Civ V

[Saxif]

Think Diplo needs modding/fine tuning.

The pact of secrecy weakens relations with the nation your hiding secrets against, don't know how it works and the cooperation is designed to bring civs together, also don't know how that works.  I was trying to build the Oracle and got beaten to it but don't know if you get a bonus for failing like the 'fail gold' in Civ IV.

I decided after mullering the AI on Warlord, I'd skip Prince and try King, I just got gang banged by 2 AI, luckily only one actually attcked me and by spamming warriors I held him off   Think I am still loosing though, wanted to win by culture cos I like the idea of Social Policies, so I guess I could still snatch it as long as someone doesn't bring a swordsmen in and mop up all my warriors 

Sax.

[Saxif]

Gave up on my culture win as couldn't do it in the time frame given, fairly tough though some people are already doing culture wins in the first half of the 1800's on Emperor!

How's everyone else finding it?

Sax.

[Lasiien]

Still in my first game atm. Quite liking the changes to military units, seems to work quite well and also like cities being able to bombard from range. REALLY like social policies, they are way more interesting than Civics were in Civ IV (mostly because you have to make some permanent strategy choices with social policies it seems to me? Civics were always very interchangable just for what you were doing at the time).

On the fence about city states so far, they seem to be the new religion - you can either pick to go for them and the benefits they offer but risk diplomatic problems or you simply ignore them (or perhaps conquer them?). Anyways seems to me their purpose is to stir up diplomacy like religion did in Civ IV.

Not really liking diplomacy, I guess we might have been spoilt in Civ IV by knowing too much about what the other leaders thought about us (and each other), but seems in Civ V you're pretty much in the dark ? You can't even ask them 'what do you think about <leader>?' etc?

Overall impressions are still good, and liking the hex's and gfx too.

[Saxif]

I pretty much agree, I really like hexes, combat and the city bombardment also, Social policies rock and I enjoy the happiness and the way golden ages work, I also like the ability for great generals to start a GA or put down a fortress, the fortresses can really save a game, they are powerful. 

I am unsure about great people building their specials stuff outside cities, I don't like or hate it.  I am unsure about puppet states tbh, I don't think they fully thought them through.  I like the idea of puppet state or annex but it is badly implemented imo.  I don't like the fact that courthouses are only there to quieten a puppet state down.  I think they missed a trick by not having crime in this version with courthouses and jails e.t.c dropping crime rate and the crime rate of a newly conquered city being higher than normal.  I am on the wall regarding the tect tree, it seems simpler and I am not sure if there are as many short cuts.  Also Giant Death Robots  (GDR's) apparently don't need robotics either!!  comon!!

The fact that there is no maintence I don't like, they have obviously replaced it by adding maintence to buildings instead but in my last game where I was cash poor this bankrupted me.  They changed building wealth so that it stops a city adding maintenance via units or buildings) and creates a small amount of cash but also stops you from (in this version) churning out a shit load of troops (where-as in the old version it would allow you to grow and grow and grow).  It sounds silly but I don't like the save game section of the game, I don't like the diplomacy either, this I think is unfinished and they'll polish it up.  I don't like the city screens, I vastly prefer a screen with lots of info rather than a long list of buildings with pretty little pictures that you have to scroll down to see them if your city has built alot.  I don't like the changes they made to specialists, and I would prefer my wonders to kick out more culture, it seems lame atm except for a few.  I would prefer more screens to see how I am doing vs the AI (Civ IV hang over) and I would like a screen telling me how many social policies I have vs the various AI's.

So on the whole I like the game but think atm I prefer Civ IV.  Think I will leave it for awhile and pop back and see what they have changed.

Sax.

[Lasiien]

With previous Civ games though you start to learn that you have to approach things in a different manner, I am sure there are still many layers to come. But I know what you mean, if it ain't broke dont fix it !

[Saxif]

I think the best thing that will come from Civ V will be the mods, I think the hex based single unit combat system has alot of mile-age in various incarnations.  I also think the player base in general will have the skills to change the game into something more in line with what they want (I mean the Civfanatics player base here) and that with patches the game will get generally better.

Other than that I need to pwn Emperor on Civ IV even if I have to use a cheesy Quecha rush to do it!!!

Sax.

[Lasiien]

Yep, I agree. I've not even finished my first game yet though so still only really on first impressions. I think I want a Giant Death Robot though......

[xann]

Haven't finished a game of Civ5 yet, been distracted by another game i've gone back too... Left4Dead!

Multi-players still great, and hardly any l33t kids

Good fun