Haven’t done a podcast post in a while, and since I was finally on one about a game that people have heard of, I thought I should link you all to the show we did about Civilization V: Brave New World.
Rob opens the show with an interesting question: Do the additions that BNW makes to Civilization V push the game in a Frankenstein direction? Are systems being cobbled up on top of systems, risking making the tight original design an unholy and unwieldy mess?
You can listen to the show for our particular answer there, since it’s a bit of yes and a bit of no, but it is almost impossible to talk about the changes in BNW without reference to seemingly incomplete systems that were introduced in Gods & Kings.
This is always a risk, of course, when you have multiple discreet systems and then try to integrate them. My game has gotten much slower and I have to drop down to Warlord difficulty for a while just to get my bearings. The addition of caravans and proper trade routes has done a lot to both enthrall and confuse me, all the while forcing me to build more camels instead of libraries or granaries. The Great Works feature is pretty cool, but it would be nice if maybe the tourism was more visible on the map somehow; I can see culture (roughly) by my borders, I can see the trade connections, I can see the religion but I can’t see Iroquois tourists visiting The Louvre in Jakarta. (And I’m still not clear on how a great work of writing brings tourists, but this is one of those Civ fudges that we all live with.)
It’s been interesting watching Civ evolve over the years, though, seriously, I’d love for the series to get a big long rest.
I have been waiting for your thoughts on BNW; will you be making other posts?
I think it is a Frankenstein but like a constructed body it comes together to create a symbiotic system which also has enough depth & complexity for the hardcore to chase down the rabbit hole. I don’t find it unwieldy – in fact, i think the diversity of (powerful) tools is a great strength.
Overall you are correct, i find the pace slower because of the necessary construction of money-making buildings & units. The minimal gold at the start limits the potential for early aggression (AI and human) & forces you to build ‘safely’ as you don’t have the gold to solve deficiencies.
While it is a ‘classic civ fudge’ consider that Stratford Upon Avon only has tourists because of Shakespeare. For people who don’t (and do) listen to classical, a Mozart concert in Vienna is a big tourist draw among the other relics of Habsburg grandeur
I’m still processing my feelings on this expansion, but there is one thing I am certain of: the mechanics of the Venice civ are very cool, and playing them is a refreshing change of pace.
Two podcasts on Civ5’s Brave New World and not one with Tom Chick deflating the game? Tom versus Rob on BNW would be awesome.
Tom was supposed to be on the Civ show with us but had to cancel.
Ask Dennis why the hotseat mode is still bugged like a hell.