Beyond the Sword: Release dates!

Dale · May 5, 2007, 07:57

Don't know if anyone's seen yet, but Gamespot has listed release dates for Beyond the Sword!

Source: http://au.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/c...mmary;versions

Will9 · May 5, 2007, 08:17

July 2nd in America

BorgFury · May 6, 2007, 22:34

In case you haven't seen this yet, Rakers from civfanatics.com found the newly released cover art for Beyond the Sword over at 2K's website. Check it out:

Cyrus The Mike · May 7, 2007, 07:48

that does not look like civ 4 at all

Six Thousand Year Old Man · May 7, 2007, 20:14

Apologies for what could be considered a threadjack, but do we know whether BtS will incorporate the features that came with Warlords? And if so, which ones?

Or will we be expected to buy both?

Wiglaf · May 7, 2007, 23:01

they really should improve the graphics and the naval game as well. what's here looks a lot better than warlords though

Wiglaf · May 7, 2007, 23:02

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man
Apologies for what could be considered a threadjack, but do we know whether BtS will incorporate the features that came with Warlords? And if so, which ones?

Or will we be expected to buy both?

I think you get everything but the scenarios of warlords, though it is stupid they have not explicitly stated this.

Nikolai · May 8, 2007, 11:41

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man
Apologies for what could be considered a threadjack, but do we know whether BtS will incorporate the features that came with Warlords? And if so, which ones?

Or will we be expected to buy both?

It would make sense if Firaxis did like they did with Civ3 and included everything in the 2nd XP.

MightyTiny · May 9, 2007, 13:26

Only "July" for European release I see... no precice date yet.

Been taking a break from playing Civ4, and planning to wait till the expansion to play again... a break makes the game fresh again.

Targonis · May 10, 2007, 08:01

It depends on how well the base game is still selling, as well as Warlords. While it might be easier for them in QA to include the Warlords stuff in BtS, it may make more sense to sell three packages:

Package 1: Civ 4+Warlords+Beyond the Sword.

Package 2: Warlords+Beyond the Sword.

Package 3: Beyond the Sword.

The reason for this is to give a price discount for those who have purchased the previous Civ 4 titles, but a smaller discount if you didn't pick up Warlords previously but want the full experience when you pick up Beyond the Sword. Also, they would only need to include Warlords as a default with Beyond the Sword if the new expansion didn't have enough to make it worth buying on it's own.

Think about it, if the new expansion is good but doesn't have much to it, then they would NEED to include Warlords to make people want to buy it. If it's as good as they claim(and I believe them), then it would sell well on it's own merits, and including Vassal states and great generals, plus the unique buildings and units for each civ should remain a feature of Warlords and should not be included in Beyond the Sword. Make those who want Warlords features pay for them at this stage.

Originally posted by Nikolai

It would make sense if Firaxis did like they did with Civ3 and included everything in the 2nd XP.

Nikolai · May 10, 2007, 08:10

But not including the whole Warlords with BtS would make massive problems with compatibility, and a mess out of MP.

Targonis · May 10, 2007, 11:21

Originally posted by Nikolai
But not including the whole Warlords with BtS would make massive problems with compatibility, and a mess out of MP.

With only two expansion packs, it's not that big of a deal. You either have vanilla Civ 4, Civ 4+warlords, Civ 4+BtS, or all three. In any case, multi-player could easily have a key set based on which expansions are installed. Just have check boxes for the multi-player for: module, Warlords, BtS. If the game is based on one configuration, those wanting to play will need to have that same configuration.

Onagan · May 10, 2007, 11:37

I think that Warlords isn't included. If you don't have Warlords you have no Great Wall, Great General, Trebuchet, Stable. And also no Brennus, Churchill and maybe no unique building.
It sounds weird to me to include Warlords.

Solver · May 10, 2007, 14:16

They did it with the Civ3 expansions though...

Six Thousand Year Old Man · May 10, 2007, 20:39

The marginal utility of each expansion is so low (compared with the core game) that I'd hope that each additional expansion incorporates the previous one.

Otherwise the whole process looks like a cash grab.

Wittlich · May 11, 2007, 00:16

I just received this notification from EBGames:

Dear Customer,

You have signed up to receive release date changes for:

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product_id=647031

Old Release Date - 7/2/2007
New Release Date - 7/24/2007

Thank you for visiting EBgames.com!

NOTE: The product release date is the best estimate as to when the product will become available. These dates are subject to change at anytime. EBGames.com is in constant communication with product vendors to provide you with the most accurate release dates possible.

chuckdelicious · May 11, 2007, 13:34

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

BigFree · May 11, 2007, 14:22

Nice! I would have been on vacation during the original release. Now I'll be able to play at about the same time as everyone else.

Nikolai · May 11, 2007, 18:01

Now that the official release dates are confirmed, this one should be closed and discussion continued in the proper thread.

joncnunn · May 12, 2007, 11:50

One thing I noticed when the last expansion came out though was that the stores didn't actually get Warlords in stock until the day after the offical release date. The store employee says it happens for all games.