As always unfinished

It's quite early for a review, but I still believe I can make a reasonably well-founded opinion about the game, because I have looked at various LPs and just completed my first own game after a long night. The bottom line, I am rather disappointed.

== Is BE Civ 5 in space? ==
Clearly: No. Of course, the games look alike. But this is true for all turn-based strategy games. The bottom line, the game mechanics and which are at BE different. All strategies that one has concocted for Civ 5, no longer work. We need new ways through the tech Web, new strategies with which social policies are to be employed. The warfare will vary, although we continue to hexes with the play A-unit-per-box rule. But there is no individual more upgrades have compared to Civ for units and ranged units 5 melee significantly poorer values. In short, everything you need for new strategies and priorities, my knowledge of Civ 5 helps me warmly BE bit further.

== == Game Depth
The game is clearly noted that the developers wanted to add to the complexity. That's you partially succeeded. First, civilizations have only a fixed bonus and the rest is put together on a modular basis. In addition, the paths are more flexible through the social policies. Who, for example., The 5 tradition Civ was almost always well advised to take out tradition completely. That's no longer the case in BE, there are now also cross-bonuses for various branches. Social policies that are far behind, yet are relatively easily accessible, which means you no longer have to wait forever to certain social policies that you want to have necessarily, but you can Rushen, if desired. The same applies to the tech Web: you can not explore it all and it's not even necessary. It now has a lot more freedom and no longer needs to discover techs that you do not really need. It is now possible, specifically more or less to investigate only what you really need. This is basically a round thing, because it gives the player a lot more choices at hand, as befits a good strategy game.

What is the problem? Now, by Rushen are late-game Techs and social policies very quickly. It would be through clever combination of skills of civilization, associated with appropriate social policies and a sly way through the tech Web possible to exloit the complexity of the game by about late-game Wonder to build in round 100. The only way to get around this is to weaken the importance of the decision / achievement and the creators have unfortunately done. In other words: it is, in principle, relatively not care what social policies you take, except for a few bad, you can work with all equally well, it does not matter whether I'm building relatively only building A for more energy or building B for better health. Why? Because you already have enough time to build all (!) Building and construction each takes only a few laps and the 5 rounds there is then no longer on. Even with the great announced quests I have to say that one is clearly the better of the two choices in 9 of 10 cases. The wonder of the world, it must be noted, are mostly so bad that the building is not worth even begin. Is also clear, it must be prevented that late-game wonders gerusht or may be just worth the rushen not. On balance I think that the great complexity of the game in itself is detrimental to the quality of the end, because the decisions are relatively unimportant. Somehow everything goes. The game sticks to a large arbitrariness. I build only a colonist or at a laboratory for more science? Could not care less, goes eh jiffy. You do not need build real order more. That is not proper for a strategy game!

In addition, the complexity has decreased in some areas. For example, you have 5 decide clearly how many cities they wanted to establish itself in Civ. From 1-6 cities could, depending on the situation, its all a valid strategy. How does it look in BE? Clearly, the more the better cities. All under 6 cities may forget, better 8-10. OCC can be forgotten. This is mainly due to the trade routes that generate a lot of food and production, especially between own towns. That is more cities, more trade routes = I win. Trade routes have absolute priority that should be getting all active. That was in Civ 5 is not so, as there were often other priorities. Also losing units, commercial convoys and even cities does not really hurt. Everything can be nachproduzieren immediately.

The affinities can not convince me. The main reason is that they are inextricably linked to specific resources that you need for the special forces of the respective affinity. For example, it is a very bad idea to choose as affinity purity if no Schwebsteine ​​near are. I find that totally moronic. So I am forced to choose the affinity, of which I have the most appropriate resources. And why should a civilization that has chosen as affinity harmony, can start anything with Schwebsteinen?

In short: ZT complexity was considerably reduced, where it has been extended, the decisions do not play a big role too. The game is more for casual gamers and builders, but not for the strategists, perfectionist and lover of micromanagement.

== What is missing? ==
Good stuff. Well, the thing is done, or DLC Addon are already by default to (even if the developers have said that it is not intended to provide. All right!). So that's all not the kick, I list out, I can think straight:
- Only 8 civilizations (!). This calls for Addon
- World Congress / global politics
- No religion (this is admittedly difficult to implement, because somehow inconsistent)
- Specialists were nerfed, great personalities, you can also forget
- Seekolonien (so really that existed at SMAC already in the vanilla version) -> Addon
- Aliens as a playable civilization -> Addon

== AI and policy ==
Yeah, what can I say. Total crap is the course again. I realize that it is sauschwer to program a good AI. But still the AI ​​no piece is better than its predecessors. I've managed to stop with an Explorer a whole army. How? Simply have the bottleneck made tight (was no declaration of war, but it was clear that the army wants me to) and attack instead of my Explorer, the whole army was not consumed by the neighboring aliens (aliens were of the AI ​​course attacked). These and similar interruptions are still pretty lame. Diplomacy, I say now nothing to;) Overall, the game is far too easy. KI can be tricked easily and is hardly a serious threat. There are only 6 levels of difficulty, while in Civ 5 8 were. My feeling is that the developers have just the two heaviest deleted. I have certainly won my first game at the highest difficulty level. And that should not really happen, especially since I'm not the About strategist. There are much better players than me.

== Performance ==
As always, the recommended system requirements are probably the minimum requirements. My feeling the game is hungrier than Civ 5, but not much. Halfway good calculator is certainly competitive games for liquid.

== Tl; dr ==
Nice build-up play, but not a real strategy game. Far too easily and arbitrarily, there must be a lot readjusted. My euphoria goodbye.

== == Postscript
1. All but one opinion;)
2. Based on the first impression. Why should I not post the? If changes my opinion I share this with you. Have tried to be objective.
3. Yeah, that is not a successor to Alpha Centauri. Yes and? Of course, comparing the same. Can we just compare games, if that is one of the successors of the other now? What nonsense.
4. Why only two stars? The game is far too easy. From a strategy game I expect at the highest level that I either lose the first playthrough or me should make an effort beastly to win. Both not the case.
5. The "professionals" to share my opinion CivFanatics largely, is just typical of civ games that they vanilla are only half finished

== == Addendum 2
So, another game running on. It is, alas, already quite boring, the AI ​​at will overrun, no resistance at the highest level of difficulty. The biggest challenge is to stay calm. Because I have 10 cities and accordingly 30 commercial convoys. I have set up trade routes 3-4 each round. Feel like a civil servant in the Federal Office for the management of trade routes. First impression is confirmed: Game is not balanced front and rear. There is still very much pent-up demand. I also do not understand why all always think I should give the game a chance. First, I do that, I just got on like a little kid, and nothing I would rather do than to say that everything is super great. And secondly, is the fact that the game is too easy for a strategy game and I can dupe the enemy rashly, probably hardly change the fact that I'm more familiar with the game. And why should my review be so hasty, no one complained to the 4/5 star reviews about the fact that the author of the game can hardly know. Man man man

== 3rd and last addendum ==
I must apologize to all those who have criticized my review, I was wrong. The game is even worse than I thought. Therefore, now only one star. This is all so immature that I no longer play. That has made no Civ game. Everything in this game is so arbitrary and completely meaningless. What to build, what should I do? All matter, you can not lose unless you're doing it on purpose. In principle, one might as well play alone, without AI. The original makes namely times nothing. It has set up round 200 failed to modernize the resources in its second city. She has no appreciable army. I do not know what the AI ​​is building all the time so, at least I can not remember what to do with my production. Have too much of everything, in Round 150 has> 10,000 energy to the edge, although I throw out the hands full with the window. City defense is ridiculous: Two shots of artillery around the city rich strumreif to shoot! Have a Xeno Titan built that Uber unit for harmony affinity. Well, unfortunately, only two trains, so it is too slow to something to attack, because the faster units plow just as by the enemies and make everything flat, the Xeno-Titan comes not afterward. From round 150-180 you can actually go to sleep all units, classify the information necessary for the victory Techs and always press only end turn. That brings victory, but oh yes, there are always these caravans where you have to 4-5x each round scroll through eternal lists to find the commercial target. If I did not know better, I'd say the game could just as it is now going to the beta test but that is actually the release version. Absolute fail.

==. 4 and the very last Addendum ==
Since I was beaten a few days with illness, I decided to give the game a chance again. In vain. Have this time won a victory contact. Once you have built the appropriate miracle, one must wait a full 30 rounds until the victory is complete. And in the time do you, uh, well, nothing really. End turn, end turn, end turn. The AI ​​can know a regular basis that they hate one, but considers it knowingly not bothered to tell me the war, but can give me. I did not have a military unit, not a defensive structure, nothing. That's ridiculous. By the way I had in Round 272:
~ 550 Culture / Round
~1000 Science / Round
~ 85 excess health
~ 10,000 energy to spare

- 7 cities, size 20-30
- Only 21 technologies, their research still open, and exploring each had lasted only 1 to a maximum of 2 rounds (21 sounds a lot, but a closer look is very little in the tech Web). So it's possible in a game to about 300 round to explore all the technologies (and, incidentally, to build all the useful building. An army I would also also can set up, if I had wanted that, by the way)
- AI (again: highest Schwieirgkeitsgrad) was far from each victory.

Although some people will not like, but to give this game 5 stars is absolute nonsense. Where is because the strategic challenge. A victory in BE feels like a child remove the lollipop.

Hihi. I can not help me. Anyone who looks at the times Patchnotes quickly realize: Hey, who are going to change just about everything. From AI to UI, from the fighting strength up to -> Insert please any word. Well how can that be so? Now it gets even better? Dirty stuff. The next civ game I buy earliest 1 year from release, so long need so, it should turn reasonably adequately.