New Preview at Gamespot

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

Howdy everyone. Thought I would get in quick and let you know that there is a new Gamespot preview for Civ4, with quite a lot of new info in it-and an interview with Jeff Briggs (Video).

Check HERE

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did !

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

Oh, and just a quick summary of what I feel is the most important info:

1) Siege weapons (catapults, cannons and artillery) will do collateral damage, making it possible for them to damage anywhere up to 6 units in a stack.

2) Units can both be moved and attack-automatically-as a stack, with each unit selecting its best opponent in the opposite stack.

3) The focus of the game will now be on fewer, more specialised cities as a way to victory, rather than expansion being the only way to victory.

4) No shield carry over between projects, though you do get a cash refund depending on how long you have been building for before swapping.

5) Though men are a representation of a unit's health, a single unit can sustain anywhere up to 100 points of damage.

6) The amount of damage a unit dishes out-each hit-is based on its strength.

7) Greater variety in tasks in the early game, and much less micromanagement in the later game.

Hope this helps. There is a lot more info than just this, but this was the stuff I really felt stood out!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

[1889]

They also verified the November release.

[Ninot]

if everything you posted is true, i think this will be an awesome game, worthy of being a sequel to Civ.

[TheArsenal]

It does sound as though they have put a great deal of thought into improving this game.

[Dale]

Then there are new features, such as the way stack attacks work. "You can actually stack up a bunch of units and send them someplace and give them an attack command. And if you're using combined arms...so you have some defensive-type units and you have a tank. The game will automatically look at who you're attacking, who their defenders are, and say, 'We should attack with this guy first. This is what the AI would do.'"

The comment We should attack with this guy first still sounds ominously like it's not true stacked combat like CTP2 was. Sounds very much like "automated one-on-one" combat.

No flanking, no ranged lines, no bombardment.......

Dale

[Aro]

I don't care. I just can't wait to get my hands on it.

:droll:

[Peter Triggs]

Well, with all these people they've got doing the beta testing, it does appear that they're paying a lot of attention to feedback from the fans.

[FrostyBoy]

No, to me it sounds the same; I can't remember if CTP2 automatically did the arranging for you though.

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

You know Dale, I also hope that it is stack combat a la CTP 1 and 2, but even if it is just automated one on one, this will still be a huge step forward IMO!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

[Vince278]

Originally posted by The_Aussie_Lurker
1) Siege weapons (catapults, cannons and artillery) will do collateral damage, making it possible for them to damage anywhere up to 6 units in a stack.

Sounds cool however I was under the impression it would affect all units in a stack (to discourage those Stacks of Death). By saying up to 6 it sounds like only 1 to 6 units.

Originally posted by The_Aussie_Lurker
2) Units can both be moved and attack-automatically-as a stack, with each unit selecting its best opponent in the opposite stack.

Wonder how that will play out.

Originally posted by The_Aussie_Lurker
3) The focus of the game will now be on fewer, more specialised cities as a way to victory, rather than expansion being the only way to victory.

I wonder what victory condition, if any, would benefit from city specialization.

Originally posted by The_Aussie_Lurker
4) No shield carry over between projects, though you do get a cash refund depending on how long you have been building for before swapping.

Sounds somewhat more realistic but I don't think it will matter much in the way I play.

Originally posted by The_Aussie_Lurker
6) The amount of damage a unit dishes out-each hit-is based on its strength.

Keeping in mind that attack and defense is now one number. I thought this was rather limiting but we'll see how it goes.

Originally posted by The_Aussie_Lurker
7) Greater variety in tasks in the early game, and much less micromanagement in the later game.

I like but attempts in other games (like MOO3) to lessen micromanagement were far from adequete.

[Vince278]

Originally posted by Sn00py
No, to me it sounds the same; I can't remember if CTP2 automatically did the arranging for you though.

Yes it did but it was less than perfect. I've noticed that units in the same stack would have the same position from battle to battle. If your frontal units were damaged in one battle they would still be up front for following battles instead of being cycled to the rear where they can safely range strike.

[AeonOfTime]

@Gamespot: To give an example of just how serious Firaxis is, consider that you will no longer be able to transfer production from one project to another, a major exploit since time immemorial.

nobody fell over that one? That sure is a big change... But a welcome one if I think about it: when someone completes the pyramids, all the other civs building them won't be able to switch to other wonders and finish them before you can build them

[binTravkin]

Bah, stupidity!

[AeonOfTime]

Care to elaborate?