"My God, Jesus Christ!"
Frank shook his head sharply, finally figuring out what this [ Civics Tree ] was all about.
It's like a technology tree, only it takes a more cultural approach.
"Oh no, I'm getting a little hot-headed, buddy."
Frank was finding it increasingly difficult to stay calm.
Is this what next-gen games are like?
That's an incredible amount of material!
I've been in the game for almost half an hour, and I'm still stuck here, not even finished the first round.
Frank breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the option to click the A button had changed to [Next Round].
"Alright, alright, we've finally finished the first round, so let's—"
"Hey, don't rush."
Mike suddenly spoke up to stop him, "Look at this municipal incentive, it gives you a progress bonus, so do you think the tech tree might also have one—"
Frank paused for a moment, then found the button to reopen the tech tree interface.
As expected, apart from the first three technologies, each of the subsequent technologies has its own upgrade requirements.
Like encountering another Civilization, or killing a unit with a slinger—
"So—when we're doing scientific research, we also need to pay attention to these—uh— 'Eureka '?"
"It seems so."
99
Okay, okay, is this how you play it?
Frank took a deep breath and silently pressed the next button.
The anticipated new wave of information overload did not materialize.
Instead, there was a stark, stark silence, completely different from what had happened before.
Nothing happened.
Aside from the fact that the number of rounds of population growth in Washington city and the number of rounds of scout production did decrease, there was nothing extra.
In this second round, Frank was unharmed except for letting his stick run a few more steps.
"Thank goodness I have a chance to calm down."
It seems like he just entered the game and a bunch of mechanics were thrown at him, causing that brain overload state.
If we set those things aside for the time being, it doesn't seem that complicated.
It's just controlling a character to run around the map, isn't that just the gameplay of a strategy game?
In the third round, Washington's territory automatically expanded one square to the west towards [Incense], but apart from that, there were still no unexpected events.
Until— Frank maneuvered the Warrior across another river called the Missouri River.
Suddenly, a unit appeared at the edge of the field of vision.
It was a scout, but his color was completely different from Frank's own dark blue.
It was a striking red and black combination, symbolizing danger.
[Barbarian - Scout]
Although Frank didn't know what was going on, it was clear from his experience with Fire Emblem that when encountering such units, he either had to run or fight.
barbarian----
Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense.
After all, according to the setting, we are still in the ancient era, so it's not unusual to encounter some dangerous natives.
But surely once our technology advances, we'll be able to easily crush them with next-generation units, right?
Yes, that must be it.
How advanced could the barbarians' technology be?
"Hmm? The scout's combat strength is only 10, while my warriors have a full 20. It seems like we can't lose?"
Upon closer examination, it makes sense. Reconnaissance soldiers must have sacrificed combat capabilities in exchange for greater mobility and field of vision.
Unfortunately, the Warriors' mobility is too limited; even if Frank wanted to beat that guy up right now, he couldn't.
"It's alright, we can catch up next time."
Frank spoke in a relaxed tone.
The ease and enjoyment of these few rounds finally helped him recover from the shock of the first round.
That's right, it should be this simple so it's worry-free to play.
Unfortunately, Civilization is destined not to be a casual game.
Before he could even relax for a few rounds, the first item in the Civics Tree, [ Code of Laws ], was ready.
At the same time, he received two policy card slots, one red and one yellow, and two corresponding cards for each color.
Keep learning, there's no end to learning!
"Hey Frank, look at this. This card increases the productivity of all your cities by 1 point. What does that mean?"
"Not only that, this card also grants +1 gold coin and +1 faith."
"I know those two. Look at the top bar on the screen."
In the top left corner, four colors are arranged in order.
A blue glass bottle, purple musical notes, white—wings?, and gold coins.
Clearly, the addition to the [ God King ] card slot consists of the last two items listed above.
Faith and gold coins.
"Right? Oh yes, yes—no, no—"
Frank nodded, then shook his head, increasingly bewildered.
That's how it happened, and it should be true.
But the problem is that the technology and culture points are in whole and broken increments—where the hell do they come from?
Even ignoring that, what exactly is productivity?
Frank suddenly realized that he hadn't been spared; rather, he simply hadn't noticed these unspoken mechanisms.
After some searching, Frank finally figured out where these numbers, with both whole and fractional parts, came from.
It's Washington.
Clicking on the Washington, D. C. tab reveals a bar at the bottom with similar content to the top bar, except it includes a corn cob.
Needless to say, this must be grain, right?
"Let me see—Technology value 6, 4 from developed cells, 2 from buildings."
What?
What is all this nonsense?
What is a developed cell, and what is a building?
Frank, who had just Panasonic, suddenly felt as if a cannon had been blasted into his head again.
After searching for a while, I finally found a checkbox in the options menu called "[Show Earnings Chart]".
Once you check the box, a corresponding icon will appear on the cell, showing the player the attribute details.
"This cow has 3 food, 2 technology, and 2 culture attributes. Wow, is it an alien cow?"
It's understandable that the capital city has technology and culture stats, but why is there a bonus for the cows?
You should know that the other cells are all extremely poor, or have no more than two points in either productivity or food.
Although this cow has no productivity, it certainly doesn't skimp on any of its other attributes.
"Wait, wait, wait! I remember now, it's Roosevelt!"
Mike suddenly shouted, startling both of them into looking at him.
Seeing the puzzled looks on their faces, Mike's eyes lit up as he explained, "Hey, it's Roosevelt! You guys forgot? Roosevelt's effect is that adjacent to a mountain with a 'Stunning' charm, he gets +2 to technology, and adjacent to a forest with +2 to culture."
A quick glance at the location of this dairy farm reveals it's surrounded by mountains on two sides, with forests on the opposite bank of the river—doesn't this perfectly match the description of this entry?