The "affinities" are overarching philosophies on human advancement that shape players' technological advancement and unlock affinity-unique units. The game intentionally does not allow for technology trading between civilizations (though it can be stolen), and it is difficult to unlock all of the game's technologies in a single playthrough.
While previous Civilization titles have had linear tech trees, Beyond Earth has a "tech web" which branches off in several directions, forcing players to choose only one at a time. Early decisions have a significant effect on the gameplay. In Beyond Earth, players make choices at the beginning of the game, including what sponsors backed their expedition, what kind of spacecraft they used to reach the planet, and who and what they brought to the new world, allowing players to create a customized civilization of their own. In previous Civilization titles, players selected from historical empires led by historical figures, each with preset personalities. There are a number of significant changes from the Civilization model. A lot of them are very familiar themes to the Civ player." Changes from the traditional Civilization formula The idea of the cities, city-base progression, leaders, the passage of time, tile-based, turn-based, building improvements, technologies. Co-lead designer David McDonough described the relationship between the two games by saying "The bones of the experience are very much recognisably Civ.
1.1 Changes from the traditional Civilization formulaīeyond Earth is a turn-based strategy game played on a hexagonal-based grid, iterating the ideas and building upon the engine of its predecessor, Civilization V.