CIv4... Beware the planned obsolescence!!!

[DeathByTheSword]

the only problem with civ is i am starting college (again) in september and the game comes out in november (around the time of the first mid terms i guess) so i have to make a hard choice between learning or sleeping (because civ will be played no matter what)

[curtsibling]

Re: CIv4... Beware the planned obsolescence!!!

Originally posted by ew0054
Before we dive into how great Civ4 will be (I for one am losing sleep over the anticipation), let us step back and notice a few things.

First off, they're only going to have 18 civilizations. Civ3 offered 31, but only with an expansion pack.

Being a die-hard Civ fan since the beginning (I own the DOS and SNES versions of CIv1), I can see how this company works. They'll be releasing Civ4 vanilla at the end of the year. As soon as sales drop off, they'll be releasing another "pumped up" version, like the Civ3 Play the World, which may offer a few more civs and buildings.

Why am I so skeptical over this? Do the math. Civ3 vanilla cost me $49.99 at Staples. Within, I got all (I forget how many) civilizations and buildings that came with it. No problem so far.

But then, when I bought the Play the World expansion pack, all I got for my $24.99 (half the cost of the original game), was three new city improvements, a great wonder, and a handful of other civilizations. Hardly worth it; I didn't get anythign close to 50 per-cent extra goodies for my 50 per-cent-of-the-cost investment.

Not to mention they also made multiple installments of Civ2.

The bottom line? I think that, as heartbreaking as the thought may be, I'm gonna stay playing Civ3 for a year or so after the Civ4 release, and I would suggest others do the same. Maybe Firaxis will take a hint and put out a full-fledged game at once instead of a mediocre one.

Lastly, if they do make updates, here are some ideas for that. they should either make them free downloads, or if they want to charge, it should be only a few dollars. Or perhaps they can sell a subscription for unlimited updating your software for $X/month.

Just don't get sucked in!

To each his own...

I plan to buy the game, and I will buy the XP packs if they seem cool...

I am a CIV addict after all - I need my fix!

[DerSchwarzfalke]

the only problem with civ is i am starting college (again) in september and the game comes out in november (around the time of the first mid terms i guess) so i have to make a hard choice between learning or sleeping (because civ will be played no matter what)

I may have to make the tough choice to not buy Civ IV until after my finals. That will be difficult considering that I will in all likelihood be hanging around here listening to everyone talk about "Civ teh awesome!!!!!111!1oneone!"

[KyuuA4]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
Take your time, Firaxis. Make the original game cost $100 and each expansion $50 for all I care. But for Christs sake, do some extra bug squashing for the extra money. That'd be money well spent.

Otherwise, release the code and have the Open Source community deal with the bugs.

[Modo44]

I can afford a good game when I see it coming. I made it a habit to let all other "potentially" good games slide until they are available dirt-cheap, or I can borrow them from friends. This means I actually buy one, perhaps two games per year -- the really interesting ones. Civ is one of them, so who cares if it all comes out at once, or gets added in expansions? I will but it all anyway.

Besides, I pay many times that for all the music records I buy every year, so what is the big deal?

[Solver]

Locutus is quite right on this. Also remember that it's not like Firaxis are intentionally making Civ4 without some feautures they'll add later. Of course, if Civ4 sells well, it will get an expansion pack, that's how game business works and that's how it also should be, as it will improve the game anyway.

Besides, as it has been pointed out, Civ is possibly one of the cheapest entertainments out there. A movie ticket = 5 USD, 2 hours of entertainment, 2.5$ per hour. To take a very popular and well-selling game, Half-Life 2 - 50 USD, max of 20 hours to complete once, if you play through it twice, it's 40 hours by the maximum strech, 1.25 USD per hour. A Civ game, even if it's 50 USD, lasts much longer. An epic game seems to take around 20 hours for most people here. 10 games is 200 hours is 0.25 USD per hour, and you'll play even more than that. It doesn't get much cheaper.

[Shogun Gunner]

I want to hold off buying Civ4... however, it will be difficult when all the talk at Poly is about Civ4 and how cool it is. If my work and family obligations continue at the current pace -- I may be a few months behind the early adopters.

I'm still unhappy with the radical changes each patch of Civ3 brought. Waiting has the benefit of playing a stabilized product.

[Zoid]

Shogun, since you built a play room for yourself in the basement, wouldn´t it be a shame to not play the smoking hot Civ4?

[Shogun Gunner]

I'm so easily convinced. You are correct, I will not be able to resist...

[Nikolai]

Solver: You pay only 5 USD for a movie ticket? You lucky bastard! In Norway it costs circa 12 USD...

[alva]

Was thinking the same thing there bud. Here it's about 8€, something like that.

Maybe pron theaters have become much cheaper since the internet came along.

[Solver]

5 USD is the average price, yes, although it's slightly higher at best times. In our best multi-hall cinema, Star Wars III costs 4 USD on working days, about 5 in working day evenings and weekend mornings, and finally slightly over 7 USD for weekend afternoon. So generally, 8 USD is the highest a movie ticket will cost you here.

[hexagonian]

Originally posted by Solver
A movie ticket = 5 USD

Matinees here the US are not that cheap anymore I refuse to pay fulll price for a movie, which is now about $9-10 US.

Hollywood is rich enough...

Still, the cost of a computer game is probably the best bargin out there - of course you still have to invest in the computer and all of the incidentals (for instance - all of the music I buy now is tailored for what I want to listen to while playing a computer game)

[Solver]

Still, the cost of a computer game is probably the best bargin out there - of course you still have to invest in the computer and all of the incidentals (for instance - all of the music I buy now is tailored for what I want to listen to while playing a computer game)

And Civ is superior on that scale. It doesn't require you to upgrade your computer if it's reasonably new (unlike, for instance, newest shooters that will need even a year old computer to be upgraded), and no other game can last for as many hours .

[1889]

PTW was a lot more than a few extra buildings. It introduced Multi-Player.

Quite an expansion I think.