Unciv is a popular open source remake inspired directly by Civilization V. It's been around for a while now and it's finally heading to Steam. Available cross-platform for Linux, Windows and Android it's actually quite an impressive and expansive game that has been continuously upgraded for years.
It doesn't really look a whole lot like Civilization V, and the developer is clear on the GitHub you should play the originals if you want "high-res graphics, amazing soundtracks, animations etc" but if you're in the market for "a small, fast, moddable, FOSS, in-depth 4X that can still run on a potato" then Unciv might just be for you.
There's no current date for the Steam release just yet.
You can follow on Steam and GitHub.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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19 comments
Wow, first time I heard of this, but it's not too surprising, since I pretty much stopped following open source game releases after the demise of happypenguin.org a.k.a. The Linux Game Tome. 
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It's odd . . . I tell myself I care about the gameplay, not the graphics. And I sure enjoyed the heck out of Civ II back in the day, and its graphics were pretty basic. Master of Orion I, too.
But when I tried for instance Free Orion, I found its major lack of pretty made the experience so abstract that I kind of lost immersion--I didn't have this mental/emotional feel for either my bunch or the alien bunches, so instead of playing a faction I just felt like I was moving symbols around a screen, kind of. So I wonder if I've gotten too used to Civ V eye candy to enjoy going back to a more rudimentary look.
But when I tried for instance Free Orion, I found its major lack of pretty made the experience so abstract that I kind of lost immersion--I didn't have this mental/emotional feel for either my bunch or the alien bunches, so instead of playing a faction I just felt like I was moving symbols around a screen, kind of. So I wonder if I've gotten too used to Civ V eye candy to enjoy going back to a more rudimentary look.
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I'm surprised I have not heard of this until just now.
I might be in the minority, but I actually prefer these simple graphics in strategy games. When I played Civ 5 years ago, I remember I was often using the tactical map for that exact purpose. The only reason I sometimes went back to the fully graphical view, was because it gave me a gameplay advantage when scouting: you could see what kind of tile was just outside the fog (grass, sea, etc.).
Last edited by Furyspark on 8 December 2022 at 6:08 pm UTC
I might be in the minority, but I actually prefer these simple graphics in strategy games. When I played Civ 5 years ago, I remember I was often using the tactical map for that exact purpose. The only reason I sometimes went back to the fully graphical view, was because it gave me a gameplay advantage when scouting: you could see what kind of tile was just outside the fog (grass, sea, etc.).
Last edited by Furyspark on 8 December 2022 at 6:08 pm UTC
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da_habakuk Dec 8, 2022
im playing unciv from the f-droid store on my android tablet... its quite nice. but on pc, i will rather play civ5 :)
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Mountain Man Dec 8, 2022
Pretty ballsy. I wonder if Firaxis is going to protest?
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I love it so much over Civ 5. I had trouble with civ 5 mechanism being too abstract for the 3D graphics. Unciv is just perfect. Much clearer, much more readable, much faster,...
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyIt's odd . . . I tell myself I care about the gameplay, not the graphics. And I sure enjoyed the heck out of Civ II back in the day, and its graphics were pretty basic. Master of Orion I, too.
But when I tried for instance Free Orion, I found its major lack of pretty made the experience so abstract that I kind of lost immersion--I didn't have this mental/emotional feel for either my bunch or the alien bunches, so instead of playing a faction I just felt like I was moving symbols around a screen, kind of. So I wonder if I've gotten too used to Civ V eye candy to enjoy going back to a more rudimentary look.
You might like https://www.remnantsoftheprecursors.com/ then. Pretty graphics for an open-source game, but old school MOO gameplay.
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: pbWow, first time I heard of this, but it's not too surprising, since I pretty much stopped following open source game releases after the demise of happypenguin.org a.k.a. The Linux Game Tome.
You might be interested following our open-source games planet then: https://planet.freegamedev.net/
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Quoting: JuliusIn fact I do like it.Quoting: Purple Library GuyIt's odd . . . I tell myself I care about the gameplay, not the graphics. And I sure enjoyed the heck out of Civ II back in the day, and its graphics were pretty basic. Master of Orion I, too.
But when I tried for instance Free Orion, I found its major lack of pretty made the experience so abstract that I kind of lost immersion--I didn't have this mental/emotional feel for either my bunch or the alien bunches, so instead of playing a faction I just felt like I was moving symbols around a screen, kind of. So I wonder if I've gotten too used to Civ V eye candy to enjoy going back to a more rudimentary look.
You might like https://www.remnantsoftheprecursors.com/ then. Pretty graphics for an open-source game, but old school MOO gameplay.
0 Likes
Quoting: pbWow, first time I heard of this, but it's not too surprising, since I pretty much stopped following open source game releases after the demise of happypenguin.org a.k.a. The Linux Game Tome.
Gosh, this site was once the center of our gaming world. Had entirely forgotten about it. :(
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junibegood Dec 10, 2022
Quoting: FurysparkI'm surprised I have not heard of this until just now.
I might be in the minority, but I actually prefer these simple graphics in strategy games. When I played Civ 5 years ago, I remember I was often using the tactical map for that exact purpose. The only reason I sometimes went back to the fully graphical view, was because it gave me a gameplay advantage when scouting: you could see what kind of tile was just outside the fog (grass, sea, etc.).
You're not alone, and I think we might actually not be so few. Back in the days of Civ 1/2 or Master of Orion, game designers had to focus on the really important stuff, not only about graphics, but features as well, because computers at the time couldn't handle more. But taking away unnecessary things is very important for the quality of a game, even if nothing forces you to do it anymore. “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” This quote was used in Civilization IV (and maybe other games of the series too). Too bad they pretty much forgot about it.
I guess marketing is to blame : every game must have more features and fancier graphics than the previous one so they have something to show in trailers, even if these things don't actually make the game any better... At least, with the rise of indie games, we can now have games like The Battle for Polytopia, who do exactly the opposite and go for extreme minimalism. :)
Last edited by junibegood on 10 December 2022 at 4:14 pm UTC
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had never heard of this project, so I downloaded it from itch and gave it a whirl.
I love the game art but the UI is extremely clunky and overbearing, it feels like it's made for a mobile device. besides that though it seems functional, I didn't notice any missing mechanics.
I love the game art but the UI is extremely clunky and overbearing, it feels like it's made for a mobile device. besides that though it seems functional, I didn't notice any missing mechanics.
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wvstolzing Dec 13, 2022
The first thing it comes to my mind is ... does it have an actual AI? As opposed to the system Civilization has had in place since 1993 (?) where computer players suffer no penalties, need no resources, & randomly produce whatever and throw it at the human player, while the handicaps on the human player grow exponentially on each 'difficulty level'.
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Quoting: junibegoodI guess marketing is to blame : every game must have more features and fancier graphics than the previous one so they have something to show in trailers, even if these things don't actually make the game any better... At least, with the rise of indie games, we can now have games like The Battle for Polytopia, who do exactly the opposite and go for extreme minimalism. :)Come on, it's not "marketing", it's games! They're supposed to be fun, not just functional.
That means different things for different people, but in general a game feels more fun when you think it looks more beautiful (which might mean minimalist looks for some, realism, neon glow, hand-drawn, abstract, etc.
It also helps when it sounds nice (literally), which again may mean different things for different people, like looping techno beats, the Berlim Philarmonic Orchestra, 8-bit midi chiptunes, ...
Some people love deep stories while some rather play something where you just log in and blow stuff up gratuitously.
Gameplay can be twitchy/relaxed, short loops/saga, all sorts of modes, etc.
And the boom in indie and minimalist graphics offerings is testimony that there is no "general trend" towards any specific preference like AAA superproduction graphics, just a huge blooming catalogue of new games of all sorts for all tastes, which is great!
The only thing that is indeed "marketing" is that some big titles get advertized more widely than others, but we also have much better tools at hand to find games that are pleasant to our specific tastes now than a couple decades ago... Shareware/Demo CDs anyone?! (showing my age now...)
PS: I think Unciv's official description is perfect for it.
PPS: How do you folks get Civ2 to play nice on Linux with the City Advisors? Anyone has a foolproof recipe? I dearly miss Elvis!!! (and can you honestly say the cosplay film bits weren't pure endearing eye candy pushing the boundaries of what the technology allowed back then?)
Last edited by Marlock on 14 December 2022 at 2:17 am UTC
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wvstolzing Dec 14, 2022
Quoting: MarlockPPS: How do you folks get Civ2 to play nice on Linux with the City Advisors? Anyone has a foolproof recipe? I dearly miss Elvis!!! (and can you honestly say the cosplay film bits weren't pure endearing eye candy pushing the boundaries of what the technology allowed back then?)
My solution was to run Windows 3.1 inside dosbox -- which works surprisingly well.
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Quoting: wvstolzingMy solution was to run Windows 3.1 inside dosbox -- which works surprisingly well.awesome! thanks for the hint, I actually forgot it could run on win 3.x and not just win95!
I've done win 3.x under dosbox before and it runs totally smooth (if that word can even be used for such a clunky OS)
maybe with that trick Civ2 will be one of those old windows games that run better under linux than on modern windows, LOL
the indeo5 video codec installer is a murderous disgrace, and the game is ruined by windows xp and later versions with their new window decoration methods
Last edited by Marlock on 14 December 2022 at 9:17 am UTC
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wvstolzing Dec 14, 2022
Quoting: Marlockthe indeo5 video codec installer is a murderous disgrace, and the game is ruined by windows xp and later versions with their new window decoration methods
I just recorded this by OBS, running on dosbox-staging; sound/video loaded from directly mounted cdrom:
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Quoting: wvstolzingI just recorded this by OBS, running on dosbox-staging; sound/video loaded from directly mounted cdrom:Only fools run an empire without luxury! \o/
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wvstolzing Dec 14, 2022
Quoting: MarlockQuoting: wvstolzingI just recorded this by OBS, running on dosbox-staging; sound/video loaded from directly mounted cdrom:Only fools run an empire without luxury! \o/
Yeah Elvis was absolutely the highlight when my buddies & I were obsessively playing this back in middle school: https://youtu.be/oFQDeYXq_iw?t=253
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