What do folks think of the 3-D display in Civ4? Is it better than the ISO in Civ 3? If so what does it add? If not , why not?
The only features of the new engine I find really useful are the resource flags and being able to zoom out to get a sense of the world and where everyone is in relation to each other. Both of those could have been accompished with a 2D engine just as well, I guess.
I think the Civ 3 engine was more attractive, but I like the boardgame look.
It's nice to see city improvements at a glance. Some of them blend in a bit, like barracks, but a lot of the important ones like lighthouses, harbors, and aqueducts stand out quite well. If you see a green background behind the pop counter of a city, you can quickly tell if it has an aqueduct or not, for example.
Honestly I don't think it adds much. I think if a TBS strategy developer wants to go to all the trouble of using a 3D engine they need more animations. Give me a real sense that I'm looking at the world from 10,000 feet up. Show me wispy clouds drifting across the landscape. Let me see tiny tiny carts/cars (era dependant) travelling the roads between cities, etc.Originally Posted by mok
I thought green background just meant growing population?
The 3-d display isn't bad...it's pretty, and the info overlays are good enough that I don't generally feel as though I'm missing too much information. The info popups, such as "enemy army HERE" are also well-done...although that's not really a feature of the display being 3-d.
However, I really, really wish there was a simple, iconic, 2-d display option. Not even isometric; just flat tiles. Call it "laptop mode".
It does, if you zoom out. I'm glad it doesn't do it at close zooms; that would be distracting.
Civ4? What's that?
Man, I so need to dig out and get back to Civ4. Five minutes so far, that's it. Bummer.
I love it. It adds a couple useful bits of functionality, like the ability to set my zoom level at whatever I find best, and the ability to quickly zoom out to see a world map and then zoom back in to work on my empire again. But I also think it looks great, at least as good as Civ 3. Thumbs up all around.
The features I like best about it have little to do with being 3D, like being being able to zoom out, the display of information, etc.
The 3D effects of showing all of a city's algorithmically laid out buildings and smoothly zooming out to a global view are pretty cool though. I'd think they were great, if only Civ 4 didn't run like a 3 legged dog for me.
I definitely think it looks and functions better than Civ 3.
It immediately became indispensible. It's fantastic. A free camera would be nice, but I'm not sure it would work properly. It's like the difference between a Honda Accord and a Porsche -- the former does the job, and does it just as well, but the Porsche does it much nicer.
I think the interface is better, but I also think the performance hit of going full 3D with the engine isn't justified. Most of the good features could've been implemented in a 2D engine, and considering how choppy it gets on my machine when the camera swoops and spirals in on a city that's just finished a wonder, it makes a moderately cool bit of flashiness into an annoyance.
The map is completely 2D already. It's still tile based, most of the time the units are just standing on their tile and I generally only alternate between two zoom levels. All the 3D adds is that the game looks 3D. And for that I need the same kind of hardware as a FPS? Why? I would much rather have SMAC level graphics and performance.
I don't think it adds much. It's eye candy, and it's OK, but truthfully, they might as well have stayed with 2D isometric and given the video card a break.
From where I sit, games increasingly concentrate on stuff that helps them sell but doesn't make them much more fun to play.
AllowFlying=1 in your ini file.It immediately became indispensible. It's fantastic. A free camera would be nice, but I'm not sure it would work properly. It's like the difference between a Honda Accord and a Porsche -- the former does the job, and does it just as well, but the Porsche does it much nicer.
Ctrl+F unlocks flying camera mode.
Hmmm I can't get it to work. Just put AllowFlying=1 anywhere in the .ini ?
it probably has to be under the "CONFIG" section...
Doh there it is. Thanks!
The new 3D view is super cool and one of the best things about Civ4. The seamless tilting zoom from the orbital view with drifting clouds all the way down to individual city improvements and axe-wielding soldiers is what I've always wanted in a grand strategy game. Bonus points for the globe view, and extra double bonus points for making the soundtrack change depending on the zoom level!
I do agree that the game runs like a limp dog, though...
Definately not the greatest thing. That would be the rules changes, addition of religion and the soundtrack - but it looks really really good and the interface changes are very nice. I would however trade it all away for a blander version that didn't crash my AMD x2 w. 6800GT GFX or worked on either my old AMD XP 2,5 w. 9800 Pro GFX or on my laptop... :cry:
I love it. It adds so much to see the little guys actually fighting. And when it's a Catapult against a Mechanized Infantry, it's just that much funnier. Even the Spy has her little ninja flip. I love the globe view, and the smooth transition from satellite view to individual cow or whatever just rocks. I think I might be able to get some people who think Civ is 'too complex' interested in this game just from the graphic standpoint, which is great.
Of course, it would all be for naught if the game itself didn't rock bigtime, but it does. So it's icing on an already delicious cake.
DeanCo--
Yeah, between the new 3D worldmap and the rockin intro music, I almost forget how fucking HORRIBLE the performance is past 1600AD or so. I have no desire to push anything but "END TURN" once the game slows to a crawl like that.
For me the 3D aspect was cool for about two minutes while I showed it to a colleague ("Wow! Look! Civ in 3D!"). Since then I've had the view locked in practically flat 2D Civ I style view. It's nice to have that option of choosing my view angle, but it doesn't seem worth the horrible late game performance and the fact that I can't play it on my laptop anymore.
Hopefully the forthcoming patch will alleviate the sluggishness in mid to late eras.
I should point out that I am actually loving the game more than any for a while, especially in multiplayer. I sat in the office last night playing on the LAN with a friend from 9pm until 4am (until the 17th century). The hours and the beers disappeared before I'd even noticed, and it took an almighty effort to pull myself away and go to bed. I could barely keep my eyes open walking home, but I'd have happily sat and played for a few more hours if sense hadn't got the better of me.
The only problems for me are the interface seems somewhat lacking in places, and the fact that every time the game gets into the last few hundred centuries I feel like starting again because of the sluggish responses.
There's a nice mod already out that jacks the quality of the terrain textures up somewhat:
http://www.civfanatics.net/~bluemarb...tent/index.php
Thanks Lum, those look awesome! Nasa images seem like the pefect place to find terrain textures.
I don't like that Plains are green now. :/
Low food -> white and yellow
High food -> green
Worked better imho.
Rest looks good.
Plains aren't green. You've got a monitor or colorblindness problem.
With Blue Marble they are. I dunno, I don't see Blue Marble as an improvement. It's not bad, but not worth keeping.
Besides the eye candy, the freely zoomable aspect is a nice benefit of 3D. AoW:SM pulled that off to a lesser extent while remaining in 2D which was nice.
I beg to differ.
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