I'm wondering if there's anyone else here excited about Civ V as much as I am. I've been a fan of the civ series for a long time now. I can't wait to see how it gets improved.

Oh, another one. There goes dozens of hours of my time.

Civilization is the second best game of all time known to man and the above.
1.Cortex Command
2.Civilization
WOOT WOOT!!!!!! GO CIVILIZATION!!!

Could be interesting.

Fixed, And I eagerly await Something that will stop me playing Civ 4 or CC.

Fixed? wat do you

He placed cortex command in 2 and civilization in 1.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i get it now thanks.

Civilization is neat but it's like Risk in that success is exponential. Once you get a small lead it's unlikely you will lose. The opposite is true as well and it makes for a game that is not fun to finish.

I played Civ IV, it was kinda fun, but it takes so long to finish a game, and there's no replay value.
I find Risk just as, if not more, entertaining.

I've noticed this too, and I'm hoping this is something they'll improve on in Civ V. Really what makes it hard is that research isn't really well spread out in between nations. I mean, in reality, countries don't have radical technology differences between each other so long as they trade. They just aren't secrets that can be locked up within your borders.

I don't know how this would be modeled though. Perhaps for each trading partner with the technology, you'd get a +x boost in research? Something has to be done to make it more of a challenge though, rather than as you've said either almost certain or nearly impossible to win. I've had games where I end up sending tanks in against archers and knights. Every battle that game might as well have been me plowing my tanks through Tienanmen Square.

I don't really thing that tech is the central problem. It's certainly is an amusing side effect, but I think the main problem is that wealth begets wealth. Having an edge in territory means an edge in money which means an edge in troops, research, luxuries, culture... It's the same with risk. More money means you are better at accumulating money. With people who play smartly (no one I've played with), everyone will team up on the current leader so that person doesn't score a victory. I think that's how these games are suppose to even themselves out. Sadly this is not the case, for real life or even AI.

That said, I played quite a bit of CivIII. It's fun in the early stages.