Firaxis is finally returning to the turn-based strategy genre with the hotly anticipated Sid Meier's Civilization 7, and fans are excited to see what the studio has planned. While it should take a long look at victories and barbarians, it should also consider expanding upon Civilization 6's Climate Change mechanic. The mechanic was a unique addition to the game, but Civilization 7 could make it so much more than that.
Climate Change in Sid Meier's Civilization 6 never quite felt like the end-of-the-world scenario it should have been. It was mostly easy to avoid, and its ramifications were not hard to work around. It should feel much worse than that, and Civilization 7 is Firaxis' chance to actually make it feel dangerous. It should feel like a truly apocalyptic scenario, and no civilization should be able to stand up against it.
Civilization 6’s Apocalypse Makes Climate Change Matter
The Climate Change mechanic was introduced in Sid Meier's Civilization 6's second expansion Gathering Storm. While the climate was always present in Civilization, Gathering Storm made it so that every civilization impacted it based on their emissions. The game tracks the CO2 emissions of every nation, and deforestation leads to an even greater increase in emissions. As the CO2 level rises, the game becomes far more hazardous for the civilizations still standing.
There are seven different stages of Climate Change in Sid Meier's Civilization 6, and each stage brings with it new challenges. As the stages progress, Civ's natural disasters will become more frequent and dangerous. The polar ice caps will also start to melt, and coastal tiles will become flooded unless players successfully build flood walls. Storms and droughts will eventually remove fertility from tiles, and the world will slowly collapse. The only way to prevent this is to limit emissions or try to recapture as much CO2 as possible.
Civilization 6's New Frontier Pass introduced the Apocalypse mode for players that wanted to make Climate Change a bit more hazardous. This mode starts the game at Climate Change phase one and drastically increases the power and frequency of natural disasters. Two new natural disasters were also introduced, and a new Soothsayer unit can trigger disasters. Once Climate Change reaches phase seven, the world enters an apocalypse phase which sees comets constantly strike the planet and solar flares frequently occur.
Civilization 7 Could Make the Apocalypse an Unstoppable Threat
Climate Change and the Apocalypse mode add an interesting new dynamic to Sid Meier's Civilization 6, but it does not really feel like a threat. Most of the adverse effects can be easily thwarted, and Climate Change can often feel like an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. It just does not feel like a true apocalyptic situation, but Sid Meier's Civilization 7 could change all that.
Sid Meier's Civilization 7 should make the apocalypse feel like a real one. The apocalypse means the end of the world, and the surviving civilizations should have to fight for the limited resources that remain. The tiles should be unusable, the oceans should be washing over everything, natural disasters should be bombarding the planet, and the world should feel like a desolate wasteland. Civilizations should start more wars as the world falls apart, and the game should enter an endgame state. If players do not act fast enough, everything that they built should fall into ruin.
Climate Change was an interesting addition to the Civilization series, and Firaxis cannot abandon it for the seventh game. Instead, it needs to expand upon it and truly make it feel dangerous. Players need a reason to avoid it at all costs or suffer the consequences. While its destructive nature could get annoying, if done right it has the chance to be one of the most interesting mechanics in the game.
Sid Meier's Civilization 7 is currently in development