Cities are a Game Changer in Civ 7! (Towns, Districts & Cities)

Summary

Civilization 7 promises to transform city management with streamlined gameplay and innovative features. By reducing the number of city districts and eliminating micromanagement, such as builders and tile workers, the game aims to keep players engaged. New mechanics like 'culture bombing' and the introduction of towns, which can be converted to cities using 'influence' currency, offer fresh strategic depth. These changes not only simplify gameplay but also reflect the historical evolution of cities, potentially revolutionizing the Civilization series.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Civilization 7 introduces significant changes to city management, aiming to address common player fatigue in strategy games.
• 🎮 The game reduces micromanagement by streamlining city districts, which now come in only two types: urban and rural.
• 🏛️ Urban districts in C7 start with two slots for buildings and can specialize in areas like science, culture, or commerce.
• 🌾 Rural districts handle tile improvements and are managed from the city screen, diverging from the builder system of Civ 6.
• 🏙️ Players can place a new district each time a city's population increases, removing the need to manage citizen work tiles.
• 🌐 Adjacency bonuses and unique building effects are lost over time, encouraging players to rebuild and evolve their cities.
• 🏡 The introduction of 'towns' as smaller settlements attached to cities reduces the number of cities a player must manage directly.
• 💰 Towns provide resources and gold to the main city and can be converted to cities using a new game currency called 'influence'.
• 🔄 The new mechanics are designed to reflect the historical evolution of cities and to add a layer of strategy to city development.
• 📈 The changes are expected to make the game more engaging by reducing complexity while adding depth to city planning and growth.

Q & A

What is the main challenge in Civilization 6 that Civilization 7 aims to address?

The main challenge is the micromanagement of many cities and units, which can become tiresome and lead to players losing interest before the game's end.

How does Civilization 7 plan to streamline gameplay?

Civilization 7 plans to streamline gameplay by introducing new features and reducing micromanagement, such as removing Builders and simplifying city districts.

What are the two types of city districts in Civilization 7?

The two types of city districts in Civilization 7 are Urban Districts and Rural Districts.

How does the building placement in Urban Districts differ from Civilization 6?

In Civilization 7, all buildings are placed in Urban Districts, whereas in Civilization 6, each type of building had a unique district.

What is the initial number of building slots in an Urban District during the Antiquity age?

The initial number of building slots in an Urban District during the Antiquity age is two.

How does the removal of Builders in Civilization 7 affect gameplay?

The removal of Builders reduces micromanagement, as players no longer need to manage which tiles their citizens are working on.

What is the new feature of 'culture bombing' in Civilization 7?

In Civilization 7, districts 'culture bomb' tiles adjacent to them when they've been completed, which encourages overbuilding and the evolution of cities.

How do towns function in Civilization 7 and how do they differ from cities?

Towns in Civilization 7 are smaller settlements that provide access to nearby resources and gold output for the city they are attached to. They differ from cities in that they do not have a build queue and can be converted to cities using Influence.

What is the new currency introduced in Civilization 7 for converting towns to cities?

The new currency introduced in Civilization 7 for converting towns to cities is Influence.

How do the changes to city mechanics in Civilization 7 reflect the evolution of real-world cities?

The changes to city mechanics in Civilization 7, such as overbuilding and the addition of towns, better reflect the historical evolution of major cities, where central rural areas are replaced by urban ones as the city grows.

What is the potential issue with the new district placement mechanic in Civilization 7?

The potential issue is that cities may end up looking like a strange checkerboard of rural and urban districts, which might not feel authentic.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Revolutionizing City Management in Civilization 7

Civilization 7 aims to transform city management, addressing the challenge of maintaining player interest throughout the game. The previous game, Civilization 6, often saw players losing interest due to the micromanagement of cities and units. Developers have recognized this issue and are introducing new features to keep the game engaging. A key change is the reduction of city districts from numerous unique types in Civ 6 to just two types in Civ 7: urban and rural. Urban districts start with two slots for buildings and can be specialized for different focuses like science, while rural districts handle tile improvements. Builders are removed, and district adjacency bonuses are streamlined. This change is expected to simplify city planning and reduce micromanagement, allowing for a more strategic and less tedious gameplay experience.

05:01

🏗️ New City and Town Mechanics in Civilization 7

In Civilization 7, the game mechanics are further evolved to reduce micromanagement and enhance gameplay. Players can only place new districts adjacent to existing ones, which leads to a cultural influence over adjacent tiles. This mechanic encourages overbuilding as the game progresses, reflecting the historical evolution of cities. Early rural districts are replaced by urban ones, and the needs of cities are supplemented by surrounding towns. Towns, a new addition, act as outposts providing resources and gold to the main city. They can be converted into cities using the game's new currency, influence. This shift from managing multiple cities to a few large cities with many towns is expected to streamline gameplay while adding a layer of strategic depth. The video invites viewers to explore more about the ages mechanic and to share their thoughts on the new city mechanics in the comments.

Keywords

💡Civilization 7

Civilization 7, referred to as 'c7' in the transcript, is the hypothetical next installment in the popular Civilization strategy game series. It is central to the video's theme as the narrator discusses how it aims to revolutionize city management in the game, making it a key concept for understanding the video's focus on game design evolution.

💡Micromanagement

Micromanagement in the context of the video refers to the detailed control and oversight required to manage every aspect of the game, such as individual units and city buildings. The video discusses how Civilization 7 intends to reduce this burden, making gameplay less tedious and more enjoyable for players.

💡City Districts

City districts in the Civilization game series are designated areas within a city that serve specific purposes, such as science, culture, or commerce. The video explains that in Civilization 7, there are only two types of districts, urban and rural, which streamlines the process of city development and reduces complexity compared to previous games.

💡Urban Districts

Urban districts, as mentioned in the script, are a type of city district in Civilization 7 where various buildings can be constructed. They start with two slots for buildings and can be specialized for certain types of buildings like science, which is a significant change from the multiple unique districts in Civilization 6.

💡Rural Districts

Rural districts in the video are areas outside of the city where improvements like fishing boats or mines are built. These are a new feature in Civilization 7 that allows for the expansion of city influence and resource management without the need for direct micromanagement of citizen workers.

💡Builders

Builders are a game mechanic in previous Civilization games responsible for constructing improvements on map tiles. The video notes that Builders are removed in Civilization 7, which is part of the effort to reduce micromanagement and simplify the game's mechanics.

💡Tiles

Tiles in the context of the video represent the individual sections of the game map that can be worked on by citizens or have improvements built on them. The management of tiles is a significant aspect of the game, and the video discusses how Civilization 7 changes this with the introduction of urban and rural districts.

💡Influence

Influence, as introduced in the video, is a new game currency in Civilization 7 used for converting towns into cities. It represents a shift in the game's mechanics, moving away from a focus on production towards a more strategic use of resources to expand and manage empires.

💡Towns

Towns in Civilization 7 are smaller settlements that provide resources and gold to the main cities. They are a new addition to the game that replaces the founding of new cities, which helps to reduce micromanagement and introduces a new layer of strategy in managing a civilization's growth.

💡Adjacencies

Adjacencies in the game refer to the bonuses or effects that buildings receive based on their proximity to other buildings or features. The video discusses how Civilization 7 changes the way adjacencies work, with districts 'culture bombing' adjacent tiles, which could lead to more organic and historically accurate city growth.

Highlights

Civilization 7 aims to revolutionize city management in strategy games.

The game addresses the challenge of maintaining player engagement until the end.

Civ7 introduces new features and reduces micromanagement to enhance gameplay.

City districts in Civ7 are streamlined with only two types instead of unique ones for every aspect.

Urban districts in Civ7 start with two slots for buildings and can increase over time.

Builders are removed in Civ7, and tile improvements are now built in rural districts.

Players can place a new district each time a city's population increases.

Civ7 eliminates the need to manage which tiles citizens are working on.

Districts in Civ7 can 'culture bomb' tiles adjacent to them, influencing city growth.

Civ7 encourages overbuilding as districts evolve, reflecting the historical development of cities.

Towns are a new addition in Civ7, acting as outposts and providing resources to cities.

Towns can be converted to cities using the new currency of influence.

The new city mechanics in Civ7 not only streamline gameplay but also add a layer of strategy.

Civ7's changes to cities and the introduction of towns aim to reduce micromanagement.

The new mechanics are expected to make city management more engaging and less tedious.

IGN's review points out potential issues with the new district placement mechanics.

The game's new features are designed to keep the game engaging until the end.

Transcripts

civilization 7 will revolutionize the

way cities work and I think it could be

a master stroke that helps solve one of

the genres biggest challenges let me

tell you why so I'll hold my hands up I

tend to lose interest in a game of civ6

before it's over on a fairly regular

basis and I won't always see through

until the end maybe I have the attention

span of a toddler but the

micromanagement of so many cities and

units can become tiresome compared to

the the feeling of Adventure and

possibility that fills the early game

developers of these games are becoming

more and more aware of this fact the

upcoming ARA history and told has its

own way of keeping the game alive until

the end but c7's combination of adding

some very cool new features with the

removal of some tiresome micromanagement

across the board could prove to be one

of the best Solutions yet so how is the

redesigning of cities shaping up to play

such a pivotal role in this one way C7

is deploying this Duo of combining an

intriguing new feature with streamline

gameplay is the city districts of which

there are now only two types instead of

a unique district for every different

aspect of the game Civ 6 for example had

the campus for science the theater

Square for culture and the commercial

hub for gold you now build all your

buildings ranging from a granery to City

walls to whatever else you'd put in one

of those districts I just mentioned in

what are known as urban districts the

these districts start with two slots for

buildings in the Antiquity age but this

is said to increase as the game

progresses if you want to build a

science District in C7 the way to do it

is to specialize one of your urban

districts to build solely science

buildings as I'm sure you've heard by

now Builders are also gone in civ7 and

things which would previously have been

classed as tile improvements we're

talking about things like fishing boats

or mines are now built in rural

districts which are placed from within

the city screen the way urban and rural

districts are put down is fairly

reminiscent of c6's districts so it

shouldn't take you too long to get your

head around it players will have the

opportunity to place a new District

every time a City's population increases

and because of this there's now no

longer a need to manage which tiles your

citizens are working so another pillar

of Civ six's micromanagement is gone

there too I think most people will agree

that everything that we've talked about

so far has the potential to streamline

an area of gameplay that was pretty

complex in Civ 6 like if we're being

honest Builders often required a lot of

micromanagement and there was so much to

remember with districts in C6 that

planning your cities could get quite

complicated but what I'm more excited

about is that these changes could also

enable a unique and intriguing new

feature coming to civ7 cities in civ7 as

things stand players will only be able

to place a district adjacent to an

existing one to facilitate this

District's essentially culture bomb

tiles adjacent to them when they've been

completed I read over the IGN review of

the initial game play and an issue they

identify with only being able to place

new districts adjacent to existing ones

is that Cities end up as a Strang

looking checkerboard of rural and urban

districts which doesn't feel

particularly authentic however I'm not

sure that this is going to be so much of

a problem instead with buildings losing

their unique effects and adjac bonuses

through each age transition alongside

the addition of towns which we'll talk

about in a second players will be

encouraged to overbuild essentially

build over existing districts with new

ones as the game progresses this could

be a really cool new feature of C7 which

better reflects the evolution of the

world's major cities throughout history

from what I've seen it will make sense

for your major cities to be sprawling

Urban centers where the central rural

districts of the early game are replaced

by new Urban ones and the needs of those

cities in terms of food and other

resources will be supplemented by the

surrounding towns much like how major

cities work today the new District

mechanics therefore not only streamline

the game play but also open up a whole

new way to build a city across the game

since we mentioned towns these are

another major addition for civilization

7 and another way that the game aims to

cut down on some micromanagement

settlers now found towns rather rather

than cities these towns act like Outpost

providing the city they are attached to

access to nearby resources they also

have an output of gold rather than

production meaning that they don't have

a build queue though gold can be used to

purchase items within them towns can be

converted to cities at some point using

the Game's new currency of influence

there's a lot more to find out about

towns going forward but they look fun

and undeniably having to manage less

cities but more towns could again be a

good way to stream the game playay

whilst also adding a cool new gameplay

mechanic the changes to cities are going

to be a massive feature of C7 but to

understand civ7 fully you'll want to

pick out our explainer on everything we

know about the ages mechanic which is on

screen now as for this video do you like

the new city mechanics in civ7 do you

agree with my points today let me know

in the comments thank you so much for

watching and I will catch you soon