What each era covers

[Ornen]

Hi all! Do we have an updated idea of the dates for the eras, given the new info from PAX and turn timer screen shots? Thanks!

been meaning to update this thread but a lot of what we've seen so far is contradictory & hard to judge by.

from what they've said, the Antiquity crisis would extend to roughly 600 AD. they've also said there is a gap between eras, possibly spanning hundreds of years. the Exploration tech tree looks like it starts around 800 or 900. but one recent screenshot indicated turn 1 of Exploration is 400 AD. could just be an early build screenshot, but who knows? it all doesn't neatly square, in any case

for the other transition, they've said it dates to American & French revolutions, which would suggest the back half of 18th century. they've also heavily emphasized civs from like, 800 - 1200 AD in this period, and the Mughals, who were in decline by 1800, have been put in the modern era. they've also generally dismissed the idea of England as a distinct Exploration era civ, which is a little strange because England was pretty unified in 1100, distinct from the Normans by 1500 (arguably much earlier), and a budding world power in from the 16th century on.

little has been revealed about the modern era, but they've been pretty consistent that global warming is in which would imply an end date in the near future.

 

[Big J Money]

Cultural dominance is really about the media.

I think I disagree. I do agree that the media is a force multiplier for cultural growth, but the arts are the heart of culture. Music, works of art, fashion, poetry, plays, novels, etc, etc. Nazi Germany had control over its media, but this didn't foster lasting cultural dominance anywhere, not even in Germany. There was a forced, temporary cultural solidarity during the Nazi reign, but it died off quickly afterward. Ultimately culture spreads more effectively through diversity rather than uniformity.

So I think the Modern Age will have a focus on the arts. Maybe the arts and media, both.

 

[aieeegrunt]

I guess it is polite to tell the French they won WW2, which they did technically do, but it's rarely held up as a shining example of the shining military genius of the French. And the current China on the SC is not the China that was on the winning side of WW2 (that would be Taiwan).

Honestly, I don't think I want the UN to be a victory condition. It would, however, be a great thing to integrate with the "Diplomatic Influence" currency that we've heard a little about.

I love William Manchester’s take on this

“Germany was occupied by the three victorious powers, and an invited guest; France”

 

[Binkov]

I think I disagree. I do agree that the media is a force multiplier for cultural growth, but the arts are the heart of culture. Music, works of art, fashion, poetry, plays, novels, etc, etc. Nazi Germany had control over its media, but this didn't foster lasting cultural dominance anywhere, not even in Germany. There was a forced, temporary cultural solidarity during the Nazi reign, but it died off quickly afterward. Ultimately culture spreads more effectively through diversity rather than uniformity.

So I think the Modern Age will have a focus on the arts. Maybe the arts and media, both.

I would say that the US is by far the biggest cultural influencer in the world. But perhaps we'd disagree on the definition of culture.
Culture for me isn't just arts. It's also what civ said: rock music and blue jeans. Strong culture within the civ game, for me, is a lifestyle that other countries covet.

So despite the fact the US isnt at the forefront of poetry, painting, sculpting, plays, fashion, etc - it is still the most influential.

I can't stress enough how much of a cultural factor hollywood is. Tv shows and movies are not necessarily art in themselves, but they are the means of selling the american way of life to other countries.

 

[ezzlar]

I would prefer that the second age would be called "Consolidation and Exploration" which also would be the crisis from the first age, the consolidation of power and society. Then the next crisis would be the French revolution, the one to truly turn things upside down.

A eurocentric take on things of course...

 

[Lebo44]

They said that Modern is till the discovery of atom, and then there was an atomic cloud on the screen. Imho Modern Age could end around ~1950 thus leaving a place for 4th Age in one of the Expansinons.
4th Age would cover old Information and Future Era, and would allow to introduce virtally every modern civ / nation / country.

I strongly believe this will happen (another expansion with 4th Future Era). From what I’ve seen in the gameplays and trailers, there are no buildings from the Information Age (please correct me if I’m mistaken). This opens up a variety of intriguing possibilities, such as new fuels like hydrogen, new mechanics like AI automation, new crises like World War II or the Cold War, and even the colonization of space (Mars), considering the map expansion in each era.

 

[Mazisky]

I strongly believe this will happen (another expansion with 4th Future Era). From what I’ve seen in the gameplays and trailers, there are no buildings from the Information Age (please correct me if I’m mistaken). This opens up a variety of intriguing possibilities, such as new fuels like hydrogen, new mechanics like AI automation, new crises like World War II or the Cold War, and even the colonization of space (Mars), considering the map expansion in each era.

I think the only reason we haven't seen buildings from the information age is because no modern Civ with that style has been covered.

They made a big deal of civs having different unique models (Rome has its own house models, etc.) , my theory is that classical style countries like France are represented with classical style even in modern ages (the typical Paris buildings you see still today), while Civs like modern age Usa may have the typical skyscrapers and stuff.

 

[Krajzen]

Ehh I don't believe in the fourth era. First of all, no civs to add there. Also no historical wonders et cetera. And I certainly don't believe Firaxis is going to add an entire science fiction /political fiction layer to the mainstream Civ game.

Also, I think it's safe to assume that one of the most important reasons three age system was introduced was to resolve the problem of pacing, snowballing and endgame, so the game climactically ends in the third era. Adding fourth age on top of that would ruin previously established structure of the game.

 

[Ornen]

I strongly believe this will happen (another expansion with 4th Future Era). From what I’ve seen in the gameplays and trailers, there are no buildings from the Information Age (please correct me if I’m mistaken).

they've showed like 60 seconds total footage from the modern era, so that hardly proves anything

I feel like a broken record when I talk about this, but Beach has said multiple times that climate change is in the game. this is the single strongest indicator for or against (in this case, for) the game extending to present (and probably slightly beyond).

if they add a 4th era in a later expansion, I would want to see an extended crisis period between Anquity and Exploration (and maybe between E & M, but we know zero about this transition yet). no tech or civic tree, just raging independents, pillaged cities, and a knife fight for dirt amidst the tumult

 

[Krikkit1]

Ehh I don't believe in the fourth era. First of all, no civs to add there. Also no historical wonders et cetera. And I certainly don't believe Firaxis is going to add an entire science fiction /political fiction layer to the mainstream Civ game.

Also, I think it's safe to assume that one of the most important reasons three age system was introduced was to resolve the problem of pacing, snowballing and endgame, so the game climactically ends in the third era. Adding fourth age on top of that would ruin previously established structure of the game.

Plenty of Civs to add there, China, India, Pakistan, Canada, Australia, Japan, France (not the French Empire), United Kingdom (not Britain), Germany (from Modern Age Prussia), Ireland, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Libya, United States, South Korea, North Korea, Poland, Indonesia, etc.

The big thing to add would be all the post colonial civs, those that came Out of the breakdown of the IRL Modern Era empires [which is most countries in the world today]

You could also have alliances that become "civs" EU, NATO, NAFTA, Warsaw/CIS, African Union, Mercusor... maybe a gameplay requirement that you must have some permanent alignment with either one other player or 3 Independent peoples, and you merge into one civ.


I agree they Probably are extending the Modern to the 21st century.... and that it is probably best for there to be only 2 transitions. (3 total civs)
But given they have Mughals and Buganda as civs (that were conquered by the 1800s)...I could see them leaving space for a 4th.

 

[Trav'ling Canuck]

I agree they Probably are extending the Modern to the 21st century.... and that it is probably best for there to be only 2 transitions. (3 total civs)
But given they have Mughals and Buganda as civs (that were conquered by the 1800s)...I could see them leaving space for a 4th.

I predict they're doing both. The base game will ship with the 3rd age extending to modern times, but then a later DLC will add a 4th age that starts circa end of World War II. Climate change will be in the base game, but an expanded and more elaborate set of climate change rules will be released in the DLC. Third age civs that ship in the base game will be split up between age 3 and age 4 and supplemented with new civs in the DLC. Introducing lots of modern nations in the first big DLC expansion should drive lots of sales from large markets like Canada, Brazil, etc.

Introducing a new age between the base ages 1 and 2 or between 2 and 3 could also be possible, but adding a new age to the end of the base game seems like it would be a whole lot simpler. So that's another reason I expect the first large expansion to be Information Age oriented.

Also, why the heck am I speculating on DLCs when there's so little information about the base game known yet? Could Sept 12th hurry up and get here already so we have something more tangible to speculate about?

 

[Thormodr]

I'm a little concerned that the ages will fly by if you are doing well or a Babylon like Civ is extreme teching. Seems like it is 200 turns minus things you and others are doing to advance the game. Could an age fly by in 50 turns or less if conditions are met or is there a minimum?

There are board games where the game ends just as you are getting your engine building going. There is a fine line between having a game end too soon and a game not overstaying its welcome.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

I'm a little concerned that the ages will fly by if you are doing well or a Babylon like Civ is extreme teching. Seems like it is 200 turns minus things you and others are doing to advance the game. Could an age fly by in 50 turns or less if conditions are met or is their a minimum?

There are board games where the game ends just as you are getting your engine building going. There is a fine line between having a game end too soon and a game not overstaying its welcome.

As I understand it, each Age advances at 1 point per turn to a max of 200 points. You can add +5 points from each of 4 Legacies. Barring other bonuses they have't mentioned yet, then, each Age will therefore be between 180 and 200 turns and then you go into the Crisis Period of 3 stages. I don't believe they've said how long those Crisis Stages will last in turns, but given that they will probably not be Happy Times, I'd bet they will be short: probably no more than 15 - 20 turns for the entire Crisis Period,

Frankly, in Civ VI 95% or more of my games were decided long before 200 turns - frequently by the 100th turn - so even 180 turns/Age sounds like plenty to me - always depending, of course, on how the turns play in the new game.

 

[Lonecat Nekophrodite]

Based on what we know so far, I would expect the eras to roughly cover the following periods of history:

• Ancient: 4000 BC to 800 AD
• Exploration: 800 AD to 1800 AD
• Modern: 1800 AD to 2050 AD

We've seen the front of the Exploration era tech tree. It starts with three techs we can associate with the Islamic Golden Age (Machinery, Astronomy, Cartography), which can be placed roughly 800-1100 AD. The second batch of techs (Castls, Heraldry, Feudalism, Guilds) are as High Medieval as it gets, and can be dated to roughly 900-1100 AD.

We also know that the Shawnee are an Exploration era civ. With Tecumseh being their associated leader, it's safe to date them up to 1800 at least — which means the Exploration era lasts at least this far. (but probably not a lot farther.)

F__K! I don't like Antiquity begins at 4000 BC At ANY CIV Game! TOOOOOOOO LATE. Since all archaeological evidence suggested that. The oldest cities with walls surrounded were dated back to 6,000-8,000 BC.
Mine.. Antiquity should begin at 8,000 or 10,000 BC

According to tech tree I don't think Age 2 ends at 1799. it might end at 1699 even! (it should.) according to weapons evolutions. also Big guns that uses wrought iron hoops disappeared in 16th Century as metallugury has since been developed to accept strong gunpowder gas pressures.

 

[Thormodr]

As I understand it, each Age advances at 1 point per turn to a max of 200 points. You can add +5 points from each of 4 Legacies. Barring other bonuses they have't mentioned yet, then, each Age will therefore be between 180 and 200 turns and then you go into the Crisis Period of 3 stages. I don't believe they've said how long those Crisis Stages will last in turns, but given that they will probably not be Happy Times, I'd bet they will be short: probably no more than 15 - 20 turns for the entire Crisis Period,

Frankly, in Civ VI 95% or more of my games were decided long before 200 turns - frequently by the 100th turn - so even 180 turns/Age sounds like plenty to me - always depending, of course, on how the turns play in the new game.

Yes, I get that many people like to do speed runs (notably content creators) and finish their games in sub 200 turns. For me, I like to take the time and smell the roses. I rarely finish in under 200 turns. In fact, I'm probably around 250-300 turns. (Maybe I'm a freak?)

Will have to see what all goes into shortening the ages through in game action when the real gameplay videos come out.

On the other hand 160X3 turns = 480 turns potentially for a total game and that to me seems too long. I am slow but not that slow.

Could be tricky to balance. Will be Interested in further clarification from the devs.

 

[chaosprophet]

I predict they're doing both. The base game will ship with the 3rd age extending to modern times, but then a later DLC will add a 4th age that starts circa end of World War II. Climate change will be in the base game, but an expanded and more elaborate set of climate change rules will be released in the DLC. Third age civs that ship in the base game will be split up between age 3 and age 4 and supplemented with new civs in the DLC. Introducing lots of modern nations in the first big DLC expansion should drive lots of sales from large markets like Canada, Brazil, etc.

Introducing a new age between the base ages 1 and 2 or between 2 and 3 could also be possible, but adding a new age to the end of the base game seems like it would be a whole lot simpler. So that's another reason I expect the first large expansion to be Information Age oriented.

Also, why the heck am I speculating on DLCs when there's so little information about the base game known yet? Could Sept 12th hurry up and get here already so we have something more tangible to speculate about?

If they do a age 4 in a future expansion, I think it would work better to be a futuristic one, where there is a lot of interesting crisis possibilities to add at the end of modern if it is around year 2050. Things like, deadly global pandemics, climate crisis, fuel shortage crisis, economic breakdown, problems caused by use of too many atomic bombs, etc. They could even make it be like, depending of the type of crisis triggered, the gameplay on an age 4 is different. Like a fuel shortage one could mean an age 4 where oil and some other resources are completely lost so you need to focus on rebuilding power structures with renewable energy, etc.

 

[j51]

According to tech tree I don't think Age 2 ends at 1799. it might end at 1699 even! (it should.) according to weapons evolutions. also Big guns that uses wrought iron hoops disappeared in 16th Century as metallugury has since been developed to accept strong gunpowder gas pressures.

Yeah, the transition would appear to be 16th century based on the tech tree.

 

[Tanel]

As I understand it, each Age advances at 1 point per turn to a max of 200 points. You can add +5 points from each of 4 Legacies. Barring other bonuses they have't mentioned yet, then, each Age will therefore be between 180 and 200 turns and then you go into the Crisis Period of 3 stages. I don't believe they've said how long those Crisis Stages will last in turns, but given that they will probably not be Happy Times, I'd bet they will be short: probably no more than 15 - 20 turns for the entire Crisis Period,

Frankly, in Civ VI 95% or more of my games were decided long before 200 turns - frequently by the 100th turn - so even 180 turns/Age sounds like plenty to me - always depending, of course, on how the turns play in the new game.

Each Legacy path has 3 steps though and you get +5 era progress for each of them so +15 total per legacy which means -60 turns is possible.

 

[Tanel]

F__K! I don't like Antiquity begins at 4000 BC At ANY CIV Game! TOOOOOOOO LATE. Since all archaeological evidence suggested that. The oldest cities with walls surrounded were dated back to 6,000-8,000 BC.
Mine.. Antiquity should begin at 8,000 or 10,000 BC

According to tech tree I don't think Age 2 ends at 1799. it might end at 1699 even! (it should.) according to weapons evolutions. also Big guns that uses wrought iron hoops disappeared in 16th Century as metallugury has since been developed to accept strong gunpowder gas pressures.

Those previous civilizations all fell without having a direct successor in the era so they did not stand the test of time. I think 4000 BCE is chosen because that's the earliest known continuous civilization in one area.

 

[brainwashh]

The modern era starts in 1500. This will put most European colonial empires in the modern age, even the Dutch.