When do you expect next patch fall and what could be it's priorities?

Cheers wise sages, when do you predict we get a Summer patch(if you look at previous patching schedules)?

Also what do you expect the patch priorities to include?

I hope only for two things:
Better Air unit using by AI
and
AI building WAY MORE naval units

 

Will defer to Eagle Pursuit, but my understanding is there's nothing happening on the depots, so no reason to expect anything imminent. The earliest we should expect another patch, then would be approx. 3 months after the previous one. I'm not sure we should even "expect" that. We may not get another patch. They may put all their resources into the next expansion (which itself is not guaranteed, but is likely based on past behaviour).

If we do get a patch, I'd be very happy to see both of the items you mentioned addressed. It's impossible to know what the development team's priorities are. For me, roughly in order, I think I'd like to see:

• Airpower fixes: primarily their use by the AI, but also issues related to their deployment on carriers and a bunch of related stuff
• Cede fixed so that it does something relevant
• Bandar Brunei getting its own symbol instead of Jarkarta's, because that would be simple
• AI victory efficiency on higher levels, so that beating the AI to a victory is more challenging at higher levels.
• City State protection mechanism that applies equally to human and AI players, even if it's as simple as the Civ 5 rule that you can't declare war on a City State without declaring war on it's sovereign, too.
• Anti-Cav units being made cheaper to build, and Cavalry units (especially Heavy Cavalry) being more expensive to maintain
• Production costs in general adjusted so that building modern military units up to a specified infrastructure capacity is significantly cheaper
• If production is made cheaper, then more focus by the AI on building naval units (I'm concerned that more naval units otherwise would just slow the AI down, and it can't borrow from it's land units, because those aren't strong enough to defend itself as things stand)
• Tier 3 buildings rebalanced to be more useful, either through direct boosts or boosts to specialists or being made cheaper or something to make it worthwhile to build them rather than running that district's project
• More buildings with effects that give bonuses to intact resources, to make the decision to retain versus chop more interesting (although this is likely out of scope for a patch)
• Former City States going back to City State status rather than Free City when they lose Loyalty (and other cities that go Free City gaining a generic City State status if they stay Free City for more than say 20 turns)
• AI bonus rebalancing, so that the AI's higher level bonuses are more evenly distributed over the full course of the game, rather than being mostly front loaded

 

1) fix the bug that leaves the garrisoned unit inside of a free city, either by destroying it, or converting it to a free city unit.
2) fix the bug that allows captured cities to grow even while still at war.
3) get rid of "cede city" or fix it to work as originally intended.
4) don't interrupt the game to show an AI diplomatic message with no options for me other than to close the screen, if I've seen it once before.
5) fix trade screen bugs
6 option on the trade screen to request an offer by the AI to be lump sum first and then gpt rather than gpt first and then lump sum.
7) fix benefits of Magnus chop (or any chop) so it does not overflow to next build unless the next build is identical to the one being finished by a chop.
8) re-do the AI trade screen so that an AI can't be asked 20 times to find its exact price. Make it so an AI will break off negotiations after 1 or 2 counteroffers--and refuse to re-appear for 5-10 turns thereafter. See Master of Orion ONE, for example. This feature offers more personality to an AI than a dozen fancy phrases in a foreign language.

 

Or relevant modding tools...

 

One more thing, about monuments. Monuments are supposed to be 2 culture with full loyalty, but the UI always says I'm getting just 1. I hope that issue is fixed or clarified.

 

The extra effort to QA test the hell out of the last patch gives it the flavor of finality, in my opinion. As in "let's get this right, because it will be stuck this way for a long time". In the past (specifically, last summer) they were willing to let some substantial bugs go because they knew there would be another patch just around the corner to give them another shot at fixing them. I don't expect any patches until the next expansion.

 

If there's another expansion planned and it's not coming out until next year, there may be another patch this year to keep publicity for the game up. Possibly one that comes out around the time the expansion plans are announced. Showing continued support for the current version might be helpful in building market for the second expansion.

 

November

 

As Firaxis clearly doesn't want to spend dev time on improving AI, I'd go with modding tools as well. That's the only chance this game may become engaging when playing against comp.

 

If Firaxis cared about QA, the game wouldn't hide its own rules.

What I'd like to see in the next patch is not what I will see, going by track record I'd be crazy to expect otherwise.

 

If I have to guess then at Fall. Otherwise prob at expanssion and that one is prob atleast 1 year to wait.

 

I want the AI not to spend time and resources on disabled victory conditions. It should not try to convert my cities if religious victory is turned off. Or even better, improve the "don't convert my cities" in the diplomacy menu. The AI should recognize that converting an opponent city is a diplomatic risk and may led to war.

 

I think both are possible, but Eagle Pursuit is more likely to be right here. If there was a patch, I think it would only deal with stuff that’s relatively easy to fix because the devs have limited time.

I also think this “we don’t have time to keep messing with the game” drove some decisions in the last patch. I think it’s why the loyalty / religion thing was a bit more limited than expected - because fxs needed to know it would create unexpected balance issues - and I think it’s why the England “fix” was so blunt - they didn’t have time for something more considered (although maybe that’s wishful thinking).

None of this bodes well for life before the next expansion. But it may mean the next expansion and any patches after that may really improve the game. It is a good game - the frustration is that there is an absolutely amazing game mixed in with lots of rubbish and mechanics that aren’t fully realised just waiting to get out.

Vanilla really feels like it had Ed’s stamp on it. R&F instead feels like it came from a different company that didn’t get Vanilla. I’m really hoping that for the next expansion fxs get back that focus, so the game builds on existing mechanics, gameplay and feel instead of introducing just more disconnected stuff.

If there was an earlier patch, this list would do me. I can wait for the expansion for loyalty, governance, and England to get really fixed (provided they do actually get fixed ... and England gets an alternate leader - come on fxs, wouldnt the crowds go wild for Elizabeth asking “do you want a trade agreement with England...? How abou we trade all your cities and gold for WAR!!!” ...?).

 

Fix England

 

...or they could just, ahem, "Fix England"... that would work for me too.

 

First of all, I'd very much rather they fixed that goddarned UI, and the deal screen in particular. It's the single absolutely worst thing in this game, it's the most poor and atrocious user interface in the whole series. Civ 1 has better UI, for godsakes.

When the number of traded luxuries increases, the thought alone about the utter chore of renewals already puts me off playing. As soon as the luxuries appeared in the franchise, in Civ 3, you could see instantly if AI has a particular luxury and if it would trade it. Civ 4 has that. Civ 5 has that. So why does Civ 6 torture the player instead, making him/her leave the trade diplo screen and go to the reports screen, and go to the third tab of it, and then study the long boring spreadsheet of deals and squint at the miniature luxuries icons at the bottom, then go back to the diplomacy and make the renewal? Chances are you forget something and have to repeat it all again. No deal end reminders, remember to mouse on the gold number to see when some payment ends. What if it was a rare case of lux for lux only? Dive into the spreadsheet, Mr Accountant. And when you have lots of deals, this ritual must be done every few turns. It rather looks like bookkeeping exercise, not a strategy game.

This is the first Civ where I feel sometimes it would be nice to have an assistant to help you play, who would keep the tabs on the trade and diplomacy, and now, after the latest patch, also would remind you to appoint/promote a governor, 'cause those reminders bugged out and buggered off as well.

So for me, UI first. And only then AI, airforce, England, deployment from carriers and all other such things...

 

1. Leave the civs as are. England certainly doesn't need further tweaking
because some players want their "home team" to be invincible.

2. Most importantly: Firaxis should honour their promise to release modding
tools. Hundreds of modders added great value to previous releases, and it's time
the franchise stopped dithering and offering false hope.

 

Thats a bit rough, England was at best only ever mid tier and I have often added comments about releasing modding despite not using them myself.
Unkind comments are oft remembered more than kind and that was well below the belt.

 

I hope they balance the Ages system. Dark Ages just doesn't happen unless you do it on purpose, I still didn't get one and I been playing since R&F launch. Meanwhile, Golden Ages streak is way too easy to pull off, even if you have tons of cities. You also get way too much Era points while going for domination. Dark Ages could be an interesting way to simulate the hardship of keeping a huge Empire together but it just doesn't happen. Once you start steamrolling the map, that's it, you're "stuck" in Golden Ages and loyalty stop being a challenge. I hope they increase the era penalty for amount of cities and amount of golden ages you had, also nerf or even exclude some of the historical moments related to combat and conquest. A Dark Age in late game domination should be almost guaranteed and Golden Age streak almost impossible.

I also hope for another try on fixing the AI obsession with conquering CSs and another try on fixing Air Combat. I still didn't test since the last patch but apostles promotions getting stuck in the two most useless promotions, which leave with only one option that is truly random and potentially useful, if it isn't fixed yet I hope they fix it, it's a huge problem for Religious victory, making Yerevan even more essential for it.