2K and Firaxis have announced the Rising Tide expansion pack for last year's strategy title Civilization: Beyond Earth.
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As you may infer from the title, the expansion will look to take advantage of the sea, allowing nations to build floating settlements on the ocean's surface. There will also be new factions, diplomatic options, and more.
Rising Tide is set to launch this fall on Windows, as will Mac and Linux ports developed by Aspyr. Firaxis is hosting a live stream today at 2 p.m. Eastern for the new content, and will be showing the first gameplay at next month's E3.
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The floating settlements allow access to new natural resources beneath the sea, and new alien creatures inhabit that water. There will be four new factions, including the Middle Eastern descendants Al Falah. Rising Tide will offer a set of "Diplomatic Traits" to unlock, and you can upgrade traits to change relationships and leverage the benefits of your allies.
There will also be hybrid Affinity units and upgrades for the first time, accessed by investing in multiple paths. You can collect and combine alien relics with a new Artifact System for powerful bonuses, and explore a new biome.
"Rising Tide builds upon the lore of Beyond Earth, breaking away the historical boundaries of the original franchise and furthering mankind's search for a new home in outer space," said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. "Whether colonizing the planet's oceans, acquiring new Affinities or meeting exotic new leaders, aliens and units for the first time, Rising Tide offers more ways for players to write their own stories on a new world."
