The Civilization games are fairly well liked. The most recent entry into it though suffered from being that game to follow a popular predecessor. Civ V once fitted with its DLC entries was a very good game, and Beyond Earth fell a little short of capturing me in the same way.

Now however Firaxis have announced the first DLC for Beyond Earth, entitled Rising Tide. As the name suggests it adds a lot to the game that is mainly based upon embarking upon alien seas to allow for colonisation of the ocean as well as mine resources from it. It’ll also expand the role of diplomacy among other new features:

• Building floating settlements and accessing natural resources hidden beneath the seas of the alien planet, while alien beasts with unique abilities inhabit the water and challenge players in distinctive ways
• Shaping the diplomatic landscape by upgrading traits, changing diplomatic relationships, and leveraging the benefits of your allies, all with political capital
• Unlocking a dynamic set of Diplomatic Traits while activating different combinations in response to the changing world
• Playing as one of four new factions, including the Al Falah, a group of nomad explorers descended from wealthy and resilient Middle Eastern states
• Investing in multiple Affinities to unlock hybrid Affinity units and upgrades for the first time;
• Collecting and combining alien relics via a new Artifact System that unlocks powerful benefits
• Exploring one of two new biomes, Primordial world, an untamed biome rife with volcanic activity and indicative of a chaotic landscape still forming in the new world

Riding Tide will be releasing this Autumn and will retail at around £20.