Civilization VII

[NyQuil]

Can anyone give me a quick rundown of what makes Civ5 better? I've only ever played Civ 6 and I really enjoyed it.

The biggest change from Civ 5 to Civ 6 is the introduction of the district system.

Establishing districts in the proper slots around a city to maximize production/happiness etc. requires a fair amount of knowledge and understanding of what techs and wonders you will be pursuing in the future. It rewards the player who sees far enough ahead to know what will be there 100 turns later.

Districts are affected by the districts around them, so their location is critical. You can't raze or change districts without razing the entire city, so a misstep early on can cost you later.

In Civ 5, all of the city buildings (Wonders, banks, merchant houses, etc.) are simply inside the city hex, and improving the land outside of the city (e.g. establishing mines, lumber yards, fisheries, etc.) can always be reversed or changed later.

I suspect it is one of those mechanics that you will eventually get comfortable with, but the fact that you can't switch them around, even on easier difficulty levels, is a particularly punitive aspect of the game when you're still learning how it works.

 

[Jovavic]

In Civ6 there's also prerequisites to building Wonders (need to be in a certain district, needs to be near a certain landmass like a river, mountain, desert, forest, etc.), so really the first times you play it you should keep track of the Wonders you want to build and try to make viable cities for them to be built in.

 

[NyQuil]

In Civ6 there's also prerequisites to building Wonders (need to be in a certain district, needs to be near a certain landmass like a river, mountain, desert, forest, etc.), so really the first times you play it you should keep track of the Wonders you want to build and try to make viable cities for them to be built in.

Some of the wonders in Civ 5 have pre-requisites but they are few.

(E.g. Petra by a desert, Colossus on the coast, etc.)

 

[RandV]

Can anyone give me a quick rundown of what makes Civ5 better? I've only ever played Civ 6 and I really enjoyed it.

I am certain the game will go on an extreme sale again. I originally got it for Switch like 75% off and then got it again for free on PC through EGS' free games.

Too be fair Civ VI is an amazing game, its just when you've played long enough to start to understand how the sausage is made that it falls behind. Like it can be fun getting some submarines out and dominating the high seas, but eventually that gets to the point where you realize the AI simply doesn't have any idea how to use a navy - like they might build an aircraft carrier and rather than load aircraft will just attack with it. And that's been a problem from the very beginning of Civ VI.

Now Civ V has it's own flaws, but the difference is after Firaxis released the second expansion pack for V they took their hands off it and the modding community took over. When they were done with Civ VI's second expansion, maybe with some Y2K influence they decided they were going to continue to release a bunch of micro DLC's and essentially closed the door on the modding communities. The base game will run, but trying to add mods to your game has become a shitshow and they closed off access that let modders try to address things like bad AI which they had in previous games.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I can't explain it, as I've never played Civ VI. For all I know, I've missed out on a great game.

But in the lead up to Civ V's launch and in the years that have followed, I've watched a lot of Civ V games on YouTube, and have played even more games irl (currently prepping to invade Norway as Poland to wrest control of a small continent). The more I watch, the more I want to play, and the more I play the more I want to play until I force myself to take a break for a few weeks to months.

For the lead up to Civ VI, I eagerly watched game after game.... and it just did nothing for me. In the years that have followed, I've watched more games still and have just likewise never been interested. The map work is beautiful and the leader animations have grown on me, but for whatever reason the core gameplay loop has just never interested or sunk their teeth into me.

 

[RandV]

I can't explain it, as I've never played Civ VI. For all I know, I've missed out on a great game.

But in the lead up to Civ V's launch and in the years that have followed, I've watched a lot of Civ V games on YouTube, and have played even more games irl (currently prepping to invade Norway as Poland to wrest control of a small continent). The more I watch, the more I want to play, and the more I play the more I want to play until I force myself to take a break for a few weeks to months.

For the lead up to Civ VI, I eagerly watched game after game.... and it just did nothing for me. In the years that have followed, I've watched more games still and have just likewise never been interested. The map work is beautiful and the leader animations have grown on me, but for whatever reason the core gameplay loop has just never interested or sunk their teeth into me.

I've always felt like Civ VI has a lot of game designs that look good on paper but in practice come down to tedious min/maxing that doesn't really matter much in the end when the AI isn't very good.

Like placing districts is a perfect example, how much impact does it really make in the end 'planning' well and getting an extra +1/+2 out of them? On the other hand I find the downside to districts compared to other Civ's is it really limits your early game. Where before if you want to increase say science you just start building or purchasing libraries, but in Civ VI now you have to build the district first before you can build the library. Cities can only build x number of districts based on population limiting your early cities forcing you to focus on only on or two things, and mid-late game slows down growth of new settlements.

 

[Seedtype]

Districts always felt a little weird to me as well. They really shouldn't be a thing until you reach the Industrial Revolution or something like that.

(Now the wonders tile placement I do like, though I'm sure that can be annoying too)

 

[Saskatoon]

Distracts do have some advantages - things like being able to connect a city to fresh water via aqueduct you have more city placement options that are viable.

Perfection is the thief of joy in this game for me - I mean I am capable of min/maxing and sometimes that is rewarding.

But if you just turn the difficulty down from the max more strategy's become viable and less min/maxing is needed

 

[NyQuil]

Distracts do have some advantages - things like being able to connect a city to fresh water via aqueduct you have more city placement options that are viable.

Perfection is the thief of joy in this game for me - I mean I am capable of min/maxing and sometimes that is rewarding.

But if you just turn the difficulty down from the max more strategy's become viable and less min/maxing is needed

It’s true - I’ve successfully won at Deity but basically by following the same blueprint every time with little room for deviation.

The lower difficulties offer a little more variety in playstyle.

As a bit of a gaming perfectionist/completionist, messing up a district placement just irks me every time I look at it until the end of the game.

So maybe it’s just a personal flaw

 

[RandV]

Sid Meier's Civilization VII - Gameplay Showcase Coming August 20​

11:00AM PT is when we'll get to see what they have.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Looks pretty, but not a lot to really gauge there alone.

Stream to hopefully start soon showing maybe more:

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

 

[No Fun Shogun]

The addition of navigable rivers is nice for exploration. Keeping districts is a letdown, as those were one of the things that made me disinterested in Civ6, and a tad worried that the strict adherence to eras might make the game feel segmented. Didn't see noticeable hero units, so that's a positive, but them highlighting a pre-order/newsletter signup bonus for persona unlocks feels scummy to me.

I don't know, looks more interesting than 6, but at first glance still not as interesting to me as 5. I'll keep an open mind.

 

[MikeyMike01]

I have 400 hours in both V and VI. What they showed today looks awful. Maybe they’ll overhaul it some time with DLC but as of right now it’s a hard pass. I have no interest in a Humankind-style game.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

For a 'gameplay reveal,' they didn't reveal much gameplay.

It sure does look like districts are back, which I don't mind. I think there's a lot of potential there even if I didn't care much for how they were implemented in VI.

 

[Seedtype]

The actual preview stream. Edit: Okay I think I got it working right, heh.

 

[Seedtype]

Alright, after thinking about it for a bit after watching it and reading some previews, my random thoughts:

-Narrator is good.
-Navigating rivers is awesome.
-It sounds like your cities will start off as towns, you have to build it out with districts to get it to actual cities(or you can just be some niche town)

-Barbarians are gone and have been replace by minor powers that can become like city states in Civ 6. I for one welcome this change a lot. Barbarians never really made sense to me, especially when they can just randomly appear and have units that can be on par with your own or even slightly more powerful, depending on the era.

-The three ages. I think the selection of ages is okay, but I'm still processing your civilization changing into another one. I think how they handle the transition is going to be really important. I think it is gonna result in some weird things happening, like ancient Egypt becoming Canada or something, heh. Just not sure if it's gonna make sense, especially when you consider your neighbors will change as well.

-Your leader being the same the whole game, and is no longer tied to any particular civilization. I don't know about this one, heh. They can get new upgrades as the game goes on.

-Sound like armies and combat will basically be the same as Civ 6, but you can have a general hold them all in one stack while moving them around, but then you have to deploy and spread them out for battle. I think that's a good change, moving armies around with the one unit per tile rule can be pretty tedious.

-Workers are gone, sounds like you just build upgrades and district stuff. I'm okay with this, workers has always been tedious to me.

-It's going to be on all platforms day one. I hope designing for consoles will not result in any serious compromises. I don't recall if crossplay was mentioned, but I would think that would be there with the 2K accounts.

-Also, screw the preorder bonus crap.

Honestly, I think I need to see some more previews and stuff before purchasing the game. The civilization changing every age, plus leaders that can be with any civ could really destroy the thematic cohesion of "building a civilization that can stand the test of time." (IMO, of course)

 

[Sad People]

Few things that stood out to me.

* It seems like they did away with the really cartoonish art style and im really digging it. Still not as quite as Civ 5 imo, but its better than 6. THEY JUST TALKED ABOUT IT HOW THEY LISTENED TO THEIR COMMUNITY ABOUT THE ART STYLE
* I like the new narrator
* Not the biggest fan of the fog of war, i know its a small little thing but it bugs me.
* You being able to choose a different civ at a new age seems pretty cool and makes the gameplay loop a little more fresh then just having to choose 1 civ and thats it for the game also it seems like it will add a lot of replay ability
* Only 3 ages is interesting. I dont even know how many the last game had.
* It almost has an RPG element to it with you choosing leaders instead of civs which is cool. It adds a ton of replay ability reminds me of a skill tree kinda.
* Districts are back which im kinda bummed about, not the biggest fan of that game mechanic but can live with it.
* The performance seems like itll be booty at launch, i can already see it.
* Again the replay ability in this seems damn near infinite.
* Bringing back the civ 6 composer is a great move the theme in 6 is so effin good.
* I hope we dont have to link our account or make a 2k account/ use their launcher to play the game. It sounds like they wont but are incentivising people to do so with the "pre order" stuff but dont think im that desperate.

Firaxis seems to be cooking a bit here. I usually dont pre order games anymore because the industry is pretty bad nowadays but come the fall/ late fall and there isnt any news on it being delayed i think ill bite and pre order. I trust Friaxis fully and think pretty highly of them.

 

[Osprey]

I'm relieved that they've done away with the oversaturated look of Civ 6. The graphics are still slightly cartoony, but a lot less so.

I really like the navigable rivers. That's a feature that should've been in Civ a long, long time ago. It always seemed weird that rivers were just tiles and couldn't be used for exploration or transport.

I'm not sure that I like the idea of picking a new civilization at the start of each age. I understand why they did it, but the allure of Civ is guiding a single civilization over thousands of years. It's not going to feel the same if I end up playing three different civilizations. Also, it's strange that your civilization undergoes such transformation but you keep the same leader for thousands of years. It seems like it should be the other way around: keep the same civilization through all three eras, but have a new leader for each.

The game still has districts, but they sound different than than ones in Civ 6. Instead of being pre-defined for specific industries, it sounds like there are only two general districts--urban and rural--that are defined by which buildings you place on them and determine whether they get the protection of walls. Presumably, things like higher education and diplomacy buildings go on urban tiles and inside the city walls, while farms and undeveloped tiles go on rural tiles and are outside of walls.

Civilization 7 hands-on: Huge changes are coming to the classic strategy series

Firaxis is changing Civilization's structure with the goal of getting more of us to the victory screen.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Sad People]

Civ 6 was incredibly linear. Youd choose a civ and outside of a unit or 2 and civs unique bonuses (cant think of a better word for it) it was all the same, and by the end of the game you would usually have all the skills and what not unlocked, But with the direction theyre going now it seems like it will add so much more depth or unique playstyle per se to the game. I like the idea of it if its implemented well. It not being historically accurate the idea of America turning into Japan doesnt really bug me.

I'm not sure that I like the idea of picking a new civilization at the start of a new age. If I'm playing as Egypt, I don't want to switch to Spain when the Exploration age begins.

I could be wrong but i think if you wanted to go down this route you still can. If you wanted to play as Spain the entire time you can but theyres also the option of going the new route.

 

[Osprey]

I could be wrong but i think if you wanted to go down this route you still can. If you wanted to play as Spain the entire time you can but theyres also the option of going the new route.

That's not the impression that I got. They said that each age has unique civilizations for the purpose of play balancing and avoiding the paradox of ancient civilizations ending up more powerful than modern ones, as well as the burden that it placed on them, the devs, to update civilizations' buildings and units long after their original eras. At least we have the option to pick a civilization that seems like a historical progression (one example given is Roman to Norman to English), but it sounds like picking a new one is required.

 

[Sad People]

That's not the impression that I got. They said that each age has unique civilizations for the purpose of play balancing and avoiding the paradox of ancient civilizations ending up more powerful than modern ones, as well as the burden that it placed on them, the devs, to update civilizations' buildings and units long after their original eras. At least we have the option to pick a civilization that seems like a historical progression (one example given is Roman to Norman to English), but it sounds like picking a new one is required.

Id have to go back and check but during the 20 something minute gameplay reveal they mentioned something along the lines of "if you wanted to stay as spain you can you just gotta look for a certain icon" obviously paraphrasing.

 

[Osprey]

Id have to go back and check but during the 20 something minute gameplay reveal they mentioned something along the lines of "if you wanted to stay as spain you can you just gotta look for a certain icon" obviously paraphrasing.

I believe that what they said is that the icon will highlight a recommended path (like the English if you were playing as the Normans) for those who prefer to be more historical.

 

[Seedtype]

* I hope we dont have to link our account or make a 2k account/ use their launcher to play the game. It sounds like they wont but are incentivising people to do so with the "pre order" stuff but dont think im that desperate.

I'm pretty sure it says on the Steam page that the 2K account is for online play only.

I do expect the terrible 2K launcher though, heh.

Oh I just realized something! They did say the map expands every time the age advances so I'm assuming the age must be a predetermined time, and not like Age of Empires. So I'm assuming that's how that detail will work.

 

[HanSolo]

I like the aesthetic. Laughed when I saw this would be on switch. That's the first console I played Civ 6 on and once the map was fully populated, wait times between turns could be like 3-6 minutes. It became intolerable. I lucked out and grabbed it when it was free on EGS.

 

[MikeyMike01]

Civilization 7 hands-on: Huge changes are coming to the classic strategy series

Firaxis is changing Civilization's structure with the goal of getting more of us to the victory screen.

www.pcgamer.com

Wow. This article is deeply disturbing. I don’t think this game will be good even with DLC, it’s a trainwreck.