General Gaming Civilization VII (PC/PlayStation/Xbox/Switch | 11 February 2025) update (01/16): new Developer Diaries and Leader videos

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

The banner was temporarily displayed on the 2K Games website before being quickly removed.

 

[Kal-El814]

Very curious to see where they go with the franchise. With the expansions for VI it's really filled to bursting.

[Paperclyp]

Love the idea of the series. Suck at it. But could easily be suckered into buying a new one!

[Keyser_Soze]

40 minutes ago, Paperclyp said:

Love the idea of the series. Suck at it. But could easily be suckered into buying a new one!

 

How can you be bad at it? Build the best thing and win. Easy.

[Ricofoley]

1 hour ago, Kal-El814 said:

Very curious to see where they go with the franchise. With the expansions for VI it's really filled to bursting.

I don't know exactly what this would entail, but I'd like to see them try and tweak some of the win conditions and gameplay in the late game so there's a little bit less of a gap between when you really get your synergies going to pump out resources and when you actually fulfill the win condition. I'm thinking about for example how a religious win works now, where you may have a basically insurmountable lead in how much Faith you're producing, but it still takes a big number of turns to physically get all of your missionaries all the way across the ocean to go mop up all of the most far-flung cities that you haven't converted yet.

 

I'd also like to see the Diplomatic Victory totally reworked from how it is in VI, because the Victory Points feel pretty arbitrary, and it feels really anticlimactic when you trigger a Diplomatic Victory compared to any other type.

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

That certainly was an announcement alright.

 

Yes indeed it sure was.

[Keyser_Soze]

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Gameplay Showcase

CIVILIZATION.2K.COM

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Watch the Sid Meier's Civilization VII Gameplay Showcase on August 20 at 1:30pm PT featuring more than 20 minutes of gameplay details!

 

[jaethos]

I hope it grabs me more than Civ 6 did. I played many many hours of 5, but only a couple games of 6.

[Kal-El814]

Show me the footage, you fucking cowards. Who has time to wait 19 days?

[Fizzzzle]

I've owned every single Civilization game and never played any of them for longer than a few minutes

[Fizzzzle]

... I'll probably buy this one and never play it...

[sblfilms]

When I got Civ 5 I played it for literally 20 hours straight the first time I booted it up.

[TheLeon]

16 hours ago, Fizzzzle said:

I've owned every single Civilization game and never played any of them for longer than a few minutes

 

16 hours ago, Fizzzzle said:

... I'll probably buy this one and never play it...

Hell yeah, brother. 
I think I actually finished exactly one normal length game of Civ IV back in the day, but that’s it. Didn’t stop me from buying the next few and barely touching them. I even bought 6 on a couple different platforms. “Well, I didn’t get into it on PC, but the iPad version will hook me for sure!” - fuckin’ idiot

[CitizenVectron]

The things I really, really hope they include:

• Make vertical civilizations more appealing
• Make peaceful plays more appealing
• Make the end-game not as tedious 

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Here's the 20 minute gameplay that starts in an hour

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

From the Gameplay Showcase, it genuinely appears that they lifted some gameplay elements from Humankind.

[Jason]

They still need not dumb as fuck AI that only increases the difficulty by cheating. How the hell has it been two entire Civ cycles and the AI still can't use the hex combat system properly?

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Civilization 7 hands-on: Huge changes are coming to the classic strategy series | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

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Firaxis is changing Civilization's structure with the goal of getting more of us to the victory screen.

 

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Here's one big change: Despite leading Rome, I played as Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut. Your leader no longer has to match your civilization.

 

This relates to a key part of the new three-act structure: In the transition to a new age, you'll select a new civilization. Each age has unique civs, and the choices available depend on your leader, but also what you've accomplished so far. If you've amassed a huge stable of powerful cavalry units, for instance, you might be granted the option of swapping to Mongolia for the Exploration age.

 

Beach's big theme for Civilization 7 is the idea that "history is built in layers." The thought was inspired by London, which began as Roman outpost Londinium before being abandoned, occupied by the conquering Normans, and then transformed by the Industrial Revolution. 

"Now we have a new version of Civilization where I can play a single pathway through history, and I get to be the Romans, I get to be the Normans, and then I get to be Britain," he said.

 

In the transition to a new age, old buildings lose their special effects and adjacency bonuses, so you'll be encouraged to literally build in layers, replacing the old with the new. The pre-defined districts of Civ 6 have been dropped in favor of general urban districts that the player defines by the buildings they opt to place in them. Cities should be more compact as a result.

 

Along with sub-goals that break up the journey toward one of Civ's victory conditions, getting to adopt a new culture's architecture, units, and bonuses along the way—an idea you'll also find in 2021 strategy game Humankind—might just tempt me to finally start sticking things out to the end. It's hard to say, though, because Civ's early game remains as compelling as ever, and some of the changes in Civ 7 make it even more exciting.

 

 

 

Civilization 7's new features: a revamped three-age structure, towns, navigable rivers, and more | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

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Everything we know right now about the changes in Civilization 7.

 

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Civilization 5 was controversial for ditching unit stacking, forcing players to space out their armies on a new hexagonal grid. Civilization 6 got heat for altering the art style, and added a new city district system to mixed reviews. Eight years later, Firaxis hasn't opted to play it safe for Civilization 7: Get ready for some long Reddit threads.

 

The most fundamental change, and the one I think will be the most controversial, is a revamp of the game structure. Instead of lots of eras—Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, and so on—a game of Civ 7 is divided into just three ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. At the start of each age, you'll be prompted to pick a new civilization, with options that depend on your current civilization and the choices you've made so far. Mongolia might show up in your Exploration age options if you've developed powerful cavalry units, for instance.

 

This also means that Civ 7's leaders are no longer locked to the civilization they're known for leading. 2K flew me out to the Firaxis office earlier this month, where I spent three hours building the Roman Empire as Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut. 

 

I explain how that went in my hands-on preview, but I know that Civ fans will also care about all the little changes and additions in Civ 7, so below I've listed absolutely every new thing I noticed during my hands-on session in the Antiquity age. I'm told that some features are exclusive to the other two ages, so I wouldn't have seen them, and even though I've tried to be comprehensive, there's no way I clocked everything that's new or different. Firaxis may also make tweaks before Civ 7 launches on February 11, so consider this a partial and not at all final list of what to expect.

 

 

 

Civilization 7 pairs seismic changes with a lovably familiar formula

WWW.EUROGAMER.NET

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Our thoughts after goind hands-on with Civilization 7 and an interview with lead designer and producer at Firaxis, Ed Beach and Andrew Frederiksen.

 

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The big problem they identified? Games stretched out for an eternity, without any real moments for players to take a natural break before coming back. It meant, Beach said, a significant amount of players becoming too exhausted by marathon games to ever finish them. To find an answer, Beach turned to history, and recalled a common idiom: "history is built in layers".

 

The solution is the introduction of a new, and no doubt debate-starting system called Ages in Civilization 7, which Beach told me was both the biggest feature, and the one that "required the most work", as it represents "a foundational structural change" in how the game functions. Games, now referred to as campaigns, are broken up into three distinct stages: the antiquity age, exploration age, and modern age. Each age will come with what was only loosely described as "unique content and gameplay", with the goal of highlighting what made each period interesting. "It's sort of like going from trying to tell one really, really long story with a final conclusion, and now it's more like The Lord of the Rings, where we get three conclusions but they are all still together," Beach said.

 

It's a major change for Civ, which has knock-on effects for two systems of Civ 6: all civilizations will now move into the next age at the same time, as they did with the system of golden ages and dark ages in Civ 6's Rise and Fall expansion, but scientific and cultural progress along the game's two returning technology trees is now tied to that simultaneous age progression, and thus also a little reworked. Those two trees are now broken up. In a given age, you'll be able to progress a certain distance until you hit a wall, where you can continue to research 'future tech' for a bonus until all civilizations advance together. Progress through the age itself is shown with a percentage gauge in the top left – and as you get towards the end of each era, a crisis emerges.

 

 

 

A new age begins: Civilization 7 captures the chaos of human history in manageable doses | Games | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

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Firaxis Games needed to move on from Civilization 6 because, its developers explain, ‘it was getting too big for its britches’

 

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When you start a new campaign, you pick a leader and civilisation to govern, and direct your people in establishing their first settlements and encounters with the other peoples populating a largely undeveloped land. You’ll choose the technologies they research, the expansions they make to their cities, and whom they try to befriend or conquer. Every turn you complete or scientific, economic, cultural and military milestone you pass adds points to a meter running in the background. Once that meter hits 200, you and all the other surviving civilisations on the map will transition into the next age.

 

When moving from Antiquity to Exploration and later Exploration to Modern, you select a new civilisation to lead. You’ll retain all the cities you controlled before but have access to different technologies and attributes. This may seem strange, but it’s built to reflect history: think of London, which was once run by the Romans before being supplanted by the Anglo-Saxons. No empire lasts for ever, but they don’t all collapse, either.

 

Breaking Civilization 7 into chapters also gives campaigns a new rhythm. As you approach the end of an age, you’ll begin to face global crises. In Antiquity, for instance, you can see a proliferation of independent powers similar to the tribes that tore down Rome. “We’re not calling them barbarians any more,” Beach says. “It’s a more nuanced way to present them.” These crises multiply and strengthen until you reach the next age. “It’s like a sci-fi or fantasy series with a huge, crazy conclusion, and then the next book starts nice and calm,” Beach says. “There’s a point where getting to the next age is a relief.”

 

 

[Kal-El814]

9 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

 

Tall lady confirmed, pre order paid for.

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[Jason]

On 8/27/2024 at 8:11 AM, Keyser_Soze said:

 

 

any version of Civ on the Switch sounds fucking abysmal

[Xbob42]

Switch benefits:

 

1. Lots of time to get chores done while waiting for AI to take their turns

2. Low resolution is great for battery life

3. 20 FPS makes every frame count

4. Joy-con controls really encourage extensive use of touchscreen

5. Perfect for extended play sessions in the Winter, will keep your hands toasty

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kal-El814]

Just hook it to my veins

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Dev Diary #1: Ages | Civilization VII

CIVILIZATION.2K.COM

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Get developer insights and additional details about how Ages are designed in Sid Meier's Civilization VII!

 

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As we've talked about before, Ages represent a significant gameplay evolution for Civilization - one as big as when we moved from squares to hexes. Fundamentally, Ages divides a single game of Civilization into distinct playable chapters. Every Age is designed to capture the essence of a specific period of human advancement, achieved by filling the Age with historically-relevant elements. And as you go from one Age to the next, your empire evolves - you select a new civilization that comes equipped with a fresh set of bonuses, units, and buildings. This new civilization carries forward key elements of your past and by the end of a campaign, you'll have created a unique cultural lineage through history in your journey to build an empire to stand the test of time. 

 

 

Civ Streams: The Antiquity Age | Civilization VII

CIVILIZATION.2K.COM

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The latest Civ Streams developer livestream covers The Antiquity Age, new gameplay systems, and more in Civilization VII!

 

 

 

Dev Diary #2: Leaders and Civs | Civilization VII

CIVILIZATION.2K.COM

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Get developer insights and additional details about how leaders and civs are designed in Sid Meier's Civilization VII!

 

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The way we choose which leaders and civs to put into the game has evolved over the years, and even more so for Civilization VII. In the old days, the selection process was often pretty loose - a designer might think, "Hey, this could be fun," and that would be all it would take to get them into the game. As the franchise has grown and more players from around the world join the Civ community, we have to rightfully be more thoughtful in which leaders and civs make sense for the game. 

Typically, we think about leaders and civs along a few criteria:

• Historical prominence. If we ask players to think about history, oftentimes a few civilizations or figures from the past instantly rise to the top. Leaders and empires who left a lasting mark on the world at large are always strong candidates. 
• Player representation. Particularly in the last decade, both the community and our ability to connect to players from around the world has grown immensely. Representation is deeply important to many Civ players, especially those that may have been traditionally underrepresented. 
• Interesting Gameplay. Naturally, leaders and civs have to be fun to play. We think about people who carved particularly interesting paths through history, and civilizations who have a high potential for unique gameplay.

This selection process has changed quite a bit through some of the new features we're bringing to Civilization VII. Two things in particular change our internal calculus: Ages and the ability to mix and match leaders and civs.

 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

 

Dev Diary #3: Managing Your Empire | Civilization VII

CIVILIZATION.2K.COM

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Get developer insights and additional details about empire expansion and development in Sid Meier's Civilization VII!

 

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Hello, Civ fans! I’m Edward Zhang, the Economics Feature Lead for Civilization VII. It’s a thrill to dive deep into one of the core aspects of Civilization gameplay: the way you build and manage your empire's Cities (and now Towns). Today, we’ll explore how these changes redefine the core experience of Civilization, bringing one of the biggest shifts in the franchise's history. Our goal was to streamline gameplay, tone down complexity, and reduce the overwhelming micromanagement that often dominated the later stages of previous Civ titles. Let’s break down some of the key mechanics and the thinking behind our design decisions.

[HardAct]

On 6/7/2024 at 11:00 AM, Paperclyp said:

Love the idea of the series. Suck at it. But could easily be suckered into buying a new one!

There was a time this game was up there top 3 all time, civilization 3 Test of time to be exact. Much has changed but the core gameplay is very engaging and interesting! Definitely will give VII a look!

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

[CitizenVectron]

I am still waiting for a game that is mostly just the 3X part of 4X. The end game of these types of games is typically pretty brutal, as you usually know who is going to win, and then you just need to spend 1-10 hours slogging through to get there. That doesn't stop me from playing Civ/Stellaris/etc-type games! But I almost always focus on the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the game, and then get more bored once the map is fully explored and claimed. There are some games that lack major end-game combat, but they usually still focus heavily on trade or other things...or are 20-years-old and have other quality of life issues.

[Brian]

2K Presents: The Sid Meier Collection

WWW.HUMBLEBUNDLE.COM

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Get Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Leader Pass and New Frontier Pass, Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth - The Collection, and more. Pay what you want & support charity!

Great bundle for those who are interested in Sid Meier’s games 

[Keyser_Soze]