New hands-on CivBE preview

[SupremacyKing]

I found a new hands-on preview of CivBE:http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2014/08/28/lessons-from-the-early-game-of-civilization-beyond-earth/

Most of the info is already known but there was one new tidbit:

The process takes a couple of turns and yields big benefits, but the problem is that once finished, the unit must return to a city to refill the excavation tools. That means players either have to upgrade the explorer or build more of them.

I did not know that explorer units could replenish their excavation tools.

 

[Kouvb593kdnuewnd]

I think your reading it wrong:
I think he say that explorers will be removed (moved to city) after they no longer got any uses (tols) left.
You have to build new explorers (tols) to continue excevating.

 

[SupremacyKing]

I think your reading it wrong:
I think he say that explorers will be removed (moved to city) after they no longer got any uses (tols) left.
You have to build new explorers (tols) to continue excevating.

That is what I assumed. But he uses the word "refill" which made me think that we can send an explorer unit back a city and there is a "refill" option to add excavation tools to an existing unit.

 

[vahouth]

This is where the first Supremacy level comes in handy.
You can use you explorers twice.

 

[Karl0413]

They have a couple of those today:

http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/civilization-beyond-earth-hands-on-aliens-ate-my-colony/

here’s a surprising amount to do in the first 100 turns. Most Civ entries have a standard, boring early game: explore with scouts, build up a military, skip a lot of turns as you research the basics. Beyond Earth adds decision points early on to help keep the beginning interesting. My Explorer units discover wrecked pods and artifacts that give me energy and production boosts. One pod contains transhuman wreckage survivors, and Beyond Earth gives me the option of integrating them in my society or sending them off on their own. It’s one of many binary quests I receive in the early game. I let the freaky humans stay, hoping they’ll convince my colony to adapt to the future.

With a standing army of soldiers, military rovers, and rangers ready to go, I finally decided to exact my revenge on the Siege Worms near the end of my second game. We surrounded the beast and took shots at it, but did minimal damage. Its retaliation was catastrophic: the beast devoured my soldiers in one attack, then made an angry beeline for my colony, crashing through farms and improvements in its rage. As I hit turn 100, the worm had reduced the homes of my space pilgrims to rubble, and the other factions in the game were chastising me for “provoking the native creatures.” Lesson learned: once Civilization: Beyond Earth is out on October 24, I’ll befriend the aliens instead of trying to conquer them.

 

[Eastern Heretic]

I was convinced that the explorer doesn't disappear after it finishes an expedition just can't perform any more expeditions untill it returns to a city.
I think in the last livestream or somewhere else they also mentioned something along these lines.

 

[Kouvb593kdnuewnd]

I was convinced that the explorer doesn't disappear after it finishes an expedition just can't perform any more expeditions untill it returns to a city.
I think in the last livestream or somewhere else they also mentioned something along these lines.

We can allways lock at the stream again.

 

[OldEarthRelic]

http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/civilization-beyond-earth-hands-on-aliens-ate-my-colony/

here’s a surprising amount to do in the first 100 turns. Most Civ entries have a standard, boring early game: explore with scouts, build up a military, skip a lot of turns as you research the basics. ]

How much Civ has this guy played? I have to think a lot during my first 100 turns. Do I need CBs for defense? Do I build a second/third scout; monument, shrine, or granary.

Even the first tech to get differs based on map.

Obviously this is an attack on the reviewer. I'm thankful to Karl for posting.

 

[Deggial]

In a german summery vid of the gamescon, the two journalists explicitely confirmed that explorers use up their tools and may refit them in cities in order to examine another expedition site. Therefore, they "survive" their digging (in contrast to the poor civ5 archeologists) and may continue their map-exploring.

Additionally, they hinted that Firaxis is thinking about a graphical representation of this circumstance in the explorer's model. Right now, there is just a small symbol(written note?) which can easily be overseen according to their observations when playing the game.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

If so I wonder what is needed to 'refill' them.
Just set foot in the city?
Gain +1 expedition/turn each full turn in the city until they reach the max (like healing)?
Spend 30 hammers (essentially cashing in the Explorer to get a new Explorer cheaper.)?

Overall that is neat, the explorer can act as a scout once they are used.

 

[The Dark Knight]

That is what I assumed. But he uses the word "refill" which made me think that we can send an explorer unit back a city and there is a "refill" option to add excavation tools to an existing unit.

He uses the word refill, that an explorer can "refill" their expedition modules would be really good.
Since their weak and only get 1 module (if u don't upgrade them) u carefully have to move them across the terrain.

It only adds to the strategy of the game, because losing a single explorer can really set u back early and mid game.

P.S: Only in the very early versions of the game the explorers (like archeologists in Civ V) didn't survive the excavation.

 

[SupremacyKing]

Gamespot has a preview. Apparently, the factions (presumably harmony) will get annoyed with you if you attack the aliens:

Hutama of Polystralia (where I presume the citizens are into polyester) pops up with a message: "We have noticed your continued attacks on the aliens. We'd like to ask you to stop." I tell him I do what I want and he gets an attitude.

 

[ggmoyang]

Gamespot has a preview. Apparently, the factions (presumably harmony) will get annoyed with you if you attack the aliens:

Next to wag her finger at me is Elodie of Franco-Iberia, who says she is distressed by my actions. The Slavic Federation and the Pan-Asian Cooperative also develop a problem with me

I think everyone gets annoyed in early stage, maybe purity factions wouldn't care later.

 

[SupremacyKing]

I think everyone gets annoyed in early stage, maybe purity factions wouldn't care later.

I guess this would tie in with what we discussed during the first live stream, how attacking aliens would make them angrier towards all factions. So, it would make sense that other factions would not you to attack them if it means that the aliens will cross into their territory and attack them.

 

[3of5]

We can allways lock at the stream again.

Its pretty clear that the excavation ability is a limited use ability that gets recharged in friendly cities. This has been told this way in several sources including the lifestream, and would be in line with the supremacy 1 bonus and the knowledge virtue tree bonus both increasing the amount of expedition modules (i think thats how Pete called it) carried by the explorer.

I understand your confusion though because in the E3 gameplay video the explorer vanishes after excavating the alien skeleton (and being awarded a unit wolf beetles). This could be specific to the "alien unit awarded" event or just an early build and the mechanic would have been changed since.

 

[DarkestOnion]

I had been hoping we could bring Explorers back to HQ to Replace Their Tools, so it is good to hear that I may not have to spam a ton of Explorers while using prior ones as little more than Expendable Scouts/Road Blocks.

 

[Louis XXIV]

We can allways lock at the stream again.

In the live stream, it died in the miasma before it finished, so the world may never know...

 

[3of5]

In the live stream, it died in the miasma before it finished, so the world may never know...

If i remember correctly it has been talked about this.

Coming to think of it, i have never seen Pete sucessufully use an explorer before (goody huts don't count). That would be worth a whole lifestream in itself: Pete showing that dashing is not a good way to explore foggy new terrain (even if there is good cover at the second location (and a suddently uncovered alien nest nearby). Am I even still talking about BE?