Hello Everyone.
I thought I'd touch base and bring you all up to speed on what's happening at Firaxis. As many of you know, some
members of our team have left to go start their own company. We were sad to say goodbye to some good friends, but
it is not at all uncommon for programmers to spin off and form their own company - we know, we've been there.
Over the years the Hunt Valley, Maryland area has spawned many new development groups connected in one way or
another with the original MicroProse Software. We hope that this means continued innovation for our industry
and most of all more great games for us all to play!
This has created a great opportunity for people within Firaxis to step up and accept more responsibility. The current
Civ and Dino teams are an interesting mixture of experienced veterans and young hot-shots. Perhaps we'll be talking
about the 'next Sid Meier' or the 'next Brian Reynolds' soon. We're also continuing the process of seeking out a few
uniquely talented programmers and artists to round out our teams. Jeff Briggs and I are leading the development of
Civ III. Jeff's focus is on production and design, and mine is on overseeing the programming and design. As you
know Civilization is very near and dear to our hearts and we're excited to bring you the next generation in the Civ saga.
We've been reviewing the "Civ III list" that you put together and have already implemented many suggestions. We look
forward to your continued feedback and greatly appreciate all of the time, energy and ideas you've put into creating
this list. We hope to make Civilization III reflect a lot of your ideas.
You've already heard a few of the new ideas and innovations that are going into Civ III and there are many, many more
to come! We're focusing heavily on the areas of trade and commerce and the role they played in mankind's development
throughout history. We think it will be fun to be able to corner the market by specializing in the production of oil,
or wheeling and dealing with other civilizations to achieve mutual economic benefits or to cut off resources to a
powerful enemy.
You'll also see major new developments in our combat system. For the first time you'll be able to conduct sweeping
military invasions using brand new units and military features, including leaders and armies. Another area of focus
is diplomacy. We made great progress in the diplomacy system in Alpha Centauri and we plan to radically advance the
diplomacy in Civ III by giving the player more power to construct deals to match any situation.
We've developed a brand new graphics engine that will bring the Civ world alive like never before and we continue to
work on an interface that will make Civ III the most intuitive to play in the series. These are just a few additions
we have planned for Civ III.
Thanks for your encouragement, suggestions, and enthusiasm through the years, we'll keep you posted as we move forward.
Hopefully, you've been keeping up with the Dino Diaries. The Dino project is moving along nicely and Mike and I will
continue to keep you posted through the diaries.
Sid Meier
