PC Zone: 10 Screenshots, 7 Videos

[Fidel]

the whole thing looks really disappointing. i feel like 'yinism' is starting to grip me, too. roads are minor problem in comparison with the overall feel which is that of unsaturated colours, grim landscapes of monotonous masses. they have allegedly built a terrain that really has a 'feel' to it. what i see are cloned mountain caps, uniformly planted woods, swamp-like irrigation, pond-like seas. insectoid units, uninteligible city symbols. trash cans
this really does not look any better than the screenshots a couple of months ago when everyone still thought it was too early to started cursing the designers (although some people already did).
many of you did not like ctp and ctp 2 graphics. in comparison with this, ctp graphics are pure sex for the eyes. unless there is a constant incredible graphics degradation every time they are making screenshots for previews (so that the quality is somehow lost) we are looking at the biggest eyesore since 'space invaders' by atari....

[yin26]

'yinism'

QUICK! Go have a check-up while it can be cured! Well, I hate to agree with agreeing with me, but the first time I saw SMAC I thought: "Hmmm, 3D terrain. Interesting step forward. But the colors!" Now I find myself thinking with Civ 3: "Hmmm, NO 3D terrain. Also interesting, though a step back? But the colors!" It's dejavu, I'm tellin' ya....

I will give the eye-candy award to CtP. By the way, hasn't Firaxis publically stated that Civ3 would put an end to complaints about the graphics? I wonder who got that memo...?

[Provost Harrison]

Oh yes, and I noticed that Hiawatha is the leader of the Iroquois. Not really a surprise, we already speculated this...

[Rollo_CH]

Re: Show the train

Originally posted by Jeje2
At least here in Finland a countryroad is just one big curve to the right and to the left, but never straight ahead. So what I see isn't so bad.

Aha! thats why your rally drivers are so darn good!

About the roads:

http://www.pczone.co.uk/guest/newnews/openpic.php3?id=16-16-2225.pjpeg

Please say this is not the way it would look! And besides...only the Swiss would know how to build roads over mountain-peaks!

The cities look fairly decent, at least the Chinese...but those French ones....have "the Borg" occupied France? So dark...and dull...

[AroSch]

in comparison with this, ctp graphics are pure sex for the eyes.

Hmmh, is sex such a bad thing for you ? Well, the road thing is something that needs work, the rivers and some others too, but it looks much more better then CtP2, in my opinion. You may find CtP2 looking better.
However, I think (hope?) they are just working on it. Look at this screenshot; how nice the border goes over the hills between Heliopolis and Miletos. The same way they could do it with roads, but I don´t know how easy or how hard it is, to change that for use in a scenario...

[Provost Harrison]

Yeah, AroSch, they have implemented the borders going over and around hills and mountains and stuff like that. Obviously they are thinking about it, so at the moment with roads and probably railroads as well, they are just working on it I would expect. I'm sure they will get there...

It would be nice if the gridlines were worked on similarly. However this may not be necessary as the gridlines are only really there as a guidance of where to put your city...

[Provost Harrison]

I'm sure, looking at that, that the road must only be stopgap. Also the special resources should be visible above the road, and irrigation/mines as well. They really must get that seen to. It would be good to have an official line from Firaxis on this at some point...

[Footie Mad]

Aside from the road issue, are you satisfied with the graphics so far? There are a few things that disturb me, like the strange glowing green things in every square , but overall im happy.

[Zanzin]

WHAT IM NOT HAPPY ABOUT -

i) Echoing the sentiments of others here.....the roads over the mountains look absolutely stupid. The should wind around.
Also, roads that go "behind" mountains don't....they too are pasted over the top of the peak, which looks so rediculous its pathetic, and makes you wonder if Firaxis really do have monkeys working in the art department.

ii) Where's the farmland? Is the irrigation tiles that make the continent look flooded all wer're going to get?

iii) Hmm....the entire ocean is exactly 3 feet deep...seriously, it looks like a kiddy's pool.

iv) The mountains - they're all red at the peak (maybe these are graphic assets left over from AC that Firaxis thought they'd recycle just for in-jokes), and most of them pop up out of nowhere....at the very least, they should be surrounded by foothills on most sides, right?

v) As someone mentioned in a different thread, all we seem to have is a reflection of southern-california and mediteranian type terrain.....what about the rest of the world?

vi) If I don't see any Himalya mountain ranges and what not, I'm going to be very perplexed. Has noone from Firaxis ever been skiing...or do they think the world begins and ends in Hunt Valley?

[wotan321]

I hope I don't offend anyone.... but after all the *****ing about "no updates, Firaxis hates us, the web-master is a bum", we finally get some more info. And massive amounts of complaining begins.

The game is not finished, but WOW! It is impressive, and a HUGE improvement from Civ2. The graphics may not be as bright and perky as other games, but they all fit together and they look good. I look forward to seeing the graphics in the game, as opposed to screen-shots of the game, perhaps some resolution was lost in transition.

The gameplay issues described in the PC Zone article really sound fantastic, and that's the real issue. Diplomacy, trade, culture and combat need to be right, the graphics we can edit if we want to. I was very glad to get more information, and I hope it is released in October.

Firaxis is doing a great job on this one.

[Provost Harrison]

As I have already said, there is a certain amount of image quality loss due to JPEG compression, which will not be a problem (eg, with people grumbling about the fonts and that). They also seem to have sorted out the borders crossing hills and folding behind mountains, so I doubt the roads are going to be a problem. Also I don't think the irrigation looks too bad at all...farmland will probably look different...

[Ralf]

Originally posted by Zanzin
ii) Where's the farmland? Is the irrigation tiles that make the continent look flooded all wer're going to get?

Since irrigated tiles is so commonly available on mid/late-game maps its extra-important that they look right. Below I have already said in another thread, but I re-emphazize it here so the Firaxians cant miss it:

"the player should be able spot the difference between naturally looking basic terrain-types and artificially looking tile-improvements.

And thats the problem with those irrigated tiles - unless I didnt knew it before, I could have sweared that those tiles where infact some kind of basic terrain-type marshes."

[Fidel]

Originally posted by wotan321
I hope I don't offend anyone.... but after all the *****ing about "no updates, Firaxis hates us, the web-master is a bum", we finally get some more info. And massive amounts of complaining begins.

The game is not finished, but WOW! It is impressive, and a HUGE improvement from Civ2. The graphics may not be as bright and perky as other games, but they all fit together and they look good. I look forward to seeing the graphics in the game, as opposed to screen-shots of the game, perhaps some resolution was lost in transition.

The gameplay issues described in the PC Zone article really sound fantastic, and that's the real issue. Diplomacy, trade, culture and combat need to be right, the graphics we can edit if we want to. I was very glad to get more information, and I hope it is released in October.

Firaxis is doing a great job on this one.

Dear Wotan,
Can you really look at the pictures and say that you see screens of the game you will like to look at. We all used to play pong and space invaders but it's 2001, game has been 2 years in development and I guess it's time to move on.
True, screenshots at official site have nicer colour gama. Not much, though. It really looks flat and unsaturated.
As for our complaining - this is not a real, official update. That aside, why oh why was it a problem to add these couple of pathetic screens to the official (and soon to be defunct) civ 3 site at firaxis. why did we have to have snapcase dig it out of nowhere? this is the kind of stuff that really should appear first on the official site.
Back to graphics. Cities look bleak, it is very hard to make out the terrain type. I guess those glowing green things are the fertility symbols and the white dots next to them might be quarries (that is, former shields).
Roads look like varricose veins.
I really want October release, I really like Civ, I really respect whatever work they have put but I really do hope that these are some leftover alpha screens.

[Adm.Naismith]

Originally posted by yin26
By the way, hasn't Firaxis publically stated that Civ3 would put an end to complaints about the graphics? I wonder who got that memo...?

Someone who left the company just to join BHG?

Back to terrain opinion, I must note that for first time I'm thinking that playing without an overlayed grid will be the standard option for me.
At least the missing grid can't do any worse to a terrain looking that was already sub-standard few years ago

I don't understand: wasn't showed months ago a screenshot scanned from a magazine, with cultivated fields instead of irrigated tiles? City was more a placeholder, a mockup, but the full result was really better, IMHO.

I have one copy in my HD but I can't copy&past here (no available ftp site where to download it). I'll browse on old post to find the relevant link...

[Provost Harrison]

I think the grid detracts a bit from the overall appearance, but I reckon it will be fine. It is really just the roads that need tightening up. It would be nice to have some different mountain types, but I am not that concerned, I think the present mountains looks fine, very 'sugarloaf'