May 10, 2018
Civilization 6 launches spring update today
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)

A good spring clean is cathartic after the long and dark winter, and Firaxis will surely feel better after releasing the Spring 2018 Update for Civilization VI later today. Along with improving joint wars, tweaking balance, fixing bug, and making the AI slightly less of a big silly, it adds some new Historic Moments for a fresh breath of springtime air in the Rise And Fall expansion. These include such world-changing moments as the building of the first seaside resort, the founding of the first national park, and the completion of the first totally rad tricked-out water park with a pool, aquarium, Ferris wheel, and all that. Ah, to be stuck indoors on a beautiful day like this… (more…)

May 9, 2018
Civilization VI: Rise and Fall – Spring 2018 Update Available Now
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - Hinkle2K

A new update (version 1.0.0.257) is now available for Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. Watch lead designer Anton Strenger share the vision behind this update in the video below.

https://youtu.be/jb278q5X9v4

SUBSCRIBE ➜ http://2kgam.es/CivilizationYT

For the best gameplay experience, we recommend disabling mods until they have been updated by the mod creators to be compatible with this latest update. Loading an old save or configuration that was created using mods will re-enable those mods. To our modding community, the below update may require you to update your mods.

ADDITIONS
  • Joint Wars/Third Party War Update
    • Players can now ask other players or AI to join wars they are already in.
    • Trade screen allows Casus Belli to be chosen when declaring a Joint War.
    • Joint War now requires one party to have denounced the enemy for 5 turns.
    • Leader screen makes it clear that war declaration is part of a joint war.
  • Adding 12 new Historic Moments, focused on mid to late game.
    • First Shipwreck Excavated (+2 Era score)
    • World's First Shipwreck Excavated (+3 Era score)
    • First Aerodrome Fully Developed with all buildings (+3 Era score)
    • First Encampment Fully Developed with all buildings (+3 Era score)
    • First Entertainment Complex Fully Developed with all buildings (+3 Era score)
    • First Water Park Fully Developed with all buildings (+3 Era score)
    • First City with 25 Population (+1 Era score)
    • World's First City with 25 Population (+2 Era score)
    • First Seaside Resort (+2 Era score)
    • World's First Seaside Resort (+3 Era score)
    • National Park Founded (+3 Era score)
    • World's First National Park Founded (+4 Era score)
  • Game Summary Screen
    • Added 3 new graphs for Rise and Fall games; Era Score, Total Governors, and Total Governor Titles.
 

BALANCE
  • Governors:
    • Pingala's Librarian ability now provides +15% Science and Culture in the city (was +20%).
    • Governor Magnus Groundbreaker ability reduced from +100% to +50%.
  • Government Balance Pass – Rise & Fall
    • Communism: Bonus Production per population from .4 to .6. Overall Production bonus from 10% to 15%.
    • Democracy: Production per district from 2 to 1.
    • Fascism: Combat Strength from 4 to 5. Bonus unit production from 20% to 50%.
  • Government Balance Pass – Base Game
    • Fascism: Combat Strength from 4 to 5.
  • Policy Rebalance:
    • Military Research gives +2 Science from Military Academies, Seaports, and Renaissance Walls (was +1 and did not include Renaissance Walls).
    • Public Transport gives 100 Gold per Appeal when replacing a Farm with a Neighborhood (was 50).
    • Ecommerce gives +2 Production and +5 Gold for all your Trade Routes (was +5 and +10 but only for international Trade Routes).
  • Civ Balance:
    • Victoria’s Pax Britannica ability now additionally awards a free melee class unit when constructing a Royal Navy Dockyard in a city founded on a foreign continent.
    • Lautaro's unique ability Swift Hawk has been updated to have an additional effect: Pillaging an enemy city plot now causes that city to lose 5 loyalty
    • Rebalancing Seondeok's Hwarang ability. Governors established in a city provide +3% Culture and Science for each Promotion they have earned, including their first (was +10% Culture and Science for any Governor regardless of Promotions).
    • Norwegian Berserker - Production cost reduced from 180 to 160. Combat Strength buff when attacking increased from +7 to +10. Combat Strength de-buff when defending reduced from -7 to -5.
    • Japanese Samurai – Production cost reduced from 180 to 160. Combat Strength increased from 45 to 48.
    • Georgian Khevsur – Production cost reduced from 180 to 160. Combat Strength increased from 40 to 45.
  • Eras:
    • Made it so when somebody wins the game in the Information Era, it reset all players to be in a Normal Age and take away all Dedication bonuses. This puts everyone on a level playing field for "One More Turn" mode. (If somebody wins in an earlier era, continue the progression of eras and Ages as normal.)
    • Rebalancing Era Score of historic moments related to late game city projects:
      • Manhattan Project and Operation Ivy now worth 2 (was 1)
      • Satellite launch, Moon landing, and first Mars component are now worth 4 if world first and 2 otherwise (was 1 in both cases)
    • Monasticism dark policy now provides +75% Science in cities with Holy Sites (was +100%).
  • Map Generation:
    • Made Turtles Luxury Resource more common.
  • Miscellaneous:
    • Religion can now affect the Loyalty of a city. For players who founded a religion, cities get +3 Loyalty for following that religion, but -3 Loyalty per turn if following another player's religion.
    • Updated Foreign Ministry (Government building): Unit combat bonus now applies to City-State units even when they are not levied.
    • Number of envoys received from Liberating City-States is boosted as you progress through the game.
    • Commandos’ Melee unit promotion now grants +1 movement
 

 

 

MODDABILITY UPDATES
  • Governors and Governor Promotions now use 'Promotion Sets' which allows more than one governor type to be associated with a promotion and vice versa
 

BUG FIXES
  • Only show the "Capital Lost" when a player loses their original capital city (was also showing when a player lost their new capital city that also happened to be the original capital city of a different player).
  • Fixed for Priority Target highlighting invalid hexes.
  • Districts that cannot be repaired because the player is missing their pre-requisite Tech or Civic (ex. in a conquered city) will now say this in the city production UI.
  • For Great People that activate over luxury resources, a tile with a district belonging to another player is no longer treated as a valid activation tile (and it will not end up highlighted)
  • Frederick Barbarossa's UA no longer gives a combat bonus against Free Cities.
  • Liberating a city will now make that city immune against your Loyalty pressure, as was the design intent.
  • Correctly display when a Wonder needs an adjacent district. Clarified that the adjacent district requirement also must be a district owned by this city.
  • Fixed the combined arms boost by changing it to be “Have 3 Armies or Armadas.”
  • Fixed Victoria's Pax Britannica ability in the base game.
  • Enforced that cities cannot be founded on tiles with districts. It was possible before with the relaxed minimum city distance present in island situations.
  • Fixed an edge case where the historic moments for creating a Trading Post in another civ could be repeated and exploited
  • Made it so Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi only heals land units.
  • Fixed Bugs related to expelling units out of a City's or Civilization's borders when applicable. Units should no longer be expelled from a Free City when it flips due to Loyalty unless the city flips to a major civ and rules require it.
  • Fixed an issue with not counting armadas and Fleets for the Triple Seven achievement.
  • Ensure proper display of National Parks after a save is loaded.
  • Don't show Paradrop unit action if unit cannot move.
  • Fixed a bug preventing the Hetairoi Great General bonus from being applied when in the same hex as a general.
  • Fixed a bug preventing the Persian Immortal from using melee as its default attack.
  • Fixed a bug where Renaissance walls and Georgian unique walls were not being affected by the Limes Policy.
  • Addressed audio issues with large and mod-expanded map sizes
 

TEXT FIXES
  • Corrected the bonus text for the Zoning Commissioner Governor promotion (it said 30% but it is actually 20 %.)
  • Updated Rise and Fall Agenda descriptions to include what that leader dislikes.
  • Clarified Kilwa's description to show that it increases the type bonus from city states instead of the yield.
  • Removed a redundant font icon in the name of a city-state quest.
  • Updated Civilopedia text for Anarchy, since Anarchy does not affect Era Score.
  • Clarified text for Georgia's Unique Ability.
  • Clarified text for first sea/air unit Historic Moments.
  • Added information to technology descriptions about what resources are unlocked for harvesting (some were missing).
  • Document that Patron Saint Governor Promotion also helps Warrior Monks.
  • Removed "doubling" and "tripling" in description of effects for tourism. Use +100% or +200% instead.
  • Added Housing info to Polder description
  • Fixed the Fascism combat bonus description being incorrect in base game.
  • Updated wording for Religious Alliance to indicate that it refers to cities dominated by the player's religion.
  • Changed some text that was incorrectly referring to "Identity" instead of "Loyalty.”
 

GRAPHIC FIXES
  • Reduced the amount of snow on the Arena building so that it doesn't blow out as much at night.
  • Don't play Paradrop animation if the destination tile is not visible to the current observer.
 

AI
  • AI respects and uses new rules for joint wars and third party wars
  • AI evaluates joint and third party wars based on the chosen casus belli, and applies casus belli to its own offers
  • In trading cities, AI considers resources and great works it will gain or lose in the deal
  • As part of a city attack, will not pillage a separate city’s districts
  • AI will prioritize a city over units if it can capture or nearly capture the city
  • Fixed issues with AI strategies, including yield priorities and era strategies (as reported on community forums, thanks!).
  • Fixed government bonus analysis problem. AI will no longer focus entirely on monarchy.
  • Fixed issues regarding embarking units near enemy warships, evaluation now takes proper account of that.
  • AI can modify a deal with just gold when asked what would you give.
  • Germany (or anyone favoring minor civ war) won't care about their relationship to a minor civ suzerain unless it's them.
  • Give Greece and Pericles some preferences for culture and envoys.
  • Fix round off problem that was giving low threat values in duel maps (or with only 2 Civs left).
  • Free cities units that are not involved in attacking other units will stay within their own territory.
  • Improved city defense unit management.
 

 

MULTIPLAYER
  • Auto End Turn is now disabled for the remainder of a player's turn if they unready their turn.
  • Fixed multiplayer stall related to players disconnecting while the host was loading into a game.
  • Fixed zombie connection issue that was preventing some players from joining multiplayer games after a previous join.
  • Players should not be able to unready their turns after their turn timer elapses.
  • Dead civilizations are no longer selectable after loading a save in multiplayer. 
  • Multiplayer quick saves now go in the proper save folder for the current game mode.
  • Fixed default multiplayer handicap for third player in the Jadwiga's Legacy scenario.
UI
  • Changes to the way Governor Title notifications are handled.
    • The Governor Title notifications turn blocking no longer requires players to use the Governor Title to be dismissed.
    • Appoint Governor Notification will not appear if the player does not yet have a city to assign one.
  • Updated the window style of the Dedication screen and Era Rollover screen, emphasizing Era / Age types.
  • Added food needed for population growth in City Details Panel.
  • Made sure we only show the Emergency row and tab if there are emergencies involving both the selected player and the local player.
  • Fixed an issue where players could have duplicate city names, all names have to be unique now.
  • Espionage mission history for failed missions will now show loot information if provided in the mission info
  • Tech Tree - Ensure we update the live data for a tech when it's boosted.
May 2, 2018
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller support via Steam Input
Steam Controller - Ian
Greetings from the Steam Controller team. We’re pleased to announce that the latest Steam Client Beta adds support for the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. We think it is a great device with a feature set that pairs nicely with your Steam catalog. The d-pad is ideal for fighting games and platformers and the gyro enhances aim in your action/FPS titles. If you’d like to test it out you will need to opt into the Steam Client Beta then follow the steps below. We hope you enjoy and, as always, we welcome your feedback.

How do I get started?
First, opt into the Steam Client Beta then enable support globally by checking the ‘Nintendo Switch Configuration Support’ option in the Controller Settings page. In case you missed it, this is the same page to enable PS4 and Xbox Configuration support. By checking this box, you are able to create, share, and browse Switch Pro Controller configs on a per-game basis. The Controller Settings page also contains a global option to ‘Use Nintendo Button Layout’. This will swap the A/B and X/Y buttons of your loaded config – something that will come in handy if you choose a Steam Controller, Xbox, or standard template config.



Next, connect your controller and register it to your account when prompted. For best results with the gyro, we suggest initially calibrating your controller by selecting the 'Calibrate' option under 'Detected Controllers'.



After that, create a config (or load an existing config), via the ‘Controller Configuration’ option in the Manage Game screen for the title you are playing. The full functionality of the Steam Input Configurator is at your disposal: bind the gyro, add radial menus, create action sets, etc. If you prefer to start from a community config, press X and browse the options.



Finally, launch and play your Steam game with your Switch Pro Controller. Bring up the overlay with the ‘Home’ button to tweak your config on the fly. Please let us know if you encounter any issues.
Apr 15, 2018
Civilization 6 spring update will make England strong again
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI

England have taken a bit of a battering in Civlization 6 recently, with a series of nerfs making it harder to win with Queen Victoria. Developer Firaxis plans to put that right in its spring update, after which Victoria's Pax Britannica leader bonus will grant a free unit both when you settle in a foreign continent and when you build a Royal Navy dockyard in that new city. That additional unit should make it easier to expand your borders.

The update, which doesn't yet have a release date, will also tweak the loyalty system introduced in the Civilization 6: Rise and Fall expansion. You'll now get more loyalty from cities following the same religion as you, and less from those following a different religion.

The team at Firaxis is also changing the way that joint wars work. You'll now be able to declare wars with a Casus Belli, which is a justification for war in specific circumstances that will mean you'll get fewer warmonger penalties. Both the player and the AI will also be able to join joint wars that have already begun, gaining the benefit of the Casus Belli in the process.

Lastly, the update will tweak the AI and add a few more historic moments, which essentially act as achievements marking important milestones. No full patch notes for now—they'll arrive alongside the update.

Thanks, PCGamesN.

Apr 12, 2018
Civilization VI: Rise and Fall – Spring 2018 Developer Update
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - 2kschug


Civilization VI: Rise and Fall will receive a new update to address community feedback and balance changes. Watch lead designer Anton Strenger share the vision behind this update, and check back soon for full details when the update goes live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb278q5X9v4
SUBSCRIBE ➜ http://2kgam.es/CivilizationYT

Follow the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #OneMoreTurn, and be sure to follow the Civilization franchise on social media to keep up to date with the latest news and information on Sid Meier’s Civilization VI.
Apr 6, 2018
Soren Johnson on challenging the norms of 4X games
Sid Meier's Civilization® IV - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Adam Smith)

Sid [Meier] didn t know he was inventing a genre back in 91 – if he had he might have been a lot more careful. He was just making it up as he went along.

That s how genres begin. By mistake. Somebody creates a set of rules and systems for the needs of a particular game, and then either people adopt and adapt those rules. Soren Johnson, creator of Offworld Trading Company and lead designer of Civilization IV, is working on a new game called Ten Crowns and after spending almost an hour talking with him at GDC, I get the impression he s going to be very careful indeed. Not cautious, because I expect some bold reinvention of 4X strategy fundamentals, but careful in his treatment of a genre that we both agree needs to escape its own past.

(more…)

Apr 3, 2018
The best 4X games on PC
Sid Meier's Civilization® V

Welcome to our round up of the best 4X games on PC. Ever since the term '4X' was coined for the original Master of Orion, we’ve been Exploring, Expanding, Exploiting, and Exterminating our way through fantasy, history, and the depths of space. The genre has seen something of a renaissance in the last half decade, and while it’s great to have options, there’s also a lot to sort through. 

Not every 4X game is for everyone, so we’ve taken a look at all the major players to enter the stage in recent years and why you might, or might not, want to play them.

Dominions 5

Let's start with an unusual one. Dominions 5 is a 4X game about warring gods and their fantastical armies. You start by designing your deity, which could be a raging dragon or a mystical inanimate rock. Turn by turn you muster armies, recruit wizards to research apocalyptic magic spells, and fend off the attentions of other pretender gods. 

Dominions' visuals are... old school, let's say. You need to dig into the community and get some decent user-made maps but, once you've done that and scanned the manual you'll find a detailed strategy game that generates mad stories. I'm used to controlling spaceships and cavalry in 4X games, only in Dominions can I send an alliance of satyrs, wyverns, elemental spirits and ghosts off to fight some atlanteans. The AI is easily to beat once you have played a few games but the game thrives in multiplayer about other people.

Who's it for: Players happy to get past primitive visuals to unpick a detailed magic system and command dazzling and varied factions.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

A unique blend of 4X and RTS set in space, Rebellion is more fast-paced than most of the games on this list. It’s a standalone expansion, but also the definitive version of Sins currently available—so you don’t need to worry about grabbing the original to have a good time.

Who it’s for: Existing RTS fans who want to branch out into 4X, and players who like to get to the action fast and maintain a challenging pace. This one may be a little chaotic for the turn-based armchair generals of the world.

Fallen Enchantress 

This turn-based fantasy 4X revolves heavily around Hero characters and a faction leader called a sovereign who can go on RPG-style quests and be used in many aspects of empire management, not just limited to combat.

Who it’s for: Classic RPG fans will feel right at home with the quest system, and the customizable fantasy armies are likely to appeal to tabletop miniature painters of the Warhammer and Hordes persuasions.

Endless Space

One of the most intriguing aspects of the universe in which Endless Space (and its sequel) are set is the mythology behind it. Much revolves around the ancient empire known as the Endless, and the quasi-magical Dust they left behind.Who it’s for: A good all-around entry level space 4X that will also challenge experienced players, and holds added appeal for anyone who wants to unravel facets of a mysterious, pre-written story while dominating the galaxy. It’s also available for beans now that ES2 is in Early Access.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 5 

If we could crown a king of 4X, Sid Meier’s Civilization would have little competition for that throne. Taking one of an armload of civilizations from the ancient to the modern age while competing for various victory conditions, this is the series that has championed the genre for years.

Who it’s for: Even with Civ VI out, Civilization V frequently goes on sale for absurdly low prices, so if you’re not sure you’ll like the series and just want to try it out without dropping the full $60 on the new one, by all means take advantage. It’s certainly an excellent, entertaining game in its own right, particularly with the Brave New World expansion. Plus, the mod scene is excellent.

Europa Universalis IV 

While most of the other games on this list put you in a randomly-generated world or galaxy, EU4 is built on an extremely in-depth recreation of Earth between the years of 1444 and 1821. You can lead any nation on the planet, from France to the Comanche, through centuries of colonization, exploration, and technological discovery.

Who it's for: Considering it’s the highest review score I’ve ever given out, it’s almost easier who to ask who it’s not for. The complexity of the simulation and sprawl of interlocking systems for trade, war, and diplomacy might intimidate newcomers to 4X and grand strategy, but EU4’s interface and tooltips do an excellent job of helping you wade into the shallow end and get a feel for the water.

Eador: Masters of the Broken World 

Taking the role of a demigod battling others of your ilk for control of the shards (all that’s left of the eponymous broken world), Eador is another 4X game that’s hard to categorize. It features 4X, RPG, and board game-like, tactical turn-based elements.

Who it’s for: Eador’s greatest strength might just be how different its setup is compared to most other 4X games. The breaking of the game world into shards, which each behave like a smaller version of a strategic map in a game like Total War or Crusader Kings, means you’ll enjoy it if you’re looking for something a bit different than the standard map conquest or flipping largely static planets in a vast expanse of space to your color.

Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth

Taking the Civilization formula into space, Beyond Earth casts you as the head of one of the first human colonies on an alien planet. You guide its development and compete with other colonial concerns using mechanics that will feel highly familiar if you’ve played Civ 5.Who it’s for: Beyond Earth is, in my opinion, a bit of a misstep in the Civ series, lacking elements that drive its siblings to success. While it has some cool things going for it, like a nonlinear tech system that allows you to evolve your futuristic technology in a number of distinct directions, it ultimately feels like a high budget Civ 5 mod that didn’t hold my interest for more than a couple dozen hours.

Endless Legend

Similar to its sci-fi counterpart Endless Space, the unfolding fantasy epic of Endless Legend takes place in a richly realized world with character and backstory to spare. Civilizations are highly customizable, and each presents distinct opportunities.

Who it’s for: We awarded Endless Legend a Commendation for Design in 2014. It has its foundation in the time-tested elements that make 4X what it is, but is unafraid to build on and remix them in ways that will especially interest long-time players who might be suffering from genre fatigue. Beyond that, anyone just wanting to explore a rich and interesting new fantasy setting won’t be at all disappointed.

Warlock II: The Exiled

Warlock is pretty close to what I’d imagine a well-done fantasy overhaul of Civilization might look like. It makes good use of neutral factions on the map to be more than just an early-game annoyance.

Who it’s for: Due to its relative simplicity and adherence to genre norms, this is a fairly welcoming first step for those wanting to branch out into fantasy 4X from other subgenres. It also has a sharper sense of humor than its more dour, grandiose counterparts like Endless Legend and Fallen Enchantress.

Distant Worlds: Universe

Allowing you to discover the stars in a pausable, real-time galaxy, Distant Worlds features one of the more robust models of a civilian economy (which can run on auto-pilot while you handle the political stuff) I’ve seen in a 4X game.

Who it’s for: Aside from just being an overall well-designed 4X, Distant Worlds will have a special appeal for those who like to focus on exploration. This is because it really succeeds where so many other sci-fi games have failed: it makes space feel really, really big.

Star Ruler 2

Similar to Sins of a Solar Empire, Star Ruler 2 is a bit of a 4X/RTS hybrid. It boasts quite in-depth systems for diplomacy and planetary development.

Who it’s for: This one skews toward the higher end of the complexity scale, and the sheer amount of fine control you have over its systems might be intimidating to newcomers. If you’re looking for gigantic, animated space battles, however, it may be worth your time to wrap your head around it.

Galactic Civilizations III 

Galactic Civilizations has cemented itself as the other 'blockbuster' contender in the 4X space, and GalCiv III is the most polished and extravagant entry to date.Who it’s for: If you’re sick of cookie-cutter victory conditions, one of the most positive changes GalCiv 3 made to the series’ formula was turning victory into a set of objectives you can pick and choose from. So even two different runs going for the same victory condition might look different.

Stellaris

Stellaris takes Paradox’s historical formula and blasts it to the stars where you’ll manage military, political, and economic aspects of your space empire.Who it’s for: Fans of historical grand strategy will feel at home in Stellaris, but for those used to more traditional 4X, it takes some getting used to. There’s a much heavier focus on politics, with elements like your form of government and the will of your citizens playing a large role.

Master of Orion

The most recent in the lauded Master of Orion series doesn’t do much we haven’t seen before, but it plays the old hits well and wraps them in stratospheric production value and some big name sci-fi voice talent.Who it’s for: Despite being so new, MoO is bog standard 4X. Not much has changed here since its 1996 predecessor other than the graphics. That does make it a nice starting point for total newbies, but the real draw is hearing John de Lancie lament the war that's brewing between his empire and yours.

Endless Space 2

Endless Space 2 builds on some of the best ideas of its predecessor, this time crafting more unique story content for each of the distinct interstellar empires.Who it’s for: It shouldn’t surprise you at this point in the list that connoisseurs of interactive storytelling should jump for anything that says 'Endless' on it. Endless Space 2 is also arguably a better starting point for newcomers than the first one, as it’s made lots of improvements to your ability to access important, contextual information.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Civilization VI emerges from its chrysalis to reveal the most transformative and fresh take on the series in its storied history. Also, it has Sean Bean.

Who it’s for: Just about anyone who enjoys turn-based strategy. It presents lots of new challenges and opportunities even for the most weathered series veterans, but also remains among the most inviting 4X games for first-timers.

Mar 15, 2018
All rise and no fall: how Civilization reinforces a dangerous myth
DEFCON - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alister MacQuarrie)

civilization-vi-rise-and-fall-growth-1

Civilization VI: Rise and Fall wants to solve a problem. That problem is perpetual growth, and it plagues many 4X games. Whether your aim is world conquest or cultural hegemony, victory in Civilization and many of its cohorts depends on domination. However peacefully you try to play, you’re often straight-jacketed into a utilitarian-psychotic view where all resources and people are just raw material to be assimilated, Borg-like, until the whole map is monochrome.

But as the early excitement of exploration and expansion ebbs to late game stagnation, the fun runs out. Historically, stagnating empires tend to fragment and collapse. But in Civilization VI, like many games, you’re the star of the show and there’s nowhere to go but up.

(more…)

Mar 15, 2018
A typo in a Civilization 6 data file is messing with the AI's priorities
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI

Update: Firaxis has confirmed that the spelling errors are a mistake. In a brief statement sent to PC Gamer, the developer wrote: 

“We’re aware of a community-reported bug that has a minor impact on AI behavior. We’ve also made sure that everyone knows that I goes before E except after C… or other weird exceptions. Thanks to all who helped bring this to our attention and there will be a fix included in our next update.”

Original story: There's a story going around that sounds too improbable to be true: that Civilization 6's AI leaders have been acting strangely all this time because of five misspellings in a data file. The likelihood that Firaxis wouldn't have noticed such an obvious error for so long seems minuscule. And yet, inside one of Civ 6's loose data files, Leaders.xml, are the following five lines: 

<Row Item="YEILD_PRODUCTION" ListType="DefaultYieldBias" Value="25"/><Row Item="YEILD_SCIENCE" ListType="DefaultYieldBias" Value="10"/><Row Item="YEILD_CULTURE" ListType="DefaultYieldBias" Value="10"/><Row Item="YEILD_GOLD" ListType="DefaultYieldBias" Value="20"/><Row Item="YEILD_FAITH" ListType="DefaultYieldBias" Value="-25"/>

In each line, 'YEILD' is a misspelling of 'YIELD.' That wouldn't matter if it were misspelled everywhere, but 'yield' is written with the correct spelling in every other instance across all of Civ 6's data files.

The misspelling was noticed by Something Awful forum user Straight White Shark (though they say in the thread that they weren't the first to pick up on it), and I've verified that the 'YEILD' lines can be found in a fresh Civ 6 download, though it isn't clear whether the mistake was always there, or if it was introduced in an update.

Testing with and without the typos

Shark and other Civ players believe these table entries are meant to set the AI leaders' default priorities, which are then modified by their various preferences and agendas. The effect should be that, by default, each leader prioritizes production and gold over everything else, and gives the least priority to faith. Popular theory has it that these misspellings are causing the default values to be ignored, explaining why some AI civs seem to put too much energy into religion.

By running two automated 151-turn games using the same Civilizations, each starting in the same spot on the 'true start' Earth map, Shark did find that fixing the misspellings created a noticeable difference in the AI leaders' priorities—they produced less faith overall, and more buildings and science.

I have been able to create reproducible results with the same basic methodology. By using the true start Earth map, I can run identical games using the Autoplay mod and produce identical end-of-game graphs, provided I don't change anything between tests. When I fix the typos, though, the graphs change. For example, Pedro II produces less faith-per-turn at the end of 100 turns when the typos are fixed.

The faith-per-turn graph after 100 double-speed turns without the typos fixed.

The faith-per-turn graph after 100 double-speed turns with the typos fixed. (Note the difference in the Y axis values.)

To confirm that I was definitely making a difference, I set faith to 1,000 and all other yields to 0. When I did, Pedro II's faith-per-turn skyrocketed within 50 turns, and the other civs in my test trended up too. Even Queen Victoria built a Holy Site, which she didn't do in any of my other tests. I tried the same thing with the typos uncorrected, and the graphs reverted back to 'normal,' as if I hadn't changed anything from my first baseline test. With the misspellings in place, the lines don't do anything.

It's possible that the misspellings were introduced in a recent patch, and weren't there all along. It's also possible that Civ 6 is actually behaving as intended despite the misspellings, as different default values might be set elsewhere, making these five lines obsolete. But who would take these lines out of commission with typos, rather than by commenting them out?

I've reached out to 2K to find out if Firaxis is aware of the misspellings, and whether or not AI leaders are truly supposed to deprioritize faith, and just haven't been. 

If you don't want to go editing the xml file yourself, you can download this mod on the Steam Workshop to try playing Civ 6 with the typos corrected. For more data, a few players are testing variations of the typo-corrected values on Reddit.

Mar 8, 2018
Now Live: Civilization VI: Rise and Fall – March 2018 Update
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - 2kschug
A new update is available for Sid Meier’s Civilization VI today. Watch franchise lead designer, Ed Beach, share the vision behind this update.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSFhqOPiU-E
SUBSCRIBE ➜ http://2kgam.es/CivilizationYT

For the best gameplay experience, we recommend disabling mods until they have been updated by the mod creators to be compatible with this latest update. Loading an old save or configuration that was created using mods will re-enable those mods. To our modding community, the below update may require you to update your mods.

[UPDATE] We have updated the game to correct a reported crash issue when loading some saves created before the March 2018 Update. If you are still experiencing this issue, we recommend attempting to load a previous save that was not loaded/saved on the initial March update, or start a new game. We want everyone to have the best experience possible and will continue supporting the title with future updates.

GENERAL UPDATES
  • Added a new historic moment for being the second or later Civilization to discover a Natural Wonder, + 1 Era Score.
  • Clarified Amundsen-Scott Research Station bonus in the text.
  • Made the Water Park cheaper to be consistent with the Aerodrome.
  • Reworked the way that warmongering is handled between declaration of war capturing cities, and razing cities.
  • Unit experience gained from fighting Free Cities and Free City units is now capped at +1 after obtaining the unit’s first promotion.
  • Removed the Flirtatious and Curmudgeon agendas.
  • Ranged units garrisoned in a city are now always considered to be in an elevated position if the city has walls or urban defenses.
  • Updated Korean Palace art.
  • Fixed situations where players could have Shared Visibility while at war.
  • Fixed an issue where Observation Balloons were incorrectly granting the Drone unit's combat strength buff.
  • Fixed an issue where the Stadium effects did not match the text.
    • Stadium: +2 Tourism for cities with at least 10 population. +5 tourism to cities with at least 20 population. +2 Entertainment amenities for all cities within 6 tiles. (Now only applies to Stadium and not districts.)
  • Increased defenses of early era city states to discourage easy conquest by AI and players.
BALANCE CHANGES
  • Allow the 3 land tiles next to Polder to include Hills.
  • Added Loyalty per turn to Emergency target cities so that Emergencies will no longer end in the member’s favor without them doing anything.
  • Added the Entertainment Complex building effects.
    • Arena: +1 Culture. +1 Tourism once Conservation is unlocked. +1 Entertainment amenity for this city
    • Zoo: +1 Science to all Rainforest and Marsh tiles in this city. +1 Entertainment amenity for all cities within 6 tiles.
    • Stadium: +2 Tourism for cities with at least 10 population. +5 tourism to cities with at least 20 population. +2 Entertainment amenities for all cities within 6 tiles.
  • Made building National Parks much more important to leaders with the Environmentalist and Exploitative agendas.
  • Military Alliances now provide a bonus against city states.
  • Macedon no longer receives boosts for conquering a Free City.
  • Have Twilight Valor apply to Naval Melee units.
  • Neutralize Governor turn duration has been adjusted for game speed.
  • Gain Sources turn duration has been adjusted for game speed.
 AI UPDATES
  • Added some improvements in sorting great works into collections.
  • Improved AI progress through tech and civic tree.
  • Garrisoned ranged units are much less likely to leave City Centers and Encampments.
UI UPDATES
  • Historic Moments are now accessible from the End Game Results screen.
  • Made sure we displayed the right city details for cities being ceded.
  • City States no longer display "At War" tooltip if we aren't at war.
  • Former capitals are now properly differentiated from captured capitals.
  • City Banner polish and bug fixes.
  • Our Leader diplomacy screen now uses the longer, more detailed descriptions for unique units, buildings, etc.
  • The diplomacy deal edit box will now fit up to 5 items to fit all 5 Alliance types.
  • Zero out points per turn if we're not in an alliance and updated the tooltip to inform the player they need an alliance to gain points.
  • Diplomacy portraits in the HUD now indicate alliance type.
  • Governor promotion buttons will now use the disabled state properly for promotions we don't have the pre-requisites to earn.
  • The religion lens banner fly out will no longer display redundant icons for the first religion when it's about to convert or be tagged as predominate when it's still converting.
  • Resolved terrain tooltips displaying over selection panels in certain situations.
  • Added tooltips for a variety of loyalty UI.
  • Adding alliance icons to tech tree nodes so players know what their Level 3 Research Alliance members are researching.
  • Movement paths are now shown on the religion lens.
  • Revised Raze City tooltip text for accuracy.
  • Emphasized several notification icons indicating negative game events
  • Clarified Era score and Age threshold UI while in the last era of the game.
  • Added Research Alliance indicator to Research Chooser.
  • Added a scroll panel to operative list on the Espionage overview.
 BUG FIXES
  • Fixed an issue preventing water Natural Wonders from appearing on Huge maps.
  • Fixed a bug that was causing embarked units to use their embarked strength instead of their unit strength when conducting an amphibious attack.
  • ‘Amphibious’ unit promotion is now correctly removing the attack penalty in an amphibious attack.
  • Fixed a bug causing incorrect unit maintenance costs to be incurred.
  • Fixed a bug with the Pax Brittania unique ability that was granting a free melee unit when England obtained a city other than through settling.
  • Fixed a bug causing the player to be charged an incorrect amount when purchasing a District with Gold.
  • Fixed a bug causing units set to ‘Alert’ to be changed to ‘Fortified’, preventing them from waking up when enemies are near.
  • Historic Moment for recapturing a city you originally founded can now only trigger once per plot location, to prevent an exploit where it could be farmed for era score.
  • Fixed the Holy Righteous Queen achievement and the Metroplex achievement to have proper unlock requirements.
  • Preserve proper number of government slots after liberating a city with a Wonder that provides slots.
  • Fixed the Space Port, it was being counted as a specialty district.
  • Fixed Matterhorn and Zhangye Danxia spawning surrounded by mountains.
  • Allowed the Advanced Seminar in Astrophysics achievement to work in more permutations of district placement.
  • Made sure a second work of art from the same artists provides some culture/tourism in the Apadana.
  • Ensured that city state suzerain bonuses are applied properly after you capture a city.
  • Fixed Kilwa Kisiwani bonus to production in other cities when you get another suzerain of that type.
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