The E3 Civilization VI presentation showed off some of the new features that were going to be added to the latest installment of the critically acclaimed and beloved series. The presentation began with a small village in China, showing that the core elements of the game are not being changed. What does seem to be different is a method of connecting cities. Certain materials are limited to geographical locations. If the player builds a coastal city they can build routes to trade with more inland cities. This allows the player to take advantage of the terrain at their disposal. The trade routes connect these settlements together and put less emphasis on one sole capital city for the player to work from. As the player advances they can build wonders, e.g. pyramids, Eiffel Tower and like in Civ V as technology increases the player can eventually reach space travel.
Another addition shown off in the presentation was a “districts” system. Certain cities can be built into focused districts used for industry, the arts, scientific research, etc. After the introduction of this system the first combat for the new game was also displayed. Cleopatra declared war on the more industrialized China, and while damage was done, with the AI attacking specific districts first, the more industrialized China won, showing tanks blowing away the Egyptian forces with little effort. The units were also able to stack, some what. The units are not limited to one per tile and can work in tandem.
Politics in the game also has an interesting change, allowing the player to choose the sorts of personalities the various leaders in the government have. The player also dictates the agenda of its politicians effecting the way the game will play out for them. Each trait has different stats attached to it and some leaders have certain attributes permanently attached to them.
In the area of Diplomacy, the demonstration introduced Teddy Roosevelt. Like in previous iterations of the game, you can build allies, and symbiotic relationships with the leaders of the various nations featured in the game.
Civilization VI is set to be released October 21, 2016 for Windows PC.