27-07-2005 21:52									#1
	When I get Civ4, the first thing I'll do is... Tired of ads?

So... let's say you have just installed the game, what is the first thing you will do? I know I am going to start a new game, and check out all the new things, and generally take my time reading and testing everything.

I know we've got a lot of different players and ways of playing the game here, so the poll is certainly not covering them all Just post your plans!

	27-07-2005 21:56									#2
	Inflate your Upload Space

read the manual

	27-07-2005 22:05									#3
	Suffering from ads?

Take a look at the manual while installing. Depending on my patience and manual thickness, read all of it, but I'll at least look over the new concepts - health, religions, unit experience and whatever else is in. Then start a SP game on the fair difficulty, whatever it is, and enjoy it.

	27-07-2005 22:12									#4
	Support Apolyton

Ditto Solver's post.

	27-07-2005 22:21									#5
	Put an end to popups!

in all likely hood i'll have 5 chapters to read for class, and probably a date with my girlfriend.

so I probably wont start a game for a day or 2 after i buy it.

	27-07-2005 22:24									#6
	Suffering from ads?

quote: @maniac: read the manual

Damn, forgot about that... Probably because I really only read it while the game installs (like Solver) - after that, it's just playing. The only manual I ever read from start to end was the Sim Life manual, it was a mesmerizing read. It helped me a lot in biology class

	27-07-2005 22:35									#7
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

quote: Originally posted by Ninot in all likely hood i'll have 5 chapters to read for class, and probably a date with my girlfriend. so I probably wont start a game for a day or 2 after i buy it.

	27-07-2005 22:41									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

"Start a game and take my time to try out all the new stuff" or "Come here to apolyton and tell everybody that you have it"?

Tough decision...

Come here first, post, and THEN start a game.

	27-07-2005 23:03									#9
	Full PM-box? Change here!

First, I don't plan to announce I have the game for some time. I want to put together a serious review for the people waiting to buy the game and/or waiting for the game to be released in their part of the world.

So to do a good review, I'll first read the manual very carefully. I don't want to be for or against something in my review if I misunderstand how it actually works. Obviously a good manual will help this process.

Next step will be to get the Windex glass cleaner and get my 22" monitor looking absolutely flawless.

I'll then adjust any lighting in the room to avoid any glare on the screen.

I'll start my typical crazy testing setup: Super small map, lots of resources, mostly land, and as many civs as possible (all aggressive so as to not get any resource feeder civ on my side). The goal here is to get to as many of the game elements as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. I want to bang out a string of games within a few days.

Throughout the process, I'll have a Word document in the background, to which I'll drop to keep notes, screenshots, etc.

Hopefully having found some of the game's best and worst elements, I'll expand the map size to see if that changes much. If there are no show stoppers, this is when I'll finally start simply to play the game for pleasure and can begin to think about a proper review based on solid experience.

	27-07-2005 23:07									#10
	Put an end to popups!

Yin, why don't you first play the game just to enjoy it?
Don't you think anyway that it's impossible to write a good review within 2 or 4 weeks after it's release, after you've played it a few times?

I'll most probably take a bath and read the manual in bad, then after that bath I'll play the game just to explore it.

	27-07-2005 23:12									#11
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Step 1: Install
Step 2: Play 3 games
Step 3: Uninstall
Step 4: Fire up SMAC and enjoy the peak of Firaxian gaming goodness...

	27-07-2005 23:13									#12
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Cyber: That *is* how I enjoy a game when I first play it! I'm looking for reasons to commit/not commit to the game long-term, so that's my usual approach. If there's something in there I don't like (I mean something serious), then I'll pause from the game for a while, watch the forum discussions and patch announcements. I won't pick up again unless the issue is fixed. Yes, this means that very few games keep me actively involved for more than a few weeks. Yes, maybe that's my tough luck.

I should say, though, that Gigantic Map, Land, Bountiful Resources, Tons of (aggressive) Civs is where I'd ultimately want to game to function at its best. Just not sure I could wait *that* long before doing a review...

Anyway, to recap: I'd read the manual and clean my monitor screen and asjust lighting to give my eyes the best chance of surviving very late-nighters.

	27-07-2005 23:30									#13
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

You know Yin, if you try a small map with 8 aggressive civs, you can hardly expect the game to work the way its supposed to. No one will have room for more than 2 cities, and you will have to war constantly so you won't get to experience any of the peaceful aspects.

My idea is the opposite - play one game on standard settings, wait a while before going to war, and see how it unfolds.

	27-07-2005 23:34									#14
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

Solver: What I'm testing there specifically is AI aggressiveness and diplomacy. Abundant resources and land map helps this. And, frankly, if the war aspect of the game is flawed, then I'll be quite worried (I don't want Civ to be all about war, but the war aspect needs to be handled well). More generally just to finish a few games as a tutorial. Only if I find something really broken here will I walk away with a conclusion about much. From there, larger maps to get more nuance, test peace-time strategy, etc.

	27-07-2005 23:43									#15
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

quote: Originally posted by Maniac read the manual

While playing my first game.

	28-07-2005 00:04									#16
	Put an end to popups!

First thing I would do is download a hacked no-cd exe so I don't have to worry about putting the disk in every time I play in the future...

	28-07-2005 00:11									#17
	Remove this text

Or give Alcohol 120% a try (no need to wait for a crack). You own the disk. Make a perfect image and mount it -- also means no need to worry if a patch comes out and having to find a new crack.

This is a good point I failed to mention! O.K. 1) Read manual 2) Image the disk 3) Clean the monitor. This thread did ask for the first 3 things you'd do, right?

	28-07-2005 00:12									#18
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

quote: Originally posted by yin26 First, I don't plan to announce I have the game for some time. I want to put together a serious review for the people waiting to buy the game and/or waiting for the game to be released in their part of the world. So to do a good review, I'll first read the manual very carefully. I don't want to be for or against something in my review if I misunderstand how it actually works. Obviously a good manual will help this process. Next step will be to get the Windex glass cleaner and get my 22" monitor looking absolutely flawless. I'll then adjust any lighting in the room to avoid any glare on the screen. I'll start my typical crazy testing setup: Super small map, lots of resources, mostly land, and as many civs as possible (all aggressive so as to not get any resource feeder civ on my side). The goal here is to get to as many of the game elements as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. I want to bang out a string of games within a few days. Throughout the process, I'll have a Word document in the background, to which I'll drop to keep notes, screenshots, etc. Hopefully having found some of the game's best and worst elements, I'll expand the map size to see if that changes much. If there are no show stoppers, this is when I'll finally start simply to play the game for pleasure and can begin to think about a proper review based on solid experience.

This makes you sound kind of pretentious.

	28-07-2005 00:14									#19
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

Lord Nuclear: Where to start...

EDIT: A few people have asked me specifically for a review, if that's what you mean. I take the opportunity seriously. As for the rest of it, nothing pretentious there, right?

Last edited by yin26 on 28-07-2005 at 00:21

	28-07-2005 00:23									#20
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

I'll give up sex for 3 days while I play. Well maybe just 2.

	28-07-2005 00:26									#21
	Remove this text

So does this mean you plan to purchase a copy Yin?

	28-07-2005 00:29									#22
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

I'll take a look at the manual while the game installs, and then I'll start my first game (with Greece, to honor an old tradition of mine) and I'll explore what the game has to offer. I hope it is going to be a looong night...

	28-07-2005 00:31									#23
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

quote: Originally posted by Ninot So does this mean you plan to purchase a copy Yin?

Nah, Markos will send him one because we all hope to see pictures of Yin eating the box.

Unless, of course, ICS is still alive and kicking...

	28-07-2005 00:33									#24
	Increase Your PM Length

Ninot: Well, if an interested party sends me a copy to review (which I think has some chance of happening), I'll do so immediately. Otherwise I'd rather not get a copy right away without reading some solid reviews on Poly first. Hey, will do you any Day 1 review stuff?

	28-07-2005 00:34									#25
	Put an end to popups!

like i posted earlier, depends on if i can get home and install it on day 1

i'll post a review as soon as i play enough of it tho, as long as thats not like a month later.

	28-07-2005 00:36									#26
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

quote: Originally posted by yin26 Lord Nuclear: Where to start... EDIT: A few people have asked me specifically for a review, if that's what you mean. I take the opportunity seriously. As for the rest of it, nothing pretentious there, right?

Oh, I wasn't aware people had ask you to right a review for the game.

I think that if you do want to write a good review though, you should probably delay it a bit more, so you can play the different types of games and scenarios, and even Multiplayer. You can't rate the game only based on a small map with many civs.

	28-07-2005 00:41									#27
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

quote: You can't rate the game only based on a small map with many civs.

quote: Hopefully having found some of the game's best and worst elements, I'll expand the map size to see if that changes much. If there are no show stoppers, this is when I'll finally start simply to play the game for pleasure and can begin to think about a proper review based on solid experience.

quote: (regarding small maps, lots of civs, etc.) What I'm testing there specifically is AI aggressiveness and diplomacy. Abundant resources and land map helps this. And, frankly, if the war aspect of the game is flawed, then I'll be quite worried (I don't want Civ to be all about war, but the war aspect needs to be handled well). More generally just to finish a few games as a tutorial. Only if I find something really broken here will I walk away with a conclusion about much. From there, larger maps to get more nuance, test peace-time strategy, etc.

	28-07-2005 00:44									#28
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Load up game.
Mod out infinite rails (if possible).
Copy music to Jukebox and add to my gamemix list.
Play.
Screw up.

	28-07-2005 02:13									#29
	Full PM-box? Change here!

quote: Load up game. Mod out infinite rails (if possible).

	28-07-2005 02:16									#30
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Cry.