`Civilization Chronicles` announced

[Locutus]

Gaming site WorthPlaying reports that 2K Games and Firaxis have announced today that they are releasing a new product: Sid Meier's Civilization Chronicles. This is a behemoth package composed of all 4 base Civilization games and 5 expansions: Sid Meier's Civilization I, Sid Meier's Civilization II, Civilization II: Fantastic Worlds, Civilization II: Conflicts in Civilization, Civilization II: Test of Time, Sid Meier's Civilization III, Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World, Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests and Sid Meier's Civilization IV. The latest Warlords expansion for Civilization IV will not be part of this set. Also included will be a number of extras:

• Civilization: The Card Game: An original tabletop card game designed by Civilization IV lead designer Soren Johnson, featuring more than 250 custom cards and rules based on Civilization IV.
  
• The Chronicles of Civilization: A 96-page book containing the history of Civilization, as told through interviews with past Civilization designers, an interview with Sid Meier and lead designer Soren Johnson, an article by journalist and author Steven L. Kent on the significance of the series in the computer gaming industry, and other original literature.
  
• Video DVD: DVD content includes a detailed presentation by lead designer Soren Johnson and artist Dorian Newcomb about the creation of Civilization IV, complemented by gameplay footage of every iteration of the game, game trailers from the Civilization series and more.
  
• Even more! Other exciting extras for fans and newcomers alike include printed tech tree posters from each game, wallpaper images, podcast MP3s and more!

This product will be avaible in stores in the US in October and have a suggested retail price of $69.99. Release dates and prices for other parts of the world are not mentioned. Thanks to civilized.de for the news tip.

Wow, especially those extras sound pretty cool. Only problem is the price: I already have most of the games (the ones I want to have anyway) so ~€60 for a cardgame, a book and a DVD is a bit much if you ask me. (That's assuming they're going to sell this in Europe at all.)

[MMC]

Ouch... Red text is not readable with the SMAC theme.

[MMC]

Also, according to http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/07/2k...ade-empire-pc/ there might be something called "Sid and Nancy's Civilization 2K6: Stoned Age" included.

Currently $69.99 = €54.98 = £37.23 = $91.32 (Aus) = $77.68 (Can) = $107.68 (NZ) which isn't too bad considering you do get the entire series as well as the extras (even if you've already got them).

Shame Warlords is missing, though.

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by MMC
there might be something called "Sid and Nancy's Civilization 2K6: Stoned Age" included.

Pretty sure that's a joke...

this is a pretty nice compilation, though man, those older games are going to feel really dated.

[MMC]

Hopefully they'll update them enough to let them all work on WinXP.

[Locutus]

Picture of the whole set (from Gamespot):

[Verrucosus]

It's a nice idea. Since I don't have either of the Civ2 expansions or Civ3 Conquest, I might be tempted.
However, looking at the picture, I'm afraid they didn't include printed manuals.

[MMC]

Neither Firaxis.com nor 2kGames.com make any mention of this pack

[Locutus]

http://ir.take2games.com/ReleaseDeta...leaseID=210191

[MMC]

That's still not Firaxis.com or 2kGames.com

[Cort Haus]

Nice money spinner. 'You bought it before, you're gonna buy it again.'

[jasev]

I miss the Civ2 Multiplayer Gold Edition.

[jbp26]

anyone whos never played Civ I should pick this up and give it a whirl, just to see how dominant chariots used to be. its amazing.

[Verrucosus]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Nice money spinner. 'You bought it before, you're gonna buy it again.'

Yes, it is rather unashamed, but it's as good a method as any to encourage the development of sequels to Colonization or Alpha Centauri or the creation of new turn-based games of a "Civish" nature.

Besides, the card game (if it's any good) might prove a clever tool to attract a new audience. The lack of a proper documentation would be a problem, though. (The original Civ manual was the best ever!)

[Kuciwalker]

I might actually buy this if they put all the games on 1 DVD rather than 20 CD's.

[vee4473]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Nice money spinner. 'You bought it before, you're gonna buy it again.'

right! I don't have all those games, but even if I did I have to have it....Even just to lay it all out like that pic and look at it..

[PJayTycy]

If they only included Alhpa Centauri and Alien Crossfire...


I don't understand why didn't put them in... Alien Crossfire alone often sells on ebay for 70$.

[Verrucosus]

I'm not sure they have the rights to sell them. SMAC and its expansion were published by EA at the time.

[Illuminatus]

Originally posted by PJayTycy
If they only included Alhpa Centauri and Alien Crossfire...

Verrucosus is right. They don't have the rights to do it; Electronic Arts owns all the rights to the SMAC franchise.

[MMC]

Originally posted by Illuminatus
Verrucosus is right. They don't have the rights to do it; Electronic Arts owns all the rights to the SMAC franchise.

And EA isn't letting them add it to the cronicles pack... sounds like a typical day for EA.

Hummm... Maybe Poly and CFC and some of the other sites, could band together, raise some money, and buy the rights from EA and give tham back to Firaxis :P

Then we'd be garunteed to get a decent sequel for SMAC(X).

[Adm.Naismith]

Originally posted by MMC
Hummm... Maybe Poly and CFC and some of the other sites, could band together, raise some money, and buy the rights from EA and give tham back to Firaxis :P

Sure! Firaxis management is way too poor to buy rights, using parts of the huge amount of money Firaxis raised selling Civ games for years...

Wait! I have a better idea: how about Sid asking Bill Gates a few coin for a just cause?
Maybe Bill Gates loves Civilization anyway - well, he tried more or less to emulate it with Age of Empire... "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

[Zoid]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
I might actually buy this if they put all the games on 1 DVD rather than 20 CD's.

Yeah. CD´s are soo last century... Seriously, C & C The First Decade did it. And there´d be a lot of more room for printed manuals...

But I´ll probably buy it anyway to relive past glorys...

[Zoid]

Originally posted by Illuminatus


Verrucosus is right. They don't have the rights to do it; Electronic Arts owns all the rights to the SMAC franchise.

We can only hope that EA get off it´s lazy ass and publishes a lavish 10 Year Anniversary Edition of SMAC/X

[LordShiva]

What's the card game like?

[Keygen]

Has anyone bought this?

[Verrucosus]

I bought it as a Christmas gift for a cousin who had started with Civ4 and not played any of the previous versions. Last weekend I visited him, so I had a chance to take a look and play the cardgame.

To start with the cardgame, it was simple, but fun. (We were just two players. I suppose it's even more interesting with three or four.) It is inspired not only by Civilization, but also by the "Settlers of Catan" cardgame. It is wisely limited to the ancient era. The designers' notes reveal that there was a spectacularly failed attempt to translate the entire span of Civilization into a cardgame, but it turned out to be too complex. While the game they came up with in the end is enjoyable, it lacks the dynamic of Civilization. Most importantly, the advances that you can purchase do not act as prerequisites for other items, but operate more like wonders providing direct benefits to the player that buys them.

The collection itself is impressive. It includes not just the main games, but all the expansions for Civ2 and Civ3.

As expected, the documentation is a bit of a letdown. There are printed tech trees, but the manuals are available only as pdf-documents. There is no documentation at all for the Civ2 Conflicts and Fantastic Worlds scenarios. The manual for the Civ3 Complete Edition is a commendable consolidation of the original and expansion manuals, but for no apparent reason the chapter that includes the information about forms of government has been omitted.

The versions included for Civ1 and Civ2 were new to me. For Civ1 it's not the DOS, but the Windows version that has different graphics. Civ2 is included not in the classic, but in the Multiplayer Gold version (which includes the scenario expansions, multiplayer and has a slightly less appealing, but correct Civilopedia). Speaking of appeal, this was the first time I saw the notorious Test of Time graphics and ... oh dear, "ugly" doesn't even come close. What were they thinking?

I didn't watch the DVD, but my cousin told me it includes mainly a biography about Sid Meier and very detailed comments by Soren Johnson about designing Civ4.

For someone who came late to the Civ party, the collection is a good way to catch up. My cousin played Civ4 first, so there is no nostalgia element for him, but he says that he is not bored by the previous versions despite their dated graphics. (In fact, he was impressed with the Civ2 wonder movies. The Adam Smith one is his current favourite because the music makes him "feel rich").

Verrucosus

[ZYPeng]

SJ Asian Escort,

[wizzard926]

With all the posts I read, I got interested with the game. Gonna try it!

[KingCold2]

With all the posts I read, I got interested with the game. Gonna try it!

Same. I can't believe I've never heard of this until yesterday.

[KingCold2]

Considering I already spend around 40 dollars per handheld game, 80 bucks for the series seems like a steal.