We’ll be seeing the next big patch for 4X game Humankind next week, and developer Amplitude Studios has provided some additional details about what we can expect when it arrives. While there are some big balance changes coming in the next update, a few changes are significant enough that they’re being held back for a follow-on patch that’s set to arrive in the first week of November.

Amplitude confirms that the upcoming patch will add options for resource abundance, allowing you to independently adjust the availability of both strategic and luxury resources when starting a new game. The patch is also introducing new options for the avatar and persona systems, adding a ‘random’ button for personas when you choose your opponents and a colour picker tool for both empires and subtitles.

In the follow-up patch, Amplitude says it plans to add additional game parameter options that allow you to select which win conditions you want available in each game you begin. You’ll be able to turn off pollution and disable the turn timer, so you can slug it out to the bitter end.

Changes are on the way for the Neolithic era to make it less appealing to hold off on advancing to the Ancient era. Mammoths will be slightly more dangerous, and you’ll have to pay an upkeep fee for scouts to make fielding large swarms of them less feasible. You also won’t earn as much food from sanctuaries. Amplitude says this should “slow down growth in the neolithic and limit the early power spike gained from delaying the Ancient era.”

Later in the game, the patch should make it harder to maintain high stability, and several ‘unconditional’ bonuses provided by certain emblematic districts (such as the Turkish Public School and Khmer Baray) are getting nerfs to make them more situational. In general, Amplitude says it’s focused its efforts on cultures that the community has most frequently flagged as being too strong or too weak.

Please note: Some of the additional options to the game creation screen will come in a follow-up patch in the first week of November.

— Humankind (@humankindgame) October 22, 2021

The studio has also adjusted the effects of various civics and affinities, and you should find that the Nuclear Disarmament gives you a permanent boost to your fame gain while also providing automatic grievances against anyone who conducts nuclear weapons tests. Expansionist cultures will find it somewhat easier to gain era stars, as players seem to agree that it’s the weakest cultural affinity.

Finally, Amplitude says it’s working on adding Steam modding tools to Humankind, and that they’ll be available “soon”. For now, you can use Humankind’s mod.io integration to log into your account there in-game and download any maps or mods you’ve subscribed to on that platform.

The initial patch is due to arrive October 28, with the follow-up patch tentatively set for the following week.



Posted: Oct 25, 2021 7:46 am
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: https://www.pcgamesn.com/humankind/patch-balance-changes-steam-modding-tools