(Rising Tide) No speculation on Hybrid Affinities and New sponsors?

[Metecury]

We got some info from Firaxis on Rising Tide, and soon we will get more info at E3, I was wandering what people expect from the expansion and especially the new Hybrid affinities which sound really cool from what we have heard so far.


The lead designers have already talked about the Purity-Supremacy hybrid representing a classist society with humans on top and machines/androids as servants, any thought on what the other two hybrid affinities will look like?



Also we got the first insights on the new sponsors, we know that they are those who made it to space after the others had already left and that they have no cryogenic technology meaning they spent a few generations in space before getting to the planet. What do you guys think we will get?



They covered the middle east with the first sponsor revealed, what next? If I remember correctly the ares left are: Japan, Britain, Scandinavia, Central Europe and the Mediterranean / Balkans.




Let's start some speculation!

 

[Galgus]

I'm primarily a Reddit dweller, and these two threads are my speculation on hybrid affinity themes.
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As for Sponsors, I'd kind of like a generation ship sponsor that somewhat resembles Venice, a one city challenge sponsor.

This would come from a deep attachment to their ship that transferred from the city it founded, and some discomfort with settling away from it.

Instead of founding traditional cities, they could create stations that can secure strategic resources and trade yields back to the capital based on the resources in their borders.

In the end they would have outposts funneling resources back to a sprawling megacity.
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Some kind of European coalition to the north of Franco-Iberia would be nice, and a Japanese sponsor could be fun to see.

Other than that, I wonder if a Central American faction could send a sponsor.

Does ARC hold significant sway in Canada and Central America, or is it mostly centered in America?

 

[Ryika]

There's already a thread about hybrid affinities (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=547823), so I'll focus on Sponsors:

I hope for a Swedish, alien-loving sponsor that, if you ever dare to kill an Alien, will hate you all game long and constantly denounce you and try to get others to declare war on you.

On a more serious note I still think we need a really "fun" Sponsor. One that, when played by the AI, just goes apehorsehockey and wrecks the whole place, with a Sponsor Bonus and Traits that allow him to do exactly that - like Montezuma did in Vanilla Civ 5 or Shaka in BNW. Not quite sure what area of the world they would represent though - I'm more interested in the gameplay than the geography.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

If I recall correctly, There's an in game reference to a Germanic sponsor in one of the quests. I bet we see that one.

I bet we see one with a naval focus of some sort.

 

[joncnunn]

Moderator Action: Rising Tide added to thread title.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

I was always a bit bothered by the eurocentrism in Civ and I liked that BE was averting it without lumping them all together in a super EU. A germanic sponsor is almost certainly coming, but I wouldn't want more. We already have Franco-Iberia and the SlavFed.
I would like to see an anti-corporate American government sponsor that is utterly fed up with ARC and maybe has gone through a revolution or two since the seeding started.
at least one new NGO faction

If I recall correctly, There's an in game reference to a Germanic sponsor in one of the quests. I bet we see that one.

I bet we see one with a naval focus of some sort.

The only possible faction I can remember is the Cestus Group mentioned in the cultural burden quest and it makes me think of militaristic Greeks. Maybe a mediterranian faction that includes the Balkans, Turkey and the north-western parts of the middle east ?

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

I was always a bit bothered by the eurocentrism in Civ and I liked that BE was averting it without lumping them all together in a super EU. A germanic sponsor is almost certainly coming, but I wouldn't want more. We already have Franco-Iberia and the SlavFed.
I would like to see an anti-corporate American government sponsor that is utterly fed up with ARC and maybe has gone through a revolution or two since the seeding started.
at least one new NGO faction



The only possible faction I can remember is the Cestus Group mentioned in the cultural burden quest and it makes me think of militaristic Greeks. Maybe a mediterranian faction that includes the Balkans, Turkey and the north-western parts of the middle east ?

Yes, that's the one I was thinking of. I guess it's not German sounding.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

I wonder if the old sponsors will get different bonuses to balance with the new sponsors?

 

[GoodSarmatian]

I wonder if the old sponsors will get different bonuses to balance with the new sponsors?

Probably.
I would like it if Polystralia gets a naval focus and the still unnanounced Germans become "the trade civ".

 

[Makenshi]

What I'd like for Polystralia is to not be called Polystralia anymore... or the ability for us to rename AI factions instead of just the one we play with, so we could always change it. IIRC, there's a mod that changes sponsors and in it the faction was renamed to Pacifica. Much better, imo. Oceania would be nice, too.

 

[Ryika]

Faction Names can be changed in:
Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth\assets\Gameplay\XML\Text\en_US\CivBEGameTextInfos_Civilizations.xml

The file can be opened and changed with a text editor.

 

[Galgus]

What I'd like for Polystralia is to not be called Polystralia anymore... or the ability for us to rename AI factions instead of just the one we play with, so we could always change it. IIRC, there's a mod that changes sponsors and in it the faction was renamed to Pacifica. Much better, imo. Oceania would be nice, too.

I like the name personally, it has a nice ring to it and gives a decent idea of its region and culture.

 

[DefiantMars]

What I'd like for Polystralia is to not be called Polystralia anymore... or the ability for us to rename AI factions instead of just the one we play with, so we could always change it. IIRC, there's a mod that changes sponsors and in it the faction was renamed to Pacifica. Much better, imo. Oceania would be nice, too.

I think Polystralia should remain as such. In my head canon, the Commonwealth of the Pacific does not control the entirety of the Pacific Ocean. They are focused on the Indo-Pacific region.

This way, it leaves space for other Oceanic sponsors. Several months after BE's release, I had written the backstory for a potential faction that specialized in developing island and coastal cities to protect against rising sea levels back on Old Earth. It matches up fairly well with the new mechanics as well so that makes me giddy.

The Wayfinder Initiative are maritime faction founded and based out of the Pacific. They resisted assimilation into the Commonwealth (screw you Hutama). Organized by navigators they developed into one of the leading contributors to the protection, reconstruction, and economic resuscitation of cities spanning the interior of the Pacific Ocean and boundaries of the Pacific Rim alike.

Spoiler :

Place of Origin

Much of the world has a misguided view: the ocean is not a gap, rather it is a connection. This is one of the Wayfinder Initiatives mantras. Even prior to the Great Mistake, naval trade was growing increasingly difficult. Solar storms would consistently knock out satellite communication rendering GPS useless. Simultaneously, compasses were becoming similarly unreliable due to the reversal of the magnetic field. Dependable navigation was under serious demand, thus a Pan-Pacific organization, the “Wayfinder Guild” was founded. An independent group of navigators and shipwrights that reintegrated traditional pacific nautical technologies and retaught techniques of celestial navigation. However the Earth’s systems undergoing changes due to the Great Mistake, virtually all of the world’s coastal and island cities were at risk. Climatic conditions were shifting resulting in stronger storms and drastically altered rainfall patterns. Rising sea levels were destroying docks and piers. The oceanic connections that the Wayfinders thrived on were under threat, not to mention the wellbeing of their various homelands. It was then decided that it was up to them do something. They began recruiting ecologist, botanists, marine biologists, engineers, anyone willing to help rebuild and protect.


Expanding Connections

Renaming themselves “The Wayfinder Initiative” they based themselves in the Hawaiian Archipelago, then implemented a series of sophisticated aquatic structures: Hydro-Scapes, Manufactory Piers, Buoyant Farms and Gardens, Artificially Engineered Reefs, Pseudo-Levies and Reverse Osmotic Pods. All of these projects allowed the places in which they were built to become predominantly resource independent; not cripplingly reliant on imports for the sake of survival. Shipping in only building materials and goods that could not be produced locally. Trade was still valuable, but now it allowed for specialty goods, luxuries, and culture to be exchanged. The Wayfinders had established a vast series of connections and had become the leading pioneer of artificial land and aquatic city-building. The world had been watching and stood in awe at the large degree of influence and support the Initiative had accrued throughout the entire ocean. The Initiative was given an invitation to join the Commonwealth of the Pacific and while the Commonwealth did indeed work toward restoring the ecology of the Indo-Pacific, it was clear that many of their leaders were in it for the money, not for the actual preservation. The Initiative resisted the enormous pull of Polystralia, politely refusing and resumed its work.


A New Voyage

However the Initiative’s aquatic sanctuaries could only do so much to stave off the damage caused by the rapid and catastrophic changes that had occurred in the Earth’s systems. And the world began planning a project: A voyage into the stars. The Wayfinders, heavily steeped in a tradition of exploration and navigation, could not pass up an opportunity like this. Pooling together the sum of their wealth, their vast network of connections and widespread influence, the Wayfinder Initiative managed to secure enough resources to conduct its own expeditions within the Seeding project. Now, they stand at the same point as their ancestors had once stood. The Wayfinders voyage off to new lands filled with promise and they are eager to explore it.

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For Hybrid affinities, I'm really looking forward to seeing what Harmony/Purity is. I like the idea of this affinity taking that which is strong from Old Earth and combining it with what is strong from New Earth, resulting in a combination that is stronger than either of its constituent parts. Changing both themselves and the planet. Meeting this new world halfway in a sense. To use Galgus' terminology, an affinity of Synergy.

 

[Veras]

It's weird how this forum seems little interested in the speculation for the new factions of Rising Tide. It was always my favorite part when a new civ game is announced.

That being said and considering that the new factions are "are designed to be somewhat more dangerous, some what more radical... [Both] in their origins and their play styles", here's my main guess:

The Caribbean Pirate Faction:

After the Great Mistake, most of the Caribbean Islands suffered heavily from the rising seas, specially Cuba (with most of its territory in low altitute), Haiti, the Dominican Republic and minor islands like Bahamas, Trinidad Tobago, etc. This caused a great refugee crisis, and those unable to find a safe haven in the crowded cities of other countries or their own started to settle right on the shallow waters where used to be their homes.

The poverty and seafaring of these people made them engage in piracy, targeting american commercial freighters and brazilian humanitarian aid ships (on their way to the distant wars and crisis in Asia) passing through the Panama Canal. The profit from these operations attracted more people, and it soon turned itself into some kind of social banditry movement, highly popular among the Caribbean poor. And within the years, their maritime settlements were more and more into the sea, with lots of pirate's outposts in the middle of the sea. The repression from the US and the Brazilian militaries only made this scattered movement to become united, organized and armed. Under one banner, the pirates started to have more influence and power on the region than the Caribbean governments, which, fearing total breakdown, accepted to form a coalition with the pirate movement and to stop the repression.

The leader of the faction could be a mix of Fidel Castro, Toussaint Louverture and Blackbeard; speaking Creole.

My other guesses would be some sort of North European League for the second maritime faction (based on the Dutch Indies Companies, the Haseatic Leagues, the Vikings and the Royal Navy) and Japan-Korea.

 

[Galgus]

Personally I bet we get a Japanese sponsor, one other European sponsor, and two wildcards - perhaps something from Central America as you say.

As a Tropico player I've entertained the silly idea of a third world backwater island dictator somehow stealing a seeding ship.

 

[Lord Tirian]

Personally I bet we get a Japanese sponsor, one other European sponsor, and two wildcards - perhaps something from Central America as you say.

Well, Al Falah would be one of the wildcards already, so if we have some Northern European faction, a Japanese one and Al Falah, it only leaves one.

I kind of hope that, just as they explore generation ships, they also play with the idea of different eras of seeding: one faction could be an optimistic faction dedicated to exploration - a scientific expedition that was started decades before the seeding that was overtaken by the more modern seed ships.

 

[kipwheeler]

I kind of hope that, just as they explore generation ships, they also play with the idea of different eras of seeding: one faction could be an optimistic faction dedicated to exploration - a scientific expedition that was started decades before the seeding that was overtaken by the more modern seed ships.

It would be interesting if such a sci-focused faction had special abilities for their explorer units--perhaps their explorer units would be upgradable with unique abilities such as never needing to return to a city to restock expedition modules.

OTH, I'd love the new expansion to include upgradable affinity features for all explorers to make them useful in the end-game rather than just the early game. Perhaps explorers could have an affinity upgrade that would give them two "paths"--one focused on continuing expedition /science features and another path that made them military support units or as covert-op assist units.

One upgrade option or choice might give Purity explorers a "laser targeting" feature so they could "target" a hostile unit or city at a range of 4 hexes, which would enable them to "point" that hostile unit so that your attackers do an additional +10% (second upgrade +20%) damage to that unit.

Since cloaking is going to "become a thing" with hidden submarines in BERT, the Supremacy path might be cloaked scouts that can activate a stealth module and be invisible for 5 turns with a 3 turn "cool-down" period between uses. You could use these to scout enemy positions. At higher affinities, they can be invisible for 10 turns and a 2 turn "cool down" period, and then at the highest affinity, can be perma-cloaked. The cloak is broken by any hostile unit entering an immediately adjacent square.

The last "path" of Harmony upgrades would be focused on assisting covert ops in late game. If the player goes this route, the explorer initially gains the ability to move through enemy/other faction hexes even without an open borders agreement (however, to prevent players from "spamming" the enemy by placing Explorers in every enemy hex and rendering the computer /other players unable to build improvements on tiles, these scout-explorers are "bumped" off tile to an adjacent tile if that computer/player moves any unit into the hex they occupy). At higher affinities, there could be an advancement in which the explorer boosts the speed of covert operations by -1 turn per spy action simply by parking in an adjacent hex to a city that has one of your spy agents operating in it. (Only one per city--effects do not stack by parking several near the same city). Likewise, parking such an explorer near one of your own cities slows down hostile spy actions by +1 additional turn.

At higher Harmony affinity upgrades, the speeding of spy actions would speed up by -2 turn per spy action and the slowing of hostile spy actions would increase by +2 per turn. It could also unlock new spy missions for your own spies, such as "Identify Foreign Assets" (which would let you see what actions spies in your own city are working on accomplishing before they finish the operation) and "Hunt-and-Kill" (which would unlock a new mission for your spies specifically try to kill hostile spies in your own city or to try to kill defending spies in other player's cities.

In terms of mixed affinities, the player could mix and match Purity's lower-level laser targeting ability with Supremacy's lower-level cloaking and/or Harmony's spy-boosting Explorer abilities.

 

[legalizefreedom]

Those are some great ideas!

Many could be ported into Civ proper as well for Scouts.

 

[rhaak]

I hope we get a Dutch-German faction!

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

It occurs to me that Al-Falah's trait makes its oceanic cities move faster because city movement is apparently a "process" like converting production to energy, culture, and science.