00:00Hi Civ fans, Ed Beach here, Creative Director of the Civilization franchise.
00:10For more than 30 years, this series has challenged players to build an empire to stand the test of time.
00:17One year ago, we embarked on a new journey with the launch of Civilization VII.
00:22Our vision was to push the boundaries of the franchise and offer a fresh gameplay experience.
00:28We took some big swings at launch, and it has been incredibly rewarding seeing the Civ community engage and share their passion, ideas, and feedback to help us continue to refine that vision.
00:40Over the last 12 months, we've been hard at work rolling out updates to Civ VII and weaving your feedback into the game's DNA.
00:48As we celebrate this first anniversary, we're ready to share where Civilization VII is going next.
00:58At the end of last year, we announced that we were working on longer lead design plans that have major implications for how the game feels in place.
01:06Those plans include three key components.
01:09First, we're introducing the option to play as any Civ in any age, and to play as the same Civ continually through all three ages.
01:20Second, we're significantly reworking how victories are achieved during a campaign.
01:25And third, we're completely replacing legacy paths with a new sandbox system called Triumphs.
01:33In terms of design scope, these major feature evolutions are similar to what you typically see in an expansion.
01:39We plan to ship these features together in a single, massive, free update that we're calling Test of Time.
01:47And we're aiming for this to go live this spring.
01:50Though we're eager to share more about the Test of Time update with you today,
01:54please keep in mind that the update's exact release timing, the details of its features, are all subject to change
02:00as we continue to receive and iterate on community playtest feedback.
02:09With Civ VII, our goal was to deliver a more dynamic empire-building experience,
02:13where your civilization evolves and reinvents itself over time.
02:17That goal is still true.
02:19But we also know that for many, a defining part of the Civ fantasy is to lead a single Civ from start to finish.
02:26So with the Test of Time update, we're making that possible.
02:30This will not be a new game mode, but instead an optional new layer for your strategy.
02:35When creating a game, you can now choose to play as any Civ in any age, giving you a ton more options for how to set up your strategy.
02:44And once your campaign begins, you now have a new option during the age transition process.
02:49You can still select a new Civ during an age transition as you do today,
02:54or you can choose to stay with your current Civ and continue your campaign.
02:59There are a lot of design implications for this change, so to make this feel balanced and rewarding,
03:04we're testing some new gameplay concepts.
03:07Every Civ has an Apex Age, where they are at the height of their power and have access to their full, unique kit.
03:15If you choose to play a Civ outside its Apex Age, you'll gain access to a new, age-appropriate Civics tree and a new tool called Syncretism.
03:24Syncretism allows you to study the ways of other cultures and adopt the unique units or infrastructure of a completely different civilization while maintaining your core identity.
03:34This leads to some really interesting Civ builds and unlocks fun new strategic gameplay.
03:39The Civ community has spoken.
03:45Victories in their current state feel too procedural and disconnected from the core Civ fantasy.
03:51So, we're overhauling the system with replayability at the forefront.
03:56Now, your path to military, economic, cultural, or scientific victory begins in the Antiquity Age,
04:03and you win by establishing dominance over a wide range of activities, not a simple age-by-age checklist.
04:11Whether you're combining wonders and great works for culture,
04:14or mastering gold buildings and treasure fleets for an economic win,
04:18the goal is to make sure your win is a direct result of the interesting choices you make throughout a campaign.
04:26We've heard your feedback that your journey in Civ 7 can sometimes feel a bit too on-rails.
04:35To fix that, we're completely replacing legacy paths with a brand new system called Triumphs.
04:42Triumphs are tied to the six core attributes like scientific, expansionist, diplomatic,
04:49and offer a wide range of optional but challenging objectives.
04:54Completing these won't just mark your progress.
04:57They'll reward you with instant bonuses or strategic rewards to help shape your empire in the next age.
05:04You'll trigger some triumphs through normal strong play,
05:07like reaching 200 population or being the first to build a university.
05:12While to achieve others, you'll have to veer onto a less traveled path,
05:16such as being at war with every other player or aggressively claiming most of the natural wonders.
05:22It's all about giving you the tools to pivot your strategy whenever you see an opportunity.
05:28This is a massive shift in how the game feels,
05:31and we've included a lot more context and deep dive logic in the full anniversary article going live with this video.
05:37I really encourage you to head over there to see more details around the vision for all these features.
05:43Okay, now let's dive into update 132, which will be going live very soon.
05:53As always, these are just the highlights.
05:55You can find the full details in the patch notes when the update does go live.
06:00First, we're rolling out nested tooltips across production menus and the Tekken Civic trees
06:07to better access to key information right when you need it.
06:11This is just the beginning, so expect more updates that expand nested tooltips to additional areas of the game.
06:17As part of our continuing balance adjustments, we're delivering reworks and buffs for several civilizations,
06:23including the French, the Mughal, and Dai Viet empires.
06:27We're also deploying a set of targeted system updates.
06:32First, AI diplomacy biases have been adjusted to better align AI behavior with each leader's intended personality.
06:40Second, coastal raids have been reworked to function more like naval pillaging,
06:45bringing them in line with the new systems we've introduced over the last few updates.
06:50And third, we're introducing a new appeal lens.
06:54This lets you instantly see how appealing any tile is, so you know exactly where to build to net the most happiness for your empire.
07:02The most appealing tiles of all, ones shown in the lens as breathtaking tiles,
07:07are where your happiness bonus will now be strongest.
07:11And, because it's our anniversary, we have a special surprise.
07:16We're welcoming back the legendary demigod of Uruk, Gilgamesh, to the leader roster.
07:23Gilgamesh is free for all players as a thank you for your support this year, along with an anniversary profile badge and title.
07:31To help you get started with him, you can find the full Gilgamesh game guide on Civilization.com right now.
07:38We have plenty more planned for the next two weeks.
07:42A Discord giveaway you won't want to miss.
07:45A mystery plushie reveal with our friends at Makeship.
07:49And Civilization 7 hitting Apple Arcade on February 5th.
07:54Plus, look out for a special behind-the-scenes video on February 11th from our audio team on the making of the full Civ 7 soundtrack.
08:04On behalf of everyone at Firaxis, thank you for all of your feedback and hours spent taking one more turn this first year.
08:13Happy anniversary from us at Firaxis to all of you and to many one more turns together.
08:20To be continued...
08:30To be continued...
