Firaxis has just revealed what’s on the way in the next Civilization 7 update, and it’ll likely go down as the strategy game’s best patch yet. Directly tackling some of players’ biggest frustrations, it’ll give you the option to keep playing beyond the end of the Modern Age and introduces the Team Multiplayer mode from previous Civ games.
Civilization 7 really is a brave and transformational new entry in the Civ series, separating games out into three distinct ages and trying to do away with as much unnecessary micromanagement as possible. However, some of its bold new ideas haven’t been as joyfully received as I and many others expected, and there have been a fair few pain points for the new strategy game. However, Civ 7’s 1.2 update, due later this month, looks like it’s going to be a crowd pleaser.
As had been teased previously, the One More Turn feature is coming to the game in this patch. While an overall winner will still be declared at the end of the Modern Age in a standard game of Civ 7, One More Turn gives you the opportunity to keep playing to try and win outright or try and achieve different win conditions. Essentially, it gives you the option to make games endless. Firaxis says it’s also looking into bringing this feature to single-Age games, so that you could endlessly play the Antiquity and Exploration Ages individually too.
For those that love to really get competitive but want to bring a friend along for the ride, Team Multiplayer will also be coming in the 1.2 update. This popular mode from Civ 6 will be making its way to Civ 7 and lets multiple players advance their civilizations at the same time against another squad, with the individual winner of the game claiming victory for their entire team.
One of the biggest complaints about matches in Civilization 7 has been that map generation and resources have felt a bit too samey and stale. Firaxis is not only going to introduce ten new ones, it’s going to also randomize the generation of resources. “Every Age still guarantees certain key resources, so you can still progress along civ unlocks and the Economic Legacy Path,” the developer says. “Beyond those, the resources on the map are now more variable! This should make exploration, trade, and strategy feel a lot more unique from Age to Age and game to game.”
On top of this, it is also debuting a Hemisphere Identity system that locks certain resources into certain sections of the map. Collectively, these changes to resources should add a lot more unpredictability and variety to matches, which is something that Civ 7 desperately needs. It’s already had a crack at improving the feel of its maps in its previous update, but this should take things to a whole new level.
1.2 will also make Food a much more important aspect of the late game, lower the amount of game-changing natural disasters that spawn in, and add a ‘Repair All’ option to further minimize micromanagement.
Civilization 7 update 1.2 will arrive on Tuesday, April 22. You can read Firaxis’ full primer on the update here.
Firaxis has also assured that it’s still busy working on some other promised features that won’t be quite ready for this next patch, such as Steam Workshop support, auto-explore, more advanced game setup settings, and additional map types and sizes.
While you wait for 1.2 to drop, why not take a look at our tier list of the best Civ 7 leaders. Alternatively, you might want to take a little break and check out some other brilliant 4X games instead.
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