How to sell Civ 3

[Urban Ranger]

Since it seems like many people are unhappy that Firaxis is trying something new with MP in Civ 3, so Firaxis should just package the usual MP components - Internet, PBEM, and hotseat - with Civ 3 and leave it at that.

Don't try anything new. It doesn't please anybody.

[Wittlich]

IMO, I too believe you are right UR. If Firaxis does want to try something totally new, save it for a later-to-be-released upgrade to Civ3.

[Urban Ranger]

Awww, nobody else thinks this is a brilliant idea?

[yin26]

Let's see...How about this:

Hype up your wild and exciting and cutting edge MP. Actually code it well with no bugs AND include it in the box come release day!

And, oh: If you plan to delay MP, clarify the decision like a professional company.

Gee...I'm a genius.

[Urban Ranger]

Yin,

We don't know if MP will be delayed. All we have now is one unverifed e-mail message.

[yin26]

Agreed, but given the overall direction (no demo, no low resolution, no public beta, etc.)... Of course, I hope it all proves to be a bad mix up.

[Urban Ranger]

Certainly some of the decisions are bad, paricularly the no demo one. Personally if a game designer can stand up to a big distributor, Sid Meier should be it. At this point it is unclear what's happening with MP. Could it be possible that there will be the usual MP modes with Civ 3, and they are developing something new as part of an expansion pack?

I know, I'm just speculating

[marcuspeddle]

Re: How to sell Civ 3

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Don't try anything new. It doesn't please anybody.

Martin Luther's friends probably said that a lot.
I hope that Firaxis does do something new with MP. Otherwise why bother putting out a new version of the game. I'm willing to wait a few months for something interesting. In the meantime I can keep myself busy trying to defeat the new and improved (?!) AI. When I can do a good job on the AI (if ever) then I might be ready to take on some human competition. We certainly shouldn't wish for no new improvements.
Say, what will the new improvements be for MP? Maybe an option that allows video during negotiations. When I call up a human player his webcam kicks in and I get his ugly snout on my screen. That would be a great innovation for MP.

[yin26]

"Could it be possible that there will be the usual MP modes with Civ 3, and they are developing something new as part of an expansion pack?"

Of course it's possible. And such a thing would make Firaxis look like heroes...but would you like to place money on that bet?

[MarkG]

Originally posted by yin26
Agreed, but given the overall direction (no demo, no low resolution, no public beta, etc.)...

no low resolution? what's the big problem with that now?

[yin26]

Don't you recall the 'no low resolution' debate? 800x600 is dead, is it not? Again, we could throw this in the 'Doesn't matter to me" column, but enough of those start to add up.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by yin26
Don't you recall the 'no low resolution' debate? 800x600 is dead, is it not?

yes it is, i know that.

once again, what's the big problem with that? i'm playing ctp2 on 1280x1024 and you complain about 800x600?

btw, it adds up, if you want it to add up

[yin26]

MarkG:

It's part of a pattern of decisions, you see. I personally don't care about the low resolution issue, but SOME do. Others don't care about a demo but SOME do. Others don't care about a possible lack of MP out of the box, but SOME do. Others don't care about a lack of a public beta, but SOME do.

As SOME point all those SOMES add up to SOMEBODY (as in a lot of bodies) being worried about this release strategy.

[MarkG]

fine, if you want to take into account only the things that sound(not necessarily "are") bad there may be lots of people worried about the release....

[korn469]

How to sell Civ3

Step 1: Put the game CD in a box.
Step 2: Put that box in a store.
Step 3: Assign a price to that box, for some reason most boxes conviently come with a barcode that helps when assigning a price.
Step 4: Have a cashier scan the box when a customer is ready to check out.
Step 5: Have the cashier take the customers money, and tell them nice day.

That is how you sell Civ3