Fragland: Civ's combat system ¡V while effective - is looking increasingly dated. Do you feel the pressure to move to a more RTS-style combat system with greater visual feedback?

Barry: The move to 3D already gives us more opportunity to provide visual feedback. The combat system has been revamped in many ways ¡V some of which are probably derived from our love of all strategy games whether they are turn-based or real-time. Units no longer have separate attack and defense values; instead they have a single power rating. There are also natural counters for some units like you would find in an RTS. Pikemen are better against mounted units, Axemen are better against melee units, etc. Units now gain experience when they are victorious and that experience leads to promotions. Promotions are a way of making each unit special by providing them with special abilities like being able to heal faster, flanking, or getting bonuses in forest and jungle.