A video interview w/ BE Designer Will Miller

[Buster's Uncle]

Civilization Beyond Earth Reveal 2014 #2

[BlaneckW]

I don't see the big deal about setting games in the future.  If you want to reflect on the future, you can start by reading history.  All of the lessons of statecraft are there, and Alpha Centauri was one of the better games in the Civilization series for exploring the subject. 

And as the article on the dytstopia in Alpha Centaurai might consider (in the New BE stories thread)), as for this Beyond Earth, well, it emphasizes the possibilities of transhumanism more, but does it consider the possibilities with it going awry?  If not, then I doubt it can be a good exploration of Statecraft or Civilization.

[BlaneckW]

The non-choiceness of Alpha Centauri's tech tree is highly over-stated.  The first tech you'll want to get is probably Centauri Ecology (terraformers), but after that you can make different choices regarding research and builds for a long, long time before you think you know what you are doing, which would change just by changing map sizes or water ratio, etc.

[Geo]

No.
Early faction contact might mean lasers  or synth metal should be your next 'obvious' choice. IOW, its situational.

[BlaneckW]

Early faction contact might mean lasers  or synth metal should be your next 'obvious' choice. IOW, its situational.

That much is situational.