Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth

[garbon]

My first impression is that it's a reskinned Civ 5.  But who knows?

Yeah sounds a lot like an impressive overhaul mod...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2599431/preview-100-turns-with-civilization-beyond-earth.html

[Darth Wagtaros]

My first impression is that it's a reskinned Civ 5.  But who knows?

Same impression.

[Razgovory]

Well what made Alpha Centauri was the bells and whistles more then the core game play.  The flavor texts for technologies, the little movies for the wonders, etc.

[Tonitrus]

Agreed.  A slightly re-touched Civ5 "But on an alien planet!" with stock alien species and cardboard-cutout factions is completely unappealing.  To me at least.

[Martinus]

I have been following this very closely and if SMAC was a Civ2 reskin, then this is a Civ5 reskin...  But otherwise the starting choices, the Affinities, the tech web, the aliens, the virtues, the orbital layer, the unit designing and advancement, and the victory conditions are wildly different from Civ5.

[Tonitrus]

I would argue that SMAC was quite a fair bit more than a Civ2 reskin.

[Martinus]

I would argue that SMAC was quite a fair bit more than a Civ2 reskin.

Which was my point - this is *not* a Civ5 reskin. This is a 4X game using the Civ5 engine, but similarities end there.

To give you some examples:

- Affinities are a radically different mechanics, both in terms how you pursue them (by researching the "right" techs and making the right event choices, while refraining from researching the "wrong" techs) and what they give you (effectively, giving you different unit and city look, different unit upgrades, unique buildings, unique abilities and victory conditions) - this is unlike anything ever done in Civilization, period (and not just in Civ5);

- The fact that each faction's "Special ability" is really negligible, but the other choices you make at start (what kind of colonists you take, what cargo and what type of space shit) affect your gameplay at least as much if not more (there are I think over 1000 combinations in total), make the choice of your leader/faction much less of a big deal than in Civ5;

- The aliens are not barbarians (they even made a video titled that) - they can be appeased or pissed off, and they are much stronger, posing a potential threat throughout the game (and, depending on the choice of your Affinity, they may either fall into the "Kill the Mutant, the Xenos, the Heretic" camp or become your friends and allies) - in a sense, they are much more like the tribes in Colonization;

- The tech web is unlike Civ5 (or any other Civ) - you start in the middle of it, and go to the sides, with extra (much more expensive) "practical application" techs working as sub-sets of "theoretical" techs;

- The Virtues work a bit like the Social engineering trees from Civ5, but they are fewer and depeer, and you get synergy bonuses for picking same tier virtues from different trees, so the similarity to Civ5 is also remote;

- There is an orbital layer for satellites - completely unlike anything (including SMAC);

- Unlike Civ5, you do not upgrade units to different ones - you just upgrade their "parts" by fitting them with better cannons or engines etc. (so like SMAC, and unlike Civ5);

- Victory Conditions are vastly different (for example the Purity Affinity has a victory condition where you have to build a warp gate to the Earth and then defend it (while other players and aliens try to destroy it) long enough for 20 human settlers to pass through to the planet and settle them as cities over a given area to win).

So, in short, it's hardly a reskin.

[Neil]

The flavour and feeling of the game will mean everything.  After all, that's what did it for Alpha Centauri.  I would imagine I'll pick this up when it's on sale.

[Razgovory]

The flavour and feeling of the game will mean everything.  After all, that's what did it for Alpha Centauri.  I would imagine I'll pick this up when it's on sale.

I agree.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

The flavour and feeling of the game will mean everything.  After all, that's what did it for Alpha Centauri.  I would imagine I'll pick this up when it's on sale.

+2

same I did with CiV

[Martinus]

I don't get this view. Surely, if you are interested in a game to buy it, then given that costs of the game is peanuts, paying early means the chance of there being an expansion making the game even better (see CiV) is higher. So why wait for the sake of saving the cost of a couple lattes.

Not to mention you get to play sooner.

[The Brain]

Not everyone makes gay money.

[mongers]

I don't get this view. Surely, if you are interested in a game to buy it, then given that costs of the game is peanuts, paying early means the chance of there being an expansion making the game even better (see CiV) is higher. So why wait for the sake of saving the cost of a couple lattes.

Not to mention you get to play sooner.

Some people don't drink lattes?

[garbon]

I don't get this view. Surely, if you are interested in a game to buy it, then given that costs of the game is peanuts, paying early means the chance of there being an expansion making the game even better (see CiV) is higher. So why wait for the sake of saving the cost of a couple lattes.

Not to mention you get to play sooner.

I'm not chomping at the bit for the game so why spend extra money?

[garbon]

I don't get this view. Surely, if you are interested in a game to buy it, then given that costs of the game is peanuts, paying early means the chance of there being an expansion making the game even better (see CiV) is higher. So why wait for the sake of saving the cost of a couple lattes.

Not to mention you get to play sooner.

Some people don't drink lattes?

I feel bad for Poland. Even in Manhattan lattes aren't 15 a pop.