More to do in Civ: BE

Update: GMG's deal dropped another $3 to account for the 10% off instant savings.

Pre-orders for Civilization: Beyond Earth - Rising Tide (the first expansion) went live today, and you know what that means... deals coupled with a free Steam weekend event! A good time to try the game for those who haven't taken the plunge on Civilization: Beyond Earth.

Before you worry about not having enough months to give Civ:BE a whirl this weekend, you'll actually be able to experience most of what the game has to offer in a two- to three-day period given that Civilization games sans expansions ca??n usually be a lighter af?fair.

Here's all the ?associated deals available for this wee?kend:

• ?Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth - Rising Tid??e (Steam Key) — $20.79  (list price $30)
• Use coupon: SAVE23-WITHGM-GAUG15
• Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth + Starships (Steam) — $20.99  (list price $50)
• Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth (Steam) — $19.99  <- historic low is $15
• Civilization: Beyond Earth Free Weekend — through Aug. 17 @ 1pm Eastern

Pre-ordering at GMG gets you the Steam key of the October 9 release for Rising Tide at 23% off, whereas Steam only has a standard 10% pre-order price cut. Among the deals in the series includes a "Classic Bundle" which is not worth buying (hence we didn't list above)??.

Also available is the Civ: BE + Starships bundle for only $21 -- a notable historic low. Starships isn't exact??ly a must-have title, but for those that want both, this is a good price.

The post Civ: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide pre-order deal shores up free Steam weekend appeared first on Destructoid.

Thanks, Xenobama

A pretty substantial update rolled out for Civilization: Beyond Earth earlier today, addressing some of the issues that the more hardcore Civ fans have had with the title. I took a read through the extensive patch notes and.??.. damn. I am going to have to come up with some new strategi??es.

I previously found a lot of value in the trade routes, but it seems like those are getting a bit of a nerf, and additionally the maximum number of trade routes? a city can have is decreasing due to a change to the Autoplant building. Another bummer for me is that Artists no longer contribute positive Health but instead are worth only Culture. One of the most obvious changes is a decrease in power to a good number of unupgraded units.

In a way, it sort of bums me out that a lot of my favorite stuff was scaled back a bit, but on the other hand, it brings me back to the learning phase where I was trying new things and figuring out what works best. I'd say that's probably? a net positive.

The post Civilization: Beyond Earth update is live, makes all my strategies obso??lete appeared first on Destructoid.

There goes the weekend

Deals brought to you by the crew at Dealzon. FYI: sales from certain retailers go toward supporting Destructoid. Spot something we didn't see? Let us know in the comments.

4X fans know this already (in fact, they're probably not around to read this), but for those unaware, Civilization: Beyond Earth launched earlier today on the PC. If you're thinking about purchasing the game, the latest deal lets you grab Beyond Earth for up to 25% off. We wrote about the various pre-order sales available earlier in the week as well -- you can read more about them here.

If you own an Xbox One, next Tuesday, October 28 Sunset Overdrive makes its debut after what looked to be positive reception at E3 earlier this year. Pre-ordering gets you the "Day One Edition" with three additional DLCs. In terms of deals, the Microsoft Store will give you a bonus $10 Xbox Gift Card, and if you happen to be an Xbox Live Rewards member, that bonus jumps to $15 in ?Xbox Rewards points -- not?? too shabby.

One of the best prices on Battlefield 4 Premium is now live at the Uplay Shop. Yes, you read that correctly. Ubisoft's digital game store is now selling the Origin key for $37.49 - a solid 33% off 25% off the usual MSRP. It won't be long before the release of "Final Stand" -- the last of the five included expansions -- so if you're a hardcore BF4 fan, this is worth a look.

Since we're getting closer to Halloween, a few retailers are running promotions on "scary" games. Check the list below for titles like the F.E.A.R. pack for cheap. Finally, there's a neato Humble Flash Bundle currently active which includes one month of Twitch Turbo and reddit gold, along with a week of access to Landmark's private beta.

Top Weekend Deals

• Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth (Steam) — $37.49  (list price $50, login to see price)
• Battlefield 4 Premium (Origin) — $39.99  (now 20% vs 33%)
• "Trick or Treat" Sale at GMG  (up to 90% off, over 60 titles, chance to get free games)

Expired deals:

• Sunset Overdrive Day One Ed. (Xbox One) — $59.99 + $10 Xbox Gift Card
• Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition (Steam) — $29.25  (list price $50
• Wolfenstein: The New Order (Steam) — $25.49  (list price $60)

Under $4 Bargains

Use coupon: SLICKD-EALS22-OFFGMG

• Batman: Arkham Origins (Steam) — $3.90  (list price $20)
• Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate Deluxe (Steam) — $3.90  (list price $20)
• Lifeless Planet (Steam) — $3.90  (list price $20)
• Left 4 Dead 2 (Steam) — $3.90  (list price $20)
• Tower of Guns (Steam) — $3.75  (list price $15, coupon not required)
• Dream (Steam Early Access) — $3.31  (list price $17)
• How To Survive (Steam) — $2.92  (list price $15)
• System Shock 2 (Steam) — $1.95  (list price $10)

Recent Releases

• 10/14: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (Steam) — $46.80  (list price $60)
• 10/14: The Evil Within (Steam) — $46.19  (list price $60)
• 09/30: Middle-earth: Shad??ow of Mordor Season Pass (Steam) — $18.24  (list price $25)
• 09/29: Tiny Keep (Steam) — $6.43  (list price $15)

Upcoming Releases

• 10/28: Xbox One Special Edition Sunset Overdrive Bundle — $399  (list price $399)
• 11/04: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Steam) — $50.99  (use coupon: PCD15PR))
• 11/07: Football Manager 2015 (Steam) — $38.49  (list price $50, login required)
• 11/18: Dragon Age: Inquisition (Origin) — $50.99  (use coupon: PCD15PR)
• 01/20: Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell (Steam) — $15.99  (use coupon: OCT15OFF)

PC Game Deals

GameStop Deals

• Titanfall (Origin) — $19.99  (list price $40)
• Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare (Origin) — $14.99  (list price $20)
• Naruto Ship??pu?den: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst (Steam) — $13.59  (list price $40)
• Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (Steam) — $5.99  (list price $20)
• Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines (Steam) — $4.99  (list price $20)

GMG Deals

Use coupon: SLICKD-EALS22-OFFGMG

• The Sims 4 (Origin) — $48.00  (list price $60)
• Murdered: Soul Suspect (Steam) — $13.26  (list price $50)
• DMC: Devil May Cry (Steam) — $13.26  (list price $50)
• F.E.A.R. Pack (Steam) — $8.77  (list price $55)
• Batman Arkham GOTY Pack (Steam) — $7.80  (list price $40)
• State of Decay Pack (Steam) — $7.16  (list price $27)
• Portal Bundle (Steam) — $4.87  (list price $25)

More PC Game Deals

• Dark Souls II (Steam) — $19.47  (list price $50)
• Battlefield 4 (Origin) — $14.99  (list price $3)
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown Complete (Steam) — $14.03  (use coupon: EMCWPHW67)
• Crysis 3 (Origin) — $6.80  (list price $20)
• Fallout 3: GOTY Edition (Steam) — $5  (list price $20)

Console Game Deals

• Kinect Sports Rivals (Xbox One) — $32.99  (list price $50)
• Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS4, Xbox One) — $29.99  (list price $50)
• inFAMOUS Second Son (PS4) — $29.99  (list price $30)
• MLB 14: The Show (PS4) — $29.99  (list price $40)
• Killzone: Shadow Fall (PS4) — $19.99  (list price $30)

Laptop Deals

• Razer Blade 14-inch Gaming Laptop — $2,199  (list price $2,399)
  QHD+ 1800p , Core i7-4702HQ, GeForce GTX 870M, 256GB SSD. Its uh, pricey.
• Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro Core i5 Ultrabook — $949  (list price $1,299)
  Core i5-4201U, QHD+ 1800p Touch, 128GB SSD
  
• Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro Core i3 Ultrabook — $799  (list price $1,050)
  Core i3-4030U, QHD+ 1800p Touch, 128GB SSD
• Lenovo Y40 14-inch Gaming Laptop — $729  (list price $1,299)
  Core i7-4500U, Radeon R9 M275, FHD 1080p, 8GB SSHD
• Asus Q550 Laptop (Refurbished) — $649.99  (list price $900)
  Core i7-4500U, IPS FHD 1080p Touch, 8GB RAM, GeForce GT 745M

Accessories / Electronics / Misc Deals

• GameStop $100 + $10 Gift Card (Digital Code) — $100  (list price $110)
• Xbox $50 Gift Card (Email Delivery) — $40  (list price $50)
• OCZ Arc 100 SSD 2.5" 240GB — $99.99  (list price $113)
• WD Elements 3TB External Hard Drive — $91  (list price $119)
• SanDisk Extreme II SSD 2.5" 120GB — $69.99  (list price $74)

HDTV Deals

• VIZIO 70-inch 1080p 120Hz LED Smart HDTV (Refurb) — $1,199.99  (list price $1,600)
• Samsung 60-inch 1080p 240Hz Smart WiFi LED HDTV — $949.99  (list price $1,500)
• Vizio 60-inch 240Hz Smart LED HDTV (Refurbished) — $849.99  (list price $1,100)
• Panasonic 60-inch 120Hz Smart LED HDTV — $779.99  (list price $1,200)
• Panasonic 55-inch 120Hz Smart LED HDTV — $599.99  (list price $1,000)

The post W??eekend Deals: Civilization: Beyond Earth and BF4 Premium appeared first on Destructoid.

Stellar

"Civilization, but set in the future on an alien planet." That is really all Firaxis and 2K needed to say to get people excited for the next entry in the long-running turn-based strategy series. There is a fair amount of new ideas to be found here: new systems to explore, new t??echnology to research, and new obstacles to overcome.

But even with everything new, Civilization: Beyond Earth is still Civilization, but set in the future on a?n alien planet. An??d it is exactly as good as that sounds.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth (Linux, Mac, Windows [reviewed])
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: October 24, 2014
MSRP: $49.99
Rig: AMD Phenom II X2 555 @ 3.2 GHz, with 4GB of RAM, ATI Radeon HD 5700, Windows 7 64-bit

Civilization veterans will be immediately familiar with most of the systems in place here, as they mimic those in Civilization V closely. Players found cities, within which they manage production, food, energy, culture, science, and health. In the international a??ren?a, there is diplomacy, trade, exploration, espionage, and war. Everything is interconnected in some way, and success comes to those who find the proper balance of it all.

The interplay between all of the different systems and resources is complex. While the series has made positive strides with tutorial popups and the exhaustive Civilopedia it is still dense and a little inaccessible for new players. Some information is difficult to find but through trial and error. It is easy to know what Civilization is about, but it takes dedication to really know Civilization.

Fortunately, getting to know Civilization is inherently rewarding. Finding interesting synergies between technologies and powers makes the player feel smart. Forming plans and seeing them through to fruition is intensely satisfying, and it is largely responsible for the series' notorious addictive quality. All of that is present in Beyond Earth.

The most touted new feature in Beyond Earth is the Affinity system. Previously, unique units were tied to specific factions, but here they are dependent on a faction's level in one of three Affinities: Purity, Supremacy, and Harmony. Each Affinity represents a fundamentally different philosophy for how humanity should interact with the alien world. Purity followers believe that humans are special and should change the new world to be more Earth-like. Supremacy followers believe that humans should be cy?bernetically augmented in order to respond to environmental hazards. Harmony follo??wers believe that humans must biologically adapt and become more like the indigenous life in order to survive.

The Affinities are level-based and the choice is always open to increase any of the three through technological advances and mission rewards. It is generally smart to spec?ialize in one Affinity, since the more powerful units require a minimum level, but it is possible to maintain a broad approach and take a little of each.

The choice between Affinities sets the trajectory for the narrative of Beyond Earth. Though it is easily ignored for any who get into this strictly for the gameplay, the story is emphasized m??ore strongly here than any any previous title in the series. It always starts the same: Humans wrecked Earth and have to find a new place to live. Which Affinity is focused on (if any) determines which victory condition is most easily attained, and each victory ends the story ??in a different place than the others.

Another new tweak to the systems is in the Virtues. Breaking from Civilization V's system and instead following the same philosophy behind Affinities, none of the Virtues are mutually exclusive. Each time a new Virtue is earned, players may choose to develop down one of four trees: Might (military power), Prosperity (food), Knowledge (science and culture), and Industry (energy and production). There are benefits for generalizing as well as for specializing, and no one st??rategy is clearly better than another.

One completely new aspect of Beyond Earth is the orbital layer. Set above the normal ground-level action, there is a hex grid layer representing the position of satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The??se orbital units can have various effects over areas, including increasing output of affected tiles, improving combat prowess for units underneath, or attacking from relative safety with a plan??et-carving laser.

Placing an orbital unit near another civilization is not considered an outright act of war, though most will not take kindly to it. One memory I will?????????????????????????? keep for a long time involved General Kozlov placing a tactical support satellite near my borders, so I retaliated with an orbital laser in range of three of his cities, just waiting to be fired if he should misstep. It was the sort of cold war stuff that is often absent in games like this.

The technology system received a substantial overhaul in more ways than one. Naturally, the science-fiction setting demands the imagination of new technologies. Those found in Beyond Earth range from currently existent (titanium m?ining) to really "out there" (constructing a giant flower that allows a neural connection between all huma?ns and the living planet), though most are based firmly in plausible ideas for future technology.

The most obvious change to the technology system is that it is set up as a radial web, expanding outward from a central point. The choice is available to set up a strong base of general knowledge, to make a beeline for any of the furthest techs, or to do anything in between. Most Affinity gains occur through researching specific techn??ologies, so the tech web is al?so the arena that has the greatest effect on how a given civilization approaches the new world and how it plans to seek victory.

There are five victory conditions: one f??or each of the three Affinities, one reliant on non-Affinity technologies, and the s?tandard "destroy all the other civilizations" victory. Purity is attached to The Promised Land victory, which seeks to settle Earthlings who stayed behind on the new planet. Supremacy is attached to the Emancipation victory, whose goal is to return to Earth and demonstrate the power of cybernetics. Harmony is attached to the Transcendence victory, which aims to meld minds with the planet itself. Contact is the Affinity-agnostic victory; it involves building a beacon to communicate with an intelligent alien race.

Narratively, each victory represents its corresponding philosophy well. The three Affinities approach the world with entirely different ideas, and their stories have appropriately different endings. However, the biggest failing of Civilization: Beyond Earth is that four of the five victory conditions feel too similar to one another from a gamepl?ay perspective.

Though the narrative reasoning varies, the basic framework for The Promised Land, Emancipation, and Transcendence is as follows: Research the required technologies, level up the corresponding Affinity to 13, build a planetary wonder, then defend it for approximately 30 turns. Contact larg?ely follows the same path but without the minimum Affinity requirement. What happens after a planetary wonder is built varies between victory conditions, but not enough to make the individual experiences feel unique.

From a balance perspective, it is easy to see why Beyond Earth adheres to this formula. It ensures a similar timeline regardless of path and it gives opponents clear warning that a player is nearing the end, allowing last-ditch efforts to race for another victory or topple the leader. For a series known for having multiple paths to victory, and especially for a narrative emphasizing just how divergent the ide??ologies within it are to one another, it is disappointing how similar each win condition is. There is no cultural, economic, or peace victory. There are only what amount to four science victories and a military ??victory.

That s?aid, the journey to get to the end does have a different feel depending on which Affinity is followed. The unique units bestowed to each Affinity interact with the environment differently and the benefits afforded allow for varied play styles. Where Purity and Supremacy fight against the planet's toxic miasma, Harmony learns to harness its power. Where Supremacy and Harmony benefit from leaving alien life alone, Purity gains combat bonuses against it. Where Purity and Har?mony are geographically limited, Supremacy leverages its superior engineering in order to easily spread its influence across the map.

Following the orbital escalation with General Kozlov described a ways above, he eventually did attack. After beating back his?? forces and teasing a peace treaty out of him, I dropped several tiles worth of miasma on his cities, just as a reminder for what happens when one messes with the African Union.?? He was cleaning it up for years, choking on it the whole time. Classic.

In a separate encounter, Hutama of the Polystralians made note of my relative military weakness and, fueled by avarice an?d envy, broke our neighborly trade relationship in hopes of coming out a few cities richer. Although I was outgunned, he grossly underestimated the severe tactical disadvantage the local canyons and mountains put him at, and his forces were sunk to the bottom of the ocean before they could make landfall.

That all highlights one of Civilization's greatest strengths: It provides the framework for totally awesome stuff to happen and lasting memories to be formed. Beyond Earth excels in that virtue with its new additions.

Aesthetically, Beyond Earth really nails it. The three different planetary biomes add visual variety, and the rich colors pop. The palette features a lot of teal, pink, and purple, which conveys the idea of an alien world well. The soundtrack is appropriately grandiose during the climaxes and subdued during the lulls. Upon a dastardly betrayal o??r the completion of a planetary wonder, sweeping string pieces evoke a feeling that history is being made.

In all, Beyond Earth is excelle??nt. It maintains the secret sauce that the series is known for while adding setting-appropriate systems that change the gameplay up in interesting ways. Orbital units are inherently cool and add depth to international encounters. The narrative is thoughtful and important without being too preachy. Affinities show that the team put a lot of effort into considering how differing viewpoints may tackle the challenge of founding an alien world, as well as th?e consequences of those actions.

If only there were more variety in the structure of the victory conditions between divergent philosophies, Civilization: Beyond Earth would be a perfect game. Even with that dissonance, it is damn close. The Civilization pedigree holds a lot of weight after all these years, and Beyond Earth more than lives up to its name.

The post Review: Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth appeared first on Destructoid.

All the deals before this Friday's release

Deals brought to you by the crew at Dealzon. FYI: sales from certain retailers go toward supporting Destructoid. If you spot more Beyond Earth pre-order deals and pre-load info, let us know in the comments!

Mission Control, we are T-minus 3 days and change to the October 24th launch of Civilization: Beyond Earth. If you're looking to get in the action on Day One, there are a few reasons to pre-order, including a bonus DLC, the ability to pre-load, and most?? imp??ortantly - discounts.

As of writing, there are a few price breaks available from digitally authorized retailers on. Rather than paying the full $49.99 MSRP, you can buy from four different retailers with discounts for Beyond Earth - some as high as 25% off.

In North America, your options are constrained to three four r??etailers. GMG has a VIP special (details below in link), taking essentially 25% off the game. 2Game also comes in with a solid 20% coupon, knocking $10 off list price. If you prefer a different retailer, there's a 18% off coupon at DlGamer, and even a rare 15% discount from GameStop's digital download department.

North American Deals for Beyond Earth: 

• Beyond Earth at GMG for $37.49
• (Login required to see VIP deals, not available for Oceanic)
• Beyond Earth at DLGamer is $40.99
• Use Coupon: DLG-UNIHNPA

Expired deals:

• Beyond Earth at 2Game is $39.99
• Use Coupon: CIVBE-20OFF
• Beyond Earth at GameStop is $42.49
• Use Coupon: PCD15P

Update 10/24/14: The game is now live! Above are the still working deals. DLGamer should work for AU/NZ so you don't have to pay the rid??iculous price at Steam Store.

Global Deals for the UK and EU: 

For gamers outside of  North America, the best deal for Civilization: Beyond Earth is probably at GreenManGaming. For UK residents, when you stack the 20% v??oucher + instant savings, you'll actually come out very close to USD prices when all is said and done -- a rarity these days in the age? of regional pricing. (EU pals, not so much.)

• In the UK, Civilization: Beyond Earth is £24.0??0
• In the EU, Civilization: Beyond? Earth is 40??.00€
• Use Coupon: SPOOKY-TREATS-GMG20X
• (Works for Oceanic region such as AU/NZ)

Astute Civ fans will note that we haven't touched on the Civilization: Beyond Earth Classic Bundle deals, which bundles in Civ V, IV, and III Complete with a copy of Beyond Earth. The lowest price we've seen for this pre-order is $56 USD - but honestly you're better off getting the Civ V and IV Complete separately vs paying a premium in this bundle (bo??th of which are often on sale every few months and will end up cheaper buying piecemeal).

Pre-Order Bonus Details 

Pre-orders also include the "Exoplanets Map Pack" DLC perk. Unwr?ap the DLC to find 6 additional maps based on the environments of six real world Exoplanets. (The names are real, anyway.) Here are the ?planets and their map environment types, respectively:

• Kepler 186f: Forest planet, Earth-like
• Rigil Khantoris Bb: Arid planet
• Tau Ceti d: Water-world type planet
• Mu Arae f: Desert + frozen wasteland planet
• 82 Eridani e: Zero water planet
• Eta Vulpeculae b: Mystery X planet

Are the pre-order bonuses by themselves worth it? In our collective personal opinion -- not really. (It's just six maps, after all). But when you combine them with the discounts available at some of the retailers listed above, the pre-order bonuses for Beyond Earth become a nice perk for buying the game this week vs. next week. (?Even for digital PC games, prices usually remain steady within the same month.)

What it comes down to is if you'll be playing near release date or much further into the future, when a Beyond Earth Complete Edition c?omes around (and that's after all those expansi??ons come out first!)

If you've spotted other noteworthy deals from authorized dealers, let us know and we'll investigate. (Ideally they'll be retailers that don't require a VPN or proxy to get to, as not everyone can redeem these sorts of deals.)

The post Civilization: Beyond Earth pre-order dea??l breakdown appeared first on Destructoid.

Also, Civilization: Beyond Earth can be pre-loaded

Civilization: Beyond Earth comes out this Friday and in anticipation, Civilization V&??nbsp;is now free to play on Steam until October 23.&nbsp;

It's all right here.

The post Civilization V is free to play on Steam right now appeared first on Destructoid.

Sci-fi strategy coming later this month

Last week I detailed a lot of the new experiences that Civilization V veterans will find in Civilization: Beyond Earth. I loved what I played of it and you can read about that if you want, but those who are more visual learners wil??l want to check out the trailer above.

The nearly ten minute video goes through the details of settlement, exploration, affinity, technology, diplomacy, espionage, quests, and ultimate victory. Then it ends with a playful ja?b at a typical player's willpower with the line "The future is but one more turn away." I know, 2K; I have a problem. You don't have to rub it in.

The post Civilization: B?eyond Earth trailer outlines the new features appeared first on Destructoid.

Grinding, chitinous beak

Steven got to play Civilization: Beyond Earth with the help of an "actual scienceman" not long ago, but the 2K and Firaxis still brought something new to show at PAX Prime this year. Earlier t??oday at the Firaxis Megapanel, the artificial intelligence "M?aster Control" shows off a faction aligned with the "Purity Affinity."

The Purity Affinity believes that humans are good enough as they are, and so they seek to control the environment through terraforming in order to meet their ??needs. This contrasts with other factions, who believe that species must advance itself to adapt to alien environments, through either cybernetic enhancement or alien gene splicing.

Of course, "purity" does not imply "peace," as Master Contr??ol demonstrates through ruthless dominati??on of a competing faction, as well as unprovoked murder of a majestic alien beast.

The post AI construct ‘Master Control’ walks through a turn of Civilization: Beyond Earth in this PAX video appeared first on Destructoid.

Space is the place

Civilization: Beyond Earth isn't just a missed opportunity for transmedia synergy by way of the family Smith's After Earth. It's a game about space. About space coloniz??ation, ?specifically, because the Earth is a goner (wonder how that happened). 

Because of this space theme, we were brought out on an elementary school field trip to the Chabot Space & Science Center up in the bourgeois hills of Oakland (you know, where it's not "scary"). We were given a brief tour of the facility and taught some things (I can't?? make a high grade telescope by stitching together Ikea mirrors), thanks in part to the presence of actual scienceman Dr. S?tephen Kane.

Kane was part of the team that discovered Kepler-186f, the 500-light-years-away, possibly-habitable-by-humans exoplanet. He also made a good joke about getting more space research funding by fabricati??ng a new space race with China.

Anyways, after taking pictures of laminate Bill Nye cutouts and a weird little thief man that looks like Andy Dixon (maybe I'll stop tweeting leg pictures long enough to tweet it at him eventually), I played the first 100 turns of Civilization: Beyond Earth. 

Firaxis released the above first fifty minutes of Beyond Earth with commentary from Firaxis' Pete Murray and David McDonough. It delves into setting up your Civ game, ending before a few turns have passed. There are a bunch of decision??s to make early on, including picking your sponsor (affects bonuses you'll get throughout your game), colonists (to reinforce your sponsor choice or to try and balance things out).

You can also choose from pre-determined planets geared for veteran Civilization players -- this definitely is quite a bit of "Civ 5 in space" -- or roll random planets of three categories: Terran (Earth-like -- large swaths of sea and land), Protean (one ocean, one large landmass), and Atlantean (small, connected isl??ands you can sail between on gondola to support the tourism economy). 

Going Atlantean was an easy decision, but then I had to keep clicking away at the randomizer to get a planet name I liked. I saw "Nye," a science name, but my finger was faster than my brain and?? I clicked again and lost it. I did the same for "Funk." However, I needed to lay claim to planet Funk and so I cycled through all of the randomly generated planets until it came up again. 

I landed on Funk and began my great conquest of getting ravaged by siege worms. There are three basic affinities to align yourself with. Harmony thinks you should adjust and adapt to alien ecosystems. Supremacy thinks you should conquer them. Purity just wants to have its own little slice of old earth. It's more brute force than Supremacy, ?which turns to cybernetics and technology as h?umankind's key to survival. 

One hundred turns is not a lot of turns to play out in Civilization. I barely got any? trade routes going and didn't get to engage in much diplomacy beyond one gent that suggested we have open borders, to which I, aware that I would never reach his borders before my time expired, agreed ??to.

Still, Harmony might be my preferred route. It is not advisable to go after local alien wildlife. If you do, it will get angry and kill you. Even if you don't, a Siege Worm might still decimate every single structure you've built before enough volleys of missiles from your city center shoos it off. Early on, you don't have a lot of choice but to coexist, so leaning ??in on Harmony makes sense. Then again, all of the affinities can be pretty isolationist early on as you just focus on domestic infrastructure, save for sending explorers to excavate fallen satellites and other wreckage. 

The biggest difference Beyond Earth has over Civ 5 is the sprawling te??ch web (42:08 in the above video), which groups generalized ideas in extending directions (and more specialized, resource intensive subsets below them). That and the bonus for upping Virtues across the board, rather than filling them out sequentially.

Also that you're in space this ti??me and don't have to deal with Gandhi. 

The post I took a field trip to play Civilization: Beyond Earth’s first 100 turns appeared first on Destructoid.

Begining game choices that will set the stage for your sci-fi civilization

Firaxis has just released over fifty minutes of beginning-game footage of its science fiction-themed entry into the Civilization series, Beyond Earth. And, as an added bonus for the Red Team, Firaxis would like you to know that the build being previewed is running on AMD's new Mantle technology.

In the video, lead designers Pete Murray and David McDonough walk us through the very first steps in building your civilization. From picking a sponsor to selecting the composition of your colony, each choice will give your Civ perks that will eithe?r last throughout the game or can give you a one-shot advantage from? the start.

So far, this is looking pretty amazing. While I enjoyed tinkering around with Civ 5, I think the science-fiction angle may be what ends up truly drawing me into the franchise once and for all. Civilization: Beyond Earth is currently slated for release on October 24.

The post Boldly go 50 Minutes into Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth appeared first on Destructoid.

There's a pre-order bonus too

Civilization: Beyond Earth looks like a pretty cool entry into the Civ franchise, and now ??we have a set release date -- October 24th, 2014, coming in at $49.99. Currently, PC is the only planned?? platform.

There's also a pre-order bonus set -- the "Exoplanets Map Pack," which has six custom maps in tow. 2K has also released a gameplay walkt??hrough video from the developers, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the finished version. So if you're on the fence -- check them out.

The post Sid Meier?s Civilization: Beyond Earth will launch in Oct??ober appeared first on Destructoid.

I killed a worm and I liked it

I tried to help settlers colonize a new planet (Earth becomes uninhabitable after we screw it up in a big way) in our first hands-on with a pre-alpha build of the upcoming game Civilization: Beyond Earth early last week. I was briefed on how to get around, dig into the new t??ech tree, and potentially deal with arriving factions, but I kind of glossed over all of that in hopes of taking down a big ol’ Siege Wor??m or two.

I started out in an area called the Lush Biome where the idea was to take the explorer unit from my base and go explore, with the hopes of finding anything that could help us. But these guys are not a combat unit at all so they were quickly trampled by the green miasma-eating aliens that spawned up from a point?? just above my base. Angry at dying so soon, I sent my only combat unit up to take care of business, but they were quickly surrounded and whittled down to just a few members. It wasn’t but a couple of turns before my one little hex of nearly dead troops was surrounded. 

Down but not out, I quickly generated new units and used my base’s defenses to hold the little guys off. That almost dead unit was able to level up and become stronger, too. I was eventually able to take out that troublesome alien spawn point, get a new explorer unit to start exploring nearby ruins, and even build up some defenses. Meanwhile, leaders of other factions were knocking on my door, and none of them were willing to play nice. If that wasn’t enough, I quickly got to a point to where massive Siege Worms were drilling underground and then coming up to attack my base. The plan I had to build a beacon to distract them and then take them out from behind was never going to be realized. Tactical satellite building? Psssh.  I was going to have? to leave this demo session without? achieving anything. 

The three or four dozen turns I had to play Civ: Beyond Earth weren’t enough to dig down deep. I barely got to touch the massive web of a tech tree that the game brings. In this web you start out in the very middle with habitation and expand outward. Even with only a few ??moves I was able to branch out into some deep science fiction ideas. Computing could quickly move into things like transcendental math, terraforming, or synthetic thought. Going off on a completely unique path would be very easy in this game.

Quests? Nope. Not enough time. Some popped up, but I had my hands full. Taking on these quests are how you&r??squo;ll dig into the story and lea??rn more about humanity’s new home. 

I also didn’t get to interact much with any of the leaders or learn their affinities and preferences for humanity’s future. But from what I saw in my brief session, that stuff is pretty interesting. Some groups want humanity to preserve itself without t??he use of cybernetics, while others think that humanity needs to evolve into something like a native species. What’s clear is that none of them agree. Each’s factions beliefs are reflected in their talk, military units, and even their architecture. I would h?ave needed much more time to begin exploring these approaches. Hopefully I can do that soon.

But I was able to take out a single Siege Worm before my time was up??. This is a city-sized beast that takes multiple units to take out — one we were directed to avoid. I took it down with desperate measures and felt a bit better about myself. In my game, humanity was probably still screwed. But at least I accomplished something on this harsh alien planet.  

Civilization: Beyond Earth launches on PC, Mac, and Linux this fall.

Civilization.com has relaunched with new information on Beyond Earth today.

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Possible crossover with XCOM, inspiration sources, and more

Last weekend during its panel at PAX East, Firaxis announced the next big project for the Civilization franchise: Civilization: Beyond Earth. After the announcement, Destructoid took some time to talk to some of the designers behind bringing the s??trategy series into space.

Lead Designers David McDonough and Will Miller were present for the interview along with Systems Gameplay Designer Anton Strenger. The designers discussed the inspiration behind Beyond Earth,?? some of the world building systems, and the possibility for crossover with other Firaxis science fiction properties. Read it below!

Destructoid: Anything you want to say about Civilization: Beyond Earth right off the bat?

Miller: We've been working on this game for a while, and to announce it today in front of some of our biggest fans is just the coolest thing. It's a really fun game. You know, it's Civilization ?in space! Our fans have been wanting this for a long tim??????????????????????????e, and this is it.

Destructoid: What sort of challenges are there converting Civilization to sci-fi?

McDonough: There are lots. It's really exciting. Civ is a game with a great legacy, but it's almost all historically based. Among that legacy are Alpha Centauri and XCOM. This game is inspired by all of those.  The things that make Civ fun, when you play Civ you always want to go "one more turn," but the world aroun??d it is already set. Without history we have to make up technology trees, alien worlds, and that has been one of the bigger challeng?es.

Destructoid: We were curious about how you would handle technology in Beyond Earth. How much is based off of? what scientists are saying may be possible and how much is more ?like "hey this would be really cool if we did this"?

McDonough: It's both! We did a lot of research on modern day scientific thinking and we thought it was important that our game start in reality, in a plausible setting. For the rest, we were inspired by a lot of current science fiction. But the best sci-fi is also scientifically r?eal, so hopefully we have the best of both.

Destructoid: Take me thro??ugh the timeline. Where does this start? Is it present day onward?

Miller: It's 200 to 250 years after present day. So we're imagining an earth in the future, and things good and bad have happened, and it culminates in an event where nations around the world are sending out expeditions into space to different planets to colonize, to spread the roots of humanity beyond our planet. So, like David said, we start in a very familiar place based on actual science, and we want to be able to draw a clear line from science that we know today and space travel we know today. We're very inspired by things like SpaceX and the new Cosmos with Neil deGrasse Tyson, we just love all that stuff. So we're takin?g all of the inspiration from that and keeping it very plausible, and?? starting from a new place 200 years from now and kind of just going wild.

Destructoid: You said you've been working on this for a long time. Exactly how long have you been worki?ng on this?

McDonough: Unfortunately we can't say specifically, but I think Will and I have been designing it in our heads for a really long time. Whispering in some ears around Firaxis.

Miller: That's kind of how games get made around Firaxis. XCOM was Jake Solomon's baby for a long time, and he whispered in the right ears, and it eventually became a great game. We were given our shot at this, and it was the right time. We had a team that really?? wanted to do it, and it fit in our schedule, and we're so fortunate to be able to make this game.

Destructoid: Did it start out as "Hey, wouldn't it be rad if we made Alpha Centauri?" and went from there to "Well, ??we can't really, but let's do basically that"?

Miller: It's always been a reality to us that that IP is just sort of off limits, and I don't know if we would have used it if we had it, honestly. This game is such a different thing. It's definitely inspired by Alpha Centauri, but it's also inspired by a lot of other things too. It's a very different game and it has very different characteristics. It feels a lot different. I think it started as "Would it be cool if we could take Civilization into space? What would t?hat game look like?" and then we went?? from there.

Destructoid: Is there any chance for any sort of crossover with XCOM?

Miller: The two games exist in their own fictional universes. That gives us the most flexibility, but I think you could expect some nods and ?winks and ho?mages between the two.

McDonough: One of the things about sci-fi is you can make easte??r eggs with no problem.

Destructoid: So yo??u're going off and exploring?? alien worlds. What's the variety going to be like for that?

Strenger: We spent a lot of time making the map so that it isn??'t just like, earth and then purple earth. So everything in the map generator like landmass features to other crazy things to the alien life that is populating that map can change. We have a lot of different biomes, like an arid ? biome or a wetter jungle one. So the combinations really make it so every time you play, it's a unique world with its own challenges.

Destructoid: You guys seem pretty excited for this.

McDonough: The panel today was unbelievably cool, to see the reactions from the fans. We've been waiting a long time to be able to show it. We've been waiting a long time to come back to Civilization in the future.

Miller: This game really is for our fans. For so long, our fans have been asking for a remake of Alpha Centauri or Civ in space or whatever, and this re??ally is our game for them??.

The post Firaxis designers speak on Civiliz?ation: Beyond Earth appeared first on Destructoid.

'We start in a very familiar place based on actual science... and kind of just [go] wild'

To take a brief aside from videogames: are you watching Cosmos: a Spacetime Odyssey? If not, you should be, especially if you are not particularly scientifically literate. It is filled with a lot of impor?tant information about how the Universe works, and it may just inspire you to think critically and consider your role in the cosmic timeli?ne. Also, there are pretty pictures to look at.

In an interview with Destructoid, Will Miller, lead designer at Firaxis for Civilization: Beyond Earth, explains the influence of real-world science on the fiction in the game. When asked about technology in Beyond Earth, he r??eplied: "It's ??200 to 250 years after present day. So we're imagining an Earth in the future, and things good and bad have happened, and it culminates in an event where nations around the world are sending out expeditions into space to different planets to colonize, to spread the roots of humanity beyond our planet.

"So, we start in a very familiar place based on actual science, and we want to be able to draw a clear line from science that we know today and space travel we know today," he continued. "We're very inspired by things like SpaceX and the new Cosmos with Neil deGrasse Tyson; we just love all that stuff. So we're taking all of the inspiration from that and keeping it very plausible, and starting from a new place 200 years from now a??nd kind of just going wild."

The post Civilization: Beyond Earth desi?gners inspired by Cosmos appeared first on Destructoid.