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Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

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Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#51

Post by vacri »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #31
jcadam wrote: post #19

Played the original Civilization on an Amiga and have played every release since (including CivNet). Civilization II was easily the best game in the series. It's sad that Civ V, as pretty as it is, is so freaking horrible.

Let me guess, II was the first you played? Everybody has a special attachment to the first one they got addicted too. In my opinion II was the worst of the five. It was basically the same as the first with more of everything. More techs, more unit types et cetera. Didn't really add anything to the game except make it longer. It meant you couldn't finish a game in a single sitting which really lessened the appeal to m…

In my opinion, each civ built on the last, until 5 plummeted the interest factor. Played 1 first.

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#52

Post by chongli »

foobarian wrote: post #38
eru wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should also check out the first Master of Orion. The origin of the 4X name, and still one of the best examples of the genre. (There are fan-made patches available. Make sure to get them.)

Also worth mentioning Master of Magic. It's Civilization I with spells.

Yes! And get the Caster of Magic fan-made patch[0]. It fixes a ton of bugs and rebalances the game in some dramatic ways. The author has had to severely tone down the bonuses the AI gets at higher difficulty levels and it still feels way more difficult than the original game! I've got several of my friends hooked on this new version, we just can't seem to get enough!

[0] http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=7751

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#53

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

mikeash wrote: post #30
ra1n85 wrote: post #6

Amazing series. I still recall being able to recount all of the 7 wonders, all of the large Greek city states, and all that other countless historical context that the developers packed into the game that gave me a slight leg up in middle school history class. And of course I'll encourage my children to play someday. No childhood is complete without having to fight back Gandhi's unrelenting hordes of musketmen with s…

It would be remiss to mention Civilization and Gandhi on a tech site without discussing why he was such a crazy warmonger. In the original Civilization, Gandhi's "aggression" rating was set to 1 to make him a pacifist. Except that when a civilization adopted the Democracy form of government, this reduced the leader's aggression rating by 2. The ratings were unsigned, so this wrapped around and gave Gandhi an "aggress…

interesting, I remember this happening and thought was odd!

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#54

Post by deevus »

mercutio2 wrote: post #28
mattzito wrote: post #24

I started playing civilization when I was 12 or 13 (Civilization 1), and still, to this day, the closest thing I have to meditation is playing Civ V. I travel a decent amount, and one of my great joys is being on a plane without wifi but with inseat power (Civ V on the mac is a ridiculous power hog), and knowing that I've got X hours of civilization to play with no one to bother me. My strategy isn't great, I have ev…

Are you my twin? Playing my pirated copy of Civ 1 in the basement at 12 or so most have occupied hundreds of hours of my childhood. These days Civ 5 on the Mac almost brings me back.

I still play Civ 1 every now and then. I just love the aesthetic of it. It doesn't feel dated to me gameplay wise at all. I attribute much of my knowledge of history as a kid from reading the Civilopedia.

From my perspective Civ III was the best of the series however. I always loved building massive empires and Civ III was great for that.

Special mention to Civ: Call To Power where you could build underwater and space cities in the super advanced age. That was fun! I wish there was more of that.

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#55

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

jhanschoo wrote: post #50
kinghajj wrote: post #39

Nobody else has mentioned this, but something Civ has taught me is how to appreciate realpolitik. Nothing makes it more clear than when you catch yourself having thoughts like: - "Washington spawned too close for comfort; they're a threat to my peoples' long term security. Annihilate them first." - "Hmm, the Mayans have some strategically valuable territory..." - "Hey, the Persians are way back in the Renaissance, wh…

If you're interested in realpolitik in games, I'd like to recommend the excellent Crusader Kings II game and its DLC. You play as a feudal ruler, and find your character plotting murders, marrying off daughters, and conspiring for claims to titles.

Ditto. I have sunk 1k hours into CK2.

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#56

Post by hluska »

mikeash wrote: post #30
ra1n85 wrote: post #6

Amazing series. I still recall being able to recount all of the 7 wonders, all of the large Greek city states, and all that other countless historical context that the developers packed into the game that gave me a slight leg up in middle school history class. And of course I'll encourage my children to play someday. No childhood is complete without having to fight back Gandhi's unrelenting hordes of musketmen with s…

It would be remiss to mention Civilization and Gandhi on a tech site without discussing why he was such a crazy warmonger. In the original Civilization, Gandhi's "aggression" rating was set to 1 to make him a pacifist. Except that when a civilization adopted the Democracy form of government, this reduced the leader's aggression rating by 2. The ratings were unsigned, so this wrapped around and gave Gandhi an "aggress…

You just solved a major mystery of my youth. Thank you!! :)

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#57

Post by danharaj »

zem wrote: post #46
lackbeard wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you ever play 4? Was the best one, IMO.

no, missed everything between alpha centauri and civ5. I just picked civ5 up out of nostalgia when the humble bundle ran it.

Civ 5 is definitely the weakest game in the series. I think Civ 4/Beyond the Sword was the highest point the series has yet reached.

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#58

Post by yen223 »

marak830 wrote: post #33

Gods the amount of time i spent on civ. But didnt that article seem to stop all of a sudden? I checked twice on my phone to see if i missed a more button. Didnt civ 4 get an award for audio?(and i loved the music on 4, was so disappointed with 5s audio), the article left me with a , meh, what about. . . ! for so many things. Being only 32 i would imagine a great article to show me things i didnt know. Sigh. The tempt…

Baba Yetu, the theme song of Civ 4, was the first video game-related song to win a Grammy. Rightfully so too, in my opinion.

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#59

Post by deciplex »

mikeash wrote: post #30
ra1n85 wrote: post #6

Amazing series. I still recall being able to recount all of the 7 wonders, all of the large Greek city states, and all that other countless historical context that the developers packed into the game that gave me a slight leg up in middle school history class. And of course I'll encourage my children to play someday. No childhood is complete without having to fight back Gandhi's unrelenting hordes of musketmen with s…

It would be remiss to mention Civilization and Gandhi on a tech site without discussing why he was such a crazy warmonger. In the original Civilization, Gandhi's "aggression" rating was set to 1 to make him a pacifist. Except that when a civilization adopted the Democracy form of government, this reduced the leader's aggression rating by 2. The ratings were unsigned, so this wrapped around and gave Gandhi an "aggress…

It's also worth pointing out that apparently in some later editions of the game they have reimplemented this bug as a joke. (Not a very good joke, IMO.)

Re: Civilization: 25 years, 33M copies sold, 1B hours played, and 66 versions

#60

Post by yen223 »

vacri wrote: post #49
mattzito wrote: post #24

I started playing civilization when I was 12 or 13 (Civilization 1), and still, to this day, the closest thing I have to meditation is playing Civ V. I travel a decent amount, and one of my great joys is being on a plane without wifi but with inseat power (Civ V on the mac is a ridiculous power hog), and knowing that I've got X hours of civilization to play with no one to bother me. My strategy isn't great, I have ev…

I really do not understand the appeal of 5, though clearly it has appeal as it has tons of players active on Steam. 4 was the pinnacle for me - exploring and finding "that amazing city site". 5 for me... all cities are 'balanced' to be identical, and don't even vary that much if you turn them off. Every game kinda plays out the same. I have to uninstall 4 because I see the dawn light appearing through the window. 5 j…

Personally, I prefer V's combat mechanics over IV's, and V sure looks prettier.
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