Is the game really ending at 2500?

[java4me]

Overall I think that Firaxis will make the game good even if it is 2500. I don't think that Sid would mess up like Activision did in making future techs and units!

[java4me]

Meaning, that Sid will have better future techs and units!

[tniem]

quote: Originally posted by java4me on 05-06-2001 09:43 PM Overall I think that Firaxis will make the game good even if it is 2500. I don't think that Sid would mess up like Activision did in making future techs and units!

Why not? I mean, yes SMAC went into the future and yes it did a realistic job of working future techs, but SMAC went less into the future than Civ III going to 2500 would. In fact, anyone looking 500 years into the future is going to have some weird techs and units. Not only that, can anyone expect to have Earth still here in 500 years with the way humans have treated this planet? It is all speculation that Civ III could do without.

[DrFell]

Civ 1 didnt have hovercraft!!

[ancient]

yes it does :P

[java4me]

I don't really recall Civ1 ever having hovercrafts! But i might be mistaken, put i have played Civ1 hours and hours before and i don't remember any hovercrafts! Unless you put a mod on it or something, it didn't originally have hovercrafts in it!!!

[Shadowstrike]

I certainly never saw hovercraft in CivI, and I played that game for years on end (I was 6, blame me)

[Father Beast]

quote: Originally posted by java4me on 05-06-2001 09:43 PM Overall I think that Firaxis will make the game good even if it is 2500. I don't think that Sid would mess up like Activision did in making future techs and units!

and I don't think that just because activision screwed something up, sid and co. will too if they try.

[Father Beast]

the hovercraft in civ1, weren't really in the game as released. the CGW article talks with sid about game balancing, and he remarks that civ originally "had hovercrafts and maps that were twice as big". they decided not to include it later on.

[ajbera]

The way I see it, they have a couple of options if they really wish Civ3 to be the precursor to SMAC.

We can do a bit of speculation as to when we feel the tech levels of the primary nations of Earth would be sufficient to launch a colony ship to AC. Everyone is going to piss and moan about the uncertainty of the future, but for gameplay's sake, I'd say either 2100 or 2200. That's well enough into the future that such an endeavor would sound feasible, but not so far as another 500 years from now. So, Civ3 goes until the 22nd or 23rd century, and there's a direct connection to SMAC.

Alternately, instead of advancing so far that colony ship construction is believable, the game could end a bit sooner, and the scientific end game could involve the race to locate a suitable planet for colonization, the step immediately prior to constucting the colony ship. Then the game could end anywhere from an optimistic 2020 to a more realistic 2050 (2100 is still a possibility.) That would advance us far enough into the future to allow for a smooth transition to SMAC, while still not being so far into the future that we would have sci-fi type units (although I would like to see some minor advancements over tanks and AEGIS cruisers to reflect future knowledge - nothing radical, but small tweaks, such as better mobility, firepower, etc.)

Just my two cents.

[Ralf]

I saw a re-cast of popular-science TV-program from around 1968-69, about a year ago. It was about ordinary people (but also "experts") speculating how they believed our society was going to change/look like "30 years from now" (= around year 2000).

The failure-rate in their predictions was often really striking. Especially then it came to how they believed ordinary people was going to live their lifes, and how society was going to look like in general, year 2000.
It was much about SciFi-inspired clothes, hairstyles and apartments and it was about modular-condos transportable by helicopters, and much more. Some (not all) technical predictions was reasonably fulfilled, but most predictions about people/society was not. The truth is; we dont have a clue about "the future" beyond 2020 AD.

All I know is that I dont want another one of those rather naive SciFi strategy-game fantasies, with made-up & hard-to-relate "future-techs"; and with typical CTP/SMAC-style "frosen-in-time" government/social engineering values. These games often feels very "dry", "technical" and to be honest; pretty unlikely. I say; keep that SciFi-crap out from the Civ-3 main game, and into dedicated Civ-3 scenarios instead.

[This message has been edited by Ralf (edited May 08, 2001).]

[tniem]

quote: Originally posted by ajbera on 05-08-2001 11:43 AM The way I see it, they have a couple of options if they really wish Civ3 to be the precursor to SMAC. We can do a bit of speculation as to when we feel the tech levels of the primary nations of Earth would be sufficient to launch a colony ship to AC. Everyone is going to piss and moan about the uncertainty of the future, but for gameplay's sake, I'd say either 2100 or 2200. That's well enough into the future that such an endeavor would sound feasible, but not so far as another 500 years from now. So, Civ3 goes until the 22nd or 23rd century, and there's a direct connection to SMAC. Alternately, instead of advancing so far that colony ship construction is believable, the game could end a bit sooner, and the scientific end game could involve the race to locate a suitable planet for colonization, the step immediately prior to constucting the colony ship. Then the game could end anywhere from an optimistic 2020 to a more realistic 2050 (2100 is still a possibility.) That would advance us far enough into the future to allow for a smooth transition to SMAC, while still not being so far into the future that we would have sci-fi type units (although I would like to see some minor advancements over tanks and AEGIS cruisers to reflect future knowledge - nothing radical, but small tweaks, such as better mobility, firepower, etc.) Just my two cents.

SMAC's story is that man is at war. That the Earth is going to be destroyed so we send out our last hope. As soon as they are airborne they cannot send signals back to Earth because we have destroyed communication during our last great war.

So for a link from Civ III to SMAC should more be you are the great leader that united the world in any of the possible ways of winning. Then 25 years after your accomplishment you have died due to old age (hey how many 6000 year-old do you know?) War breaks out without your leadership. A ship must be sent to A.C.

Now your clone (is it Morgan, Miriam, Yang, etc.) must reestabilish a human civilization in space.

Only way the story can connect. Otherwise why are we going to space. With this story, Civ can end anytime around 2020 to 2050 and during the war one group builds the ship to go to space.

[Roman]

I have to agree with Ralf 100%.

[DrFell]

So the general consensus is there are no hovercraft in Civ1?

[java4me]

There was no hovercraft in Civ1, it was in the original program of it, but Sid decided to get rid of it right before its realese!!!

And I also agree with Ralf's ideas!!!