Octopus Overlords

It's announced. It's in development. What have you heard, if anything? (I've not found much...I do wish I would have kept in touch with Sid).

Link? I saw "the next Civ game" announced a few days ago but there wasn't a 7 after it.

Thanks. They're still being coy about that numeral. Maybe they plan to take a cue from Microsoft and skip right to Civ 10.

I see a lot of wishful chatter in the Facebook group, ranging from people who mostly want cosmetic tweaks to those who want it to evolve into Alpha Centuari...but nothing informative.

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 4:42 pm Thanks. They're still being coy about that numeral. Maybe they plan to take a cue from Microsoft and skip right to Civ 10.

Or Civilization One

It’s been long enough that they can drop the number completely IMO. No one’s playing or even talking about the original anymore.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 4:42 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 4:42 pm Thanks. They're still being coy about that numeral. Maybe they plan to take a cue from Microsoft and skip right to Civ 10.

Or Civilization One

Or Alpha Centauri 2.

I would dearly love Alpha Centauri 2. But I was sticking with the Microsoft naming conventions.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 6:50 pm I would dearly love Alpha Centauri 2. But I was sticking with the Microsoft naming conventions.

SMAC allowed the Civ paradigm to be character driven in away that would be absurd if they took character traits any further than they already do. They didn't do this with the Civ 5 space spin-off, and the result was a pretty dull game. Can you imagine SMAC with a pool of 50 or so unique leaders to choose from? It wouldn't be easy to create that many independent back stories that are at once compatible and antagonistic with each of the other races. It would, I think, be a worthwhile effort.

SMAC had its share of issues though. If Lorini were still around, she'd vouch for that -- we were both playtesters in the only game I was associated with that the playtest was done right, even if all of our concerns weren't addressed (the color scheme was the big one). The expansion (SMACX) was a precursor to what is now DLC, and done to a much larger degree. I don't think I have, but it could be a box down in the basement, the game boxes signed by Sid and Brian -- we insisted on a value-added reward since the well-managed beta demanded much more of our time.

Back to present -- I think Civ 6 is every way an upgrade to Civ 5, which reimagined the game from the first 4 iterations. I've not had the inclination go back to 5, even in the early years when Civ 6 was still half-assed. Civ 6 is also playable on more platforms than any other version -- my concern is how this plays in to it when determining the features. If their breadbox shifted from PC to console and mobile, we might be looking at a simplified interface that brings the horrors of Sid Meier's Railroads! to the beloved franchise. But they've shown no signs of this in the past, my concern is mainly that they've showed in the past they can make the golden goose lay plastic, candy-filled eggs.

My complaints with SMAC were the coloring and the obscure techs that was hard to fathom.
I actually dug it out again and am playing it.

I probably spent more time with Alpha Centauri and Alien Crossfire than I did with any of the Civ games. I mean, not DBT/JeffV time, but still.

Actually I'm now playing SM Civilization Beyond Earth not SMAC. I got carried away in the heat of the moment. But having said that I may just load t in.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 10:47 pm Actually I'm now playing SM Civilization Beyond Earth not SMAC. I got carried away in the heat of the moment. But having said that I may just load t in.

Beyond Earth was tepid to say the least -- I consider it the most generic of all Civ games, once you've played and one, you're done. SMAC actually had a compelling back story which evolved as the game went on -- the factions were plausible and well-implemented. It was a Brian Reynolds project, perhaps he was the only one in the organization with a vision for that sort of game (if so, I wish he'd have carried it to his BHG offerings).