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Civilization III Interview
10:37 AM | Eddie Park | Comment on this story
In celebration of the completion of the PC version of Civilization III, gaming site GameSpot will be releasing three days of coverage on the RTS/empire game sequel, complete with a feature preview, a video preview and daily helpings of screenshots. The celebration has been kicked off with an in-depth interview with Firaxis' CEO Jeff Briggs and designer extraordinaire Sid Meier.
For fans of the previous Civ games wondering what changes they'll see in this latest installment, Briggs lists what he feels are the most significant improvements: an enhanced trade system, more detailed combat, the new "culture" feature, a beefed-up diplomacy factor, a powerful world map generator and the upgraded art, sound, and animation. He further adds that veteran Civ playeres should find Civ III familiar, yet completely new as well.
Briggs also expounds on the upgraded tech trees:
One of the most noticeable differences between Civilization III and its predecessors lies in the technology tree. First of all, a fully interactive tech tree can now be found in the game. The tech advances have been restructured, with new technologies (free artistry, ecology, integrated defense, and so on) added, the requirements for research for many advances altered, and in some cases the benefits dramatically changed. The "age" that a civilization has reached is now closely tied to the tech tree, with certain advances required before that civilization can move into the next age, so portions of the tech tree will be closed until the player can reach the appropriate age. Responding to those that preferred to play the previous Civs as a "take over the world" sort of game, Briggs also notes the significant upgrades made to the combat system. Combat units are now highly specialized, and the ways players can attack have been expanded to 5 types: ground, naval, bombardment, missile, and air.
Also discussed is the powerful new cultural factor, which will allow clever players to conquer the world without ever exerting military influence:
There is the potential for a player to absorb cities due to spreading cultural influence. When the boundaries of opposing civilizations come together, the next expansion of either may see the citizens of a city decide that the "stronger" culture is more worthy of their loyalty. It is perfectly possible for players focused on maximizing their culture to expand at the expense of their neighbors without resorting to the uncertainty of combat. There are few pleasures in Civilization III greater than getting the announcement that the citizens of another civilization, awed by your culture, have overthrown their governor to join your glorious realm. The rest of the interview goes into even further detail regarding factors such as new units, the various paths to victory, and design challenges faced by the team. For those interested in beefing up their Civ III knowledge, be sure to check out the rest of the interview at GameSpot. Westlake currently holds the porting responsibilities of Civ III, and though their status page still has it listed as "Early Development," a recent interview with Mark Adams at MacGamez has him quoted as saying that "they've made a lot of progress on it just recently."
 GameSpot - Civilization III Interview
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