Official Trailer at Game Spot

[Ammurit]

Game Spot has an official trailer for our beloved game. It is gorgeous. When the camera zoomed past the mountains to reveal a lush, green valley below, it was breathtaking. I want it, I want it, I want it! :)

[EmperorJay]

Lovely :) . I loved the shot of the green valley :)

[Nefermenu]

Except that I can't view that yet. I went to Gamespot, found out I have to sign in as a member (free). OK with that, but before I can download anything, I should install some plug-in or program. Nooo... I don't think so! :eek: ;) Talk about spyware...

So, have to wait until it becomes available elsewhere. Maybe Tilted Mill's own pages? ;)

[EmperorJay]

If it wouldn't be so big, I'd host it, but my current host doesn't provide enough space :p .

[Pecunia]

Nefermenu: check your PMs :)

[G-Force]

I was actually not so impresses by the trailer, make no mistake I still want the game, but if I had only watched the trailer I might not.

G-Force

[Nefermenu]

Thanks Pecunia :)

3D Gamers (http://www.3dgamers.com/games/childrennile/) also have that trailer, with many alternative download servers, (ie. Europe, USA and Australia).

Very beautiful :) Just think when we get to play the game, what a wonderful enthralling atmosphere, what with the music and sounds and the colours and... I want it!!! :)

[Keith]

Thanks Pecunia :)

3D Gamers (http://www.3dgamers.com/games/childrennile/)also have that trailer, with many alternative download servers, (ie. Europe, USA and Australia).

Very beautiful :) Just think when we get to play the game, what a wonderful enthralling atmosphere, what with the music and sounds and the colours and... I want it!!! :)
You can get it straight from their FTP server mirrors:

ftp://3dgamers.in-span.net/pub/3dgamers5/games/childrennile/childnile_tr519_qt.zip

ftp://theuser:h4nk1@ftp4.3dgamers.com/pub/3dgamers/games/childrennile/childnile_tr519_qt.zip

ftp://3dgr2d2:7hD3q9K@3dgamers.mirror.internode.on.net/3dgamers/games/childrennile/childnile_tr519_qt.zip

Or these http mirrors:

http://3dgamers.gameservers.net/pub/3dgamers/games/childrennile/childnile_tr519_qt.zip

http://3dgamers.planetmirror.com/pub/3dgamers/games/childrennile/childnile_tr519_qt.zip

File size is approximately 17MB. 640x480 QuickTime MOV format.

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[Keith]

Nice looking, but doesn't reveal much of anything new that hasn't been seen in the screenshots so far. Kind of short too. ;)

I see the thinking so far is a simplified large ramp for pyramids that winds around the pyramid from the ground up instead of smaller ramps on the stepped face of the pyramid core blocks as in the image I posted yesterday of that Canadian museum model.

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Image from video:

[Keith]

Scenes from the E3 Trailer

[vovan]

The trailer is nice. I understand it is real-time rendered? It is a little on the short side, though. :) Then again, I suppose it does the job - didn't spoil anything, but was just enough to create a bit more interest, in my mind at least.

[Tar]

I really liked the video too. Cool graphics. Would be nice to get about a 3 to 5 min video thou just to replay and gaze at alot. What I saw looked good. Maybe we'll get more as we get closer.
And oh, while I'm thinking about it, if you guys need a beta tester who is a real newbie at city building, I'd like to offer myself up for sacrafice :D

[Keith]

And oh, while I'm thinking about it, if you guys need a beta tester who is a real newbie at city building, I'd like to offer myself up for sacrafice :D
Patience, Grasshopper. That time will come. ;)
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[vovan]

Patience, Grasshopper. That time will come.

*Vovan rubs his hands in anticipation*

:D

[Eddy]

Just that (very) small video is getting me excited. I think the game should be released now because I can't wait until the holidays which is like, umm, a bazillion months from now. I want it now!

[Keith]

*Vovan rubs his hands in anticipation*

:D
Yeah, me too. :D
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[Caesar Alan]

Yeah, me too. :D

Join the queue. I was here first, honest! :D

[Pharaoh]

The trailer looks great. The graphics are awsome. I just hope I have a good enough graphics card to "handle" this game. :rolleyes:

[Spitze]

I wish the graphics actually looked like that.

I am sort of dissapointed by the actual graphics of the game. Even the shadows seem messed up. Where's the anti-alias??? Where's the improvements in graphics since 2000??? These look so choppy...the rendered desktop pics and trailers clash with how the actual game looks like. :(

[Keith]

I wish the graphics actually looked like that.

I am sort of dissapointed by the actual graphics of the game. Even the shadows seem messed up. Where's the anti-alias??? Where's the improvements in graphics since 2000??? These look so choppy...the rendered desktop pics and trailers clash with how the actual game looks like. :(
Keep in mind that this game is far from ready and that all the material you see now is probably not in its final form.
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[EmperorJay]

And it could very well be that the screenshots on this site are from an earlier stage of development. Some of the E3 in-game screenshots certainly are look very smooth. (I think I have attached something, otherwise, this is the screenshot I'm talking about Click for Screenshot (http://home.tiscali.nl/ancientcitybuilding/images/screenshots/gs_screenshot_21.jpg)).

No choppy shadows here IMHO.

Edit: Unless, of course, someone's gonna tell me now that this is not an in-game pic...

[Spitze]

That could be an ingame pic that will not be part of the game. Sorrta like a still render.

Please, through all my gaming experience..I have lied to myself that "the game is in early developement" as reasoning to bad graphics and such..and you get into dissapointment. This is the game engine:

"Tilted Mill licensed the 3D graphics engine used for the original Empire Earth, and the game has a very pretty look to it. More importantly, the new engine allows the citizens in your city to exhibit individuality, which is something that fans of the Pharaoh series have been asking for. " (Gamespot)

If anyone here has played Empire Earth you will notice the similiraities, and will acknowledge dissapointment. Empire Earth's graphics engine is very outdated. But don't get your hopes up, Immortal Cities will probably be a series..this is a new developer and I support them 100%. They have to start somewhere and they will begin off a cheap outdated game engine. Fans outthere should make this game a success in order for Tilted Mill to create its own or buy a better engine. The next game should be remarkable if Children of the Nile "sells like hotcakes".

[vovan]

We've seen an example of starting out small and going big after that with the Total War series I belive? AFAIK, for Shogun they licensed and egine as well.

Now, there is quite a hype building around the third installment of the series - Rome - and it will probably sell more copies than its two predecessors and their expansion packs combined - seeing how they are using the game to recreate historical battles for one of those TV channels, History, Discovery, whichever it is - it will be quite a piece of advertisement right there.

One can only hope Tilted Mill here is just as, or even more successful than that :), although one must remember that citybuilding has a much smaller following than the RTS games. On the other hand, maybe IC will be so innovative it will capture the market? :) One can only hope so, and wish good luck to the developers. ;)

[Josh]

If we complain that previews lack polish im sure it makes developers more wary to release stuff for us to see

Personaly im the type who wants to look at artists renderings and sketches to try and imagine how it will come together and form a game, this game already looks great, give it time. Im sure this will be good.

[EmperorJay]

I'm happy with how it looks and I don't go by screenshots anyway because they always seem to look worse than the actual game :) .

[G-Force]

The game already looks great. And what would you rather have: a game with excellent graphics but terrible gameplay, or terrible graphics with excellent gameplay??

G-Force

[Keith]

If we complain that previews lack polish im sure it makes developers more wary to release stuff for us to see

Personaly im the type who wants to look at artists renderings and sketches to try and imagine how it will come together and form a game, this game already looks great, give it time. Im sure this will be good.
Or, it may just convince them not to publish any new material at all until the game is much further along. I'd rather have a steady supply of material to look at regardless instead of nothing for a very long period of time.

Let's not get too hung up on pre-release graphics folks.

Personally, I don't have a problem with what I've seen so far.
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[Keith]

The game already looks great. And what would you rather have: a game with excellent graphics but terrible gameplay, or terrible graphics with excellent gameplay??

G-Force
Now you know he's going to say "both" don't you? ;)

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[Spitze]

both..anyways play Empire Earth and you'll know how the graphics will look like. Textured faces plastered on...jaggedy graphics. Basically the Empire Earth 3D engine is a desperate attempt by SSSI to make a game they can call "3D" without much thinking that 3D games deprive games of details. This is why Simcity 4 looks so detailed (yes the game is a computer gussler) and sleek.

Tilted Mill had to start from somewhere and they picked this engine..because it was 3D. I really like Empire Earth's sequel's engine. Its similar but very sleek..not Simcity, but its nice. I think isometric would have been a lot better for this game, but the whole selling point is "1st 3D citybuilding game". That sells..unfortunetly. Good graphics is not dependent on wether its 3D or not..its about details..and detail do improve gameplay. I like this game, I am just saying that they have to start somewhere, but I don't think 3D was the way to go for a first. Actually if they followed Simcity style it would be flawless and they could "steal" simcity fans.

Hopefully gameplay wise this game will follow Pharoah and DEFINATELY NOT Moon Tycoon (whatever it is) and their followups... :)

[vovan]

Both! :D Reason is, I want this company to prosper, because then we can get more citybuilders, and if the graphics is terrible, no matter how good the gameplay is, it just won't sell, because graphics is what grabs the attention of the majority of the buyers out there.

Hopefully gameplay wise this game will follow Pharoah and DEFINATELY NOT Moon Tycoon

Hopefully indeed!

[EmperorJay]

Hopefully the game will surpass Pharaoh gameplay wise ;) .

[vovan]

Hopefully the game will surpass Pharaoh gameplay wise.

Haha, hopefully indeed. :)

[Eddy]

I'd much rather gameplay over graphics. I'm from the old-school Atari 2600 gamers and the graphics of the time were pathetic, the sounds were pitiful, but for some reason, the best games of all time came pre-1995. That was because the designers had to make a hook to get people to play. Without 3d rendered 100000 polygon render tracing arrays and surround sound music tracks there was only one thing left. Gameplay. Most of the older games surpass the modern ones in this area. Sid Meier's Pirates and Civilization come to mind. They were games that were outstanding and I play them even now because they surpass any of the modern dreck that is released. I sincerely hope COTN is one of those games that ten years from now I pick up and play on a regular basis.

[vovan]

I both agree and disagree with that sentiment. On the one hand, the original Civ is one of my favourite games ever. On the other hand, though, I think that the time is such that good gameplay is just not enough. Granted, there is an overwhelming number of games that lack the slightest hint of gameplay, those that went for the pretty grapahics instead, and those games are disappointing, but I still say that nowadays, a game with great innovative gameplay, but ugly graphics has no future. In fact, sadly, it will fare worse than even a game with terrible gameplay, but awesomely stunning graphics. Such is the reality of the market, I think, and however much we might not like it, one must still heed to its desires in order to survive as a company. Hence the move to 3D, I think.

I hope it goes through smoothly though, for 3D by itself does not a good game make, as we have seen with examples like Lemmings 3D, Railroad Tycoon 3, and others.

[Eddy]

I can see that the marketplace may want prettier graphics, but the question I have is "do people want eye candy, or do they want a game that is playable ten years from now?" It may seem like a strange question, but ultimately, the game playable ten years from now will have more of an impact. I just hope that COTN is it.

[Keith]

I can see that the marketplace may want prettier graphics, but the question I have is "do people want eye candy, or do they want a game that is playable ten years from now?" ......
Ah, there's that question again...both. ;)

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[vovan]

I can see that the marketplace may want prettier graphics, but the question I have is "do people want eye candy, or do they want a game that is playable ten years from now?"

I think you just answered your own question there, Eddy. :)

[Spitze]

there really aren't games that you can play 10 years from now. If a game is sucessful enough to last 10 years..a sequel will be created and gamers will replace the original. Technology progresses and games become less playable. Now board games on th other hand will last forever. I don't know why they create sequels (die Hasbro!!), but the original game has no progressive platform..maybe an alternative to the material of the gameboard at the most...

I find CotN's graphics as a desperate attempt to have great graphics. If CotN was all about gameplay nothing would advertise "1st 3d city building game" and the game would be isometric in order to have many details. The characters could still be 3D, but the camera would be fixed in order to be compatable with systems without depriving maximum detail in graphics. :o

I'll still buy it and I think "1st 3D citybuilding game" sells more than "new citybuilding game".

[vovan]

I think "1st 3D citybuilding game" sells more than "new citybuilding game".

That's what I figure it all boils down to.

[Keith]

there really aren't games that you can play 10 years from now. If a game is sucessful enough to last 10 years..a sequel will be created and gamers will replace the original. Technology progresses and games become less playable. Now board games on th other hand will last forever. I don't know why they create sequels (die Hasbro!!), but the original game has no progressive platform..maybe an alternative to the material of the gameboard at the most...


Oh, I don' know about that. Caesar III is going on 7-8 years old now and still has a very loyal following.

I occasionally load up some old game that I can get to run on XP and give it a go just for the heck of it. I found a freeware game with CGA graphics that fascinates me. I lost one copy of it in a HD crash and spent the next year looking for a place that had it available for download. What was it? It was a simple traffic control simulator called "Gridlock." The task was to place and program traffic control signals and signs at various types of intersections and keep traffic moving. If you played "SimTower" ("Zoot's Tower" now), it's comparable to programming the elevators. A small program by highly engaging.

I'd play it now but I don't believe it will run on XP given that is a DOS-based game. So there are some games that you can play for years and years.

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[vovan]

Caesar 3 was published in 1998, according to MobyGames (http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/p,3/gameId,1567/), so it's not that old yet, though it will be in a couple of years. :) I can't believe it's been that long already.

[Cassiopeia]

there really aren't games that you can play 10 years from now.

Not necessarily true. I'd still be playing the Infocom games if my Commodore hadn't died, and if I could find the PC version. I fired up Zork again just the other day. Of course, they have no graphics to look dated, so that may be a bad example. But then, I think that Starship Titanic, which was originally written for Win95, still has gorgeous graphics. And I can always kill a few hours with Civ2, which is at least as old as C3.

[Spitze]

For the average gamer playing old school does not work out (yes I believe XP is compatable with any format of game..you have to tweak it through program compatability wizard). As games get old, their seams of mess ups can be seen. Pharoah and downwards had a cruel intention of having to place homes next to any area of work.

Once Zeus came out, we got an opposite affect, though it helped citybuilding..it was sorrta unrealistic to have people living on one end of the city and working at the other end in ancient greece. Sure in Greece people commuted long distances, but only after farming at their homes and then to a major bazzar at the next major city. It worked out better though and highlighted an existing problem in Pharoah and Caesar which detracted from the game. I still play Pharoah/Cleopatra. Its my most favorite game. My highlight of favoritism lies in the actual building of true wonders. Sure we have ugly temples in Zeus/Poseidon...and a couple of monument not worth building (I hate the ugly Poseidon temple in center of Atlantis). I really wished I could mix and match those games, I wanted to build temples in Pharoah/Cleopatra and watch gods roam the city as I wanted grand monuments (acropolis/partenon..etc.) in Zeus/Poseidon...

My greatest detractor was that none of the citybuilding games ever had a pure sandbox game where you could place the mounments of your choice (all those silly limits).

So after going off like crazy onto whole other regions, games get old and need upgrades. For us casual gamers, we'd take the upgrades than stick with a game forever. You can always improve (though I agree on civ2 vs civ3..i really can't select which one I like more).

[Eddy]

Well, I can think of a few games that are ten years old or thereabouts that I play. This isn't an exhaustive list, just a few I can rattle off the top of my head.

Airbucks
Carmageddon (not as old as others here)
Civ I and II (not III, that was a dog)
Colonization
Covert Action (a little known Microprose game)
Darklands
Imperialism
Jones in the Fast Lane
Master of Magic
Master of Orion I
Pirates!
Railroad Tycoon I
Simcity I
The Lost Tribe

I will acknowledge that most of these games have sequels, but some of them leave a lot to be desired. Master of Orion II was bad, but I heard that III was just laughable. Civ III was a dog. I have it sitting on a shelf where I can keep an eye on it so it doesn't try to attack some innocent gamer. Age of Wonders was the unofficial sequel to MoM, but it was lousy.

Some of the other games have never been replaced, such as Darklands, which is a shame since it was such a glorious open-ended epic game.

So you can have games that are ten years old or more. It helps in my case that I maintain older "Legacy" computers to run them, but with enough force, even XP can run them.

[Tary]

That trailer was nice! But, I would really like to see some actual footage from the game.

[Nefermenu]

The oldest games I still play are 5-6 years old, I think.
Civ II, AOE, Jedi Knight, Railroad Tycoon II, Caesar III and Pharaoh. Some games that are older than these require DOS and I won't touch that :eek: Also 1998 and 1999 was when I got myself a computer and started to play, so these are the games that were "in" then. They still have a place in my heart.

The only 3D games I've played are Jedi Knight and Half-Life, I prefer 2D, and I absolutely love Pharaoh :D so it's very interesting to see what CotN feels like. There really hasn't been a game like this. We're making history here, you know ;)