8 Civs. Is that enough? More to come?

[blackchimes]

Well, as an exercise, how many "civs" could be added to BE? In other words, what political/geographical/cultural/linguistical combinations are missing from the current lineup? (remember that the colours are largely player speculation)

Canada + UK
Germany/Austria + Scandinavia
Middle East in general
Northern Mediterranean: Italy, Greece, Turkey, Balkans

12 "civs" sounds perfect to me for the largest maps.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

I assumed Canada was involved with ARC to some degree.

 

[Eisenhart]

Well, as an exercise, how many "civs" could be added to BE? In other words, what political/geographical/cultural/linguistical combinations are missing from the current lineup? (remember that the colours are largely player speculation)

Canada + UK
Germany/Austria + Scandinavia
Middle East in general
Northern Mediterranean: Italy, Greece, Turkey, Balkans

12 "civs" sounds perfect to me for the largest maps.

- we don't know for sure if the rest of the ASEAN nations sans Indonesia is PAC, Polystralia, or its own group (the region, in present day, represents the 6th largest economy in the world, so I think that is warranted).

- Northern Africa is part of Franco-Iberia, IIRC.

- Egypt is part of PAU, I think, based on Barra's article.

- I would think Mexico is part of ARC, considering that the Hispanic influence on their culture is now to a much greater degree.

 

[Lord Shadow]

For the most part, the extent of each faction is very vague beyond what's been explicitly mentioned. So there's plenty of room for new players.

Also, the ARC isn't the US, but a large corporation within it. It likely doesn't have any (significant?) sovereign territory of its own.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

For the most part, the extent of each faction is very vague beyond what's been explicitly mentioned. So there's plenty of room for new players.

Also, the ARC isn't the US, but a large corporation within it. It likely doesn't have any (significant?) sovereign territory of its own.

Which is possibly true of the PAU as well, it seems like a beefed up UN/EU... ie it is possible for parts of Northern Africa to be both part of Franco Iberia AND part of the PAU.

FrancoIberia and Brasilia seem like the closest to a modern sovereign state
Slavic Federation, PAC, and KP may be a little bit looser in theory..if not in practice
Polystralia seems relatively united..but it was referred to as a Commonwealth..which makes me think its the least unified (besides PAU)


That said, I would like
1. to limit the overall number of new civs (12-18 total seems OK, over 20 bad)
2. start having 'non-geographic civs'

So to cover areas that seem to have no coverage (Germany, Britain, Scandanavia, Eastern med., Middle East).. I'd want to maybe get 2 new civs
One for the 'Northern Europe' group, the other for the 'Ancient Empires' (Greece-Persia) group

Then proceed on to some global groups

 

[blackchimes]

- we don't know for sure if the rest of the ASEAN nations sans Indonesia is PAC

Solar Gamer said that he "confirmed" that PAC includes Mongolia of all things. I think that makes space for another asian "civ", like Japan-South Korea-Singapore.

 

[Civ'ed]

Solar Gamer said that he "confirmed" that PAC includes Mongolia of all things. I think that makes space for another asian "civ", like Japan-South Korea-Singapore.

Wasn't Japan confirmed in the PAC?
Also, the mention of the "Korean Crises" in Sochua's fluff text suggests that the Koreas (or Korea) are also part of the PAC.
Singapore could very well be Polystralian, if we assume all the Malayan states are part of Polystralia.

 

[AriochIV]

The regions that the factions come from is irrelevant; the ethnicities of the factions have zero impact on gameplay in Beyond Earth. Plus, it's a fictional future, so you could make up any fictional corporate or ethnic group you care to think of. A better question to ask is: what kind of gameplay bonuses would such groups bring to the table?

 

[Eisenhart]

Solar Gamer said that he "confirmed" that PAC includes Mongolia of all things. I think that makes space for another asian "civ", like Japan-South Korea-Singapore.

Well, Mongolia is in that area (East-Central Asia).

However, Singapore and the rest of SEA are much further south, and are culturally distinct from the East Asian cultures (albeit, much influenced).

 

[Eisenhart]

The regions that the factions come from is irrelevant; the ethnicities of the factions have zero impact on gameplay in Beyond Earth. Plus, it's a fictional future, so you could make up any fictional corporate or ethnic group you care to think of. A better question to ask is: what kind of gameplay bonuses would such groups bring to the table?

An ASEAN faction would probably have some diplomatic-themed bonuses? The region is kinda well-known for the non-confrontational policies they have with one another (and only moving as a bloc if there's a unanimous decision).

I would suppose a Nordic state would specialize in Science and Health, perhaps?

 

[Ikael]

8 different factions is definively lacking. Having more factions with their unique abilities adds a ton of replayability and makes it easier to suit every player's gamestyle. Please add more factions, Firaxis!

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Interesting bonuses to add

Maintenance reduction (only energy associated one is Polystralias trade)...Northern Europe

Health effect...give a 'big city/capital' boost to the 'ancient empire' region of greece-persia

 

[Stigmatus]

 

[Liex]

I'd like to see some UA exploring the affinity system.

There are a few ways it could work:

• Grant *something* for every x Affinity levels (e.g. +1 of the appropriate resource for each Affinity level);
• Grant +1 Affinity level for every x *something* (e.g. +1 Affinity level for every x Techs).

An UA rewarding or easing exploration (like Spain's or the Shoshone's scout) could be fun. The expedition sites would provide some nice possibilities.

Maybe there's room for one more militaristic faction. Since Brasilia's UA makes their units stronger, a new faction could explore a "quantity" bonus (faster military unit production, reduced maintenance cost).

 

[AriochIV]

[DLC Meme]

Splitting up a $60 game into 13 $5 parts won't happen, because that doesn't earn them enough extra money to be worth the trouble. What you have to worry about is them splitting up a $60 game into 100 $5 parts.

 

[gunnergoz]

Clever but way too cynical WRT Firaxis/Sid Meier games IMO.

 

[awesome]

The regions that the factions come from is irrelevant; the ethnicities of the factions have zero impact on gameplay in Beyond Earth. Plus, it's a fictional future, so you could make up any fictional corporate or ethnic group you care to think of. A better question to ask is: what kind of gameplay bonuses would such groups bring to the table?

whatever the developers want them to, really. i never would've given brazil the strongest army, but there you go.

 

[gunnergoz]

whatever the developers want them to, really. i never would've given brazil the strongest army, but there you go.

I think it was part of the developers' plan to disconnect the UA's from the familiar stereotypes connected to nations, peoples and regions. These sponsors are not your grandfather's civs, these are something you have to define yourself as the game plays out. I think it would have hurt player immersion if they felt they were simply playing "Cold War" or "Roman Empire" in space, i.e. the old tired players dressed up in new costumes on a new set. There are echoes of the past, but no real connections you can put your finger on.

 

[awesome]

I think it was part of the developers' plan to disconnect the UA's from the familiar stereotypes connected to nations, peoples and regions. These sponsors are not your grandfather's civs, these are something you have to define yourself as the game plays out. I think it would have hurt player immersion if they felt they were simply playing "Cold War" or "Roman Empire" in space, i.e. the old tired players dressed up in new costumes on a new set. There are echoes of the past, but no real connections you can put your finger on.

well, yes and no. some of the bonuses, definitely, but usa stuff like harder workers in china or better spies in usa? that's pretty stereotypical and much more than just echoes.
but, that's kind of my point. brazil today makes no sense as a military powerhouse, but that's what they are in the game. for the same reason, a middle eastern faction might get a culture bonus to represent how resistant their culture is to change, a money bonus to represent the economy of dubai or a health bonus to represent...future health reforms.

 

[gunnergoz]

well, yes and no. some of the bonuses, definitely, but usa stuff like harder workers in china or better spies in usa? that's pretty stereotypical and much more than just echoes.
but, that's kind of my point. brazil today makes no sense as a military powerhouse, but that's what they are in the game. for the same reason, a middle eastern faction might get a culture bonus to represent how resistant their culture is to change, a money bonus to represent the economy of dubai or a health bonus to represent...future health reforms.

I find your choice of stereotypes exactly reversed from the reality I live in, where Americans work longer hours and are more productive than almost any other workers in the world, and it is the Chinese who are becoming famous for their skulldiggery in the realms of industrial, digital and corporate spy craft. So that being the case, my sense of the disconnect from the past in BE remains intact.