After taking a two-month break from CivIdle, I am happy to announce that I am back with another content patch! Patch 1.2 has a new civilization, as well as a bunch of QoL updates. And I will also briefly talk about what I've been working on during the break.
New Civ: Carthaginian
CivIdle’s tech tree spans from the Stone Age all the way to the Information Age. This creates a challenge when adding new civilizations: very few cultures existed across that entire timeline. As a result, balancing late‑game progression becomes difficult for civilizations that historically didn’t reach the later eras.
To address this design challenge, I’m introducing a new system called Civilization Ideas. It’s inspired by a mechanic I’ve been developing for my upcoming game Restitutor (more on that later).
Carthage’s unique bonuses now come from its exclusive Civilization Idea Tree, unlocked through its unique wonder, the Cothon of Carthage. Each level of this wonder grants 1 Idea Point, which can be spent to unlock new ideas. These ideas are designed to enhance different aspects of gameplay all the way through the Information Age.
This new system allows me to add more ancient civilizations to the game while giving each a distinct identity without creating late‑game balance issues.
Cothon of Carthage (Wonder)
Unlock Carthaginian civilization ideas
Atlas Mountains (Natural Wonder)
All buildings within 2 tile range get +X Production Multiplier. X = number of different resources produced but not consumed within the range
Hanno the Navigator (Great People)
+1 Transport Capacity Multiplier (Classical Age)
Hannibal (Great People)
+1 Production Multiplier, Storage Multiplier for Siege Workshop, Sword Forge (Classical Age)
Enhanced Petra
After constructing Petra, warp from this run (max. 4h) can be carried over to the next run.
Easter Bunny: Easter Special Wonder
Once constructed, 10% of the extra Great People at Rebirth from this run will carry forward to the next run and are born after building the Easter Bunny in the new run. This wonder can only be constructed during April
Transport Plan Cache Timeout
Transport Plan Cache was introduced a while ago to address late-game performance issues. From the feedback I've got, it does improve performance significantly, but cache can become stable and cause weird transports. I've reviewed the code and tried to improve cache invalidation. And as a failsafe method, I've also added a transport plan cache timeout, which will force invalidating the transport plan cache after a specified timeout.
You can find this setting in Menu -> Options -> Gameplay.
Electrification in Statistics Office
A few patches ago, the electrification system was reworked - it went from meh to very powerful. I've expanded the electrification information in statistics office, which allows you to quickly see a building's electrification level, and its current status (Active, Not Active or Not Enough Power)
Warehouse Quick UI Mode Improvement
Previously, when Quick UI Mode is on, the per cycle and max amount will be redistributed when you select/deselect a resource. When the warehouse capacity changes (after upgrade, or due to dynamic multipliers), the amount is not updated. In this patch, the per cycle and max amount will be redistributed on every transport. So you no longer need to rebalance the amount after selecting the resources - the amount will rebalance automatically.
Natural Wonders Improvement
Previously, all natural wonders are generated 3 tiles away from the edge. This no longer works well when new natural wonders that have a bigger range are introduced. In this patch, the natural wonders are generated X tiles away from the edge and are at least X tiles apart from each other (X = its maximum range). Brazilian natural wonders are generated at least 6 tiles apart from each other.
Achievements
Rise of Punic
Rebirth with at least 1 Extra Great Person when playing Carthaginian (Reach 64M Empire Value when rebirth)
A Full Cothon
Unlock all Carthaginian civilization ideas
Patch Notes Reader
This achievement should also work when you click on any patch note link in Help -> Patch Notes
Restitutor: Empire Restored
Finally, allow me to talk about my upcoming game - Restitutor: Empire Restored. It is a historical incremental grand strategy game focused on statecraft, diplomacy, and calculated warfare. Set in the Roman Empire after the death of Commodus in 192 AD, when the empire fractures into rival provinces. As a governor, lead a province of your choice and restore the empire through statecraft, diplomacy, and conquest.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4431750/Restitutor_Empire_Restored/
If this game sounds interesting to you, add it to your wishlist! I've also opened the playtest to CivIdle players with Praetor (IV) rank or above. If you want to help playtest the game, see the instructions here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4431750/view/526496349181444789
A Teaser on the Upcoming Patch
While working on Restitutor, I had lots of ideas that didn't quite work out for that game. However, some of them are actually great for CivIdle and I've decided to cherry-pick and backport these ideas to CivIdle. When I have accumulated enough of them, I plan to package them into a new content patch. And here's a teaser on what I've backported.
