Strewth! Australia making Civ debut in next DLC
Wubble the jabbas, mate
Australian will join Sid Meier's globedwar for the first time in new DLC for Civilization 6 [official site], 2K have announced. WW2-era Prime Minister John Curtin will rise from the grave to lead them. Continuing the theme, 2K have also announced that the 'Australian Summer' update is "coming soon" to add neat-o features like official mod tools with Steam Workshop support and the option to play as teams in multiplayer.
Here's what 2K say about the coming free update:
"Multiplayer teams and mod tools have been two of the community's most-requested features, and we’re happy to bring them to Civilization VI. Steam Workshop will allow you to browse, add, and subscribe to mods more easily, and the other tools will make it easier for artists and modders to express their creativity within the game. With the update to multiplayer you will be able to team up with your friends to conquer the world together against AI or human opponents.
"There are also balance changes and bug fixes coming in this update, ranging from trade routes to ice caps, obsolete units to AI upgrades."
On to Straya! Their unique ability, 'Land Down Under' (hey, I didn't name it), gives their cities extra housing if built on coastal tiles. Certain buildings get bonuses if built in pretty places too. Diggers are their unique unit, getting bonuses on tiles adjacent to water and outside their territory. Their unique tile improvement is the Outback Station, which boosts Food and Production but can also let you grab tiles from bordering civs. As for Johnno Martin, he gives Straya bonus Production at the start of defensive wars and for liberating cities. Here, this video explains the lot:
Disappointingly, they get no bonus for sharing their cultural works with England. As if Queen Victoria is too good to watch Neighbours over lunch!
No firm word yet on when either the update or DLC will launch. But to get you in the mood, I've got a hot tip for some 100% fictional Australian slang that we can make real if we bloody-mindedly repeat it enough:
clanger
[klang-er /ˈklæŋ.ər/]noun
1. a small pancake
Tell your mates.