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#62 NO EXCUSES Derek Barrett doesn't accept any excuses for a bad civ3 #63 WHAT WE CAN TEACH KIDS WITH CIV James Cobb shows us another side of civ games #64 I WANT IT ALL "The better the games are, the more disappointed the gamers become" says CyberShy #65 TEST OF TIME: CAN IT STAND AGAINST CTP AND SMAC? Dracon says yes without a doubt #66 BRIAN REYNOLDS' CivII.V? (Part I) The legacy of the legendary Brian Reynolds, from the view of Yin COLUMN ARCHIVE

Read Part I

Here's what the safe money says: Make Civ2.5 --- put in some great graphics, put in a few things players have asked for and you thought up yourself (but don't fundamentally change the game whatever you do), and watch the money roll in. Oh, and it WILL roll in. Most Civers are junkies. They can't resist the urge to buy a Civ game, especially one that looks and plays even a little bit better. Safe money says, "Don't rock the boat, Brian." Hmmm. Tempting. You begin to realize that a Civ2.5 would be SO much easier to put together-and it's money in the bank. Yes, Civ 2.5 sounds great. And Civ fans rejoice...

Some Civ fans, that is. As I said up top, a Civ 2.5 just won't interest me. "But it has a 45 minute introductory movie that even Hollywood has nominated for an Emmy in a new category: Best Computer Short! 'Ely outdid himself!' says Entertainment Tonight." I don't care. "But the music is so good Capitol Records is releasing a music CD titled 'Civilisensational'! 'Briggs is a musical genius!' says the London Philharmonic!" Well, maybe I'll just buy the music. "But the A.I. is WAY better-the CPU only trades for empty cities 50% of the time! 'Pure programming genius!' lauds Susan Meier!" O.K., that one almost got me.

Ultimately, I don't think a Civ 2.5 interests Brian Reynolds, either. Brian never got the credit he deserved for basically putting Civ 2 together by himself. Think about that for a moment. The greatest game ever (well, many of us would say) was put together by Brian Reynolds. Sure, he built on a Sid Meier design, but what do people say? "You mean this masterpiece WASN'T made by Sid Meier? That's deceptive!" I can't imagine how much that must suck if you are Brian Reynolds. When is it gonna be Brian's turn, dammit?

So, does Brian really want to just seek out a Civ2.5? That's hard to imagine. He's just too young and too talented to accept that fate willingly. And, unlike before, people are starting to get the idea that Sid is actually out playing golf (he earned it, mind you-in fact, watch for "Sid Meier's Golf" one day in the future). Plus, Brian's got those suggestion lists put together at Apolyton and elsewhere. So many great ideas...so much potential...

"Phone call, Mr. Reynolds, line 3."

"Thanks Stuben."

"Uh, that's 'Stephen,' sir."

"Uh, close the door on your way out. Hello, this is Brian."

"Yeah, it's the publisher. Civ 3's release date has been pushed up again. Strike while it's hot, right baby? Oh, and Reynolds, none of this 'quality first' crap this time around, eh pal? The fish are biting now!"

**SIGH**

"Yeah, sure. No problem."

Knock! Knock!

"What?!"

"It's me, Steven Chao."

"Weren't you just here?"

"No, that was Stephen, sir. Stephen. I'm Steven."

"Dear God..."

"Another list of suggestions for Civ 3 has been sent from the fans, sir."

"Put it on the pile and go do something. Quietly. Wait. On second thought, have a seat, Stacey. Ever been to England...?"

Well, I'm not sure what we can expect from the next Civ game, but here's what Sid said when people pushed him to do Civ2: "I really sensed a danger that I didn't want to get into this 'topping myself every time' phenomenon. I saw mental illness down that road. I said I am not going to get in the business of topping Civilization and then trying to top what comes after Civilization. There lies madness."

Well, you're in it now, Brian, so I say go down (or UP) fighting! Top yourself! Take Civ3 to an entirely new level! Show the world what you are capable of! This is it: The Civ Leagues! Besides, version 2 of the Apolyton list is coming to you soon, and that should make things so much easier. =)

Then again, that clock is ticking, and the quarterly financials just arrived...

I wish you the greatest success, Brian, whichever path you choose. If it matters, people know who made Civ 2 (but many are just still too shocked to talk about it in public). If creating Civ 3 ever causes you to start losing your grip, do what I occasionally do: Fire up Civ1, play for a few minutes, then fire up Civ2 and forget the world for a while. You might also try humming a few bars from "Revolution" (great Civ theme song, by the way). Helps me.

"You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world..."

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About the author: Co-ordinator of "The List", a co-operative wishlist between ACS and Civ fans alike to pass along to Firaxis for the development of CivIII. Active discussions continue on the forums, of which Yin is a moderator, located here: http://apolyton.net/forums

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