The game — in a good way — is a clone of Civ V.
First impressions (what felt the same)
- City screen, research, build queues, and resource types all feel recognizably 4X.
- City production and infrastructure choices look and feel like Civ‑style decisions: buildings, units, and improvements are present and familiar.
What’s different
- Resolve / turn timing: Some actions “resolve automatically” into the next turn (my scout didn’t move instantly). That changes microtiming and scouting risk compared to Civ V’s immediate unit moves. The simultaneously resolve was mentioned in the marketing for the game and I imagine it’ll fix some of the issues Civ had in multiplayer games where certain players just clicked faster than others and got a boost which is awkward in a turn-based game.
- Eras: Moving eras can lock out techs you didn’t pick. Interesting penalty for those who just try to tech ahead. In the previous post I mentioned that the Civs seemed more balanced in having underpowered traits. This also seems like an important and interesting balancing mechanism against an exclusive tech focus. Beyond that it seems the game is structured into three Acts, each composed of four tech eras.
- Nation Cull: You can also apparently have the game “cull” laggard nations when eras advance which I think is funny. Definitely a mechanic I will disable — players who are out of the game but continued irritants add a fun element to the game. Plus I wouldn’t want my friends to be kicked from a game that may still last months. I’d rather they enjoy the fun and engagement even if they have no real chance of winning.
- Prestige victory: Victory is about “Prestige” across Acts. The one with the most “Prestige” wins. I wonder if I can turn that off — some of the most fun I had with my friends was in end-games where all out war led to extended stalemates and creative strategic thinking. This would have been ruined by the game having some artificial timer that ended it.
- Equipment Caches vs Ancient Ruins: I found an Equipment Cache that granted a one‑time “+1 wheel” bonus — I don’t know what this means. As before it seems that the equivalent of Ancient Ruins are less powerful in Ara, which again seems better for balance.
- Tribes vs City‑States: Tribes give quests apparently which is similar to Civ V. They can also eventually join you which you couldn’t really do in Civ V.
- Predators: Wild predators like tigers instead of barbarians; combat prediction overlays don’t seem to be shown against them.
- Food: Excess food may not lead to population growth in the same way as Civ V? I didn’t see a screen that let me decide which citizen would work which tile.