Civilization V
 

I have always heard how great the Civ games are and that people get addicted to playing them. I have never played a Civ game. I got Civ V with all the DLC and expansions dirt cheap during the steam sales. Have I gotten myself into a big mess? Is it complicated as hell to play? Do you have any advice?


I looked for an old thread to bump before starting this one but I couldn't find one.

Re: Civilization V
 

It's not complicated at all to play. You start small (just a band of settlers) and there's plenty of in-game support as your civilization grows. The biggest problem is the "one more turn" syndrome...when it's time to go to bed but you just want to play "one more turn"...and suddenly it's 5am and 100 turns later.

Re: Civilization V
 

Just be sure to play the tutorial.

Re: Civilization V
 

I just don't see how strategy games can be fun. From the looks of it, you're just going through menus, clicking on a group of characters and watching them fight. Can you take control of individual soldiers and fight that way? I'm assuming there's more than just battles? (dialogue scenes between characters?)

Re: Civilization V
 

Sounds like it's not your cup of tea.

Strategy games are just that, strategy. You stratergize your research, diplomacy, etc. Fighting is but one potential path you can take.

Re: Civilization V
 

Also, if Gandhi gets nuclear tech first, you're screwed.

Re: Civilization V
 

Personally I didn't like Civ V. I have spent literally thousands of hours playing Civ IV and never gotten bored with it, but I was bored with Civ V in a week. A lot of people over on the civfanatics board don't seem to like it either.

By the way, civfanatics.com is a great site. There are tons and tons of great strategy articles there that will help both newbies learn the game and more advanced gamers to become improve their game.



http://i39.tinypic.com/jv3wir.jpg

Re: Civilization V
 

:lol:

Re: Civilization V
 

I played some last night. I definitely have a steep learning curve with this one. I found a couple of beginner's vids on YouTube that I will probably watch. With getting all of the expansions...it has made it a little more complicated I think.

Re: Civilization V
 

Enjoy your new addiction. You'll be hooked after your first full game. Civ V is a good starting point; it's more user friendly than the previous games. If you really want to work your way into it, pick up the version that was released on consoles/mobile. It's a fun game and basically Civ Light.

Re: Civilization V
 

If you want, you can play with no opposing civs, or you can turn off the warfare option. This will help you get used to the basics.

Re: Civilization V
 

That is good to know. I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I chose the tutorial, but it didn't go step by step completely. There were times the adviser would stop telling me things. Being I have ZERO knowledge of how the game works I need someone or something taking me through each step. That is why i need to watch one of those long vids on youtube with someone talking me through.


I saw one on the iPad and was wondering if it was any good.

I still don't know what the complete point is of the game. Conquering the whole map or just building a thriving civilization? I know I sound like a dumb ass :lol: it appears to me, that one game can last a long time. i played for 45 minutes and it didn't appear I had done a whole lot. Not sure how I would ever have time to do a multiplayer game...i don't have hours to play at a time.

Re: Civilization V
 

Haha. Well, the answer your last question... and this will be a ton of help... it depends...

There are a number of different ways to "win" a Civilization game. Some people like to pick a society that advances military most rapidly to conquer the world. Others like to use culture, religion or politics... you'll win by convincing everyone else that you're f'ing awesome and should be worshipped/followed. Or... you can win by advancing technology...

The more you play, the more you'll want to try out different endgame scenarios.

I never found Civ V nearly as engrossing as Civ IV. I ended up going back to Civ IV and shelving Civ V. It just wasn't as much fun. The PS3 game Civilization Revolution is also a lot like Civ-light. It was fun and winning required different strategies than standard Civ.

Re: Civilization V
 

A game can last however long you want it to last. You can micromanage everything yourself or automate some things. I like to micromanage everything, so my games tend to last 20+ hours. If you automate, it goes by much quicker, but the automate AI tends to be rather stupid.

As for winning, every Civ game has numerous ways to win with slight variations.

Basically these are ways you can win:

1) Military victory = conquer the other civilizations
2) Technology victory = be the first to launch a spaceship to Alpha Centauri
3) Culture victory = have about 3 cities with maxed culture
4) Diplomatic victory = have the United Nations members vote you as the best civ ever
5) Time victory = the game automatically ends in 2050 AD, and you get this victory if you or no other civ has gotten another victory yet. Personally I consider "Time victory" to be a non-victory since its so lame.

I also echo the other comments about Civ Rev on the consoles. Its incredibly easy. A Civ Rev game only lasts 2-3 hours. Its very simple compared to its PC counterparts, but its still fun. I enjoy Civ Rev more than Civ V actually. :lol: I play Civ Rev when I want a quick easy game, and I play Civ IV when I have more time and want something deeper and more complex.

Also you might want to check out XCom: Enemy Unknown. It was made by the same developers, and its really awesome. Just make sure you get the right XCom game though. There is also an XCom first person shooter, and that one sucks.

Re: Civilization V
 

This guy has had a Civ game going for 10 years

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/18/tech/g...-ii-ten-years/


How does MP work? do you have to play nonstop until it is over or can you do a turn, the log off, then pick back up where you left off later? I know that sounds dumb probably, but it is hard to believe people will sit and play one multiplayer game for hours

Re: Civilization V
 

Yeah I had read that story before. :lol:

Its a Civ II game. I never played Civ I-III, so I don't know how different they are, but I have played Civ IV for literally thousands of hours and never come close to being in a stalemate like that.


Don't underestimate how addicted some people can get to Civ. :lol: There have been numerous times I have sat down only intending to play for a few hours, and the next thing I know 10+ hours have flown by. I have wasted entire days doing nothing but playing Civ.

I can't help with multiplayer though. I never play multiplayer.

Re: Civilization V
 

I love the civ games, but I've always found the diplomacy very lacking and unrealistic. I wish they would design a game where the world leader's dialogue is highly varied and changes based on your decision. Something like Mass Effect does. Voice acting would be even more cool.

I remember playing Civ 2 back in the day and was thrilled whenever the multimedia advisor would pop up. But the fun stopped quickly when I realized that they would repeat themselves and keep saying the same lines over and over.

Re: Civilization V
 

Civ II was great. I had it for the original PlayStation. Lots of good times :up:

Re: Civilization V
 

Civilization revolution for the iphone/ ipad is awesome. I still play that all the time and it doesn't take up all your time. Civilization 4 takes a long time and is hard to win militarily for me i.e. conquering all neighboring cities/civilizations. I like the version on the iphone.

Re: Civilization V
 

Yeah, this is one of my main problems with the game. Civ V is a lot of fun, and it's not hard at all to learn. Very user friendly and it progresses logically. You are constantly alerted to things you need to do and if you try to end your turn without doing them.

It does get boring due to the simplicity though. The mechanics are all pretty tight, but maybe a little too much. For instance, all the Civs have an identical tech tree. Which makes sense on some level, but it would be nice if there were some unique branches for the different Civs rather than simply generic and abstract modifiers.

And as you say, the diplomacy is incredibly basic. It would be nice to have a broader set of options. All of these things complicate it though, so I can just stick to Paradox games for that an enjoy Civ V for what it is - a fun TBS.

One word of advice to OP, make sure you don't neglect faith early on. You don't necessarily need to emphasize this throughout the game, but early on it helps to get those bonuses from the pantheon and forming a religion. If you're playing a big game, there are only so many slots available, and a lot of other Civs will start doing it right away. So make sure you start building a temple and generating faith early.

Re: Civilization V
 

My favorite part of the war declarations was the resigned 'very well' dialogue option. I selected it every single time.

Re: Civilization V
 

It's strategy, plus the element of role play a little bit. You have to use your imagination and kind of pretend you're actually these 2,000 year old people controlling shit.

I think you'd like it. You must know a lot about using your imagination to immerse yourself... deeply into something. ;)

Re: Civilization V
 

It's fun in the same way that a simple board game like Risk is fun for people, just more deep. A lot of people enjoy planning and thinking about moves to make, how and when to expand your city and empire, when to attack or be diplomatic, and feeling like a better ruler then everyone else :) I don't see how it's that hard to see why people like these type of games.

I was really in to Civ 2 back in the day on my PC, when I thought building a wonder of the world and the subsequent videos were the coolest thing ever. I have Civ 5 but haven't taken the time to get into it really, but I have friends that spend 100's of hours on it.