They come in different classes and states of repair, which have an effect on what happens when they are “traded in”. There were some additional, smaller changes. Only time will tell what the new optimal Affinity strategy will be. With hybrid Affinity bonuses this tradeoff loses some of its force. Part of the strategy of the Affinity subgame was that, while sticking to one Affinity was the most efficient, there was always some neat tech/unit/resource that could be accessed if you strayed for “just one tech” over into a different Affinity.

While an interesting idea it remains to be seen if this was a good one. 7 Supremacy and 5 Purity now mean some new unit or bonus will be earned. In CivBERT there are new bonueses and units for “hybrid” Affinities.

All the good bonuses were to be found at the top of the Affinity pyramid, so trying to level up in more than one wasted time and resources. Previously there was little reason to make progress in anything other than one's primary Affinity. While the AI still does not make particularly good or sensible decisions, at least it is easier to get a handle on how your faction is regarded in the world.Īffinities have received some attention as well. There are also popup messages during the game informing the player that a particular AI now respects you more because of some action you have taken, or property your faction has (for example, most advanced tech). AIs now display information on how much they Respect and Fear you. What has been improved is the transparency of the whole system (although it is more complex). It has been almost impossible for this reviewer to get an AI to acccept any sort of deal, even when it is symmetric to a deal they had just previously offered. AIs are not particularly good at deciding what sorts of agreements to offer and accept. Overall, the diplomatic system is not a string point of the game, even after this overhaul. Diplomatic Capital can also be spent on “traits”, which are small bonuses to some faction-level ability (better health, for example) that allow the player to further customize their faction to fit their style of play. A new resource, Diplomatic Capital, can be earned and spent on agreements (or earned by accepting agreements). The diplomatic system has seen an extensive overhaul as well. While this allows for native life to keep its importance later in the game, the random occurrence of “You have been eaten by a grue” is annoying. To this reviewer's dismay, particularly angry native life can now ignore the previously impermeable Utltrasonic Fence improvement and pillage your improvements. The ocean fairly teems with life, much of which will ignore your Ultrasonic Fence. An entirely water-based civilization may not be advisable but there are enough resources in the sea to make it worthwhile for any side to have an aquatic city or two.Īlong with new resources comes new units (go submarines!) and new creatures. The sea itself is now teaming with new resources and life. This is not just a matter of grabbing good coastal hexes. This adds some neat strategies: staying in one place limits territory gain while allowing resources to be put toward buildings and units, while moving around can serve as a form of territory grab at the expense of units to defend it. The only way to add territory is to move.

It has another purpose – culture does not allow aquatic cities' borders to grow. This can be especially useful early in the game for moving away from a suboptimal starting location and grabbing the prime real estate. All hexes directly surrounding an aquative city come under that city's control. When a city moves, it grabs new territory. The mechanic is similar to building a building: it takes a certain number of turns to move a city of a given size, modified by new techs. At first they start as tentative coastal cities, but researching the right tech allows them to be built out in the open ocean. The major addition iof Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide (CivBERT) is the ability to build cities on/in the water.

Civilization beyond earth rising tide