REAL TALK: I have never played a Civilization game

[The Fake Shemp]

Frag, should I?

[Howard Alan Treesong]

REAL TALK: cigarillo

[The Fake Shemp]

THAT IS NOT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

[tiesto]

Me neither, looks like too much micromanagement. I'll stick to Smash Bros 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

[The Fake Shemp]

The micro has always looked a little intimidating from the box art.  I've got a pretty wide palette in terms of PC games (from Grim Fandango-type stuff to shooters to RTSs to Diablo [and clones!] to RPGs), so I'm wondering if I should finally give the series a shot at age 23.

[bud]

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[Howard Alan Treesong]

I'd give constructive criticism but you couldn't handle the build order!

[The Fake Shemp]

Hey, you never played StarCraft or something.  I dunno.  That makes you like an uber taco in some circles!

[Fragamemnon]

I think everyone is capable of playing an enjoying Civilization at the appropriate difficultly, and that you would likely enjoy Civ4 if you picked it up. That being said, I am posting a huge Civ4 expansion playthrough report next week here (and on GAF) for a tournament game I was recently involved in (reports are embargoed until the 10th). So you'll see what kind of game it is.

The micromanagement in Civ4 is not very burdensome-the number of cities you generally control through most of the game is kept to a very manageable amount due to the game's mechanics, and armies are generally clumped and moved in large "stacks" so it's not like you have to micromanage 30 cities and 50 units per turn. You can automate the worker units completely and they do a medicore but passable job all the way up to medium difficulties.

You could wait for the console Civ coming out early next year. It actually looks pretty good and should be a great way to step up into the big leagues. Besides, if you're "getting into" Civ for the first time, I STRONGLY recommend that you do so during a slow gaming period. It is truly an all-consuming beast that will totally own you for weeks.

[ToxicAdam]

Just goto Wal-mart and pick up a 9.99 Civ III pack. Civ III is a perfectly acceptable version of Civ and still looks fairly decent. It's only the hardcore that bash Civ III, the basic mechanics are still there.

Start on easy and with one or two enemies and you will be fine. Once the game "clicks" with you, you will be up until 3am playing "just one more turn!".

 

[brawndolicious]

it's really easy to get into.  actually I think alpha centauri and Civ2 were the second RTS's I was hardcore into after starcraft.  it's completely different then starcraft but if you like RTS's you WILL like Civ.

[Fragamemnon]

Civ isn't real time!

Civ4 is like $20 or so bucks now, and it's so much better designed than Civ3 it is not even funny. Smoother to play and get "into" as well.

[brawndolicious]

I never said it's real-time.  I never played the game competitively but just going through story mode in it is really fun.

[CajoleJuice]

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that is SO awesome.

Anyway, my only experience with the series is the Civ4 demo that I tried out to see if it would work on my PC. It does, but it's pretty painful. Definitely easy to get into, though. I could see myself losing many hours to it.

[ToxicAdam]

Where are you seeing Civ4 for 20 dollars? Every store I goto (Best Buy, CC, Wal-mart) has it for 34-40 dollars.

[Fragamemnon]

I guess I saw it for $20 on sale a while back. Maybe I'm getting it confused with Age of Empires 3, which recently got a price drop.

$40 for a 2005 PC game is a ripoff.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I never said it's real-time.  I never played the game competitively but just going through story mode in it is really fun.

RTS = real-time strategy

[brawndolicious]

RTS = real-time strategy

oh yeah, I forgot.  it still moves pretty fast once you get into it.

[ToxicAdam]

I guess I saw it for $20 on sale a while back. Maybe I'm getting it confused with Age of Empires 3, which recently got a price drop.

$40 for a 2005 PC game is a ripoff.

Yea, I think it hit 20 at CC during the 2006 holidays. I should've jumped on it then .. I've been waiting for it to drop since February.

[The Fake Shemp]

I picked up Sid Meier's Civilization Chronicles at work for $39 (not including my employee discount) which includes:

Every Version of Civilization: The set includes: Sid Meier's Civilization I, Sid Meier's Civilization II, Civilization II: Fantastic Worlds, Civilization II: Conflicts in Civilization, Civilization II: Test of Time, Sid Meier's Civilization III, Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World, Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests and Sid Meier's Civilization IV.

Civilization: The Card Game: An original tabletop card game designed by Civilization IV lead designer Soren Johnson, featuring more than 250 custom cards and rules based on Civilization IV.

The Chronicles of Civilization: A 96-page book containing the history of Civilization, as told through interviews with past Civilization designers, an interview with Sid Meier and lead designer Soren Johnson, an article by journalist and author Steven L. Kent on the significance of the series in the computer gaming industry, and other original literature.

Video DVD: DVD content includes a detailed presentation by lead designer Soren Johnson and artist Dorian Newcomb about the creation of Civilization IV, complemented by gameplay footage of every iteration of the game, game trailers from the Civilization series and more.

[CajoleJuice]

Jesus, all that is only $40?

[The Fake Shemp]

I think it's mispriced because it's not a SKU that the company carries anymore.  I saw this one edition sitting behind the glass, behind some PS2 games (Hitman Trilogy!) forever and had to wipe the dust off.

[The Fake Shemp]

This is what it looks like:

[Fragamemnon]

Patch up Civ4 and run through the tutorial. It's quite good.

Then try a small game on something like Warlord difficulty. As you play, post questions here and I"ll answer them, compelte with memorized formulas where appropriate.