PennyAnte
Liturgist
So what is it? It's not HOMM, and I don't think Civ is as appealing as it used to be. Sure, Rome TW is quite good. But overall, I think the genre is getting a bit stale.
I don't know if I'll buy another Civ-branded game. Maybe I would if its mechanics are a lot more like Alpha Centauri’s. It would at least need large-scale tactical diversity in units and many, many more terraforming options.
But what I really want is the NEXT BEST THING (tm). I want something really dramatic in THE TBS OF THE FEWCHAR. Like factions so diametrically opposed the type of terraforming they use makes their areas toxic or hostile to other species or something. I want the fight for survival to be drawn to a keen edge, like every year faction Z gets a little bit bigger and the air has 1.23 percent more chlorine, and my advisors start panicking and order tactical strikes on their atmospheric generators. Maybe they start demanding I do it one year, then 10 years later they just freak out and order it themselves. Stuff like that.
I think macromanagement is a good concept, but player flexibility has to be there for micromanagers. Although, these kinds of design points aren't really big-picture enough.
I do think developers could drop the whole concept of diplomacy, as in treaties and alliances and so forth, at least temporarily, to focus on other areas like combat, tactical depth, faction characteristics and philosophy, and an advisor system that's more than just a glorified help system, and is instead an integral part of the game. Then, over time in the series, bring diplomacy back in.
Maybe that’s just me – I rarely go for the diplomatic/economic/technological wins alone. I like to be no. 1 in all areas AND win by total conquest. MUHUHUHUA.
I don't know if I'll buy another Civ-branded game. Maybe I would if its mechanics are a lot more like Alpha Centauri’s. It would at least need large-scale tactical diversity in units and many, many more terraforming options.
But what I really want is the NEXT BEST THING (tm). I want something really dramatic in THE TBS OF THE FEWCHAR. Like factions so diametrically opposed the type of terraforming they use makes their areas toxic or hostile to other species or something. I want the fight for survival to be drawn to a keen edge, like every year faction Z gets a little bit bigger and the air has 1.23 percent more chlorine, and my advisors start panicking and order tactical strikes on their atmospheric generators. Maybe they start demanding I do it one year, then 10 years later they just freak out and order it themselves. Stuff like that.
I think macromanagement is a good concept, but player flexibility has to be there for micromanagers. Although, these kinds of design points aren't really big-picture enough.
I do think developers could drop the whole concept of diplomacy, as in treaties and alliances and so forth, at least temporarily, to focus on other areas like combat, tactical depth, faction characteristics and philosophy, and an advisor system that's more than just a glorified help system, and is instead an integral part of the game. Then, over time in the series, bring diplomacy back in.
Maybe that’s just me – I rarely go for the diplomatic/economic/technological wins alone. I like to be no. 1 in all areas AND win by total conquest. MUHUHUHUA.
