Solver: How do you see future of Civ games? Are we going to have many new games in the genre, or is CivIII going to be the last one, possibly leading to extinction of Civ branches?
Lancer: NO! NO! NO! Goodness man, the things you say! I don't know of course, but I hope there will always be a new Civ game to look forward to. It's like Christmas when they arrive.

Solver: Another question about CivIII -- how did you play your first game, and what were your impressions then?
Lancer: I enjoyed it a lot. I played to expand which you still have to do like crazy. I set the map to max and 16 Civs. I am so glad they went to 16 Civs. To me Civ 3 is as great a leap forward as Civ 2 was. Sure, they pushed it out a tad early but that's ok. They delivered the goods and that's really what's important. Another great game in the line. Another full immersion experience. There are so many new things to like about it I don't know where to begin. I guess the fact that it's tougher to win is what I like best and all the factors that bring that into being. The diplomacy, Civ specific units, the very gameplay which to me is the most important thing. The map and such is very nice but I wouldn't play any less if it weren't.

Solver: What's your take on the whole multiplayer in CivIII issue? How do you treat the non-inclusion of it in the release, and what do you think about those new technologies Firaxis says it's implementing.
Lancer: It's a business and they have to make money. So they release the game a bit at a time and hit us up several times instead of just once. The makers of CTP hit us just once and where are they? Flipping burgers at BK. It must be much more expensive to make a game like CivIII than a lot of the shooter games that drown the market, but the price is basically the same game for game. They have to make it up somehow... So they'll sell us the multiplay version and I'll offer to try my skill with and against my fellow Apolytoners when they do.

Solver: Some people say Civ should be more historical, and that CivIII doesn't much differ from the original Civ[I] in that matter. How do you see Civ & history?
Lancer: I love history, it's epic, and that's what games like CivIII capture so well. Sure the details might be a bit off but the feel is the same. Speaking of epic, I'll tell you a little story about a warrior in my current game playing as the Japanese. In 4000-BCish I started by building two warriors to explore the map. One of these went west, discovered a hut which I sent him to investigate. Three barbarians popped out and attacked, turning my guy into an elite. After a turn to heal up he went on to find a great river and a dense pack of mink. What glory! My future was set, there were many good city sites to be had. Then, out of the darkness comes a Chinese warrior with a settler heading for MY river, MY fur, MY DESTINY!

I traded a science with him and then attacked. My guy took one hit, killed the warrior and got the two workers from the settler, and DEVELOPED A LEADER! My very first attack with an elite unit and so early in the game. I'm getting rather fond of that warrior by now. The advance after combat brought the border of a Chinese city into view. The next turn I did the staff work of sending the workers and leader off towards home and healing my warrior. I then advanced with my elite warrior against what turned out to be the Chinese capitol. I attacked, took one hit again and again killed a regular warrior. Another popped up in the city. During the barbarian turn one advanced adjacent to the city and my slightly wounded unit. I then risked all on an attack with my wounded warrior and took the capitol! My guy lost two more hits and marched in with two remaining.

The Chinese still had a city way over on the other side of my capitol which they must have gotten from a hut. So, I cut a peace deal w/ them gaining a couple of more sciences and some gold. In the barbarian turn they attacked and killed my exceptional warrior and sacked the city. Had my civ been real that warrior would have been mourned as Nelson was mourned. The effort of that one warrior opened up a huge area to Japanese settlement, gained me a good city, a couple of workers, a couple of free sciences from the Chinese and all their gold. The leader that was generated built the Great Library in a single turn. So the benefits are still coming in. That's epic. I renamed the city that great warrior captured 'Warrior Legend' as a rememberance of the best damn warrior that ever was.

The point is, I'm involved. I feel the course of my civilization, ITS history. Who needs our history when these civilizations make their own?

Solver: Yeah, that's one of the things that make us enjoy Civ so much. I do believe this paragraph will be popular among Civ players -- very nice story and nicely summarized.

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