone else did it at the same time.

Kayutila: Don't know about you, but I'm cautious of any AI programmed by Artists and Animators.

[markusf]

heres another thing from E3... what is Psycho Circus ???

Civilization III
There really isn't much more to say about this than the title. Apparently, Sid Meier has come out of retirement to make one final game that will essentially make all other computer games obsolete. I mean computer strategy games. I doubt Civ3 could make KISS: Psycho Circus obsolete. But when it comes to all other strategy games, all King Sid really has to day is "tech tree" and people everywhere run for cover. One of the things I hear Firaxis is doing to make the game great is making the units be in 3D. I'm going to drop by and see if they're going to be doing any other things.

Master of Orion 3
I actually like the Master of Orion series more than Civilization. The criticism of space 4x games in the past has been that there isn't the familiar hook in terms of historical background that makes games like Civilization, Civilization, and even the Call to Power series (ok, maybe not the Call to Power series) so compelling. This was one of the theories put forward to explain why Call to Power outsold Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. With MOO3, Quicksilver is aiming to vastly expand the game universe in terms of such things as politics, all the while trying to make up for the absence of Steve Barcia, who is now developing games for the upcoming Nintendo Gamecube and doesn't want to have anything to do with you peons. In his place, the MOO3 team is being headed up by Alan Emrich, who used to do a lot of boardgaming, so this game should be all set.

[Harlan]

Ralf,
You're right, having a separate column for wonders is kind of a waste. However, it looks like the town already has enough improvements so you need to scroll down, and they don't take up that blank space. Maybe its just kept blank, in which case they really need to change it.

Maybe the problem with the irrigation is there's no hint there are any actual farms or crops there. Just a bunch of lines.

Also, I was thinking about the problem of all the advisors looking the same. I recall seeing some graphic of Sid Meier as an advisor, dressed up in anique clothes and with big mutton-chop sideburns. Perhaps what they need to do is have the graphic that shows up look like one of the guys from another era, instead of always their modern appearance. Pick versions that are the most unusal, like the mutton-chops on Sid. And maybe give some of the guys a hat, like a military helmet for the military advisor. Anything to make them more distinctive!

[Adm.Naismith]

quote: Originally posted by SerapisIV on 05-17-2001 10:01 PM What the heck are the giant "C"s in the northwest of the regular map in the first Gamespy screenshot? http://www.gamespy.com/asp/image.asp...v3/image18.jpg

"C" as for Colonies

About all criticism and guessing on current screenshots, I must underline they really look as "Work in progress".
Icons that doesn't match with their accompaining text, a "Please wait..." into the small info box, lower left in a picture...

We can play to guess (I do it myself) but we should do it with care and a grain of salt, IMHO.

BTW some units show a vertical green line with as much as 4 tick: is it the status (force) bar?

------------------
A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind. The mind was the first and final battleground, the stuff in between was just noise.
- Admiral Naismith

[senowen]

quote: Originally posted by Adm.Naismith on 05-18-2001 02:54 AMBTW some units show a vertical green line with as much as 4 tick: is it the status (force) bar?

I think that's exactly what it is. Didn't SMAC have something like that? I only played the demo of that game, so I don't remember exactly.

[bagdar]

I suggest that we don't get too excited over the screenshots because it seems that they've been designed so that we only get an overall idea about the appereance of the game-in-process. I mean, there won't be a city named Spiceland, right? So, the reds might mot be a civ and that 'colliseum' might mean something else. Anyway,

1- I think the overall culture concept, with the details on the GameSpy preview is great... I've been thinking about something like this, and although I'm not aware of it, the List must have had something about this. Because it sounds so nice in a "Civilization" game.

2- The map looks great, except for those mountains that are too fractal-like

3- I don't like that bargaining table, besides it is the multiplayer barg. screen.

4- SYS REQUIREMENTS - COMPLEXITY???

I loved it, really.

[Father Beast]

I'm curious that nobody else has mentioned this:
the culture border around Baltimore is 2 squares, like the city limits.
the culture border around waukeegan is 3 SQUARES! (except in the direction of salamanca)

so it seems EACH CITY must build up its own culture rating to get involved, eh?

[Ralf]

quote: Originally posted by Father Beast on 05-18-2001 04:12 PM so it seems EACH CITY must build up its own culture rating to get involved, eh?

Well, this is how I have understood it all along. Each indevidual city contributes with its own gradually growing culture-border until these merges with each other to a uniform whole.
Having it in any other way would imbalance the game; it would be way too easy to grow your culture-influence. Imagine a large AI-empire with wide culture-influence populating a big island. Then 2-3 new AI-settlers is sent away far beyond their own border-limits, to your island. Imagine then that 2-3 small & weakly developed AI-cities is founded a couple of squares outside your own culture-borders. Now, should these AI-cities automatically be granted unproportionally huge culture-influences for free - from the very start? I dont think so.

[This message has been edited by Ralf (edited May 18, 2001).]