We Need to Talk About Millennia... The New Civ 6 Contender?

[@JumboPixel]

Millennia have sponsored me in the past, including my most recent let's play video. This video is not sponsored or affiliated with them (see 24:41 for a probably boring, but fuller explanation). I'll always try my best to be free and frank in these kind of discussion videos, and I've spent an especially long time crafting this one. Past work shouldn't silence future discussion, just as it shouldn't positively influence it. Thanks for watching! and don't buy games based off what one dude says on the internet. Also... there's 6 domains lol (i always think of government as separate from the other 5 because you choose a government type separately from national spirits).

[@galvendorondo]

I watched a 5 and a half hour playthrough of a single game, and at the end of it, the guy said “If you’re wondering if you should buy this game, and if you’ve watched up to this point, I think you’ve already made up your mind.” - and he’s absolutely right. Whatever shortcomings there seem to be, I can see all of that getting fixed sooner rather than later. Just one more day, I’ve wanted this game for so long.

[@outland2874]

fellow potato fan!

[@JumboPixel]

Good old 🥔

[@wile123456]

It's paradox. It will take 2 years to fix shortcomings and it will be gatekept by endless DLC

[@galvendorondo]

@@wile123456 you say that as if the average paradox player does not know that Yeah it’s sad and scummy but it’s not like they have competition lol

[@jamesharrison3149]

​@galvendoronu u say that as if paradox does not charge half the triple A price and have each major dlc have major changes to the game.

[@johnchance7836]

Hearing the plea for more diversity I'm reminded that this is a PARADOX game . . . we'll get it, one expansion or flavor pack at a time over the next ten years. ROFL

[@JT-yl9yt]

Paradox are only the publishers its up to the development team...age of wonders 4 was also published and not developed by Paradox and doesn't really have a nickel and dime dlc system.

[@Dutchwheelchair]

@@JT-yl9yt yeah, but the same practice is happening in some extent

[@jamesharrison3149]

​@@Dutchwheelchairngl mate, I would rather a game that actually get's actively worked on and balanced that has dlc's than some season pass (cod), microtransaction hell (anything EA or Diablo), or the same game with a recycled and formerely abandoned mechanic (EA Sports). At least Paradox clearly gives a shit and improves their games. They don't blame the community for not liking them releasing recylced garbage (EA + Activision) or just leave their game to the wolf pack of hackers (like Valve tends to do).

[@Dutchwheelchair]

@@jamesharrison3149 Its play and love their games but i stil don't like how they do things. on that department

[@jamesharrison3149]

​@@Dutchwheelchairhmmm I guess that means u also don't like uodates that address and fix community criticism about their games? Because they releases a massive updates 4-7 days ago that basically fixed a large amount of issues the community had with the game.

[@finaldusk1821]

I can't say I'm interested enough to want to buy Millenia, even after exhausting most of the demo's content. That said, I do want it to succeed and be given due credit for what it does well, especially the extraordinary scope of its economy and age systems. Not only for fans of the game, but also to give Civilisation, Humankind, and Old World that much more competition, which means more innovation and quality games for all us historical 4X fans.

[@DreamingCyclist]

Thanks for the comprehensive & informative assessment. I WANT this game, but I also have a HUGE backlog of games to play, including playing more of Humankind and Old World.

[@lupertmiles884]

Thanks for the great video again! Super excited to get to play tonight.

[@jtech8873]

PSH I did 100 in the demo alone! In all seriousness, thanks for turning my eyes onto this like 6 months ago JP. I may not match my like 4k hours in Civ in this game, but I do see me putting in a very very large amount of time and enjoying every minute.

[@chantan9358]

Great video, needed something exactly like this! Hadnt heard of this until yesterday in all honesty but I love Civ so I was wanting to know more about this and you provided exactly that! Cheers o7

[@ketiv272]

Great review. Informative. With valid boundaries between more personal preferences and more professional judgements of player having shitload of experience in genre. I was checking reviews on this specific game, but I wll probably also check other content on channel.

[@graham7573]

Great video as always. Aesthetics-wise your comparison to Old World is apt, but I think Old World has a sort of "classic" or "retro" appearance very intentionally, much closer to Civ V era graphics as opposed to something more modern-looking like Humankind. Unfortunately Millennia's presentation bears closer to "unfinished" than anything else. When I tried the beta last month I really thought a lot of that was placeholder, and was very shocked when I saw the March release date. Ages and domains all seem interesting but is really enough to convince people to drop $40 on something that sports graphics and UI more akin to a 20 year old game? For those of us that played the beta and were maybe a bit underwhelmed, is there anything you feel the game offers at launch that we didn't get much of a taste of in the beta, aside from more ages/techs? Civ is well known for shining in the early game and dragging a bit in the later turns--does Millennia suffer from a similar dynamic?

[@JumboPixel]

That's a great distinction about Old World's intentionality - it definitely feels a little like that for me too. My feeling is that ages become more interesting as you progress through Millennia, unlike most other similar games where I tend to be most interested at the start. I didn't mention that much in the video explicitly because some people will just think it's shilling and accuse me of all sorts. Now I realize I basically self-censored that positive point. I'd say the Alternate ages (Discovery, Visitors & Utopia to name a few) make the mid-later game more interesting than the start. Evolving domain powers and unique units help give these ages a little more flair too.

[@graham7573]

@@JumboPixel The stand-out in your video for me was learning about underwater cities, alien invasions, etc. I really had not imagined that their alternate age system ACTUALLY affected gameplay in such a tangible way, definitely moved me from the "I'm not buying this" camp to the "okay I might give this a go" camp. If Millennia can fit into that niche of "gets more fun as you progress through the game" instead of the other way around, that might be a real selling point over pretty much every other longform historical 4X on the market right now. Last question--and thanks for responding by the way. I've sometimes felt in other 4X titles that turtling and focusing science is a bit too attractive as a strategy, especially in multiplayer. Their units are more advanced than yours, but if you don't actively hinder them they'll research themselves right to an easy science victory. In Millennia, that seems like it's kicked up a notch further by giving the tech-leader control over age selection, allowing a single player to potentially decide the content and pacing over the course of an entire game. Does Millennia have any systems to hamper that kind of snowballing, or rubber band players together in such a way that keeps everyone feeling competitive and involved? Thanks for the video.

[@johnchance7836]

I'm actually glad they are taking it slow with the graphics. My computer is about two years old as well and I bought cities skylines 2 without hesitation only to find that I couldn't play it due to needing a better graphics card. It's the first game (let alone paradox game) I actually refunded on steam. Do I like nice graphics? Yes. Do I need them? No. I started playing this sort of game back in 1991 with the first Civilization game and mostly stopped when I didn't like the direction Civ 5 went in. This might bring me back. My best friend saw me playing yesterday and mentioned that we hadn't had a few hundred hour hotseat gaming session in the last few years. Looking forward to jumping in with him once the game releases and seeing how the graphics and everything else evolve over the next ten years. After all Stellaris and EUIV were the main games that replaced Civ V and held my attention for the last decade or so. lol

[@christophejamoye8394]

@@graham7573from what it looks like in playthroughs, there is a rubberband effect on science (-10% cost per civ with the tech), and actually going for the next age is detrimental to your science in that next age, because you spent 1. the max for being first (being second has a 30% discount already) 2. the max for researching the necessary 3/4 required techs, 3. you miss a lot of good techs to which you have to go back later (and then someone else advances in age while you get the old techs) of course at some point you are so far ahead that it doesnt matter anymore (ursa ryan was 2 ages ahead in age 8 with his op vassal swarm strategy on max difficulty for example), but at least there is something.

[@gunnergoz]

Good points made in your video, as always you're thoughtful and well-stated. My interest in Millennia perked up considerably once I realized that the player really does get to define his culture/country/society as the game progresses. Other games, Civ series included, always seem to force you to take their version of what a leader or people represented, and work mostly with them. Millennia takes a refreshingly different course, letting you define your side from the outset (apart from the limitations imposed by a finite list of city names based on historical countries, which is only logical since the game is not entirely disconnected from historical roots.) I do suspect that the game's inherent complexity (the vast number of moving parts to run a successful economy being one) is going to cause a lot of game purchasers to complain and possibly give up entirely. Time will tell, but I think this game is one I'll be focused on mastering for the rest of this year at least.

[@sanche215]

Solid video. Glad you looked into this one

[@AlphaSierraHotel117]

20:02 That is just straight up funny.

[@ryanrobison1237]

How is the AI in the game? Do you find the harder difficulties challenging? I dont like how in CIV, instead of making smarter AI they just basically let the AI cheat, is it like that in Millennia?

[@dnaseb9214]

I am buying it JUST because it has the alternative eras. I love the idea. I always wanted some eldritch horror to come into my game. Or a bit of mythology.

[@emstorm1725]

I'm with you on the graphics. It was the first thing I noticed. Love the graphics in Humankind and Old World was good. I'm digging the map tile improvements in Millennia, though.

[@universecreep]

Excellent video. Thank you for doing this! I am very interested what your eventual take on the AI is. With so many interplaying systems in place, I am very curious if the AI can actually use them effectively. Additionally, with the large number of units, I'd also like to know your opinion on how well the AI uses them. Looking forward to that eventual video with your opinion on this.

[@CowboysD257]

Funnily enough, I was going to ask if you had a commission/affiliate link to purchase, since a lot of the hype I've had for the game has been through your videos, then I reached 24:41. In all honesty, I wouldn't see it as conflict of interest if you both liked it and were sponsored by Paradox. If you hated it and were selling it as if you didn't that's an integrity thing. That being said, since I've been subbed I've never thought you were shilling. Thanks for the in-depth video as always and being a great voice in the strategy/sim genre.

[@JumboPixel]

Haha that is funny. I’d be damned if I do, damned if I don’t! Cheers for the perspective 🤙

[@zzodr]

I don't often blow a one man canoe out of the water, but when I do, I use a B-1 Lancer.

[@crhu319]

Murka!

[@joshuasims5421]

This video really has convinced me...of just how good Humankind looks. I gotta try it some time.

[@ChrissieBear]

Humankind gets boring fast.

[@mairguimaraes1287]

I really enjoy how humankind play, but... Boy, oh boy, those graphics are a sight for sore eyes, i play it o 4k with everything on ultra and its one of those games I play when I want to see something beautiful. I really hope civ 7 comes with something similar this time around.

[@ChristDuque]

My first game of Millennia will be a one city (region) challenge, no vassals allowed!

[@frankiecedeno3724]

Region level does not equal number of cities, region level will increase through other means in your city but I get what you mean

[@ChristDuque]

@@frankiecedeno3724 Yes, I will build the biggest region possible, with the maximum number of cities inside it. But overall, only one region, with no vassals outside.

[@ChrissieBear]

There's a government type for that in Age 3. 😂

[@ChrissieBear]

​@@ChristDuqueThere are no additional cities inside a region. Every region has only one city, and the rest are towns. Think of the real world where each city has its own surrounding towns that are integral to its local economy. Which in modern times have blended into those cities. You can even see this in Millennia as you build tile improvements, your towns slowly connect to the city, as the tiles between them become urbanised.

[@kimyeonahchannel]

i feel like the bad graphics complaints are overblown. us gamers constantly says "gameplay trumps graphics" for the past like 5 years or so and now there is a game that perfectly encapsulate that gameplay over graphic mentality and people are still complaining over it

[@hydra7427]

I agree with you, but this is definitely a case where polish was needed. Think about how much seeing wonders being constructed adds in Civ, or the tech quotes. Gameplay is the bread, but polish is the butter.

[@kimyeonahchannel]

@@hydra7427 agree, but still, if anyone say they are not playing this because of the graphics then honestly i don't know what to say

[@legojedimasterplokoon2173]

I think it actually shows that "gameplay trumps graphics" isn't really that true. People care about graphics. I've got a couple dozen hours in the demo and I think the gameplay is fun but the graphics really just kind of suck. Honestly, my biggest hope is that someone makes a good graphics mod pretty early on. Just giving the map more color would do a lot imo

[@massengsle8779]

@@legojedimasterplokoon2173 yeah I love strategy games but part of the joy of Civ 6 is how pretty your empire looks with all the wonders. Looks matter in these types of civ building games as I like to see my cities grow.

[@RichardPhillips1066]

It would be overblown if was an indy game

[@emilsoderman3691]

My impression from playing the demo: No it won't be a Civ killer, but it looks like a fun game to fiddle with for a bit. But there is a clear "indie vibe" to it and the game will probably have the issues associated with that.

[@Luckmann]

This reminds me so much of Civilization 3, which was the best Civilization. It looks so fucking good.

[@Hyphonz]

The combat looks like an homage to the Civilization Call to Power games, my fave Civ game. I specifically miss the amount of non combat units you could produce and send around like lawyers and propaganda blimps.

[@JumboPixel]

It’s a big Call to Power call back. And come to think of it, the way Millennia approaches non-combatant units is similar. Pioneers, Merchants, Diplomats, Celebrities, Artists, Prospectors of many kinds. Other semi-combatants like balloons, Clergy, riot police, and more also provide a nice mix.

[@dodec8449]

@@JumboPixel And underwater cities were also in CTP!

[@klioblue9771]

It is some kind of call to power series, but they need to make graphic of battles much better

[@Infernal_Elf]

nice video in many ways this feels like what Civ 6 should have been. And i really like the what if ages and them affecting the whole world is also quite logical. many of the ages in the real world in the last few hundred years started in europe and affected the whole world. i do however feel that they should have done Heroes 3 or 4 combat if they wanted to step away from common 4x combat nowdays.

[@Jinkypigs]

Ages is interesting, but there should be a way to undo or open up the locked age by others after satisfying some difficult situation.

[@ChristDuque]

One little shortcoming you didn't mention is the ability to raze cities, or maybe mix 2 regions into 1. Seems that late game it could cause problems if you put your regions too close to each other at the start of the game. A good option would have been like for the outpost, the ability to dismantle them, get a settler, and move it to place it elsewhere.

[@JumboPixel]

THIS!! You're right it's only small, but it is very annoying. As the game lets you raze the independent cities you capture, but not other players' cities. I'm assuming they'll fix it.

[@obadakolko8891]

I think the strategy games scene have a lot of space for new games, I'm a Civilization V player and still play it till this day, never liked CIV VI, your review will help me to make my purchase decision especially here in Syria 40$ is a lot of money, thank you.

[@strategystuff5080]

I like the little combat window TBH, Id rather that than just numbers like in CIV, but its not super cumbersome like in Age of Wonders.

[@ChrissieBear]

The visibility of unit icons can be changed in the settings. 😅

[@andrewhasissues]

The graphics don't bother me, as I play plenty of games with far worse, but I can see how some might bounce off the game due to it. I would criticize them if the game was priced as a full priced AAA title, but it's not so gets a pass from me. COI wise: any sponsored material outside of a sponsored review is perfectly reasonable. You do professional grade videos (and have for some time now) and you deserve to be compensated as such. Anyone who doesn't get that isn't worth addressing. 🙂

[@ChrissieBear]

Honestly the map graphics are gorgeous. Only the combat is ugly. And even then it's not an issue IMHO.

[@andrewhasissues]

True, I see no issues with the map either.

[@ballenboy]

The first time I saw this game I immediately disregarded it as something more arcadey mobile game. Good thing I looker closer to see the intricacies, though I still would like the graphics and visual feel it gives off to improve drastically.

[@wslayerem6996]

true strategy game, 100 hours in and still need more time to determine. :) hopefully its as fun as it looks to play.

[@JumboPixel]

lol too true

[@MihaiAlexandruSimion_sma]

The game is great. It does need some balancing and more options for customising your new game. Also more types of maps and some things that I am sure they will add later, like :Carrier, nukes (already announced) and so on. What it needs fast is an option to continue playing after the game is over (by turn limit and/or Victory/Defeat). Except that, it is a very fun and interesting game.

[@Derpleton14]

Will the game have steam workshop/mod support like other PDX games? I'm really on the fence about this, not a fan of 2 planned DLC's within the first 9 months. Seems like they're releasing an unfinished game with things like nukes missing. However, modding would alleviate that enough in my mind for me to give it a try and I'd love to see what new ages modders might come up with.

[@isidornimages]

Thanks for an insightful video! Don't know why I wasn't subbed. Thought I did that when AoW4 was new. Certainly have been watching you since then. Anyway, subbed now. As for Millenia. Nukes not part of the base game? That's a disgrace!

[@joshwilner5622]

Reviews are mixed at best, I'm sure it will find its audience but it definitely won't compete with civ

[@robertdomico3622]

It would be so nice to have an idea when Civ 7 will be out. I bought Humankind because I wanted something to play other than Civ 6 while waiting for Civ 7. While I don't hate Humankind, I did not like it nearly as much as I like Civ 6. So I would like to give Millennia a chance if Civ 7 is really far off, but we just don't know.

[@L0v0lup]

No it's not. The game is in a very bad state and i kinda hate it, that so many content creators are hyping this game into the air. It's plagued by a ton of gameplay flaws and a boring game loops. Barbarians make up 90% of the game at this point, ages of plague can go on for hours and hours while i spend clicking on buildings to use "combat plague". It's even unfinished, has no Online-PVP as its even advertised as and costs 60€ with "DLCs". The AI is way too simple, mechanics dont work, balance is lacking, settings/game-creation have almost no options, and the list goes on forever...

[@armelior4610]

The combat screen reminds me of Xcom's air combat. Not something any dev should ever want, as much as I love this game.

[@TheZatli]

From my experience it is an awesome game so war (dont mind the graphics) and looking forward for the future development.

[@brinaldi81]

Looks alright and i love any new spin on 4x.. no civ killer though and only civ will ever kill civ :)

[@ThinkPositiveDude]

RIP Humankind, that being said I just can't get past this game looking like a mobile game.

[@CapitalTeeth]

The game that Humankind never could be.

[@CorvusLudos]

We'll see what Civ 7 comes up with. But I'm blown away by this one since the latest Ice Age dlc etc. I cannot play Civ 6/5/4 anymore without the feeling of things lacking..

[@metrix6109]

Will give it a try for sure

[@krityaan]

Haven't watched the full video yet 4:00 If you allow for variant ages to follow variant ages, then players would be disincentivised from interacting with the entirety of the variant age's mechanics - focusing instead on the next one to get there as quickly as possible

[@JumboPixel]

I wonder if that's the case, regardless?

[@forestfranklin74]

I really hope they add empire making and more options to set up a game, I want more expensive tech. One of my fav mods for civ V was slower eras. This game you kinda blow through them quickly and I'd rather moving on be a bigger deal. Also I don't like how everyone is locked into what ever era is chosen, it seems like it should be per empire not one empire setting the pace for everyone else regardless how well other nations might be doing

[@JaKingScomez]

Terrible final take

[@TheFrokka]

Can the AI win without bonuses? I hope I get to experience human-like AI in my lifetime.

[@SusannaValeska]

Says it's available today. I payed for it but can't download it yet?

[@kraz007]

It's very playable... I won a game on master in Age 5 so can't speak for late game ages but early on it's a blast.

[@kml9166]

I am happy that this game was developed. It has many things I want. Especially a nice and realistic graphic approach. The last Civ was so childish and cartoonish. I lost interest, but this one looks promising!

[@Razzlion]

As someone who plays Aurora 4x, i don't give a hoot about graphics. Systems/mechanics is king, always and forever.

[@Luke_Freeman]

I NEEEED to know about Millennia. I NEEEEED to paly it. Teach me oh wise one

[@JumboPixel]

yes sir! vid in the oven.

[@usernametaken5619]

I will wait to see how this game develops before buying. 4X games and Civ in particular are my favorite type of game but this seems a lot different than those. Don't really know if I would like this or not. The graphic choice is unfortunate to me. Looks like an iPad game tbh. The battle screen is a real head scratcher. The coming soon DLC strikes me as pieces torn out of the full complete game to be sold back to you in a few months. Just the first of many more if the game is successful seeing as how Paradox is infamous for stuff like that. Where oh where is Civ 7? I hope it comes out before I die. And I hope it returns to Civ 4 and 5 greatness once again.

[@torrvic1156]

They need a Hall of Fames or leaderboards and better graphics. This can become a great game for sure.

[@danieldpa8484]

no world map? What kind of lunacy is that?

[@Rougepelt]

It’s really not doing well on steam at mostly negative often 24 hours, but yeah I agree that PDX more than anyone can buck up.

[@EstrellaViajeViajero]

Are mods planned? Maybe they could enable going through alternate ages consecutively.

[@JumboPixel]

I believe they are! I haven’t seen anything for them in this press preview build of the game yet though. Some wild potential there…

[@ThinkPositiveDude]

it's a paradox game, what do you think?

[@chantanaranbo8129]

good honest review thanks

[@ayinis1770]

Theres no game speed options? that kinda makes me iffy on the game, guess that goes to show why I shouldn't just assume certain features would appear in a game

[@GregSole]

Looks interesting, but I'll wait to see how it develops. Very wary of the Paradox 'split it into pieces and charge for all the bits' approach.

[@trishamiller7859]

I'm hoping this game surprises me and can actually compete with Civ, but I'm getting worried...

[@JumboPixel]

Civilization 6 sets an an extremely high bar - they way that game has kept players interested over the better part of a decade is impressive.

[@Tarus19839]

No MP at Release 😢??

[@Argie87]

Me: Johann can you buy me the latest civilization game? Johann: BuT wE hAvE tHe LaTeSt CiViLiZaTiOn GaMe aT hOmE Civilization game at home

[@WARGORELORD]

I cant wait to play the game but I gotta agree Millenia is one of the ugliest 4x games of the last decade or more. Mind you the actual game looks fun and interesting.

[@strategystuff5080]

I like the integrity, I will never watch Quil18 again, because he has promoted some real broken games in the past (Realpolitik). Its like sure, we all have to make money, but promoting broken products or scams, is in my opinion the same as running the scam yourself.

[@Ricardo_Ramos78]

Paradox, no thank you very much. Run.

[@Darthvegeta8000]

Given that I already got Humankind and Old World interests me the most in the genre overall but have yet to pick it up as I was awaiting development, this one does not seem as appealing. I do like some of the stuff I saw like the unique warriors.

[@Combo_Lab]

Holy shit why is there an ad every minute and a half on this video oh my god

[@hakonsgaming535]

I'll say this about the graphics, humankind does LOOK better but I still prefer what I've seen of Millenia to Civ6 and likely whatever Civ7 will look like. Millenia looks a lot more like Civ5 to me and frankly I HATED the choices they made with Civ6's aesthetics. To me Civ6 looks pathetically cartoonish, like babby's first history game. Where Humankind looks better the gameplay here looks mar better, and it still beats out Civ by simply not bothering to try, which is kind of hillarious, it feels to me like no matter how hard Firaxis tries to push Civ's aesthetics the just keep pushing it away from where it needs to be.

[@brucehilton1662]

Humankind was touted as a civ killer. well it wasn't. The key features were differevt but not overwhelming. As for Millennia we'll see. It also got me to pony up for the launch.

[@alexandreutiyama547]

Although the concept is fantastic, I will wait on this one, this is a Paradox published game. It will probably become bloated with features, have 3000 dlcs and be massively unbalanced. I hope i'm wrong, there was a time that I had time for these sort of games, but not anymore. About the "non-game breaking annoyances", for most games it is not game breaking, for a 4X it surely is, this is a genre that REQUIRES you to be glued to your screen for hours on end, having to navigate menus, screens and whatever. That's why I never managed to get into Hoi, too many menus, spread sheets and diferent screens that lead to other screens, if I wanted to go navitage bloated systems I would go back to work.

[@marioaf27]

You really should have added a disclaimer at the start of the video disclosing you were sponsored and got a free early copy, even if this specific video isn't sponsored. Thanks for your thoughts tho!

[@JumboPixel]

Your point's *extremely* well taken. I'd point you to 24:41 where I explicitly mention perceived conflicts of interest before giving my thoughts, and I'll pin a comment here just in case. The troubles are firstly - this is entirely my video. Any sponsor-like disclaimer could confuse that. Secondly, at it's logical conclusion - your favorite big creators would need to do that *every time* they make a video where the game’s publisher has sponsored a video on their channel *at any point in the past* - It'd be constant. I'm personally disappointed this wasn't enough though, after feeling like I extended myself by explaining it in the video that I've crafted at length to be free and frank. Next time I'll add a pop-up at the start, as well as nattering on about it in the body.

[@beno1129]

Why is Old World always considered as a Civ contender? It's limited to just one era in history.

[@JumboPixel]

I'd say it's because Old World is a 4x, historical, turn-based strategy game.

[@MostafaHaque]

"Domain Power" -> JJK theme intensifies

[@Alister222222]

What I think the design does well, (just from a surface look, at least), is integrate game systems into storytelling. Interacting with the age and national spirit systems creates a powerful story, which to me looks incredibly appealing and well designed. I've slowly grown disillusioned with Civ 6's weak storytelling and limited ability to evolve and change your civilization. Narrative is an important part of a game, and whether or not this game ends up being good, this game does appear to understand that.

[@kampkrieger]

no the biggest problem is as always that the AI does not really do anything. It just is there. There is no diplomacy or trade, no interaction, no demands, no cooperation, just existing alongside. It could be so lively. But it is only a puzzle game now.

[@ChrissieBear]

Humankind's UI has no soul! It's the same grey glass UI that too many modern games use. Millennia's UI at least has character, with textured materials and multiple colors.

[@Tiberium10332]

I played the demo and must say that the battle system was the worst part of the game. The barbarians were sometimes ridicules sturdy and I couldn't figure out why. Especially there camps. I didn't have unlocked any siege weapons unlocked so far, which made it basically impossible to destroy such a camp. Did other people feel like the map generation is in favor of the AI or was I just unlucky in my 3 or 4 tries?

[@sinisterdesign]

The graphics seem totally fine to me...except for those combat cut scenes. Those are jarringly hideous compared to everything else on display here.

[@HaldolBerries]

Thank you

[@boredom_proxy]

Millennia is a contender for Crusader Kings 3 and Victoria 3 :)

[@granlunda65]

There is still ava history untold same category coming

[@gOtze1337]

They need to do something about the Combat Animations or remove it. It just makes the Game look bad and cheap.

[@tyalikanky]

It's strange to release it without India with nuclear weapons

[@MrDreiPner]

"Performance is great but its actually bad." Give a point and stick to it. Fencesitting at its best.

[@ShayGamerD3]

While your review is mostly positive, ultimately, it strengthened my decision to skip this one. Your criticisms, and especially poor graphics are game-breaking for me. I too prefer Humankind's modern UI (although ultimately I didn't stick around for long playing Humankind). Tbh Millennia looks like developed in early 2000s, not in 2023/4. And overall most reviews of this game from regular gaming journalists are mixed to negative. I just wish Paradox in general would pay more attention to graphics and UI, and took an inspiration from Amplitude to make their games look nicer. While CK3 was a somewhat improvement in comparison to HoI4 and Stellaris, Vicky 3 is again a regress (Vicky 3 has only menus and nothing more). And Millennia is no exception. Millennia also lacks personality, I see they have no leaders (at least it's not apparent for me), which is an odd decision, since leaders definitely add a personality to playthroughs. As I expected, Millennia unfortunately is not going to be a serious CIV 6 contender, which is a pity, since good competition is always good.

[@KingOskar4]

I liked the Demo of Millennia a lot... Watched a lot of Ursa Ryan and PotatoMcWiskey about it. I will buy a copy of Millennia once I can afford it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@PaulRoneClarke]

Oh my. There is all this polish loke OldWorld or Humankind... The game looks like a A+... until you see the combat. Oh dear. Janky looking and (from what I see from the playthroughs I've seen) pretty shallow tactically. If they were going for just a tactical overview of the combat I would have gone with unit markers rather than those sprites which... let's be fair - I've seen better on a Commodore 64 in 1985. Just complex enough to show how janky they are. I'd simplify the look of that and have a clean marker based combat

[@eligoldman9200]

Until civ 7 drops and nukes this game into irrelevance

[@Derpleton14]

lol sure maybe in 2040

[@TitanTales]

I am already pissed that you have to buy the "premium" Edition for Extra gameplay Features and ages...

[@Morgotth1916]

A historical turn-based 4X game that challenges your strategic prowess across 10,000 years of history looks alright but FFS the "UK" as a nation GTF

[@waffleswafflson3076]

I dont know who needs to hear this but Age of Wonders 4 is the best 4x on the market and Civ doesnt hold a candle to it

[@sumoking3002]

what? you're not crowbarred into being just the romans? you have some influence over the development? sold

[@Guardias]

The expansion mechanics look to be lifted wholesale from AoW3/Planetfall. Laughable that Humankind has anything resembling a soul. That game was nothing but activist trash.

[@kampkrieger]

performance IS a problem though

[@ChrissieBear]

I skip combat in all 4x games I play. Do people actually care to watch them? 😂

[@gillmsnfillman1691]

Yes if the animations are good. It’s fun to watch. Endless space is a great example.