Civ4 : info & screenshots ! - Page 4

Matrix · 18-05-2005, 12:26

But I didn't say graphics is more important than gameplay. People just tend to underestimate the power of graphics.

Civ1 was addictive for it's gameplay. It was very addictive, because of the finishing touch of the graphics. The terrain was almost tangible, calling for culturalization.

Markstar · 18-05-2005, 14:31

Yes, it's looking better. You can clearly tell that it is a similar engine to Pirates!.

However, I don't find these graphics appropriate for Civ. Looking at the world map I can't tell what is where. With many unit's this effect will get even worse. But there is still time so maybe they'll adjust that. Or maybe I'm just too negative about Civ4. [

]

Markstar · 19-05-2005, 12:16

Well, looking at the next screenshot it indeed looks better. I actually kinda like the grapics.

194.53KB

More shots here:
http://www.tothegame.com/screenshot.asp?id=3667

Still, the whole coloring of the units, cities and territories makes it hard(er) to (easily) differentiate the several aspects.

Examples:
- Brown flags are almost not noticeable since they blend in with the territory, making it harder to figure out which unit belongs where (I prefer the old method where parts of the unit resemble the owners color). This is also very apparent on the horse unit north of Agade. It faces east and the flag is almost gone/hard to tell apart from other nationalities.

- Even if the units themselves would resemble their owners nationality, with the current color scheme (brown, white, dark gray), it'd still be hard(er) to figure out which tribe they actually belong to.

- Tile improvements have little buildings now? That makes it harder for the eye to make out what is a city, hut or just a mined tile.

- Units "hide" the cities (towns) underneath, thereby making it hard(er) to tell where the cities are. In previous Civs you did not need to look at the city information to know where your cities are.

- While the forrest/jungle looks nice, it is so big that its harder to identify which units is actually placed there.

- Some of the (infantry) units look very similar, another factor that makes it harder to differentiate the unit types.

- [minor] City desription needs to be worked at, the most important info is still what size the city has, especially since it seems you can't tell anymore by simply looking at it.

- [minor] Only one kind of mountain (actually I see two but both look almost the same) which looks rather stupid. But I'm sure they are going to work on that since the mountains in Civ2 looks better than those.

- Again, there is a LOT "going on" on the map which might make it nice to look at, but hard to "focus" on the key aspects of the game (primarily, imho, the world map represents the "board" of the game (like in chess), thus the first object should be to make it easy for the player to identify city placements, unit positions, road networks, etc.)

Alright, that's it for now, don't have time to write more since I should be studying. Plus I think the gameplay is going to be like the current screenshots - nice to look at at first but too superficial for the decent Civ-player.
Anyways, didn't CDZ have pretty good contacts to Firaxis once?

ERIKK · 19-05-2005, 23:07

Wow!!!!

Have you seen all the new stuff on Civ4. At CFC they have a lot of links to o.a. gamespot. I realy like what I saw in teh movies!!!

It will be out this summer and looks like a certain buy!

Melifluous · 19-05-2005, 23:22

links dude please. Especially the movies

Melifluous

Pastorius · 19-05-2005, 23:47

Front page of that other forum has them, you lazy bastard [

]

Darkness · 19-05-2005, 23:55

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by ERIKK

It will be out this summer and looks like a certain buy!

I though the estimated release date was somewhere in november?

Matrix · 20-05-2005, 00:42

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Melifluous

links dude please. Especially the movies

I've been trying to get an ftp-server running on my computer, but have been unsuccesful so far. However, I am uploading the video files on my homepage as we speak. ETA 25 minutes, then you can download them there:
http://www.straland.com/download/Civ4Video01.mpg
http://www.straland.com/download/Civ4Video02.mpg
http://www.straland.com/download/Civ4Video03.mpg

But I will remove them after this weekend.

Markstar · 20-05-2005, 05:22

Mmh, interesting. In the movies the city size is how it should be.
I still think that it looks good (especially the close-up fights) but when viewed from the distance it becomes hard to make out what is what.

What about the unit promotions? Are they in addition to an increased unit strength? I sure hope so since those promotions are fairly weak.
Those you can see from the movie:

[Sentry] +1 Visibility Range
[Mobility] -1 Terrain Movement Cost
[Drill 1] 1 Extra First Strike Chance
[Drill 2] +1 Extra First Strike
[Navigaton 1] +1 Movement Range
[Navigaton 2] +1 Movement Range
[Guerilla 1] + 20% Defense in Hills
[Guerilla 3] Double Movement in Hills, +30% Defense in Hills
[Medic 1] Heals Units in Same Tile Extra 10% Damage/Turn
[Medic 2] Heals Units in Adjacent Tiles Extra 10% Damage/Turn
[Flanking 1] +10% Withdrawal Chance
[Flanking 2] +20% Withdrawal Chance
[Bartage 3] +50% Collateral Damage, +10% vs Gunpowder Units
[A... ] +10% City Bombard Damage
[Wo...] +20% Jungle Defense, +20% Forrest Defense
[City Raider 1] +20% City Attack

And btw, I don't think ONLY having icons in the Civilopedia is such a good idea.

ERIKK · 20-05-2005, 19:18

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Matrix

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Melifluous

links dude please. Especially the movies

I've been trying to get an ftp-server running on my computer, but have been unsuccesful so far. However, I am uploading the video files on my homepage as we speak. ETA 25 minutes, then you can download them there:
http://www.straland.com/download/Civ4Video01.mpg
http://www.straland.com/download/Civ4Video02.mpg
http://www.straland.com/download/Civ4Video03.mpg

But I will remove them after this weekend.

I guess the 15 minute movie was too big?

That one has Soren explain stuff, answer questions and has loads of info!

18-05-2005, 12:26	#31
Matrix Administrator Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Tampere, Finland Posts: 4,828	But I didn't say graphics is more important than gameplay. People just tend to underestimate the power of graphics. Civ1 was addictive for it's gameplay. It was very addictive, because of the finishing touch of the graphics. The terrain was almost tangible, calling for culturalization. __________________

18-05-2005, 14:31	#32
Markstar King Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Germany. Posts: 1,746	Yes, it's looking better. You can clearly tell that it is a similar engine to Pirates!. However, I don't find these graphics appropriate for Civ. Looking at the world map I can't tell what is where. With many unit's this effect will get even worse. But there is still time so maybe they'll adjust that. Or maybe I'm just too negative about Civ4. []

19-05-2005, 23:22	#35
Melifluous Administrator Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: In the bar with SF. Posts: 3,024	links dude please. Especially the movies Melifluous __________________ Isn't it awfully nice to have a penis? Isn't it frightfully good to have a dong? It's swell to have a stiffy, It's divine to own a dick. From the tiniest little tadger To the world's biggest prick! So three cheers for your willy or John Thomas. Hooray for your one-eyed trousers snake.

19-05-2005, 23:47	#36
Pastorius Custard used tile Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Opening a can Posts: 3,158	Front page of that other forum has them, you lazy bastard [] __________________

19-05-2005, 12:16	#33
Markstar King Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Germany. Posts: 1,746	Well, looking at the next screenshot it indeed looks better. I actually kinda like the grapics. 194.53KB More shots here: http://www.tothegame.com/screenshot.asp?id=3667 Still, the whole coloring of the units, cities and territories makes it hard(er) to (easily) differentiate the several aspects. Examples: - Brown flags are almost not noticeable since they blend in with the territory, making it harder to figure out which unit belongs where (I prefer the old method where parts of the unit resemble the owners color). This is also very apparent on the horse unit north of Agade. It faces east and the flag is almost gone/hard to tell apart from other nationalities. - Even if the units themselves would resemble their owners nationality, with the current color scheme (brown, white, dark gray), it'd still be hard(er) to figure out which tribe they actually belong to. - Tile improvements have little buildings now? That makes it harder for the eye to make out what is a city, hut or just a mined tile. - Units "hide" the cities (towns) underneath, thereby making it hard(er) to tell where the cities are. In previous Civs you did not need to look at the city information to know where your cities are. - While the forrest/jungle looks nice, it is so big that its harder to identify which units is actually placed there. - Some of the (infantry) units look very similar, another factor that makes it harder to differentiate the unit types. - [minor] City desription needs to be worked at, the most important info is still what size the city has, especially since it seems you can't tell anymore by simply looking at it. - [minor] Only one kind of mountain (actually I see two but both look almost the same) which looks rather stupid. But I'm sure they are going to work on that since the mountains in Civ2 looks better than those. - Again, there is a LOT "going on" on the map which might make it nice to look at, but hard to "focus" on the key aspects of the game (primarily, imho, the world map represents the "board" of the game (like in chess), thus the first object should be to make it easy for the player to identify city placements, unit positions, road networks, etc.) Alright, that's it for now, don't have time to write more since I should be studying. Plus I think the gameplay is going to be like the current screenshots - nice to look at at first but too superficial for the decent Civ-player. Anyways, didn't CDZ have pretty good contacts to Firaxis once?

19-05-2005, 23:07	#34
ERIKK Moderator Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Netherlands!. Posts: 2,636	Wow!!!! Have you seen all the new stuff on Civ4. At CFC they have a lot of links to o.a. gamespot. I realy like what I saw in teh movies!!! It will be out this summer and looks like a certain buy!

20-05-2005, 05:22	#39
Markstar King Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Germany. Posts: 1,746	Mmh, interesting. In the movies the city size is how it should be. I still think that it looks good (especially the close-up fights) but when viewed from the distance it becomes hard to make out what is what. What about the unit promotions? Are they in addition to an increased unit strength? I sure hope so since those promotions are fairly weak. Those you can see from the movie: [Sentry] +1 Visibility Range [Mobility] -1 Terrain Movement Cost [Drill 1] 1 Extra First Strike Chance [Drill 2] +1 Extra First Strike [Navigaton 1] +1 Movement Range [Navigaton 2] +1 Movement Range [Guerilla 1] + 20% Defense in Hills [Guerilla 3] Double Movement in Hills, +30% Defense in Hills [Medic 1] Heals Units in Same Tile Extra 10% Damage/Turn [Medic 2] Heals Units in Adjacent Tiles Extra 10% Damage/Turn [Flanking 1] +10% Withdrawal Chance [Flanking 2] +20% Withdrawal Chance [Bartage 3] +50% Collateral Damage, +10% vs Gunpowder Units [A... ] +10% City Bombard Damage [Wo...] +20% Jungle Defense, +20% Forrest Defense [City Raider 1] +20% City Attack And btw, I don't think ONLY having icons in the Civilopedia is such a good idea.