What to expect from Civ4

[Myrddin]

Looking at the move form Civ2 to Civ3 we get:

Improved graphics and animations
Luxuries and strategic resources
Culture
Improved diplomacy
Improved AI

What will we get from a Civ4? These are my thoughts:

Multiplayer in the initial release?
Unlikely, as most of the effort will go to making single-player work. Post release time will go to picking up 'exploits' from Apolyton and fixing them before multiplayer is released in an expansion pack

Stacked combat?
Possibly, except that part of stacked combat is limits on the number of units in a tile and this will be a problem for pathfinding algorithms

Changes to culture?
Probably some tweaks. It is accepted in Civ3 but not really a core part of the game

Editor in the initial release?
Probably, given the increased visibility of scenarios

Scripting language?
Probably not, even though the mod community would love it

Improved AI?
Certainly

Improved diplomacy?
Almost certainly more options

Public works?
Certainly not - animated workers are one of the core identifiers of the Civ series and I don't think this will change

Social engineering?
Again, this idea just isn't Civ

While there are many good ideas floating around at the moment I don' t see any concepts that change Civ4 to the degree that resources and culture did for Civ3. Any ideas, given that they have to simple to understand and not involve much micromanagement (or at least can be easily automated)?

[DarkCloud]

I wonder if they'll let us have an open-beta test... somehow I'm thinking that they won't, but it is a wish

and Brian Reynolds did let Rise of Nations be beta tested on apolyton

[Fosse]

Possibly, except that part of stacked combat is limits on the number of units in a tile and this will be a problem for pathfinding algorithms

Why? Just because CtP had a unit limit per tile doesn't mean that a new way to do it can't be thought of. If an idea is good, but has been done poorly before, then for the love of God don't do it poorly again.

Regarding your predictions: I hope you're right sometimes and dead wrong others!

[DarkCloud]

Well Fosse, it only makes sense that there should be tile limits- you can only jam so many soldiers onto one plot of land in the real world...

[Fosse]

Yes, but if the argument is tile limitation for realism's sake, then the same argument would apply to a nonstacked combat system and the point becomes moot.

[DarkCloud]

Actually, realisticially there is such a thing as "combined forces" so stacked combat would make some degree of sense... and frankly, you can also put 1-3 divisions in the same area... but I will admit there is some limit- and therefore in stacking units- there should be some limit.