CivIV: Beyond the Sword

[Kuciwalker]

And they got a ton of credibility back by delivering huge improvements in Civ IV.

[Wiglaf]

Yeah it doesn't make any sense to say that Firaxis should aim to blow us away. If they get us to buy the thing they have done their job.

As for warlords ... I dunno, if you expect big fundamental changes, you won't get them. But there are some tweaks for fans. Different strokes for different folks. I used to think expansions should really change the core game but really, save the major changes for Civ 5.

[greenday_234]

That's always been the goal.

It's worse than it used to be. By the way I'll say it again, I'm not the only one who felt that way...go read some of the reviews out there, many complained about lack of content.

Yeah it doesn't make any sense to say that Firaxis should aim to blow us away. If they get us to buy the thing they have done their job.

I'm not asking them to blow me away. I'm asking them to give me some new tanks or something for god sake. I don't need to soil myself with shock at what they gave me to be pleased. I want my 30 bucks worth, and if xp's are only for tweaking then they should lower the price.

[couerdelion]

The other problem with “hardcore” fans is that they will never all be content with the “improvements”. Part of the beauty of the whole game is the huge variety that Civ IV has added. And Warlords has added a further 50% to this. This allows the game to cater to different styles even though, at heart, it is still a wargame – even though it is a bad war game by almost any standard. Now I don’t know whether civvers are natural aggressors or simply adopt this as a play style because it is a universally easy and successful strategy. And warlords added several military elements of the game thus making it easier because the AI simply can’t fight.

It seems to me that there is confusion over the term “value for money”. Since there were reviews out there it was always possible judge whether or not to buy the expansion. By doing so, you make a conscious decision that, at the time, it was worth paying the price. The argument that you have to buy the product because you want the add-ons simply highlights the value that placed on it. It is not just the value in having the additional features (scenarios, civs, traits, GGs and promotions, UB, wonders) but also in the novelty of playing an improved game. I’m presuming that people with Warlords don’t play vanilla anymore so it must still be worth something after all this time.

Just out of interest, isn’t warlords a lot cheaper now? Looking at Amazon, the price seems still to be quite high when I would have expected it to have dropped significantly by now. But if it still is around the $30 level then this would also indicate that they is very little price sensitivity and that people are still buying it in sufficient quantities at that price.

Saying that you are not happy with the expansion is one thing but arguing that it was not value for money is something entirely different. Simply put, if the price is too high, people will not buy.

[yin26]

Beyond the Sword is bound the please. My advice to every gamer who wants to play it safe is to wait for the Gold Edition with everything bundled together. Also, nobody should have been shocked by what Warlords had or didn't have.

The decision whether or not to buy could / should have been an informed one!

[dregor]

I was quite pleased with Warlords and look forward to Beyond the Sword based on what has been announced.

[JimMac]

Originally posted by dregor
I was quite pleased with Warlords and look forward to Beyond the Sword based on what has been announced.

Yup, even as a non-scenario player who could care less about more Civs, I am happy with Warlords. I certainly got my moneys worth.

Originally posted by yin26
The decision whether or not to buy could / should have been an informed one!

Especially with the help of one of your 'famous' do-it-yourself reviews.

[Dale]

Originally posted by yin26
Beyond the Sword is bound the please. My advice to every gamer who wants to play it safe is to wait for the Gold Edition with everything bundled together. Also, nobody should have been shocked by what Warlords had or didn't have.

The decision whether or not to buy could / should have been an informed one!

+1.

And any buyer of BtS who complains about this and that I see as having no excuse. Civ always gets lots of press, and if you can't make an informed decision (hell, even wait till some of the people here get it and report back!) then it's your problem.

[Solver]

Absolutely. The Warlords expansion was fairly transparent - they didn't really promise anything more than it had.

Everyone who's reading this has an advantage: you know at least one Civ fansite. Within 48 hours of a new release, there's a lot of comments on it. Read comments by the players you respect and make your decision. If you lack the patience to wait for comments, then don't complain if you're disappointed later...

[yin26]

Especially with the help of one of your 'famous' do-it-yourself reviews.

Hey, I didn't think anybody even read them. Actually, I think my last one kind of sucked, but I tried. The problem is we have heavy weights like Solver posting Uber-Reviews and Mod-Gods like Dale hanging around. It's like a guy has to actually DO something anymore to contribute...

[Solver]

Hey, I didn't think anybody even read them.

I did .

[Wiglaf]

yin and solver need to get a room

[MJW]

Originally posted by couerdelion
Now I don’t know whether civvers are natural aggressors or simply adopt this as a play style because it is a universally easy and successful strategy.

No. War is very hard to do. In fact it is underpowerd execpt at the higher levels. It is the best strategy in the game and the hardest. It takes extreme mircomanagement.

[greenday_234]

Absolutely. The Warlords expansion was fairly transparent - they didn't really promise anything more than it had.

I never said that they lied and didn't give me what I expected. They were very good about telling me what I was going to get. I just think we should expect more in an XP, or pay a lower price based on content. though that is just an opinion, so its difficult to argue with.

[proviisori]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
yin and solver need to get a room