Welcome back, Civ fans. For the last several months, we've been putting in a colossal effort-
-from our home offices, bedrooms, dining rooms, kitchens, and god knows where else.
But we're fortunate to now begin welcoming any developers who feel comfortable back to the studio.
We're making every effort to keep everyone safe and secure-
-no matter where they choose to work from, and we hope you're all staying safe and healthy, too.
And with that, on with the show.
Hi there, Civ fans, and welcome to the October developer video for Sid Meier's Civilization VI.
We'll be filling you in on the new updates and features you can expect in our 3rd free game update.
As a reminder, our free game updates are available to all Civ VI players-
-whether you own the base game, one or two expansions, or some or all of the DLCs.
This means that everyone will have a chance to dive in to our new scenario: Pirates!
So batten down your hatches, buckos, 'cause you're about to have your timbers, shivered!
The Pirates! scenario is a one-to-four player contest for treasure and glory on the high seas.
There's new and updated art to infuse the scenario with a more tropical, piratey atmosphere.
You'll also have the option of exploring a unique, hand-crafted map-
-or choosing a map script that provides a different layout on each playthrough.
You'll be setting sail as one of four different pirate factions-
-each with its own unique abilities.
But pirates aren't the only scourge of the Civilization seas.
You'll also have to navigate among British, Spanish, French, and Dutch navies-
-determined to send you to Davy Jones's locker.
Obviously, we pulled a lot of inspiration for the scenario from Sid Meier's Pirates!
It's a game we at Firaxis have always loved and still consider one of Sid Meier's crown jewels.
But Sid Meier's Civilization is a very different style of game from Sid Meier's Pirates!
Retooling the established rules of Civ VI to work in this unique setting-
-was an interesting challenge. Luckily, some elements could be adapted to fit really well-
-with Civilization VI's established gameplay. For example, the Relic system.
Stumbling on a random relic in a tavern or treasure chest lets you customize your playstyle-
-and experience in every match.
You'll always have interesting choices to make as you equip different Relics-
-and combine powerful bonuses.
Civilization VI assumes you can use cities to repair and replace units-
-but pirates don't have cities, or Settlers, or Builders.
We had to get creative in balancing how pirates heal units-
-and survive against navies controlled by whole civilizations, like England or Spain.
To deal with this, we turned to Sid Meier's preferred model of game design.
We programmed a playable prototype of our concept as quickly as possible-
-and then we just played it to death.
The playtest feedback helped us find the fun and guided us forward.
Speaking of guiding us forward, this update also address a number of balance requests-
-we've seen on social media.
For example, we took a really close look at the "Recruit Partisans" espionage mission.
We decided it was too problematic for defenders and discourages the building of Neighborhoods.
The "Recruit Partisans" mission now pillages the Neighborhood district-
-so the mission cannot be spammed.
It also now spawns only anti-cavalry units to prevent it from feeling overpowered.
We've also made some significant fixes involving game speed.
One focus was to add scaling based on speed to features that didn't have it.
For example, the Favor cost of voting didn't previously scale with game speed.
Now it does, so there will no longer be any vote-spamming using hundreds or thousands of Favor.
We've also made specific AI improvements inspired by some suggestion threads-
-that you have circulated. We decreased the value of Diplomatic Favor to the AI-
-and increased the AI's desire for certain wonders, like the Oracle and Pyramid.
The AI will now repair city defenses promptly-
-and will be discouraged from building Holy Sites over other districts-
-when playing a leader without a religious focus.
Finally, this update includes a host of balance tweaks for our first two DLC packs.
You've all had some great feedback on Gran Colombia-
-and you'll definitely see that reflected in this update.
For more details and the full list of changes, stay tuned for the upcoming patch notes.
And that sums up the new features and changes coming in our 3rd free game update.
The update will be available on Thursday, October 22nd-
-at 9 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 12 noon Eastern Daylight Time, and 5 PM British Summer Time.
Civ fans, you are the best fans in gaming.
We look forward to meeting you from across our canons in the free multiplayer Pirates! scenario.
May yer coffers be heavy and your spirits be light as you take rum more-
-turn.