Peter Murray (Firaxis) answers community questions at Apolyton

[Robert Plomp]

In Augustus Apolyton visited GamesCom, the biggest public Game Fair, in Cologne (Germany). There we had a first chance to play Civilization V hands on, but even more exciting for us was to Interview Jon Shafer (Lead Developer of Civilization 5) and get a demo from Peter Murray (Marketing Associate at Firaxis Games)

After the demo had finished we talked with Peter, and Tiffany Nagano, who assisted him during the demo, about Civ 5 (and a bit about Civilization Network, which is being produced by Tiffany). Apart from telling us very enthusiastically about Civilization V, Pete also listened to our questions, and promised us to answer questions from the community, if we would collect these and send them his way. We then collected all these questions and sent them his way. Today we got the answers, which you can read below.

The name in brackets behind every question is the name of the Apolyton member who raised the question. Thanks a lot to Peter and 2K Games for your love for the community!

Apolyton: 1a. Can you tell us more about the release of a Pitboss server? [OzzyKP]
b. Will it include turn tracking? Will it have more admin options, like extending the turn time for the current turn and resetting the password for a civ?

Peter Murray: Civ V shipped with some multiplayer options and we’re going to deliver more after launch – including Pitboss. We’ll keep you posted on when those features will be released. They’ll all be free downloads.

Apolyton: 2. When will we learn more about Multiplayer? [CanuckSoldier]

Peter Murray: Soon!

Apolyton: 3. Will I be able to buy the Babylonian civ as DLC after release? [MxM]

Peter Murray: The Babylon Civ is currently only offered in the Civilization V Digital Deluxe from Steam.

Apolyton: 4. With hexes, will there be a true globe map, or will it still be a cylinder like civ4? [playshogi]

Peter Murray: The world wraps into a cylinder like Civ IV.

Apolyton: 5a. Will there be a Day Zero patch?
b. What will the patching policy be? (ie. Frequent small patches or less frequent big patches)
c. Will the patches include AI behavior? [V. Soma]

Peter Murray: Yes, we had a patch on launch day that downloads automatically when you play the game for the first time. There are always things that can be improved between gold master and the launch date. The patching schedule hasn’t been set in stone. Our goal is to fix potentially serious issues as soon as we learn about them, and from time to time we’ll be able to patch in new features or improvements as we finish them up. Specific systems like AI may get their own enhancements, depending on the availability of the team and the importance of those changes.

Apolyton: 6. Any particular reasons for relatively high recommended gfx specifications, as this is a TBS? [OneFootInTheGrave]

Peter Murray: The specs as they’ve been laid out show the game in a good light, and since one of our priorities was to create the most beautiful Civilization game yet, we’d like you to see the work our artists and engineers put into the visuals of the game. Also, the game engine is pretty scalable, as you can see in the difference between our minimum and recommended specification.

Apolyton: 7a. How were the various and sundry different editions decided upon?
b. What was the ultimate factor in deciding that the CE wouldn't come with any free 0-day DLC (ie, Babylon)? [Guynemer]
c. Will there be any DLC available at release or shortly after? If so: what kind of DLC?

Peter Murray: We wanted to offer a variety of options to folks interested in purchasing Civ V, so we created several different editions to meet that goal. We are planning to release DLC, including pre-order DLC, after the launch of Civilization V, but that schedule hasn’t been announced yet.

Apolyton: 8. Do you get increased happiness from multiple instances of the same resource? Why (not)? [Krill]

Peter Murray: No, you don’t get extra happiness from multiple instances of the same resource. Your citizens want a variety of resources, and won’t be as happy if they have the market cornered on just one thing like silk. We wanted players to have a reason to trade resources with other nations, and now there’s very strong incentive to do so.

Apolyton: 9. Do you expect the entire world (excluding extremities like desert and ice) to be settled or claimed by culture? [Krill]

Peter Murray: I can honestly say I’ve never played a game where the whole world (less desert and ice) was claimed by culture, playing over a variety of map sizes and game speeds and opponent numbers. Having said that however, I’m sure one of our hardcore fans will find a way to do it.

Apolyton: 10. How will MP games between teams work? [Krill]

Peter Murray: With careful coordination leading to success, we hope! No, seriously, it’s very similar to Civ IV. There’s shared research and you can see what your teammates see, and you win jointly or all fail together.

Apolyton: 11. How do you expect the late era to have importance in small games with few players? (how do you stop the snowball / Bigger Is Always Better problems?) [Krill]

Peter Murray: The combat model really does a lot to balance out the late game, although if you’re pinched for territory in the late game (without something like the Indians’ advantage for city sizes) you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. A small civilization will be able to defend itself better than it could in previous games, and there are still paths to victory you can pursue, like culture. Also, you can have a very small civilization, but make lots of friends in the world and shoot for a diplomatic victory.

Apolyton: 12. If you fail to build a wonder, do you still get some gold for your trouble? [playshogi]

Peter Murray: If you fail to build a wonder, you do get some gold (but not at a 1:1 gold to hammer ratio) You can always use this gold to buy stuff - like an army to smash the guy who stole your wonder. 

Apolyton: 13a. Is it possible that the beloved religions will be implemented in an expansion pack? [Oerdin]
b. What about corporations?

Peter Murray: Religion and corporations were systems that supported the diplomacy in Civilization IV. The diplomatic model in Civilization V is completely re-worked, and so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to simply graft Civ IV’s religion model on top of the new diplomacy. Religion is now part of the social policy system, where it improves the happiness and culture of your civilization.

We’re always looking at ways to extend the gameplay of Civilization, and we may return to corporations in a future version, but we’ll try to do it in a way that makes sense with Civ V’s mechanics.

Apolyton: 14a. How did you address what some name the tedious end-game?
b. How does the way the AI work in Civ5 differ from Civ4? [Robert Plomp]

Peter Murray: Armies are smaller in Civilization V than in IV, so there’s less stuff for the game to keep track of from turn to turn – that speeds up things quite a bit. Also, the game tends to stay competitive for longer, since there are paths to victory that remain options for almost the full length of the game. It seems like there is less time where your victory is inevitable, but your opponents simply haven’t recognized your inherent superiority.

The AI in Civ V has four subsystems that handle everything from the details of what unit is on which hex, to the system that evaluates paths to victory and sets the master objectives in the game. These systems pass information back and forth to each other in making their evaluations. We can set AI behavior by setting values for parameters for things like how aggressive a civilization is, or how fast it expands, or how much it likes culture. We used our knowledge of how Civ players play the game to build the rules for the AI’s behavior, and as a result, we’re able to use this AI to also serve as the advisor for your civilization – now you’ve got your own AI to help you.

Apolyton: 15. People with dial-up modems have problems authenticating to Steam. Would Firaxis consider some other form of authentication that did not require us to use Steam? [MyOlde]

Peter Murray: We’re not using any authentication outside of Steam.

Apolyton: 16a. How will 1UPT affect simultaneous multiplayer games?
b. Will Firaxis include "Turn Based Wars" as an option for simultaneous multiplayer games and/or Pitboss games? [Robert Plomp]

Peter Murray: When you’re playing simultaneous multiplayer, you can have your opponent make moves before you’re ready (or able!) to move a unit of your own. Our suggestion would be to prioritize your combat, and make your most critical moves first.

Again, there are lots of things that we’d like to look at for supporting multiplayer, such as the turn based war, so stay tuned.

Apolyton: 17. I'd like to know what happens if modders create content similar to already existing paid DLC or if a paid DLC resembles an already existing mod. [Sir Og]

Peter Murray: That’s almost impossible to answer in the abstract and will absolutely depend on the specifics of an individual case.

Apolyton: 18. How exactly is DLC compatibility going to work? Would it be possible for players who have Babylon DLC to play MP with players who don't have it? [Sir Og]

Peter Murray: The intention is to have DLC players be able to play with non-DLC players. We will be implementing the system that allows this with the first post-launch update.

Apolyton: 19. How exactly will researching technology work in this game, since it doesn't come out of your gold per turn. [Wyrda Edocsil]

Peter Murray: Research and gold aren’t on a slider any more, and that was absolutely by design for Civ V. Research is primarily created by population and then enhanced by buildings you can construct in a city to improve its science output, and even specialist buildings like the Academy that you can build as tile improvements that add beakers when worked.

[Fidel]

Specific systems like AI may get their own enhancements, depending on the availability of the team and the importance of those changes.

This sounds ominous.

[Louis XXIV]

Peter Murray: The intention is to have DLC players be able to play with non-DLC players. We will be implementing the system that allows this with the first post-launch update.

This caught my attention. Quite cool.

I'd have to imagine that Firaxis is ridiculously busy right now, though. They have to address balance complaints, fix multiplayer and a few other noticeable bugs, expand multiplayer features, and work on DLC. I realize they have teams to split the responsibility and they pretty much should do these things, but it's gotta be hectic for a game that's already been released.

[Fidel]

I think that they are now solely concentrated on bug fixing. I have no idea when they are actually going to start addressing balance issues and AI stupidity. I am kinda pessimistic about the later: if they could not teach AI by now that it should not just go and die at the walls of the citadel, I am not sure they are ever going to be able to accomplish that.

[yin26]

Poly should try to prioritize its requests for AI fixes. The biggest challenge, frankly, is "availability" of dev time and "importance" of the fix. While Poly cannot possibly impact the first, it can make a prioritized list (a clear statement) for the second.

[Fidel]

You reckon Poly would have an impact by making a 'prioritized list'?
I think not. I think a joint list of suggestions by beta testers would have more of an impact. I am pretty sure all these things were noticed by you folks, I do not buy this 'AI was great before the launch, but they deliberately nerfed it' story.

[MxM]

I do not buy this 'AI was great before the launch, but they deliberately nerfed it' story.

There is such story?

[Fidel]

Oh yeah, as AI would put it - 'a likely story'.

[yin26]

Yes, such a list here would be helpful. It's not a matter of 'surprising' items so much, again, as what seems a priority to the public.

[rah]

I think a joint list of suggestions by beta testers would have more of an impact.

A good many of the tester are active on the boards and reading what others are saying. A lot of posts are being filtered and summarized in an area where they are seen and discussed.

[Krill]

And ignored.

[yin26]

Not tired of it yet, Krill?

[Robert Plomp]

It's a matter of character, people with a lot of self confidence believe that they can change the world, people without self confidence believe that the world is plotting against them and there's nothing they can do about it

I'm not sure which group is better off, btw. Being in the first group consumes a lot of wasted time, I know that for sure

[yin26]

Also positive results and contributions.

[Krill]

Tired of C5? Pretty much. OCC is broken without City States, that much I can say.

BTW, you expect the buyers to do your job for you? Shame.

[yin26]

Actually, what I expect is pretty much what I have seen. It's all predictable, right? Games get released with problems (some more than others), the public voices concern -or doesn't, and the game improves -or doesn't. But it's a simple fact that there is limited time and resources to improve Civ5, and a TON will be improved during that time. The point in this thread from me is that improvements will move in order of priority, and the public has some influence in that.

I agree that organizing feedback takes work and there are no promises of every result you want. Not everybody likes work without guarantees.

[Robert Plomp]

The civ4 box eating certainly changed yin, btw
Is he now really the guy who more or less stands up for Firaxis and civ5?

It makes sense, btw. yin always advocated innovation in the civ series, and civ5 is truly a huge innovation compared to the first 4 iterations. (Do I dare to say that civ5 is the biggest innovation in the series? Conceptual, not speaking about bugs and balance issues)

[Krill]

Hmmm, I didn't expect a counter troll from the owner...

[yin26]

Well, Jon was put in charge, I think, at least partly because he represented the fan base, which was ready for a little more shake up. Anyway, my point is to say, Hey, give good feedback to Firaxis. Make it clear what Poly thinks are priority improvements and then judge Firaxis by what they do with it. If too little too late, then history won't be kind. But do I have a ton more faith in Civ5 Firaxis than I did with the Civ3 crew? By miles. Soren did a ton to help that with Civ4. That doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of work ahead...

[Krill]

Considering the site I'm currently spending most of my time on has just been snubbed by other Firaxis employees because we didn't agree with his opinions doesn't fill me with as much hope, mate.

Especially when they are generally more talented players than those at Poly (having played with both sets...)

[yin26]

Do you have a link? Whatever I might read, I can tell you public input matters. That doesn't mean that the public is dictator or that the devs don't also have strong opinions. Would like to read what you're referring to, though.

[Robert Plomp]

Hmmm, I didn't expect a counter troll from the owner...

@Krill: civ5 is innovative, that doesn't say that it's also good or balanced or bug-free. But nobody can deny that the changes between civ4 and civ5 are huge. (1upt, hexes, happiness system, science system, policy system) That's the point I'm making.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Plompie if we come up with a list of questions of which you redact/select/compile, would you be able to posit that to the developers? that would be interesting.

[Robert Plomp]

Yes, we're already working on that here: Gather all User Interface issues with civ5 here and Let's gather all Balance Issues in Civilization 5 Here!

[Zoetstofzoetje]

sure robert, but what about a Q&A? wherein we ask info on future expansions, development stories, etc.

[Krill]

Do you have a link? Whatever I might read, I can tell you public input matters. That doesn't mean that the public is dictator or that the devs don't also have strong opinions. Would like to read what you're referring to, though.

http://realmsbeyond.net/forums

@Krill: civ5 is innovative, that doesn't say that it's also good or balanced or bug-free. But nobody can deny that the changes between civ4 and civ5 are huge. (1upt, hexes, happiness system, science system, policy system) That's the point I'm making.

Referring to the first part of your post...

[Krill]

I've edited my post (caught it before you posted)...was trolling another forum...oops.

And I would suggest that nobody clicks on the link Zoet has quoted.

[Robert Plomp]

Thanks for editing.

@zoetstofzoetje: In the future we may be able to do a Q&A about those subjects again, I think it's too early now for many reasons.

[Fidel]

Since other suggestions were scattered around once you locked your own thread on balance issues, I suggest you start repenting your sins by compiling a list of suggestions mentioned in other threads as well.

[Sirotnikov]

Apolyton: 6. Any particular reasons for relatively high recommended gfx specifications, as this is a TBS? [OneFootInTheGrave]

Peter Murray: The specs as they’ve been laid out show the game in a good light, and since one of our priorities was to create the most beautiful Civilization game yet, we’d like you to see the work our artists and engineers put into the visuals of the game. Also, the game engine is pretty scalable, as you can see in the difference between our minimum and recommended specification.

read: having graphics extensive games is cool and earns more money

Peter Murray: When you’re playing simultaneous multiplayer, you can have your opponent make moves before you’re ready (or able!) to move a unit of your own. Our suggestion would be to prioritize your combat, and make your most critical moves first.

read: i haven't thought that one through. in the meantime, deal with it.

Apolyton: 17. I'd like to know what happens if modders create content similar to already existing paid DLC or if a paid DLC resembles an already existing mod. [Sir Og]

Peter Murray: That’s almost impossible to answer in the abstract and will absolutely depend on the specifics of an individual case.

read: we might copy your ideas in incorporate them into civ "by popular demand", but if you copy our DLC we'll likely sue.