Firaxis has announced a new expansion coming to Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, Gathering Storm. This is the second expansion to the 4X strategy game.
While the previous expansions added more mechanics surrounding the Ages, Gathering Storm adds more consequences to your manipulation of Earth’s resources. High-yield tiles such as floodplains can now get flooded, but once mitigated could produce more yield than ever, adding more high-risk/high-reward gameplay. Volcanoes can also form in the mountains. Four different level of storms can happen around the world map, which can impact you negatively first, but produce rewards after the disaster is gone.
Gathering Storm also adds more buildings that interact with the environment. You can make tunnels through tunnels, make dams, and even canal cities. Canal cities, one tile city with two sea tiles adjacent are popular among fans due to its strategic gain of an exclusive cross-continent shortcut. Canal districts and the Panama Canal wonder has been added.
With all the talks about the environment, climate change plays a part in the endgame this time, with more usage of unsustainable power (coal, uranium, oil) increases the Global Temperature and will result in rising sea levels and more storms and flood. Coastal cities are now risky in the endgame.
In addition, the World Congress is now back, allowing civs to vote on motions such as the World Fair or Disaster Relief. Favours can be gained to influence votes of other civs. Diplomatic Victory also returns.
Alongside the gameplay changes, Gathering Storm will add 8 new civilisations, 9 new leaders, Seven new world wonders, seven natural wonders, 18 new units, 15 new improvements, 9 new buildings, 5 new districts, 2 new city sets, 9 new techs and 10 new civics. It’s a big expansion.
You can check out the trailer here:
You can also check out some gameplay in this archived stream here, featuring the developers at Firaxis and a foreword by Sid Meier himself:
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Gathering Storm will be available on February 14, 2019 for PC. The base Civilization VI game is also available on iPad and Nintendo Switch.
Source: Civilization