Shocking Evidence - "Beyond Earth planned to be an Expansion for CiV!" says Modder

[Ryika]

They tried to convince us that Beyond Earth was meant to be a standalone all along. But now, more one year after the release of the game I found the dark secret hidden deep inside the actually not so deeply hidden game files.

The astonishing revelation that will re-shape the world and make us re-think our view on reality and our place in the universe. Prepare yourself, mentally and phycially because the information that you're going to get now may trigger anxieties that you didn't even know you had- Open the Spoiler-Tag at your own risk, reader discretion is advised.

Spoiler :

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- edited with XMLSpy v2010 rel. 2 ([url]http://www.altova.com[/url]) by Ian Smith (Firaxis) -->
<!-- edited with XMLSPY v2004 rel. 2 U ([url]http://www.xmlspy.com[/url]) by Anton Strenger (Firaxis Games) -->
<!-- Created with Liquid XML Studio - FREE Community Edition 7.1.4.1284 ([url]http://www.liquid-technologies.com[/url]) -->
<UnitMemberArtInfos>
  <!-- ************************************************************************** -->
	<!-- *******************  [h1]Expansion3 Units[/h1]  *********************************** -->
  
  <!-- **********************  BARBALIENS  *********************************** -->
	<!-- UNIT_WOLF_BEETLE ****************************************************** -->
	<UnitMemberArtInfo>
		<Type>ART_DEF_UNIT_MEMBER_WOLF_BEETLE</Type>
		<fScale>0.085</fScale>
		<Granny>Assets/Units/Barbalien/Wolf_Beetle/Wolf_Beetle.fxsxml</Granny>
		<Combat>
		<Defaults>ART_DEF_TEMPLATE_WARRIOR</Defaults>
                <EnableActions>AttackSurfaceToAir</EnableActions>
		</Combat>
		<Weapon>
		<WeaponTypeTag>BLUNT</WeaponTypeTag>
		<WeaponTypeSoundOverrideTag>CLAW</WeaponTypeSoundOverrideTag>
		</Weapon>
		<MaterialTypeTag>METAL</MaterialTypeTag>
		<MaterialTypeSoundOverrideTag>EXOSKELETON</MaterialTypeSoundOverrideTag>
	</UnitMemberArtInfo>

[...]

Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth\assets\Units

SHOCKING! I know. ...I know. I know how you feel. You probably can't breath right now. Just don't panic. It will go away soon. But while you're fighting death and slowly losing conscience... the rest of us has to focus on the impact that this will have on humanity. How is the world going to handle this devious plot twist? How will the individual handle this newly found view on reality? Will society fall apart? This and more later tonight on the Ryika Report.

...or maybe this was known all along and I just didn't get the memo.
Thread's going to get locked, isn't it?

 

[Gorbles]

I would've gotten away with it, if not for those pesky Barbaliens!

 

[KrikkitTwo]

...The Great Mistake !!!

 

[Galgus]

I wouldn't be surprised if it started as such an idea before they realized it was worth its own game.

It would have sort of fit the era progression in the expansions.

 

[GenyaArikado]

I feel like somehow, that would have been worse.

 

[Galgus]

I feel like somehow, that would have been worse.

Beyond Earth without Beyond Earth's themes would have been...blech.

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

I feel like somehow, that would have been worse.

I agree, they'd have to push the victories until the end or nobody would even reach those "future eras"

Besides, on what grounds would it work? Would there be an alien invasion, I'd say the fans would be pissed (many were against XCOM squads and GDR being in the game already)

 

[Sherlock]

Explains so much.

 

[poom3619]

I can't help but imagine continuous game of Civ5 and BE now. I read somewhere that SMAC's early PR said something like it is "Your Civ2 game after Science victory".

I don't really sure if anyone want to port Civ5 game to CivBE, but it would be interesting idea.



Credit - Tpangolin

 

[KrikkitTwo]

It could have always been a scenario idea, quite reasonable as one too.

 

[poom3619]

It could have always been a scenario idea, quite reasonable as one too.

This, imagine affinity as reskinned Civ5 Ideology, Belief and Religion exist as unused code in CivBE shows and many more. Probably something like Empire of Smoky Sky in G&K.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

It does explain perfectly why BE used the civ5 engine!

 

[Galgus]

This, imagine affinity as reskinned Civ5 Ideology, Belief and Religion exist as unused code in CivBE shows and many more. Probably something like Empire of Smoky Sky in G&K.

Much less interesting than BE as an (at least somewhat) fleshed out game, but interesting none-the-less.

Mostly I like to think of how my civilization from a certain play-through would look in Beyond Earth.

By that I mean more than just the civilization, but the civilization and the events that transpired in it's history in a play-through.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Should I file this under the "sounds legit" category ?

 

[Red Menace]

I guess "Barbaliens" explains why they were so "Barbalien"

I guess that means Rising tide sent Beyond Earth form Expansionhood to gamehood.

Rising Tide better known as Beyond Expansion. (because its a game now)

 

[ptoss1]

I can believe this. Honestly though, stations are a pretty big downgrade from CiV, and the lack of a global organization is also pretty weak. For the second expansion I'd really like for these features to be added back into the game. Of course this wouldn't be an issue if Firaxis' moto wasn't "One step forward, two steps back."

 

[LORD ORION]

I'm confused?

Which of us avoided the Firaxis customer inflection point?

Those who bought both BE and BERT and will not buy Civ6 until it is expansion patched?
Or those who bought BE and then went outside and played sports until purchasing Civ6 on day1?

 

[Gorbles]

Played . . . sports?

 

[Miravlix]

Why would anyone be shocked that BE started out as an expansion idea for CiV?

That would be like being shocked at someone deciding to get warm and during the thought process upgrading burning down the house into simply turning on the heat instead.

 

[Illauna]

Also, BE might have originally been an idea for a scenario (like the space map in Civ4). There is a lot of code in the game that never gets used. There isn't a reason to get rid of it so they leave it incase they want to use it later. You'll find this is true for most games.