I've been looking for a city or civilization builder game for awhile now that focuses on or at least includes society and culture customization and development as a key feature. That is, shaping your culture over the course of the game. Shaping your culture is things like religious beliefs, entertainment, government, hierarchy, how multiple races integrate into the society (if there are multiple races/species), and how your people respond to and are shaped by crises. I'm really looking for something where one society that grows in one way plays significantly if not completely differently to one that follows a different path. Sanctioning something like slavery or democracy isn't just a few percentage modifiers on production and unrest.
Preferably the game is something where you can ignore warfare and conquest and still have an engaging experience, but having a good war system is not a negative in and of itself. It's only bad if that's the only really good part of the game or the only way to play. I'm not really looking for a map painter or a frantic real time strategy game, I already have good options for those. This is a particular itch I know I have but haven't found a satisfying option for yet.
Anyone know of anything that fits this? Even a good mod for something else that adds a deep society and culture component would be nice.
Preferably the game is something where you can ignore warfare and conquest and still have an engaging experience, but having a good war system is not a negative in and of itself. It's only bad if that's the only really good part of the game or the only way to play. I'm not really looking for a map painter or a frantic real time strategy game, I already have good options for those. This is a particular itch I know I have but haven't found a satisfying option for yet.
Anyone know of anything that fits this? Even a good mod for something else that adds a deep society and culture component would be nice.