[Freeciv-Dev] Opinion of a new player.

[Martin Christensen <1934330m001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey, this can be one heck of a game. I am a fond player of CivII
(actually it's one of the only games I've ever bothered to play, along
with CivI, of course), and here are my first impressions of this game.
  The graphics aren't what they could be, let's face that. I've never
seen so much talent at creating spectacular graphics as in the Linux
community, so it surprises me that FreeCiv is so comparatively dull
looking. The colour dept should be increased a great deal, if you ask
me, the terrain made less 'iconic' and more realistic. The Athena
widgets are not the best in the world. Is there a way that others can be
selected during the configuration process, like, for instance, those
standard to KDE or GNOME? That would also be a great help to the feel of
the game.
  The server part is harder to use than it should be. A graphical
interface would be a valuable addition, if not as a part of the standard
distribution then as an optional tool. The whole server-client structure
will probably confuse many people who are not used to reading readme's
in order to be able to start a programme, let alone compiling them on
their system before use. :-) How about a single-player start-up script
that configures the server and then starts the client? It might make a
lot of things easier.
  The mediocre graphics I can live with, but the feel of the game should
be improved, I think. My initial impression is that of awkwardness. I'm
sure you guys are making a great game, probably even greater than what
Sid Meier has made, but a more smooth surface etc. would boost the
attractiveness of the game to a LOT of potential players, I think.
  I'll fool around with this game some more and see if I change my
opinion. In the mean time I hope my ideas are of help to you - after
all, we all want the best game possible (easier said than done, eh?
:-)).
  Good work, guys; keep it up!

Martin Christensen

-- 
It is immoral for anyone who knows of Esperanto to not spread the
knowledge.
    - Leo Tolstoj