Humankind, my first impressions

[agonistes]

Nice comments, good ideas. I guess if @Gedemon and @Victoria are playing it, I'll dip my toes in.

From what I've read, I too will be disappointed in the way the era changes are handled. I too was expecting it to be more organic (I hate when that word is used in this way, forgive me if you do too). I'm hoping 'endless play' or whatever its called means you can play without an end to the game. If you can't, I don't know how much I'll play it.

Gotta find my debit card.

edit: personally, I think the cost is worth it just to see some fresh map graphics and trying something new in a genre I love.

 

[Elhoim]

From what I've read, I too will be disappointed in the way the era changes are handled. I too was expecting it to be more organic (I hate when that word is used in this way, forgive me if you do too). I'm hoping 'endless play' or whatever its called means you can play without an end to the game. If you can't, I don't know how much I'll play it.

Endless is actually the Marathon speed, with a 600 turn game. But you can continue after the game is done.

 

[agonistes]

Endless is actually the Marathon speed, with a 600 turn game. But you can continue after the game is done.

I'm glad you mentioned that you can continue. I was crushed when I saw the 600 turn limit.

 

[Victoria]

I think the cost is worth it just to see some fresh map graphics and trying something new in a genre I love.

Oh I think you will love it! Knowing how you play, you will forgive the one turn things swap, you soon get sucked back in and forget it. It’s a longer game, slower, busier and you can really play with diplomacy once you get the hang of it.

 

[Ondolindë]

I feel like I need to make a rebuttal here. If you do take the perspective of at the time this was announced, yeah, there was an opportunity to have that organic feeling. But in defence of the "pre-packaged" nature of deciding which culture to choose, people want to play something they could recognize, that's part of the appeal of playing 4x games. That's why you have all these real-life empires and peoples as cultures in the game. If we do take that organic morphing mechanic, but not use anything recognizable as its building blocks, it would be a very boring game in my opinion.

I agree with you that the familiar is needed to anchor players psychologically. But having a menu isn't what you are talking about: something people can recognize; yes, it is probably the main mechanic by which they can visualize what is familiar to them, but it is not the only way, and in my thinking a bit of a lazy way to do it, just something you peruse or glance at and choose what is probably best for what you want to happen in the near future and keep going with the game. The pace doesn't help it also. It goes too fast to the point that one has barely built the culture's district once or twice and the menu is offered to the player again. Because of that, at the end, I cannot really see and feel the impact of having gone through a series of cultures except in that I can still build their unique unit, until they are upgraded, and supposedly benefit from their unique characteristics. I know they are there, but I don't really sense them or feel them in the grand scheme of the game. And yes, maybe I haven't played the game enough, but I think anyone should start sensing the meta from the get go, not necessarily understanding all the mechanics behind it.

Familiarity could have been incorporated in many other ways such as through decision processes, events, etc. while letting you experience, use, adopt real and historically-based attributes, etc. of familiar and recognizable civilizations like the Turks, the Franks, etc., thus more organically. I don't know. But I do agree that people need to recognize familiar things and I do enjoy the beauty of each culture; I just don't see them coming together into something lasting and meaningful yet. I say yet because I still hope it will be different soon. As of now, I am enjoying the novelty and trying out the mechanics available. But to me, the way that it is, the game won't have as much replay-ability once I try all sorts of combinations that I like or tire of the one I get used to because the game is missing this link between everything else, the all-encompassing notion of why it is fun to play this game like I found in Civ. So, how far will I push Humankind? My answer is as far as I like playing by a prepackaged menu and going through isolated segments of game-playing without anything making it a whole.

 

[Taefin]

Okay, after my late game pollution rant I’m back another game. The early game is just so impossibly fun! I’ve always felt the cultures shine through more than the empire bonuses of Civ6 or Old World. The first couple games in beta I never had the time to experience each culture, since it ended before I had time to build more than a EQ or two, or often even to train a single EU. But once I got the pace of the game down, to where I have enough production to add EQ to every region within the first part of the era, usually as I wait to get the tech for the EU, it feels much more thematic. For me the culture effects feel more pronounced because of how incredibly powerful they are, and the fame (edit: oops “game” but I guess it works) is about stacking an eclectic mix of them together. To the point of feeling a bit contrived to race to pick from a list, once I figured out how the game works my decisions did very directly impact my choice, and cast my choice between 2-4 leading options as why I most need and what I have the most potential to utilize. For instance, being far behind on science into Early Modern, picking the Joseons as a way to rapidly get into the gunpowder age felt like making a very similar choice to invest heavily in getting new technology, just like they did historically. So to me it reflects role playing the choices these peoples made throughout history.

Back to late game infrastructure, as soon as I figured out you need train stations in every territory along the intended line, it felt excellent! Also who doesn’t love little track and trains on the map?! But I was not able to figure out if airports could be used to transport military units. I built some airports (perhaps too far apart?) but did not see unit movements routes pop up between them.

 

[Gedemon]

You move the unit on the airport, then there is a plane icon on the unit panel, you click on it then on the other airport

 

[Gedemon]

So second game finished (Huge map, low speed, 8 players)

Thanks to the New World, I've come back from the middle of the pack then taken the lead in the last era and ended the game by sending a mission on Mars.

Spoiler :

Also remember how I said I tried to preserve the natural environment ?

Spoiler A few virgin islands :

Well, I needed some space to test something big, so... yeah, sorry !

Spoiler :

 

[PiR]

Well, I needed some space to test something big, so... yeah, sorry !

That is so French!

 

[Gedemon]

I'll try to get more respectful with nature next time.

starting with my new game where I'm now attentively taking care of a flock of sheep near my capital

 

[PiR]

starting with my new game where I'm now attentively taking care of a flock of sheep near my capital
View attachment 606110

I could buy the game just for that.

 

[Xaviarlol]

When can we expect a (much needed) R.E.D for Humankind?

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

. . . Well, I needed some space to test something big, so... yeah, sorry !

Spoiler :

View attachment 606108

View attachment 606109

Shame we can't rename terrain features on the game map: that screams "Bikini Test Site" - just scatter a few obsolete warships around it . . .

 

[Gedemon]

When can we expect a (much needed) R.E.D for Humankind?

I've no idea if that one will be possible soon.

 

[Gedemon]

I think what it's a bit jarring is mostly the name change. You are now the "X". I don't really mind it, but I understand why some people feel that way. I kinda like the idea suggested in another thread about doing a mix of the old and new name. Alternatively, it could be that the empires have a permanent name (The Empire of the Sun, or The Steppes Kingdom), and when they change the notification could go like "The Empire of the Sun adopted the Roman culture and customs". It gives a permanent name, and gives these feeling of a single empire adopting customs instead of a sudden shift of becoming someone else.

I can see a permanent name with dynamic prefix and suffix influenced by the current culture and ideologies (and I know @SeelingCat has the game...)

I've also thought on something else (but specific to one kind of maps) while pondering about YnAMP conversion. What if the next culture lock/unlock was based on your territories on TSL maps ?