Civ III Conquests Preview in Computer Games Magazine

Falconius · July 2, 2003, 01:37

Just got the latest issue in the mail. It's a very short preview and most of the info is stuff I've already seen here on Apolyton. Some quotes:

"Maps can now undergo permanent changes from things like random volcanoes and battle damage."

"A Shogun-themed conquest with a regicide goal will have a special tech tree. As the player researches new techs, his king will become more powerful, advancing from a lowly 2/2/1 all the way to a godly 11/11/4. There will be a separate branch of tech for ninja units that can develop unique abilities, including assassination by directing a special attack at a king, bypassing any defensive units stacked with the king."

The article mentions the Mayans and Sumerians, and also the Sengoku, who can research Ninjutsu (apparently a Japanese sub-tribe within the Shogun scenario. The Mori are also mentioned in this context). A pictured Mori unit is the "Sokei Warrior Monk."

The article also states "Firaxis is building Conquests around specific elements of gameplay, some of which are entirely new, requiring changes to the code base that can't be accomplished with the scenario editor."

And like I said, the rest is stuff we already know about.

Just passing on the info.....

Vince278 · July 2, 2003, 01:40

Quote:

Originally posted by Falconius
As the player researches new techs, his king will become more powerful, advancing from a lowly 2/2/1 all the way to a godly 11/11/4.

Cool. That reminds me of the boardgame Titan.

Panag · July 2, 2003, 01:44

hi ,

well it aint a lot , but better then nothing , .....

have a nice day

alva · July 2, 2003, 02:15

Sounds interesting, I think...

FrustratedPoet · July 2, 2003, 07:08

Sounds promising. I'm wary of getting over-excited. I'm VERY interested in seeing how Conqests turns out, though. Some fascinating ideas are involved.

I hope they put all the fields and triggers for these "new gameplay elements" in the editor. If you can't tweak the settings or use them in scenarios they won't be nearly as good IMHO.

WarpStorm · July 2, 2003, 19:51

Quote:

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet
I hope they put all the fields and triggers for these "new gameplay elements" in the editor. If you can't tweak the settings or use them in scenarios they won't be nearly as good IMHO.

The Conquests scenarios are being made using the included Conquests editor.

History Guy · July 2, 2003, 21:47

Quote:

The article mentions the Mayans and Sumerians, and also the Sengoku, who can research Ninjutsu (apparently a Japanese sub-tribe within the Shogun scenario. The Mori are also mentioned in this context). A pictured Mori unit is the "Sokei Warrior Monk."

I think what they mean is that Sengoku is the name of the scenario. Sengoku wasn't a tribe or civilization, but the name the Japanese give for their Warring States period, which produced such great leaders as Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The Mori Clan would naturally be included in that scenario, I suppose (not as a civ, for they were only a powerful family of daimyos from the Sengoku period). They were the Oda's great rivals for a time, supporting the powerful Buddhist monasteries which Nobunaga wanted to remove. They were ultimately defeated in 1581 by Hideyoshi under orders from Nobunaga.

Jon Shafer · July 3, 2003, 01:19

Quote:

Originally posted by WarpStorm
The Conquests scenarios are being made using the included Conquests editor.

Shhhhh. These walls have ears.

FrustratedPoet · July 3, 2003, 04:28

Quote:

Originally posted by WarpStorm
The Conquests scenarios are being made using the included Conquests editor.

That's good to know.

Spiffor · July 4, 2003, 16:10

Interesting news. Thanks for the quotes !

Now let's hope online gaming magazines will recieve the same preview in a few days

DarkCloud · July 4, 2003, 18:16

Here's the scan

(I'm surprised someone got the magazine before me

.. then again, It took me a day to get this scanned

Thanks for writing it out Falconius; Here's the page.

(well, as much as apolyton file upload will allow me to upload anyway

)

finally I gave up and uploaded the simplest one to Apolyton UPLAD SERVICE
so this should be it:

http://apolyton.net/upload/files/DarkCloud/civii5.jpg

DarkCloud · July 4, 2003, 18:19

and also, the higher quality one:

http://apolyton.net/upload/files/DarkCloud/civiii2.jpg

...sounds like another sub-par expansion *sigh*

Spiffor · July 4, 2003, 19:51

Thanks !

So, the second new government will be the Confucean Bureaucracy.

Also, Firaxis seems to have built really new things, such as techs directly affecting units, and units "fighting dirty". Do you think the new govs will also add entirely new things, or will they only be new tweaks that one can already make in the editor ?

David Murray · July 5, 2003, 10:15

Quote:

Originally posted by Spiffor
Thanks !

So, the second new government will be the Confucean Bureaucracy.

Also, Firaxis seems to have built really new things, such as techs directly affecting units, and units "fighting dirty". Do you think the new govs will also add entirely new things, or will they only be new tweaks that one can already make in the editor ?

Sounds like we're going to get what I feared we might - bizarre, exotic new governments which will probably be specific to certain scenarios. So, probably no fascism, fundamentalism or anything vaguely normal or sensible like that.

I wonder what else will be scenario specific - and won't make the blindest bit of difference to ordinary games. Which is what I for one will go back to after getting bored from playing the scenarios. (Probably a couple of days until the novelty wears off.)

edit for terrible grammar

Spiffor · July 5, 2003, 10:39

I'm pretty sure they'll make everything scenario specific available for normal game, at least through the use of the editor.

Besides, these governments aren't that exotic, as they have been used very widely across the world, with much efficiency (granted, they weren't used in Civ's usual western context)

David Murray · July 5, 2003, 10:52

Quote:

I'm pretty sure they'll make everything scenario specific available for normal game, at least through the use of the editor.

Besides, these governments aren't that exotic, as they have been used very widely across the world, with much efficiency (granted, they weren't used in Civ's usual western context)

You're spot on about the western bias - and that's precisely what makes me think that these new governments have been designed for the scenarios. The overly simplistic model in Civ as it is now is probably inadequate for what these new, complicated scenarios demand - I remember in Civ2, in the WWII scenario, that Germany was a 'Republic'. And so therefore I fear it may be the case that these new government types will have little useful value for normal games of Civ. (Besides, 'Confucian bureaucracy' - give us a break! That's the last thing that would have come into my head, except maybe for a Buddhist Meditation Regime or a Hippie Commune!)

Of course, Firaxis would have to do something different ... we can only wonder just how scenario-orientated this new XP is going to be.

Panag · July 5, 2003, 15:22

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/...sts/media.html

movie

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/...w_6028002.html
We were fortunate enough to attend a Firaxis press event at which the company's president, Jeff Briggs, and the company's chief creative director, veteran game designer Sid Meier, announced a new partnership with Atari Games (the publisher formerly known as Infogrames) to develop and publish new PC games. According to Meier, the new agreement gives Firaxis the right to revisit such classic properties as Colonization, Covert Action, Silent Service, F-15 Strike Eagle, and F-19 Stealth Fighter. Briggs and Meier went on to formally announce the next product in the Civilization series: Civilization III: Conquests, a new expansion pack for the award-winning 2001 strategy game.

Civilization III: Conquests will feature a brand-new single-player campaign that will model eight different famous historical campaigns, including the battle for Mesopotamia, the battles between the Mayans and Incans, the struggle for control of feudal Japan, and even World War II. The expansion pack will also feature a whopping eight new civilizations, as well as a great many other additions, including new military units, new diplomacy options, new government types, new wonders of the world, new victory conditions, new resources, and new luxuries. The expansion will be released later this year.

hi ,

the above seems very intresting , ......

F-19

have a nice day

Azeem · July 5, 2003, 18:43

Seems like there's going to be a lot of scenario-specific additions.

Kaos XIII · July 5, 2003, 18:54

This is all great news.

Although, it seems this XP is going to be all about Scenarios. Then again with the new editor, it should be no problem modding all the new things in.

Panag · July 5, 2003, 19:05

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaos XIII
This is all great news.

Although, it seems this XP is going to be all about Scenarios. Then again with the new editor, it should be no problem modding all the new things in.

hi ,

well that seems to be the way of thinking for the editor writers , they want an editor that is simple to use and that allows you unlimited editing , ......

cant wait to play with that F-19

have a nice day

Vince278 · July 5, 2003, 21:01

Will I need PTW to install? (I never purchased that)

Imran Siddiqui · July 5, 2003, 21:02

Quote:

Sounds like we're going to get what I feared we might - bizarre, exotic new governments which will probably be specific to certain scenarios.

Well, there will probably have to be a 'Fascism' for the WW2 scenario, I'd have to think.

Quote:

Will I need PTW to install? (I never purchased that)

I doubt it (Ah, PTW, a waste of my money

)

MattH · July 5, 2003, 21:14

Quote:

...there'll be a flashy cosmetic treatment for the units...

Does this mean the graphics will be updated? That would rock...

Kaos XIII · July 5, 2003, 21:22

Hi!

Click on the link below!

Look at the screenshot with the volcano! Then look at the southern area. What the hell is that??? Looks like some funky irrigation, or some new terrain tile.

Look at the SCREENSHOT

Turk Man · July 6, 2003, 00:22

cool

Chilean President™ · July 6, 2003, 00:52

You're right Kaos, the terrain look pretty weird. But I don't believe is a new irrigation system, perhaps is just a new graphic display of something similar to a swamp, or something like that.

great link