Crossroads of the World Collection - Part 1 - Details announced

[Noble Zarkon]

The first half of the paid Crossroads of the World Collection includes the new leader Ada Lovelace, the new civs Great Britain (Modern Age) and Carthage (Antiquity Age), and the Natural Wonder Pack including four new Natural Wonders: Machapuchare, Mount Fuji, Vihren, and Vinicunca.

From childhood, Ada Lovelace inspected the world through a scientist's eyes. Forging a path between intellectualism and imagination, she applied her mathematical mind to the nineteenth century's most cutting-edge experiments. Working with mechanical computers, which made calculations using gears and punch cards, she designed the first computer program, establishing the field of computing over a century before technology caught up to her vision.

Unique Ability​

Enchantress of Number: Cities receive increased Science per Age when you complete a Civic Mastery. This resets at the start of each Age. Gain Culture equal to a percentage of your total Science per turn when you complete a Technology Mastery.

Attributes​

• Scientific
• Cultural

Agendas​

Analytical Engine: Increase Relationship by a Small Amount for the leader with the most Masteries. Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount for the leader with the fewest Masteries.

Starting Biases​

• None

 

[Noble Zarkon]

From humble colony to economic hegemony, Carthage rose from the shores of North Africa to dominate the Mediterranean Sea. Its sleek ships ferried goods and riches all over the known world, while at home, the city of Carthage was famed for its master craftsmen and deep agricultural knowledge. Competition with first Greece, then Rome, honed renowned generals and a powerful navy. But war was Carthage’s undoing, and the city was destroyed in 146 BCE.

Unique Ability​

Phoenician Heritage: Can only have one City. Towns cannot use Convert to City. When you create a Merchant or Colonist Unit, gain a copy of that Unit.

Attributes​

• Militaristic
• Economic

Civic Trees​

Shipsheds

• Tier 1: Increased Movement for Naval Units. Unlocks the Cothon Unique Building and Byrsa Wonder.
• Tier 2: Increased Range for Naval Units. Unlocks the 'Quinquereme' Tradition.
• Tradition - Quinquereme: Increased Gold towards purchasing Naval Units. Decreased Gold maintenance for Naval Units.

Wisdom of Tanit

• Tier 1: Increased Sea Trade Route Range. Increased Gold in the Capital for every Trade Route from the Capital. Unlocks the Dockyard Unique Building.
• Tier 2: Increased Resource Cap in the Capital. Unlocks the 'Gaulos' Tradition.
• Tradition - Gaulos: Increased Gold towards purchasing Buildings on Coast or Navigable Rivers.

Sicilian Wars

• Tier 1: Increased Settlement Cap. Unlocks the 'Suffetes' Tradition.
• Tradition - Suffetes: Increased Gold from Mining Towns. Increased Food from Fishing or Farming Towns.
• Tier 2: Increased Movement and Sight for the Numidian Cavalry Unique Cavalry Unit.

Unique Infrastructure​

Punic Port: Unique Quarter. Increased Resource Capacity in this Settlement. Can be built in Towns.

Cothon: Unique Building. Production Base. Production adjacency with Coast and Navigable Rivers. Must be built on a Coast tile.

Dockyard: Unique Building. Gold Base. Food adjacency with Resources and Districts. Must be built on a Coast tile.

Unique Civilian Unit​

Colonist: Replaces Settler. Increased Embarked Movement. Increased Population if settled adjacent to a Resource.

Unique Military Unit​

Numidian Cavalry: Unique Cavalry Unit. Can only be purchased and are more expensive than other Cavalry Units. Increased Combat Strength for each Unique City Resource assigned to your Capital.

Associated Wonder​

Byrsa: Gold Base. Trade Routes from this Settlement cannot be plundered. All tiles in this City that are adjacent to Coast and eligible for Walls receive a Wall. Must be placed adjacent to a Coast tile.

Starting Biases​

• Coast

 

[Noble Zarkon]

The sun never set on Great Britain's vast empire. Its territories spread across all continents, funneling raw materials from colonial holdings to the factories of the metropole. Foreign policy was conducted through economic strategy, extensive diplomacy, and threat of war. The British navy dominated the seas, while at home, society found a new order amid the explosion of industry. Under Pax Britannica, the world followed Britain's lead.

Unique Ability​

Workshop of the World: Buildings are a set percentage cheaper to produce or purchase. Converting Towns into Cities costs a set percentage more.

Attributes​

• Economic
• Expansionist

Civic Trees​

Pax Britannica

• Tier 1: Settlements receive increased Production for each Factory Resource assigned to them. Unlocks the Royal Exchange Unique Building.
• Tier 2: Unlocks the Manufactory Unique Building and the Battersea Power Station Wonder.

Society of Antiquaries

• Tier 1: Increased Movement for Civilian Units. Unlocks the 'Proceedings' Tradition.
• Tradition - Proceedings: Cities with both a Great Work and a Resource slotted receive increased Culture and Science.

Chartered Companies

• Tier 1: Ports provide increased Resource Capacity. Unlocks the 'East India Company' Tradition.
• Tradition - East India Company: Increased Gold on each Building in Towns.

Splendid Isolation

• Tier 1: Units receive increased Combat Strength, unless you're yielding negative Gold per turn at the start of the turn. Increased Settlement Cap. Unlocks the 'No Eternal Allies' Tradition.
• Tradition - No Eternal Allies: Increased Gold in Towns. For every Alliance, receive decreased Gold in the Capital.

Unique Infrastructure​

Financial Centre: Unique Quarter. Increased Gold for every connected Settlement.

Royal Exchange: Unique Building. Gold Base. Gold adjacency for Quarters.

Manufactory: Unique Building. Production Base. Production Adjacency from Resources and Gold Adjacency with Navigable Rivers.

Unique Civilian Unit​

Antiquarian: Unique Explorer Unit. Receives Culture for every tile from your Capital when you use the Excavate Artifact action.

Unique Military Unit​

Revenge: Unique Naval Unit. Has the Splash keyword, dealing a small amount of damage to all enemy Units adjacent to the target tile when attacking.

Associated Wonder​

Battersea Power Station: Production Base. When training a Naval Unit, receive an additional Naval Unit of the same type. Must be built on a land tile adjacent to water.

Starting Biases​

• None

 

[Noble Zarkon]

Machapuchare
+2 Culture and +4 Production per Age. +1 Happiness on Rough and Mountain Terrain in this Settlement.

Mount Fuji
+2 Gold, Culture, and Happiness per Age. Volcano tiles.

Vihren
+4 Food and +2 Production per Age. +1 Happiness and Culture per Age, every time an Environmental Event has provided Fertility this Age to you.

Vinicunca
+2 Production, Happiness, and Science per Age. +2 Culture to adjacent Rural tiles.

 

[Uberfrog]

Very bizarre that the Power Station provides naval bonuses. They should have gone for the Royal Naval College instead!

 

[queenpea]

Unique Civilian Unit​

Antiquarian: Unique Explorer Unit. Receives Culture for every tile from your Capital when you use the Excavate Artifact action.

Associated Wonder​

Battersea Power Station: Production Base. When training a Naval Unit, receive an additional Naval Unit of the same type. Must be built on a land tile adjacent to water.

Starting Biases​

• None

Antiquarians are a bummer to me, only because I was hoping the cultural victory would get a huge do-over. We don't need faster explorers that produce more culture which enable you to power through the civic tree to Hegemony any faster than currently possible.

Battersea is interesting. I wonder if the naval bonus is city-specific or empire-wide.

Odd they don't have a coast bias!

 

[Jkchart]

Really enjoy both Civs and Ada tbh. But Carthage is my favorite being extremely unique.

 

[Leucarum]

Carthage is interesting. Definitely gonna be a challenge to get legacy paths done. For science would you need to play Catherine for extra slots and rush to Nalanda? Any other way to finish it? Probably gonna need Colossus/Monks Mound for economic too...

For Britain it looks fine - I guess it more depends on whether the modern age matters. Victory conditions being what they are it's tough to rate modern civs. Hopefully culture path improvement is meaningful, though still all the victory paths but millitary are a bit too quick...

Ada is shooting right up my list of favourite leaders though. 10/10 no notes.

 

[Siptah]

Antiquarians are a bummer to me, only because I was hoping the cultural victory would get a huge do-over. We don't need faster explorers that produce more culture which enable you to power through the civic tree to Hegemony any faster that currently possible.

A rework of the cultural victory was announced. We don't know how much will change, but if I look at how it is currently, extra movement on explorer would be quite strong. But where is this "faster" info coming from?

Carthage is interesting. Definitely gonna be a challenge to get legacy paths done. For science would you need to play Catherine for extra slots and rush to Nalanda? Any other way to finish it? Probably gonna need Colossus/Monks Mound for economic too...

For science (and culture if it is fixed), you need to conquer (which will also help with the military path). Economic should be super easy with the extra resource capacity from the quarter that can be purchased in towns.

 

[Hellenism Salesman]

Finally!!!!!

 

[Noble Zarkon]

But where is this "faster" info coming from?

Society of Antiquaries Tier 1: Increased Movement for Civilian Units

 

[Siptah]

Society of Antiquaries Tier 1: Increased Movement for Civilian Units

Uh. So it also applies to commanders?

 

[queenpea]

A rework of the cultural victory was announced. We don't know how much will change, but if I look at how it is currently, extra movement on explorer would be quite strong. But where is this "faster" info coming from?

They just shared more information via a YouTube short. To summarize: explorers are more expensive and artifacts are more rare. Natural wonders can be explored for artifacts. Artifacts can be earned by future civics.

Not the grand-scale kind of change I was hoping for.

 

[Leucarum]

For science (and culture if it is fixed), you need to conquer (which will also help with the military path). Economic should be super easy with the extra resource capacity from the quarter that can be purchased in towns.

Good catch! I'd missed that the quarter can be purchased in towns. That I really like! More stuff to carry through to the next age. I like that a lot!

It's fine to not complete legacy paths anyway, but interesting that some paths require circuitous routes.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

Carthage as spiritual successor of Civ 5 Venice?

Good call!!

 

[SammyKhalifa]

They just shared more information via a YouTube short. To summarize: explorers are more expensive and artifacts are more rare. Natural wonders can be explored for artifacts. Artifacts can be earned by future civics.

Not the grand-scale kind of change I was hoping for.

I think things are coming. They always have in the past. They weren't going to totally rewrite something that major in three weeks or whatever it's been.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

So it also applies to commanders?

I would assume so as they are technically Civilian units!

Unique Civilian Unit​

Legatus: Unique Commander. Can gain the ability to create a new Settlement after a set number of Promotions.

Unique Military Unit​

Legion: Unique Infantry Unit. Gains Increased Combat Strength for every Roman Tradition in the Government.

 

[Siptah]

Not the grand-scale kind of change I was hoping for.

Agreed.

But looking at the short, it does help a bit. Changing the cost of the first explorer from 400 to 1330 is a massive change! No more saving up and buying 4 explorers the turn you hit natural history. And that money will be missing for buying railroads and factories as well (if you go multi path). Less artifacts might also mean that if 3-4 civs are really competing (and they will with less explorers) you need to rely more on overbuilding (= luck), city states or really need to finish the culture tree. This doesn't look too bad for a quick fix.

 

[stealth_nsk]

They just shared more information via a YouTube short. To summarize: explorers are more expensive and artifacts are more rare. Natural wonders can be explored for artifacts. Artifacts can be earned by future civics.

Not the grand-scale kind of change I was hoping for.

I didn't expect grand scale changes from quick patch, but pace updates are clearly welcome.

Also, I don't know how artifacts from natural wonders work - if they are mentioned separately, probably they don't follow regular process and you could actually dig them after other players dug it? If that's the case, then together with artifacts from future civics it follows the idea of having less artifacts in race and more artifacts available from other sources.

 

[queenpea]

Agreed.

But looking at the short, it does help a bit. Changing the cost of the first explorer from 400 to 1330 is a massive change! No more saving up and buying 4 explorers the turn you hit natural history. And that money will be missing for buying railroads and factories as well (if you go multi path). Less artifacts might also mean that if 3-4 civs are really competing (and they will with less explorers) you need to rely more on overbuilding (= luck) or really need to finish the culture tree. This doesn't look too bad for a quick fix.

We'll see, but with the addition of GB, the first civ designed specifically to chase down a cultural victory through a unique Explorer, it still sounds easy to me.

Honestly, as a cultural player from all other version of Civilization, I still am really disappointed by how it's handled in every Age except Antiquity. It's frankly terrible in VII.

Having fun with VII otherwise, but I reserve the right to remain extremely salty on all things Culture in VII.