14 DAY TRIAL // Civilization: Beyond Earth is the major new title under development at Firaxis and the veteran turn-based strategy studio seems determined to use the title in order to create a number of new and interesting mechanics that will surprise the fan base.
The game will see players leave the confines of Earth in order to explore new planets and choose how the future of humanity will be shaped by technology and biological mutations.
In many ways, the new title is a spiritual successor to the Alpha Centauri series, but the developers are saying that gamers should expected plenty of new mechanics and game features.
Lena Brenk, one of lead producers working on Civilization: Beyond Earth, tells Gamespot that, “You could see the enthusiasm in the team when they heard about this project. It is a very liberating thing, as all the gameplay systems we designed for Civilization are done so with an eye towards, ‘Does it fit with the history of humanity?’ It has been a huge opportunity to go ahead and do things that would not be possible in a historic setting.”
One of the most interesting aspects of the game is that it allows the player to completely customize the expedition that’s being sent to the alien world, something that Alpha Centauri did not allow them to do.
In Civilization: Beyond Earth gamers can choose which faction they want to play as, what type of spacecraft to use for travel, what kind of cargo they want to load it up with and the type of planet that they are aiming to colonize.
Basically, the game allows players to completely customize their experience and based on these initial elements, the resulting campaigns can be very different.
Firaxis has also said that for a while, a player-established colony will only have to deal with the environment, flora and fauna of the world it has landed on, with other competing civilizations requiring some time to launch their own spaceships.
Dennis Shirk, a lead producer on Civilization: Beyond Earth, adds, “It’s not the same as in other Civilization games where you already know you’re on Earth, the only threat is the occasional barbarian, and you’re going to run into other civilizations--and if one of those is Genghis Khan or Montezuma you know what your game is going to be like!”
The new turn-based strategy title is set to be launched on the PC before the end of the year.