Polycast episode 428: “Freedom?”

By | February 18, 2024
0 Comment
PolyCast Logo

The four-hundred-and-twenty-eighth episode of PolyCast, “Freedom?” is now available on streaming on YouTube. This episode features regular co-hosts CanusAlbinus. Stephanie “Makahlua”, Phil “TheMeInTeam”, and Jason “MegaBearsFan”. Topics for this episode include:

News
– 00h01m54s | Ara History Untold game overview
– 00h21m23s | Ara History Untold dev diary: “the 6Xs”
– 00h34m54s | January 2024 Challenge of the Month: Robot Revolution

Forum Talk
– 00h39m54s | Academic paper: “On Being Stuck in Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Promise of Freedom in Historical Games”
– 01h01m34s | What to try next when you need a break from Civ

We are currently having technical issues preventing us from updating the ThePolyCast.net website, so the most recent episodes are not available there (yet). We hope to have this resolved soon, and to get the website updated.

NOTE: This Episode was recorded on 20 January 2024.

PolyCast is a bi-weekly audio production recording live every other Saturday at 12 Noon US Eastern Time throughout the year, in an ongoing effort to give the Civilization community an interactive voice.

Join us for the discussion of this episode here.

Millennia | Community Q&A II

By | February 17, 2024
0 Comment

The developers of Millennia have posted their second community Q&A. This Q&A was run while the demo was active (still is for another 2 days!), so some interesting in-depth questions were asked. If you want to know more about the space race or a more culturally tied winning condition, religions, their differences, and many other things, then check out this thread.

An excerpt:

Can we rename heroes and can we reshape and change their stories to be different from how they were in real life mythologies and legends?

You can rename your army stacks, but not individual units. When you get a Hero, you can send them on any Quest they meet the requirements for, so if you want to try to tell their story, or any variant of that, you can try your best!

New indie game release – AlexanderBall: A Countryball Tale

By | February 17, 2024
0 Comment

And we are getting another interesting release – AlexanderBall: A Countryball Tale.
Also this game is a historical turn-based 4X game, where you play as Alexander the Great. As in other games, you also recruit armies, fight turn-based hex battles, build your cities and conduct diplomacy. But, the twist, all characters and units are not humans, but country balls! The graphics are accordingly nice 2D drawings, and look nicely comical as expected.

The game is currently available on Steam for 12.79€, and you can discuss it with us here.

Play the new Civ5 “Game Of The Month” #239

By | February 16, 2024
0 Comment

Ands you obviously also get a new Civ5 GOTM! This time you play as Askia of the Songhai on a standard size Sandstorm map on Emperor level. You need to win via culture victory to reign over Dune… er… this sand mass, we mean. The deadline is March 15. You can find all the info here.

Imperiums: Greek Wars – Rise of Caesar

By | February 16, 2024
0 Comment

Imperiums: Greek Wars is a historical turnbased 4X game, so the right thing for the Civ-fanatics crowd! You play (not surprisingly) in the era of the ancient Greeks, and you try to dominate the mediterranean with one of the Greek (or other) factions, by conquering, exploring, and building up your empire. This game has been released for a while already, but now the new DLC “Rise Of Caesar” is available, changing the setting to Rome, and giving you two campaigns to conquer Gaul and the British Isles.

The game is currently on sale, with the base game discounted by 66% to 10,19€, the new DLC is discounted by 10% to 17,99€. And there is a free demo available for the base game too!

Come discuss this game with us here.

Play the new Civ4 “Game Of The Month” #268

By | February 15, 2024
0 Comment

With the nearly-valentine’s edition of the Civ4 GOTM we’re sending you to England. You’re playing as Victoria on a standard size canals map on Prince level. This game has random events enabled, but you could pick the challenger options on Emperor level without. No matter what, the deadline is April 1. For more information please check here.

Millennia: Steam Nextfest demo available longer, until February 19

By | February 14, 2024
0 Comment

The dem of the new (semi) historical 4X game by Paradox games is available for 1 week longer, until February 19.
The demo will be single player, and you will be able to play at maximum 60 turns up until the 3rd age. This allows you to explore the age system of Millennia, which allows you get into alternative history, giving overall more interesting options for the game.

You can discuss the demo with us here, and also read more info at ParadoxPlaza.

New Civ6 monthly challenge: The Head Of Cyrus

By | February 13, 2024
0 Comment

For nearly Valentine’s Day Firaxis is giving us a new monthly challenge: The Head Of Cyrus. You play as Tomyris on a duel size hot and arid inland sea map. You get Barbarian clans, and you must win via Domination against an obvious foe. You have the option to play on Prince or Emperor level, and the challenge runs until March 12. For more information please check this thread.