Firaxis' Shape Of Things To Come: BE2 or Civ VII?

[Haig]

What is the QA test branch that has been tested last month on Civ VI Steam database?

https://steamdb.info/app/289070/history/

Was it related to the 2k launcher patch or something else?

@Eagle Pursuit

 

[aieeegrunt]

I don't mind some of the board-gameyness, especially in terms of aesthetics, but in terms of gameplay I agree that it could take much more advantage of its medium.

It can work. The idea of swapping policy cards in and out for example. It’s pretty simple and intuitive

The UI, which is where the computer should really be useful, is just ridiculous fail. How, the hell, does it not show you the change in yields etc for various policy cards BEFORE you comitt to changes as just one example. That is such basic functionality it’s on the level of the game not working with a mouse levels of what is wrong with you.

 

[kaspergm]

It can work. The idea of swapping policy cards in and out for example. It’s pretty simple and intuitive

... which was one of the elements of Civ6 I hate the most. The whole strategy around: Uncovering a useless policy until you have one turn left one it, then leave it hanging until you need to, say, upgrade a lot of different units, then you swap in the 50 % upgrade cost card and queue up your prepared civic, upgrade all your units in one turn, and then slot upgrade cost card out again, rinse and repeat. Very bad game design imo.


Anyway, wrt. what title of thread was originally about, it says Civ7 or BE2, but could one imagine another spin-off than BE, for instance a new Colonization? Wasn't there a Colonization after Civ4, or am I wrong? My thought here is, can one imagine they run some sort of alternate cycle between the different spin-offs?

 

[Zegangani]

I don't think we will get a Civ Spin-off Game for Civ VI. Beyond Earth came 4 Years after the release of Civ V, Colinisation 3 Years after Civ IV. If we would get a Spin-Off Game for Civ 6 this Year, then that would be 6 Years since Civ VI came out, that's more so unlikely because all the Spin-Offs so far came 1 Year after the 2nd Expansion of their Game, which would mean a Spin-Off Game for Civ VI should have been released instead of NFP, or at latest in 2021 considering Corona. I think Firaxis may have considered making a Spin-Off Game but decided for NFP instead, which is without doubt the better decision.

Besides, IF we would get a Spin-Off this Year, then that would mean no Civ 7 for at least 2 more Years, till 2024 at most. I highly doubt that, and I would be very disappointed if Firaxis introduced all those Fantasy/Sci-fi Game Modes in NFP just to make a Spin-Off to introduce more of that.

 

[blackbutterfly]

I don't think we will get a Civ Spin-off Game for Civ VI...

Perhaps you are right.

There is some evidence for Firaxis not working on a Beyond Earth 2. Will Miller the co-Lead on Civ:BE looks like he's working on Midnight Suns -> Will Miller (@wrmwrites) / Twitter

BUT many of Firaxis' job postings appear to be for Midnight Suns. Maybe that will free up Firaxis developers who have been tasked with Midnight Suns to work on other things.
Also 2K have said in their quarterly earnings that Firaxis will be announcing a plural of games this year, so...IDK

IMO we're unlikely to get an announcement of Civ Next until after Mar 22 when Midnight Suns ships.

 

[Leucarum]

IMO we're unlikely to get an announcement of Civ Next until after Mar 22 when Midnight Suns ships.

Agreed, there have been plenty of good opportunities lately for Civ7 to be announced if it were close enough.

I'd love a new version of BE - just because SMAC is something I still get cravings for and... I tried to love Beyond Earth, but couldn't. If a newer version got it right I'd be a very happy bunny.

 

[aieeegrunt]

I don't think we will get a Civ Spin-off Game for Civ VI. Beyond Earth came 4 Years after the release of Civ V, Colinisation 3 Years after Civ IV. If we would get a Spin-Off Game for Civ 6 this Year, then that would be 6 Years since Civ VI came out, that's more so unlikely because all the Spin-Offs so far came 1 Year after the 2nd Expansion of their Game, which would mean a Spin-Off Game for Civ VI should have been released instead of NFP, or at latest in 2021 considering Corona. I think Firaxis may have considered making a Spin-Off Game but decided for NFP instead, which is without doubt the better decision.

Besides, IF we would get a Spin-Off this Year, then that would mean no Civ 7 for at least 2 more Years, till 2024 at most. I highly doubt that, and I would be very disappointed if Firaxis introduced all those Fantasy/Sci-fi Game Modes in NFP just to make a Spin-Off to introduce more of that.

The logic is sound. If it’s been 7 years, the longer they wait the higher the chances of a Duke Nukem/Elder Scrolls VI effect

 

[pokiehl]

I dunno what tea leaves you guys are reading to dub anything regarding any particular release timing of Civ 7 as “likely.” It’s all purely idle speculation at this point.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

I dunno what tea leaves you guys are reading to dub anything regarding any particular release timing of Civ 7 as “likely.” It’s all purely idle speculation at this point.

Oh well, Idle Speculation about Civ VII is, at this point, more productive than trying to play Civ VI in its present form . . .

 

[Thormodr]

I've never been a great fan of RPGs, although I frequently indulge in personal Role Playing in other games, like playing a rabid trading game in Anno 1800 as the character Nicolas van Rijn - and extra points for anyone out there who knows what set of Science Fiction stories he's from - or playing Civ IV where they allowed me to name my own leader and playing frequently as Asterix the Gaul or Ivan the Tolerable of Russia.

I've been thinking, in fact, of the idea of how to add more Narrative to Civ VII, and more elements of Personal Role-Play to the game. Still fleshing out details, but maybe later this weekend, a Fat Post . . .

When able to name my leader, I prefer Napoleon Blownapart of the French.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

When able to name my leader, I prefer Napoleon Blownapart of the French.

I have, in a moment of supreme madness, played as the French Pirate, known as the "Sea Duck", or Mallard de Mer . . .

 

[blackbutterfly]

I have, in a moment of supreme madness, played as the French Pirate, known as the "Sea Duck", or Mallard de Mer . . .

Don't you mean "Canard de mer"? ("Canard" is duck in French AFAIK)

I'd love a new version of BE - just because SMAC is something I still get cravings for and... I tried to love Beyond Earth, but couldn't. If a newer version got it right I'd be a very happy bunny.

SMAC/X was my entry into Civ (and my first Mac game(s) along with Nanosaur).
I still remember getting it as a demo on a disc that came with MacWorld or some such. I don't think I played a historical Civ game until Civ III.

With new entrants HUMANKIND and the highly acclaimed Old World (designed by Firaxis alumni) the historical civ space just got a bit crowded. A well executed space civ like SMAC/X (in Beyond Earth 2) could be well received.

 

[Leucarum]

SMAC/X was my entry into Civ (and my first Mac game(s) along with Nanosaur).
I still remember getting it as a demo on a disc that came with MacWorld or some such. I don't think I played a historical Civ game until Civ III.

With new entrants HUMANKIND and the highly acclaimed Old World (designed by Firaxis alumni) the historical civ space just got a bit crowded. A well executed space civ like SMAC/X (in Beyond Earth 2) could be well received.

I still have SMAC installed If there is a BE2 though, I hope they take as few lessons from BE1 as possible.

 

[7daysofwar]

Ok weird question but if they are looking for people now, doesn't that mean, that the game follows will not be delivered in at least half a year.....

Also why would it be either ? I tought there was a thread a few months ago that the next spin off would be fantasy so I guess it could be any kind of 4x game.

With new entrants HUMANKIND and the highly acclaimed Old World (designed by Firaxis alumni) the historical civ space just got a bit crowded. A well executed space civ like SMAC/X (in Beyond Earth 2) could be well received.

Even if there would be a new beyond earth 2, it would still be in competition with other space 4x games like Stellaris, Endless Space 2 and Age of wonders: planetfall. Like they probably have try even harder to sell it since beyond earth didn't get such a great reviews.......

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

Don't you mean "Canard de mer"? ("Canard" is duck in French AFAIK) .

Ah, but Mallard de Mer is abad linguistic pun on Mal de Mer = seasickness.

 

[pokiehl]

Ok weird question but if they are looking for people now, doesn't that mean, that the game follows will not be delivered in at least half a year.....

That they are hiring (even if you assume some roles are for Civ 7) doesn’t indicate anything meaningful. In game development, teams go on hiring sprees during all phases of development from beginning to end.

I thought there was a thread a few months ago that the next spin off would be fantasy so I guess it could be any kind of 4x game.

That’s pure speculation. No one knows if we’re even getting a spin-off period much less what genre.

 

[Zaarin]

With new entrants HUMANKIND and the highly acclaimed Old World (designed by Firaxis alumni) the historical civ space just got a bit crowded. A well executed space civ like SMAC/X (in Beyond Earth 2) could be well received.

There are dozens of sci-fi 4X games; the sci-fi 4X market is much more crowded than the historical 4X market, which Firaxis already dominates.

I still have SMAC installed If there is a BE2 though, I hope they take as few lessons from BE1 as possible.

No, there's a very important lesson they should take from BE1: vague writing and bland, ultra-generic worldbuilding are bad.

 

[Leucarum]

No, there's a very important lesson they should take from BE1: vague writing and bland, ultra-generic worldbuilding are bad.

Good point. Well made. Especially since they already had the recipe from SMAC...

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

Ok weird question but if they are looking for people now, doesn't that mean, that the game follows will not be delivered in at least half a year.....

Also why would it be either ? I tought there was a thread a few months ago that the next spin off would be fantasy so I guess it could be any kind of 4x game.



Even if there would be a new beyond earth 2, it would still be in competition with other space 4x games like Stellaris, Endless Space 2 and Age of wonders: planetfall. Like they probably have try even harder to sell it since beyond earth didn't get such a great reviews.......

I think if they opened with what Rising Tides brought, I think it would've aged better (Especially if they allowed for better modding), two issues that Civ 5 suffers from was that they never got around to implementing mod support in multiplayer (I'm surprised the EUI guy managed to pull it off).

Also, they aren't just now looking for people, they could've easily had someone that have left - there probably is a bigger turn around of people's jobs because not everyone functions as well in the remote work space, away from people. so people could've left the company and suddenly they need to fill that position up.

If anything, it actually suggests they are at the very least in early alpha*, and have a functioning prototype if they now have started thinking about what leaders they want and need to have them designed.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

. . . there's a very important lesson they should take from BE1: vague writing and bland, ultra-generic worldbuilding are bad.

- And World Building that implies a Huge Back Story that they then totally Ignore!!!!

Every planet you land on, no matter what else are its characteristics, has Exactly the Same Biome.
How the &^%$* did that happen?
Was there an Ancient Master Race that seeded or end of the galaxy? (An old, old Science Fiction concept)
Is this normal and we are just the only Outliers in the galaxy? (When you think about it, that's a very chilling thought - are we due to be Corrected?)

To create a potential game-spanning backstory and then let it lie there, flopping like a dead fish, either shows an immense contempt for their audience or an immense ignorance of science fiction.
But then, I've said it before: BE looks to me like a science fiction game designed by a bunch of people who had heard of science fiction, but never actually read any of it.

Made doubly and triply aggravating by the fact that SMAC showed Everybody how to do a science fiction 4X game Right