Playing Civ as Sim City: Continents

[Erin]

One of my favorite ways to play Civilization has always been as a sort of Sim City: Continents edition. My focus is on the stories I associate to my cities, and those within them, such as how this city on the border has been a militarily focused march as a gate to the riches inside, and what it means to have a significant domestic power focused on capabilities most of the rest of my other cities couldn't compete with, how it influences my overall empire choices, how it demands strategic choices that most of my empire would not support as war never reaches their doorstep. The great narrative work and granularity of interactions in this latest version are great foundations for supporting that kind of play too.

I've really loved the new narrative work, there was one event that had me pause for a moment as I considered doing the right thing of punishing an officer for their crimes weighted against how ignoring those crimes would benefit my mechanical goal in the game. I would love to see this even deeper rooted as the game grows as my corruption seems like a perfect reason that as the age comes to a close, I deal with these crises of the misdeeds I've put on the people.

Similarly, the new in depth diplomacy system is a GREAT base for having those expanded interactions that has me wanting to encounter more nations, rather than banishing them completely to another continent. Let me have those in depth trade interactions, science collaborations, market collaborations, disaster responses, cultural exchanges, espionage, even limited or cold wars where maybe they can spawn proxy units that are hostile to me without the entire civilization being hostile.

But please, continue to expand on the improvements to One Last Turn so that as I collapse all my focus on science and culture and commerce into defending my life, that I'm not punished for having crushed my last enemy and allow me to fully play out my Sim City experience. Allow me to advance ages, and let new AI spawn in if I keep going. Sure, I may have become the known world hegemon today, but what about tomorrow when my civilization changes? What about when people become disenchanted with my rule, and found new cities well outside my borders? I can only have 7 cities in antiquity, and on a standard map there's a LOT of room for new ones to emerge with a low AI count to start with.

I'm excited to see how the game evolves, and for as much valid criticism there is of many elements, I do think there is a wonderful evolution to the formula of Civ here that will come to shine in time.

[Rhapsody]

Emergencies and competitions like disaster aid and stuff are one of the few things I miss from Civ VI. Maybe this is something to be featured with the fourth age, preferably in both modern and the final ages...