Good news for Civilization VI fans! The “Australia Summer 2017” Update finally adds multiplayer teams and modding support – two features that really should have been included at launch.
“Multiplayer teams and mod tools have been two of the community’s most-requested features,” writes the blog post. “Steam Workshop will allow you to browse, add, and subscribe to mods more easily. And in multiplayer you can team up with your friends to conquer the world together against AI or human opponents.”
Playing with teams re-balances the gameplay. Teammates share victory, tech and culture boosts, and alliance and war statuses. Religion and Culture Victories have been reworked so you can share a victory when one teammate spreads their religion or becomes culturally dominant.
On the modding side, Civ VI has added development tools such as ModBuddy and FineTuner. Modders also have access to the game’s art assets (with a 7 GB download). Civ VI is now finally integrated with Steam Workshop for easy access to mods.
These are all great (and necessary) additions. Civ veterans should be especially satisfied with the AI updates that also arrived in the patch. The AI in Civ 6 is considered inferior to Civ 5. Hopefully these changes help steer Civ 6 in the right direction. Civ 5 improved immensely over the years. While vanilla Civ 6 is better than vanilla Civ 5 at launch, it still has a long way to go.
Firaxis continues to release paid DLC as well. The Australia Civilization & Scenario Pack adds the Australian Civilization for the very first time in a Civ game. Australia is lead by John Curtin, the Prime Minister during World War II. His Citadel of Civilization bonus gives +100% Production whenever another civilization declares war on Australia. Australia also features the unique Digger unit and Outback Station building.
The Scenario Pack includes the Outback Tycoon Scenario, which features no combat. It takes place on a randomly generated Australian interior. You are tasked with exploring and expanding your territory, with your net income acting as your total score.
Multiplayer teams, modding and AI balance updates are all free in the new patch. The Australia Civilization & Scenario Pack is $4.99.
