Singularity Game

Hi-tek science fiction surfing.
Civilization: Beyond Earth

This blog is devoted to science fiction and this post is about one particular computer game that is concerned with a science fiction theme: exploring and settling an exoplanet by colonists who arrive from Earth. After playing Civilization: Beyond Earth, I was inspired to write some Sci Fi fanfiction (here) that includes elements of the game.

The first Sid Meier (MicroProse) computer game that I bought was called Railroad Tycoon, a very non-science fiction-oriented game. However, this was the era of Thomas, and my son was fascinated by trains, so in 1992 we began playing that railroading computer game as well as building a model railway in the basement.

Turn-based strategy game
in the beginning: Civilization

Sid Meier's Civilization for Macintosh computers was released in 1992 and I began playing Civilization when Civilization II became available for the Mac in 1997. There was one small science fiction element in the game: the goal for one of the victory modes was to depart from Earth on-board a spaceship that you built.

My kids grew up playing Civilization, which provided an interesting way to think about technology development through the course of history. In a game of Civilization, your technological development starts slowly then accelerates as the game progresses, providing the sensation of an approaching technological singularity. Exponential growth in technological advancement is a fundamental feature of all Civilization games and the imaginary technologies on Beyond Earth are important for giving players of Beyond Earth a futuristic Sci Fi experience.

Planetary Council in Alpha Centauri

Out of this world
In 2000, we moved on to playing Alpha Centauri, a true science fiction-oriented game that was similar to Civilization, but played on an exoplanet rather than on Earth and set in the future with imaginary future technologies. One of the features of Alpha Centauri was the Planetary Council and a system for electing a Planetary Governor. This was still the era when you could only buy your computer games on an optical disk. My kids and I played in multiplayer "hot seat" mode, taking turns on one computer making moves for our factions and cooperating on Council votes.

Going Beyond

hot seat game setup

Beyond Earth is a complex game, so it is best if you begin playing in the default beginners game with the available advice and built-in tutoring switched on.

For experienced Civilization game players, note that there is also a "hot seat" mode in Beyond Earth, but a word of warning..... rather than using the game's standard interface for setting up and starting a multiplayer "hot seat" game, it looks like they allowed Jimmy the intern to develop this game feature. There is no "start game" button. After you select all of your startup options, click on the check-mark button.

Playing in "hot seat" mode is a great way to introduce people (particularly children) to a game. Also, if you believe that games can be fun when people cooperate then "hot seat" mode is a great option.

source

Another warning for those who want to introduce young children to this game: there can be unprovoked attacks on your units by the aliens even when playing on the easiest difficulty level of the hot-seat version of the game.

you got your satellite
in my xenomass

Also, for experimenting with the various game startup options, as a new Beyond Earth player you can select all human players for a multiplayer hot seat game and experiment with the various starting options without having to worry about receiving any harassment from computerized players.

Harassment? Read on... the game is programmed to create conflict between you and the computer-generated players who you compete against in the default game.

alien creatures threaten your colony in Beyond Earth
That's no tree! That's a siege worm!

Exoplanets
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth became available in 2014 and at that time I played the game for a few hours and saw that it was an interesting mix of Alpha Centauri and the 4th generation Civilization games (Civilization IV). With Beyond Earth, I finally entered the era of playing a game that was down-loaded, rather than played from an optical disk. During the past few years there have been some expansions and bug fixes for Beyond Earth, and recently I played the mature, updated version of the game (Rising Tide).

known exoplanets

In the years since I first began playing computer games, exoplanets have begun to make the transition from objects of the imagination to actual places that can be observed and cataloged. In Beyond Earth, you can play the game using Earth-like maps, planet maps based on fictional worlds from famous science fiction stories or maps designed to represent specific known exoplanets. All of the Beyond Earth games I have played were computer generated variants of a lush, resource-rich, Earth-like planet with several large continents, but there are many other options.

In-game art, depicting an angry siege worm

One of the science fiction features of Beyond Earth is the giant alien "siege worms" that remind me of the sand worms in Dune. When first meeting alien creatures in this game, the small ones are peaceful and they are not difficult to get along with. Unless you like killing things, just try to ignore them, even when they get in the way.

My First Complaint

in search of alien science

I suppose the programmers who developed Beyond Earth felt obligated to include multiple human factions from Earth. The game could have been improved by putting at least the same amount of thought into the alien residents of the exoplanet as went into creating the various human factions. The few types of alien creatures in the game do not come close to providing a realistic feel of a complex planetary biosphere. Sadly, every part of the planet has exactly the same types of creatures.

The Next Generation

I wish that a version of Beyond Earth existed in which the study of alien life forms was more central to the game rather than killing alien creatures. Some of the alien creatures could have been "unaltered" while others could have been hybrid biological/nanite constructs designed by the mysterious Progenitors.

I don't mind faction leaders who are experienced and mature, but it would be fun if the game focused on the scientific adventures of the younger generations of colonists who are born on the new exoplanet. Maybe the original colonists had a tendency to shoot the aliens, but colonists who have lived their whole life with the aliens might seek to understand and coexist with the natives.

Progenitor

Maybe there could have been on the order of 50 different alien creatures in the game, some that live in cold areas near the poles and some for the warmer parts of the exoplanet near the equator. The unseen Progenitors remind me of the science fiction stories of Jack Vance in which he casually mentions evidence that other advanced species were present in our galaxy long before we humans came into existence.  

See: Clement's Paradox.

Special Science Operations

I'd prefer a version of Beyond Earth in which there is a sophisticated scientific research effort aimed at understanding the alien life and Progenitor technologies on the planet. In my next blog post, I discuss additional features of
Beyond Earth such as its system for "covert ops". Rather than limit players to covert ops, why not have several special operations agencies?

I don't approve of the system for researching aliens in Beyond Earth. There are quests where you have to kill a requisite number of aliens in order to obtain biological samples. The idea that you can learn something about the control of alien behavior by performing "biopsies" on the skeletal remains of dead aliens is absurd. It would not have been hard to put more science into Beyond Earth and improve the science fiction "look and feel" of the game.

upgrades

Military Science Fiction
The first time I played Beyond Earth, I tried building a minimum of military units, but such a pacifist strategy is dangerous. The pre-programmed factions (several groups from Earth are colonizing the exoplanet along with you) will attack you if they feel like "their" territory is being settled by your people and if they do not fear the power of your military.

The invasion force of another faction crossing the border.

There is a numerical limit on the number of units that your growing civilization can support, but you can work at the upper limit (stop building units when you get a production penalty).

In order to collect bonus resources that are scattered across the surface of the planet, you need to make a continuous effort to explore the world. Plan to devote some of your units to exploration.

outline of planetary land areas revealed

There are many science fiction stories that involve dropping humans onto some unexplored exoplanet. In the case of Beyond Earth, you arrive at a new world and make a landing on the planet, dropping down from orbit. If you believe that there should be some available information about the surface of the planet that was gathered from orbit (before the start of the game) then you should select the startup option that reveals all of the coastal terrain hexes on your new planet.

Where am I? One startup option reveals the outlines of the planet's continents.

worker unit

You will also need to build Worker units that help your cities prosper by building farms, mines and other improvements.

Most units can change (upgrade) through time as you increase your technological sophistication. I play with the advanced startup mode and use the option that lets you delay unit upgrades.

A fleet of computer-generated worker units.

naval unit for fast exploration

My strategy is to build some military units early in the game and not bother with the upgrades until there is a threat of war with another faction. Upgrade choices are usually pairs, with one upgrade better for defense, so it can be worth waiting to see if there is an early attack on your forces by another faction. The basic units that are first available to you before any upgrades become available can explore just fine. Because of their speed, patrol boats are particularly useful for exploration early in the game.

A siege worm next to a worker unit. This scene is
late in the game and the worm is safe, having been
captured and converted into one of my own units.

When a siege worm appears near one of your cities, it can be a reminder that you should build military units, but you can also try to ignoring these worms when they appear. These particularly powerful and potentially destructive aliens are sometimes restricted in terms of where they will travel. Importantly, in some cases (when playing at the easiest difficulty level) the worms don't like to cross terrain features like rivers, which can allow your ranged units to safely bombard the worms from across the river, or even ignore them.

marine

Imaginary future technology is developed by your faction during a game of Beyond Earth, however, one of the first upgraded units is a conventional "marine". Early in the game, with just the power of the defensive rockets from your cities or perhaps a gunner or 2 and one or two marines, you can defeat a powerful siege worm, but it takes time and patience.

alien creatures and an alien nest

Later in the game, when your technology has advanced and your military units are stronger, the siege worms are not difficult to defeat. However, if you are trying to have peaceful interactions with the aliens, you are better off trying to live peacefully with the worms. It can be done!

All alien life on the planet is telepathically linked. If you blast an annoying alien unit such as a siege worm then every alien creature on the entire planet will become more aggressive. Another way to anger the aliens is to destroy their nests or just build your colony too close to a nest.

When an alien guest visits,
it activates the RED destroy
button on your city

The default programming for the computerized factions seems to involve fighting the alien creatures, not living peacefully with them. Luckily, the aliens can be very mad at other factions, but still not attack your units.

Beyond Earth is designed to provoke you into fighting the alien creatures. As soon as an alien moves close to your first city, a big RED button appears, inviting you to blast the poor innocent creature. However, if you have a scrupulous policy of not angering the aliens and if you ignore the aliens when they get in your way then they will not attack you.

The game "advises" you to use a colonist unit to build an new outpost next to an alien nest
rather than at a good coastal location. Don't always follow the advice provided by the computer.

War Score, what is it good for?
During wars, you earn points for defeating enemy units.
Spend the earned points to collect your spoils of war.

Another way that the game tries to bring you into conflict with the aliens is by suggesting that you build your cities close to the alien nests. As shown in the image above, you should not be afraid to ignore the suggested sites for new cities.

The game is designed to continually provide you with opportunities to fight other factions. Don't be afraid to start a war, particularly if you find yourself competing for a needed resource. At the lower difficulty levels, your computer generated opponents are quite predictable and easy to defeat as long as you have taken care to build a few military units.

exponential growth
click image to enlarge

In the "Soyuz" difficulty level game that I played, the computer opponents used several "tricks" to push me towards war. This was the first difficulty level at which a computer faction showed signs of achieving exponential growth (see the "score" graph to the left). There are limits to how many cities you can build before a health penalty cripples your growth (see the graph of "excess health). These sorts of limitations seemed not to apply strongly to one of the computerized factions (see the "number of cities" graph). That faction, the one that was closest to my borders, suddenly started creating many new cities, seemingly in an attempt to provoke me.

an invitation to war...
A naval fleet appears.
click image to enlarge

Then, as soon as I had defeated that first foe, a naval war fleet from another faction showed up in my waters, inviting a second war. This second computer opponent had a huge number of naval military units, which it never used in a sensible way, allowing my air force to systematically eliminate their navy at my leisure.

part of the technology
web for Beyond Earth
Click image to enlarge

A game of Beyond Earth is a kind of puzzle. You need to learn what technologies are available and make decisions about which technologies will be most useful to you.

a large number of alien creatures attracted to a Xeno Siren orbital unit,
but a trade convoy passes right through

Ultratechnology
At higher difficulty levels, the worms  and other alien lifeforms are even more aggressive, but you can keep them away from your cities if you obtain the technology that is required for building an "ultrasonic fence" around each newly-founded city. Eventually you will be able to build the Xeno Siren orbital unit which can be used to attract alien creatures to an area away from your cities.

an alien

This can have comical effects. Some parts of the map contain alien nests and open plains, a combination that can generate herds of alien creatures. Combined with a Xeno Siren, the terrain can become packed with aliens. If you are at the stage of the game after you have obtained the special advanced ability to protect traders from alien attacks then your trade convoys can safely cruise right through a swarming mass of alien creatures.

Early in the game, nearby areas of miasma are highlighted,
showing places where a convoy cannot travel.
Click image to enlarge.

Trade convoys establish trade routes between your cities or with the cities of other factions or with special independent trade stations. Trade convoys are unusual units because as soon as you assign them to a trade route, you do not have any control over how they move to their destination. You may have built a perfectly good road between two cities, but don't expect a trade convoy to use the road. Early in the game, convoy units cannot pass through miasma, a mysterious mist that covers some terrain hexes.

trade station

the station is not owned by a player

While exploring, you might discover a trade station before you can create trade convoys. It might be shown as belonging to an "unmet player", but if actually belonged to a player then you would meet that player. Stations belong to "Minor Powers" which are "independent from any colony or affinity".

Your Drone unit cannot move onto an ice hex
if there is an enemy submarine under the ice.

Another feature among the assortment of military units that can be built and deployed during a game of Beyond Earth is that some units are hidden or invisible under some conditions. The first of these that you are likely to encounter are submarine units. You might never see a submarine, but it can prevent you unit from moving into a hex.

The rules for when two units can occupy the same hex seem rather arbitrary and silly. Why can't a flying Drone unit fly over an ice hex if there is a submarine under the ice? Restrictions like that make no sense.

an exploring sea dragon unit bumps into a hidden submarine

I wish that the makers of Beyond Earth had made planets globular. The flat Mercator projection worlds are absurd. Further, each hex should be able to expand into 19 sub-hexes so that units can occupy specialized features of the terrain and conduct battlefield maneuvers.

Apola: the alien science faction.

Difficulty Levels
You can view the lower difficulty levels in Beyond Earth as a mechanism for providing you with training sessions. When you reach the hardest difficulty level, be prepared for the gloves to come off. Near the start of my first Apollo level game, I lost a worker unit in an unprovoked attack by an alien creature, something I never experienced at the other difficulty levels of a single-player game.

dome improvement (land version)

The aliens are nicely adapted to their world, but the atmosphere of the planet is not optimal for humans. Everyone in your colony wears protective environmental suits and assisted respiration equipment.

living under the sea
(click image to enlarge)

One of my favorite terrain improvements (simply for its prettiness) is the underwater dome.

Transparent habitation domes built on land seem more practical than the underwater version, but your workers can't build any of these fancy domes until later in the game, after you have developed the needed technologies (terraforming and biospheres). As a Star Trek fan, I was expecting transparent aluminum to be a technology needed for underwater domes.

weather control

Sadly, the game developers did not make any weather for your exoplanet. Variable weather and different climates for parts of the exoplanet would have made Beyond Earth a more realistic planet exploration game. Part of any science fiction experience is suspension of disbelief. The only mention of "weather" in the game is the "weather control" orbital unit. It provides excess food and magically makes some new resources appear. The "explanation" given by the game designers is that the weather control orbital unit can produce "precise electrical-magnetic charges" that improve the weather for the land below.

imaginary physics (source)

Rather than use tired old electromagnetism, this would have been a good time for the introduction of a mysterious new advanced Progenitor technology. Why not sprinkle the equivalent of a "positron" into the story? Back in the 1940s when Isaac Asimov knew nothing about transistors, his "explanation" for how to make a robot brain involved using "positronics", a futuristic variant of electronics.

For Beyond Earth, there could have been a new imaginary branch of particle physics for you to learn about by collecting Progenitor artifacts. There are some interesting Progenitor artifacts that can randomly pop up during the game, but they seem like tease and seldom lead to any lasting changes in your growing civilization... maybe they mostly just end up in a museum.

a cool Progenitor artifact

In my next blog post, I continue my exploration of the science fiction features of Beyond Earth. Yet to come: some old-time Sci Fi goodies..... time travel and teleportation!

Next: more of my comments on Beyond Earth.

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