First Civ 4 Screenshots!

[Jon Shafer]

Can find info here on the CFC main page.

http://www.civfanatics.com

[Jon Shafer]

These shots were cropped screenies scanned in from the PC Gamer magazine, so they aren't the greatest quality. Also, it's over a year out from release so there's going to be a LOT of work yet to be done on the graphics. A year's worth of change will likely mean the game will end up looking nothing like these shots.

In any case, there's some interesting info to be gleaned from the shots.

[Jon Shafer]

Shots removed at PC Gamer's request.

[Wycoff]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that those graphics look worse than Civ 3?

[Kassiopeia]

This is a joke right? I mean why would they give out stuff that has to be grossly pre-alpha (to say the least)?

[Jon Shafer]

No, it's real... those shots are scanned in from the January edition of PC Gamer.

Originally posted by Wycoff
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that those graphics look worse than Civ 3?

Civ IV is a long ways from release. This is very early artwork (I'm surprised they did show it, actually), and Pirates was the project most of the artists were working on until it was released not too long ago. Now that it's finished Civ IV will have a much larger art team working on it.

I suspect the graphics will change quite a bit between now and release.

[Kassiopeia]

Ahh, yes, Pirates! was exactly what came to mind. And yeah, it has to be very very preliminary stuff. The city names are in Comic Sans for crying out loud.

[alva]

Graphics are ugly indeed.

Are those two health bars we seeing?

[Jon Shafer]

For anyone who thinks the graphics look bad, compare some of the early shots of Civ 3 with the current game:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilization3/screens.html?page=30

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilization3/screens.html?page=28

These shots if Civ 3 were released only in May of 2001, and Civ 3 was released only 5 months later in October. Civ IV is at least a year away.

[Alex]

Originally posted by Trip
I suspect the graphics will change quite a bit between now and release.

I hope so, because these graphics are horrible.

[alva]

For the lazy:
From the article

* Development is being headed by creator Sid Meier himself.
* Civ IV has been written entirely from scratch.
* The 3D engine will allow you to zoom smoothly from a global view all the way down to a single city.
* Individual units will gain experience and acquire new upgrades such as bonuses against specific enemy types and the ability to use enemy roads.
* No more spearmen defeating tanks.
* Besides incorporating new technologies, the tech tree has been changed to allow radically different research paths to the same high-level technologies. Now you won’t have to follow a strict research path to be competitive later in the game – a design that opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
* Civilization IV has been designed to fully support the mod community. The game is written using flexible XML data files and the Python scripting language so that modders will have no trouble at all creating their own personalized worlds, units, technologies, and historical events. Advanced modders will even be able to control the AI.
* Civ4 has been designed from the outset to include the multiplayer mode. You will be able to team up in co-op mode against the AI or other teams of players, and a random-map generator ensures an equal start.

[Jon Shafer]

Originally posted by Alex
I hope so, because these graphics are horrible.

Actually, I should correct myself... the graphics will change quite a bit... a year's worth of artwork done by a rather large team is still in the future...

[alva]

Sounds like a very promising game though.

[alva]

Originally posted by Trip
For anyone who thinks the graphics look bad, compare some of the early shots of Civ 3 with the current game:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilization3/screens.html?page=30

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilization3/screens.html?page=28

These shots if Civ 3 were released only in May of 2001, and Civ 3 was released only 5 months later in October. Civ IV is at least a year away.

Hmmpf, them graphics look better than the ones in the released game.

[Kassiopeia]

Originally posted by Trip
For anyone who thinks the graphics look bad, compare some of the early shots of Civ 3 with the current game:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilization3/screens.html?page=30

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilization3/screens.html?page=28

These shots if Civ 3 were released only in May of 2001, and Civ 3 was released only 5 months later in October. Civ IV is at least a year away.

Those screenies aren't so bad. The citizen faces are silly though, but they are obviously placeholders.