Apolyton: What effect do the opinions on fan site forums, such as Apolyton's, impact design decisions? Have you rethought any part of Civ3 because of the fans' reaction?
Jeff Morris: We really appreciate getting feedback from fans. They're useful in that they focus on many of the issues and features that we're debating internally and they give us some new ideas as well. This perspective often leads to new approaches to sometimes difficult questions, though it's important to realize that budgets, dates and resources all carry as much weight as a good idea.

Apolyton: What are your plans for the after-release support? Some felt that SMAC needed one more patch...
Jeff Morris: We're very proud of the Civ III editors and since these are tools for consumers, we have big plans for allowing these serious mod developers to achieve their goals. This will include dialogues with those developers who have a proven track record or a promising idea, updates to the editors based on ease of use and functionality, and improving the methods of distributing and playing these scenarios.

Apolyton: Will there be 7 civs in a game like civ2 and smac or more? We have heard almost any possible choice on this :)
Jeff Morris: Supported, there will be 7 civilizations in a game, 8 including the player. The editor allows you to adjust this, though many screens are setup only for this 8 civ limit.
(sidenote: when asked what the limit of the editor will be, Jeff responded that the tools are still in development and that the current limit is 16)

Apolyton: Are the graphics or are you still working on them? Some people are hoping for the second...
Jeff Morris: Graphic tasks right now are finishing the remaining overlay tiles (like poles and mines) and polishing screens.

Apolyton: You're playing civ for some time now :) How have the new ideas around culture and diplomacy changed the game for you?
Jeff Morris: They fundamentally changed the way the game plays. Culture's impact on the acquisition of new territory and how you support a high culture civilization are definitely a 'new' way to play. By building (and more importantly maintaining) the city improvements that generate culture, you're closing off certain other play styles (like large, offensive military forces). Further, wonders that alleviate the maintenance costs of improvements become critical. Diplomacy's major impact is enabling resource trades. Since you really can't be competitive in this game without SOME luxuries and strategic resources, you need to maintain stable relationships with your neighbors. The tools to permit these arrangements are enabled by your play style. For instance, without an embassy, you can't expect to know the standing relationships between civilizations, or subscribe to complicated diplomatic arrangements like Military Alliances.

Apolyton: Arent you guys sick of making civ games yet?
Jeff Morris: How could we be? It's a fantastic system that is flexible, appeals to a large audience, and is mod-friendly. For those in the business of making games, it's a dream franchise.

Apolyton: Has the whole CTP1/2 story taught you anything? Do you think these games helped the genre or not?
Jeff Morris: They helped us understand the impact of major changes to this system. New features must seamlessly integrate with the existing system, and that's tough the more radical the change. At first I wasn't a fan of a conservative sequel, though I'm a complete convert now.

Apolyton: Is there any hope that we will see a SMAC2?
Jeff Morris: You never know.

Apolyton: Does your wife know about this? :D

Jeff Morris: How do you know that ain't her? :)

Many thanks to Jeff for answering our questions(which were made by Snapcase, Solver, Imran Siddiqui and MarkG)!