14 DAY TRIAL // The Rising Tide expansion for Civilization: Beyond Earth is set to arrive in the fall and the development team at Firaxis is ready to announce another faction that gamers will be able to control, the INTEGR that's led by Lena Ebner.
The reveal is delivered via the official site and is written from the perspective of someone living in the world of the video game, which makes it a little hard to parse the exact nature of the new civilization that gamers will be able to lead.
INTEGR positions itself against the classic European approach of the Franco-Iberians and will promote an alternative political philosophy that focuses on transparent governance, environmental resilience and the lower strata of society.
Firaxis states, "It seems Ebner may be more like the spider than the butterfly, tying her centers of activism with thin, silky strands of political philosophy."
Civilization: Beyond Earth is moving towards more water-based gameplay with Rising Tide and some of the new factions that are being added to the turn-based strategy title are specifically designed to use the medium to their advantage.
Firaxis is also saying that it wants to improve some of the core mechanics of the title, which failed to distinguish itself fully from the core elements of the franchise.
Civilization: Beyond Earth is designed as a spiritual successor to the classic Alpha Centauri, and it will be interesting to see if Rising Tide manages to deliver a boost in quality.