Schlagwort: firaxis games

  • Sid Meier’s Civilization VII on Xbox Reignites That ‘Just One More Turn’ Feeling

    Sid Meier’s Civilization VII on Xbox Reignites That ‘Just One More Turn’ Feeling

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    Expand the strategic horizons of your empire and enjoy more options for your reign with Sid Meier’s Civilization® VII Founders Edition! This digital-only edition is only available until February 28, 2025—get it now before it’s history. Purchasing Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Founders Edition entitles digital versions of the game on both Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One! Founders Edition includes:
    • Full base game
    • Early Access – play the game up to 5 days early on February 6, 2025
    • Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack
    • Crossroads of the World Collection, with post-launch content featuring 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new Natural Wonders, a special cosmetic bonus, and more
    • Right to Rule Collection, with post-launch content featuring 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new wonders, a special cosmetic bonus, and more!*
    • Deluxe Content Pack, which includes:
    – 2 leader personas
    – 4 profile customizations
    – 1 alternate scout skin
    • Founders Content Pack, which includes:
    – 2 leader personas
    – 4 profile customizations
    – 1 fog of war tile set
    – 1 Founders palace skin EARLY ACCESS
    Play Civilization VII on February 6, 2025, up to 5 days ahead of the official launch date. TECUMSEH AND SHAWNEE PACK
    This content pack adds the leader Tecumseh and the Shawnee civilization to Civilization VII! Tecumseh specializes in diplomacy and defense. His unique ability, Nicaakiyakoolaakwe, increases food, production, and combat strength based on the number of allied city-states. Shawnee is an Exploration Age civilization that excels at utilizing natural resources. Their unique ability, Nepekifaki, gives more food for settlements built on river tiles but slightly reduces food for any cities not built on rivers. Its associated wonder is the Serpent Mound. CROSSROADS OF THE WORLD COLLECTION
    Explore new possibilities for your personalized empire with post-launch add-on content, including 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new Natural Wonders, a special cosmetic bonus, and more! Full details will be revealed at a later date. RIGHT TO RULE COLLECTION
    Explore new possibilities for your personalized empire with even more post-launch add-on content, including 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new Wonders, a special cosmetic bonus, and more! Full details will be revealed at a later date. DELUXE & FOUNDERS CONTENT PACKS
    Content listed below is inclusive of content included from the Deluxe Content Pack. 4 leader personas
    Each persona offers a new variant of an existing leader, including a different outfit and background for that leader, new gameplay bonuses, and an alternative agenda that reflects a different side of their personality! The personas included in this edition will be revealed at a later date. 8 profile customizations
    Embellish your player profile with these cosmetic customizations, including a striking new badge, a regal new title, an ornate new banner, and an eye-catching new border that will all make you stand out from other players! 1 fog of war tile set
    Change your gameplay landscape with a beautiful fog of war tile set! 1 alternate scout skin Give your scout recon unit a brand new look with this cosmetic outfit! 1 Founders palace skin
    Give your civ’s palace a regal new look with a glorious remodel that’s sure to stand out! The award-winning strategy game franchise returns with a revolutionary new chapter. Sid Meier’s Civilization® VII empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known! In Civilization VII, your strategic decisions shape the unique cultural lineage of your evolving empire. Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history and steer the course of your story by choosing a new civilization to represent your empire in each Age of human advancement. Construct cities and architectural wonders to expand your territory, improve your civilization with technological breakthroughs, and conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations as you explore the far reaches of the unknown world. Pursue prosperity in an immersive solo experience or play with others in online multiplayer.** Whether you choose to follow a path rooted in history or reimagine possibilities to chart your own way forward, build something you believe in and create a legacy that echoes through the Ages in Civilization VII. BUILD AN EMPIRE THAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME Lead your empire through distinct Ages of human history. Each Age is its own rich, nuanced journey, with unique playable civilizations, available resources, explorable land, and even entire gameplay systems, creating a deep, historically immersive strategy experience. Strive to accomplish significant scientific, cultural, militaristic, and economic milestones within each Age to unlock impactful advantages in the next! EVOLVE YOUR EMPIRE AS EACH NEW AGE DAWNS To build a legacy that truly stands the test of time, you must adapt. Forge your own path through history as you reshape your empire at the start of each Age, selecting from a pool of new Age-relevant civilization options determined by your prior gameplay accomplishments. Evolving your empire unlocks fresh gameplay bonuses and unique units, so your current civilization is always at the height of its power. PLAY AS VISIONARY LEADERS OF PROGRESS Embody an illustrious leader with one of Civilization’s most diverse rosters yet, from traditional heads of state known for their militaristic might or political prowess, to visionary leaders who made everlasting impacts in philosophy, science, human rights, and more! Each leader possesses a unique ability and can further be improved with customizable attributes earned through gameplay, empowering you to reinforce or pivot your strategy from one Age into the next. For the first time in franchise history, you can choose your leader separately from your civilization, giving you the freedom to create all-new strategies by mixing and matching gameplay bonuses. EXPLORE A WORLD BROUGHT TO LIFE LIKE NEVER BEFORE Make your mark on a gorgeously detailed world! Your empire comes to life with a vast, diverse range of cultural styles, represented across building architecture and unit design. Face-to-face interactions with other historic leaders immerse you in every act of diplomacy and declaration of war. As your territory expands and your cities continue to develop, lavishly rendered vistas of your empire seamlessly connect to create a vibrant metropolis. TEST YOUR STRATEGIC METTLE IN MULTIPLAYER Compete against other players online and prove your prowess as a great leader.** Multiplayer matches can be epic multi-Age campaigns, or take place in a single Age so you can enjoy an entire game in a single session. Cross-play is supported, so you can play together with friends wherever they are. AN ENJOYABLE STRATEGY EXPERIENCE FOR ALL With more than 30 years of franchise legacy to draw from, Civilization VII features a vast wealth of gameplay improvements that will thrill series veterans and newcomers alike. The overhauled tutorial experience and refined gameplay systems make jumping into Civilization easier than ever, while returning players will appreciate a massive suite of gameplay improvements. Move your army as one under the leadership of a commander, unlock progression bonuses for your leaders across multiple gameplay sessions, traverse navigable rivers, and much, much more! *The Right To Rule Collection contains 6 DLCs, all of which will be available on or by September 2025 (subject to change). Each DLC will be delivered automatically in-game on release.
    **Online play and features (including progression bonuses) require an Internet connection and 2K Account (minimum age varies). Up to five players supported in the Antiquity & Exploration Ages. Up to eight players supported in the Modern Age. Map size restrictions may apply to certain cross-play multiplayer games. More info available here: https://2kgam.es/Civ7FAQ. Console online play requires a separate paid subscription. Terms apply. Software Terms of Service (ToS) in game and at www.take2games.com/legal. Non-transferable access to special features, such as exclusive/unlockable/downloadable/online & bonus content/services/functions/multiplayer services, may require single-use serial code, additional fee, and/or non-transferable online account registration (minimum age varies). See www.take2games.com/legal and www.take2games.com/privacy for additional details. Special feature access may require internet connection, may not be available to all users or at all times, and may be terminated, modified, or offered under different terms without notice. Violation of ToS, Code of Conduct, or other policies may result in restriction or termination of access to game or online account. Online play and download requires broadband internet service, and may require a separate paid platform subscription and account registration. User responsible for associated fees. Unauthorized copying, alteration, reverse engineering, decompiling, transmission, public performance, rental, pay for play, or copy protection circumvention is prohibited and violates the ToS. Certain features of the game, including the in-game store, may not be accessible by child accounts. A child means players under the age of 13, unless local laws specify differently. ©2024 Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Sid Meier’s Civilization, Civilization, Civ, 2K, Firaxis Games, Take-Two Interactive Software and their respective logos are all trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All other marks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

    Website: LINK

  • Marvel’s Midnight Suns: Super-heroic turn-based combat and card tactics explained 

    Marvel’s Midnight Suns: Super-heroic turn-based combat and card tactics explained 

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    When the team at Firaxis Games was first approached with the chance to create a new game with Marvel Entertainment, we were obviously super excited! We knew we wanted to create a game featuring tactical combat as we had a lot of experience creating those types of games with XCOM.

    However, we quickly discovered that designing a Super Hero game is very different from creating a game about soldiers combating an alien invasion. Today, I’m excited to talk to PlayStation players about our journey to design a brand-new heroic combat experience, why we landed on using cards to represent hero abilities, and how that system works in Marvel’s Midnight Suns.

    The theory behind cards

    To understand why we use cards, it’s important to break down what makes a tactics game fun in the first place. All tactics games are essentially puzzles, and our job as designers is to find the right balance between that puzzle being too easy and obvious, or nearly impossible and insanely complex. Our goal is to find the sweet spot where the answer isn’t immediately obvious, but the player understands the mechanics and tools to manipulate the game and reach the solution. However, over time seasoned players will learn the optimal way to use those tools and quickly overcome any obstacle. That’s where randomness comes in.

    Randomization is an important design element in tactics games, as it offers a way to make the game unpredictable even when a player has mastered the core mechanics. It requires players to constantly adapt to new situations and keeps the puzzle fresh and surprising. And it’s how you end up with those amazing moments in XCOM, like hitting a clutch 25% shot… but also how you end up missing those 95% point-blank rounds!

    Another critical element of tactics games is fulfilling the player fantasy. In Marvel’s Midnight Suns we have an awesome roster of heroes from across the Marvel Universe, ranging from the cosmic-powered strength of Captain Marvel and brilliant mind of Tony Stark to the mystic arts of Doctor Strange and vampire-hunting prowess of Blade. Our early prototypes put these characters into XCOM-style combat with elements like percentage hit chance and cover – And while the mechanics worked fine, the game didn’t feel right. These are Super Heroes, after all! Iron Man doesn’t miss shots with his Repulsor Blasts, and Captain Marvel isn’t going to take cover for protection when things heat up.

    As we removed more of those XCOM elements, particularly the percentage hit chance, the game began to feel more heroic…but the combat puzzle quickly became too simple. It was easy to repeat the same powerful attack with a hero each turn until the mission was over. We needed to reintroduce randomness to keep the combat puzzle engaging while still making you feel like a Super Hero. That’s when we had the idea to represent our hero abilities as cards.

    Cards are great because they are commonly used in games and players are familiar with key “mechanics” like a deck, draw, and discard. Drawing a hand of cards each turn gave us the perfect amount of randomness for our combat experience. Our heroes feel super-powered in combat because their abilities never miss and always do exactly what they say, but there is still strategy required to solve the combat puzzle based on which cards are in your hand.

    Fight and think like a Super Hero

    In Marvel’s Midnight Suns, every hero has a unique set of abilities which you use to form a deck of 8 cards. When heroes are brought into combat, their decks are shuffled together and at the beginning of each turn you draw up to a hand of 6 cards. During your turn, you have three Card Plays that represent how many times you can use your abilities, along with two Redraws to swap out abilities you don’t want to use. You can also Move a hero of your choice anywhere you want once per turn.

    Regarding the abilities themselves, we separate them into three categories: Attacks, Skills, and Heroics. Attack cards are used primarily to deal damage. Some Attacks have Knockback which forcefully repositions an enemy by throwing them back in a targeted direction – You can deal additional damage by throwing them back into objects, other enemies, or even your allied heroes!

    Skill cards are used for support, often providing a variety of benefits to the player or debuffing the enemy. While these cards don’t deal damage, they can be used to draw cards, heal characters, grant positive status effects, and much more.

    Heroic cards are incredibly powerful abilities which deal significantly more damage or provide stronger effects on the battlefield. Marvel fans will be delighted to see many iconic hero abilities represented with these cards. Heroic cards require a resource called Heroism, which is generated by playing Attack or Skill cards. Heroism is also required to use objects on the battlefield in Environment Attacks which don’t require a Card Play to use. If you’ve got the Heroism, you can knock down light poles, explode barrels…even pick up a stack of newspapers and smack your foes in the face, all without spending a single Card Play.

    Combat in Marvel’s Midnight Suns is uniquely accessible and easy to pick up and play. There is no movement grid or cover system, and heroes will automatically reposition to reach their targets. Playing abilities is as simple as selecting an ability card from your hand, selecting the target enemy or area, and that’s it – There goes Captain America sprinting across the battlefield to knock out a Hydra goon!

    After mastering the basic rules, combat can also be surprisingly deep and complex. There are so many factors which adjust the tactical puzzle on every mission, turn, and action.

    • What abilities do I have in my hand?
    • What heroes are on this mission, and how do their abilities interact?
    • Which enemies are the biggest threats? Are there dangerous villains to handle?
    • Should I spend my Heroism on a Heroic ability, or utilize the environment?
    • Can I use Knockback abilities and the terrain to maximize damage output?

    And if that isn’t enough, we also have eight difficulty options for you to pit your tactical brilliance against. Are you just looking to get a great supernatural Marvel story? Pick the Story difficulty. But if you’re looking to agonize over every single decision? Ultimate III will be the way to go.

    I can’t wait to see how you solve the tactical combat puzzle once Marvel’s Midnight Suns is out on PlayStation 5 on December 2, 2022!

    Website: LINK

  • Reimagining iconic heroes for Marvel’s Midnight Suns, out October 7

    Reimagining iconic heroes for Marvel’s Midnight Suns, out October 7

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    When Marvel’s Midnight Suns launches on October 7, players from around the world will get to dive into the darker, supernatural side of the Marvel Universe alongside the Midnight Suns. As Earth’s last line of defense, this team of legendary Marvel heroes must band together to stop Lilith, Mother of Demons, from resurrecting the elder god Chthon.

    Reimagining iconic heroes for Marvel’s Midnight Suns, out October 7

    To prepare for the fight ahead, the team at Firaxis were excited not only to design updated suits for the iconic heroes, but also to give them a signature, supernatural Midnight Suns look.

    When creating these new suits we obviously wanted them to look unique, but it was also important to retain certain characteristics so that the heroes are easily recognizable even during intense combat sequences. Our early designs for the Midnight Suns combat suits had a somewhat Arthurian medieval look, but ultimately we opted for a sleeker combination of old and new that speaks to the potent combination of Stark technology and Doctor Strange’s magic.

    Strange’s glyphs appear on golden filigreed armored plates that are used alongside sections of black ballistic plastics from Stark. On top of that, the new suits emanate magical Hellfire! Our goal was to make them look as though they’re radiating supernatural power—a modern twist on the traditional superhero suits.

    Below are examples of how we approached designing suits for some of the Midnight Suns, along with hints at the abilities that the new Stark- and Strange-powered suits unlock in-game. 

    Spider-Man

    Our color blocking of red and blue sections goes a long way to ensuring that Spider-Man is instantly recognizable. We also made sure to get the webbing design just right; it has a certain shape, design, and rhythm. This applies to his animations as well, which have a distinct acrobatic style and incorporate amazing, extreme poses. 

    To fit the Marvel’s Midnight Suns aesthetic, we added sharp, dagger-like designs to the chest, back, and arms of Spider-Man’s suits and used similar shapes when designing his spider symbol. Even in his black-and-gold combat suit, Spider-Man is unmistakable as he uses his signature Midnight Suns ability—buffing himself while leaping into the air and hitting iconic poses with a burst of Hellfire behind him.

    Magik

    For Magik’s suit, which has a punk style, we looked to comics like 1992’s Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance series for inspiration. Magik didn’t appear in those comics, but her supernatural ability to teleport through space and time would’ve made her a great fit. To make her look consistent with that of the original team featured in those comics, we added a black leather studded vest, belt, and bracelet to her New Mutants suit.

    Magik’s black-and-gold Midnight Suns combat suit takes cues from the magical Eldritch Armor she wears in The New Mutants and other comics. It transforms her into a medieval, high-fantasy heroine, very much aligning with her Soulsword weapon of choice. Wearing this suit unlocks Magik’s powerful Darkchylde ability, letting her simultaneously taunt all enemies and temporarily become invulnerable.

    Wolverine

    We chose to base Wolverine’s suit on his brown-and-tan leather getup from the ’90s because we hadn’t seen it represented in many other games. The most important aspects of his look that we wanted to nail were the shapes of his classic claws and helmet wings, which along with his bulkier body type set him apart from the rest of the Midnight Suns. 

    For Wolverine’s Midnight Suns combat suit we added sharp silhouette-breaking shapes to the shoulderpads, forearms, and boots. We also flared out the helmet wings and added pointed shapes to the panel lines on his ribcage. The resulting look is suitably ferocious, and matches the ability Wolverine gains access to in this suit: his feral nature comes to the fore as he engulfs his claws in flames and attacks multiple enemies in a frenzied rage.

    Ghost Rider

    When designing Ghost Rider’s look in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, we were inspired by the aforementioned Spirits of Vengeance comic series as well as his appearance in the All-New Ghost Rider series with Robbie Reyes that launched in 2014. His head is transformed into a metal skull that simulates the lines of his classic muscle car, while his suit is based on those worn by racing drivers.

    With its exaggerated Ghost Rider symbol and silhouette-breaking gold armor, Robbie’s Midnight Suns combat suit makes him look even more like a demonic Spirit of Vengeance. It also unlocks his terrifying Penance Stare ability, which allows him to take over an enemy’s mind before blasting them with Hellfire.

    Iron Man

    Believe it or not, one of our main inspirations for Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit was an iconic Italian sports car from the ‘80s, which given Stark’s flashy attitude and penchant for expensive automobiles isn’t nearly as crazy as it sounds. The resulting sharp, pinched edges and large air vents give our Iron Man suit a distinctive look, but crucially don’t make it any less recognizable.

    Stark’s Midnight Suns combat suit, on the other hand, is designed with exaggerated features to highlight his abilities. We punched up the armor silhouette by flaring out the forearms, hips, and legs, plus we have flames erupting from his Arc Reactor that turn into a massive column of Hellfire when he uses the suit’s Midnight Suns ability to target multiple enemies with a powerful beam.

    Hopefully you’ve enjoyed hearing about some of the hero’s new suit designs in Marvel’s Midnight Suns as much as we’ve enjoyed working on them. We’ll be sharing more details about the Midnight Suns roster in the coming weeks over at the official Marvel’s Midnight Suns website, and we can’t wait for you to take the fight to Lilith on October 7 when the game launches on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5!

    Website: LINK