Comparing it to Civ 4..

[ttomm46]

thanks all..you've been helpful.

[Sombre]

Every time someone asks if dom3 is worth buying, I always feel the need to give them this answer:

If you are willing to use player made mods, Dom3 has more content (in terms of units, spells, nations, graphics etc) than you could ever hope to get tired of.

If you are willing to mod, Dom3 is one of the most mod friendly games ever and the amount you can do is surprising.

If Dom3 had no modding, I wouldn't be half as into it as I am. As it stands, I will keep playing it for years to come. I wish it had better SP, but the MP is so strong that it almost makes up for it.

[Lingchih]

Well, to put it simply, I'm a Civ Fanatic. And I love Civ 4. That said, after Dom 3 came out, I haven't played Civ 4 at all. (I must confess to taking a break to play Galactic Civilizations 2 every once in while though).

[Zeldor]

Civ 4 is a really weak game with many stupid solutions. It was a good game many many years ago [well, not 4, but civ 1 & 2], but it cannot compare to Alpha Centauri or Dominions. I have tried to play Civ4 recently but it isn't fun. All that vassals, fighting archers with tanks and so on...

[Humakty]

I agree with Zeldor, the improved graphics killed the modding frenzy you had with civ 2 (hundreds of scenario).
I play mostly SP in most games, and I think civ 4 is no match to dom 3 on this point of view.( currently taking dust in its box...)
As the MP part as mutch fans, it is a good bonus !

[Edratman]

Civ 1 is the greatest game ever. It is the founding father of the entire genre of 4X games and the great-great grandfather of Dom 3.

Civ 2,3 and 4 are upgrades of Civ 1, but the same strategy that I used in Civ 1 was still successful in the three subsequent versions, requiring only minor adaptions to the details that changed.

Dom 3 is vastly superior to Civ 2,3 and 4. (Sorry KO & JO, but nothing but an entirely new game type can knock Civ 1 off the top perch on the pantheon.) Dom 3 has vastly more complexities and is much more challenging than the Civ series. Dom 3 is a paper/scissors/rock game with unending variables and the Civ series are merely about power and research and all stem from the number of cities.

In Civ, if you have the biggest guns you win. In Dom 3, your big guns can be turned into limp noodles in front of your unbelieving eyes.

Dom 3 also has a greater variety of sites that have a chance of significently altering the game. While some probably curse their bad luck and the unfairness of the game in not getting a great site and others rejoice when they are blessed, I think these are great variables that dwarf the influence of a coal/horse/banana site in Civ.

In Civ, there is limited stratgic differences between nations. In Dom, you need a different strategy not only for every nation, but also for which nations are your immediate neighbors.

All in all, I am a major Civ fan. My Civ playing was cited in my divorce. (Guilty as charged, and the major factor why I will not MP; a smart Polack doesn't get burnt by hot Kielbasa twice.) But I find Dom 3 preferable by a wide margin to Civ 4. I played Civ 4 for about 3 months, but it really was the same game I've been playing for 20 some odd years. I've been playing Dom3 for 9 months now and still haven't figured it out.

[Folket]

hmm... I can't believe that people are so negative about civ 4.

Civ 4 is just such a great improvment on earlier versions.

[Zeldor]

It is impossible to like Civ4 if you played Alpha Centauri... if they made Civ4 on that I would play that again. In Civ4 every game comes down to 2-3 opponents [some nations plus their vassals] + some weak nations that are smaller challange than indies in Dom3. Civ4 is like Dom3 with research and gem income based only on number of your provinces. Imagine playing that.