Have Civilization 5 - What to buy now?

[jdoggg12]

So I don't really wanna spend more than $15 on games right now. I blew my load in the steam summer sale. But, I got the Civ5 base game and the reviews seem to agree that it's broken without the updates/additions made in the expansions. So, that said, what's the best way to go and **why**?

 

[JamesV]

I put in over 200 hours in the base game, and never felt like anything was 'broken'.

I guess it depends on whether you loved Civ 4, which I hardly put 30 hours into, because those players have been very vocal on Civ 5 'being broken'. Which seems silly to me, because with religion, the base game is pretty much the same; just more options.

 

[el-Capitan]

Yes, the game had many flaws and bugs in the original release. This is likely what the reviews are referring to. However, it was still well playable following the adjustment coming from Civ IV. With all the patching, much has been done in terms of bugs and balancing. I expect the vanilla version to play well now. Give it a shot.

The only noteworthy DLC is the G&K and BNW. The rest is just scenarios and civilizations that will only interest players who have already sunk a lot of time into this game.

Save your money and play vanilla. Learn the ropes. Wait for the big DLC to go on sale. Civ has been heavily discounted in the past. I'm sure it'll come again.

 

[darkewaffle]

Amazon currently has a pretty big digital sale going on, link here, which includes the Civ expansions/some Civ bundles. T

I never played Civ V prior to G&K, but I feel like BNW really did a lot to expand the game. Trade Routes are a real game changer with the way they affect gold income and 'power levelling' new cities which both affect growth significantly. The World Congress can be very powerful as well, both positively and negatively. I still haven't made much headway into the culture endgame/archeology/tourism/idealogies though as my friends like to start games too late at night

I can't speak to the base game but I feel like both of the expansions are very worth additions.

Actually Newegg is even better atm.

G&K $9
BNW $12

 

[jdoggg12]

I've got about 15 hours into the vanilla game so far... what frustrates me the most is the arbitrary denouncements and wars that the NPC nations make... they tend to go something like this

Germany: Hi nice to me you.
Me: You too. K thx bye.

I mind my own for a few turns.

Germany: I denounce you! Everyone should know your dirty little secret!
Me: WTF?! I was building a barn!

 

[crashtestdummy]

Amazon seems to have XCOM for $10. I got it during the steam summer sale and it's a lot of fun, despite a couple bug here and there. I recommend playing it on ironman, as it adds a sense of intensity that's lost without it. (It's hard to worry about whether that 55% shot is going to land when you can just access an earlier save.)

 

[UglyCasanova]

Newegg has the expansion pack Brave New World for $11.99 today. It includes all of the updates from Gods and Kings sans the civs plus new stuff.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Actually Newegg is even better atm.

G&K $9
BNW $12

Thanks! Just orderd BNW.

 

[jdoggg12]

Newegg has the expansion pack Brave New World for $11.99 today. It includes all of the updates from Gods and Kings sans the civs plus new stuff.

Just read this in another post too... BNW it is! TY!

 

[Kyle]

Amazon seems to have XCOM for $10. I got it during the steam summer sale and it's a lot of fun, despite a couple bug here and there. I recommend playing it on ironman, as it adds a sense of intensity that's lost without it. (It's hard to worry about whether that 55% shot is going to land when you can just access an earlier save.)

Completely agree- I also picked it up during the summer sale and am loving it- last game in a looong time that I played for 6+ hrs in a sitting

 

[Clinkster]

Newegg has the expansion pack Brave New World for $11.99 today. It includes all of the updates from Gods and Kings sans the civs plus new stuff.

I would get this 100%. I bought BNW at $30 a month ago. This includes everything you need.

 

[CPA]

I've got about 15 hours into the vanilla game so far... what frustrates me the most is the arbitrary denouncements and wars that the NPC nations make... they tend to go something like this

Germany: Hi nice to me you.
Me: You too. K thx bye.

I mind my own for a few turns.

Germany: I denounce you! Everyone should know your dirty little secret!
Me: WTF?! I was building a barn!

they may not be as arbitrary as you think. You may be pushing up against their boarders, becoming friends of their enemies or trespassing in City-States that they are allies with. It's a lot less arbitrary than a game like Fallen Enchantress.

 

[jdoggg12]

they may not be as arbitrary as you think. You may be pushing up against their boarders, becoming friends of their enemies or trespassing in City-States that they are allies with. It's a lot less arbitrary than a game like Fallen Enchantress.

It says when I'm pushing up on their borders. What I get irritated at is when it's just "You're a d**k, I'm telling the world that you're a d**k" But that's it, no reason why.

I've learned that there's NO reason to allow open borders unless I initiate it. 75% of the time, it's a ploy to get close to my cities and attack. The trading also seems random...

Them: I want 500 Gold, here's 3 candy wrappers and a used tooth brush
Me: Uhhh, how about 500 gold for a horse
Them: "That's not even close to fair! 'how DARE you, this is an 81 Honda!!'"

or

Them: Can we have open borders, pretty please?
Me: OK, but since my land/army is 72x the size of yours, how about you give me 5 gold?
Them: You're crazy if you thnk that's on the same planet as fair

or

Me: Hi country of any relative size of my own, wanna do open borders? What'll it take?
Them: 25 horses, 500 gold, 20 silver, 10 uranium, 1st born child, and 2 nights with your wife
Me: How about all that, but only 495 gold instead of 500?
Them: I declare war on you!!!!

 

[Bateluer]

OP, if you want a 4X game like Civ5, but not broken and casualized, you can likely get Civ4 complete for fairly cheap. Its 30 now, but comes on sale regularly.

 

[Mopetar]

It says when I'm pushing up on their borders. What I get irritated at is when it's just "You're a d**k, I'm telling the world that you're a d**k" But that's it, no reason why.

If you open the diplomacy tab and mouse over the relationship (i.e. where it says hostile, friendly, etc.) it will list the reasons for that relationship. I don't think the system is perfect, as I've seen cases where I can go from guarded to friendly simply by doing one or two things that please them even if I've been annoying them the entire game.

I've learned that there's NO reason to allow open borders unless I initiate it. 75% of the time, it's a ploy to get close to my cities and attack.

Even if you have open boarders, they can't declare war without getting pushed out of your boarders. Sometimes it's better to have them try to declare war on you when they're inside your boarders because it will screw up their formation when they get pushed back.

The trading also seems random...

Them: I want 500 Gold, here's 3 candy wrappers and a used tooth brush
Me: Uhhh, how about 500 gold for a horse

There's a general gold value that they place on things, but they'll try to shaft you. A lot of the times they'll try to tack on extras when they present deals, such as wanting extra strategic resources that you don't need to give them.

I really didn't care for the base game all that much, but with Brave New World, it's a lot better. It's almost like Civilization IV without any of the expansions. They could still stand to make some other improvements to the game, such as making religion more important.

 

[jdoggg12]

Good to know, thank you! I'll have to dig deeper

 

[paperfist]

I've got about 15 hours into the vanilla game so far... what frustrates me the most is the arbitrary denouncements and wars that the NPC nations make... they tend to go something like this

Germany: Hi nice to me you.
Me: You too. K thx bye.

I mind my own for a few turns.

Germany: I denounce you! Everyone should know your dirty little secret!
Me: WTF?! I was building a barn!

I've been playing G&K and haven't noticed this happening much anymore. I actually just completed 2 games without anyone waring with me.

 

[Clinkster]

I've been playing G&K and haven't noticed this happening much anymore. I actually just completed 2 games without anyone waring with me.

Yeah, the terrible NPC behavior was improved in BNW too. I highly suggest avoiding vanilla Civ5 and playing from the expansions.

 

[paperfist]

Yeah, the terrible NPC behavior was improved in BNW too. I highly suggest avoiding vanilla Civ5 and playing from the expansions.

I must say I was in the same boat at the OP as I'm sure most of us were. I've been playing a lot of BNW and the game has finally been fun to play. That, "Just one more turn" feeling is back along with playing till 5AM.

But it's going to cost the OP more than $15.

 

[jdoggg12]

Well, after installing BNW, I can attest that much of the crap that annoyed me has been addressed. The game is much better now!