Civilization VI - Now available, so you can sink all your free time into it

[Jimmious]

I don't know, starting from the city system of Civs I already feel a disconnect.
Taking as an example Greece where I'm from, cities like Sparta or Argos can be some of the first and most big and important ones where as in reality they are now proper shitholes..
Or how you can build any wonder in any civilization and all these things.
I like them a lot as game mechanics but they never felt realistic to me.

EU games confine you to play within somewhat realistic parameters. You might conquer everything with the Vatican but you'll do it in a somewhat...plausible way.

 

[Spectacle]

I don't really have a problem, just lol'd a bit at treating them as proof of incline. Well, ok, it's obvious it wasn't really though out that good, getting to research stuff 2x as fast with little to no investment is way too big to ignore and gamey imo. Perhaps it was another shout out to EL and its legendary deeds, but that game did it in a more thoughtful way and the rewards were actually one-time unique stuff.

What, you're actually bothered by the fact that a civ that's getting practical experience with ranged combat can research archery faster than a civ with just philosophers in a library trying to derive a bow and arrow from first principles?

 

[coldcrow]

then it must have been a bug, because i had several techs not eureka'd despite meeting the requirements already.

Sounds legit.


*****


Anyway from what I've heard and seen so far it seems mechanically this is the most solid and complete Civ game ever launched. Bashing the AI is for kids and edgelords, part of playing single-player strategy games is to get over the fact your AI opponents are retarded and always will be. Plus Firaxis will surely iron out the scripts and behavioral patterns in future patches, Civ isn't an early access game so they can't adjust these things before the launch.

However I've already decided - I'll never buy or play this game. I'll never forgive them for what they have done with the artstyle and the general vibe of the IP. When I saw the first screenshots I thought maybe I could get over it in time but the more I'm watching previews and LPs the more certain I am - it's fucking disgusting.

Realism has always been Civ's main selling point for me. Sure, as George Washington, the leader of the American tribe in 4000 BC, you still need some suspension of disbelief but the characters, buildings, units, wonders, techs, events - all that has always been firmly rooted in real stuff. Realism is probably the only reason why Civilization has always been the only mainstream turn-based strategy game, even in the age of konzoles and decline - for an average dude it's easier to larp as a real leader of a real nation than emperor Bzsrskfjsk of the great insectoid space reich. So why the fuck did Firaxis veered in the direction of Disney Channel maps, cartoony units and goofy leaders is completely beyond me. All I know is they're not getting MY money.

They obviously have no greater vision to top Civ4. I wonder if they played it or any of better mods, for example Total Realism. All good things must end I suppose.

 

[Bliblablubb]

I haven't had the time to be a real hardcore Civ player since the 3rd part, but I will always test the newest parts without reading previews to witness the decline. For science.
My unprepared first impressions:
The intro left me hopeful with it's wannabe winged Hussar, but when I get to the leader selection: no potato king, no potato leek-tuna empire.


Overall the selection looks like a "Please buy moah leaders with our upcoming booster packs. Love, EA" ad. Only Greece has two leaders, one for peaceful and one for not-so-peaceful routes, everyone else is predestined for a certain approach. The 'murican speshul unit even says "if Teddy is your leader" in the description, implying there will be more to choose from. Most of the rest are less well known ones they normally offer in a later expansion.
Brazil must have many expected buyers, since they made it into the lineup this time.
Starting the game.
Wut.
First impression reminds me of the shitty console game, Revolutions, or how that stillborn turd was called. UI is horrible and female leader heads look like they were done by the guys that did Disney's Frozen.

But... the Codex teaches us to look past graphics into the hidden depths behind and ex- what, I am halfway into some tech for "finding a new continent"? Okay....
I mean, I only moved one hex south of my city, but- huh, I am halfway into something else for moving by a puddle of mud with a hill? Allllrighty...
Reached the coast... yep, halfway into sailing or smth.
Halfway into writing because I bumped into Teddy's scout? I am starting to see a pattern here...

Looks like the game doesn't want us to have the classic "nothing happens for the first 50 turns" experience. Every other round something pops up, techs are boosted, city states nag me... Reminds again of console/smartphone games, desperately trying to prevent their short attention span players from quitting. Prestigous Civ players don't require that.

Also, Sean Bean is narrating it? Let's hope he survives until the end, that would be a whole new experience for him.

Whatever, it will be enough to keep me hooked for while. Sad part is: if I end up liking it after a few at least 7 games, it probably means the hardcore players will call the game a decline. And me a filthy casual.

We'll see.

 

[J_C]

Also, Sean Bean is narrating it? Let's hope he survives until the end, that would be a whole new experience for him.

His character dies in the intro.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

I don't really have a problem, just lol'd a bit at treating them as proof of incline. Well, ok, it's obvious it wasn't really though out that good, getting to research stuff 2x as fast with little to no investment is way too big to ignore and gamey imo. Perhaps it was another shout out to EL and its legendary deeds, but that game did it in a more thoughtful way and the rewards were actually one-time unique stuff.

What, you're actually bothered by the fact that a civ that's getting practical experience with ranged combat can research archery faster than a civ with just philosophers in a library trying to derive a bow and arrow from first principles?

No, I'm bothered by the fact that if you don't do some arbitrary stuff that games tells you to do even if you don't see a strategic need for that (in a strategic game) at the given moment then you get severely penalized?

Or am I???

:itisamystery:

 

[kris]

I kinda lost touch with the whole heureka thing at some point.
Early on, I tried hard to get all the bonies, but eventually, I found myself unable to do so.
When a tech required me to build 3 universities or something I was in a prolonged war and couldn't spare the production. When I was asked to build 3 units of some type all my cities were busy building districts or wonders. Situations like these often resulted in me saying "screw this" and just researching an unboosted tech.

It isn't the first civ were your tech outrace your production, but I do think it is the worst. I don't even prioritize tech and I work hard to improve production, but after the medieval era the tech just outrace what i can build and even wonders stays unbuilt. so I believe that your experience is more something that will happen to most, than it is your choice. In my two games I simply teched faster than i could meet the "eureka" requirements for most of the time.

However I've already decided - I'll never buy or play this game. I'll never forgive them for what they have done with the artstyle and the general vibe of the IP. When I saw the first screenshots I thought maybe I could get over it in time but the more I'm watching previews and LPs the more certain I am - it's fucking disgusting.

The leaders are all kiddie cartoons. I dont care that much, but they behave like something you would expect in disney junior.

 

[Bliblablubb]

Also, Sean Bean is narrating it? Let's hope he survives until the end, that would be a whole new experience for him.

His character dies in the intro.

All Lies! Nobody dies in the intro, it's a family friendly Disney movie!

The truth is: Sean Bean's character died during the game's installation. That doesn't keep him from talking tho.

"One does not simply build a granary." <pottery tech narration follows>

 

[J_C]

However I've already decided - I'll never buy or play this game. I'll never forgive them for what they have done with the artstyle and the general vibe of the IP. When I saw the first screenshots I thought maybe I could get over it in time but the more I'm watching previews and LPs the more certain I am - it's fucking disgusting.

The leaders are all kiddie cartoons. I dont care that much, but they behave like something you would expect in disney junior.

I was one who gave them a pass regarding the artstyle of the game, because the map and the units are not particularely bad looking. But the UI and the leaders look terrible.

 

[Dickie]

I had a problem yesterday where the game wouldn't launch right. It would take a long time to get to the menu, then it would just hang forever after I created a new game. I opened task manager to see if it was even trying, but it was using 0% CPU and Windows Defender was going crazy. I said to myself, "This is odd. Let me try to reinstall it."

I uninstalled and when I told Steam to DL it again, it started downloading, got about 2% in, but then just stopped. Again, Windows Defender was absolutely wrecking the CPU. I went to settings and told Windows Defender to ignore the Civ 6 folder, and Steam then finished downloading the game in a few minutes and it seems to be running fine.

Apparently, Microsoft doesn't want me playing or even downloading this game. I've never seen anything like this for any other game. I searched a bit with Google and found this is a fairly common problem for Civ 6. It's also interesting to me that the game worked for a few days with no problems and then this started happening.

Anyway, I just thought it was an amusing anecdote and wanted to share this in case anybody else experiences something similar.

 

[sser]

Um. Alright.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

Also, Sean Bean is narrating it? Let's hope he survives until the end, that would be a whole new experience for him.

His character dies in the intro.

All Lies! Nobody dies in the intro, it's a family friendly Disney movie!

The truth is: Sean Bean's character died during the game's installation. That doesn't keep him from talking tho.

"One does not simply build a granary." <pottery tech narration follows>

oh, yes. i can't stand the idiocy of the quote BELOW all the other text. it's a totally new level of retardation. not even the colors help finding it as soon as the window pops up.
it pissed me on the first discovery, it pissed me after 5, it pissed me after 20. it's impossible no tester ever complained. or maybe it's true that all the americans are retarded.

i'm going to kick the nuts of the first who tells me this is a clear looking map.

 

[Got bored and left]

Um. Alright.

Yeah. I once got into trouble with Russia after converting one of their cities to my religion. Ol' Pete got angry, I promised not to do it anymore (he denounced me two turns later anyway, 'cause why not), and I actually didn't. Well, a couple of turns later I got a notification that I broke my promise to him, despite not sending any more missionaries anywhere near his territory. This game does weird things.

 

[MilesBeyond]

I don't really have a problem, just lol'd a bit at treating them as proof of incline. Well, ok, it's obvious it wasn't really though out that good, getting to research stuff 2x as fast with little to no investment is way too big to ignore and gamey imo. Perhaps it was another shout out to EL and its legendary deeds, but that game did it in a more thoughtful way and the rewards were actually one-time unique stuff.

What, you're actually bothered by the fact that a civ that's getting practical experience with ranged combat can research archery faster than a civ with just philosophers in a library trying to derive a bow and arrow from first principles?

No, I'm bothered by the fact that if you don't do some arbitrary stuff that games tells you to do even if you don't see a strategic need for that (in a strategic game) at the given moment then you get severely penalized?

Or am I???

:itisamystery:

Personally I like the Eureka system because it makes non-optimal tech paths more viable. In literally every single 4X ever made (I guess except ones with randomized research), there usually ends up being one or two tech paths that are almost mandatory. Certain techs are just way better than others, and nailing them ASAP is hugely essential for playing as well as possible. The Eureka system, however, makes things a bit more diverse by potentially boosting techs that are off the optimal path, which makes branching out your research a bit more tantalizing. Sure, that tech's not on the way to the one you need, but it is only three turns...

The other thing, I think, is that it's important to avoid delberately focusing on Eureka boosts aside from a few exceptions, as by and large IMHO they aren't hugely worth it. For example, Archery isn't essential enough that I'm going to try to build a Slinger ASAP to try and nab the Eureka bonus, but it's important enough that I'm not going to sit around and say "Well, I won't bother researching Archery until I can get a Slinger to kill someone." For the most part, Eureka bonuses seem to be a way that you can turn your circumstances into tech bonuses (e.g. if you're mobbed by Barbs early on and need a Slinger for defense and it kills someone, then you get the bonus) rather than you should base your entire game around.

 

[Direwolf]

What pissed me off is the whole great person mechanic. I started as Scythia and rolled through Kongo and Greece with double horseman builds. Also countless barbarians. Haven't had a single Great General pop up yet.
You would think that winning wars would get you a great general, but that's not how this game works.

 

[Mr. Pink]

I don't know, starting from the city system of Civs I already feel a disconnect.
Taking as an example Greece where I'm from, cities like Sparta or Argos can be some of the first and most big and important ones where as in reality they are now proper shitholes..
Or how you can build any wonder in any civilization and all these things.
I like them a lot as game mechanics but they never felt realistic to me.

EU games confine you to play within somewhat realistic parameters. You might conquer everything with the Vatican but you'll do it in a somewhat...plausible way.

wait for rhyes and fall for civ6 if you want to get somewhat realistic history.

also
INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS WITH FACTORIES GIVE 3 GEARS TO ANY CITY UP TO 6 TILES AWAY! PLACE YOUR INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS STRATEGICALLY AND YOU WILL DROWN IN GEARS.

example of proper industrial tile placement. industry districts marked with flags.

other protips:
1. use and abuse domestic trade routes. harbor, encampment, commercial, industrial all give +1 gears to trade routes
2. when building tall, industrial first, then comercial, then science.
3. if you build your cities in a ring around your capital, your capital production will be so insane you'll be pumping out pikemen in 3 turns.
4. rush ruhr valley
5. germany and rome are OP

if you follow this advice you will break the game and stomp over everything with nukes by the 1700s.

 

[J1M]

Also, Sean Bean is narrating it? Let's hope he survives until the end, that would be a whole new experience for him.

His character dies in the intro.

All Lies! Nobody dies in the intro, it's a family friendly Disney movie!

The truth is: Sean Bean's character died during the game's installation. That doesn't keep him from talking tho.

"One does not simply build a granary." <pottery tech narration follows>

oh, yes. i can't stand the idiocy of the quote BELOW all the other text. it's a totally new level of retardation. not even the colors help finding it as soon as the window pops up.
it pissed me on the first discovery, it pissed me after 5, it pissed me after 20. it's impossible no tester ever complained. or maybe it's true that all the americans are retarded.

i'm going to kick the nuts of the first who tells me this is a clear looking map.

It is particularly sad that they appear to have went out of their way to make the "strategic map view" blend into itself like a painting so people would be forced to look at the 3D one.

 

[Mr. Pink]

missed opportunity to have the map graphics update each era.
ancient : simple and clear cave drawing style map
classical: mosaic style map with crude coastlines to
medieval: old European map on parchment
renaissance: the current map style
industrial : neat map on paper with triangulation lines and accurate coastlines
modern : modern day map with perfect representation of all features, just darker shaded
information : full color map with no undiscovered territory

if fog of war was 2d, it would increase performance too

 

[Mr. Pink]

there ought to be exploration eurekas like circumnavigating the world or sending an archeologist to the north pole.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Didn't you get +1 to sea movement once you circumnavigated the globe in Civ 4?

 

[VladimirK]

 

[dukeofwhales]

generally enjoying the game

can't deal with how fucking bad the trade route & espionage interfaces still are - was sure they'd be reworked from 5. being presented with that monstrosity of a spreadsheet every 30 turns per trade route (!) is the worst.

espionage should definitely be simplified to civs and not cities, fuck that too

 

[Great Deceiver]

There's no way to really enjoy the game anymore once you realise how absolutely inept the AI still is. The only remotely challenging threat is early barbarian attacks, and even then not really because you can just take their camps for free, the AI will not fortify units and try to actually defend, it will blindly walk out of a settlement and let you walk in.

When it comes to Civs, the AI might have an overwhelming advantage early on, with an order of magnitude of units more than you, but after declaring war it will just move those units back and forth on your territory without actually doing anything or taking any of your free cities. You can defend against 20x better odds with one fortified archer, it's that bad. It actually reminded me of Heroes 4 AI, it's unbelievable.

It also never upgrades its units, so you'll be fighting chariots and spearmen with your unbelievably superior tech for a good while. Oh, it also doesn't understand how to deal with sea tiles or naval attacks either, so privateers are probably the best military unit in the game.

Did religion work this way in civ 5, with otherwise invincible units duking it out among each other without much recourse? It's quite ridiculous, even accounting for abstraction. Shouldn't the main mechanism for religion spread be cities? Sure you can have the rare apostle here or there, or limited missionaries, but the spam in this game is very silly.

There are so many dumb things on a fundamental level that the good new things seem like such a terrible waste of manpower and resources (I still like the eureka boost btw, at least in principle. 50% is bonus is too much maybe). I guess it's the norm for modern game design, do a top-down pass of every convoluted, overworked window dressing feature you can think of, and then just gloss over the basics like oh, tactical AI. That'll impress the "media" for sure.

10/10 best Civ ever.

 

[Mr. Pink]

I quit a turn after that. No reason to go on.

For some reason Gandhi praised me next turn.

 

[Agame]

10/10 best Civ ever.

I know right?

"I'll never need another civ game in my life besides this one" (That is until they make civ7, which will be so amazing the Gamespot journos head will spontaneously explode from the overwhelming combination of retardedness and awesomeness...)

It is funny that the most challenging thing in this game is getting a couple of horse barb camps spawning near you, because I can bet thats the first thing that will get the nerf bat!