Firaxicon, Civilization and XCOM developer Firaxis' first community convention, kicks off in Maryland this Saturday. Not only will the convention include Beyond Earth playable demos, but it will also feature several panels that go into detail about what kinds of decisions make up a Civilization game.
Behold The Wonders Of Civilization: Beyond Earth
Firaxis is filling up a room at Firaxicon with PCs to give guests a chance to get their hands on Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth. For the sake of letting everyone have a turn, the demos will be limited to an hour. Once the convention's activities are officially over, however, Firaxis will open up the PCs for an all-nighter, letting fans play through until 10 a.m. on Sunday. And if anyone is used to marathoning a game all night, it's Civ fans.
Even with the late-night hours, though, the demos will be limited to 250 turns. Still, that's more than twice the previous demo limit of 100 turns. And if Beyond Earth's pace is anything like that of Civ V, 250 turns can even be enough to play a full game with a skilled enough player on an easier difficulty level.
There Are Five Ways You Can Win A Game Of Civilization: Beyond Earth
The festivities aren't limited to just the demos, however. Several panels will be opening up to give con-goers a chance to see what goes into the making of a Civ game. The first, run by Beyond Earth's co-lead designers will explain the Great Mistake, the narrative event that sets up the need for man to colonize other planets in Beyond Earth. Another will go into the upcoming game's soundtrack and how Firaxis' composers tackled creating the sounds for Civ V and Beyond Earth differently.
Though it's four years old at this point, Civ V will still be a topic of discussion over at Firaxicon. Members of Civ V's production team will be on hand to talk about how they chose the civilizations that were added in the final expansion, Brave New World, and how Firaxis balances the portrayal of so many different cultures in its games. Perhaps we'll finally have the answer to the question, "How in the world did Firaxis find voice actors who knew Aramaic, Mayan and Chuvash?"
Firaxicon takes place this Saturday. Though the convention has been sold out for weeks, the developer has assured the rest of us that the goings on will be broadcast over social media.
