Civilization: Beyond Earth update brings connectivity with Starships

Firaxis will roll out a new Civilization: Beyond Earth update soon, introducing connectivity with the studio's forthcoming Sid Meier's Starships. It makes sense as the games are set in the same universe, though few details on how the connectivity will work in practice have been provided. Once the patch has rolled out you'll be able to log-in to a my2K account from within Beyond Earth, granting you an exclusive Glacier planet map.

Sid Meier's Starships is a turn-based space strategy game set in the Beyond Earth universe, and is expected to release some time in the first half of 2015. You can see the game in action over here.

Meanwhile, the new update will also usher in new game balance changes, with Wonders the main target for revision. "One of the most consistent pieces of feedback the team received was that certain Wonders were built only rarely, and players reported that some felt like marginal upgrades over other resource buildings," the patch notes read. "The Beyond Earth team took a general cost pass on all the Wonders in the game, and changed the effects of most of them." Changes to Wonders will have a knock-on effect for other aspects of the game.

Other major changes include a new city population requirement for trade routes, with routes unlocking with certain population milestones. The full patch notes are here, and they're lengthy, so kick back and put some Tangerine Dream on.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.