Preview of Ascension

 

Last month I laid out the fall roadmap and put Ascension at the end of it with one line: "Uplift those Minor races." Today let's talk about what the heck that means.

The short version: minor races in Galactic Civilizations IV are being uplifted so that they can all be potentially major civilizations.

Minor races, major civilizations

Minor races have always been a bit of a second-class citizen in GalCiv. They sit on their home world, they trade with you, sometimes you conquer them, and that's about it. They have names and portraits and a little flavor text, but they don't really live the way a major civilization does.

With Ascension, fourteen of the minor races get promoted, including old friends like the Burran, the Klepart and the Kaxx Collective. Under the hood, each of them becomes a full major civilization, built the same way the major races are built.

They still start the game as minor civilizations. You'll meet them the same way you do now. The difference is a new state we're calling Pre-FTL (or something else, we still need a good name here, leave your ideas in the comments!). An Unuplifted civilization is a complete civilization that hasn't made the jump yet. It's sitting there with all that potential, waiting for someone to help it reach the stars.

That someone could be you. Which brings me to the fun part.

Every species is different

Every species in the game is getting its own unique genetic traits. Not just the fourteen minor races. Every species.

We want "who are these people?" to mean something biologically, not just culturally. One species might be naturally hardy. Another might be brilliant and fragile. The traits are part of what makes each species itself, and they matter beyond how the species looks.

Genetic Integration

When you uplift a minor civilization, you get access to its genetic heritage. Through a program we're calling Genetic Integration, you can bring some of that species' genetic strengths over to your own people.

There's a catch, and it's the point of the system. Genetics doesn't hand out only the parts you want. As you integrate, that species' genetic weaknesses can start to show up in your population too.

So it's risk versus reward. Do you go all in on a species whose strengths fit your strategy and accept what comes with them? Do you integrate a little and stop? Do you skip it entirely and keep your people as they are? None of those is the "right" answer, and that's what we're going for. We want it to be a real decision, not a button you always press.

Allies for life

An uplifted civilization doesn't forget who brought it to the stars. Uplifted minor civilizations become permanent allies of their benefactor.

Permanent ally doesn't mean puppet, though. Once uplifted, they're just as unique as any other civilization in the galaxy. They have their own identity and their own personality, and they play like it. You helped them up. You don't get to run their lives.

Building your own specialists

There's also a new screen where you create what amounts to new specialists for your planets and your militaries.

The idea is that your civilization should feel like yours. The people running your worlds and leading your fleets should reflect the choices you've made over the game. This screen is where you shape them.

Part of something bigger: version 4.5

Now all of this work is part of what will become version 4.5.

Version 4.5 is an overhaul of the game's UI itself. GalCiv IV has had more than four years of DLCs and expansions now, and when you add that much content over that much time, you can feel the seams. A screen from one expansion doesn't quite look or act like a screen from another. Features end up in places that made sense when they shipped but feel bolted on today.

We want the whole game to feel like one cohesive game. Ascension is being built with that goal in mind from the start.

The other side of it matters just as much. If you don't own a particular expansion, the game shouldn't feel like you need it. You shouldn't run into grayed-out buttons and holes where content would be. The game you own should feel complete.

That's a big part of what 4.5 is about.