What if you could rewrite the entire narrative of human history? How would you change the course of Humankind? These are the questions at the center of Humankind.
In Humankind, you'll be combining different cultures as you progress through the eras to create a civilization that's as unique as you are. Your goal is to accumulate as much fame – or infamy -- as possible. The journey matters more than the destination, and no great deed will go unnoticed.
In Humankind, all civilizations will be represented by an avatar, and as a player you will get to customize your own and share it others.
Creating an Avatar for yourself is fun for single player, but it really shines with friends. Of course, friends will see your Avatar when you're enjoying a multiplayer match, but more than that, you can share your Avatar with your friends through Games2Gether so they can play against "you" even if you're not around!
Customization is not just visual: you can also customize how your avatar behaves! There are three aspects to this AI customization:
- Archetypes: The general tendencies and behavior of your Avatar. Do they try to plan far ahead, or do they fly by the seat of their pants? Are they staunch allies, or will they backstab you at the drop of a hat? Will they bear a grudge if you do the same to them? You can tweak these on several different axes in either direction, but you will only get to tweak so many of them at the same time, so choose carefully.
- Biases: Much more specific than the archetypes. They represent a kind of quirk or almost an obsession your AI Avatar will have. Do you never surrender until the bitter end, or refuse to give in to any demands? Your Avatar can do the same. Or perhaps you love the idea of picking an Ancient Era culture, and taking it to the Contemporary Era? You could have your Avatar play to that, too.
- Strengths: Finally, you can give your Avatar certain Strengths, passive bonuses you can use to supplement the play style you would like for your Avatar. If you're a player who enjoys the warfare and battles in Humankind, perhaps you want our Avatar's Emblematic Units to be more powerful. Maybe you prefer research and trade, so you'd rather give your Avatar a little boost to Science and Money generation.
Of course, some of these options and combinations may be stronger than others, so they are assigned a score you will have to spend to add them to your Avatar. Other options might not be available to you at first and are unlocked through achievements in the game.
We hope you enjoyed this peek at what we have in store with the Avatars and their AI.
The Ampliteam
Here's what you can expect the day you launch your first game of Humankind:
- One million civilizations– Create your own unique civilization by combining 60 different historical cultures from across the heritage of humanity. Begin as Ancient Egypt, then evolve into the Romans, the Khmers, or perhaps the Vikings—the choice is up to you. Each culture brings its own special gameplay layer, leading to near-endless outcomes.
- More than history, it's your story - Face real historical events and figures, make great scientific discoveries, and visit the wonders of the world. Shape your people's beliefs and confront other players. Every decision you make adds a flourish to your story.
- In the eyes of posterity– The journey matters more than destination. Fame is a new and unifying victory condition. Every great deed you accomplish, every moral choice you make, every battle won will build your fame and leave a lasting impact on the world. The player with the most fame will win the game.
- A tactical world – Show off your tactical skills by mastering terrain elevation, city-building, full tactical battles and warfare. Choose the high ground for your city, and it will be harder to siege. Deploy your archers in the woods to avoid stampeding horsemen. Call upon your allies to help you in times of need and transform an epic battle into a full-scale multiplayer world war!
Humankind will be released on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store) and Stadia as well as retail on April 22, 2021.
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