CIVILIZATION V

[Sabretooth]

In the words of Sid Meier, "**** just got hexagonal, bitches."

 

Official Site

 

Apart from the aforementioned news of changing the Civilization landscape (hahahahaha) by introducing hexagonal tiles, also expect more in-depth diplomacy with diplomatic screens filling your whole screen. Leaders will speak at length in their native tongues, for example.

 

As the three screenshots show, armies look big now and with the more complex hexagonal system, battles should be even more epic and brain-numbingly complex. Just like they should be.

 

A new engine has been developed for the game, but I don't know, it looked like a reworked version of Gamebryo from the previous game. Also, national borders look a bit weird on the hexagonal tiles, but I think they're just a raw implementation right now because they don't look particularly refined in the screens.

 

It looks like larger battles and detailed diplomacy are the two primary features on the cards, but for those of you who partake in such things, the game will include an in-game community hub from where to share things with other players.

 

Some Extra Details Here

 

It's coming out in Fall 2010 - use the time to quit your jobs/school/whatever.

[Jeff]

I still have yet to play Civ IV even though I own it, but sounds sweet. Release is pretty soon for just being announced. Also, I hear a sigh of relief after people thought that "Civilization Network" (facebook game) was replacing this.

[Litofsky]

I do contend '**** yeah.*' Civ IV is one of my favorites; I've played hour-long debacles that have led civilizations from brunt of society to a space-faring superpower, and have led massive armies across the deserts and jungles of the world with jets and nuclear weapons right on my tail.

 

In other words, I'll be eagerly anticipating every single update and morsel of information leaked/released.

[Mav]

Civilization is too confusing for me, most strategy games are, C&C is about as complicated as I can play.

[Sabretooth]

18 Civs will be making the cut, and two leaders have been confirmed: Washington for the US and Bismarck for Germany. Their diplomacy screens have been made available in this slideshow.

 

But I'm a nice guy, so here they are.

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Bismarck looks kinda plastic, but Washington is spot-on. Pro-American bias? >_>

 

Also, I'm totally going to miss Bismarck's epic helmet.

 

A complete reveal will be made in the April issue of GamePro. So torrent buy a copy at earliest!

 

MORE CRAZY DETAILS

 

These come from here.

- Switch from squares to hexagons changing the way the game plays. More room for maneuvers and more tactical options.

- Changes to combat. More depth in combat, no more stacking of units. This will lead to bigger focus on terrain.

- Inspired by Panzer General.

- Reintroduction of Bombardment, now archers and siege equipment can shoot over melee units.

- Better diplomatic AI.

- More diplomatic options between players.

- Less "cheating" AI.

- Religion is not a factor anymore.

- Ressources are not infinite. For example one source of horse only supplies enough horses for 1 unit, but when that horseman dies the horses will respawn as a unit. (this confused me alittle, i guess we will have to watch it in action)

- City States as a sort of small countries that never develop beyond their single city. They can provide bonusses if you befriend them, or you can take over their land.

- Civics are out, now there is something called "Social Policies".

- About the same amount of wonders, the tech tree will feel familiar. Great People still in.

- Some victory conditions changed. For example in Conquest you only have to capture all the other capitals. Eliminates boring mop up phase.

- Unique Civ leader bonusses, no more standard "Spiritual" or "Financial".

- DirectX 11 support.

- Built in webbrowser. Sid Meier is also working on a facebook application of Civilization.

 

-Yay for more in-depth combat. While my last Panzer General experience was a simple demo many years ago, I believe I ought to dig it up again to get a feel for the game.

-No religion is interesting, but not a surprise. It was experimental in the last game, and while it was good, it got a bit messy over time. Wonder how they're going to explain not including it, though.

-Finite resources is scary. If I start to run out of oil, I might have to borrow money from China and invade an oil-rich nation - crazy stuff like that. Oh wait.

-City States isn't very detailed yet, but it sounds like a revision of the Barbarian Cities model.

-I don't mind Civics going either - it's all about the role-playing any way. What I'm curious about is how they will implement social policies in a way different from the Civics solution.

-Conquest is finally feasible for people who don't gear up for war like reborn Hitlers! Wonder if there will be any new victory conditions.

-Finally, unique leader bonuses. Wonder if civilizations will have unique bonuses too - that way if they allow mix-matching, you can have some interesting combos.

-Built-in web browser? Is that a full-fledged browser or just a community section like in Spore? If the former, then it'd match the awesomeness of Epic including a full-fledged IRC client in UT2004!

[Litofsky]

And we have to wait another six months?

 

The first item that really struck me was the 'finite resources.' I might have to guard my oil, now; I can recall more than one instance where a lack of oil had my tanks halting their advance until the supply lines were secure.

 

Morphing from Barbarian cities into City States seems a decent move, but I can't imagine any real changes coming in other than not being permanently at war with them, and having diplomatic options (proxy war, mayhaps?).

 

Combat has a me a tad concerned. 'Stacking,' I always felt, was an acceptable combat maneuver that had its benefits and risks, among which included have over one million soldiers being blown up with nukes.

 

The dissolution of civics will be interesting. I found that each one had useful bonuses that allowed me to better shape my empire (Police State combined with State Property was always a fun one). I wonder how Social Policies will compare?

 

Definitely a good thing, however, for unique leader bonuses. I tended to associate myself with the qualities (I always enjoyed 'charismatic'), and that led to a great deal of repetition.

 

Thanks for the links, Sabre!

[Astor]

Never been a fan of the Civilisation series, if i'm honest - although i'll admit that this does look interesting - and those CG versions of Washington and Bismarck look pretty good (in fact, I'd be tempted to change my avatar to a haughty looking Washington if I wasn't satisfied with His Grace to the left).

 

So, yeah, I think I might be adding a new strategy series to my library.

[Te Darasuum Mandalor]

I love Civilization! I am currently working on a LOTR mod for number 4. They keep getting better, and this one should be awsome! BTW, that was only a teaser site.

[Sabretooth]

Behold, mortals: I bring news of more news!

 

- The graphics will move to an Art Deco line, including menus and architectural design.

- The game engine is brand new

- We will no longer be allowed to stack more units on the same tile. This means that there’s a limit of one unit per box, which completely changes the way the game will look like (including war).

- All ranged units (archers, catapults etc) will be allowed to attack units one hexagon away.

- The hills, forests and lakes will therefore become more important for the gameplay.

- Expanding your borders will be a bit more difficult and we’ll be allowed to buy land or conquer it, different types of land requiring more to be conquered.

- Barbarians will no longer disappear if left unattacked. Also, they will build up their own cities too

- Mutual research will be possible to speed up research times if you team up with other civilizations.

- AI civs will plan on a longer term instead of deciding what to do in the present.

 

- Art Deco? Sounds great. Civilization IV had some of the best interfaces I've seen in games, so an Art Deco styled interface handled by Firaxis would truly be a sight to behold. Would you kindly show us some screenshots?

 

- Looks like they're trying to make combat much more tactical and something you have to be intelligent about. Civ IV's combat was rather simplistic in that respect - build up troops, march them to your enemies and start fighting. It was the economics and grand strategy behind the war that usually mattered. I'm all for close-up tactics though, I just wonder how they'll be able to integrate it with the traditional Civ style.

 

- Striving to spread your borders is also a relief. I never bought the whole culture-borders solution in Civ IV and hopefully the new system will make sense. Some member of the Civ Fanatics forums have noticed however, that many of the borders look symmetrical. It's unknown whether the border was just a mock-up or not, but it does look worrisome.

 

- Can't make an opinion one way or another about barbarians. I'd have honestly preferred it if they matured into full-fledged civilizations (albeit heavily handicapped, and perhaps dependent on others). It would be a neat implementation of the dozens of weak and small states in the world, such as in Africa.

 

- Co-operative research sounds neat, but the whole research system I still don't quite get. More often than not, conquests and trade spread and advanced research than a team of scientists or thinkers, as Civilization makes it out to be. I'd prefer it if researching a technology caused it to "leak" by trade, culture and military expeditions to foreign countries.

 

- Better AI always makes for a better game. A human-like AI would really be the most important element of evolution in the series.

[Te Darasuum Mandalor]

R there gonna be any new civs? I am kinda tired of the same old nations.

[swphreak]

I'm definitely looking forward to this. It'd be pretty awesome to get a big LF Civ game going.

[Litofsky]

I'm definitely looking forward to this. It'd be pretty awesome to get a big LF Civ game going.

 

Entirely. But then, I'd have to go back to playing a regular, unmodded game.

 

...dibs on America, while we're at it.

[Sabretooth]

R there gonna be any new civs? I am kinda tired of the same old nations.

 

The total number of civs has been set to 18, but we don't know anything apart from that. The civs will be slowly revealed over time and we'll only know the full roster about a month before release, as is custom for Civ games.

 

It has also been customary for Firaxis to include a "surprise Civ" with each game - last year it was Mali. And if nothing, the expansion packs add plenty of variety like Ethiopia or Sumeria. So I'd expect at least one new civ - otherwise it's pretty hard staying at the 18-Civ mark and including all the historically-important Civs.

 

@SWP: Capital idea. Though I've always been scared of Civ multiplayer. We'd have to play quick games because there's no way I'm going to find the time to play a longer game at the same time as you people.

 

News Time

 

The Swedish magazine update above? Somebody got another translation in. I've struck out the points we already know:

 

Instead of the previous games quite anonymus realistic design will Civ 5 will move in a stylized Art Deco lines. This includes everything from menus to architectural design.

 

• The game engine is brand new and has nothing to do with the previous games.

 

• Now you can have only one unit per tile, instead of the earlier parts where you could stack some thirty war elephants in the same tile. This is true both in cities and on the ground. This is expected to make war more strategic and grand. It is not just about standing on a hill outside the opponent's capital.

 

• All distance units (catapults, archers, muskets, and everything in between) have the ability to attack something that stands a hexagon from them.

 

• Because of these changes will be things such as hills, forests and lakes of much greater importance than in the previous sections, where most were ornaments.

 

• To gain control of hexagons (this means your civ's territory, and not military control) is much more difficult and more important than in earlier parts, which always had lots of unnecessary land. In Civ 5 you will take over a tile at a time, although this may be speeded up by investing money in the area.

 

• Hexagons that are in a more difficult location (type, in a forest or a mountain) will take much longer to conquer. A swamp area, for example, require that you own almost all hexagons around it before it can be conquered.

 

• State Governments (City States, most likely) will act as a diplomatic hotspots. For example, maybe there is one in an area you want, but it is sponsored by another player. You attack the city, he will probably be mad at you, but it can be an important resource in your civilization's survival.

 

• Barbarians will build on its own little town on the map that must be destroyed to make you avoid them altogether, instead of the just disappear after a few thousand years.

 

• With the help of money you will be able to team up with other playesrs for research projects, where both of you will research the same thing so that it goes faster.

 

• Computer players will plan more long term, instead of just living in the moment.

[swphreak]

@SWP: Capital idea. Though I've always been scared of Civ multiplayer. We'd have to play quick games because there's no way I'm going to find the time to play a longer game at the same time as you people.

 

I don't know a lot about it, but there's that PitBoss thing that let's people play by email or something? We'd have to use that or its successor for Civ 5..

[Ctrl Alt Del]

I don't know a lot about it, but there's that PitBoss thing that let's people play by email or something? We'd have to use that or its successor for Civ 5..

 

It'd still need to be a short game, unless we want to spend several months playing. If we make it a move per day, it's more or less one game and a half (considering it 200 turns).

 

Anyway, I'd play such a multi game. Can't see why it can't be done with 4 already.

[Sabretooth]

G.D.C. 2010.

 

- In the sponsored lecture "Firaxis' Civilization V: A Case Study in Scalable Game Performance", Firaxis, 2K Games, and Intel "present the world premiere game engine and technology sneak peek of Civilization V, launching this fall." Along the way, according to the talk, "you'll learn how Firaxis developers have used the newly released GPA 3.0 PC platform tools and Threading Building Blocks to offer Civ V playability on myriad systems."

 

Hmm, the engine didn't really look all that special back in the screenshots. They're probably holding something back, something huge. It also looks like it will be focused on scalability - does that mean it will be playable on Civ IV-era computers? Or does that mean the game's scale itself will be hiked up to magnanimous amounts?

[Sabretooth]

(This BBCode requires its accompanying plugin to work properly.)

 

"A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance" - Jawaharlal Nerhu.

 

"To build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith,to create hope when hope becomes forlorn." - Douglas McArthur.

 

"I never learned how to tune a harp, or play upon a lute; but I know how to raise a small and obscure city to glory and greatness...whereto all kindreds of the earth will pilgrim." - Themistocles.

 

"The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood." - Otto von Bismarck.

 

"I have witnessed the tremendous energy of the masses. On this foundation it is possible to accomplish any task whatsoever." - Mao Zedong.

 

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt.

 

 

I wonder if these are hints towards leaders? Mao and Bismarck should be definitely in, and Themistocles sounds possible as well. Eleanor Roosevelt may be a hint towards Theodore Roosevelt, who sounds likely. Jawaharlal Nehru, if included, would replace Gandhi and would honestly be a more sensible choice, even if not the ideal Indian ruler. The last one would be MacArthur, who has no chance of making it. I also can't think of any hints around him, so perhaps they only took his quote.

 

Also, the Vikings are effing badass.

 

And lastly, they need to bring back Leonard Nimoy for the technology quotes. Since 2005, I've read every single historical quote in his voice, preceded by a "Technology Researched" sound.

[Litofsky]

As an obsessive Civ IV player, I am growing more and more excited by the nanosecond (exponential growth, I do say!).

[T7nowhere]

Civ IV was fun for a while but the appeal of the game didn't last as long as civ 3 for me. I hope CIV V will change up the game play and not be just more of the same with better graphics.

 

I don't really see how the Hexagons will make a real difference. you could always move your armies in 8 directions terrian permiting.

[Sabretooth]

I've been out of action courtest of a broken monitor, so here's an update:

 

The Gamepro Preview

 

Leaders/Civs

- (Germany) German leader: Otto von Bismark

- (China) China leader: Wu Zeitein/Zetein (two spellings in the article; SHOULD be Wu Zetian) (Mao and other previous Chinese leaders are out)

- (America) American leader: Washington (Lincoln and FDR are out)

- (Japan) Japanese leader: Oba Nobunaga (Tokugawa is out)

- (Arabia) Arabian leader: Harun al-Rashid (Xerxes and Saladin are out)

- Other confirmed leaders mentioned in the article (Genghis Khan, Washington, Caesar, Napolean, Gandhi)

 

Looks like one leader per civ a la Civilization Revolution?

 

City-states

- City-states: Can provide gifts of gold, bonuses; only one city but borders can grow. Confirmed is Singapore.

 

Terrain

- Hills provide defensive and line-of-site advantages

- Attacks over rivers are affected

- Wounded units can hide in trees and recover

 

Units

- Basic military units move two tiles in combat instead of one.

Dropping Mao and Tokugawa are some major moves, though I don't know why the poster thinks Xerxes is out for the Arabian slot.

 

Another post, this one coming from the Swedish edition of PC Gamer:

 

About Civ 5:

 

About 50 persons are currently working on the game, which has been in development for over two years, but is now reaching the final phases.

Hexagons:

 

The game has a new engine composed of a hexagons. Jon Shafer thinks this change is good, since it gives you lesser options of movement but each option is therefore more important. It also means that for example mountains and forests can have a more natural pattern.

 

Graphics:

 

The graphics will have a completely new style- Art-deco, inspired by games like Grim Fandango. It is designed by Russel Vaccaro. The environments, like forests and oceans, will be a lot more animated than in Civ 4.

 

Sound:

 

The game will have an advanced sound-engine, which will change sounds depending on if you are in the hills, the forests or on the ocean. It will also have a large soundtrack.

 

Panzer General:

 

The new hexagonal change is specifically useful in the new, improved combat system. Now you may only have a maximum of one unit in a hexagon. This includes the cities. Shafer says that Panzer General was the main inspiration for this change into a more tactical battlefield. The new system forces your units out of the cities and out into the terrain, forming natural frontlines and taking advantage of good defensive positions.

 

Bombardment:

 

Some units may attack other units more than one hex away, for example archers.

 

Terrain:

 

Hills give defensive advantages. Your units can see and shoot farther there.

 

Leaders:

 

You will now see leaders in full view. They alsp talk in their native language. Firaxis has resurrected the extinct language of quechua (used by Inca). However, all leaders will have their lines subtitled in English.

 

City states:

 

These are small, AI-controlled civilizations. They never grow big and doesn´t desire to win. The player must choose if he is to be friendly, indifferent or hostile towards a city state. The attitude you has towards a particular city state will have a big effect on diplomacy. If for example your units is approaching a city state that have friendly relations with another civilization, he will warn you, and if you ignore them, there will be consequences.

 

Barbarians:

 

The barbarians originate from a barbarian city and will get more advanced units later in the game. You need to wipe out all barbarian cities to get rid of the barbarian hordes.

 

City expansion:

 

Borders does no longer expand in large areas, but one hex at a time. Remote hexes like marshes, forests and mountains will be harder to acquire.

 

Economy:

 

You can invest money in your neighboring hexagons, for example trying to acquire an important resource before your opponent.

 

Research:

 

You can also sign a research-deal with another civilization. This way, both civs will cooperate to reach the new technology and both will gain it when the discovery is made. This was included to encourage cooperation between civilizations.

 

Diplomacy:

 

The civilizations will have an all-new advanced AI. All opponents will have fixed characteristics. Based on this unique personality, every AI-player will have their own agenda, which the AI will use to plan how to best play to win the game. But there will also be a certain randomness to avoid having the AI be too easy to predict.

 

Conclusions:

 

PC Gamer was impressed with what they saw. They think the new graphics was a real facelift for the franchise, and the interface is greatly improved. They also thought the soundtrack was brilliant. They conclude:

 

"Judging from the gameplay-sequences we saw, Civilization 5 will make no fan of the franchise disappointed."

 

And some even more info over from PC Jeux:

 

Civ 5 is made for PC and, therefore, gameplay isn't lessened by any means.

 

Some experience was gained from Revolution and it will enhance the accessibility and staging of the game.

 

More clarity in the drawing of detroits, mountain passes and river tracks.

 

An "African-type" continent doesn't have anything to do with a nordic-type or an asian type continent.

 

Steep terrain will slow down your expansion.

 

Elizabeth will favor maritime supremacy.

 

Napoleon will build a BIG BIG -or a very huge- army.

 

Bismarck will maximize the industrial output of his nation.

 

Assimilation of a newly conquered city will make your "Overall Happiness" drop.

 

The military unit upkeep is also tied to the "Overall Happiness" mechanism.

 

No more "Spearmen defeated Tanks" since now an heavily damaged Tank will still be a hundred time more performing than an healthy Legion.[Off/HP]

 

Limited next war at the end of the game.

 

Religion, alongside with Ecology and Tyranny is a development model.

 

Religion path => Polytheism - Monotheism - Theocracy

 

Tyranny path => Despotism - Absolute Monarchy - Fascism

 

Traditonal path

 

Democratic path

[Litofsky]

Nice update, Sabre.

 

Interesting to note that each civilization's leader will have a preference on how to handle things; more historical accuracy, I suppose, but that also present the possibility that the games might be a wee bit predictable.

 

The city-states sound the most interesting to me (the vast changes to combat aside; I'm still unsure on how it'll play out, but I'm positive). Having minor nation-states that we can communicate with will be a definite plus, as well as a potential diplomatic ally/barrier.

 

Also, being able to co-research (or share research, as it is) will have pretty resounding affects on diplomacy, I think: it'll make the alliances much more clear-cut and defined, while potentially leading to a technology race between the major Allies/Powers.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

I don't really see how the Hexagons will make a real difference. you could always move your armies in 8 directions terrian permiting.

Yes, but non-military units (such as workers) don't seem to have a standard two tiles movement.

 

Also, about the otherwise "cultural" borders expanding one hexagon at a time, might lead to excessive micro-management if we get to choose which hexagon to expand to first.

[Sabretooth]

Also, about the otherwise "cultural" borders expanding one hexagon at a time, might lead to excessive micro-management if we get to choose which hexagon to expand to first.

 

I'd actually like that, I've always wanted to personally dictate my Empire's borders.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

I'd actually like that, I've always wanted to personally dictate my Empire's borders.

 

And I'm sure this will lead the most creative members to build nations with hideously designed borders.

 

"And there was this game I lined all my cities to look like a huge, three continents-spanning penis."

[Sabretooth]

Behoelden. A short preview by IGN sheds some light on hitherto unknown details. I've put in the quote only the stuff we don't know:

 

Naturally, it's not all about making war, so diplomacy has been overhauled as well. Diplomacy has a wider focus but has also been streamlined a bit. In terms of focus, the team wanted to create a game where the player's main interactions weren't always driven purely by competition. The inclusion of unaligned city states that can be used as leverage against larger powers helps move diplomacy in a new direction. By removing the religion and espionage systems, Firaxis hopes to focus diplomacy more on specific strategic situations and less on the exploitation of more arbitrary game elements.

 

The game has obviously also been influenced by Civilization Revolution for the consoles, particularly in terms of the overall interface. While the new game still maintains a level of complexity that's appropriate for the series and the PC platform, the interface elements have been folded back to reveal more of the playing area. Likewise, the game will help players focus on the information they need to see. Small icons will appear along the edge of the screen to give players notifications of important events or opportunities, and you can instantly snap to any of the relevant locations to get your own appraisal of the situation. (Sounds like a Total War influence to me)

 

Additionally, if you haven't set a research priority or a production order for one of your cities, the end turn button will instead take you to those screens.

 

 

Of course, not all of Civilization's PC fans had a positive view of the broad style or humor of Revolution, so they'll be happy to know that the designers are moving away from the silliness of the console game to create a more somber PC sequel. The game will still have the trademark Civilization personality, but it won't be as exaggerated as in previous installments. The advisors are making a comeback, for instance, but won't be pushing each other aside or shouting over each other.

 

 

 

It's not surprising given Jon's background that the new version of Civilization will be even more moddable than Civ IV. All the tools have been taken to a whole new level, so the more you know about XML and programmable DLL, the more you'll be able to achieve with the game. More importantly, the game itself will contain a browser for full community interaction, so you can search for, discuss, install and rate mods all from within the game shell. Firaxis will maintain a small bit of control over this and will rely on player flags to evaluate objectionable content.