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PREVIOUS ARTICLES

194# CIVILIZATION III, A SHOE TOO BIG? The realistic faction speaks 193# THE ULTIMATE GAME? Is there such thing? #192 THE CIVILIZATION II ERA Just before Civ3 is out, Rasbelin summarizes the last 5 years 191# THE ALLURE OF CIV What's so cool about civ? 190# THIS WONDERFULL CONCEPT OF FAITH Response to #189 COLUMN ARCHIVE

This is my first column so I'll try to share a few additional details on the well-known issue, and next to the global comparison made by CT. --After Comrade Tribune's "part I" - column 185.

The two fabulous games will undoubtly save the TBS genre from downfall, each in a different way depending of their success after release. I don't say they'll rejuvenize it on a point to eclipse the popularity of hectic RTS MP, but at least the Alpha ( Civ III ) and the Omega ( MoO 3 ) are there to bring a fresh improvement to the empire building gaming. It's always more difficult to develop the megalomaniac strategy tapestry of a TBS than the tactical-oriented combat engine of a RTS; that's why we see huge gaps between landmark games. MoO 3 has even a couple of revolutionary things which shall influence the whole industry: supposing the team completes such a complex game into a successfully balanced experience, devoted to the largest fandom possible. But this is sci-fi.

Recently, Sid said something terribly important about TB board games: they are there and played since many centuries. Nothing can be closer to the truth. The brainiest game ever, chess, is a classic TB board game. Has any genius ever created yet a RT chess game overcoming the still widely played classic ?

More precisely, I consider the Alpha ( Civ III ) as the conservative way of a historico-intello agenda. Such a librarian epic can be resumed upon three major upgrades embellishing the already proven engine: refined diplomacy; more culture and sociology but overly simplified within gameplay; graphics & sound of course. No real innovative mechanics here, though traditional civ still has its place in today's market where I see it as a nice Civ II + SMAC upgrade slightly more oriented for hybrid builders and peacemakers. Warmongers will have their chance to eXterminate though, and at leisure on tiny maps + 16 civs!

Of course NO MP at release, but we can tag along a very strong editor. The overall management is enriched and "paradoxally" simple when spying and trading. The simplified compounds, i.e. unit design, no social engineering, culture "quantified", are really user-friendly and there to attract the largest mass of gamers possible ( we must admit it is very large, much larger than the MOO franchise ). Firaxis didn't wanted from the start to make Civ III over-complexified. The ICS is now more controlled, but some technical details were intentionally omissed such as wonder movies and extensive voiceovers many of us liked so much in SMACx ( well, there are some in Civ III but still a major drawback to what the industry delivers now on recent games ).

I see one side effect about the coming of Alpha: MP addicts switching to RTS like Empire Earth ( maybe for the short-term only since EE is not so awesome than anticipated ). At the end, we can expect Civ III to have an incredibly easier learning curve than the Omega, and is user-friendly for the newcomer.

The ambitious Omega ( MoO 3 ) is at this point ( Q4 2001 ) well-managed by Quicksilver and right on target. I'm optimistic about this one. It's more a risky project, but a worthy one. Like Comrade Tribune and so many others, I see it as the innovative way of civ in space; a space-opera reminiscent to Star Wars, Star Trek, and so on, AND I'd say more: "amalgamized" a la David Brin - with an Emrich-ed sauce! Major upgrades turn around: macromanagement (+ still some micro but very localized ), RTS battle engine within overall TBS, empire splitting ( civil war ), leaders corruption, refined diplomacy & espionage, entirely new terraforming, state-of-the-art graphics & sound. MP is widely developed. As an example of technical detail, the team has already designed specific alien voiceovers for each race AND environmental sounds on diplomacy animated screens. The Religion/Ethos engine was so epic in coding scale it was relegated to the drawer until a hypothetical MoO 4.

I expect two side effects about the coming of this Omega. The first's always been there and is now amplified, the second may be "worked out" by a "workaholic" team: 1- traditional civers reluctant to sci-fi may ignore a very complex ( too much for the mass ) game, even more than before; 2- the whole package may be a bit too ambitious for the time alloted to AI coding ( though the team assure us that they got things cornered the way they want to )... Face it, the over-complexified compounds in development like terraforming, governments and agendas, espionage ( Active spying is a game within a game ), ship design, and so on are paradise to me, but quite the contrary to Civ III. Again, this is sci-fi...and beyond. Quicksilver may actually develop an overwhelming Omega for newcomers to the field, and at the same time pushing the limits of the TBS towards its true potential where no other genre can compete.

All in all, we have one final cumulative side effect: the monopolistic grasping of one company - Infogrames - over the short-term future ( success ) of the TBS genre. Civ III and MoO 3 are the guiding lights of an entire threshold of upcoming civ-related projects. The good thing about this is to expect 2002 to be the most exciting year for TBS gaming so far, almost a dream for versatile players. Dan said in 1999 that it was a Bumper Crops year ( SMAC and CTP ); well for 2002 I'd say much more than that for Civ AND MoO addicts like me: a godlike year.

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Official Civ III & MOO III Addict from the North, pixel and polygon infected

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