Customizable Armies!

[Alexander I]

Quote from 2K Games' Website:

Civ IV comes to life! - Beautiful 3D world with dozens of fully animated units (including culturally unique units), and totally customizable armies. Cities and wonders will appear on the map. Wonder movies are back!

What does that mean? Is it like in Alpha Centauri, where every unit was customizable and you could create your own?

Oh, that would be incredibly cool!

[Fosse]

My guess is that it's a reference to the now well known feature of awarding traits to units upon their promotion.

If a unit wins in combat you are able to select a promotion that might either make it heal faster, or fight in forests better, or use enemy roads.

I think that the "totally customizable armies" quote is just standard hyperbole.

[GAZ082]

I believe that the promotion system is much better than the design system in SMAC. It is much more useful, in SMAC you just added a big gun with a fat armor and you were ready for smacking factions.

[Alexander I]

Hopefully the best aspects of each system will find their way into Civ4 incorporation.

[Fosse]

Originally posted by GAZ082
I believe that the promotion system is much better than the design system in SMAC. It is much more useful, in SMAC you just added a big gun with a fat armor and you were ready for smacking factions.

To be fair, it wasn't quite that simple.

A big gun with fat armor would cost a LOT to build, so you could have a handful of awesome troops or lots of regular ones, and that brings balance.

There were also so many special abilities to add on that you created the same paper/scissors/rock dynamic they are talking about in Civ IV. Defenses against fast units, air defenses, anti aircraft attackers, etc.

It would be an entirely inappropriate system for a Civ universe, but it was more comlex than you suggest.

[Paddy]

it does sound of a marketing person adding to the hype

[Shogun Gunner]

agreed. Customizable could mean that you have the ability to name your army

[Cookie Monster]

One could say that armies are customisable in CivIII.

After all you can add almost any unit type to an army. Meaning I could have an army with 2 spearmen and 1 archer and that would make it a custom army.

In other words, marketing..........................

[Alexander I]

So very sad...

[KyuuA4]

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
agreed. Customizable could mean that you have the ability to name your army

Yes! Fear my Pancake Division!

[Shogun Gunner]

My Syrup Brigade fears no one!

[Alexander I]

What ever happened to Superkiller Bloodthirsty Death's Head Legion Corps Death Murder Killers?