Civilization (The Video Game)

[spunkloaf]

I'm freaking addicted to this game. I have Civ V and for a map-based simulation game, it sure is taxing on my computer hardware. And I have a damn fast system, too. I recommend Civ IV to anybody because it runs smooth, doesn't bog your system down, and it's not missing much in game play compared to its successor. Who doesn't love to play a game where you can pretend to be a societal leader and build a nation and compete against others? I love how it incorporates a bit of reality, too.

Here's a screenshot of Civ V. It was too big to embed in the post.
http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2010/06/CIVLIZATION-V-E3-2010-BattleLine.jpg

[Captain Obvious]

I play Civ III still. Not regularly, but every now and then I'll play a game then I'll get away from it.

I bought Civ IV last fall, it totally fucking sucked. Graphics sucked, gameplay sucked. I gave it a good couple weeks and those games went nowhere, so I went back to III.

They went too overboard with trying to get cute with graphics on IV. Add that to the fact that I could be several hours into a game and be virtually nowhere. Civ III is far, far more playable.

[Mister D]

I was a big Europa Universalis fan. That was a lot of fun. I played that for hours and hours on end. It's a lot more historical than Civ.

[Conley]

great thread spunk

agreed captain --

civ 3 is in my opinion by far the pinnacle of those games...i spent so much time on those games. these days it seems games spend more time on graphics than they do on gameplay. i bought a new vid card but i haven't played much lately. i like rpgs and want to try witcher 2.

anyhow it'd be cool if we could all play online somehow but those games take weeks

[Captain Obvious]

great thread spunk

agreed captain --

civ 3 is in my opinion by far the pinnacle of those games...i spent so much time on those games. these days it seems games spend more time on graphics than they do on gameplay. i bought a new vid card but the only thing i haven't played much lately.

it'd be cool if we could all play online somehow


Civ Fanatics has online tourneys. I'm not sure how they work actually, I never participated.

Those guys are hardcore though. I could win a game on Sid level, but why bother? Playing cookbook style takes the fun out of the game. Would be decent to play other players through, the AI totally sucks at war and it cheats like hell.

It knows where the hidden resources are and will send settlers to those spots first. It also knows how you defend your cities. Put one unit on one city far away from the AI and defend the rest, the AI will send a ship halfway around the globe to plop that one archer next to that city.

[spunkloaf]

I was a big Europa Universalis fan. That was a lot of fun. I played that for hours and hours on end. It's a lot more historical than Civ.


I must be way out of the loop, I never heard of that game. My love for simulation games started with SimCity (still like playing later versions of it) I was really into Caesar II for awhile, back in my teenage years. I only stumbled upon Civilization about a year and a half ago. It started with Civ III. I liked Civ IV the best. Civ V gets way, WAY too slow when I hit 300 turns or so. The bigger the civilizations get, the longer it takes to go to the next turn. I'm on turn 648 now (I always go for total conquest, even after I win cultural, diplomatic and technological victories) and it takes sometimes 3 minutes to wait for the computer to process turns. Scrolling over the map is an annoying chore too, if you have the visual effects turned on. Thankfully I have the option to go into strategic mode which only gives me simpler symbolic graphics on a much smoother scrolling map. I'm no longer waiting 2 minutes for my mechanized infantry to mow over an enemy paratrooper in a dramatic graphic display, the fight is invisible and instantaneous.

[Mister D]

I was a big Europa Universalis fan. That was a lot of fun. I played that for hours and hours on end. It's a lot more historical than Civ.


I must be way out of the loop, I never heard of that game. My love for simulation games started with SimCity (still like playing later versions of it) I was really into Caesar II for awhile, back in my teenage years. I only stumbled upon Civilization about a year and a half ago. It started with Civ III. I liked Civ IV the best. Civ V gets way, WAY too slow when I hit 300 turns or so. The bigger the civilizations get, the longer it takes to go to the next turn. I'm on turn 648 now (I always go for total conquest, even after I win cultural, diplomatic and technological victories) and it takes sometimes 3 minutes to wait for the computer to process turns. Scrolling over the map is an annoying chore too, if you have the visual effects turned on. Thankfully I have the option to go into strategic mode which only gives me simpler symbolic graphics on a much smoother scrolling map. I'm no longer waiting 2 minutes for my mechanized infantry to mow over an enemy paratrooper in a dramatic graphic display, the fight is invisible and instantaneous.


It's kind of like Civ but it's more for wargamers than general sim fans. It starts in 1492 and you pick a European power. You explore the world, colonize the Americas and Africa, fight wars, engage in diplomacy etc etc. In the later versions you can pick almost any power including the Aztecs and Inca. It's steeped in history.

My friend was a Civ addict. He had to give it up. Shit is like crack!

[Vermouth]

I loved Civ I. It was the only video game I ever got into ... very addictive.

[MMC]

Cool....others into strategy and tactic games. I also played a little of Civ. III. Althought I did the same with all the Ages of Empires Games. Rome-Total Conquest and any other games that were like so.

Some years back I use to play on the online Game of the Realm by Sierra. Then I started playing Halo with my sons online. Teams and Vs. I liked playing the Infected online, then i start going after any of them other infected and the Halo warriors. They hate that shit. lol They will be talking to me and they're like hey man why you do that. I was like....hey man you infected me, and the infected have no brains.....were just hungry. lol Been quite some time since I have been able to play any types of Games. Not even poker.

[Conley]

MMC,

Why don't you play video games any more?

I used to do a bit of online poker, not even tempted any more since the Federal Government froze all those websites and held players' money. Good to know the Feds are policing these things. ::) ::) ::)

[MMC]

Well one reason is my work.....I work for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times Newspapers as a Distributor. One of the largest Media Outlets in the Country. So I get all the D.C. papers and NY papers. Plus Other periodicals, Mags, and some free local papers for like Spanish and Polish. Also we are in NW Indiana that would be considered Chicagoland Area. There we have the Chicago Papers and the Post Tribune.

Yeah I did to at pokerstars but only free money. last I checked I was up to 2.8 mil. Won 3 Tourneys the only 3 I have played in. Any free time is about the house and dealing my sons who are all over 18 years of age. The rest of the time I have been a regular at the Hotwire.So when I am at work or out collecting or in the warehouse. The papers gave me a puter to use. but I can't send emails or get them on it..... so I would always be on at the Hotwire. Which I would rather be on a political forum than do nothing.

I will get back with you on the regulation of gaming sites a little later lol

[Conley]

oh snap, check this out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeciv.net

[Mister D]

I have to upgrade at home. Right now I'm using my rommie's old PC which he set up in the den. Way too slow. I wouldn't even consider playing a game on it.

[Conley]

you can get a good one for not a lot of money these days, $500 should give most people all the computer they need. of course laptops cost a little more.

[Mister D]

you can get a good one for not a lot of money these days, $500 should give most people all the computer they need. of course laptops cost a little more.


No lap top needed. I'll probaby spend 6-7 hundo to get it equipped with a great video card.

[Conley]

you can get a good one for not a lot of money these days, $500 should give most people all the computer they need. of course laptops cost a little more.


No lap top needed. I'll probaby spend 6-7 hundo to get it equipped with a great video card.


cool...you probably don't need a great video card unless you are going to play modern shooters. i guess for civ 5 too. civ 2 or civ 3 you'd be fine with onboard video.

[Mister D]

you can get a good one for not a lot of money these days, $500 should give most people all the computer they need. of course laptops cost a little more.


No lap top needed. I'll probaby spend 6-7 hundo to get it equipped with a great video card.


cool...you probably don't need a great video card unless you are going to play modern shooters. i guess for civ 5 too. civ 2 or civ 3 you'd be fine with onboard video.


Actually, I'll ask you before I buy.

[Conley]

sure i'll give you advice when you're ready, and might be able to find you a cheaper deal online. some places like amazon you might be able to get it not only cheaper but avoid having to pay state sales tax.

[Mister D]

sure i'll give you advice when you're ready, and might be able to find you a cheaper deal online. some places like amazon you might be able to get it not only cheaper but avoid having to pay state sales tax.


8) I'll hit you up when I'm ready.

[MMC]

you can get a good one for not a lot of money these days, $500 should give most people all the computer they need. of course laptops cost a little more.


No lap top needed. I'll probaby spend 6-7 hundo to get it equipped with a great video card.


I hope you so Sure wouldnt want you to miss on all those kick ass video's I put up..... >:D

[Mister D]

you can get a good one for not a lot of money these days, $500 should give most people all the computer they need. of course laptops cost a little more.


No lap top needed. I'll probaby spend 6-7 hundo to get it equipped with a great video card.


I hope you so Sure wouldnt want you to miss on all those kick ass video's I put up..... >:D


That too. When I'm at home I usually don't bother to run this stuff because it slows everything down.

[Conley]

Hmmm...not sure if D is a fan of the Wu Tang or not... O0 >:D :D

[Conley]

what kinda hardware you rockin in your computer these days?

[spunkloaf]

what kinda hardware you rockin in your computer these days?


Currently I rock an HP Envy 15 series notebook. 2nd Generation 64bit Intel i7 8 core processor 1.6gHz, 6 GB DDR3 Ram, ATI Mobility 4830HD graphics chipset with 1GB dedicated memory expandable to include assignable system memory, running Windows 7 64bit OEM. The screen is only 15 inch but I use the HDMI port to hook up to my 55 inch Samsung DLP HD set, so the lid isn't even open. Wireless mouse and keyboard. I've never been fond of laptops but I'm impressed with this machine. It matches the performance of the Nvidia GeForce 445 GTX I bought awhile back for my desktop. However that is a slightly less powerful machine. If I could match the ram speed and number of processor cores in my desktop machine it would probably do much better. Although that one is a higher frequency AMD 64bit Phenom 2.6gHz CPU, it only has 4 cores and the memory is a slower DD2 1066mHz 4GB.

If I didn't work and have a life I'd never leave my room. I like opening up Task Manager, clicking on the performance tab and seeing 8 CPU performance monitors.

How bout you?

[Conley]

dang those are some nice specs...laptop i am still using an old black macbook (500 GB, 4 GB DDR2), it gets the job done, i can use parallels and boot camp for my windows stuff (no games though). i like the terminal and all the unix-y stuff, though i don't know crap. i've been playing around with python lately.

for the desktop i have an i7 920, i think it's only about 2.6 Ghz but it definitely gets the job done. For some reason it always seems to run hot though, not sure if I should worry or not. It doesn't crash but I don't think it should be running 95 C. I've read the stock cooler is garbage so I might swap it out. 6 GB DDR3 Ram, Win 7 64 bit, and recently upgraded the vid card to a 6870 HD Radeon. XP you could use multiple different vid cards, Vista took it away but Win 7 brought it back so I'm still using my old GeForce 8600 GTS for a 3 monitor set up. Got about 3 TB of storage I think, various different hard drives including an old Raptor.

Right now I am downloading Episodes From Liberty City, DLC for GTA IV -- got it on the Steam Summer Sale for $10 ;D

[Conley]

oh nice samsung too by the way, i've heard good things about the DLP. i have a 52 I think, also samsung but older tech. it works for me...240 Hz LCD, I think it was a 2008 model.

got a sweet 5.1 set up with bluray in my computer tower, polk speakers and subwoofer and a onkyo receiver. the onkyo might be a pos, i haven't decided yet. had to get the hdmi board replaced after only a few months, but it was under warranty and has worked ok since then.

[spunkloaf]

oh nice samsung too by the way, i've heard good things about the DLP. i have a 52 I think, also samsung but older tech. it works for me...240 Hz LCD, I think it was a 2008 model.

got a sweet 5.1 set up with bluray in my computer tower, polk speakers and subwoofer and a onkyo receiver. the onkyo might be a pos, i haven't decided yet. had to get the hdmi board replaced after only a few months, but it was under warranty and has worked ok since then.


Yeah I like the Samsung. This model came out around the time when the real HDTV excitement kicked in, and they cost like $3000 easy. I bought this one from a guy who posted it on Craigslist for $270, negotiated down from $300. I had to replace the lamp which cost another $180. I ordered it off eBay and replaced it myself via instructional videos on YouTube. Replacing the lamp is actually a bit of a tedious process. You have to make sure you don't touch the lamp at all or else the oil from your hands will boil and destroy it while it's burning, so you have to wear rubber gloves.

The DLP technology is quite amazing. It's a physical light processing engine. The DLP chip has a tiny rectangular array of millions of tiny mirrors which actuate at amazing speeds in on-off fashion, producing the template for a motion picture. The light from the lamp is focused onto the DLP chip and reflected back through a high-speed color wheel, and finally onto the rear of the display panel. The DLP chip produces multiple instances of the picture divided by color in synchronicity with the palette of the high-speed spinning color wheel. The rapid pictures are assembled again by your brain. The final result is a bright, high-contrast, high definition image.

DLP technology is an entirely unique way of producing high definition picture, and it's sharp as a knife. As the market for affordable HDTV sets expanded, the DLP technology was met with too much competition and is now almost completely faded out from the market. The market for HDTV's these days saturated with LCD, Plasma and LED displays as they have become cheaper to manufacture. However I have a funny feeling these DLP sets with physical light processing engines may be of value again some day in the distant future as antiques, simply because there are not any technologies for HDTV quite like it.

[spunkloaf]

dang those are some nice specs...laptop i am still using an old black macbook (500 GB, 4 GB DDR2), it gets the job done, i can use parallels and boot camp for my windows stuff (no games though). i like the terminal and all the unix-y stuff, though i don't know crap. i've been playing around with python lately.

for the desktop i have an i7 920, i think it's only about 2.6 Ghz but it definitely gets the job done. For some reason it always seems to run hot though, not sure if I should worry or not. It doesn't crash but I don't think it should be running 95 C. I've read the stock cooler is garbage so I might swap it out. 6 GB DDR3 Ram, Win 7 64 bit, and recently upgraded the vid card to a 6870 HD Radeon. XP you could use multiple different vid cards, Vista took it away but Win 7 brought it back so I'm still using my old GeForce 8600 GTS for a 3 monitor set up. Got about 3 TB of storage I think, various different hard drives including an old Raptor.

Right now I am downloading Episodes From Liberty City, DLC for GTA IV -- got it on the Steam Summer Sale for $10 ;D


My laptop becomes extremely hot to the touch. You can play Crysis and cook your breakfast on this thing at the same time. I am told it is completely normal, though. They told me at the store that the entire aluminum case is a heat sink for the inner components. It's engineered that way so they can cram all that power into the sucker, and still stay inside safe operating temperatures.

[Conley]

;D

crysis 1 or 2? or warhead?

[Conley]

oh nice samsung too by the way, i've heard good things about the DLP. i have a 52 I think, also samsung but older tech. it works for me...240 Hz LCD, I think it was a 2008 model.

got a sweet 5.1 set up with bluray in my computer tower, polk speakers and subwoofer and a onkyo receiver. the onkyo might be a pos, i haven't decided yet. had to get the hdmi board replaced after only a few months, but it was under warranty and has worked ok since then.


Yeah I like the Samsung. This model came out around the time when the real HDTV excitement kicked in, and they cost like $3000 easy. I bought this one from a guy who posted it on Craigslist for $270, negotiated down from $300. I had to replace the lamp which cost another $180. I ordered it off eBay and replaced it myself via instructional videos on YouTube. Replacing the lamp is actually a bit of a tedious process. You have to make sure you don't touch the lamp at all or else the oil from your hands will boil and destroy it while it's burning, so you have to wear rubber gloves.

The DLP technology is quite amazing. It's a physical light processing engine. The DLP chip has a tiny rectangular array of millions of tiny mirrors which actuate at amazing speeds in on-off fashion, producing the template for a motion picture. The light from the lamp is focused onto the DLP chip and reflected back through a high-speed color wheel, and finally onto the rear of the display panel. The DLP chip produces multiple instances of the picture divided by color in synchronicity with the palette of the high-speed spinning color wheel. The rapid pictures are assembled again by your brain. The final result is a bright, high-contrast, high definition image.

DLP technology is an entirely unique way of producing high definition picture, and it's sharp as a knife. As the market for affordable HDTV sets expanded, the DLP technology was met with too much competition and is now almost completely faded out from the market. The market for HDTV's these days saturated with LCD, Plasma and LED displays as they have become cheaper to manufacture. However I have a funny feeling these DLP sets with physical light processing engines may be of value again some day in the distant future as antiques, simply because there are not any technologies for HDTV quite like it.


that's some wild shit. mad respect. i've replaced lcd backlights but nothing that could boil my hands off :D i don't doubt a lot of that stuff is toxic.

[spunkloaf]

;D

crysis 1 or 2? or warhead?


I have Crysis 1. But I can't find it anywhere... Dammit. Now I wanna play it. I'm hungry for some bacon and eggs, too.

[Conley]

all three are well worth playing, imo, but crysis 1 was the best.

[Conley]

this looks awesome

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/panzer-corps/review.html?tag=summary%3Bread-review

http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2011/199/reviews/614702_20110719_640screen002.jpg

[Mister D]

this looks awesome

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/panzer-corps/review.html?tag=summary%3Bread-review

http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2011/199/reviews/614702_20110719_640screen002.jpg


That was my thing when I played PC games. I like all eras.

This was my all time favorite for a tactical simulation. Incredible.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/takecommand2ndmanassas/index.html

[Conley]

that game sounds pretty sweet and looks good for 2006 standards. i wonder what the development company has put out since.

[Conley]

ever try this one?

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/sidmeiersgettysburg/index.html?tag=gallery_summary%3Btitle&tag=stitialclk%3Bgamespace

edit: woah, didn't realize it was so old

[Mister D]

ever try this one?

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/sidmeiersgettysburg/index.html?tag=gallery_summary%3Btitle&tag=stitialclk%3Bgamespace

edit: woah, didn't realize it was so old


Yeah, Sid's are classics. This came out before I had a PC at home.