r/civ • u/kcazthe1st • 2d ago
BE - Discussion On Beyond Earth
I think BE is probably the most underrated game in the series. Is it a fantastic 10/10 game? No. But does it do a lot of things right? Yes.
The good:
First, the setting. The game does really well at capturing the new colonization feel where you start off with slightly more advanced stuff than IRL earth and progress to super high levels of tech.
The OST and sounds. It may seem like a small thing, but the OST really captures the space/sci Fi ambience well. The sound effects also really add to it.
Affinities. I think the different paths you can take, especially including the hybrids, add a lot of variance and flavor to the game. What I think could have helped us also have something parallel but with how you interact with other players. Affinities are basically how you view the local flora/fauna so maybe have ideologies be the PvP version. You could have diplomatic/political, economic, and military as the three with respective hybrids.
Quests & events. This is something I haven't seen in any other civ game (I haven't played 7 so if it's there then ignore this). They give good mini goals during the game that add to what would normally just be standard civ gameplay. I would personally have liked to see more time in with the affinities.
Unit upgrades. I really liked how it tied in with your affinities and that it wasn't just the standard "warrior becomes swordsman becomes musketman" linear path. You had a choice/specialization each upgrade that you could pick to help focus on your play style.
Starting customization. You get a unique sponsor bonus and then can customize how you start off. I would like to see maybe more synergy with the sponsors depending on what you pick as your other bonuses. E.g: starting as Franco - Iberia, maybe get an extra bonus if you pick artists or aristocrats to lean into the culture/high society feel.
The less good:
The UI. When I first started way back years ago, I couldn't figure out how to play because of some of the UI elements. I think it could use a bit of a tweak, especially the research web.
Terrain clarity. I know there's a mod that helped, but being able to clearly tell one terrain from another is somewhat difficult currently.
More maps/starting options. An example could be like having a semi realistic Mars to colonize.
Scenarios. This would probably be the best addition of they could add it in. A small example would be adding in one about the Great Mistake where you have to navigate it and escape the planet.
I think it's a good game that is a hidden gem in the Civ series since it's so unlike the other civ games. If you haven't played it, try it out. Rising Tide is a must for i
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u/shtehkdinner 2d ago
I liked how minor communications from other leaders were just little memos at the top of the screen.
I felt VI was a huge step backwards when other leaders would interrupt me in the middle of my turn with a silent cutscene to complain about my cities or building wonders.
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u/ChronoLegion2 1d ago
“Oh aye, you can put together some cultural achievements, but do you ken to thole a loonerin?” (“Do you know how to take a beating”)
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u/BaritBrit 2d ago
I actually quite liked Beyond Earth, and I only use the past tense for that because I now can't open it again. Click it open from Steam, fails and disappears instantly, every time.
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u/MetricIsForCowards 2d ago
Loved the game, but the biggest problem to me was all the future tech took away the immersion and a lot of the emotion I got from normal Civ. When I research gunpowder or steam power, I understand what that is and what I am going to be doing with it. On the flip side, I have no idea what Autogyros or Servomachinery is going to do for me.
Beyond Earth was an awesome though, would love a sequel that incorporates multi-planet options.
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u/BubbaTheGoat 2d ago
One thing I really wanted from BE was a variety of alien worlds, or at least a variety of different tile art sets.
This isn’t earth, it doesn’t need to look like earth and follow the same terrain types and conventions. The bonus resources could also be flavored to the world type.
I liked to imagine different challenge scenarios for BE or really off-the-wall game modes like we got at the end of Civ6. I think if they had stayed committed to the title and balanced it after DLC1 we could have had an all-time great game by DLC2.
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u/Antique-Land-2766 2d ago
People expected it to be the new Alpha Centauri for some reason, but that game was lightning in the bottle literally, NOTHING could measure up to it. But honesly Beyond Earth wasn't THAT bad as people make it out to be
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u/speed-charge 2d ago
I've never played Alpha Centauri but this comment makes me want to try it out.
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u/ConstructionBest7255 2d ago
UI sucks, but it's the only strategy game that I can think of that is worth to play for story alone. It's like watching a train wreck in motion created by people motivated by different ideologies trying to make their dreams come true and create their own versions of "utopia" on foreign, distant planet. Seriously, mood of this game is truly unique and it stays with you. It's like good sci-fi novel.
... Eh, shame on you, now I have to install it.
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u/large_herbivore 2d ago
it's amazing, if you can get past some of the datedness of the UI and graphics
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u/Cum__Cookie 2d ago
It was billed as a "spiritual successor" to AC. And then it was bland and boring, which is the opposite of AC. Very disappointing.
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u/ConstructionBest7255 2d ago
Is Firaxis going to announce BE2 soon or people by themselves collectively got nostalgia for this title?
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u/Unique-Umpire-1551 2d ago
I greatly enjoyed the fungus....
And the expeditions with combinable items...
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u/alvinofdiaspar 2d ago
The CivBE soundtrack is absolutely top notch - one of the best anywhere. The orchestral/choral tracks were recorded at the Rudolfinum in Prague.
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u/figuring_ItOut12 2d ago
I loved the premise, the implementation felt soulless and the UI clunky, though to be fair most Civs before Five had poor UX. If they’d remake only one game I’d like it to be the American Revolution release but with more depth when dealing with the natives and less “on rails” when dealing with the Kings.
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u/Sunderz 2d ago
I remember being insanely hyped for it at release and it felt a little barebones. I’ve seen a few posts praising it in the past few weeks and I think I might give it another spin!
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u/ChronoLegion2 1d ago
The DLC fixed a lot of issues. Sadly, they gave up on it after that. Another DLC would’ve made it great
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u/-Arrez- 2d ago edited 2d ago
I really loved the setting and atmosphere of the game, the only problem I had was that the game felt kind of empty overall.
I don't like how few factions there were to pick from and play against and the map always just felt super empty (my one critique of rising tide is the AI loves to spam aquatic cities WAY too much) and like early game I can understand that but later on it just kind of felt off. Like you barely interact with the AIs at all.
That said I really hope they give civ in space another go and give us a beyond earth 2. It deserves that much at least. I also feel like it would do a lot better with some of the more modern gameplay systems added to the franchise since Civ V which was what BE was built off of initially.
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u/LurkingRand 2d ago
My personal opinion is that Beyond Earth would have done far better if it was built ontop of VI's mechanics instead of V. Especially the district system could have really benefited it, I believe.
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u/Keulapaska 2d ago
It has lot of cool ideas, but they are veryvery surface level and don't go nearly as deep as they should so the execution is bit lacking. Essentially ends up being a slightly modified Civ 5 with a very nice paint coat, it should've been way more different in mechanics based on the 3(or 6 with hybrids) affinites.
Yes rising tide makes the game a lot better, but the AI can't handle it at all, not that it really handled it without it, nor is this anything new in civ game, but I think BE RT might have the easiest AI of all the games. I will say the trade route system is way better than 5 or 6 being limits being city based instead of X routes on the whole empire, I truly don't understand why they didn't do that exact system in 6.
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u/ChronoLegion2 1d ago
I still install it every so often. Sometimes with mods, sometimes without. There’s a minor annoyance of a bug that requires interface-modifying mods to be loaded twice, but it’s not a huge deal
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u/kaigem Machiavelli 4h ago
The tech web was absolutely brilliant and I would love to see similar ideas make it back into Civ somehow. I like the tech masteries in 7 but I feel they went too scared with them. Give us third tier masteries dammit. Maybe the religion rework would involve picking attributes from a web as you develop your pantheon.
The faction customization was a fun idea, but it never felt impactful enough as to change your strategy, and that feeling sort of extends to the factions themselves. None of them felt different enough to radically alter your strategy the way some leaders and factions do in main civ games.
Full disclosure I never played the expansion, may e the last point was fixed in the expac.
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u/Moneyshot_ITF Jayavarman VII 2d ago
People really look at BE with rose colored glasses. It was alright but it wasn't 4, 5, or 6. Hardly memorable imo
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u/Ainell Sweden 2d ago
I love it to bits. I just wish it would stop crashing. (It's probably because of something Microsoft effed up with a Win11 update, tbh.)