Combat in Civilization 7 with major change. Commanders and attacks from flanks will diversify battles
Firaxis Games studio will change a lot in combat. Commanders will add variety to clashes and reduce micromanagement, while new animations will allow attacks from the flanks and make skirmishes more interesting.
As promised, Firaxis Games studio has released the fifth part of the developer's diary. This time, the developers of Sid Meier's Civilization 7 focused on discussing the combat system, which - like the age system - is supposed to eliminate many of the issues plaguing previous parts of the popular 4X strategy series.
Ageless and specialized commanders
Changes and innovations in this element of the new Civilization were already mentioned during a recent stream dedicated to the modern age, but Brian Feldges (senior game designer at Firaxis studio) revealed a bit more information on the official series website. One of the most important modifications compared to previous installments is the introduction of military commanders.
As we read in the article, this innovation arose from the desire to solve a problem that appeared after the introduction of the "one unit per hex" rule in Civilization V. This was supposed to introduce more tactics into battles, which previously boiled down to creating powerful "stacks" of units (popularly referred to as "stacks of doom"). However, the side effect was the formation of a "carpet," meaning a vast number of map hexes were filled with units.
Commanders will be able to combine their subordinate units into a single "stack," which will be "unpacked" onto nearby hexes upon reaching its destination. This is another way to limit micromanagement, similar to the function of commanders automatically demanding meals without the player's intervention.
A distinguishing feature of these units is that similar to the unique buildings of various civilizations, the commanders won't age and will gain experience, advancing to higher levels. So these will be kind of heroes, providing special bonuses to subordinate units. In a separate place, the devs also confirmed that fallen commanders will be reborn in the nearest settlement.
Associations with RPG game characters can also evoke specialization options. Land, sea, and air forces will have different types of commanders, and players will be able to choose from several promotion options, with separate skill trees. For instance, focusing on logistics will enable commanding larger armies in battle, and a leader skilled in maneuvers will grant movement bonuses to his units.
Monty Python and flanking units
An important change will also occur in the visual layer. So far, the clash of units looked like this: during an attack, one unit charged and fired at the opponent, after which it politely returned to its hex.
Brian Feldges pointed out that a certain reviewer compared it to a sketch in which one person hits another in the face with a fish and then retreats with a dance step (referring to a scene from Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different). Apparently, the developers from Firaxis Games shared the same opinion and even asked the team responsible for units in Civilization for such a change.
It was around that same time that our Units team asked whether we needed to have the unit stop fighting and move back to their hex at all. What if, even though the combat was already resolved in the game, we just allow the units to continue fighting until one of the units is destroyed or the game turn ends? This quickly turned into one of those moments where function follows form and sparked a change in the way we handle combat flanking mechanics in the game.
We owe this change to something that turned out to be more than just a visual improvement. In Civilization 7, units will remain in combat even after their action has ended, which also allowed the devs to introduce a new option: flanking.
Since after the first interaction the units will naturally face each other or engage in close combat (rather than returning to a resting state), other soldiers can strike from the side or rear, granting them extra bonuses.
Balance for everyone
So far, the studio hasn't considered such an option, partly because even without such additions, players could sometimes have too much micromanagement. However, as the developers have already assured, Civilization 7 is set to relieve players by automating or simplifying the management of many gameplay elements. This allowed for the introduction of various gameplay enhancements, also in the topic of sieges.
Nonetheless, the team realizes that each player may have different preferences regarding gameplay. This is why the studio aims to keep a balance that lets both those with Montezuma-level enthusiasm for virtual war and those who prefer just skirmishes enjoy the game.
Part of the appeal of Civilization is that it's a game made up of many different systems, all working in concert to represent the epic scale of managing a historical civilization When you work on Civilization, you quickly learn that if there are ten Civ players in the room, you get ten different opinions on which part of the game is the most fun.
Every player is different, and not all players enjoy the military part of the game as much as others. As I mentioned earlier, combat has always been a necessary part of building and managing your empire. For game designers, our challenge is to create a combat experience that is both fun for players looking to dabble in skirmishes, while still offering enough depth and reward for those pursuing a full-scale military campaign.
Finding that balance is always tricky, but we think we have something special with all of the new features, adjustments, and changes introduced in Civilization 7. We look forward to seeing what strategies and tactics you use to conquer the world, or successfully protect your empire so that it may stand the test of time!
Sid Meier's Civilization 7 will be released on February 11, 2025, on PC, PS5, and XSX/S.
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