It’s now six weeks since Civilization 7 first arrived and, over on Steam at least, things are still looking… suboptimal. Overall, only 49% of user reviews are positive; when looking at reviews posted in the last 30 days, that number is even lower, at 43%. Civ 6 consistently attracts more players than its successor – even Civ 5, now 15 years old, has recently outperformed Firaxis’ latest. The label behind XCOM and Midnight Suns definitely has a lot more work to do. Nevertheless, the new Civilization 7 update feels like a significant milestone, implementing some crucial fixes and some must-need features that were absent on launch.
The biggest deal here is the new maps system. Until now, Civilization 7 would generate maps to ensure that all players started with relatively even access to territory and resources. Now, in single-player at least, you can use a new ‘Standard’ setting, which makes the map creation closer to that in Civilization 6 – more varied, less predictable, and less likely to give everybody an even footing. It’s worth noting that multiplayer games of Civilization 7 will still use the original ‘Balanced’ generation, to try to keep games fair.
Speaking again on the single-player mode, you can now restart matches of Civ 7 using a single button in the pause menu. Like previous editions of the 4X game, it means you can easily reroll at the start of a campaign if you want a better (or maybe more challenging) starting position. Quick move is now an option, so you can maneuver units instantly without watching their animations, and you can rename your settlements and commanders.
Civilization 7’s central conceptual leap, the Ages system, has been reworked, particularly in relation to Domination victories. Until now, because every time you eliminated an opponent the Age Progress meter would rise, it was often difficult to eradicate all of your rivals before the match ended. Now, once you get to the final Modern Age, killing off opposition civs will no longer trigger an increase on the Age Progress bar. Similarly, if you annihilate an opponent during the penultimate Exploration Age, the bar’s progress has been slowed by 50% – wiping someone out only causes half the increase that it did before.
As part of a broader effort to slow down the Modern Age, Firaxis has also boosted the cost of Modern-Age tech and civics by roughly 25%. A new interface feature means you can see at the top of your screen when Crises are approaching or progressing, and there’s a new alert on the heads-up display for when your cities are under attack.
The final main feature in Civilization update 1.1.1 relates to your military. Until now, when you hit a new Age, any units that were not attached to a commander would be cleared from the map. While it helped streamline and refresh the game, it may also have left you feeling cheated out of your soldiers. Now, as the end of an Age approaches, if you don’t have enough commanders to pack all of your units onto, you will get a warning, giving you the opportunity to prepare.
The Civilization 7 update 1.1.1 arrives today, Tuesday March 25. It definitely marks a significant leap forward for the strategy game and brings a lot of very-welcome changes. Nevertheless, it could still be some time before Civ 7 becomes the game that we were hoping for and expected.
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