Civilization 7 Releases First Update in Early Access

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Starting today marks the beginning of the early access phase for “Civilization 7“, a highly anticipated strategy-sim history game set to hit shelves in full on February 11th. To kick things off, this much-awaited title from 2025 has just received its inaugural update, enhancing the gaming experience for those who pre-ordered the Deluxe or Founders Editions. Early access recipients can now enjoy a smoother gameplay, as improvements have been made to AI, UI, and other audio elements.

Although the ratings for “Civilization 7” are relatively lower compared to its predecessors, scoring an 81 on Metacritic, it’s been criticized, particularly in terms of user interface (UI). Some users found it less intuitive, and the gameplay didn’t seem as captivating as earlier versions like “6” and “5”. However, improvements can occur over time, which is the aim of the latest update, Patch 1.01.

From today onwards, Patch 1.01 is going to tackle a variety of VFX and Audio problems, such as missing audio cues and effects. As for the user interface, the minimap has been upgraded and now includes region names. Moreover, all platforms will enjoy improved lighting for leaders and an option to disable Deluxe/Founders Edition bonuses.

The full Day One patch notes for Civilization 7’s first update are available below:

General

All Platforms

  • Moving onto a Bridge no longer ends a Unit’s movement
  • Removed -2 Happiness “Social Policy Lost” penalty when changing Social Policies during Celebrations
  • Ports can now be built on Navigable Rivers
  • Tiles impacted by nuclear fallout no longer produce Yields
  • Town upgrade costs now scale with game speed for better pacing
  • Relationships can no longer reach Helpful while at war with another Leader

AI

All Platforms

  • AI now prioritizes pillaging any available tiles before attacking a Settlement’s center
  • AI leaders now accept and reject Peace Deals more appropriately
  • Commander Orders and Group attacks now behave more consistently
  • Improved AI navy ability to target plots on shore
  • Improved AI ability to use Migrant Units if space is available

UI

All Platforms

  • Added new information to the City Details screen that shows where a Town is sending its food and what Town a City is receiving food from
  • Added Auto Unit Cycle option to toggle on/off when a Unit has remaining movement
  • Added custom Religion naming
  • Policy screen now shows how many free slots are available

Narrative System

All Platforms

  • Reward description clarified on multiple Discovery Events
  • All Legacy Paths Civilopedia pages have been added to the Ages tab
  • Added Civilopedia entries for Ocean Exploration, Railroads, Specialists, Amphibious, Embark, Fortify, and Intercept

System Adjustments & Performance

Windows PC

  • Improvements to leader lighting and shadows on high-end graphics settings
  • Upscaling settings are now automatically configured based on PC hardware

All Platforms

  • Addressed a number of crash issues reported by some users

Audio & Visual

All Platforms

  • Road creation and connection logic updated to ensure consistent connections for better-looking roads and railroads
  • Railroad assets now appear on Rural and Improved tiles
  • Added text-to-speech narration
  • Fixed missing VFX across various Units
  • Adjusted timing on some leader VO
  • Fixed missing sounds across various Units
  • Fixed missing sounds across the Independent Powers screen
  • Fixed missing sounds across various UI
  • Fixed audio timing loops for certain Wonders

Miscellaneous

All Platforms

  • Premium items obtained from the Deluxe Edition and Founders Edition can be toggled on/off

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2025-02-05 23:12