Civilization: Beyond Earth takes the series into the future

Firaxis revealed a brand new game in the Civilization series at PAX East today. Dubbed "Beyond Earth," the latest entry in the franchise takes the series into the future.

Andrew Yoon

April 12, 2014 9:00 AM

Firaxis revealed a brand new game in the Civilization series at PAX East today. Dubbed "Beyond Earth," the latest entry in the franchise takes the series into the future. In Beyond Earth, players will explore and colonize an alien world. As always, player choice is crucial to the gameplay, as individual decisions will have serious repercussions on how society develops. For example, even the initial crew you choose for the expedition to the new world will have a dramatic impact on the cultural identity that eventually develops--will you have more mercenaries or scientists, for example? What will that ship be equipped with?

The future still involves hexagons

"The Civ team was excited about the opportunity to continue the story of Civilization into the future, because it allows the team to break free of historical context," Firaxis creative director Sid Meier said in the announcement. "We've always let our fans create the history of mankind, and Civilization: Beyond Earth will now let them create the future." Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Beyond Earth is the potential to create new technology. While the tools you have at your disposal at first will be similar to what's available today, as time goes by, they will become more fantastic. Speaking to Shacknews during a pre-PAX conference, Firaxis did confirm that all the tech will be more rooted in "hard sci-fi," and should be plausible extensions of modern technology. For example, one key gameplay feature is the orbital layer. Players will build satellites that can provide military, economic, and scientific benefits from space.

New technology will also help deal with the threats of an alien world. Players will have to tame new forms of life, all while uncovering ancient alien relics and hostile lifeforms. A new quest system will guide players through the game, which will help in the collection of resources, upgrading units, and more. There is an end-game, where players will have to make a decision on the future of the human race. What does the species do when confronted with new technology? We don't want to say any more, as to avoid spoilers. Civilization: Beyond Earth will take advantage of DirectX 11 and AMD technologies, including Mantle, CrossFire, and Eyefinity. It's also coming to Mac and Linux via Aspyr Media. The game will be available this fall for $50.

Beyond Earth is coming this fall

Andrew Yoon

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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April 12, 2014 9:00 AM

Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Civilization: Beyond Earth takes the series into the future.

Firaxis revealed a brand new game in the Civilization series at PAX East today. Dubbed "Beyond Earth," the latest entry in the franchise takes the series into the future.
LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- phate81
  
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  April 12, 2014 9:12 AM
  
  So basically Alpha Centauri without the name, flipping sweet!
  LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
  - Mad Brahmin Disease
    
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    April 14, 2014 6:50 AM
    
    I wonder why that name is not mention in any of the announcement articles.
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- [deleted] 1124125937
  
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  April 12, 2014 9:23 AM
  
  [deleted]
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- sneakyalmond
  
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  April 12, 2014 9:27 AM
  
  I guess that's kinda cool, but I've always enjoyed Civilization because of the historical context.
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  - NeoSmeers
    
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    April 12, 2014 12:38 PM
    
    I love history, and it's great to see it in games, but native American samurai, despite being awesome, isn't exactly what I'd call "historically accurate".
    LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- feek
  
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  April 12, 2014 9:31 AM
  
  OMG YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSKISUDYGFHIUYSODGFOYUISFD
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- [deleted] 1169299278
  
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  April 12, 2014 9:56 AM
  
  [deleted]
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- megreedy
  
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  April 12, 2014 9:56 AM
  
  ... are there other humans trying to inhabit the world too? or are you just supposed to fight off aliens and survive?...
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- Arcanum
  
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  April 12, 2014 10:00 AM
  
  SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!
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- Clay
  
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  April 12, 2014 10:08 AM
  
  We can call it SMBE right?
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  - ajvitaly
    
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    April 12, 2014 12:44 PM
    
    Super Mario Bros Extreme!!!!
    LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
  - [deleted] 726454723
    
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    April 12, 2014 12:46 PM
    
    [deleted]
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- Pettytheft
  
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  April 12, 2014 10:25 AM
  
  About time.
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- SilverSnake
  
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  April 12, 2014 10:26 AM
  
  Even though I'm a huge Civ fan I never played much of Alpha Centauri. But I'm still looking forward to this one, should be a great variation.
  LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
  - Clay
    
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    April 12, 2014 10:32 AM
    
    I haven't either :(
    
    I tried like once and it never went anywhere. Not sure why. It was long ago.
    LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
  - [deleted] 481526362
    
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    April 12, 2014 11:02 AM
    
    [deleted]
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  - NeoSmeers
    
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    April 12, 2014 12:43 PM
    
    Hopefully it's story is as good as Alpha Centauri's is supposed to be. Never played the game when it came out, so now that I have it, my dependence on current gen ease of use has made it rather difficult to get used to the somewhat clunky UI. TL;DR, i 2 dum, cant play gaem.
    LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- Epsilon Sector
  
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  April 12, 2014 10:35 AM
  
  ALPHA CENTAURI 2!!!!!! WOOT! I've been waiting for you all my life! Let me terraform planets, manipulate weather patterns, and piss off mind worms again only to take them over and turn them on the poor reluctant souls of my enemies!
  LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
  - Grape Flavor
    
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    April 12, 2014 1:28 PM
    
    Well technically it's not AC2 because AFAIK Firaxis doesn't own the rights. But yes, this is blatantly Alpha Centauri in everything but name. They're going to have to start fresh with the lore of course though or they'd get sued.
    LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- [deleted] 355768971
  
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  April 12, 2014 10:39 AM
  
  [deleted]
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  - RikiTiki2
    
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    April 12, 2014 10:46 AM
    
    no gigantic stacks of mind worms doom, no buy
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    - DeBurgo
      
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      April 12, 2014 10:57 AM
      
      you guys and your stacks, lol
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- sergeon
  
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  April 12, 2014 10:45 AM
  
  Too bad we can't call it "Smac" anymore
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- taylorwp2
  
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  April 12, 2014 10:47 AM
  
  http://youtu.be/qtYWqE55s24
  I love that this snuck up on us!
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- [deleted] 1452365323
  
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  April 12, 2014 11:06 AM
  
  [deleted]
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- [deleted] 1014085309
  
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  April 12, 2014 11:53 AM
  
  [deleted]
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- valcan_s
  
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  April 12, 2014 11:58 AM
  
  Nice! cool, looks good.
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- thetangent
  
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  April 12, 2014 12:03 PM
  
  OH FUCK YES!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!!! I didn't play Alpha Centauri until it was already kind of old and the mechanics in it were hard to get used to after playing games like Civ IV. But I've always wanted a modern take on Civ with a sci-fi setting. This is fucking awesome.
  
  Now just rework the 1UPT restrictions and we'll be good to go.
  LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- fire00f1y
  
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  April 12, 2014 1:04 PM
  
  Is there any video except for the promo teaser trailer thing yet?
  LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- Grape Flavor
  
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  April 12, 2014 1:13 PM
  
  Oh my god... We have waited so long for this and it's finally happening. This makes my day year.
  LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- serenj
  
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  April 12, 2014 1:14 PM
  
  Fantastic news, can't wait to play it.
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- Dunwich
  
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  April 12, 2014 1:43 PM
  
  UNF!!! http://chattypics.com/files/nose_candy_9ws138htqk.gif
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- [deleted] 92559685
  
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  April 12, 2014 3:03 PM
  
  [deleted]
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  - ajvitaly
    
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    April 12, 2014 5:30 PM
    
    L.
    O.
    L.
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  - pimpium
    
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    April 12, 2014 5:46 PM
    
    Sure. 5 years after release.
    LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- Sailor of Fortune
  
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  April 12, 2014 5:06 PM
  
  I wonder what blatantly stereotypical singlular doctrine personality factions there will be.
  LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
  - PenicillinX57
    
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    April 12, 2014 6:58 PM
    
    Apparently there's 3 of them:
    http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/04/12/civilization-beyond-earth-interview-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-factions-aliens-technology-and-more/
    
    Sounds pretty damn cool to me!
    LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
    - Grape Flavor
      
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      April 12, 2014 7:46 PM
      
      Those aren't factions, those are "affinities", more like play styles or victory paths. There will be 8 customizable factions.
      LOLINFUNFTAGWTFWOWAWW
- das_runt
  
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  April 12, 2014 6:53 PM
  
  still http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lle1yoOiZs1qafrh6.gif
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- [deleted] 1271987451
  
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  April 14, 2014 10:00 AM
  
  [deleted]
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