Good things come to those who can't wait. As confirmed on the Civ website, ordering the latest entry in the Civilization series, "Civilization: Beyond Earth," ahead of release date means getting your hands on the most ambitious addition to the game before everybody else: a free Exoplanets Map pack that features close-to-real life diagrams of recently recognized exoplanets.

'Not Alpha Centauri'

Meanwhile, lead designers of Firaxis' award-winning multiplayer game, Will Miller and David McDonough, deny rumors that Civilization: Beyond Earth was designed inspired by its much-earlier predecessor, "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri," released in 1999.

Although the space environment will remind players of Alpha Centauri, the premise of the game is entirely different.

Civilization: Beyond Earth will take place in the far distant future where humanity is nearing the brink of collapse and the only solution left to save it is to find a suitable home among the stars.

Unlike other Civilization games, however, Beyond Earth will forego the use of popular historical personalities to run a pre-designed civilization; instead, players will get the chance to select the circumstances leading up to their civilization's founding.

The latest sequel to the award-winning Civilization series has been slated for an October 24 release.

Firaxis, the creators behind the hit 4X video game series, confirmed the worldwide release date of Civilization: Beyond Earth on Twitter and Youtube last July, followed by an update on the Civ website.

The game will be available for Mac, Linux, and PC users this fall, and may also be downloaded directly via Steam.

It will be a long wait before Civilization: Beyond Earth hits the shelves. Civ fans, however, can treat themselves to a video gameplay trailer filmed with the game's co-lead designer, Will Miller.