Civilization: Beyond Earth
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth fundamentally changes the way you define your civilization (or more specifically, colony). Instead of selecting from a list of preset civilizations with defined special abilities and units, you can now customize to a much higher degree by selecting a series of details which will define the features of the expedition that was sent to colonize the alien planet you will land on. You must choose your sponsor, colonists, spacecraft, and cargo. These selections define the initial status of your civilization. Finally, you'll choose the map/planet type, as the ultimate component to setting up your very own expedition to an alien planet.
Beginning options[]
Difficulty[]
- Sputnik - Beginner
- Mercury - Easy
- Vostok - Moderate: AI players receive a few advantages to improve their play
- Gemini - Hard: AI players receive small advantages to improve their play
- Tip for Civilization V players: This is roughly equivalent to Prince difficulty.
- Soyuz - Very Hard: AI players receive large advantages to improve their play
- Apollo - Hardest: AI players receive significant advantages to improve their play
Pace[]
- Quick - The number of turns required to complete various tasks is compressed. Good for players who don't like to wait around too much
- Standard - The default game pace
- Epic - Production, Research, etc. all take a fair amount longer than when playing at Standard Speed. The game is balanced to take longer but still feel like a normal game
- Marathon - The extremely long game speed will allow almost an entire normal game's worth of turns many times over in a single playthrough
Planet Size[]
- Random Map Size - The game will randomly pick one of the map sizes for you to play
- Duel - For 2 players
- Dwarf - For 4 players
- Small - For 6 players
- Standard - For 8 players
- Massive - For 8 players with more open space
Sponsor[]
Beyond Earth: Rising Tide[]
When Rising Tide was released, the sponsors were overhauled with Rising Tide-specific unique abilities. For example, PAC produces Diplomatic Capital whilst this is not possible in the base game. Unique abilities can additionally be upgraded with Diplomatic Capital and this is indicated with the x/y/z as to what changes as it is leveled.
Sponsor | Unique Ability | Capital | Leader | |
---|---|---|---|---|
American Reclamation Corporation (ARC) | Covert operations are 30/40/50% faster and require 1/1/1 less intrigue levels to begin. | Central | Suzanne Fielding | |
Pan-Asian Cooperative (PAC) | The first Wonder in every city is free. +1/2/3 Diplomatic Capital from Wonders. | Tiangong | Daoming Sochua | |
People's African Union (PAU) | +10/15/25% Growth in Healthy cities and Specialists produce +1/1/2 of their yield. | Magan | Samatar Jama Barre | |
Franco-Iberia (FI) | Free Virtue for every 10/9/8 Virtues earned normally through Culture. | Le Coeur | Elodie | |
Kavithan Protectorate (KP) | Cities require 30/40/50% less Culture or Energy to expand tiles. | Mandira | Kavitha Thakur | |
Brasilia | War Score points increased by 30/40/50% and +1/2/3 Diplomatic Capital from each unit killed in combat. | Cidadela | Rejinaldo de Alencar | |
Polystralia | +2/3/3 Trade Routes in the Capital and +1/1/2 Trade Route(s) everywhere else. | Freeland | Hutama | |
Slavic Federation (SF) | Orbital units require 1/1/2 less Strategic resource(s) and start with 4/6/6 free Titanium, Geothermal and Petroleum resources. | Khrabrost | Vadim Koslov | |
Al Falah | City Developments increased by 150/175/200%. | Ard | Arshia Kishk | |
Chungsu | Begin with 1/1/2 Covert Agent(s) and gain 10/15/30 Science per Agent rank when successfully performing an operation. May make Planetfall at sea. |
Jeongsang | Han Jae-Moon | |
INTEGR | Agreements cost 50/60/75% less Diplomatic Capital, and units and buildings cost 25/50/75% less Diplomatic Capital to purchase. | Weltgeist | Lena Ebner | |
North Sea Alliance (NSA) | Aquatic cities have 50/60/70% more Combat Strength and cost 50/60/70% less Production to move. May make Planetfall at sea. |
Deepcastle | Duncan Hughes |
Base Game Beyond Earth Sponsors[]
Sponsor | Special Ability | Capital | Leader | |
---|---|---|---|---|
American Reclamation Corporation (ARC) | Covert operations are 25% faster and cause 25% more intrigue. | Central | Suzanne Fielding | |
Pan-Asian Cooperative (PAC) | +10% Production towards Wonders +25% Worker speed |
Tiangong | Daoming Sochua | |
People's African Union (PAU) | +10% Food in growing cities when Healthy All cities start with an Old Earth Relic |
Magan | Samatar Jama Barre | |
Kavithan Protectorate | Cities and Outposts acquire new tiles twice as fast | Mandira | Kavitha Thakur | |
Brasilia | Units have a +10% Combat Strength in melee combat Units have a +5 Heal when fortified |
Cidadela | Rejinaldo de Alencar | |
Franco-Iberia | Gain a free Virtue for every 10 Virtues earned normally through Culture | Le Coeur | Élodie | |
Polystralia | Plus two trade routes in the capital | Freeland | Hutama | |
Slavic Federation | Orbital units stay in orbit 50% longer +50% Petroleum resources |
Khrabrost | Vadim Kozlov |
Colonists[]
After choosing your sponsor you get to decide what kind of colonists were put into the spaceship. Colonists provide a strong backbone for populating all colonial centers, and depending on their type bring another strong, city-based bonus, also useful throughout the game.
Colonists | Ability | |
---|---|---|
Scientists | +2 Science in every city | |
Refugees | +2 Food in every city | |
Aristocrats | +4 Energy in every city | |
Engineers | +2 Production in every city | |
Artists | +2 Culture in every city (3 in Base BE) | |
Pioneers | Build colonists and explorers twice as fast | |
Mercenaries | All Cities have +25 Hit Points, and all units have +10% Combat Strength and Ranged Strength in friendly territory |
Spacecraft[]
When you have picked your colonists, it's time to select the special feature of your spaceship. This bonus is oriented towards the early stages of the game, as it is related to the colonization ship (which probably is dismantled to provide materials for the first city). Thus the advantage quickly becomes obsolete.
Spacecraft | Specialty | |
---|---|---|
Continental Surveyor | Reveal coasts on map | |
Retrograde Thrusters | Wider area for choosing where to land first city | |
Tectonic Scanner | No technology is needed to see Petroleum, Geothermal and Titanium resources | |
Fusion Reactor | Begin with 100 Energy | |
Lifeform Sensor | Reveal alien nests on Map | |
Electromagnetic Sensor | Reveal Artifacts on Map | |
Supply Module | Begin with 2 resource pods near the player's first city |
Cargo[]
Next you must select your spaceship's cargo. These additional materials define what you have with you right away when you found your first city, and consists of a free building or unit.
Cargo | Specialty | |
---|---|---|
Hydroponics | Begin with extra Population in your first city | |
Laboratory | Begin with the Pioneering technology | |
Raw Materials | Begin with a Clinic building in your first city | |
Weapon Arsenal | Begin with a Soldier unit | |
Machinery | Begin with a Worker unit | |
Cryotome | Begin with a free virtue | |
Xeno Management | Begin with an Ultrasonic Emitter unit |
Planet[]
Finally you choose the planet you are going to colonize. The planets have different names, but their main features are always the same:
Planet | Specialty | |
---|---|---|
Terran World | A world with a few large landmasses separated by oceans and some smaller islands. | |
Protean World | A world of one ocean and one very large, continuous landmass with the possibility of small, coastal islands. | |
Atlantean World | A world of islands of varying sizes separated by narrow water passages. | |
Random World | The game will randomly pick one of these planets for you to play. | |
Advanced Worlds | Unique planets that offer greater challenge for experienced players.
| |
Custom World | Select a planet and biome combination of your choice |
Advanced Worlds[]
Planet | Specialty | |
---|---|---|
Archipelago | An oceanic world populated by medium and small islands. | |
Equatorial | A rapidly spinning world with a bulging equator and day/night cycle much shorter than Earth's. | |
Glacial [6] | A temperate world undergoing severe glaciation during an ice age. | |
Inland Sea[7] | A world with only one habitable region, surrounding the planet's only large body of water. | |
Skirmish [8] | Multiplayer land battle, optimized for head to head or two teams. Variety of terrains available. | |
Taigan | A punishingly cold world whose best lands are found along the coastlines and rivers. | |
Tiny Islands[7] | An oceanic world populated only by lots of tiny islands. |
Exoplanets Map Pack DLC Planets[]
Advanced Setup options[]
- Note the section below contains options not mentioned above.
Naming your Civilization[]
Players can name their civilization and their leader something other than what the name given to by default. Note, that the bonuses provided by the civilization the player choose are not changed, nor is the color scheme changed. To do this players must use mods. Players can change:
- Leader Name - Note: Introduction screens will still have the original leader's notes. Rising Tide diplomacy screens will have the animated version of the original leader.
- Sponsor Name - Full Name: Example "People's African Union" not "African Union"
- Sponsor Short Name - Example "ARC" for the "American Reclamation Corporation"
- Sponsor Adjective - Example "Slavic" for "Slavic Federation"
Teams[]
Players may team up with several AI players should they choose to.
More planet options[]
Planet Biome
Biome | Tooltip description | |
---|---|---|
Arid | A bright world of scorching heat and scarce, hardy lifeforms. | |
Frigid | An ancient world covered with icy glaciers and furtive but powerful lifeforms. | |
Fungal | A dim, damp world of giant fungi and strange, delicate lifeforms. | |
Lush | A fertile, temperate landscape teeming with varied and abundant lifeforms. | |
Primordial | A young world of rough, volcanic terrain and vibrant but primitive lifeforms. |
World Age
Older worlds are more eroded and contain fewer hills and mountains, while younger worlds have much rougher terrain
- 3 Billion Years
- 4 Billion Years
- 5 Billion Years
- Random
Temperature
- Cool: Increases how far the ice spreads toward the "equator" from either of the poles, decreases the amount of deserts that can exist, and slightly decreases the amount of forests.
- Temperate: Attempts to keep tiles as temperature balanced as possible.
- Tropical: Allows for more forests and slightly increases the amount of marshes.
- Hot: Increases the amount of desert terrain on the equator, slightly decreases the amount of forests, and reduces the stretch of the ice terrain from the poles.
- Random
Rainfall
- Arid: Decreases the chance for forests significantly and creates more plains than grasslands.
- Temperate: Attempts to balance the terrain.
- Wet: Increases the chances for forests while also increasing the odds of grasslands and marshes.
- Random
Victory Types[]
The player can disable certain victory conditions should they choose to.
Advanced Game Options[]
- Max Turns - Game will end when max turns is reached. Setting this on will disable the victory achievement.
- All Coastal Starts - All player starts will be placed on or adjacent to coastal tiles (on applicable maps).
- All Water Starts - All player starts (not just the NSA or Chungsu) will be placed at sea (on applicable maps).
- Allow Veterancy Saving - Players may choose to defer sending a Veterancy Bonus until later, instead of needing to pick immediately.
- Allow Virtue Deferral - Players may choose to defer using Culture to develop a Virtue until later instead of needing to pick immediately. Virtues obtained for free still must be picked immediately, however.
- Disable Planet Biome Effects - Disable unique effects from Planet Biomes. All maps and biomes will have default rules.
- Don't Stagger Starts - AI players start immediately after human players.
- Frenzied Aliens - Alien aggression and spawn rates are greatly increased.
- New Random Seed - Each time the game is loaded, the random number seed is regenerated. This means if you attack after loading, you might get a different result from the first time.
- No City Razing - Players are not allowed to burn cities down after capturing them.
- No Marvels - Marvels do not appear on the map and, as a result, Marvel Quests are disabled as well.
- No Resource Pods - Resource Pods do not appear on the map.
- Quick Combat - No combat animations are played.
- Quick Movement - No movement animations are played.
Notes[]
- ↑ Note that the December 2014 patch changed some sponsors for balance:
- The Slavic Federation used to have Orbital units last just 20% longer and could receive a free technology when their first Orbital unit was launched. The patch removed the free technology from launching an Orbital unit, but increased the Orbital unit time and added the extra Petroleum resources.
- The People's African Union used to only get the +10% growth; the free Old Earth Relics were added in the patch.
- Brasilia only had the +10% Combat Strength; the patch added the fortification bonus.
- Franco-Iberia used to receive a free technology for every 10 Virtues acquired in any way. This was changed to free Virtue for every 10 Virtues developed through Culture.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 In the December 2014 patch the +1 Health bonuses from Artists and Aristocrats were removed, but their Energy and Culture outputs were increased by one.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pioneers and Mercenaries are only available as unlockables playing Sid Meier's Starships.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Electromagnetic Sensor and Supply Module are only available as unlockables playing Sid Meier's Starships.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cryotome and Xeno Management are only available as unlockables playing Sid Meier's Starships.
- ↑ Glacial map only available with my2k account
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Island Sea and Tiny Island maps only available as unlockables playing Sid Meier's Starships
- ↑ Skirmish maps are not available when playing the Rising Tide expansion.
- Introduced in the Rising Tide expansion pack.
See also[]
- Starting a new game in other games
Civilization: Beyond Earth [Edit] | |
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Games: Base Beyond Earth • Rising Tide • Starships† | |
Lists | |
Affinities | |
Concepts | |
Yields | |
Misc.
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