After playing LH... I tried Civ 5 and got bored

from Elemental Forums

Hi all,

Posting this here rather than in the general forum... because it's related to LH.  I've hardly played any strategy games other than LH over the last year (and then some) as most of my time has been working on modding (and playing) LH.  Bit of Sorcerer King and a bit of Empire Total War and that's about it.

So I caved in to some recent sales and bought Warlock 2, Crusaders Kings 2 and Civ 5 Complete.....

I'd never played Crusader Kings at all before.. from what i've played now of Crusader Kings 2 I like, complicated but cool game.

Warlock 2, I quite like also.  A fun relatively simple game with limited replayability perhaps... but kinda neat for what it is.  Hope they keep the series going.

 

Then I got onto Civ 5.  Now, don't lynch me for this.... but i've never played Civ before.  Well not quite true I think I played a tiny bit of Civ 3 (or was it 4) way back.... but pretty much never got into it.  I think the idea of a game that moves through the time period from stone age or whatever through to modern era puts me off.... I'd rather just stick in one age/setting I think.

Anyways.... here's the thing, I don't get it.  Is it me or is it just plain boring?  All you do is click next turn, next turn.   Exploration is uninteresting... you find a ruin or some barbarians and that's about it.  Very limited unit types, combat is kinda boring... even Warlock is more interesting when it comes to combat because of the different damage types, resistances and abilities.  No heroes or champion type units to grab your interest... or do they exist and I haven't seen any?  Are there any quest type concepts in Civ because I haven't seen anything like that?  It's tedious to move all those single units around.  Unless i'm mistaken the factions in Civ are exactly the same apart from like 2 units and an ability.  I miss the cloth map and the ability to rotate the camera even.  8(|

 

It just seems there's nothing interesting going on.  A game like LH has champions, quests to undertake, loads of different creatures to fight, spells to think about, wildlands to explore... there's always some interesting decisions or something to do.  About the only (two) things I can see so far that Civ does better is diplomacy... and the overall slickness of the UI and presentation.

Edit -> OK also hexes are better, and the map is kinda nice I guess.

Am I missing something?  What the heck to people see in Civ 5 ?   I realize it might be blasphemy to some to criticize it but i'm genuinely interested in some perspective here.   Maybe Civ 5 is just too much of a "civ building simulation" for me (I know well duh).   Do I need to just push on... and wait for the fun part?   :P

Cheers.

 

44,469 views 19 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Civ V is boring. It does not come close to the quality of gameplay found in Civ IV.

 

If you are insisting a 'Civ V' experience, I recommend Beyond Earth. It'll still wear on you after a while I think, but it's good for 3-4 games. Quite frankly, the lack of unit stacking really kills the game. There isn't enough space to move your units and it turns into a huge board of attrition. It's a bit of a shame really, as mechanics could easily have been added to allow for and increase in the number of stackable units. Even 2-3 units max stack would have made a world of difference.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

CIV IV is the best game ever made (possibly tied with MOO II), and CIV V is just not up to the same standard in my book.

 

Warlock is rather fun, and I have spent tons of time playing it. Crusader Kings scare me as I suck at remembering ppl in real life.

Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

I really like Civ V compared to earlier versions of the game.  True, they streamlined (some would say simplified, but I disagree) some of the game mechanics a bit for the better.  The thing Civ has going for it over a game like LH is found mostly in diplomacy and paths to victory.

Starting with Alpha Centauri, Firaxis have made a concerted effort of making diplomacy a huge aspect of their empire building games, and it shows.  Many aspects of the game affect diplomacy and the interactions you make with one civ can subtly, or sometimes not so subtly, affect the re-actions other civs.

So if you love LH and the fantasy RPG aspect of it, I can definitely see CiV as feeling a bit empty in that department. As GFireflyE said above, if you want the CiV experience with a bit more...interaction I guess, try Beyond Earth, especially if you have an affity towards the sci-fi genre.  There are events that occur which alter the course of the game, and the espionage system is a bit deeper and more interactive than the CiV model, which is fairly static overall.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

I concur.  Civ4 is the best 4x game ever made.  May I suggest you also download and install these three mods, when you feel you have 'conquered' civ4 vanilla.  (1) Fall from Heaven 2 (a fantasy mod but extremely good game play and replay value).  (2) Rhyes and Fall of Civilization,and (2) Rise of Mankind (and then its later incarnation: rise of mankind: a new dawn).  BTW, I am not a big fan of the stack of doom (unlimited stacking of army units).  Rise of Mankind has many options, one of which is to set the maximum number of units allowed per square.  I usually set it at 4 or 6.  Its each player's choice.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

I've pushed on with Civ 5 a bit, I can see the diplomacy is really quite good.  Still kinda boring though.  What amazes me is how many people play this game, it's still in the top 5 most played games on Steam.... I really don't understand why.

I'm more into fantasy (or ancient/medieval period) than sci-fi, so not feeling too enthusiastic about Beyond Earth if it's anything like Civ5.  

Are there any mods, eg. Faerun, maybe Ea or wahtever it's called that are worth playing?

Might go look for a Civ4 special maybe.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting abob101, reply 5

What amazes me is how many people play this game, it's still in the top 5 most played games on Steam.... I really don't understand why.

More than likely, it's the multiplayer aspects that are drawing them to the game.

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Just to add one more echo to the chamber...

I agree Civ V is boring, lifeless, soulless, and about as engaging and immersive as a door knob.

 

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Borg999, reply 7

Just to add one more echo to the chamber...

I agree Civ V is boring, lifeless, soulless, and about as engaging and immersive as a door knob.

 

 

why are you insulting the noble doorknob?

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting ElanaAhova, reply 8


Quoting Borg999,
reply 7

Just to add one more echo to the chamber...

I agree Civ V is boring, lifeless, soulless, and about as engaging and immersive as a door knob.

why are you insulting the noble doorknob?

Yes, I apologize to doorknobs everywhere for making such an unfair comparison. :)

 

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

 It has been awhile since I have played FE:LH, mainly because Civ V(with both expansion) keeps pulling me back. After a marathon game of Civ V, I tell myself I'm going to try something else but within a day I'm firing it up again. 

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Primal_Savage, reply 11

Preaching to the choir?

Nice to know it's not just me, I was just quite disappointed with it.  Having said that, i've played a fair bit more of it now (40 hours)... and I can see that it kinda does have that "one more turn" feeling.... it can definitely get a bit addictive, but I don't think in a super fun kind way.  It's like... next turn, next turn... just a few more turns and i'll have that wonder, or next turn, next turn, just a few more turns and I might be strong enough to make that assault.  Just takes forever to do anything.

Some of the ages seem to flash by so quick though, seems like as soon as I could get swordsmen they became obsolete.  I was like, cool we're into the medieval period... but then by the time I was getting into building some knights and crossbowmen we were moving onto the next era.  All a bit strange for me.... I think i'd prefer and option where the tech moves slower but I guess that doesn't make sense in Civ.

So to me, still kinda boring... but yeah it definitely has some good points it's not all bad:

- Excellent diplomacy, really like it

- Trade is really cool

- City States are kinda fun

- Really good UI, easy and fast... but loads of information available if you want it

- Great help/tutorial stuff in game for newbies like me

(Interesting those points which I think are the games strengths are all probably considered weaknesses in FE:LH)

The whole game is polished like I have never seen before in a game, it's amazingly slick.  The design is in so many ways just spot on, the model and mechanics are really solid...... but it just lacks charm and personally.

FE:LH is way less polished, but just oozes character me thinks. 

 

 

Quoting Primal_Savage, reply 11

Personnally, I think FE:LH has better Explore, worse Expand/Exploit, and different but equal Exterminate. Maybe a slight edge to FE:LH on that last one.

I think the Exploite is quite strong in Civ because the diplomacy and trade is so good, there's ways to exploit other than war that FE:LH doesn't have so much.... but yeah other than that I agree.

 

Interesting anyways.  Now if we could get a b*stard FE:LH/Civ lovechild with the best bits of both games......

 

 

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

Combat in Civ 5 is now much superior to both Civ 4 and FE. The only problem is that tactical AI in Civ 5 is quite weak. 

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting ElanaAhova, reply 4

I concur.  Civ4 is the best 4x game ever made.  May I suggest you also download and install these three mods

Picked up Civ4 on special today.  Downloading FFH2 now.... I know i'm ashamed, I've never played it.   :O

Looking forward to checking it out, from all reports it's kinda decent.   :-"

 

Quoting ElanaAhova, reply 4

Rise of Mankind has many options, one of which is to set the maximum number of units allowed per square.  I usually set it at 4 or 6.  Its each player's choice.

That sounds good, will try it without it first but yeah a stack limit so likes the way to go.

 

Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top

CIV V Diplomacy is good?  It's atrocious and probably the worst aspect of the game next to the combat.   As a Civ IV fanatic, I pre-purchased Civ V before it came out. Huge disappointment.  Civ IV is the game you need to get.  Best game ever.

Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

FFH 2 is superb, though. Still like to read through the lore on my phone while travelling in bus or a tram. 

Reply #17 from Elemental Forums Top

CIV V Diplomacy is good?

Compared to FE/LH? Yes.

Reply #18 from Elemental Forums Top

CIV IV is top of my list of best strategy games ever made :)

Total Annihilation is top for RTS for those who might care ;)

 

 

Reply #19 from Elemental Forums Top

Played a bunch of The civ4 mod master of mana. Its a further development of ffh2 and it is imo The best of The ff2 based mods. Also I think it is still being developed.