I mention Civ IV merely because many people were unable to play it out of the box -- it would crash before getting to the opening screen.WretchedGnu wrote:I think it's a good thing to keep CivIV in mind when evaluating the "quality control" of *any* $50 computer game, whether it's a TBS or not.
It's easy to excuse mediocre quality with a shrug and a "that's just the way the industry is nowadays." Not so. I've become so inured to shoddy game production I was shocked to see how polished CivIV was straight out of the box.
In all aspects, but epecially in terms of information, interface and AI, CivIV simply blows away H5. I know programming a good AI is no cakewalk, but sloppy information and interface is just a matter of laziness.
If the Civ developers and publishers can do it, so should everyone else be able to.
But on the whole, that is true. Civ IV is a magnificent example of the kind of thought that should be put in to game design and quality before release.