Civ ... in ... SPACE!

[John]

We're Getting A Sci-Fi Civilization, And It Sounds Fantastic

Civilization is going to space. The next game in Sid Meier's iconic turn-based strategy series will take place on an alien planet, where you'll explore, colonize, and fight other factions as you attempt to navigate uncharted sci-fi territory.

Sound familiar? Civilization: Beyond Earth, as it's called, seems very much like a spiritual successor to Alpha Centauri, the wonderful sci-fi Civ spinoff released back in 1999. Beyond Earth will be out this fall for PC, Mac, and Linux, which should excite more than a few Civ fans. Strategy game addicts have been waiting almost 15 years for another sci-fi 4X game, and the next big thing from Firaxis is just that.

Set aside some time for multiplayer gaming this fall, gentlemen ...

[Leones]

Nice!

[Apollos]

that is all.

[Nigel]

Might even get me into it lol

[Evas]

Alright, I'm in. Man that looks cool.

Between this and all the RPG's I supported on kickstarter, my game queue for the 2nd half of 2014 is way too full at this point.

[John]

Alright, I'm in. Man that looks cool.

Between this and all the RPG's I supported on kickstarter, my game queue for the 2nd half of 2014 is way too full at this point.

Which reminds me that I need to do a series of Kickstarter catch-up to see how my recommended picks are doing ...

[John]

Gamespot provides us with more detailed information. Those of you who are hoping for a direct SMAC descendant or an end to the no-stacking combat system of Civilization V might be disappointed, but it certainly looks like a promising project. My big hope is that it ships with more refined multiplayer modes than Civilization V, and I'm optimistic that will be the case.

[Mike Dunn]

Someone brilliant took that trailer and set it to the schlocky 80s rock song "The Final Countdown" and without a single edit the result is this:





Meanwhile Ars Technica has a pretty good write-up.

[Bill]

uhhh....awesome!

[John]

Interview: Civilization: Beyond Earth’s designer takes humanity’s story to space
Will Miller talks to Ars about the franchise's jump from history to "future history."

"There's still a research component," Miller said. "Whether you're coming up with the look and feel or how the game plays or whatever, we're just drawing from different material. Instead of the history books we're looking to the science fiction authors or films or comic books, things like that. ... We read the greats: Asimov, Heinlein, Orson Scott Card. Dan Simmons is a big influence, the Hyperion Cantos, we kind of lifted the idea of 'The Great Mistake' from that—that's an homage to him. He does a very good job of portraying space as this very strange place, a place that is so strange we can't even comprehend it. Even if we were shown it, we still can't really grasp it—it's so weird, so big, so old."

That's not the only homage to existing science fiction players will find in the game either. "One of the ways to win the game is called Contact, which you'll probably recognize from the [Carl Sagan] book or the movie of the same name," Miller said. "You research a signal that you find either by exploring alien ruins you find on the planet or receive from outer space via radio telescope or finding it in the mantissa of a transcendental number, and you build this giant thing and then you contact the aliens. So I think science fiction fans are going to find a lot of these little and more overt nods to their favorites. This is really a love letter to the genre."

[Bill]

Just to bump....I noticed this is scheduled to be available Oct 24th on Steam. The time is nigh!

[Matt]

Set aside some time for multiplayer gaming this fall, gentlemen ...

What, and give up spending every waking hour analyzing the new season of The Walking Dead? Surely you jest!!!

[Apollos]

Just to bump....I noticed this is scheduled to be available Oct 24th on Steam. The time is nigh!

I've been brushing up on my Civ 5 play lately just to make sure I'm ready

[Alleghenies]

I read a nice article about this new Alpha Centauri and was so excited. I had no idea it was coming out so soon. Sigh, yet another game that I will never have the time to thoroughly play.

[John]

Let's give you an excuse to jump on the bandwagon, shall we? Pre-order Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth from Green Man Gaming and use code 01S6ZC-JVSB28-JRW7X4 at checkout. You'll knock the price down from $50 to $38. How can you resist such a deal?

Worried about ordering from Green Man Gaming? Don't worry. They're a perfectly reputable company that I've done business with plenty of times. They run a number of great sales, often beating Steam prices. And ordering through them gets you a Steam key, so you don't have to worry about suddenly having a fragmented gaming library.

While we're talking about pre-ordering through Green Man Gaming, let me bring your attention to a few other deals they're running right now:

• Pre-order Alien: Isolation - Nostromo Edition ($38) | Use code 01S6ZC-JVSB28-JRW7X4
• Pre-order Football Manager 2015 ($38) | Use code 01S6ZC-JVSB28-JRW7X4
• Pre-order Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition ($34) | Use code 01S6ZC-JVSB28-JRW7X4
• Pre-order Fable Anniversary ($21) | Use code 01S6ZC-JVSB28-JRW7X4
• Pre-order Gauntlet ($15) | Use code 01S6ZC-JVSB28-JRW7X4
• Pre-order Gauntlet - 4 Pack ($45) | Use code 01S6ZC-JVSB28-JRW7X4

Gauntlet four-player ... that brings back memories of musty, dimly lit arcades ... Van Halen blaring over blips and bloops ... people arguing over who had next on the Bubble Bobble machine ... sigh, my wasted youth.