Civilization 7 Should Make This Civ 6 Mod Official

Sid Meier’s Civilization 7will be coming out in a little over a month, and it is the perfect opportunity for the franchise to take one of Civilization 6's best mods and make it official. There are a ton of great mods available for the Civilization series on places like the Steam Workshop that can change how players interact with the games. These mods can introduce minor changes like new policies, or major changes like custom leaders and maps from fictional universes like The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.

While not all mods would make sense for Civilization 7 to include as new gameplay features, there is at least one that would be perfect. The concept for the mod itself is relatively simple, and it’s actually somewhat surprising no Civilization game has added it as an option yet. However, despite its simplicity, the mod can also have a major impact on how the game is played, creating new interesting possibilities that the base Civilization games currently lack.

This Civ 6 Mod Allows Players To Halt Science In A Certain Era

Players Choose What Era To End The Technology Tree At

Going as far back as Civilization 6, players have been modding the game to include an era cap. Mods like this allow players to choose an era where they want scientific progress to stop. The most recent version of this mod for Civilization 6, Real Era Stop by Steam user infixo, adds a new dropdown menu to the game setup screen. Below the Start Era dropdown, players can now choose when to halt scientific advancement with a Last Era dropdown.

Aside from stopping progress on the technology tree, Real Era Stop also modifies how Great People work to make sure any technology they boost or units they grant conform to the chosen Last Era. Additionally, the mod tweaks when certain game elements like government type are available, to ensure things stay balanced and the game doesn’t crash. Although the mod hasn’t been updated since 2023, it still works well with both the base game of Civilization 6 and its expansion packs.

This Mod Allows Players To Set Their Game At A Distinct Point In History

Freezing Technology Can Set A Game In A Distinct Era

Civilization 6 Hojo Tokimune leader for Japan

One reason these types of mods for Civilization games are so popular is that they allow players to customize the type of experience they want. While a traditional game of Civilization is a lot of fun, it can also be nice to shake things up. For instance, it becomes a lot more difficult for players to launch major military operations when they don’t have planes, nukes, or powerful warships. This forces players to be more strategic about their attacks and how they are using their resources.

Capping the final era also allows players to make custom games set in a specific historical era. If players want to reenact the Napoleonic Wars, for instance, they can stop the game in the Industrial Era. The Renaissance Era is a good Last Era for players wanting to play a full-scale game set in the golden age of piracy if they want a longer experience than what the Pirate scenario offers. Players can even choose to start and end the game in the same era if they just want a quick game without needing to advance technology.

All these different scenarios open up a whole new way to look at creating custom Civilization games. For long-time fans of the series, having new scenarios to try out can help keep their interest, especially if they’ve been playing similar scenarios since the 2000s. This mod also works well in tandem with other custom add-ons to the game.

Stopping Technological Advancement Improves Other Mods

Mods Based On Historical Events Or Fantasy Worlds Work Better With Era Stopping Mods

Zeus statue as seen from above in the game Civilization VI.

There are a variety of Civilization 6 mods that are made to help players re-enact specific historical conflicts. These mods work even better when players can stop technology from advancing beyond the point where it realistically was when a given war was taking place. This means players trying to recreate Alexander the Great’s conquest don’t have to worry about their immersion being broken by a fighter jet showing up.

Stopping eras at a certain point also works well for mods that reskin Civilization 6 into a specific fictional universe. Something like a Game of Thrones mod makes a lot more sense when the world doesn’t progress beyond the Medieval Era. While Civilization 7's development team doesn’t necessarily have to try too hard to accommodate this type of fan-made content, it would at least be a nice nod to the modding community to make their lives easier and just include a built-in era stop in the game.

For nearly 20 years at this point, players have been adding mods to Civilization games that allow them to freeze technology at a chosen era. After all this time, it would be nice for Firaxis to recognize that this is a feature that players want and make it official in Civilization 7. However, if they don’t, it at least seems likely that the modding community will continue to add this feature in for them.

Source: infixo/Steam Workshop