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Author Topic:   Call To Power.. what's the point???

Freudianslip posted 03-02-99 04:59 PM ET
well, obviously, to make more money. I was justing reading the preview... they were bragging about it adding "over a dozen neww units" a DOZEN? For $50, I want to see a m'fing GROSS of new units!
Are greedy game developers going to suckle the withering teats of the Civilization franchise dry, leaving a sour taste and a ruined idol in the mouths and hearts of gamers everywhere? Or will a true evolution occur?
iratheous posted 03-02-99 05:23 PM ET
Thats all it is, a way to make money while doing the least amount of work possible. people will say "well they wrote the engine for CTP from scratch" Well big deal, it is DESIGNING the game that is hard, it is making sure to keep everyone balanced while being sure they get certain advances at the proper times. Sid & Brian already figured all this out, Activision just wants to cash in on it. Unfortunately how can anyone NOT be interested in a new incarnation of Civ? Reguardless of who makes it as long as they try to keep it in the same vein as civ. Which they ahve no other choice to do, god forbid they do something original on thier own. the very few changes they ARE making fall in to one of two catagories either
A) It is a feature that players have been asking for in civ II since the beginning, in which case they didn't come up witht he idea
or
B) It is silly, like a lawyer who will (possibly) have the ability to sue a country into stopping a war over policies being broken (yea right, tell that to Hitler, Saddam, Ho Chi Min(sp?)). Or a televangelist (why not figures like the pope?). Problem with Televangelists is that ussually (almost ALWAYS) they are only seen in countries that ALREADY watch and liek them. You won't see Jim Baker giving speeches on tv in Red China, so whats the point? The point is that Activision wants o cash in on other poeples hard work. They want to steal thier idea's and make them thier own. I certainly hope players and reviewers take that into account when judging thier game. Sure it may be a fun game, but Sid & Brian are the ones who put the fun into that game.
Besides I can't wait till that guy who remade Psyco does a remake of The Godfather and throws in a Televangelist to sway the other families into working for the Corleones(sp?).
zaz posted 03-03-99 12:41 PM ET
How many people bought CIV2 even though it had the same units as CIV.
To quote someone who has CTP...
The deal is... it doesn't suck
Markos, Apolyton Civilization Site
civilization.gamestats.com
Why not check out the previews at the above site from someone who has the game.
BTW "More than a dozen" could mean 13 or 300.
Don't forget new Wonders, Techs etc..
Plus Space and Sea Colonization extra 1000 year time frame, and many more pluses.
MarkG posted 03-03-99 04:03 PM ET
Just so that I dont see "hey where is the preview" messages, it's not ready yet.
For now we have movie stills and descriptions of all 35 wonders, and later today we'll have the full list of the 42 civs.
Expect our "from civ2 nuts' point of view" preview next week(hopefully)
Markos, Apolyton CS
Scrubby posted 03-03-99 04:14 PM ET
I said it before and I'll say it again: I think CTP's extrapolation of the time frame is a great idea along with sea improvements. However I still can't get past the silliness of sending lawyer units over to a city to sue them into submission. Is someone at Activision sublimating their failure at law school into the game? But seriously, the graphics do look better in preview and some of the ideas they have are good. You may find Activision's jumping on the CIV bandwagon to be deplorable but I think the consumers will be the final judge -- hehe... (may I show you exhibit A, Gamespot's poll of who is the rightful sequel to Civ II -- SMAC won by a LONGSHOT!)
iratheous posted 03-03-99 05:54 PM ET
Well when all is said and done, if it is a good game I will buy it. As much as i hate the 'scandal' surrounding the game I'm a sucker for a good game. And I think that is exactly what activisionis hoping for, people who really don't care what thier business practices are, but rather how good the gamesthey steal are. luckily the game is based on Brian& Sid's work so anything copying should be almost as fun.
Jason Beaudoin posted 03-04-99 08:39 AM ET
One of the most refreshing things about CTP is that it is not going to be made by Brian Reynolds. Don't get me wrong here... Brian has done a great job, but he has a style all his own and it will be nice to see how other programmers re-create CIV. It's like the difference between two books from two different authors.
It'll be nice to see how the AI messures up to SMAC or CIV II. It'll be nice to see where the enphasis was placed on CTP as opposed to SMAC.
Firaxis seemed to focus on making huge changes in the game design, such as introducing borders, making a international council, social engineering and the unit workshop. They were all great ideas, but in the end, some succeeded better than others, and some created new and unexpected problems (i.e.: unit graphics).
CTP, on the other hand, seemed to take the things that made CIV II awesome and went with it. They may not have brought as many new design features, but they improved on the things that we were already enjoying. More units, more Civs, and more techs.
It'll be nice to see Activision's interpretation of what makes CIV II great.
Utrecht posted 03-04-99 11:59 AM ET
Jason has a point.
Sid and Brian basically invented this genre of gaming nad had continued to expand out the depth and quality of the games.
However, new blood with new ideas is not bad. Some of the things that they are doing are relatively clever like no nead for "former" type units.
Unlike SMAC, I am not going to get is as soon as possible. Rather I will wait until some reviews come through and Best Buy is selling it for 29.99.
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Author	Topic: Call To Power.. what's the point???
Freudianslip	posted 03-02-99 04:59 PM ET well, obviously, to make more money. I was justing reading the preview... they were bragging about it adding "over a dozen neww units" a DOZEN? For $50, I want to see a m'fing GROSS of new units! Are greedy game developers going to suckle the withering teats of the Civilization franchise dry, leaving a sour taste and a ruined idol in the mouths and hearts of gamers everywhere? Or will a true evolution occur?
iratheous	posted 03-02-99 05:23 PM ET Thats all it is, a way to make money while doing the least amount of work possible. people will say "well they wrote the engine for CTP from scratch" Well big deal, it is DESIGNING the game that is hard, it is making sure to keep everyone balanced while being sure they get certain advances at the proper times. Sid & Brian already figured all this out, Activision just wants to cash in on it. Unfortunately how can anyone NOT be interested in a new incarnation of Civ? Reguardless of who makes it as long as they try to keep it in the same vein as civ. Which they ahve no other choice to do, god forbid they do something original on thier own. the very few changes they ARE making fall in to one of two catagories either A) It is a feature that players have been asking for in civ II since the beginning, in which case they didn't come up witht he idea or B) It is silly, like a lawyer who will (possibly) have the ability to sue a country into stopping a war over policies being broken (yea right, tell that to Hitler, Saddam, Ho Chi Min(sp?)). Or a televangelist (why not figures like the pope?). Problem with Televangelists is that ussually (almost ALWAYS) they are only seen in countries that ALREADY watch and liek them. You won't see Jim Baker giving speeches on tv in Red China, so whats the point? The point is that Activision wants o cash in on other poeples hard work. They want to steal thier idea's and make them thier own. I certainly hope players and reviewers take that into account when judging thier game. Sure it may be a fun game, but Sid & Brian are the ones who put the fun into that game. Besides I can't wait till that guy who remade Psyco does a remake of The Godfather and throws in a Televangelist to sway the other families into working for the Corleones(sp?).
zaz	posted 03-03-99 12:41 PM ET How many people bought CIV2 even though it had the same units as CIV. To quote someone who has CTP... The deal is... it doesn't suck Markos, Apolyton Civilization Site civilization.gamestats.com Why not check out the previews at the above site from someone who has the game. BTW "More than a dozen" could mean 13 or 300. Don't forget new Wonders, Techs etc.. Plus Space and Sea Colonization extra 1000 year time frame, and many more pluses.
MarkG	posted 03-03-99 04:03 PM ET Just so that I dont see "hey where is the preview" messages, it's not ready yet. For now we have movie stills and descriptions of all 35 wonders, and later today we'll have the full list of the 42 civs. Expect our "from civ2 nuts' point of view" preview next week(hopefully) Markos, Apolyton CS
Scrubby	posted 03-03-99 04:14 PM ET I said it before and I'll say it again: I think CTP's extrapolation of the time frame is a great idea along with sea improvements. However I still can't get past the silliness of sending lawyer units over to a city to sue them into submission. Is someone at Activision sublimating their failure at law school into the game? But seriously, the graphics do look better in preview and some of the ideas they have are good. You may find Activision's jumping on the CIV bandwagon to be deplorable but I think the consumers will be the final judge -- hehe... (may I show you exhibit A, Gamespot's poll of who is the rightful sequel to Civ II -- SMAC won by a LONGSHOT!)
iratheous	posted 03-03-99 05:54 PM ET Well when all is said and done, if it is a good game I will buy it. As much as i hate the 'scandal' surrounding the game I'm a sucker for a good game. And I think that is exactly what activisionis hoping for, people who really don't care what thier business practices are, but rather how good the gamesthey steal are. luckily the game is based on Brian& Sid's work so anything copying should be almost as fun.
Jason Beaudoin	posted 03-04-99 08:39 AM ET One of the most refreshing things about CTP is that it is not going to be made by Brian Reynolds. Don't get me wrong here... Brian has done a great job, but he has a style all his own and it will be nice to see how other programmers re-create CIV. It's like the difference between two books from two different authors. It'll be nice to see how the AI messures up to SMAC or CIV II. It'll be nice to see where the enphasis was placed on CTP as opposed to SMAC. Firaxis seemed to focus on making huge changes in the game design, such as introducing borders, making a international council, social engineering and the unit workshop. They were all great ideas, but in the end, some succeeded better than others, and some created new and unexpected problems (i.e.: unit graphics). CTP, on the other hand, seemed to take the things that made CIV II awesome and went with it. They may not have brought as many new design features, but they improved on the things that we were already enjoying. More units, more Civs, and more techs. It'll be nice to see Activision's interpretation of what makes CIV II great.
Utrecht	posted 03-04-99 11:59 AM ET Jason has a point. Sid and Brian basically invented this genre of gaming nad had continued to expand out the depth and quality of the games. However, new blood with new ideas is not bad. Some of the things that they are doing are relatively clever like no nead for "former" type units. Unlike SMAC, I am not going to get is as soon as possible. Rather I will wait until some reviews come through and Best Buy is selling it for 29.99.