Sid Meier's Civilization VI News

Civilization 6 is now the best Star Wars game thanks to this mod

While Empire at War will always be the real best Star Wars game, Stellaris' upcoming Nemesis expansion is trying very hard to claim that title through some of its new endgame mechanics. But now Civilization VI is here to tell everyone that, actually, it's the best Star Wars game, and there's even a mod to prove it.

Users Anargo19 and Newstang have released a new Civ 6 mod that adds the Galactic Republic civilisation to the game, with Chancellor Palpatine as its leader. There isn't an animated leader screen for Palpatine, but the artwork used has been pulled from the Clone Wars cartoon, and it oddly works with the existing Civ 6 art style.

Clearly the new best Civilization 6 civ, the Galactic Republic possesses an ability called 'Galactic Constitution', which grants you an additional diplomatic policy slot for all government types. You also get +1 diplomatic favour per turn for each diplomatic slot in your current government type. The Republic's unique unit is the 'Clonetrooper Phase 1', which replaces the Infantry available in the modern age. They act just like Japan's Samurai units, and don't take a penalty to their damage potential when they themselves take damage. There is even a custom 3D model, which looks pretty neat.

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Want 'hillier' hills in Civilization 6? There's a mod for that

You know I was telling my wife the other day that one thing I felt 4X game Civilization VI desperately needed was more defined gradients. I mean yeah, there are other things you could fix - civ balance, AI interactions, tile yields - but man, I need more definition for those hills.

Luckily, the Civ 6 mod scene has come to the rescue with 'Hillier Hills', a mod that changes the heightmap of hill tiles to make them stand out more. It doesn't do anything other than that, but why would you want anything else? Look at these hills!

There is more, as surprising at it may seem: Another mod by user Leugi - Colder Tundra - provides better textures for tundra tiles. Leugi and the creator of the thicc hills mod, Deliverator23, have teamed up to offer a combined mod that offers both visual improvements in a single package. They weren't compatible before, which was one the great tragedies of the modern age.

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Civ 2 at 25 - one of the most important 4X strategy games of all time

Can you remember the first time you played a Civilization game, and what it was that got you hooked? Was it the exploration? Empire management? Warfare? Without a doubt this 4X series is a cornerstone of the strategy gaming world, and while Civilization VI is the most recent iteration, the mighty house of Meier has some amazing past entries worthy of celebration decades later.

From a nuke happy Gandhi to 'just one more turn' syndrome, the legacy of past Civ games remains influential across many parts of modern gaming culture. Civilization II - which was first released in 1996 - marks its 25th anniversary today (technically it's on the 29th, but there's no leap day this year). But its legacy is often tucked away between the landmark that was the first game, and the massive successes of later releases. Surprisingly it was not directly worked on by Sid Meier himself, but Civilization II still saw the series branch out as it took on new ideas from lead developers Brian Reynolds, Douglas Caspian-Kaufman, and Jeff Briggs.

Civilization II introduced many of the key features that would continue to be part of the series for generations: the isometric map, river mechanics, new units, and generally it made lots of quality of life improvements to the core gameplay. But where Civ II really stood out was in the personality it fed into each game. Players were treated to wonderful, and corny, live action video advisors, fully animated leaders, a changing throne room, the ability to look at cities as they grew, and entertaining music.

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Civilization 6 gets Civ 5's maps thanks to this mod

Saying goodbye to an old game when the sequel comes out can be difficult, especially when the gaps between installments are long. A Civilization 6 player has decided to ease this pain for Civilization 5 fans by converting a bunch of the latter's maps to the new(er) game.

The Civilization 5 Scenario Map Pack on Steam Workshop is exactly what it says on the tin, offering most of the maps you play-though in the 4X game, updated for its more recent counter-part. Eight of Civ 5's 10 set maps are included, stretching across the globe and world history, all converted by modder Crumblus Crisp, using the Yet (not) Another Bit Map Converter from Zobtzler.

The maps are as follows: British Isles from 1066: Year of Viking Destiny, Eastern United States from American Civil War, Eurasia from Rise of the Mongols, Europe from Into the Renaissance, Fertile Crescent from Wonders of the Ancient World, Mediterranean from Fall of Rome, Northeast Asia from Samurai Invasion of Korea, and South Pacific from Paradise Found. As mentioned, it's not a complete set, you're missing Northeast Asia from Samurai Invasion of Korea and Africa from Scramble for Africa, but it's the bulk of them.

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Civilization 6's free Barbarians update is out now

The much-anticipated February free update has arrived for Civilization VI. As we've reported, this patch adds a host of new stuff for the legendary 4X game, including a new Barbarian Clans mode and the ability to ban particularly unpleasant leaders. Firaxis has published the patch notes along with the patch itself, so now we can dig in to see exactly what's new.

First of all, it's worth pointing out that this big patch is available to everyone who owns Civilization VI - you don't need the Frontier Pass or the expansions for the new content to work in your game. Just install the patch and fire up vanilla Civilization VI.

Barbarian Clans mode includes seven clan types, specifically the Flatland Clan, the Woodland Clan, the Hills Clan, the Rover Clan, the Chariot Clan, the Jungle Clan, and the Seafaring Clan. Each type uses its own set of preferred units and appears under distinct map conditions. Interestingly, the barbarian clans can also recruit unique units from civs that are not selected in the setup phase.

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