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Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

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Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#71

Post by erikbye »

blindluke wrote: post #21
silvester23 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm really no expert on game designers but from the top of my head I can think of at least one that I would describe as genius, namely Chris Sawyer who made Transport Tycoon and Rollercoaster Tycoon almost single-handedly. If that's not genius, I don't know what is.

He coded those games single-handedly AND in x86 assembly. Yep, that's a good example of a genius, right there.

Not to dismiss his achievement, but, why do people always think programming in assembly is ultra hard? This was just how we wrote games back in the day. I still know people using Assembly for a wide range of development, it's not particularly harder than any other programming. A bit tedious, yes, but with FASM and Fresh it's a lot better.

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#72

Post by euroderf »

If you want to build a world, try model railroading on for size. Admittedly it can be a bit light on the analytical side, but maybe just maybe that part of your brain needs a break. As things are now, cool stuff like track signaling is very expensive, but there's all-digital engine & accessory control out there, and I'm hoping that 3D printing (and dedicated Raspberry Pi controllers) will help out with the pricier bits.

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#73

Post by TeMPOraL »

hef19898 wrote: post #70
TeMPOraL wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes me think about Gene Roddenberry, too. The more I learn about history of Star Trek, the more it seems that Roddenberry was a bit over-the-top with his ideas. If he got his way with everything, the show would be quite cheesy (the way Andromeda is). Star Trek's golden era (TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT) is the result of other producers pushing back on Roddenberry's influence, and after his death, increasingly subverting some of…

Lower Decks is good, it is done by people that really liked the old ST series. Sometimes, I am not sure if it is mocking some of the ST tropes, like the two-hand punch, space anomalies and so on. Still light years better then Discovery (which is totally not cannon in my mind).

I love Lower Decks. It's definitely mocking and lampshading plenty of Star Trek tropes, but it does that in a playful and positive way. It laughs, but doesn't trivialize - and unlike the other new shows (Discovery, Picard), it doesn't paint the future as grimdark and everyone as untrustworthy and bloodthirsty.

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#74

Post by rkagerer »

Absolutely loved this series, but never acclimated to the 3D maps they switched to after Civ 3.

You couldn't see as much of the world at once, and units and terrain became more difficult to discern.

I wound up playing in the strategic overlay, with mods that relieved some of the claustrophobia, but it never felt as slick as the earlier 2D / isomorphic view.

Other classic strategy games from that era followed the trend, favoring to showcase gorgeously detailed models enabled by their new 3D engines, over equipping you with a clever and efficient UI to conquer the world.

Anyone care to recommend a favorite turn-based strategy game with a pleasant interface which you think I might enjoy?

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#75

Post by Gravityloss »

rkagerer wrote: post #74

Absolutely loved this series, but never acclimated to the 3D maps they switched to after Civ 3. You couldn't see as much of the world at once, and units and terrain became more difficult to discern. I wound up playing in the strategic overlay, with mods that relieved some of the claustrophobia, but it never felt as slick as the earlier 2D / isomorphic view. Other classic strategy games from that era followed the tren…

A lot of the game moved to bonus calculation. Playing a spread sheet so to speak. What happened with units and the map was secondary.

The Civilization board game was similarly boring. Most of the time there were no wars, and everybody was just trading and dealing with disasters and barbarians.

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#76

Post by SteveNuts »

rkagerer wrote: post #74

Absolutely loved this series, but never acclimated to the 3D maps they switched to after Civ 3. You couldn't see as much of the world at once, and units and terrain became more difficult to discern. I wound up playing in the strategic overlay, with mods that relieved some of the claustrophobia, but it never felt as slick as the earlier 2D / isomorphic view. Other classic strategy games from that era followed the tren…

"Rome: Total war" is fantastic

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#77

Post by rhn_mk1 »

erikbye wrote: post #71
blindluke wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He coded those games single-handedly AND in x86 assembly. Yep, that's a good example of a genius, right there.

Not to dismiss his achievement, but, why do people always think programming in assembly is ultra hard? This was just how we wrote games back in the day. I still know people using Assembly for a wide range of development, it's not particularly harder than any other programming. A bit tedious, yes, but with FASM and Fresh it's a lot better.

Perhaps it's a matter of framing: it's hard compared to more high level languages, which don't need so much self-discipline.

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#78

Post by knighthack »

Why does the author keep referring to the player as 'her'?

This neither seems in line with the traditional use of 'he/him' in English texts, or even the neutrality of 'he/him and or she/her'. It reads more like a stunted attempt to virtue signal. I'm quite confident that Civilization games skew to male players, rather than female.

What a great way to alienate readers. More so when gender was not a central feature of the article at all.

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#79

Post by hd4 »

rkagerer wrote: post #74

Absolutely loved this series, but never acclimated to the 3D maps they switched to after Civ 3. You couldn't see as much of the world at once, and units and terrain became more difficult to discern. I wound up playing in the strategic overlay, with mods that relieved some of the claustrophobia, but it never felt as slick as the earlier 2D / isomorphic view. Other classic strategy games from that era followed the tren…

Shadow Empire

Re: Sid Meier and the meaning of ‘Civilization’

#80

Post by Sevaris »

knighthack wrote: post #78

Why does the author keep referring to the player as 'her'? This neither seems in line with the traditional use of 'he/him' in English texts, or even the neutrality of 'he/him and or she/her'. It reads more like a stunted attempt to virtue signal. I'm quite confident that Civilization games skew to male players, rather than female. What a great way to alienate readers. More so when gender was not a central feature of…

Sorry, why do you care? Why does it matter? "He/she" is simply unwieldy in writing text meant to be read by other people. Pick whatever pronoun you want to use. It. Does. Not. Matter. What I don't understand is complaining about how somebody else is not using your preferred generic pronoun.
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