Well its not that good but hey! I like the dinosaur bit best. That wa some of my best work getting the dino animated like that

I mean, they must immerse you into the game background, or they will end to be only advertising (how many times do you see "catch eye intro" rolling on PC at the shop?).

I don't like when images are rendered by some 3D product, too: I want to see the real game engine at work, otherwise it's as correct as someone who showed to me a wonderful top car, then sell me the basic model

I will like some scene reproducing (quickly) the born of my tribe, the wandering and hunting, some trouble that force them to pack things from old village (a fire, the end of ice age, famine because of bad hunting season, a minor skirmish with another tribe) and start the voyage (first settler appear) to a new place.

I can accept some zoom-in, zoom-out effect added to the real engine feature, and a more "event related" music and sound effects, but that's all.

Using the game engine Firaxis can slighty change the opening scene every time a new game start (different terrain, different race, different event that start the voyage). Looking at the opening sequence you can gain a bit more info on surrounding terrain (I can't really believe an old nomadic tribe don't know anything outside the first settler square).

That would be an useful start, one that you don't skip the second game you play!

And about ending game, I'm with you MKL, you know how many posts I spent on this subject before!

I have to admit it irks me when some endings are reduced to a mere text file. It's sort of like the designers editorial comment: "Why would you want to something mean like conquer the world when you can have a lovey-dovey ecological victory?" All game victories should be rewarded.

Even if it's very cool, I almost never watch the opening animation more then very sporadicly, but it's always satifying to be rewarded for my victory.

What would be ideal (but even less likely) would be to have -several- different endings for each kind of victory, so that you never know which you are going to get. But now I'm daydreaming.

Any ideas what actors to approach?

Actualy, going back to my other arguement (sorry) if you were in a 3D engine, you could do that.

It does take quite a bit of time creating cut sequences, I think the time and effort used for that should be used for finding another way of rewarding the player at each ending, something that can give a slightly different feel each time.

As for the beginning, I would rather see a big big BANG! And then the creation of life, towards the point of man discovering fire. And then you take on from there.

There isn't any point showing a whole bunch of 'unknown' things, which are to come. I HATE the fact I somehow seem to know what I can discover next. A lot of things were discoveries, they weren't intentionaly found.
I like surprises.

In an old Avalon Hill boardgame Civilization, which predates the computer game and has no relation with it, you win by meeting certain cvilization goals.

quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui on 05-23-2000 09:37 PM They can't do this! Because Civ goes into SMAC, and in SMAC, there was no communication back with Earth..

I don't see why, in SMAC earth was in turmoil and anarchy ruled, but if we retrace history and change it, IMHO this is how civ does it look at the civ history or fantasy thread, then you might not have the different ideologies and fusion reactor failure. Your ship has to keep in contact with you or you would assume it is dead and didn't make it and you didn't win the game.

Father Beast: I think that your intro sounds almost perfect. A nice formation of the solar system a quick tour through history, all based on the Civ1 intro. Aggghhhh .... too many good memories .... It's 4 in the morning all over again!!

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- Biddles

Narrated Intro Theme

Text in Civ1 Introduction, narrated by DanQ

The best thing is the background music, sorry can't really explain that.

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- Biddles

My proposal fell in the dark, so probably I'm wrong, but no one really like the idea of a more game-related, never-the-same, intro?

As I already suggested, I will like some scene reproducing (in short) the growth of my original tribe, with population wandering and hunting, some trouble that force them to pack things from old village (sometime a fire, another the end of last ice age, yet another time a famine because of bad hunting season, a minor skirmish with another tribe) and start the voyage (first settler appearance) to a new place.

Using the new game engine Firaxis can change the opening scene every time a new
game start (different terrain, different race, different event that start the voyage).

It can justify your initial knowledge and your first needs too: if you flee from a fight, your first bonus unit will be a warrior, if you come from good land because of extended fire you can have the extra settler, if you survive from ice age instead of vulcano eruption you'll start in some kind of continental forest terrain instead of tropical insland.

Looking at the opening sequence you can gain a bit more feeling and info about your Civ start.

That would be a start that you will be less ready to skip the second game you play!

The whole civilization history is, IMHO, better used at the end (replay) of game, where putting cut scene and text is more on the "history" side than on the game promise.

Of course, any promotional trailer movie must show either part, the intro and the replay, to let potential players take a look at the whole beast

The only way to do it, is to have several endings and several beginnings.

*Par4 starts swinging a bat around, accidently hits monitor*

I like seeing the FMV's because it adds a minute of life to my civ up close!

As for SMACII, I don't know what you're talking about. I thought I read somewhere that there would never be a SMACII, because Firaxis had too many other things they wanted to do. And fair enough too, when they think of SMAX as half expansion, half sequel.