Why Civilization VII is worse than Civilization VI.

It is quite clear now that Civilization VII is going to be dark age of the Civilization franchise. Considering how successful it has been over the past 30 years, the stumbling of Civilization VII probably hurts the franchise more now than if it had happened with the earlier sequels.

Civilization as a franchise has been seen as a titan in its own genre. However, there is always a time where a franchise ends up unable to balance innovation with a respect for people who spent hours playing and the vibrant modding scene that helped breathe life into these games. The obsession with optimizing gameplay is one of the reasons why the AAA gaming space is in decline and independent companies are being handed the torch by customers who want quality games that are not just content on a screen.

Civilization III always felt more like a Civ game than any of the games after Civ IV. In this screenshot above you can see how the game tried to simulate diplomacy has having more than just leaders speak at each other. The foreign advisor gave very useful information about military strength, cultural strength and resources available for sale.

The early Civilization games were more than just painting a map. They were about building a civilization with warts and all.

In the 1990s, due to the genre being smaller and more niche, gamers could be more forgiving of errors. However, the genre has many more casual fans who paradoxically want more sophistication in games but not too much. Firaxis has a great issue here. They either cut budgets and focus on a smaller audience or increase budgets to AAA levels and end up alienating the hardcore fanbase that keeps the games vibrant and profitable beyond the initial releases.

As the cost of making games increases, there is more of a need for game companies to sell out to the mainstream.

The mainstream is not really interested in highbrow games and really only tolerate them if they are worth their interest at the start. The hardcore fans are willing to stay with a game and even improve it if it is not meeting their expectations.

However, there comes a breaking point where hardcore fans are unwilling to accept mediocrity passing off as excellence.

Civilization VII proves true the axiom; beauty is only skin deep. The woman above in the screenshot is probably too well dressed for an Ancient Japanese woman in the Jomon era but Civilization VII’s developers spent more time with aesthetics rather than making a functional game. A game is not a Tech Demo, which is mainly about the aesthetics. It is something to be used actively by the player not just looked at like a painting on a wall in my opinion.

Civilization VII was basically ignoring the hardcore fans in favor of going after the casual fans. This explains why Firaxis was wasting their time with making a VR version of Civilization VII when they haven’t even improved the gameplay in the PC version of the game.

Meta’s Quest 3 is not a piece of hardware made for Civilization VII. Whatever version of Civilization VII they have for the Quest 3, it is a novelty item just like the Power Glove and the Virtua Boy for the Nintendo. There is no reason for why the game is on this platform especially so soon after the release of the game in February.

Why Civilization VI is surpassing Civilization VII on Steam?

There is a simple reason why the game is doing so poorly on Steam. It isn’t a worthy successor to the sixth game. Having the name “Civilization” on the title isn’t enough to sell a game now. You need to earn the respect of the gamers who made Civilization what it is. The man who played a Civilization II for so many years is the type of player who keeps games that came out that early in public consciousness.

Who is going to be playing a 15 year old game of Civilization VII? The movement away from sandbox gameplay is one of the reasons why people are not staying with this game.

The sixth game had its issues, but it had its fanbase that was willing to support it. Civilization VI peaked at about 160,000 players when it came out. In comparison, Civilization VII was only able to get about slightly above 84,000 players. Civilization VII was also being surpassed by Civilization VI numbers quickly after its release.

Civilization VI released in October 2016. It still the most popular and successful of all the Civilization games. I show you this screenshot of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon wonder to emphasize how this game in spite of its flaws was well made.

Civilization V and Civilization V were similar enough to synergize with one another. Civilization VII, in its pursuit of being different to distract from its own quality issues, is simply not appealing to enough new fans for it to stand on its own.

Civilization VI has been pretty strong in its player count since the release of Civ 7. It has been hovering around 30,000 players on the weekends. Civilization VII has basically disappeared from the grouping of top games. For such a heavyweight as the Civilization franchise, not being in the top games is a cause for concern. The Civilization games have been dominating the charts for many years and yet it seems to have run out of creative juices. The emergence of some competitors such as Humankind and Millenia.

The company who made Civilization VII has to understand that the standards are not the same. Instead of attempting to meet the challenge, they decided to hide the game under glossy advertising and music.

As much as Firaxis may want to spend their time thinking otherwise, Civilization VII is not doing so well right now. This is the time for bold action not doubling down on what is not working right now.

Why is Civilization VI better than Civilization VII?

In my opinion, Civilization VI’s Trajan vs Civilization VII’s Augustus is a clear sign of how quality was declining with the most recent release.

The answer is quite simple. Civilization VI is focused on making the fans happy rather than making a game which is only seen to prop up the company. Civilization VII seems like a game that was made for people who dislike Civilization games and that was an error in the how they were approaching the development of this game.

We should not have an issue with people not finishing their games. That should be the main interest of someone making a sequel to one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history. They should focus on making the game fun, not focusing on problems that on the player not the person making the game.

Civilization VII’s problem: Not letting people not finish a game

Sometimes allowing a game to not be finished are the stories that are worth telling about it.

Civilization II famously had a player who spent years playing a game where it became engulfed in war and conflict. This was a game that was released in the PlayStation One era and yet it was still captivating many people. Unlike Civilization VII, I believe that many of the previous Civilization games, will continue to get praise in the years to come.

Civilization VII represents the dark age of a once great series.

Logitech M720 Triathlon: Best Budget Mouse for Work and Play

The M720 Triathlon is one of the best mice for the right price.

The humble computer mouse has gone through quite a journey. The mouse now is a slick and comfortable piece of hardware, but not all mice are built the same.

The Logitech M720 Triathlon Mouse is one of those mice that is well worth the money. Unlike other mice such as those sold at Walmart, this mouse is slightly above the budget price point of other mice.

My previous mouse, a smaller Logitech mouse, was not as comfortable to use.

Unlike the older mouse, this mouse has interesting and unique features in comparison.

One of the unique features to the M720 Triathlon Mouse is the button in the center of the mouse.

The middle button, located near the mouse wheel functions as a way of increasing scroll speed on the cursor. When the button is loose, the scroll speed is much faster on the browsers. Pressing it down when put the scroll speed back to a regular speed on the browser; such a feature is useful for when you are trying to get through long pages quickly on the computer.

The mouse also has three buttons on the left side of the mouse. These buttons can be mapped for any function in any program of your choice. Having these extra buttons make this mouse more useful for people who are looking for easier ways to multitask at the office or for some gamers looking for a budget mouse.

Gamers, specifically, may want a mouse that has more buttons on it. I find the M720 Triathlon mouse to be more useful in an office setting than in the gaming or video editing settings.

What is the price of the M720 Triathlon Mouse?

The Mouse is available for 34.99 at Walmart. It is pricer than some smaller, Logitech mice, but it is worth the additional investment due to its ergonomics and extra buttons.

The Imperial City Sewers in Oblivion Remastered: A Testament to Great Environmental Storytelling

The Imperial City Sewers in Oblivion Remastered Edition.

The Imperial City is one of my favorite places in Oblivion. When the Remastered Oblivion was released in April, I went straight into the city, trying to see what had been changed by the people renovating the game. I was happy to see that the Imperial City got a much needed change in its style and I was taking screenshots everywhere I was walking in the metropolis of the Septim Empire.

There was another aspect of the city that I enjoyed from the original game. This was the sewers of the Imperial City, which Bethesda had put so much effort into. In comparison to most games, Bethesda seems to remember that cities have infrastructure and have an inner life beneath their streets.

While the Imperial City Sewers may seem like a boring place, I think it makes a big impression on me. That Bethesda would spend their time putting effort into the Imperial City sewers, and give it a sense of verticality and not just make them into linear areas, is a great way of giving more depth into the Imperial City as a character.

When one thinks about cities in Video games, they tend to revolving more around the player and do not seem like livable places. However, in Bethesda’s games, they have managed to build cities that seem inviting to the player without revolving around them.

The sewers are a city onto themselves and that is saying something about the design of the Imperial City. When one enters through the gates of the sewers, one is treated to underground world where sewage and all various creatures and bandits are coexisting with one another in the bowels of the empire.

Some people say that the game starting in a sewer hurts the game; I actually say that it improves the moment when you exit the sewers and see the Elven ruins in front of you. It shows great contrasts in the colors and the mood there. You go from a place of confinement into a place filled with the possibility of adventure. It that feeeling which makes us want to explore the world and not follow the main quest.

Bethesda is really great at getting us to care about such environments and Oblivion Remastered could give us a taste of what’s to come with The Elder Scrolls VI.

This is what was missing in a game such as Skyrim. The cities in that game were simply too small and I felt like even the big cities were lacking an inner nature. The sewers of the Imperial City seem to imply a history beyond the player. There is infrastructure which keeps cities running and Bethesda manages to simulate it.

Imperial City Sewer Openings in the game.

The sewers beckon to the player like an underground realm of Hades. It is remarkable how the developers made such an effort at bringing to life a place that people do not go to. It is important to understand how the nooks and cranies aspect of Bethesda’s games is what makes them special as role playing games.

Their environments is their strength. When I go into any Bethesda game, I notice how they tell great stories through the cities and environments in those games.

Oblivion Remastered gave me what I wanted to have in a game. I did not want a linear experience that was on rails. I want a living, breathing world full of possiblities.

Bethesda knows how to scratch that itch that no other developer can. That is why the Elder Scrolls series is a truly special among gamers.