Not Impressed So Far

[egavactip]

I've spent the afternoon messing around with Civ5 and so far I must confess that my opinion is negative. I am a Civ player since my Amiga days, so I have some experience. I also liked Civ4 quite a bit.

I do like the hexes, and I like the stacking limit (though 1 per hex is too restrictive, which should have come out in playtesting).

I'm fine with city states and I don't mind the lack of religion, per se.

However, so far my opinions on everything else seem to be veering towards the negative.

I do not like the graphics at all, from the palette to the fact that details are too small (this includes the bizarre decision to make units a bunch of tiny men). Civ4 had a much more lush range of colors and I like the graphics on it better, which is a little odd.

There's a lot of gratuitous crap that just slows down the game (like the graphic that announces each turn).

It is odd that there are no new terrain types to speak of.

The interface seems pretty clunky and many of the smart aspects of Civ4 seem to have been abandoned. I can't even get a list of opposing civilizations to stay on the screen? There's no clock/alarm? Why the obsession on pop up windows (units, terrain, etc.)? Civ4 could provide the same info in a much less intrusive way (and less resource intensive).

The game options seem extremely limited; there's lots of stuff I don't want but can't turn off and so apparently will have to put up with it. I can't even figure how to turn the opening movie off (surely this can be done???).

Lots of things seem needlessly dumbed down in Civ5, but I don't see any compensations elsewhere.

I sure didn't expect I'd be saying this, but so far I prefer Civ4 to Civ5.

[Brutus66]

I can't even figure how to turn the opening movie off (surely this can be done???).

If anyone has figured this out, please enlighten us.

[DriXnaK]

Civ5 is just Civ4 with a bunch of stuff taken out. I skipped through the manual in about 5min because it was mostly just Civ4 stuff. I especially couldn't believe it when they didn't bother to do any terrain changes. This game really has nothing to offer unless you're just a complete hardcore fan or you've never played the game before.

[MxM]

To each his own, DriXnaK. I found overall game mechanics much cleaner and challenging. In addition to much more natural looking graphics, and obvious improvements like hexes and 1upt (which are HUGE improvements, to the level that one asks, why it was not done before? We needed 5th iteration for that?) the things like roads, improvements that are expansive, research agreements, happiness, the way resources work, cities protecting themselves, city states and many many more things that moved overal game into right direction. I like the fact that the first 100 or so turns you are struggling to survive and expand even before you start doing any wars. I like the way cities expand with ability to purchase titles. There is TONS of new staff that was put in, and the staff that was removed I really did not like anyway (like religion - who cares? not me.) I do not miss any particular game element that was removed.

The only negative about this game is the interface - lots of information is missing, but I think they will add it in the patches. I already enjoy the game more than Civ IV, and that's despite of problems with interface (so, what I will count my non-strategic resources manually and to check with whom I can trade I have to click through all civilizations, cumbersome? Yes. Should it be corrected? Yes, but this is not the game mechanics itself, it is just an interface). I do see myself spending countless hours playing the game.

[Sir Og]

If anyone has figured this out, please enlighten us.

Open the .ini file which is located in My Documents\Civ 5 (or something similar) I am at work now so I can't see the the exact path and name of the .ini file.

Look for something like "Skip intro movie" (again this might not be the exact phrase) change from 0 to 1 and save the ini.

[Dinner]

I have to say, after paying $59.95, my thought has been "how much do they charge for fun"? They've dumbed this down so much it has become retarded. WTF isn't there an option to trade maps? WTF is the auto explore pathing AI ALWAYS trespassing? WTF can't the AI ever attack with more then two units at a time? WTF did they remove the money/culture/espionage slider? That was one of the fun direct controls we had over our Civ. They said it was to avoid complexity and to simplify the system but then they gave us this abortion of a game system where science and culture are both set in stone and can only be changed by building buildings. It's retarded. Give me back Civ4!

The game is ****ing boring. I loved Civs 1,2, & 4 (3 was an abortion though) but they honestly seemed to have sucked all the fun out of the game and dumbed it down to such an extent it is just boring. I can only watch the scout trespass so many time and here one city state whine about another before I stop giving a ****.

[Thoth]

Sounds like the game should have been called "CivRev II".

[OneFootInTheGrave]

I just played a bit, but on at least one point - graphics - WTF? - it is worse, more like "I need to get used to this" as opposed to "well that's nice" or even "wow" this is great.

[Proteus_MST]

I just played a bit, but on at least one point - graphics - WTF? - it is worse, more like "I need to get used to this" as opposed to "well that's nice" or even "wow" this is great.

You don´t use a DirectX 11 graphics card I assume?

[OneFootInTheGrave]

well no, I have a 8800GTS which is DX10, but it should be possible to have something better looking with DX10 too... I am sure comparing to a game that was out 5 years ago... ah well.. surely "getting used to" type of experience for me.

At the moment it feels like Excel 2003>2007, change for the sake of change, graphics and interface - program might have gotten some useful features, but interface stands in the way of actually doing some work, or playing in this case. Ideally the changed inteface (in Civ V also, interface is worse no doubt) should win on merit and not by force. As it is, as the "old timer" you are punished for knowing that it can be a lot better which makes for an underwhelming start.

[Dinner]

If anyone has figured this out, please enlighten us.

That Panda ****er, Dale, told me how to do but I forgot. He used to be a mod here until he went ape **** over one of Asher's trolls. It was something like searching the code for Intro Movie = 0 and then changing it to Intro Movie = 1.

If you really want to know you can PM Dale or go over to the Panda ****er forum.

[Dinner]

BTW I'm serious the Panda ****er Dale knows how to turn the intro movie off.

[Nikolai]

I know too.

My Games/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/UserSettings.ini

Change to this:

SkipIntroVideo = 1

[Dinner]

Sounds like the game should have been called "CivRev II".

Indeed. It is so dumbed down it might as well be CivRev II. Honestly, WTF isn't there a slider to control science/culture/espionage/money like there has been in every other civ game even the rotten Civ3? That way the player could stop researching and stock pile cash to fund upgrades when he wanted too but that just isn't possible in Civ 5. It's just the same old boring **** with no user control and less interest. I'm positive this game was designed for 10 year old ADD kids instead of anyone who has ever played Civ before. Even the graphics suck yet for some reason it has these ungodly high system requirements which no turn based strategy game should ever have.

[Dinner]

I know too.

My Games/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/UserSettings.ini

Change to this:

SkipIntroVideo = 1

Thank you. BTW tell Solver he's still a ****ing **** for banning me when I didn't do anything wrong (and, no, talking about maybe doing something wrong in the future doesn't break the terms of service).