Outside of Amplitude's new game on the scene, For fans of Civilization, Humankind aims to be no different, and knows that the key to making a worthwhile experience is giving the community room to express its own ideas.
Humankind’s mod scene is still growing, and the dev team is still working on integrating modding directly into the game, so full gameplay conversions and mechanical upgrades are sparse for the time being. However, with the release of the Fabius Maximus update, there should be an in-game mod browser and tools integrated into Steam to help those with the prowess for modding to import their models and buildings. Even without these tools, there are already some foundational mods that have been developed by the community that will streamline and improve the gameplay experience.
Maps have been the main source of -created content for Humankind, but looking at Civilization 6's Steam Workshop and New Frontier , there’s good evidence that this game will have entire new game modes and huge quality of life improvements for years to come. For now, though, the few camera and gameplay-changing mods that have been released are still worth ing to improve the game, and tools are being released by modders to help others create their own content as well.
HKVASynth Mod Lets Players Create Their Own Humankind Narration
"HKVASynth" is a tool that creates AI-generated voice lines from the narrator’s voice in Humankind. The documentation on NexusMods published by tricky strategy of Humankind, such tutorialization of new mechanics could be helpful.
This is more a tool to facilitate other mods and less of a mod itself, as it doesn’t interact with game code, instead training an AI to replicate voices. For some, grabbing this voice may only be for immediate entertainment, but for others looking to add more character to the game, this tool is a godsend at creating content that melds with Humankind's storytelling aspects. The other versions available for other games might even be able to create voicelines for AI Personas.
HumankindPlus Allows Players to Control Victory Conditions
For those that don’t want to the game to end by simply running out the clock or exhausting available technologies, "Humankind+" by Humankind has many end conditions like Civilization and other empire builders, and the game only allows players to single out groups of win conditions instead of choosing each individual one. Humankind+ allows to make adjustments to the turn limit, technology limit, and the punishing pollution mechanic which often disrupts end-game plans.
Humankind’s Free Camera Mod Lets Players View the Majesty of Their Empire
There’s no denying that Humankind looks beautiful, yet despite the amount of visual splendor on offer, at launch there was no ability to rotate and zoom the camera in to capture details. There is an option to completely hide the interface in order to take screenshots of the sprawling districts that make the game unique, but for those players who want to share their creations through Steam and social media, the "Free Camera Mod" lifts all the restrictions and allows for better shots of villages, horizons, landmarks, and Humankind's best emblematic districts. Created by rycolo, the Free Camera mod allows players to zoom in close to grab more personal images of their empire as well as capture the majesty of the up-close landscapes.
True Culture Location Mod Adds More Realism To Humankind True Earth Games
One of the best experiences in grand strategy empire building games can be playing on true Earth maps, ones designed to mimic real life terrain and spacing between countries and continents. There are many true Earth maps available for Humankind, but the True Culture Location mod by Humankind's culture combinations based on terrain.
The Allow Duplicate Cultures Mod Helps Humankind Players With Specific Strategies
One thing that can be devastating to a strategy in Humankind is not getting a specific culture because another leader has already taken it. A mod on Games2Gether posted by AOM has simply added the option to let multiple leaders choose the same culture, which could stop players from having to overhaul their strategies in the midgame. Players have already commented that this could allow for games with more than ten players and could also allow for interesting team games.
By adding onto the game, players can solve a lot of issues, though hopefully through increased modding capability, this will go even further. Being able to fix the quick and brutal ramp-up of economies or adding the option to play as only one culture with multiple unique buildings would give players the option for a more traditional turn-based strategy experience. The most exciting thing that could come in the future, however, is complete system overhauls, similar to what the Zombies mode in Civilization 6's New Frontier developed by Firaxis. Humankind's base game has a good visual style, and with different play modes and entirely new experiences, it could quickly become a landmark title in the strategy genre.
Everything in Humankind is editable with enough skill, opening up a wide creative canvas for fans of the game to add to. Given the game's focus on storytelling, in-depth tools to help players create those stories will help the game succeed over the long haul. But for right now, Humankind has already been edited in ways that give more control to players and streamline the experience in a variety of interesting ways.
Source: Dan Ruta/NexusMods, Scapeh/humankind.mod.io, rycolo/humankind.mod.io, Gedemon/humankind.mod.io AOM/Games2Gether
