I enjoyed the video. great commentary. the primary difference for me between the two games is how you develop your cities and your territory. I tend to play a wide civ strategy. with that I always felt frustrated with Humankind. I would want the emblematic district in each territory as you only can build one and only while you are with that culture and it usually had strong benefits. with each era I would build the district and then only need to build a few more districts to get all the fame stars for the builder category for that era. it felt like I never had a chance to really make an emblematic district shine as it would only get 2 or 3 boosting districts around it before I got all the fame stars for that era. building districts above the needed level only seemed to penalize you on the next era. stability was another big restriction on building districts but that was more managing luxuries. as you said in your video, planning a city in Civ6 took more strategic thinking. you were always looking to maximize the starting bonuses for your districts. and deciding which district got the best bonuses as placing one district might limit or reduce the bonuses for another district that you were planning to build.
Thanks for the comment! I do think that it would be fun to have emblematic districts available even after you have moved up (maybe at increased production costs). I have also heard that HUMANKIND plays better at normal and then the slower game speeds, anything faster and it loses some balance (I guess, I have not played much outside normal speed). Civ 6 has similar restrictions, it is just population based restrictions for districts, and you can only build one in each city. They feel similar but in different ways!
I think not long ago they released the Definitive Edition of Humankind, i really hope this doesnt mean the final nail on the coffin because is really interesting to see what new stuff they bring in and it would be sad to see it die now
A big issue I have with Humankind and the changing of cultures each era is in keeping track of who is who - In Diplo/trade screen it can be easier as you see the person, though they can look very similar to each other. On the map it is by current culture and determining who is who is just harder to keep track of - labeling it as Leader X of the (insert current culture) instead of just culture might help. Just felt disconnected.
I go over this pretty extensively in the Let's Play Episode that is coming out tomorrow! ;) But in short, I really enjoy these changes. Specifically, the trade system is now much better. I am not a huge fan of the RNG factor with each resource being worth a random "amount" of said resource, and I do think that stability may need to be addressed since each resource only counts for the +5 stability now instead of each resource of a type adding stability.
I know they are completely different games, sci-fi for one. Not 4x for another. But resources the way Distant Worlds does it. I want that for a civ game. Actually having the "private sector" ferry resources around. Giving you an avenue of attacking supply lines. I hate wonders in civ 6. It's such a big investment, and I always miss out wasting all that effort. To the point that I never bother with them. I love them in humankind :)
I like the private sector idea for trade. HK kind of has that now with the trade lines and plundering, but I am sure not the same (I am not familiar with Distant Worlds). Yah, Civ 6 Wonders are a huge risk/reward scenario that can be very painful when you don't get them. I also like the way HK does Wonders. Feels more realistic. At no point irl have two wonders (that look exactly the same) ever been in a construction race!
I must be the only guy who has Civ 6 on Switch & HK on ps5.. I def got my hands full.. Ive collected quite a few titles in this genre over the years.. I really need to put more time into HK & Old World cause I don’t really know them that well.. I feel a little more comfortable going back to Civ 4, 5 and Rev tbh I can grasp those a little better
There are so many great games out there! I always struggle with what to play, especially in the 4x genre, because those games take a while to master. You are committing a lot of time to one game to really get into it. Best of luck with the gaming choices! :)
Guess I'm the odd one...I still prefer Civ 5....Civ 6 was a bit too cartoonish in presentation (and the ai was painful to play against), Humankind was interesting, but ai lacking an established culture threw me off completely....it's like facing new opponents all the time, and I can't tell who's who......still, I should probably reinstall and play them, seeing how much they've changed. Thanks for the video!
I also loved Civ 5! I took a pretty big break between playing Civ 5 and Civ 6, so Civ 6 grew on me pretty quickly. Graphically, I did prefer Civ 5 as well. A couple updates ago, HUMANKIND did change the way cultures and opponents are displayed, so it is much easier to track who is who now. They have another big update coming next month, so that might be a great time to jump in again!
Thank you for the kind words! I will be really honest and say that I do not know how it plays on console. I know lots of people do play it on console, so I assume it is good. I probably would not play a 4x game on console, but I know plenty of folks who do (or have), so personal preference, I suppose! ;)
Nice video. I have one question though - which one plays faster / is faster to complete. I only have experience with Civ 6 but on more than a few occassions the game took so long / bogged down so much that I simply either didn't return to a save or just had to force myself to finish. Does humankind on average take less time? more time? than Civ, considering both manual and auto combat as that thing alone might probably have a big impact on playing time.
Hmm, great question. I think they are very comparable for length of game, but that obviously depends on what game speed you choose. HK, imo, plays better at normal speed, but seems off at faster speeds. Civ 6 can be set to quick or online and still feels ok. End game feels better to me in HK, because I think it goes just a bit faster than in Civ. End game is just usually a bit of a slog in 4x games.
Because of you I tried Humankind today and it was incredibly fun for a first run. I'm quite new with civilization too but this was crazy fun. I wonder what explains the bad reviews on Steam?
Awesome! Glad you had a great time playing! I think a lot of people come into new 4xStrategy games with certain viewpoints and expectations, so when a developer deviates from those expectations it can be hard for those players. I think, Amplitude brought a ton of new ideas and fresh perspective to the genre, and I am here for it! :)
Certainly! In all honesty, I do not feel like I have played very many of them. I tend to get so deep into them that when I start one I don't have time for anything else. In no particular order, 4xStrategy games I have really enjoyed are: Civ 5 Civ 6 HUMANKIND Star Wars: Rebellion (this one was really my entry into the genre, loved this game) Strategic Conquest (played with my dad on MAC back in the day, probably why I love the genre today) (Honorable Mention, not technically a true 4x) Rome Total War 2
As much as I love the detailed breakdown, it seems like humankind as a general package is waaaaay less well recieved if looking at the steam charts and steam reviews. Humankind is pretty much down in the dirt with both playernumbers as well as active players x.x Civ 6 is in the 5 digits of active player numbers even which is really good 8) while humankind dropped below 4 digit active players which is sad.
All true statements, but comparing an established franchise with decades of building a player base to a brand new IP is tough. I still think that people are missing out on a great game, especially if they have not tried it since release. Amplitude has done a great job adding content over the last couple years.
Really great question! I honestly think you could go either way. With Civ 6 you get what has become essentially the classic 4x game experience. I do think that mastering Civ 6 is more challenging, because it is pretty strategy heavy, and you have to know your win conditions to go for. HUMANKIND is a slightly different 4x experience, perhaps easier to master as it is more play your own way. At the same time, HUMANKIND has a lot to learn and can be overwhelming with all the different cultures you end up choosing. Civ 6 just has the one civ you choose at the beginning. Long story short, either would be great, Civ 6 might be easier to get into but harder to master, HUMANKIND might be a bit harder to get into but easier to master. Those are my two cents! :)
I have not ever played any of the Paradox "grand strategy" games, but they do have a 4x title coming out sometime, I believe. It was announced last year.
Neither the combat in Humankind nor any other Amplitude game will ever be better than modern Civ. I would implore you to reconsider your view of units, hexes, strategic space and other mechanics.
I think there is space for both types of combat. Personally, I very much more enjoy the realism of HUMANKIND combat. Single units on single hexes that represent large swaths of land break realism for me in Civ. I strongly prefer being able to stack an army of diverse units and then have a hex based battlefield show up for the combat. The combat system in HK literally uses all the mechanics discussed (units, hexes, strategic space, etc.) but in a more defined and realistic way. I totally understand that is not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it compared to the combat in Civ.
I disagree, Amplitude is consistently putting out quality updates to the game making it better and better including solid DLC content. Myself and many others still enjoy playing it on a weekly basis even 2+ years after launch. It is an excellent addition to the 4x Strategy genre, and many of its mechanics we will see incorporated into future games in the genre.
One category I would add is “Interface “. The biggest problem I have with Humankind is not being able to see the actual consequences of various decisions. There is a lot of obscurity or lack of transparency in Humankind. It has improved some in the upgrades, and much of the transparency in Civ VI is added through various mods. But when playing Humankind I have no real sense of which choice in a decision I am faced with will better serve my goals. This is especially true in the Civics choices of having to choose one or the other in a forced choice type dichotomy. Often I just choose to ignore the entire issue. Sometimes the language used to describe it is totally confusing. The Civilopedia of Civ VI is much easier to use to be able to understand things and much easier to find the info I am looking for than the “manual” provided in Humankind. The play throughs and videos provided by Fraxis have really helped with this. The play throughs I watched with Humankind were almost painful in how poorly they were done. Both games have a lot of complexity, and I have found that Civ VI does a far superior job of helping players navigate this complexity.
Excellent breakdown! As a huge fan of Civ, I was always interested in what the differences were!
Glad the video was helpful! I really do love both games as they both provide a unique take on 4xStrategy!
This has gotten me back into playing both again. I haven't seen anyone else do a breakdown as thorough as yours.
Awesome! Glad you are playing again, and thank you for the kind words!
Good job MM , nice work 👍
Thank you for the kind words! :)
Thank you for this
No problem! I had a blast putting it together!
I enjoyed the video. great commentary. the primary difference for me between the two games is how you develop your cities and your territory. I tend to play a wide civ strategy. with that I always felt frustrated with Humankind. I would want the emblematic district in each territory as you only can build one and only while you are with that culture and it usually had strong benefits. with each era I would build the district and then only need to build a few more districts to get all the fame stars for the builder category for that era. it felt like I never had a chance to really make an emblematic district shine as it would only get 2 or 3 boosting districts around it before I got all the fame stars for that era. building districts above the needed level only seemed to penalize you on the next era. stability was another big restriction on building districts but that was more managing luxuries.
as you said in your video, planning a city in Civ6 took more strategic thinking. you were always looking to maximize the starting bonuses for your districts. and deciding which district got the best bonuses as placing one district might limit or reduce the bonuses for another district that you were planning to build.
Thanks for the comment! I do think that it would be fun to have emblematic districts available even after you have moved up (maybe at increased production costs). I have also heard that HUMANKIND plays better at normal and then the slower game speeds, anything faster and it loses some balance (I guess, I have not played much outside normal speed). Civ 6 has similar restrictions, it is just population based restrictions for districts, and you can only build one in each city. They feel similar but in different ways!
Need to make time to play this again - so many updates since I last played (the first religious re-work LOL )
Well worth the play, HUMANKIND just keeps getting better with each patch, update, and expansion!
I think not long ago they released the Definitive Edition of Humankind, i really hope this doesnt mean the final nail on the coffin because is really interesting to see what new stuff they bring in and it would be sad to see it die now
Agreed, but I think we will see more. I truly hope for a couple more culture DLC's and full religion revamp before they stop with new content...
Gonna get Humankind. Loved Endless Space 2. Amplitude Studios arts are amazing.
Yes! The game is really pretty! Most of the time I just wish I could zoom in even more to really appreciate the design!
I will give another try. Thank you
Awesome! I hope you enjoy it!
A big issue I have with Humankind and the changing of cultures each era is in keeping track of who is who - In Diplo/trade screen it can be easier as you see the person, though they can look very similar to each other. On the map it is by current culture and determining who is who is just harder to keep track of - labeling it as Leader X of the (insert current culture) instead of just culture might help. Just felt disconnected.
That actually changed in a recent update. It is labeled by leader with the culture as secondary info. Much, much easier to keep track of now!
The icons also help with this on the map (if you know each persons icons).
8 months later, but i felt the same way at first. then i realized the colors and emblems never change
I would love to hear your opinion now with the new update on the resource and trade system with humankind recent update.
I go over this pretty extensively in the Let's Play Episode that is coming out tomorrow! ;) But in short, I really enjoy these changes. Specifically, the trade system is now much better. I am not a huge fan of the RNG factor with each resource being worth a random "amount" of said resource, and I do think that stability may need to be addressed since each resource only counts for the +5 stability now instead of each resource of a type adding stability.
I know they are completely different games, sci-fi for one. Not 4x for another. But resources the way Distant Worlds does it. I want that for a civ game. Actually having the "private sector" ferry resources around. Giving you an avenue of attacking supply lines.
I hate wonders in civ 6. It's such a big investment, and I always miss out wasting all that effort. To the point that I never bother with them. I love them in humankind :)
I like the private sector idea for trade. HK kind of has that now with the trade lines and plundering, but I am sure not the same (I am not familiar with Distant Worlds). Yah, Civ 6 Wonders are a huge risk/reward scenario that can be very painful when you don't get them. I also like the way HK does Wonders. Feels more realistic. At no point irl have two wonders (that look exactly the same) ever been in a construction race!
Thank you for making this video for me the AI is the most important part in civilization 6 so I appreciate you explaining the AI differences.
Thank you for the kind words, and I am glad you found the video informative!
I must be the only guy who has Civ 6 on Switch & HK on ps5.. I def got my hands full.. Ive collected quite a few titles in this genre over the years.. I really need to put more time into HK & Old World cause I don’t really know them that well.. I feel a little more comfortable going back to Civ 4, 5 and Rev tbh I can grasp those a little better
There are so many great games out there! I always struggle with what to play, especially in the 4x genre, because those games take a while to master. You are committing a lot of time to one game to really get into it. Best of luck with the gaming choices! :)
Guess I'm the odd one...I still prefer Civ 5....Civ 6 was a bit too cartoonish in presentation (and the ai was painful to play against), Humankind was interesting, but ai lacking an established culture threw me off completely....it's like facing new opponents all the time, and I can't tell who's who......still, I should probably reinstall and play them, seeing how much they've changed.
Thanks for the video!
I also loved Civ 5! I took a pretty big break between playing Civ 5 and Civ 6, so Civ 6 grew on me pretty quickly. Graphically, I did prefer Civ 5 as well. A couple updates ago, HUMANKIND did change the way cultures and opponents are displayed, so it is much easier to track who is who now. They have another big update coming next month, so that might be a great time to jump in again!
Thanks for your work !! Best video of this theme , its worth to buy in ps4 ? I want it ,but i dont know if is good to play there 😢
Thank you for the kind words! I will be really honest and say that I do not know how it plays on console. I know lots of people do play it on console, so I assume it is good. I probably would not play a 4x game on console, but I know plenty of folks who do (or have), so personal preference, I suppose! ;)
Nice video. I have one question though - which one plays faster / is faster to complete. I only have experience with Civ 6 but on more than a few occassions the game took so long / bogged down so much that I simply either didn't return to a save or just had to force myself to finish. Does humankind on average take less time? more time? than Civ, considering both manual and auto combat as that thing alone might probably have a big impact on playing time.
Hmm, great question. I think they are very comparable for length of game, but that obviously depends on what game speed you choose. HK, imo, plays better at normal speed, but seems off at faster speeds. Civ 6 can be set to quick or online and still feels ok. End game feels better to me in HK, because I think it goes just a bit faster than in Civ. End game is just usually a bit of a slog in 4x games.
Because of you I tried Humankind today and it was incredibly fun for a first run. I'm quite new with civilization too but this was crazy fun. I wonder what explains the bad reviews on Steam?
Awesome! Glad you had a great time playing! I think a lot of people come into new 4xStrategy games with certain viewpoints and expectations, so when a developer deviates from those expectations it can be hard for those players. I think, Amplitude brought a ton of new ideas and fresh perspective to the genre, and I am here for it! :)
@@MadishMoose what is your top 5 (4x games) , may I know? :D
Certainly! In all honesty, I do not feel like I have played very many of them. I tend to get so deep into them that when I start one I don't have time for anything else. In no particular order, 4xStrategy games I have really enjoyed are:
Civ 5
Civ 6
HUMANKIND
Star Wars: Rebellion (this one was really my entry into the genre, loved this game)
Strategic Conquest (played with my dad on MAC back in the day, probably why I love the genre today)
(Honorable Mention, not technically a true 4x) Rome Total War 2
@@MadishMoose Thank you :D
As much as I love the detailed breakdown,
it seems like humankind as a general package is waaaaay less well recieved if looking at the steam charts and steam reviews. Humankind is pretty much down in the dirt with both playernumbers as well as active players x.x
Civ 6 is in the 5 digits of active player numbers even which is really good 8)
while humankind dropped below 4 digit active players which is sad.
All true statements, but comparing an established franchise with decades of building a player base to a brand new IP is tough. I still think that people are missing out on a great game, especially if they have not tried it since release. Amplitude has done a great job adding content over the last couple years.
which would be good for someone who has never played a 4x game?
Really great question! I honestly think you could go either way. With Civ 6 you get what has become essentially the classic 4x game experience. I do think that mastering Civ 6 is more challenging, because it is pretty strategy heavy, and you have to know your win conditions to go for. HUMANKIND is a slightly different 4x experience, perhaps easier to master as it is more play your own way. At the same time, HUMANKIND has a lot to learn and can be overwhelming with all the different cultures you end up choosing. Civ 6 just has the one civ you choose at the beginning. Long story short, either would be great, Civ 6 might be easier to get into but harder to master, HUMANKIND might be a bit harder to get into but easier to master. Those are my two cents! :)
@@MadishMoose okay thank you for the reply, so start off with civ 6 would be easier to get into then
Hope Paradox will make a "RTS version" of this.
I have not ever played any of the Paradox "grand strategy" games, but they do have a 4x title coming out sometime, I believe. It was announced last year.
@@MadishMoose OMG! Searched for it now. Finally an Empire Earth spiritual successor. I have played Stellaris a lot, it gave me Spore vibes.
@@MadishMoose Found out another game: "ARA: History Untold" from Oxide Games
Yah, I have been keeping my eye on this one as well.
Neither the combat in Humankind nor any other Amplitude game will ever be better than modern Civ. I would implore you to reconsider your view of units, hexes, strategic space and other mechanics.
I think there is space for both types of combat. Personally, I very much more enjoy the realism of HUMANKIND combat. Single units on single hexes that represent large swaths of land break realism for me in Civ. I strongly prefer being able to stack an army of diverse units and then have a hex based battlefield show up for the combat. The combat system in HK literally uses all the mechanics discussed (units, hexes, strategic space, etc.) but in a more defined and realistic way. I totally understand that is not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it compared to the combat in Civ.
Civ 6 graphics and art is like "don't buy that shit"
Yah, initially the transition from Civ 5 to Civ 6 art style was a bit jarring, I preferred Civ 5, but I did get used to the Civ 6 style.
@@MadishMoose But the game is amazing anyway, I love Civ 6
Humankind seems like it's a dead game.
I disagree, Amplitude is consistently putting out quality updates to the game making it better and better including solid DLC content. Myself and many others still enjoy playing it on a weekly basis even 2+ years after launch. It is an excellent addition to the 4x Strategy genre, and many of its mechanics we will see incorporated into future games in the genre.
@@MadishMoose Yeah I get that they did what you said, but it's too little too late.
One category I would add is “Interface “. The biggest problem I have with Humankind is not being able to see the actual consequences of various decisions. There is a lot of obscurity or lack of transparency in Humankind. It has improved some in the upgrades, and much of the transparency in Civ VI is added through various mods. But when playing Humankind I have no real sense of which choice in a decision I am faced with will better serve my goals. This is especially true in the Civics choices of having to choose one or the other in a forced choice type dichotomy. Often I just choose to ignore the entire issue. Sometimes the language used to describe it is totally confusing. The Civilopedia of Civ VI is much easier to use to be able to understand things and much easier to find the info I am looking for than the “manual” provided in Humankind. The play throughs and videos provided by Fraxis have really helped with this. The play throughs I watched with Humankind were almost painful in how poorly they were done. Both games have a lot of complexity, and I have found that Civ VI does a far superior job of helping players navigate this complexity.