Let's see, the original guess list I wrote when Humankind was announced: American Colonies, Cherokee, Ethiopia, French, Germany, Japan, Mughals, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain, Zulu. Now that lists just reads wrong for so many reason, but I still feel, I got half of them right. If I revise it, I'd get now:
1.
British (I had UK as a name, but British works just as well, they are quintessential, I hope they are scientific
2.
Cherokee (I still feel, one more Native American Civ is warranted, the
Sioux are also a possibility, plain raiders, why not?)
3.
Ethiopian* (I can see them in modern era as well, but they do fit here as well, especially as we got our token African and Middle Eastern candidates and they would tick off both kinda)
4.
French (to be fair though, the big French time kinda feels pre-industrial revolution, but this way, they can add in a Louis XIV-culture later on and have this one focus on Napoleon and the Eiffel Tower)
5.
Iranians (they feel like slotted in as a token Middle Eastern culture here. Maybe the modern era got too tight? But they were kinda semi-confirmed)
6.
Mexico ( I do feel that it's an iconic culture and more so than Argentine and fits better here than in the Modern Era - and hey I wanted a wild card in my list that other people don't have)
7.
Russia (We want the Soviets, so Russia must come here - and they deserve it: Huzzah! (everyone should watch the tv show "The Great" by the way)
8.
Siam (One truly Asian culture feels fitting, and Siam is important. I didn't have them as I wanted a modern Vietnam to get that Vietnam-United States pairing)
9.
Swedish (apparently we're theming around their wars against Russia? Honestly, I'd feel Sweden would fit better within the Early Modern Ear (30 years war) or modernity (the Scandinavian Welfare State))
10.
Zulu (I don't like them, but apparently they are iconic and can oppose the British with a fresh style of play - there are so many more interesting African cultures to chose from though).
Runner ups:
I do feel like the
US is missing here: The civil war had a very special aesthetic and the push towards the colonization of the Wild West feels like a good gameplay role to fill out and be a good pairing with the Native American Faction - playing "cowboys and indians" like we did as Children. But if they don't want to repeat the name, I have a hard time to find a name that fits: Colonial America? The United States (and have the Modern ones be named the
Americans?) - or vice versa? Texans? Union? They did this with Edo Japanese, so it's doable - but how? Switch them out above for the Ethiopians to get a good "Wild West" US-Native Americans-Mexicans scenario going on.
Speaking of,
Meij Japan or simply "The Japanese" seem to be a given given the naming of the Early Modern Japanese - I do feel however that the modern Era might be flavoured around World War 2 - and then they fit in perfectly with all the other combatants of that war. That theming would also allow them to add a new era in at the end as a DLC with cultures themed around the year 2020. But since WW2 is at the tail end of the Industrial Era, they would fit also very well in within the Industrial Era.
Austria does fit the era and would fill the slot in the (Western) European triangle of England-France-Germany. It'd be a reversal of the Siege of Vienna though if Austrians are Industrial and Ottomans Early Modern. They'd take the place of my wildcard Mexico of course.
Prussia would also be a possibility and fit a Seven-Year-War scenario as well as with regard to Sweden/Russia and a Poland that's one era behind. For marketing reasons, Austria trumps Prussia who can always be in a DLC that Germans want to buy as well.
On the other hand, what if they give us Austria-Hungary as a culture?
Another Wildcard is
Morocco or another Barbary State. While Morocco itself probably fits better into the Early Modern Era, the look&feel of the Barbary states is certainly emblematic. And they deserve a spot, so why not here? Plus they do interact with the French, the Americans and the Spanish and Ottomans from an Era before.
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So, long story short, I do feel like we will get a nice round-up here and not many contenders left for a DLC. I do feel though that we need the Americans already here, they're just so emblematic and well - a big market.