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There's this one too! Where I complain about students who aren't reading and hope Civ turns them onto books.

Clarifications:
By "textbook" I kind of meant "academic history books."
My example of SE Asian border politics is really pre-mid-19th C.
I have (some) students who DO read and they're fantastic for that!
 
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According to the GameStar the Gaming Medias and Streamers receive their Review Keys.
(Article in German)
The Review Embaro will fall on February 3th 15:00 CET.

Civilization 7: The review keys are here! When is the test coming?

Almost four weeks before release, 2K has sent out the test version of the strategy hopeful Civilization 7. We'll tell you when you can expect our report.

Just a few days after Warhorse announced that they were already sending out review keys for Kingdom Come 2, 2K and Firaxis are now following suit: since 10 January, editorial teams and content creators have been supplied with test versions of the turn-based strategy game Civilization 7.
Naturally, we are also on the list and are already getting stuck into the first games. The relatively early delivery of review keys for Civilization 7 is even more unusual than for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
This is because it comes from a major international publisher, 2K, which normally takes a very restrictive approach and only sends out keys shortly before release. This time, however, 2K has decided differently. And this also applies to the test embargo, which falls relatively early.

Civilization 7 and Kingdom Come 2 in a test duel
We would definitely have chosen differently and would have preferred to avoid both Kingdom Come 2 and Civilization 7 in this duel for our and your attention. Because yes, the tests for both blockbusters are published on the same day. In the case of Civilization 7, we are even allowed to communicate the specific time:

The review embargo for Civilization 7 falls on February 3, 2025 at 3 pm.

This is surprising at first glance, as the turn-based strategy game will not be playable for most people until February 11, a full eight days later.
However, Civilization 7 will be released in versions with different prices. And those who put 100 euros on the table for the Deluxe Edition and 130 euros for the Founders Edition will be able to get started five days earlier, on February 6 to be precise.
As we know, we don't think much of such pre-order bonuses, but at least it's fair of 2K to allow the tests to be released three days before the early access phase and thus enable correspondingly early journalistic reporting.

First impressions as early as next week
The simultaneous publication of two such important tests presents even a large gaming editorial team like GameStar with some challenges. But that is of course complaining at the highest level, after all, there could be far worse things than being allowed to test two of the most anticipated games of the year several weeks before release.
And fortunately, our editorial team is big enough to be able to do both without compromising on quality. The team led by Civilization expert Reiner Hauser and chief sceptic Peter Bathge is therefore eager to provide you with the best possible test coverage.
We will start on January 16 with a detailed preview in which we will report on our first impressions of the game.
Of course, you can expect the full program for the review embargo on 3 February:
- a detailed test including a video by Reiner.
- a technical check that will tell you how well the game runs on your computer.
- a guide to help you with your first steps in Civilization 7.
- one or two surprises that we are not yet revealing.

GameStar Article (Free), Translatet by DeepL.
 
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According to the GameStar the Gaming Medias and Streamers receive their Review Keys.
(Article in German)
The Review Embaro will fall on February 3th 15:00 CET.
Furthermore, Gamestar's first article about their press build will be January 16, next week.
 
There's this one too! Where I complain about students who aren't reading and hope Civ turns them onto books.

Clarifications:
By "textbook" I kind of meant "academic history books."
My example of SE Asian border politics is really pre-mid-19th C.
I have (some) students who DO read and they're fantastic for that!

Well you have already succeeded there
 

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A few errors in their report. They claim there's no way to see what your relationship with IPs are, but there's a meter at the bottom of the screen when you talk to them.

Also, they are repeating the lazy myth that the civ switching was borrowed from HK instead of developed independently.
The writing is so, so bad. The article’s hard to get through.
 
A few errors in their report. They claim there's no way to see what your relationship with IPs are, but there's a meter at the bottom of the screen when you talk to them.
He said this specifically in relation to the Form an Alliance button when you are already an ally of a given IP, i.e. when you have already filled the bar and the Form an Alliance button still returns the answer that your relations with them are insufficient. More about it on his YT channel (tvgry, Polish language, unfortunately).

Also, they are repeating the lazy myth that the civ switching was borrowed from HK instead of developed independently.
Yes, that's ridiculous. There is even talk of being inspired by Millennia when designing Civ 7, which is rather impossible.

The writing is so, so bad. The article’s hard to get through.
Yes, but that doesn't mean his feelings about the gameplay aren't genuine. He represents that part of the audience that is unlikely to feel happy about the new mechanics in Civ 7. However, some comments about the implementation of these mechanics, their effects and bugs are worth taking into account.
 
Firaxis's take on Jose Rizal receives attention from a Filipino tv news program
 
https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/civilization-vii/civilization-vii-the-beginning-of-a-new-age

Paste: In the past you’ve talked about the rule of thirds when it comes to sequels—how ideally they’d be one third new features, one third improved, and one third staying the same. How do you know when something should be improved or replaced with a new feature?

Ed Beach, Creative Director:
This time we struggled with this a little bit, even though we’re supposedly masters at using this principle. We had done a really in-depth look at Civilization VI, and what was working and what wasn’t working. And I had asked the designers of each of the systems within Civ VI what they wanted to change and what they felt like was still working. And they came back with a very aggressive list of things to change. We had to tell them, no, we can’t change all those things. That’s changing way more than a third of the game in a drastic new direction, and we have to kind of let our players still feel grounded. Let this still feel like this is a Civilization experience for them. So we did a lot of prioritization. I think we took some systems like our combat system that was working pretty darn well in V and VI in terms of how two units engaged in combat. And even though we had ideas on how we might want to change those, I said, hey, if that’s really not something that needs to change, that’s not a top priority to change, because it’s working pretty well. Let’s not mess with it. So we absolutely did apply those principles. We talked about it and it led to some scaling back in some areas. But I do think overall, we’re probably breaking that one third, one third, one third principle. I think we got a little bit aggressive in terms of how much we want to change. But you know, it’s been nine years since the last version. So it was time for some new ideas.
 
Much in Zechenter's article just tells me that he has different priorities than I do. However, this:

"I don't understand how one could design such an unreadable map. Although I suspect where this came from - the developers focused on detailed and impressive graphic design. It's really enjoyable to watch how our cities develop over the centuries, occupying more areas of the map, and visually changing with each passing era. This looks absolutely wonderful up close. The problem is that you can hardly see anything in this mix of colors, and the units completely blend in with the background, which is a hindrance during war. Let's be honest, you can admire Civilization in full close-ups, but still, 95% of the time is spent zoomed out (by the way, the biggest zoom out level from the sixth game, the one that switched to a painted map, was removed). I don't understand why at some stage of production someone didn't say: "listen, this map may be beautiful, but it's also very unreadable, we need to do something about it".

This may indeed by a significant problem for me. It is very popular to have beautiful graphics, and I have to admit that such things are striking on a first playthrough. But by game five or ten, I swing pretty hard to functionality being the priority. I frequently cursed Civ 6 for this (especially later in the game, and especially when dealing with religion), and I really hope Zechenter is wrong. Because I want to see what is going on strategically and tactically. And Civ 7 is going to discourage what was a common practice for a lot of us, starting over about the time the map began to get cluttered.

Also of concern:
"my first impressions of the crises. Various problems arise towards the end of antiquity or the age of discoveries. I have survived invasions of barbarians (in the form of many hostile city-states appearing on the map), rebellions, religious schisms, or an epidemic. So it's good that crises are both diverse and random, it's just a pity that most of them were not particularly interesting. They were not a particular challenge for me either - only the rebellions gave me a hard time, but that was during my first playthrough, when I was still learning everything, so now I would probably handle them better."
This fits with the impression that I have gotten from content creators that crises are interesting ideas in theory, but turn out to be a mere blip. That you just pray for barbarians so as to have targets for your commanders to level up easily. Not a super big deal, I'm not buying the game for the crises, but probably not a strength of the game at release.
 
https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/civilization-vii/civilization-vii-the-beginning-of-a-new-age

Paste: In the past you’ve talked about the rule of thirds when it comes to sequels—how ideally they’d be one third new features, one third improved, and one third staying the same. How do you know when something should be improved or replaced with a new feature?

Ed Beach, Creative Director:
This time we struggled with this a little bit, even though we’re supposedly masters at using this principle. We had done a really in-depth look at Civilization VI, and what was working and what wasn’t working. And I had asked the designers of each of the systems within Civ VI what they wanted to change and what they felt like was still working. And they came back with a very aggressive list of things to change. We had to tell them, no, we can’t change all those things. That’s changing way more than a third of the game in a drastic new direction, and we have to kind of let our players still feel grounded. Let this still feel like this is a Civilization experience for them. So we did a lot of prioritization. I think we took some systems like our combat system that was working pretty darn well in V and VI in terms of how two units engaged in combat. And even though we had ideas on how we might want to change those, I said, hey, if that’s really not something that needs to change, that’s not a top priority to change, because it’s working pretty well. Let’s not mess with it. So we absolutely did apply those principles. We talked about it and it led to some scaling back in some areas. But I do think overall, we’re probably breaking that one third, one third, one third principle. I think we got a little bit aggressive in terms of how much we want to change. But you know, it’s been nine years since the last version. So it was time for some new ideas.
Something I respect firaxis for is innovating between each game while they could stay safe
 

The Crises Are Simulations, but the Lessons Are Real​

The turn-based strategy game Civilization VII emphasizes chaotic transition periods when latent challenges all emerge at once.

  • In a video game screenshot, tanks and planes battle on a landscape filled with buildings, trees and small mountains.
A military battle in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, where empires must survive through the ages of antiquity, exploration and modernity.Credit...Firaxis Games

By Yussef Cole
Feb. 8, 2025, 5:01 a.m. ET

Unhappiness is a dreaded condition in the Civilization game series. Unhappy citizens stop working, stop researching scientific pursuits and, worst of all, start rioting.

In the new Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, which introduces three historical ages and a mounting series of crises during the transitions between them, my ancient Babylonian empire was running smoothly and expanding with ease. Then, suddenly, things struggled to feel cohesive. The game declared that my empire had fractured “as once-loyal settlements seek their own path forward.”

The unhappiness in my cities and towns grew so severe that several outlying settlements began trashing their districts and looking to outside civilizations for support. While I worked at putting out fires started by rioters, my neighbor Napoleon swooped in and quickly conquered one of my towns. This started a territorial war that only deepened the unhappiness of my population. Soon, half my towns were in revolt.

While following your chosen civilization’s path in Civilization VII, from the rough-hewed settlements of the past to the glistening megalopolises of the future, you move through ages that transform not just your technologies, government and civic policies, but also the broader identity of your civilization itself.

With its precipitous rises and falls, Civilization VII, which will be released on Tuesday for PCs, Macs and consoles, is a departure for the series. Although past iterations have had revolts, diplomatic incidents and civic upset, they tend to feel less closely connected to the ways that historical forces can boil over into crisis and conflict.

The violent and chaotic cuts here accurately reflect a world history where many things can happen all at once and often with surprising swiftness. History doesn’t always move forward in the routine, turn-based lock step of the 4X genre (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) that Civilization popularized. More often, root causes like financial instability, cultural changes and oppressive hierarchies stay below the surface until emerging in a cacophony of war, revolution and natural-disaster-fueled chaos.

It feels appropriate to be playing this game at this point in America’s history. The coronavirus pandemic was an event of immense disruption. The whole planet came to a standstill; many industries floundered and either transformed completely or disappeared. At the same time, we had a leader in President Trump who could compound the feelings of disorientation. We are a divided and unhappy nation, and it’s difficult to know where to go from here.

It’s in states of disorientation that societies can see change that appears to happen overnight. What seemed impossible during periods of greater stability can now be pushed through.

Naomi Klein posits this in “The Shock Doctrine,” a 2007 political history in which she points to a series of major political shifts in the latter half of the 20th century as examples of moments when societies faced crises and changed dramatically: the end of apartheid in South Africa. The Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. The war in Iraq under George W. Bush.

Those who pick up Civilization VII will be buffeted by these sorts of crisis scenarios, as well as by increasingly violent environmental catastrophes like flooding rivers and erupting volcanoes. It’s easy to see why dramatic political change can result.

It took a hurricane in New Orleans for real estate conglomerates to condemn many of the housing units once occupied by poor residents and for the city to try a radical approach to its education system like privatizing it with charter schools. It took a tsunami in Sri Lanka after a cease-fire in its civil war for its tourism industry to kick out the fishing villagers who once lived on its ravaged beaches. The end of the Soviet Union brought precipitous economic collapse, which along with pressure from Western banks led to a corrupt bifurcated society ruled by oligarchs.
Image
In a video game screenshot, a pyramidic Maya temple sits on a cliff near a sprawling city.

A Maya empire in Civilization VII.

History doesn’t always move forward in the routine, turn-based lock step of the 4X genre (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) that the Civilization series popularized.Credit...Firaxis Games

Civilization VII evokes the dynamics of these historical moments through its gameplay, by always having crises accompany change. The identity of your starting civilization — Aksum, Egypt, Khmer, Maya, Rome, etc. — cannot shift from one age to the next without disruption, without an often overwhelming amount of chaos that threatens to bring everything crashing down.

Each transition disrupts the smooth, automatic function of a civilization. The people want more from your leadership; you can no longer ride out your deficits, borrowing against tomorrow. Tomorrow has arrived.

In the game’s first age, antiquity, you establish cities and towns and map out the geography of your starting continent. Once you have a nascent empire — spreading out a bit, meeting a few other civilizations, and discovering the oceanic borders of your land mass — the game moves into the exploration age, which introduces seafaring, colonization and religious proselytizing. The final age is the modern one, with the world now mostly settled and divided up, its borders more sharply defined and ossified.

In my play-through as the Babylonian empire, surviving into the exploration age automatically quelled the uprisings. I adopted a cohesive new identity, of the Abbasid empire, and proceeded to spread my civilization’s Islamic beliefs far and wide, with an endless army of missionaries. I managed to ride out the threatening rise of the mercantile class and the bourgeoisie, wrap up the exploration age, and make it a few turns into the modern age, only to have war declared on me by several civilizations at once.

During Civilization VII’s catastrophic transitions, it’s easy to lose hope, to drift unsure into a dissociated doomerism. I lost one town to riots, another to invasion, and the production in my capital is stalled.

It’s hard not to resign myself to powerlessness in the face of severe catastrophes that seem to appear out of nowhere. But persevering in the face of disaster usually means making it out to the other side, eventually. Remember that the potential for change can work both ways. The civilization that makes it out of a crisis often won’t look anything like the one that went in.
 
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