I only came to Civ V lately, as in this year. I’ve barely played a bit of the predecessors, just to get an idea of what I missed before the paragon that Civ V is graced my monitor. There are balancing issues yet with Civ VI. And the achievements need more challenge.

16. Multiple full color map filters: It’s much more than just the lovely map art, & the view of a map before the world is uncovered. They improve decision making just like all the other menus in the game. Pins are added to mark the map for exploration.

15. Augmented GP Abilities: You can retire a GP, convert him to a collectible or unit upgrade, keep him around for passive boosts, or even pass on him altogether; saving your points for the next GP in the lineup. If you want a GP & are losing to another civ, you can throw some hard earned gold into the GP pool to steal him before they are able to recruit him.

14. Wider choice of Historical Great Persons: I loved having John the Baptist found my first religion. But, also you can view a gallery of all your collected art & relics anytime, which are also obtained as relics from religious martyrs, & found in villages.

13. Movement is more intuitive & the zone of control is more transparent. Where movement is slowed down from geographical features on the map, you quickly feel more boxed in at first. But, this feels more natural because you begin to live in your own civ, not really moving out to see the world until mid-game or later. This forces you to be more aware of your neighbors than it did when you branched out all over the map.

12. Escort Bindings & Unit Stacking: This is actually going back to Civ IV &, it definitely is a no-brainer. No reason why we shouldn’t be able to bind a soldier to our settler & send him around the world. Being able to build armies & regiments takes the warfare to a new level, in terms of power on the front line in a small hex of space.

11. Promotion & naming of units: Lends a greater personal investment in “The Great White Arrows,” when you know you are sending them to their death with 3 promotion levels down the drain. There is a randomization feature that is great for getting these crazy names, if you don’t want to name them Jack or Fred.

10. Roads Simplified: They are laid automatically by traders. Yet, options are still present for making individual road segments with the engineers. Military engineers & builders are like specialists, compared to the workers from Civ V who did it all. The trade routes system is simpler to use, but you can NOT tell where you last sent specific routes. Of course this doesn’t seem to be a problem, since it’s easier to see at a glance & by popping out the right side tab where you already have routes currently.

9. Addition of short term projects in the construction queue, similar to the Civ V world’s fair for late game boosts. You can boost your bank account by investing in the Commercial Hub, or beef up production, Military, or Science at any time you need an edge in a certain direction. This gives the player more control over the outcome, & certainly allows for serious strategy.

8. Graphics are without perceptible flaws. This makes the game even more engaging... immersive! Wonders are bigger. Also, you can see the great works & trade them. Camera orientation during combat needs correction. It is necessary to edit game files to gain certain optional controls that should have been in- game, like spinning the map & stopping the infernal unit auto-advance. It does have the appearance that they weren’t quite finished with this aspect of the game at release. The art & graphic changes add greatly to the experience. For example, you can hover over districts in other civs to spy out what great works are hidden in which buildings, if you are planning to steal some art.

7. The City/ States are color coded, providing bonuses for suzerain status, which is hard to maintain for any length of time, since there is much competition. Conquering a CS removes those resources & the protection buffer they provide from the other civs. You also have the ability to conscript their military. So, it’s more to your benefit to keep the CS intact.

6. Espionage: You have a choice about whether or not to invest in training spies. You can choose what action they take; steal art, siphon money, sabotage production by burning buildings, etc. Or, you may use them as counterspies, protecting specific buildings & their adjacencies. Roleplay is enhanced by choices for escape when detected. If you capture an enemy spy, you may trade him back to the opponent, or not.

5. Developing a culture feels more like an integrated part of your civilization, rather than an optional sidetrack. Not only are the wonders showcased on individual tiles, but they’ve made the details more visible, like mine cars zipping around the track. The art & music become a part of the world around you, with increased abilities to place & move works physically.

4. The religious combat is great! Before, you had little options for dealing with those missionaries wondering into your civ, tearing apart the fabric of your culture. You couldn’t attack them or remove them with a unit without a war dec. The inquisition is more realistic, & dying apostles leave behind relics, which can be placed in temples, or traded as valued great works or stolen. I did find it unfortunate that I can’t rename my religion to a certain denominational name if I choose the Christianity symbol. You are able to choose a generic zodiac symbol & give it a name of choice, but that really is illogical. You should ideally be given more choices in personalization, not less than in Civ V.

3. Alliances are totally expanded, allowing you to form relationships on different levels. It’s possible to convince the AI to change its plan to attack. The AI is more responsive to diplomacy, behaves more rationally & gives you feedback on how you are meeting their agenda. You are given more options for holding the AI accountable, as in being able to denounce them, or make them pay for spying on you. Sometimes the option appears to ask them to remove their units from your borders. But, this is not yet consistent.

2. Combat: Increased barb difficulty has upped the challenge. Over time, they fade from the game as you begin to encounter other civs. I don’t encounter pirates in international waters. A slider to increase the appearance of barbs would be great. Either way, the combat is definitely one of the best improvements in the game. More siege equipment is available. The improved landscape features allow for greater defensive power. Fighting is more visible & realistic looking.

1. The system of civic progress has been streamlined. Some are pulled from the Tech tree, the ideologies, & policies of Civ V. Taken together with the Tech tree, it adds a masterful touch to the gameplay & just makes more sense. With the system of card slotting & governments whichever you choose, you can reach the victory of your choice. This expansion gives more control over boosts, & allows you the chance to steamroll your game, if you are wise enough to “lead your people well.” Comments & questions are welcome.

[h1] Just... one... more... turn... (Still a masterpeice) [/h1] I only came to Civ V lately, as in this year. I’ve barely played a bit of the predecessors, just to get an idea of what I missed before the paragon that Civ V is graced my monitor. There are balancing issues yet with Civ VI. And the achievements need more challenge. 16. Multiple full color map filters: It’s much more than just the lovely map art, & the view of a map before the world is uncovered. They improve decision making just like all the other menus in the game. Pins are added to mark the map for exploration. 15. Augmented GP Abilities: You can retire a GP, convert him to a collectible or unit upgrade, keep him around for passive boosts, or even pass on him altogether; saving your points for the next GP in the lineup. If you want a GP & are losing to another civ, you can throw some hard earned gold into the GP pool to steal him before they are able to recruit him. 14. Wider choice of Historical Great Persons: I loved having John the Baptist found my first religion. But, also you can view a gallery of all your collected art & relics anytime, which are also obtained as relics from religious martyrs, & found in villages. 13. Movement is more intuitive & the zone of control is more transparent. Where movement is slowed down from geographical features on the map, you quickly feel more boxed in at first. But, this feels more natural because you begin to live in your own civ, not really moving out to see the world until mid-game or later. This forces you to be more aware of your neighbors than it did when you branched out all over the map. 12. Escort Bindings & Unit Stacking: This is actually going back to Civ IV &, it definitely is a no-brainer. No reason why we shouldn’t be able to bind a soldier to our settler & send him around the world. Being able to build armies & regiments takes the warfare to a new level, in terms of power on the front line in a small hex of space. 11. Promotion & naming of units: Lends a greater personal investment in “The Great White Arrows,” when you know you are sending them to their death with 3 promotion levels down the drain. There is a randomization feature that is great for getting these crazy names, if you don’t want to name them Jack or Fred. 10. Roads Simplified: They are laid automatically by traders. Yet, options are still present for making individual road segments with the engineers. Military engineers & builders are like specialists, compared to the workers from Civ V who did it all. The trade routes system is simpler to use, but you can NOT tell where you last sent specific routes. Of course this doesn’t seem to be a problem, since it’s easier to see at a glance & by popping out the right side tab where you already have routes currently. 9. Addition of short term projects in the construction queue, similar to the Civ V world’s fair for late game boosts. You can boost your bank account by investing in the Commercial Hub, or beef up production, Military, or Science at any time you need an edge in a certain direction. This gives the player more control over the outcome, & certainly allows for serious strategy. 8. Graphics are without perceptible flaws. This makes the game even more engaging... immersive! Wonders are bigger. Also, you can see the great works & trade them. Camera orientation during combat needs correction. It is necessary to edit game files to gain certain optional controls that should have been in- game, like spinning the map & stopping the infernal unit auto-advance. It does have the appearance that they weren’t quite finished with this aspect of the game at release. The art & graphic changes add greatly to the experience. For example, you can hover over districts in other civs to spy out what great works are hidden in which buildings, if you are planning to steal some art. 7. The City/ States are color coded, providing bonuses for suzerain status, which is hard to maintain for any length of time, since there is much competition. Conquering a CS removes those resources & the protection buffer they provide from the other civs. You also have the ability to conscript their military. So, it’s more to your benefit to keep the CS intact. 6. Espionage: You have a choice about whether or not to invest in training spies. You can choose what action they take; steal art, siphon money, sabotage production by burning buildings, etc. Or, you may use them as counterspies, protecting specific buildings & their adjacencies. Roleplay is enhanced by choices for escape when detected. If you capture an enemy spy, you may trade him back to the opponent, or not. 5. Developing a culture feels more like an integrated part of your civilization, rather than an optional sidetrack. Not only are the wonders showcased on individual tiles, but they’ve made the details more visible, like mine cars zipping around the track. The art & music become a part of the world around you, with increased abilities to place & move works physically. 4. The religious combat is great! Before, you had little options for dealing with those missionaries wondering into your civ, tearing apart the fabric of your culture. You couldn’t attack them or remove them with a unit without a war dec. The inquisition is more realistic, & dying apostles leave behind relics, which can be placed in temples, or traded as valued great works or stolen. I did find it unfortunate that I can’t rename my religion to a certain denominational name if I choose the Christianity symbol. You are able to choose a generic zodiac symbol & give it a name of choice, but that really is illogical. You should ideally be given more choices in personalization, not less than in Civ V. 3. Alliances are totally expanded, allowing you to form relationships on different levels. It’s possible to convince the AI to change its plan to attack. The AI is more responsive to diplomacy, behaves more rationally & gives you feedback on how you are meeting their agenda. You are given more options for holding the AI accountable, as in being able to denounce them, or make them pay for spying on you. Sometimes the option appears to ask them to remove their units from your borders. But, this is not yet consistent. 2. Combat: Increased barb difficulty has upped the challenge. Over time, they fade from the game as you begin to encounter other civs. I don’t encounter pirates in international waters. A slider to increase the appearance of barbs would be great. Either way, the combat is definitely one of the best improvements in the game. More siege equipment is available. The improved landscape features allow for greater defensive power. Fighting is more visible & realistic looking. 1. The system of civic progress has been streamlined. Some are pulled from the Tech tree, the ideologies, & policies of Civ V. Taken together with the Tech tree, it adds a masterful touch to the gameplay & just makes more sense. With the system of card slotting & governments whichever you choose, you can reach the victory of your choice. This expansion gives more control over boosts, & allows you the chance to steamroll your game, if you are wise enough to “lead your people well.” Comments & questions are welcome.