Hi everyone! 

Let us begin by thanking you all for your passion! We've had an amazing launch with Humankind, and we have seen so much enthusiasm from our fans to dive into the game and experience everything it has to offer.
However, the release of a game is just the beginning of its live and growth. We have many ideas where we could take Humankind, and we want to work together with you in the future to realize them, but for the time being our focus is on improving the current game experience rather than adding features. Any time you release a game into the wild and into the hands of thousands of players, you are bound to discover new problems and re-evaluate known ones, and we have seen many of you diligently reporting the problems you encounter.
Since we all want Humankind to become the best game it can be, today we want to share a few threads where we want to hear about the improvements you want to see, and highlight to you the best procedure to report any problems you encounter.

If you have any feedback on user experience, quality of life, gameplay, or the encyclopedia, please use the following threads:

• Gameplay Improvements: Games2Gether/Steam
  
• User Experience/Quality of Life Improvements: Games2Gether/Steam
  
• Encyclopedia Improvements: Games2Gether/Steam

If you have run into bugs or other technical issues, please follow the guide below to give us the best shot at reproducing, investigating, and addressing the issues you report.

How to Report a Bug

If you encounter any bugs while playing Humankind, please consults the Known Issues thread. If your problem is not listed there, report it in the Humankind Bug Reports forum. Follow the following template when reporting, please: 


EXAMPLE 

• Title: [PC/Steam, v0.5.32] Tooltip displays placeholder text 
• Description: After building an Emblematic Quarter of a Classical Era Culture, the tooltip of the tile displays a placeholder text 
• Attachments: Last 2 saves, screenshots (marked to highlight the issue if possible), logs etc... 
• Steps to Reproduce: 1. Enter the Classical Era // 2. Build their Emblematic Quarter // 3. Hover over the tile to check the tooltip 
• Expected Behavior: The tooltip should display localized text. 

1. Thread Title 

If you're making a new thread, the title of your thread should be short and descriptive. The title should start with what platform you are on [Steam (PC or Mac)/Epic/Stadia/Gamepass (or Windows Store)/GeForce NOW], and the version number (displayed on the main menu) you played on.

Please only add to a thread if you believe you have run into the same bug, otherwise start a new thread. 


2. Bug description 

The bug description is here to provide as much information and details as possible about the issue you encountered: Please describe in detail what you were doing before the issue, and what happened when you noticed the problem. Make sure to include any relevant information (for example Era, culture, map size/settings, game speed, single/multiplayer, etc), and use specific names where possible ("Bronze Working, Irrigation" for example). 

You can consider the bug description as a way to clear any ambiguity in your summary. Any additional notes should go here too. 


3. Attachments /!\ 

Don't forget to attach useful files if you feel like they are relevant. 

• Saves: Please provide the last two auto-saves from when the issue occurred along with any other relevant saves. 
• Screenshots and/or Video: A screenshot marked to highlight the issue. Feel free to share a brief video of the issue by uploading it to you preferred platform. Make sure we can access it! 
• Diagnostic files: Located by default: 
  • PC:\Users\[username]\Documents\Humankind\Temporary Files 
  • Mac: Select the correct file by looking at the name like "Diagnostics - 2020'10'11 @1407'46'';" that gives you the date and hour which should correspond to a save file
• Player.Log: Located in \Users\[username]\AppData\LocalLow\AMPLITUDE Studios\Humankind
• DxDiag: Attach a DxDiag report. This is only relevant if your bug has to do with crashing, artefacts or something. If it's only affecting gameplay, a DXDiag isn't necessary. Instructions to get a DXDiag are here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000022556/graphics.html 

/!\ If your upload is larger than 4MB, you'll encounter an error. Either compress the files into a .zip or a similar archive format (.7z / .rar), or use an external filehosting service. /!\ 


4. Steps to reproduce 

If possible, give us a step by step description of what lead to the issue. A list of steps is preferable! 

The clearer and more detailed your steps to reproduce are, the more likely we'll be able to reproduce the issue from scratch. 


5. Expected behavior 

This section is usually the part you use to describe what you think is supposed to happen and how it differs of the current state of things. 



Thanks for your help, but please bear in mind that we may not be able to reply in every thread even if we are investigating the issue. 

IMPORTANT FIX (Steam):

• Removed temporarily the Epic Overlay setting, which could induce a crash on the Steam build while having Epic Game Launcher installed.

CHANGES AND ADDITIONS:

• Removed the Endless mode from beginner and advanced tutorials.
  
• Added subtitles to the last 4 tutorial videos.

IMPORTANT FIXES:

• Fixed an issue where the end turn could hang when an Independent People ransack a Ruin.
  
• Fixed an issue where the end turn could hang when a Contemporary Russian Emblematic District is built on a Point of Interest which is not a Resource Deposit.
  
• Fixed an issue where a crash can occur at start while having Epic Game Launcher installed.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Cloud saves system is not working.
  
• Fixed an issue where one Territory is removed by the Map Editor each time a save is performed.

OTHER FIXES:

• Fixed an issue where a wrong value is displayed when the player has not enough War Support to declare a war.
  
• Fixed an issue where the default Avatar is displayed in game on the First Time User Experience scenario and not the player's customized Avatar.
  
• Fixed an issue where an error can be encountered during a battle against Deers which uses the Automatic Battle feature.
  
• Fixed an issue where Resource icons could be no longer displayed on Deposits after being exploited.
  
• Fixed an issue where a debug text is displayed in the Attack Prediction panel when the Ferocious bonus is applied on Units.
  
• Fixed an issue where a debug text could be displayed in the Narrator's subtitles when creating the first Emblematic Unit.
  
• Fixed an issue where "?" character is displayed in numerous event descriptions.
  
• Fixed an issue where a debug text is displayed in the tooltip of the Luxurious AI Persona Bias.
  
• Fixed an issue where a debug text is displayed in the Diplomacy log for White Peace proposals.
  
• Fixed an issue where the fail message when joining a modded Multiplayer lobby isn't clear enough.

Hi all,

We are organizing the streaming events of Humankind on Bilibili platform. We have top influencers to play the game and many gifts to encourage your own UGC. Please see more information here:


PC Link：Humankind
Mobile link：Humankind

Hey OpenDev and Beta players,

We're incredibly grateful for all your help in making Humankind a better game. Unfortunately, due to the changes made to the game since the Closed Beta, your player profile from the OpenDev or Closed Beta will not be compatible with the release version of the game, and may cause unexpected behavior.

If you have participated in any of the OpenDev scenarios or the Closed Beta, retaining old files may cause unexpected behavior. Please delete your Humankind folder in \Users\[username]\Documents\Humankind\ before starting the game. Remember to log back in to your Games2Gether account in the game to access any additional avatars you have unlocked.

If you still experience issues after trying this, please reach out to the SEGA customer support:
https://support.sega.co.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/4405784773905-Humankind


Have fun
- The Amplitude Team

Hello everyone, 



It’s been a while since our last Feature Focus for Humankind, since we had already covered most of the game, but it is now time for one final episode before the release of the game. There’s still one area of the game we have not talked much about and that you did not yet get to try: The late game. So, let’s dive right into what you can expect in the Contemporary Era (and some changes to the Industrial Era) with the video and blog below.



We don't want the late game of Humankind to become a slog of clicking end turn even though you already know you have won or lost. To that end, we introduce a number of changes and new features starting in the Early Modern but especially in the Industrial and Contemporary Eras to face you with new challenges to overcome and perhaps even upset the balance of power. Research, economy, and warfare will all offer new opportunities and sometimes new dangers in the late game!


With the invention of steam power, railroads, and (powered) flight, the world seems to get smaller as your options grow. Railway stations in neighboring territories will allow you to move your armies between them for only a single movement point, letting them cover vast distances in a single turn. For even longer journeys, you may want to rely on airports instead, which allow your armies to move instantly between them. Additionally, railway connections and airports will make trading easier, which may be important to you as coal, oil, and other new strategic resources become important. With airports, you may even be able to bypass an unfriendly neighbor and trade directly with somebody further away. 



Trains and planes are not the only noteworthy inventions in the late game. Many technologies in the Industrial and especially the Contemporary Era offer empire-wide bonuses that allow you to capitalize on a strong scientific foundation even if your industrial base, population, or military may not be as strong. Several of the most advanced technologies at the end of the technology tree offer particularly powerful bonuses and will grant you a large amount of fame as well. 

On the other hand, if you feel that your industrial power is greater than your research capabilities, you can invest in the National Projects like Planetary Observation Satellite Launches or your Lunar Landing Project. Much like Cultural Wonders, National Projects are Shared Projects that several cities can collaborate on, but they are even grander in scope: They require more space to be reserved for them and are completed across multiple stages. Each of these stages will grant you fame, as well as permanent economic benefits. 

Be careful when expanding your industrial base, though: Certain Districts and Infrastructures will generate Pollution. While your people can deal with a small amount of pollution, high levels of pollution will be a problem. Locally, territories with moderate to high pollution will suffer high to severe penalties to stability and most resource yields of their tiles. High amounts of global atmospheric pollution will apply moderate penalties to all players everywhere, and in the worst cases can lead to the game and your story of humankind ending early. 



Of course, not every player enjoys focusing primarily on their economy, and those of you who prefer a more aggressive approach to dealing with your neighbors will find that warfare changes in the late game as well. 

These changes begin with the advent of gunpowder warfare in the Early Modern Era. Arquebusiers and Musketeers no longer suffer penalties against melee attackers like their counterparts of the earlier eras, but are less mobile than them, unable to both move and fire in the same turn. This limit to their mobility disappears with Line Infantry in the Industrial era, but at that point your soldiers have learned to entrench themselves for a huge defensive bonus against ranged attacks, so you may be better off standing still anyway. 

Some powerful heavy weapons will be able to shatter not only the fortifications of enemy cities, but also the field defenses of enemy soldiers, depriving them of their defense bonus for being Dug In. If you would rather pin your opponent down, you can hit them with volleys of Machine Gun fire, which will reduce their combat strength and forbid movement, but be ready for your enemy to field Armored Vehicles to ignore this suppression effect. 

Once you bring the really big guns, though, the battlefields become too small. Artillery and warships of the late Industrial Era and beyond are so powerful and have such long range that it can fire into battles from outside the battlefield, hitting multiple tiles at a time. Even if there is no battle to support, these cannons can wear down your enemies by shelling their armies or districts to damage everything in a small area. 




If even the long range of your mightiest cannons is not enough, you may want to turn your attention to the skies. All aircraft in Humankind, from early biplanes to contemporary multirole fighters, can perform bombardment missions. Of course, multi role aircraft and dedicated bombers are much better at this task than fighters, but you may still want to send a few fighters along on the mission to engage the enemy air cover trying to shoot down your attackers. 

However, if you do send your fighters on the attack, you give up their patrols in the territories bordering their airfield or carrier, losing both air defense and vision in these areas. Perhaps it would be better to hold some fighters in reserve, unless you are confident in the ground-based anti-air power from your units and infrastructures. 


For all the firepower of artillery and air force, the most devastating weapon in your arsenal in the Contemporary Era will be nuclear missiles, capable of obliterating a small area of the map so thoroughly it can never be exploited again. In fact, they are so devastating that you may be better off not using them. 

Nuclear weapons in Humankind are a big investment: You need to invent Nuclear Fission, invest in the Nuclear Proliferation Civic, conduct one or more nuclear tests, and then still construct the expensive weapons. As you are going through this process, any civilization that has enacted the Nuclear Disarmament choice of the civic will get a grievance against you any time you fire a test or nuclear missile. 



Even after you have gone through all of these steps, launching a weapon of mass destruction will take time. In Humankind, ordering a nuclear strike only prepares the missile to launch at the start of the next turn. Other players are also notified about the nuclear strike, so they will have a chance to launch their own nuclear weapons in retaliation. This potential for mutually assured destruction should create tension, rather than giving a massive advantage to the first strike. 



We hope you’re excited to experience the new obstacles and opportunities of Humankind’s late game soon! 

Hey everyone,  



It’s hard to believe that after 4 years of development and 25 years of dreaming, we’re just 2 weeks away from the release of HUMANKIND! It’s been an amazing journey with all of you: both launching our OpenDev program for the first time and working with our VIP community members behind-the-scenes. We hope you’ve felt involved in this journey the whole way through and that you’ll be as proud as we are of the result.

In the meantime, though, we wanted to give a progress report on what we’ve been working on these past weeks since the Closed Beta, as well as to announce the news that the Mac version of the game will be postponed a few weeks (more detail on that further down).


What we’ve been working on:

• Balancing and pacing – We got lots of great feedback from the Closed Beta on how we could improve the games balancing and have been testing and implementing many changes since then 
  • Rebalanced research cost and era star thresholds to bring both in line with the desired game duration 
  • Rebalancing of many cultures 
  • New Religion tenets with more conditional effects instead of always desirable blanket bonuses 
  • Changes to some Civics and Ideologies to allow engaging with the system without losing the main source of stability 
  • Added new unit abilities to offer a different combat experience for gunpowder warfare 
• New system: Pollution – We’ve added a pollution system to the game which begins towards the end of Era 5  
• Diplomacy – This was another of the big areas we wanted to tackle following the Closed Beta. We've improved and added more depth, including new treaties and clearer UI.  
• Quality of life improvements – Things like better descriptions of the Civics and their effects, plus the addition of video tutorials to help new players. There is also now a fixed map for the two “Tutorial” options when you first start the game.  
• AI – We’ve improved the way AI deals with the economies and armies' missions. Levels of difficulty have also been balanced.  

Mac version postponed a few weeks

We’d also like to let you all know that the Mac version will be postponed about one month. We are still having some issues with certain configurations, as well as with multiplayer.  

This was a difficult decision for us, but we really wanted to take the time and make sure that the PC version was as good as possible, but also ensure that we had the necessary time to give the Mac version all the love that it is equally deserving of!

We do apologize and thank you for your patience and continued support!  



We can’t wait for August 17th
- Romain & the Amplitude team 

After every OpenDev so far, we have seen comments from many players asking us to let them keep playing, or at least host another OpenDev, and Victor was no exception. In fact, after the recent glimpse of the Industrial era in articles and videos, the cries may have been louder than ever before. Luckily, there’s a Closed Beta, and it’s bigger than any OpenDev before!





From June 13th at 14:30 PT / 23:30 CEST to June 21st at 14:30 PT / 23:30 CEST, play up to 200 turns of Humankind (PC and English language only), and for the first time ever try the industrial era and the new opportunities it brings. Exploit coal and oil to push your economy to new heights of productivity. Build railways to cheaply and quickly move goods and troops. Fight the biggest battles yet, support them with long range artillery bombardment, and take to the skies to keep an eye on your enemies! And of course, be sure to fill out the survey and let us know what you think.





How do you get your hands on the Closed Beta?

• If you have played the Victor OpenDev, the Closed Beta should already be in your Steam library.
  
• If you have pre-purchased on Steam, go to your profile page to link your Steam account, then go to your rewards page and redeem the Closed Beta access at the top.
  
• You can also earn access through Twitch-drops on participating channels, but make sure your Games2Gether account is linked to both Steam and Twitch (check your account settings to be sure)
  
• If you are having any problems, please check the troubleshooting thread first.

Speaking of Twitch: Drops for the special streamer avatars are back as well, so you will have another chance to unlock them before release (though there will still be chances after release, and these avatars will be usable in the release version of the game as well). This time around, some of these avatars will even already have their own voice acting, so if you are a fan of any of these streamers, be sure to give playing against their avatar a try. They're even joined by a new face, Frankie Ward, cohost of the PC Gaming Show!





If you have any trouble getting access to the Closed Beta, please check the Troubleshooting thread, and while we are as eager to hear your feedback as you are to give it, please take a moment to read the Welcome Thread first.


Have fun!
- The Amplitude Team

Over the course of Humankind’s development, we have given our players several opportunities to try the game and let us know what they think through the OpenDev program. Every time, we saw valuable survey data, interesting discussions, and constructive feedback. And every time, the OpenDev period was almost immediately followed by one question: When will be the next time we can test the game and give feedback?

The answer to this question is as simple as it is exciting: Right now!




From Thursday, April 22nd to Monday, May 3rd, the new Victor OpenDev is available on Steam. In this OpenDev scenario, you will have up to 150 turns to guide your civilization from the Neolithic Era to the end of the Early Modern Era. Once you finish the game, you will be given a chance to fill out a survey, as in the previous OpenDev.

Those of you who have participated in OpenDev before may notice that this scope is very similar to the Lucy OpenDev. While we know that our fans are eager to try the final two eras of the game, we want to focus on the content we shared before and be able to compare the feedback, as we have made many improvements to the game since the Lucy OpenDev. Here are just a few examples:

• Rebalanced game pace, economy, and cultures
  
• Improved District placement User Interface
  
• Improved territory and outpost management
  
• Improved Diplomacy User Interface
  
• New Unit Classes like Anti-Cavalry

So how do you play the Victor OpenDev to give us your feedback? There are a few ways to get your hands on it:

• If you have played the Lucy OpenDev
  
  1. Go to your rewards page on Games2Gether and resync your Steam-link with the button at the top
  2. The Victor OpenDev will appear in your library ready to be installed and launched
  3. If it does not, go to the Steam Store page of the Victor OpenDev and click the Play button to start the installation
  4. NOTE: Somey keys from the Twitch Drop campaign may have been revoked. If you got access to Lucy through Twitch Drops before, and cannot access the Victor OpenDev after following the Troubleshooting steps, your key may have been revoked. In that case, you can earn a new key through the current Twitch Drop campaign.
• If you have pre-purchased Humankind on Steam
  
  1. Log in to your Games2Gether Account
     
  2. Go to your profile page and link your Steam account
     
  3. Go to your Rewards page and claim the OpenDev reward at the top of the page
     
  4. The Victor OpenDev will appear in your library ready to be installed and launched
     
  5. If it does not, go to the Steam Store page of the Victor OpenDev and click the Play button to start the installation
• If you have not pre-purchased Humankind and have not played the Lucy OpenDev
  
  1. Log in to your Games2Gether Account
     
  2. Go to your profile page
     
  3. Go to your Account Settings
     
  4. Link your Twitch account; you will be prompted to log in to Twitch to confirm your identity
     
  5. Watch a total of 3 hours of Humankind on participating channels (watch time does not need to be consecutive)
     
  6. Claim the Twitch Drop
     
  7. Go to your Rewards page and claim the OpenDev reward at the top of the page
     
  8. The Victor OpenDev will appear in your Steam library ready to be installed and launched
     
  9. If it does not, go to the Steam Store page of the Victor OpenDev and click the Play button to start the installation
• If you are having trouble accessing the Victor OpenDev after these steps, please check the Troubleshooting Steps first.

Speaking of Twitch drops, this OpenDev presents another chance to earn the Influencer Avatars through drops on their participating channels. Log in to your Games2Gether account and make sure your Twitch account is linked as described above, and you’re set to earn the avatar drops as you watch their channels. If you cannot catch their streams live this time around, no reason to worry though: there will be other chances to earn these Avatars, and you will still be able to play against them after release.




Go check out the Victor OpenDev, and let us know what you think in the survey and the Victor OpenDev Forum.

And have fun with Humankind!

In our last Feature Focus, we told you how battles work in Humankind, but these battles do not happen in isolation. While it is easy to think of battles and war as pivotal moments, open conflict is only a small part of history. Rivalries and grudges may have played important roles throughout human history, but so did trade, kinship, and alliances. So, this time we take a step back and look at the bigger picture of conflicts and cooperation between civilizations. Trade, treaties, territorial disagreements... and sometimes treason! Check out what Diplomacy in Humankind has in store for you:





For us, the stories that emerge from a player’s interactions with the map and the other competitors in a game are a crucial part of the 4X game experience. However, stories are not terribly interesting or satisfying if their beginning, middle, and end can all be summarized as “Anyway, I started fighting.” Players should be able to develop a (changing) relationship with the other empires, should find reasons to love or hate them. Even the fighting feels more meaningful if you have some history with your opponents. 

The Diplomacy system in Humankind provides a system for these relationships to interact with the game instead of just existing in the mind of the player. Angry at that neighbor who forward settled you? Send them a strongly worded letter to demand they hand it over immediately. Backstabbed by your long-term ally? They’ll have a hard time maintaining that war. Through the diplomacy system, the AI can take your relationship to it into account when making decisions, but it can also contribute to the emerging story by telling you what it thinks of you. 

We also wanted the diplomacy in Humankind to be grounded in the space of the game, so many diplomatic actions (like trading, for example) are tied to specific locations on the map. Furthermore, diplomacy should feel immediate and impactful, making propositions, declarations, and demands with noticeable effects, rather than negotiating the details of a deal down to the last gold piece. There are three parts to this approach: Treaties, Trade, and Grievances and Demands. 





Treaties are your primary means of cooperating with other civilizations and forming closer relationships with them. While you’re at peace, you can propose treaties improving your cooperation in four different categories: Trade, Information Sharing, Border Policy, and Military Accords. For example, when you first meet another civilization, your armies are allowed to engage each other in battle in neutral territory, so you may want to suggest a Non-aggression Pact to prevent that. When you receive such a proposition, on the other hand, it’s up to you whether you accept, refuse, or ask for some monetary compensation for your cooperation. 

If you are on good terms with another civilization, you may even want to form an Alliance. Two civilizations in an alliance enjoy the benefits of all treaties available during peacetime, and even gain access to another, more beneficial level of cooperation. However, alliances come with a certain degree of responsibility: Your ally may call on you to aid them in a war, and if you refuse, they will be none too pleased, and may use this legitimate reason to break your alliance. 





You may want to keep some friends, though: Every civilization in Humankind can benefit from Strategic and Luxury Resources to fuel their military and economy, and while you can certainly lay claim to more territory and produce them yourself, many times it will be easier to just buy them from another civilization. As long as you’ve already signed the appropriate trade treaties, buying a resource from another civilization is as easy as clicking on their exploited resource deposit on the map, selecting the mode of transport (e.g land route versus sea route), and paying the cost for purchase and shipping. 

Once a purchase is made, money changes hands immediately, and a trade route is formed between the resource deposit and your closest city through the connecting territories. If these territories are controlled by a civilization or independent people, the route will pass through their city center, but if nobody controls the territory, a trade node like a Roundhouse will be created in the region. This gives the trade routes a presence on the map, meaning that even though it is easy to establish trade, it is also easy to disrupt: For example, an army can ransack these trade nodes to gain a lot of money and break the connection, potentially depriving you of resources vital to your economy or army. 





Of course, such aggressive behavior is not without consequences. Ransacking trade routes, attacking armies, claiming bordering territories, and many other actions and circumstances can generate Grievances, a sort of legitimate complaint the other civilization can raise. The affected civilization will have a few turns to decide whether they want to forego the Grievance to maintain good relations or press it to Demand compensation according to the Grievance, for example money for a broken trade route or control of a border territory. The offender then needs to decide whether they accept this demand, or refuse. 

Grievances and Demands (especially ones that were refused!) will increase your war support, a measure of how willing your people are to endure protracted conflict with the other civilization. If your war support is high enough, you can formally declare war, but even if it isn’t, you can still just declare a Surprise War. Of course, such back-stabbing is generally frowned upon, and you will be branded as a traitor, souring your diplomatic relations with other civilizations. 





Once war has started, the attacker’s war support will slowly decrease, as their people expect actions rather than just words. The attacker will have to win battles, ransack districts, or conquer cities to lower the enemy’s war support. Either side can offer surrender at any time, making concessions according to their own and their opponent’s remaining war support. If either side falls to 0 war support, the winner can force them to surrender, and they will have no choice but to accept as their war-weary population makes them sign on the dotted line. 

How quickly your people tire of war with your neighbors also depends on how close your ideology is to theirs. The decisions you make in narrative events and the Civics you enact, like whether your people obey an absolute ruler or a council, will shape your civilization and its people by positioning you on four ideological axes. How closely these match with another civilization will define your ideological proximity. The closer you are, the better your diplomatic relations, but the harder it will be to go to and maintain a war against them. On the other hand, your people will be ready to fight for a long time against somebody whose customs and values are strange to them. 



Whether you renounce all grudges to make friends and build a global trade network, or seize every opportunity to demand compensation from your neighbors and take through war what they do not give up willingly, it is up to you how you approach diplomacy in Humankind.