Sid Meier's Civilization IV

[Elgalad]

Civilization 4 (http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/home.htm) is here! I've been waiting to say that for over a year now, and it's finally here!
:grin: :claps: :grin: :claps: :grin:

Been playing it all week, still on my first game as America under the brilliant and inspired leadership of Geo. Washington! I love that I'm able to finally choose the Father of our Nation as my avatar. I'm a bit disappointed that the other leader they chose for America (you can pick from different leaders in this new version and each has different effects on your civ) was FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. When I saw that, I almost burst into tears... "You Picked the Wrong Roosevelt!!" :hissyfit:

(sigh)

Well, you can't have everything. But from my experience with the game so far, you can sure have a LOT. Those that have played Civilization before will easily recognize this game, though the graphics and features are light years beyond earlier incarnations. Sid Meier's influence shows clearly as the game continues to be easy for beginners to get right into and start enjoying, while retaining a complexity that will engage experienced players for months and even years to come.

I hate sounding too much like a cheerleader, but I'm Loving this game. My favorite aspect so far has to be the beautiful musical scoring. Earlier games have had musical scores that boosted immersion, helping you 'get into' the role of leading your people to success through the ages. The last game, Civilization 3, even had specific musical themes that changed as the ages progressed (dawn of civilization/iron age, medieval age, industrial age, and modern age). But Civ 4 takes that one step further with specific culture based melodies, religious themes, etc that advance as time passes. As you zoom in from the world view to the nation view and then to the city view, the music changes. :thumb::thumb: to the Musical director.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who enjoys strategy games, especially turn based strat games. Civilization has always set the standard, and this version is no exception. I'd recommend it also to anyone who wants to learn a little more about world history ~ I've spoken with college history professors who even assign this game as resource material for their students. It's suitable for all ages (see ** below though) since there's no questionable material; any violence is simulated army vs army warfare and not overly graphic

This is not really a 'war' game as are most real time strategy games. Winning conditions do include 'Conquest' but there are other alternatives to victory: Domination of land area and population (through growth and conquest), Cultural victory (McDonald's and Disney in Every land!), Diplomatic (win by getting the majority of other nations to elect you U.N. leader), the Space Race (build a spaceship to Alpha Centauri), and lastly, by having the highest 'score' by year 2050. Because of all these options, the number of civilizations and leaders you can choose from, and the random world generator, not to mention user made scenarios, the replayability is nearly endless.

** Be advised that the designers of this game have chosen to incorporate religion for the first time as an actual game effect. There are 7 'world religions' that become unlocked as specific technologies/advances are achieved. The game makes no judgement calls on any religion vs any other, all are treated 'equally' but all serve to Help your civilization progress. Atheism is not included as a viable alternative, which has been a major bone of contention over at the civ fanatics site (another forum I used to frequent that is populated by Many liberals). Even so, the fact that Christianity is only presented as an optional alternative to Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam may require Parents to carefully consider whether this game is suitable for younger children. **

I should give myself a little more time to explore the game before rating it fully, but so far I'd give my experiences a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Feel free to share your own Civ experiences! And if any of you are interested in trying out a multiplayer game or two, let me know. :smirky:


-Elgalad

[SmellyFed]

Is it a big step up from Civ 3? I was actually playing a little Civ 3 just last night.

[Elgalad]

Is it a big step up from Civ 3? I was actually playing a little Civ 3 just last night.

I believe so yes. I was also a pretty big fan of Civ 3, but while Civ 3 did add a lot of wonderful features such as culture, it really tended to focus more on the military/conquest side of the game and required a certain strategy to achieve victory. The 'pop-rush' in the early game was absolutely vital in Civ 3 for example.

Civ 4 is a return to the older balanced form of the world builder. Conquest is much more difficult than it was with Civ 3, because they've beefed up the defensability of cities that have been developed. And with the revised scoring system, players who focus on building vs combat will find that city improvements add points now. While combat is still a viable alternative to victory, the other victory conditions have been revamped to suit nearly every playing style. So if you Want to play a peaceful game of building, or an isolationist race to the space program, you can. The AI is (I believe) much improved, and no longer acts unpredictably as it sometimes tended to do in Civ 3.

The biggest difference is of course the graphics and sound. Civ 4 has gone to full 3d rendering and restored the wonder movies that were missing in Civ 3 (I missed those!). They've added visual depictions that show right on the game map now just how much your cities have been developed ~ improvements and wonders are right there in all their glory! :grin: At first, I expected this to make the play area pretty cluttered, but it's actually handled quite well. As for the sound.. :thumb: I'm a huge fan of good quality music in computer games, and Civ 4 has a very impressive score. No more repetitious, monotonous soundtrack .. Now when you progress through the ages, you will hear true Classics from composers such as Beethoven, Bach, Haydn, etc.

I'm probably becoming guilty of advocating this game too strongly. :hahaha: but I'm serious, if you've played and enjoyed any of the previous Civ games, or other similar games.. (Age of Empires, Call to Power, Master of Orion, etc) you'll love this game.


-Elgalad

[Elgalad]

Including a few screenshots to give you a better idea of how different this game looks than its predecessors..

http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/3382/revolution3jn.jpg

A typical playmap from the American Revolution scenario. Instead of colors now, every unit has a Flag that depicts its nation. You can see some of the new terrain improvements here too, including watermills, windmills, and villages. The game area is fully zoomable from a very close zoom (you could expand the screen to show just one city in detail)...

http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/5130/world4po.jpg

To a full global view. I think there is actually one higher zoom than this one, and when you have it fully scoped out like this, you can 'rotate' the world in any direction. No more scrolling! This adds a Lot to immersion and getting an overall 'feel' as to the world's true size.

http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/729/techtree4id.jpg

This screen shows the new tech tree. Literally Everything has been expanded on, from resources to techs, to the new big feature, Religion. Monotheism for example is a prerequisite to Judaism, and the first Civilization that researches Monotheism will 'found' Judaism in one of its cities. From there, you can build missionaries to spread the faith to your own and other civ's cities. Religion adds culture and happiness to your cities.

http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/5629/catherine9ck.jpg

I used to absolutely HATE games when I'd run into Catherine the Great.. her dour, frumpy Babushka picture was very unsettling. Here is the new and Improved Catherine! She's definitely easier on the eyes.. :grin: Any student of history would know that Catherine had a.. (cough) active libido, and I can find it far easier to believe that with this version of her. Keep in mind that all of the leaders are rendered in full 3d. That picture above is animated and leaders will have varying facial features and gestures when they responds to their relationship to you as well as offers you make.

The real looker though among the new leaders though, is the new Elizabeth! :thumb: I chose not to put a picture of her on here.. that'd be far too blatant. Besides, you don't want me to spoil everything! Speaking of spoilers though...

http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/5498/louis1bn.jpg

The guy you'll just Love to hate... King Louis in all his snobbish froggy glory. It's clear the game designers had a sense of humor, heh. To make it better, this is actually one of the strongest AI's from what I have read: his civ traits make him a foil you'll come up against often in achieving victory for your people.

:france:

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/7888/statue7bc.jpg

Last but not least.. an example of the new wonder movies. Every wonder has a movie, and there are many more in Civ 4 than every before. These really added a lot to the game for me, back in Civ 2 and I'm glad they're back.

Hope these help you get a better idea of how the game's changed since the last version. :smirky:


-Elgalad

[SmellyFed]

I think you just sold a copy of Civ 4. Hope they pay you some commission!

If I do pick this up... care to multi-play sometime? (After I get up to speed)

[dPrasse]

This looks inteesting , being a "war gamer" ...

I'm assuming this is "real time" on the net ... everyone needs to be online at the same time ?

[ThomasMore]

Darn. And I was just getting good at Civ 3.

[Elgalad]

@Dprasse I'm not sure exactly how the multiplayer aspects work yet, haven't had much time to try them out. But the game has a single player (player vs computer A.I.s) version as well. The trend lately with turn based internet games is to have 'concurrent' turns so that you don't have to wait as long for your opponents to move.

I'm going to guess that yes, the players will need to be on at the same time in order to take successive turns, But.. it should be possible to save a game's progress and pick it up later when the players have the time to do so.

I just took a look at the manual.. you can multiplay this game via a LAN (network), over the internet through Gamespy (http://www.gamespy.com/), direct IP connection (one player hosts), Hotseat (players take turns on the same computer ~ this is great for party games), and also via email! (like Hotseat, only you send each other your end turn moves)

Now that's what the manual says, but I haven't tested it yet. I'll give it considerable credence since Civ 4 has a major publisher (Firaxis) And I've read from the forums that the beta testers were focusing a great deal on the multiplayer aspects of the game, but I can't say first hand what the experience is like, yet. I'm still learning the game's features in single player! :grin: Still, I look forward to giving it a try before long.


-Elgalad

[Elgalad]

Just went and took a peek at the Gamespy's dedicated host (it's reachable from inside the game menus). It looks pretty impressive and there are lots of folks there looking for opponents, so it appears the game designers tested the mp portion of the game well before shipping it.

Can't speak on the experience yet, but it should be easy to set up a game with any of you who are interested (once you get the game). :grin:

I think I'll be ready to try this out next weekend, so if any of you would like to give this a try then ~ Saturday or Sunday, send me a private message and we'll work out the details. We could also try a PBEM (email) version sooner so again, leave me a PM.

** Public Service Announcement **

The Civilization series has been known to cause addiction in 99% of players. If you should exhibit symptoms of this, you are not alone. Please visit Civ Anon (http://www.civanon.org/home.shtml) to learn more..



-Elgalad

[SmellyFed]

I'm the FreeConservatives newest owner of CIV 4. I'll report back (probably in a few days. :rolleyes: )

[UnkHiram]

Dang it, didnt even know it was in development. I guess its time for a trip to Best Buy.

[UnkHiram]

Hey is there a free download "Try out" version of it?

[UnkHiram]

No Free Demo available, guess where I gotta go tommorrow

[SmellyFed]

Well, I'm ready to try some multi-player anytime you gys want to give it a shot. Give me an idea what time/date would work.

[sunsettommy]

I have the game too and while I have a few minor complaints over it.I am happy with it.Much more features to work with and even the Barbarians can now have cities of their own!

The Military units can IMPROVE in time with increased defensive or offensive abilities or even heal themselves or OTHERS.

You saw photo examples as given by Elgalad.The setting is better and also you now have a wider range of ways to build the citys cross section than before.

Example:

You have a forest section.Do you cut it down and then build a mine or a Lumber mill or a Windmill or Watermill or Farm or Cottage.

Then too WORK boats have been included for building fishing boats and such near the coastline.It is a nice addition.

It is worth buying if you liked the earlier versions of Civilization games.I have ALL of the earlier versions and have always liked them and this one I like as well.

My recurring complain with the Civilization games is that annoying insistence that farming and mining can only be in a small area around the cities.It is a silly mistake and Sid Mier has a yet devised the obvious fix for it.

Why not have a agriculture advance that allows farming much farther away from the cities? I understand the farming around the city in the early stages,but golly later on a city gets a lot bigger and yet as if by magic no affect on the space for the farming and mining? It is a dumb mistake.

Oh well.

Buy it and you will enjoy it despite that and a few other irritations that it contains.

[Teenager]

Yeah, I've been playing Civ since the Original flat screen Civilization on Windows 92(also in 95 version). Civ has come a long way.

Does Civ 4 come with scenarios? If so, what kinds?

[CzechPrince]

This looks tight, I'm a Huge Age of Empires and Rise of Nations fan, it's the only games I play (Whenever I get the chance, it's been Ages (no pun) since I've played either.)

EG have you seen the previews for the new Age Of Empires III?
http://www.ageofempires3.com/

http://www.ensemblestudios.com/teaser.htm

[Teenager]

This looks tight, I'm a Huge Age of Empires and Rise of Nations fan, it's the only games I play (Whenever I get the chance, it's been Ages (no pun) since I've played either.)

EG have you seen the previews for the new Age Of Empires III?
http://www.ageofempires3.com/

http://www.ensemblestudios.com/teaser.htm
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Yeah, AoE is my other favorite game of all time. I've playing that game since the beginning too. Right now I'm playing Empire Earth. It's pretty good. The only complaint I have against it is that the pace is extremely slow.

[Tumblehome]

I've been playing Civilization since the original. That was such a good game and so dang small (it was less than a meg if i recall correctly). I skipped Civ2, played a little Civ3 and now CIV4 is by far the best yet. It is a much bigger step up from 3 to 4 than it was from 2 to 3.

Religion is now in the game, btw, though there is no effect in picking one religion over another. But still, here's your chance to play the US and stamp out islam. lol.

[sunsettommy]

I forgot to mention the vastly improved BARBARIANS.

They can have cities and also improve their forces in time.They can win in a military fight with you too.

In the Custom game you could chose NO other civilizations and have RAGING Barbarians as your foil.

Believe me they are relentless! It is not at all easy to save some of your cities.Gotta have Walls and several units to survive.

It is indeed worth the $50.

[SmellyFed]

Anyone interested in doing a PBEM (Play by Email) Civ 4 game?

[sunsettommy]

Yeah, I've been playing Civ since the Original flat screen Civilization on Windows 92(also in 95 version). Civ has come a long way.

Does Civ 4 come with scenarios? If so, what kinds?

They have 8 Scenarios.

I do not know what they look like since I have yet to play one.I will show you the list anyway so that you know what they are by title.There maybe two more,but not sure if they are actually scenarios.

American Revolution
Battle
Desert War
Earth
Earth 1000 Ad
Earth_Ice age
Greek World
Planet

Well there you go.

[Elgalad]

I'll give it a try, Smellfed, check your PM's.

Anyone else who is interested in a pbemail game, send me a PM and we'll work out the details.

I've also got a long weekend this weekend, so if any of you might be interested, maybe we could do a hosted game at gamespy (multiplay) on Saturday? Just let me know.


-Elgalad

[Republican_Legion]

This looks tight, I'm a Huge Age of Empires and Rise of Nations fan, it's the only games I play (Whenever I get the chance, it's been Ages (no pun) since I've played either.)

EG have you seen the previews for the new Age Of Empires III?
http://www.ageofempires3.com/

http://www.ensemblestudios.com/teaser.htm

AoEIII is awsome , you should get it .
the graphics are amasing , the level of LAG is very low for its great graphics .

[Elgalad]

The Civ Fanatics site already has a bunch of mods, and more are showing up daily. :grin:

I've downloaded a new flag decal pack (see pic) called 'Bad Ronald's custom colors and flags'. It's great that Firaxis made Civ 4 so moddable. I've read that an upcoming patch or update will include some tools to make it even easier to add new civs, leaders, units, etc. One of my favorite such mods for Civ 3 was the "Play the World" mod, which expanded every aspect of the game.

Anyways, the website for the Civfanatics site is HERE (http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=143).

And this is the example of new flags and civ colors..

http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/3117/badrcolorflagmodv202fj.jpg


-Elgalad

[Elgalad]

Well, Smellyfed and I have started our first pbemail game. The system seems pretty easy. If anyone else wants to start a game with me, feel free! :grin:

Just send me a PM and we'll get started.

Or, create a new game and email me the savegame for the end of the first turn. I'd ask that you enter my player name as "Elgalad" to help distinguish my side, and please pick Washington or Bismarck as my leader choice.


Good Civving!

-Elgalad

[UnkHiram]

You guys are killing me, I still aint had time to go pick up a copy of the game

[Jag Wife]

Guess I'll have to have my husband talk to you. He's got the Civ Gold game, but he perked up when I told him there was a Version IV. He's a Civilization Junkie. If you do play against him, I warn you. He's sneaky and plays to WIN. (Of course he works for attorneys, too!) :grin:

[The_Sonarman]

I'm another Civ 3 fanatic. Looks like I'm going to the online software store and purchase myself a copy of Civ 4.

[Elgalad]

Here's a chance for any of you that still want to pick up Civilization 4 to do so at a big discount!

I was checking the gogamer site today and saw that they have it listed on their '48 hour madness sale' for only $32.90 (plus shipping). Compare that price to the standard $49.99 at most other online sites (EB Games, Amazon.com, Gamestop), and over 50 bucks at the chain stores (Best Buy, Walmart, etc). This sale ends Saturday night (Jan. 21) and the price will most likely jump back up once again.

Here's the link (http://www.gogamer.com/cgi-bin/GoGamer.storefront/SESSIONID/Product/View/001CIV4I) for anyone who is interested..

Happy Civving!


-Elgalad

[UnkHiram]

(GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) I have the game, but now I need to upgrade my computer to use it. I have to upgrade my Ram and my Video Card.

[ThomasIsUnderrated]

I just bought the game at Wal-Mart. I've never played any of the earlier Civilization games, so it's all new to me.

[Tumblehome]

Civ has always been one of my favourite games. Never played it multiplayer though. Not sure I'd like it as much. I'm more into the empire building side of the game than the war side. An interesting challenge is to try to win the game without ever firing a shot (assimilating cities by powerful culture etc)

[routerider]

I can't wait to buy this game. I was going to buy it on ebay at some point here. I usually only play PS2 or XBOX games but CIV4 is definitely going to be in my collection.

[The_Sonarman]

Just one game of Civilization can last hours.