Poll: Should Civ4 go 3D?

[LordBashHeart]

Is it just me or have you guys been waiting for these Civ games to go full 3D.

No more grids, and a map you can dynamically zoom from the global map right down to seeing the mud on the calvery's feet?

I understand the current format has a long and presdigious liniage (ahh remember empire?) , but this is quite restricting in a lot of ways.

We all know the graphics cards can hack it, by the time the next Civ is released the CPU's can handle it (ok maybey thats a bit of wishful thinking).

So come on Cast your vote!

1) I am quite happy in my grid shaped world thank you

2) I'm an eye candy sorta person if you know what I mean

3) I want is in 12D man...

-LordBashHeart

[philler]

leave it the way it is.

graphic improvements is *not* what civ needs, IMO.

[kailhun]

Originally posted by philler
leave it the way it is.

graphic improvements is *not* what civ needs, IMO.

Agreed. Game dynamics need a lot more work before fundamentally changing the eye-candy can be justified.

Robert

[ACooper]

PPPPLLLLLEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEE NNNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[Thrawn05]

I say leave it. Even though I don't mind 3D war games. I one of the few that prefers SW: Force Commander over that Battlegrounds game.

[Kenjura]

Go 3d! 3d has a stigma with the old-school gamers. Yeah, I played civ1 and civ2. I played old text games. I thought DOOM was the most amazing thing when it came out.

3d is no longer an option, it's a reality. Most modern pc's are far better at 3d processing than 2d. Even advanced 2d machines are catered for image quality and video, not civ3.


The 2d graphics in civ2 are difficult to develop (given the iterations) and grind the cpu to a halt. Even on a 1.4 Ghz athlon with a Matrox G550 video card (professional-quality 2d card), the civ3 map scrolls at about 4 frames per second.

My computer can animate the most modern first-person shooters, with their amazing graphics, at framerates well past 90 in 1024x768 resolution, with all the bells and whistles.

The current civ3 graphics would be child's play to implement even with an old 3d engine. You could easily improve the graphics, add minor animated features (clouds, maybe, or even swaying trees), and even old 3d cards wouldn't break a sweat. Also, scrolling and animation speed wouldn't even be an issue. Not to mention you could zoom to whatever view you liked, and rotate the map how you pleased, without any additional graphics being made.

3d would make the game EASIER to animate. 3d is the reality, not the ideal. Yes, go 3d.

Besides, a 2003/2004 release of a civ sequel couldn't possible compete with ultra-realistic and beautiful games like doom 3 and unreal 2. I'm surprised Infogrames didn't insist on a "modern, snazzy" 3d look for the game for marketing appeal.

That's my 2 cents, anyway.

[LordBashHeart]

Or another thought...

One thing about the 2d thing bugs me a bit. When you have all your troops guarding your northern border and they are fortified, they all face the wrong way.

Little things like that get to me.

[ACooper]

Leave it the way it is. There has to be something left for us "old school" gamers.

[LordBashHeart]

hmmm

Isn't that Civ3?

How about if Civ4 has a retro button. It overlays a red grid over the terrain and forces your troops to follow it.

Wouldn't be that hard to do...

[Thrawn05]

Re: hmmm

Originally posted by LordBashHeart
Isn't that Civ3?

How about if Civ4 has a retro button. It overlays a red grid over the terrain and forces your troops to follow it.

Wouldn't be that hard to do...

How about each unit be a little bitmap square like in the SNES Civ game?

[LordBashHeart]

EEEK! <bedumph>

I can hear all the hard-core, old-school, die-hard (Is there any I left out) gamerz dropping from heart attacks at this thread.

EEEK!

[ACooper]

What I'm saying is this:

There are many of us who have been with the Civilization series from the start. I have played every version from the original onward. People like me like the basic way it is with tiles and moving units 1 square per turn, etc. We like it turn based.

Besides, a 3d rendering of a planet "right down to the mud" do you realize how much processing power that would take? Those who argue that 3d is easier on the computer than 2d need to check out the real world.

Why do all these people new to the game want to change what the game is? It's our game. There are enough upstart games out there for you younger / newer guys. Please don't try to screw ours up.


Thank you

[SpencerH]

Would we need the special glasses?

[Bill9999]

I could care less. It looks fine the way it is. Want to update the way it looks. Great. Woo - frickin' - Hoo. I think there is a laundry list of other more important things that need to be addressed.

Would it add anything to the game? I think very little, if anything.

[LordBashHeart]

Dude!

Don't make the mistake of thinking because of my "Settler" status that I am a neubie to these sort of games.

Let me cast my mind back.... yes I remember now...

(screen wobbles - fade to 198?)

There I am hooking up two Amigas in my house with a null modem to play Empire. It wasn't multiplayer, we just started a two player game and passed the save files between the two computers, saving us constantly having to stand up to give the chair to the other person and having to leave the room.

(Screen wobbles - fade to 1992)

There I am at work after-hours at work with four or five of my compadres loading up Empire II with multiplayer capability. Whoa, my jaw hits the floor and my tounge rolls out and under the desk.

(screen wobbles - fade to present)

There we go... been there done that. I have loved and adored these games for 10+ years, and even that long ago I could picture what it was going to be like all 3D'ed.

I'm still waiting....