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[ConscriptFive]

So I'm trying this game out for the free weekend, I want to like it (SMAC was amazing) but.....

My thoughts exactly.  The AI is idiotic and the aliens don't bother you unless you explore.  Espionage is weirdly OP.

Also they seem to have gone minimalist with the UI, making city management completely uninteresting.  They don't even really explain what the building are lorewise, so you're literally just building sci-fi named industry/food/sci bonuses without a sense of immersion.

If you need a SMAC fix, you're still better off with Pandora: First Contact.

[GiglameshDespair]

Downloaded some mods and gave it another go.

Aggressive aliens gives the aliens an actual presence. Sea-borne aliens are still a bit derpy, but eh. Alien Queens are xenotitans, i think, and with their new aggression that can actually be frightening. You can't roll over aliens as soon as you get marines anymore.

AI intelligence lite, i think it's called, does what you'd think and improves the AI. So then they can survive the alien onslaught.

Coloured tech web and the distinctive biomes mods make it nicer and clearer to look at. I'm enjoying it. It still has a lot of visual glitches, but eh.

EDIT: I think agressive aliens also removes the ultrasonic fence. So yeah. Aliens are upgraded from "not even a threat."

[MarcAFK]

EDIT: I think agressive aliens also removes the ultrasonic fence. So yeah. Aliens are upgraded from "not even a threat."

"As the writhing, teeming Xenomass swarmed through the chain link fence of the outer perimeter, we saw the defenders recoil in horror. "Stay calm! Use your flame guns!" shouted the commander, but to no avail. It is well known that the Hive Queen uses psychic terror to paralyze its prey, and then carefully implants ravenous larvae in the brains of its still-conscious victims. Even with the best weapons, only the most disciplined troops can resist this horrific attack."

-- Lady Deirdre Skye, "Our Secret War"

"A better fence would have been nice."

-- Some Guy, "Probably"

[Baijiu]

What bothers me most about this game, is... WHERE IS THE DEMOGRAPHICS SCREEN!??!?! It's one of my most loved features of the Civ series. I want to see at a glance the population of my fledgling empire, in terms of individual humans, not... This city has 15 citizens. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!??!

It's silly but the removal of the demographics screen was the final nail in the BE coffin for me for me.

[Ibid Straydrink]

For all its flaws, I find that the narrative, customization, and unique aesthetic offered by quests, affinity choices, and virtue trees trumps just about anything else I've seen from Sid Meiers. The two facets I would see improved as it stands, would be unit customization (let's talk about armor and armaments, utility gear, and specialized training- each with corresponding strategic resource costs) and the unconditional, rather monotonous lack of RNG elements and strategic conditions involving quest assignment.

In addition, a dozen or so affinity quests to mesh out the socio-political background of your Empire would be nice. Purity, you say? So then- are you aiming for a classic liberal republic, emphasizing individual and economic freedom; a neo-fascist, super-humanist police state ruled by the intellectual elite; or a good old-fashioned western theocracy?

[LordBaal]

I'm still waiting an JC Avatar mod and somehow a adeptus mechanicus colonizing a world one.

[Majestic7]

In addition, a dozen or so affinity quests to mesh out the socio-political background of your Empire would be nice. Purity, you say? So then- are you aiming for a classic liberal republic, emphasizing individual and economic freedom; a neo-fascist, super-humanist police state ruled by the intellectual elite; or a good old-fashioned western theocracy?

That sounds like the policy choices in the original Alpha Centauri where, instead of being locked into three canned morality options, you built your society from political blocks as you liked. I found it much better and more interesting than what BE offers.

[Ibid Straydrink]

In addition, a dozen or so affinity quests to mesh out the socio-political background of your Empire would be nice. Purity, you say? So then- are you aiming for a classic liberal republic, emphasizing individual and economic freedom; a neo-fascist, super-humanist police state ruled by the intellectual elite; or a good old-fashioned western theocracy?

That sounds like the policy choices in the original Alpha Centauri where, instead of being locked into three canned morality options, you built your society from political blocks as you liked. I found it much better and more interesting than what BE offers.

Sure, but theme. Nothing is quite as exciting or endearing as raising a nation of Earth loyalists, their legions of noble "centurions"  and exo-suit marines- whose aesthetics harken back to the classical heart of Western civilization- marching against the tides of arrogant, anti-human deviance!

FOR THE HOLY RACE! *stomps on bug*

[10ebbor10]

I found AC's story better. It's planet was an actual mystery, Beyond Earth's planet is mostly bland.

[Neonivek]

I found AC's story better. It's planet was an actual mystery, Beyond Earth's planet is mostly bland.

That is mostly because of the rather large difference between their design philosophies.

AC took the Civilization story/gameplay and elevated it and altered it until it became its own entity.

While Beyond Earth is more of a mod with slight differences attached to a graphical overhaul.

[Loud Whispers]

Also AC came with its own reading list. It lurved its story.

[Tarran]

So there's an expansion coming out for BE 3 hours from now, Rising Tide. I'm not going to say whether it sounds like it'll change the main game enough that people will forgive it or not--that's subjective. But it's a thing.

...
Colonize the Ocean: Build floating settlements and access natural resources hidden beneath the seas of the alien planet. Alien beasts with unique abilities inhabit the water and challenge the player in new ways. The ocean provides a fully replayable map, new gameplay mechanics and strategic possibilities for players to reign supreme on their new world.
Dynamic Leader Traits: Players and AI Leaders alike unlock new Traits through gameplay and activate different combinations to respond to the changing world. These dynamic sets of Traits also provide benefits and add to the new Diplomacy system, governed by the new Fear and Respect attributes.
New, Enhanced Diplomatic Options: Shape the diplomatic landscape by using political capital to upgrade your traits, change diplomatic relationships, and leverage the benefits of your allies’ traits.
New Sponsors: Four new factions have been added to the game including Al Falah, nomad explorers descended from wealthy and resilient Middle Eastern states that possess a rich cultural and commercial heritage.
New Artifact System: Collect and combine powerful relics to unlock new perks, unit upgrades, and buildings for your faction on the new world.
New Hybrid Units: Affinities are competing visions for the future of humanity. By investing in multiple Affinities, rather than specializing in just one, players can unlock special hybrid Affinity units and upgrades.
New Biomes: Two new world types have been added. Primordial worlds are rife in volcanic activity and the chaotic landscape of a world still forming. Frigid worlds have cooled in their great age, their surfaces covered with icy oceans and frozen tundra.

Currently watching Quill's videos on it.

[ZebioLizard2]

Eh forgive it, wait till the second expansion and then people will be gushing over it and forget how bland it was at the start, same as they did with Civ 4 and 5.

[Ibid Straydrink]

Looking forward to it, myself. Rather than focus on the nature of the 4x genre, what really draws me to a game like this are the (admittedly, light) simulation and narrative elements. I really do enjoy watching a fragile colonial outpost on an alien world spawn into a nascent empire, and finally ascend to the status of world power- all the while, imagining the political, social, and technological undercurrents that motivate it course, and using them to inspire and justify my decisions of in diplomacy, research, development, etc.

If the fear-respect dynamic is relatively well-polished, I think it will add a great deal more playability to BE for me.

[Chiefwaffles]

So I'm really liking Rising Tide so far. Adds a ton of new content, and the diplomacy system feels actually developed for the first time ever in a Civilization game.
The aquatic content is kind of underwhelming. The new aquatic units/content feel like their land counterparts, but on water! Artifact system, while minor, is awesome. The stuff you can get from it have plenty of new bonuses and the like.

Really, it just adds a ton of new content that I like overall. The aquatic stuff isn't what I'd consider the selling point, though.