sTAPler27
Warlord
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2018
- Messages
- 120
Before any promotional material besides that first trailer I made a list of the top 10 things I hoped to see in the game and while not all of them came true a good chunk of them did in some way or another.
1. Improved Oceans
While we still haven't seen a lot of ocean gameplay yet the fact they claim that naval combat is much more different gives me hope that the seas have been revamped. Alongside that the fact that navigable rivers are a thing gives me hope for more unique ocean tiles like what was in Civ 6's Sukritacts Expanded oceans mod.
2. Multiple Choices For Buildings
After the release of the Urban Complexity modpack I saw just how interesting having options for what to build spices up gameplay. A city with a Governor might benefit from a Mint while a city that could benefit from a Resource Slot could use an Emporium. We saw a glimpse of this in one of the trailers and while the bonuses weren't too vastly different I think it's a step in the right direction.
3. More Units
While I don't like military routes all that much I enjoy it when the upgrade paths for units make sense. 5 had so much complexity with civ 6 having you go from swordsmen to infantry with 2 upgrades before the update. Human kind also demonstrated how different unit paths could converge with Ranged, Melee and Anti Cavalry becoming firearm units one by one. Civ 6 did add a lot of new concepts I can't wait to see expanded upon such as aerial units that aid siege units, a full scout upgrade tree and having the battering ram evolve to suit a completely different purpose once walls become obsolete. Alongside that the introduction of more unique great people and the military engineer made for interesting ways to engage in actions with units you could see move around the map.
4. Policy Tree System
One of the things I enjoyed a good bit in Humankind was the policy tree system. While there wasn't too many options it made it feel like policies weren't just modifiers but actual codes of law that effected the culture of your nation by having them branch out from your prior policies and shifted your ideology. While it seems like government has been a bit simplified in some places especially with the 3 governments per era system I still think there's time to add a bit more complexity down the road. Instead of random bonuses like 100% adjacency there'd be some really out there policies. Humankind's system acknowledged that policies don't just go away to make way for new ones, only if they contradict. You don't need to stop using Prison Labor because you've become a Secular State however you can't be both a Secular and a Mandated Atheist state. This made them feel more like real policies than just bonuses, there were times when I felt conflicted on going against my own beliefs just so the country would run more optimally in the unique situations that faced it.
5. Better World Congress
While we haven't seen the later eras it does seem like the diplomacy system was strengthened in some eras and hampered in others. While there aren't any diplomatic goals like military and culture the system seems a bit more fleshed out with influence seemingly playing a bit more of an important role than favor. I'm just not sure how with it being a resource with a cap how a world congress will play out. Maybe diplomatic emergencies will return and be more important. Or maybe you'll be expected to expend your diplomatic currency in smarter ways if you want a leg up in diplomacy. Regardless I'm hoping the diplomacy system is more player guided. Diplomacy in Civ 6 was so boring because you didn't control what policies were being proposed, the A.I. voted like a predictable hivemind, and all policies were completely binding, there was no way to be a rogue state. I also hope to see more meaningful policies. Things like Nuclear Disarmament or Climate Accords were interesting because it felt like they were based on the actual happenings of the world and not just chosen on a whim. Perhaps if a player was warmongering a lot the community could launch a global embargo on them, with people being allowed to trade with them but at a diplomatic penalty.
6. Random Events
Something that was added to Civ 7 with no buts added in. I think this is a good feature because it adds in some narrative elements to the game that remind you that population number you see on screen represent actual people with needs and desires. While they can get repetitive Humankind's could be repetitive it was aided by the fact that their benefits weren't always guaranteed. You could go against your ideology and pick an option that has the chance to have a positive effect and then be punished for it. There were pros and cons to a lot of the choices that made you contemplate your actions. For example there were times I wanted to spread my religion but in picking an option that would help that I made my government more conservative as a result which hurt my science yields.
7. Elevation (And kind of city sprawl too)
Yet another feature added pretty one to one into Civ 7 that I couldn't be happier to see. Civ 7 might actually be doing elevation better than Humankind for the sole reason that the more readable art style combined with the elevation differences make cities look beautiful. And the fact cities have walls that go tile by tile makes this even better because cities aren't just centers with random stuff scattered around them but their entities that naturally grow out from a central point. You'll probably find yourself branching out districts from the center just so you can wall off a district in a choke point or rushing to claim a tile because if an enemy takes a tile it won't allow you to traverse an elevated surface. My only hopes are regarding how walls and ranged units work. For ranged units what was so interesting in Humankind was finding points where the most of your ranged units could fire from. You couldn't just place a row of infantry in a line you had to find cliffs with enough distance. Along with that melee units would have to hug cliffs to avoid getting shot at from above. As for walls I loved how walls acted as individual units with their own health that had to be taken down by specialized units which weren't mandatory but made entering a city so much easier, creating weak points to funnel and army through.
8. Schisms
An odd choice I know but it always felt odd to me that in a game two different civs leagues across the planet would both found different versions of Christianity and would avoid picking the same beliefs without knowing the other religion existed. Religions are a lot more connected than people are aware of and I think it is time the game reflected that. Maybe instead of founding a completely new religion players could found sects that borrow from an established civs chosen beliefs but allows you to build onto it. Founders would have to choose if these new faiths were allies in the same cause or new heresies to purge. On one hand they help you spread your religion but on the other their different beliefs could overwrite your own.
9. National Wonders
A feature from Civ 5 I didn't really care to see again until a Civ 6 modder reimplemented it within 6's wonder per tile format. Wonders are one of my favorite things about Civilization because they show what your nation focuses on, Broadway for Culture or Oxford for Science. But a lot of important institutions may not be wonderous but are important for a country's goals. In that Civ 6 mod I found myself trying to get the most out of national airport to boost tourism in my culture focused city or I'd build the National Amusement park to increase the amenity gains of nearby Entertainment Complexes. Wonders should be truly unique while national wonders are signs that your Civ reached a milestone in a particular area.
10. Neolithic Era and More Eras in General
Maybe I should've expected there to be no Neolithic era, after all it makes sense for a game about Humankind but Civilization jumps straight to the dawn of civilization. However I couldn't guess that between Rise and Fall and Gathering storm that more of Gather Storm's major feature would be the one to be carried over given how much more complex its additions must be. I for one like the cultural evolution mechanic because unlike what other people say I think it's more accurate for civs to evolve than remain stagnate. While the Romans may not have become the Mongols, in an alternate set of historical conditions perhaps the Romans would've benefit more from nomadic warfare. While it may mean less eras it does mean they will be more fleshed out and a bit less arbitrary in some ways. While the manufactured crises are a bit dumb it's at worst a side grade to 6's system where stagnation, even if all is well, equals a dark age. I'm just happy that eras mark true evolution, not just times to pick a dedication and a stability boost or debuff. All I'm hoping for with this new era system is a future section added onto the modern age. While in many games you should be winning earlier than when it gets to that point with the new drawn out timeframe I hope we see a future era that truly embraces things not fully explored by humanity to spice up the gameplay. Instead of just a series of buffs for the Giant Death robots I'm hoping to see all manner of strange future technologies and civics. A.I. Citizenship civcs that could allow you to produce population with production or Space Colonies that send you resources from areas not even seen on the map. These might be too extreme but with a future age the possibilities are endless.
1. Improved Oceans
While we still haven't seen a lot of ocean gameplay yet the fact they claim that naval combat is much more different gives me hope that the seas have been revamped. Alongside that the fact that navigable rivers are a thing gives me hope for more unique ocean tiles like what was in Civ 6's Sukritacts Expanded oceans mod.
2. Multiple Choices For Buildings
After the release of the Urban Complexity modpack I saw just how interesting having options for what to build spices up gameplay. A city with a Governor might benefit from a Mint while a city that could benefit from a Resource Slot could use an Emporium. We saw a glimpse of this in one of the trailers and while the bonuses weren't too vastly different I think it's a step in the right direction.
3. More Units
While I don't like military routes all that much I enjoy it when the upgrade paths for units make sense. 5 had so much complexity with civ 6 having you go from swordsmen to infantry with 2 upgrades before the update. Human kind also demonstrated how different unit paths could converge with Ranged, Melee and Anti Cavalry becoming firearm units one by one. Civ 6 did add a lot of new concepts I can't wait to see expanded upon such as aerial units that aid siege units, a full scout upgrade tree and having the battering ram evolve to suit a completely different purpose once walls become obsolete. Alongside that the introduction of more unique great people and the military engineer made for interesting ways to engage in actions with units you could see move around the map.
4. Policy Tree System
One of the things I enjoyed a good bit in Humankind was the policy tree system. While there wasn't too many options it made it feel like policies weren't just modifiers but actual codes of law that effected the culture of your nation by having them branch out from your prior policies and shifted your ideology. While it seems like government has been a bit simplified in some places especially with the 3 governments per era system I still think there's time to add a bit more complexity down the road. Instead of random bonuses like 100% adjacency there'd be some really out there policies. Humankind's system acknowledged that policies don't just go away to make way for new ones, only if they contradict. You don't need to stop using Prison Labor because you've become a Secular State however you can't be both a Secular and a Mandated Atheist state. This made them feel more like real policies than just bonuses, there were times when I felt conflicted on going against my own beliefs just so the country would run more optimally in the unique situations that faced it.
5. Better World Congress
While we haven't seen the later eras it does seem like the diplomacy system was strengthened in some eras and hampered in others. While there aren't any diplomatic goals like military and culture the system seems a bit more fleshed out with influence seemingly playing a bit more of an important role than favor. I'm just not sure how with it being a resource with a cap how a world congress will play out. Maybe diplomatic emergencies will return and be more important. Or maybe you'll be expected to expend your diplomatic currency in smarter ways if you want a leg up in diplomacy. Regardless I'm hoping the diplomacy system is more player guided. Diplomacy in Civ 6 was so boring because you didn't control what policies were being proposed, the A.I. voted like a predictable hivemind, and all policies were completely binding, there was no way to be a rogue state. I also hope to see more meaningful policies. Things like Nuclear Disarmament or Climate Accords were interesting because it felt like they were based on the actual happenings of the world and not just chosen on a whim. Perhaps if a player was warmongering a lot the community could launch a global embargo on them, with people being allowed to trade with them but at a diplomatic penalty.
6. Random Events
Something that was added to Civ 7 with no buts added in. I think this is a good feature because it adds in some narrative elements to the game that remind you that population number you see on screen represent actual people with needs and desires. While they can get repetitive Humankind's could be repetitive it was aided by the fact that their benefits weren't always guaranteed. You could go against your ideology and pick an option that has the chance to have a positive effect and then be punished for it. There were pros and cons to a lot of the choices that made you contemplate your actions. For example there were times I wanted to spread my religion but in picking an option that would help that I made my government more conservative as a result which hurt my science yields.
7. Elevation (And kind of city sprawl too)
Yet another feature added pretty one to one into Civ 7 that I couldn't be happier to see. Civ 7 might actually be doing elevation better than Humankind for the sole reason that the more readable art style combined with the elevation differences make cities look beautiful. And the fact cities have walls that go tile by tile makes this even better because cities aren't just centers with random stuff scattered around them but their entities that naturally grow out from a central point. You'll probably find yourself branching out districts from the center just so you can wall off a district in a choke point or rushing to claim a tile because if an enemy takes a tile it won't allow you to traverse an elevated surface. My only hopes are regarding how walls and ranged units work. For ranged units what was so interesting in Humankind was finding points where the most of your ranged units could fire from. You couldn't just place a row of infantry in a line you had to find cliffs with enough distance. Along with that melee units would have to hug cliffs to avoid getting shot at from above. As for walls I loved how walls acted as individual units with their own health that had to be taken down by specialized units which weren't mandatory but made entering a city so much easier, creating weak points to funnel and army through.
8. Schisms
An odd choice I know but it always felt odd to me that in a game two different civs leagues across the planet would both found different versions of Christianity and would avoid picking the same beliefs without knowing the other religion existed. Religions are a lot more connected than people are aware of and I think it is time the game reflected that. Maybe instead of founding a completely new religion players could found sects that borrow from an established civs chosen beliefs but allows you to build onto it. Founders would have to choose if these new faiths were allies in the same cause or new heresies to purge. On one hand they help you spread your religion but on the other their different beliefs could overwrite your own.
9. National Wonders
A feature from Civ 5 I didn't really care to see again until a Civ 6 modder reimplemented it within 6's wonder per tile format. Wonders are one of my favorite things about Civilization because they show what your nation focuses on, Broadway for Culture or Oxford for Science. But a lot of important institutions may not be wonderous but are important for a country's goals. In that Civ 6 mod I found myself trying to get the most out of national airport to boost tourism in my culture focused city or I'd build the National Amusement park to increase the amenity gains of nearby Entertainment Complexes. Wonders should be truly unique while national wonders are signs that your Civ reached a milestone in a particular area.
10. Neolithic Era and More Eras in General
Maybe I should've expected there to be no Neolithic era, after all it makes sense for a game about Humankind but Civilization jumps straight to the dawn of civilization. However I couldn't guess that between Rise and Fall and Gathering storm that more of Gather Storm's major feature would be the one to be carried over given how much more complex its additions must be. I for one like the cultural evolution mechanic because unlike what other people say I think it's more accurate for civs to evolve than remain stagnate. While the Romans may not have become the Mongols, in an alternate set of historical conditions perhaps the Romans would've benefit more from nomadic warfare. While it may mean less eras it does mean they will be more fleshed out and a bit less arbitrary in some ways. While the manufactured crises are a bit dumb it's at worst a side grade to 6's system where stagnation, even if all is well, equals a dark age. I'm just happy that eras mark true evolution, not just times to pick a dedication and a stability boost or debuff. All I'm hoping for with this new era system is a future section added onto the modern age. While in many games you should be winning earlier than when it gets to that point with the new drawn out timeframe I hope we see a future era that truly embraces things not fully explored by humanity to spice up the gameplay. Instead of just a series of buffs for the Giant Death robots I'm hoping to see all manner of strange future technologies and civics. A.I. Citizenship civcs that could allow you to produce population with production or Space Colonies that send you resources from areas not even seen on the map. These might be too extreme but with a future age the possibilities are endless.
