7 New Civs You'd Like to See in Civ7

[Mudokon Pop]

These would all be very interesting, but, like other equally fascinating civilizatios, like the Norte Chico, Nazca, Wari, Tiwanaku, Ancestral Pueblo (formerly called, "Anasaszi," until it was grasped that term was a perjorative by their enemies at the time, the Navajo - similar to how, "Eskimo," was such a perjorative for the Inuit by the Gwi'chin - another Athabaskan-speaking group, interestingly), and whomever builtt that built city in the Amazon or Great Zimbabwe, and the speakerso of the North Picene language. Even without the theoretical need for a leader speaking a language, I fear there's not remotely enough to work with, and that is truly tragic. ;(

Caral on Xandinho's list is another name for Norte Chico.

I agree it would be very difficult to create unique units and buildings for these civs. At least the Moche in Peru made pottery depicting their warriors and constructed large pyramids. Language souldn't be an issue for the Wari who likely spoke Quechua just like the Inca, Tiwanaku's people possibly spoke the Aymara language and the Shona languages in Zimbabwe are still widely spoken.

For Great Zimbabwe, there is something to work with as there are many successor Shona kingdoms who continued to build stone enclosures. Stone enclosures (dzimbabwe) were often built on the internal boundaries of chiefdoms within the kingdoms - perhaps a way of mediating between internal disputes or exerting control. If loyalty is a mechanic in future games, each city building a dzimbabwe structure to increase loyalty could work. An adjacency bonus for cities who's dzimbabwe districts border each other would a neat mechanic.

 

[Zaarin]

similar to how, "Eskimo," was such a perjorative for the Inuit by the Gwi'chin - another Athabaskan-speaking group, interestingly

Not so much a pejorative as simply an exonym. It's generally accepted to come from Montagnais meaning "people who lace snow-shoes," which is a pretty banal descriptor. The discredited etymology "eaters of raw meat" was believed to come from Cree, not Gwi'chin, and is no longer accepted by linguists (and probably wouldn't have been an insult originally, either--both the Cree and the Inuit ate raw meat). But because of the discredited etymology and just following a general trend towards preferring endonyms, Eskimo is now dispreferred for Inuit (though the term Paleo-Eskimo remains current for the probably Tlingit-Eyak-Athabaskan people who preceded them in the Holoarctic).

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Olmec

Due to leaders and languages not being an issue anymore, I am surprised that they didn't try this out. Especially because that could have made the Maya an Exploration civ, at least.

 

[Patine]

Due to leaders and languages not being an issue anymore, I am surprised that they didn't try this out. Especially because that could have made the Maya an Exploration civ, at least.

Well, leaders and languages are not the only information needs to build a civ, as I said above, in two clipped quotes and a more examples I gave, myself - including Olmecs - there is not enough to work on, really. And it's a tragedy.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Well, leaders and languages are not the only information needs to build a civ, as I said above, in two clipped quotes and a more examples I gave, myself - including Olmecs - there is not enough to work on, really. And it's a tragedy.

Humankind made it work, though I agree that the city-list might not be the best considering they would be modern names of archaeological sites. At least we can make out their unique infrastructure, in terms of their Colossal Heads.
UUs would also be hard unless they go for more generic names. Though the Songhai are getting a Caravanserai as though they don't exist all across cultures from West Africa to the Middle East and beyond.

 

[Xandinho]

3. Ghana => Mali => Ashanti (associated leader: Yaa Asantewaa)

Garamantes would be perfect for Age 1. Ghana and Mali could be alternative choices for Age 2 (although I don't think we'll see both Mali and Songhai in the game). I'd personally have Kaabu for Age 3 and make Ashanti have its own historical path in the Akan states.

Due to leaders and languages not being an issue anymore, I am surprised that they didn't try this out. Especially because that could have made the Maya an Exploration civ, at least.

Humankind made it, but I can't say for sure how historically accurate it is. Maybe a good historian of Mesoamerica could help them design the Olmecs?

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Humankind made it, but I can't say for sure how historically accurate it is. Maybe a good historian of Mesoamerica could help them design the Olmecs?

I just realized that they would also have to have their own unique civics tree.
They would definitely need a good Mesoamerican historian, if that is even doable.

 

[Zaarin]

the city-list might not be the best considering they would be modern names of archaeological sites.

Can't be any worse than Scythia's...

Though the Songhai are getting a Caravanserai as though they don't exist all across cultures from West Africa to the Middle East and beyond.

Given that it's a Persian word and has been a feature of Greater Persia since Achaemenid times, if anyone got a unique Caravanserai it really should have been Persia. I mean, caravanserais were an important part of why the satrapy system was so efficient.

 

[Patine]

Humankind made it work, though I agree that the city-list might not be the best considering they would be modern names of archaeological sites. At least we can make out their unique infrastructure, in terms of their Colossal Heads.
UUs would also be hard unless they go for more generic names. Though the Songhai are getting a Caravanserai as though they don't exist all across cultures from West Africa to the Middle East and beyond.

UU's, UA's, and UI's would be hard in that we wouldn't actually know what they even were, for certain, or what they were meant to do. Were Olmec Colossal Heads religious idols, images of monarchs, triumphal symbols, markers of major events, warnings of borders, or artististic vanity? We just don't know...

 

[Patine]

They would definitely need a good Mesoamerican historian, if that is even doable.

Humankind made it, but I can't say for sure how historically accurate it is. Maybe a good historian of Mesoamerica could help them design the Olmecs?

Unfortunately, such scholars don't have much more of a clear, accurate insight.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Were Olmec Colossal Heads religious idols, images of monarchs, triumphal symbols, markers of major events, warnings of borders, or artististic vanity? We just don't know...

It would probably be similar to what they do in Civ 6. Since faith doesn't seem to exist, they could just get massive culture yields.

 

[Mudokon Pop]

Garamantes would be perfect for Age 1. Ghana and Mali could be alternative choices for Age 2 (although I don't think we'll see both Mali and Songhai in the game). I'd personally have Kaabu for Age 3 and make Ashanti have its own historical path in the Akan states.

Ghana can trace it's origins to late antiquity but it's true peak is indeed 'exploration era'. I agree Garamantes would be perfect for antiquity.

The people of Bonoman claimed to have migrated from a region under Ghana control. Mali later conquered part of Bonoman state so they have a link to the Akan kingdoms too. I'd rather have Mali again than Songhai personally. The transitions from Ghana or Mali to an Akan state would be more satisfying since there's a connection.

 

[notNamed]

They would definitely need a good Mesoamerican historian, if that is even doable.

Olmecs are a strictly archaeological culture. We have no writing, no contemporary accounts. Only ruins and artifacts.
They're a step above even the Mississipian cultures in this regard, since those have a single saving grace in the account of a Spanish expedition which encountered them, thus giving us a bunch of names and places to use.

i'm going to do this again, but this time around i'm going to include paths (so it's technically 21 Civs, but some of them won't be new as you'll see )

5. Dai Viet => Burma => Siam (associated leader: Bayingnaung)

Is this Dai Viet supposed to be the 南越/南粵Nanyue kingdom and relate them to Burma/Siam via the original Tai inhabitants of Southern China or something like that?

Because connecting medieval Vietnamese with Thai doesn't work any more than connecting medieval English with Songhai.
And Dai Viet is the somewhat conventional name for the various Vietnamese states running from 10th century to the 19th century. Effectively "medieval Vietnam" like Byzantines are "medieval Romans/Greeks".

 

[Zaarin]

Olmecs are a strictly archaeological culture. We have no writing

Well, we have Olmec writing, but like Linear A, it's undeciphered. (It's unclear if Olmec hieroglyphs represent writing or proto-writing. Isthmus script probably represents writing, but proposed translations are controversial.) At any rate, it's fair to say that we don't have Olmec writing we can read.

 

[Wabnosa]

Anishnabe - modern - Like a Moari conservation and culture civ for freshwater. Bonus food on freshwater bonus culture or happiness for not cutting the old growth forests I've seen in screenshots. Restricted to only one copy of each strategic resource or you lose the bonus. Maybe no coal, no oil.

Chippewa and Ojibwe are two different spellings of the same word Ochipway. There are 133 Ojibwe bands in Canada and 30+ bands in the United States. The best fit for what the Shawnee can turn into in the modern age, period. Anishnabe is the Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi combined because, they are. Just like the Iroquois are in confederation. Sometimes referred to as the 3 fires council are still and have been in confederation since like 765 ad. Which is the date the Ottawa and Potawatomi broke off from the Ojibwe to perform specific duties. The Ojibwe alone are 4 times bigger than the whole Iroquois confederacy. The Iroquois always get all the attention because the history of the United States is written from an Anglo as in English perspective. I would argue the Anishnabe are more influential today, the pipeline protests. The Shawnee language is in the same language family branch of which Ojibwe is the oldest. The Algonquin languages real name is Anishnabemowin. The Algonquin tribe are Anishnabe.

 

[Lord Lakely]

Due to leaders and languages not being an issue anymore, I am surprised that they didn't try this out. Especially because that could have made the Maya an Exploration civ, at least.

I'd like to have the olmecs in, but what uniques can you even come up with besides the giant heads?

 

[Lord Lakely]

Is this Dai Viet supposed to be the 南越/南粵Nanyue kingdom and relate them to Burma/Siam via the original Tai inhabitants of Southern China or something like that?

Yes, I got my terminology mixed up. Nanyue is what I meant. Apologies.

 

[ehecatzin]

I'd like to have the olmecs in, but what uniques can you even come up with besides the giant heads?

We also know of earthen pyramid temples built by them, Stone Altars, Tombs , ball courts, mosaic pavements and stelae. Granted, we know much more about other cultures, but there's still things they could pull inspiration from. They could absolutely give the Olmecs the ol' reliable Ball court alongside with Colossal heads to make for a unique district.

Due to leaders and languages not being an issue anymore, I am surprised that they didn't try this out. Especially because that could have made the Maya an Exploration civ, at least.

Rome could transition into Byzantium, in that same vein, Classical Maya should be antiquity and Itza (or Mayapan league) could be exploration. If anything the suspiscious abscence of "Chichen Itza" as a wonder makes me hopeful the Maya will get an exploration civ later featuring Post classical Maya.

And while we are at it, also hoping it will be named "Temple of Kukulkan" instead of "Chichen Itza", that's the city it's built in, it's like calling the Temple of Artemis "Ephesus"

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

We also know of earthen pyramid temples built by them, Stone Altars, Tombs , ball courts, mosaic pavements and stelae. Granted, we know much more about other cultures, but there's still things they could pull inspiration from. They could absolutely give the Olmecs the ol' reliable Ball court alongside with Colossal heads to make for a unique district.

I guess if Greece and Rome can both get unique temples, then I guess both the Maya and Olmecs can get unique ballcourts as well.
I also expect the Aztecs to return with a Chinampa since the unique ballcourt and pyramid temple were already given to the Maya.

 

[Xandinho]

With this Age system, I really wish more of Mesoamerica was represented. Zapotecs could be an antiquity civ, right? What are the chances of Mixtecs being included in there too someday? Purépecha could come in the Age of Exploration, in addition to another version of the Mayans, as already mentioned here.

I'd also like to see more representation of the Andes beyond the Incas and maybe Nazca. I'd love Chimor would be included someday to rival the Incas. And I hope they don't forget Moche even if Nazca is included.

I hope they don't miss the opportunity to give these regions a lot of representation. Mesoamerica and Andes are among the areas of greatest personal interest.