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The sections below cover everything you need, or want to know about Civilization IV. Click on one to begin, or use "CTRL-F" to search for key-words.

Note: This article is best viewed under 1024x768 or higher resolutions.

1. Introduction
2. Newest Updates
3. Civilization IV: Warlords
4. The Big Picture
5. Official Game Features
6. Release Date
7. Requirements to Play
8. A New Expression
9. User Interface & Control
10. Landscape Characteristics
11. Victory or Defeat?
12. The 18 Civilizations
13. Artificial Intelligence
14. International Affairs
15. Controlling Your People... by Decree
16. A New Aspect: Religion
17. The Influence of Great People
18. City Essentials
19. Building Options
20. Wonders of the World
21. Your Advances
22. The Military Backbone: Units
23. A New Combat System
24. The Multiplayer
25. Customization Flexibility
26. In-Game Visuals
27. Helpful Links
28. Miscellaneous Article Information
29. Update Information
30. Current Sources

Info Center Introduction

Welcome to the Sid Meiers Civilization IV Information Center!

This information is meant to give anyone a deep, factual understanding of Sid Meier's Civilization IV (the sequel to Sid Meier's Civilization III) as well as Civilization IV: Warlords (the first expansion pack of the base game). The article will keep up to the very last detail of information that is currently available to us. Material is gathered from all sources available (in a detailed manner) and put into this article as one organized piece. This should make it very easy to find virtually everything you want to know, without having to surf through multiple places on the web to find what you need. You don't have to be a Civilization III veteran to understand what we are talking about here, since this is a brand new Civilization... a historical simulation/strategy game series which has won multiple game awards, and which is accepted the world over as being the greatest, and finest turn-based strategy game series on the planet!

The game has been released, but it does not mean that this article will not be updated with more news as it comes (patches, expansions, etc)! This information is up to date as of Monday, July 3rd, 2006, and up to the latest available bit of information. As information changes, or is released, I will be updating this as soon as possible so it evolves to be factual. I recommend that you check out the updates (when they are posted), so that you stay informed, and up-to-date as well. Checking the "Miscellaneous Information" section occasionally can also give you a heads-up on some other things either in regards to this article, or other information. From what we have gathered so far, as well as the great reviews the game has been receiving, I believe we can all form our own opinions of it.

This is the most detailed and extensive, most viewed, and also the most updated place for all things Civilization IV from around the web.

Currently, there are a total of 360+ gathered game details, with nine new additions! Don't miss out, discuss the article!

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Newest Updates

This is the section for looking up all the current new updates on the go from Monday, July 3rd. They are not organized in any way, so it is highly recommended that you read through past this section and take a more in-depth look at the rest.

• Patch v1.61 has been released. There are many changes, fixes, and additions. Its size is 45.7MB and can be downloaded here. The SDK and PitBoss are also available. Get these here.

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Civilization IV: Warlords

This is the first expansion to the original Civilization IV. It is due out this summer, in late July (2006).

• Visit Civilization IV: Warlords' own section of details!

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The Big Picture

Here we'll look at the very basics of the game, from its creators and the design elements they implement, to what general game-play aspects it will contain.

• Development & Producers: The new Sid Meier's Civilization IV was developed by Firaxis Games (based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, U.S.A.). It is much more streamlined and full of personality. Unlike the Civilization III series, the publisher will not be Atari, as they have sold off the Civilization Franchise to Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two confirmed this on January 26th, although it has been known that Atari sold the Franchise since November 24th, 2004. The game was published under Take-Twos publishing label 2K Games.
  The senior producer of the game was Barry Caudill (he produced Sid Meier's Pirates!), and the producer Jesse Smith. Jesse was the producer of Civilization III: Conquests as well (the last, and most commendable expansion of the Civ3 series). The project lead, and lead designer of the game was Soren Johnson, he programmed and co-designed Civ3 along with company CEO, Jeff Briggs. For more information on Firaxis staff, check out the Bios section on their website.

• About 38 people have been dedicated to certain segments of Civ4 (terrain, cities, interface, etc). It will take thousands of people hours to complete the project. Firaxis also says that they have many (100+) active Civilization fans testing and giving feedback to Firaxis. This number is rising. However fans have been giving feedback since June of 2004 in a private online forum.

• News that Civilization IV was in the very early stages of development first came on December 4th, 2003. Development of Civ4 most likely started around Spring time in 2003 (more than two years ago). At around the Fall time of the same year, Firaxis had an early Multiplayer version up and playing. The basic game-play elements were established then. After that period (around May of 2005) much more attention has been given to improving the AI (or Artificial Intelligence). The game hit Beta in August and from then on, much more attention was given to polishing up the different aspects of it. Civ4 went Gold on October 19th, and shipped on the 25th, although most people got their copy on October 26th.

• Good news for Macintosh Gamers! Civilization IV will be available for the Mac in early 2006 [source]. Aspyr Media is bringing the game to the Mac. Civilization III: Complete (featuring both expansions of Civ3: Play The World and Conquests) will also be available for the Mac later this year, in December.

• Firaxis Memo: Firaxis has updated their "Behind the Scenes" section on their website with a new Winter-edition Memo. The part below includes content on Civ4:
  Civilization IV has been flying off the shelves and has received loads of great reviews. We want to thank our fans for your unwavering support, and particularly for your tremendous feedback that helped get us through some initial technical issue right after the release of the game. Our team worked tirelessly to fix the problems quickly and post a patch to help those folks experiencing difficulties in running the game. Civ fans are truly extraordinary! And dont forget... Santa will be bringing another gem of a gift in January... the Civ IV SDK! This is an unprecedented offering and we cant wait to see what all of you budding Civ designers will create!

• "Civilization is much more of collaboration between our designers and our fans. We've had a lot of feedback over the years about what works and what doesn't in Civilization and it's had a big impact on the final game." - Sid Meier said in a GameSpy Interview.

• Many conventions which have remained the same since Civilization I (which came out in 1991) have been rewritten to ensure a quality new game.

• The game was written entirely from scratch using flexible XML data files, as well as the Python scripting language. Boost.Python (this allows for seamless interoperability between C++ and the Python programming language) was used as the interface layer between the C++ game code and Python. Python is used in the game for map generation, interface screens, game events, tools, tutorials, etc. If you want to see how this will affect customization of the game (or any other aspect relating to customization), look under Customization Flexibility. The new 3D engine will also allow for greater possibilities (find under A New Expression).

• Firaxis main focus is aiming to keep the game true, simple, but mostly to lose aspects which are not fun (find under Controlling Your People... by Decree for aspects which have been removed because they are not fun to the player), and to maintain a successful Civilization Franchise. They also plan to break free of some bad habits from previous Civilization titles. For more information on maintaining a successful Franchise, see the PowerPoint entitled Dont Blow It!, by lead Civilization IV designer, Soren Johnson. An article that relates to the PowerPoint is "Civ4: A Model in Franchise Progression" where Soren talks about the challenges of improving on a successful model while simultaneously keeping hardcore fans satisfied. That being said, Civ4 will not be totally different in concept than Civ3. Don't let this fool you into thinking that it will just be a small improvement over Civ3, though! Remember, it is rewritten from scratch, so there is a lot of change/alteration and major innovation.

  • In order to fight team fatigue, Firaxis will rotate its design responsibilities (with different lead designers).

  • Firaxis will not be afraid to slightly change its target audience a bit, as keeping the same audience will lead to the loss of a certain percent of people per cycle. They will still, however, make base fans comfortable with the same fonts, icons, and map placement, a similar number of units on the screen, etc

  • Civ4 being a maturation of the franchise (since it will focus on more multiplayer, and modability, unlike Civ3, as it was under a lot of pressure), they will keep adding more game-play/design innovation and not just adding more content or "Stuff." Making everything a little better will be much less compelling to the player than a significant improvement in just a few areas. Soren also quotes Electronic Art's (EA's) Bing Gordon that "1/3 old, 1/3 improved, and 1/3 new" is a good rule of thumb. Simplifying old systems will leave room for new design elements.

  • Firaxis will also "borrow" useful elements mostly from Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games. An example with Civ3 was the distinct civilizations, unique units, abilities, and multi-unit forces or armies.

• Civilization IV will continue on to what Civ3 has had -- The core game-play concept still remains the same. It is a turn-based, tile-based, historical simulation/strategy empire building game. You are put as the emperor of a powerful civilization, ruling your empire by decree, with one goal in mind: to stand the test of time (which has been the appropriate slogan of Firaxis). You start out with a small tribe and lead them to greatness, to the post-nuclear age and beyond.

• The game is even more about strategy than ever. It is more about decision making and less about the established motions that have built up over the years.

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Official Game Features

Below is an exact quote of the official features of Civilization IV that the Publishers and Developers have released. Do not forget to go to Civ4.com for much more information!!!

Overview

With over 6 million units sold and unprecedented critical acclaim from fans and press around the world, Sid Meier's Civilization is recognized as one of the greatest PC game franchises of all-time. Now, Sid Meier and Firaxis Games take this incredibly fun and addictive game to new heights by adding new ways to play and win, new tools to manage and expand your civilization, all-new easy to use mod capabilities and intense multiplayer modes and options. Civilization IV comes to life like never before in a beautifully detailed, living 3D world that elevates the game-play experience to a whole new level. Sid Meier's Civilization IV has already been heralded as one of the top games of 2005, and a must-have for gamers around the globe!

Features

• Civ IV comes to life! - Beautiful 3D world with dozens of fully animated units (including culturally unique units) and totally customizable armies. Detailed cities and wonders will appear on the map. Wonder movies are back!

• Greater Accessibility and Ease of Play - An easy-to-use interface will be immediately familiar to RTS and action game players, and newcomers to the series will be able to jump in and play.

• Multiplayer -LAN, Internet, PBEM and Persistent Turn-Based Server (PTBS or PitBoss) offer players all-new strategies and ways to play when competing or cooperating with live opponents.

• Team Play - Whether playing multiplayer or single player, team play offers a new way of setting locked alliances that result in shared wonder effects, visibility, unit trading and shared territory that delivers a plethora of new strategic and tactical options.

• Mods and Community Tools - Designed from the ground up for modability, the game contains a powerful map editor with XML and Python support.

• Choose Your Leader - Many Civs now have 2 leaders from which to choose, with each Leader having traits that provide various bonuses to the player and lots of replayability.

• Civics - With the discovery of new techs, civic options can become available. Freedom of speech or slavery? Hereditary rule or open elections? This creates endless government choices and possibilities!

• Religion - Now there are 7 religions in the game that are unlocked through researching. When unlocked, the religion spreads through a player's empire allowing them to use the religion to help manage happiness, gain gold and create Great Prophets.

• Great People - As the player uses specialists they gain Great People points in the city that is utilizing the specialists. Great People include the Artist, Tycoon, Prophet, Engineer, & Scientist. They can be used to get free techs, start Golden Ages, or join a city to increase its output.

• Promotions - Each unit has a promotion path that emphasizes specific unit traits. Promotions include bonuses to Attack/Defend on specific terrains/features, movement bonuses, sight/visibility bonuses and increased withdrawal chances.

• Tech Tree - Flexible Tech tree allows players more strategic choices for developing their civilizations along unique paths.

• More Civs and all new Units and Improvements to enhance and grow your empire.

• Faster-Paced Fun - Game-play has been streamlined for a tighter, faster and more compelling experience.

• In-Game Movies - Civ IV will have over 70 in-game movies and animated sequences.

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Release Date

Perhaps this is the most important question to most people. When will the game actually be released?

• Take-Two Games has pushed the release of Civilization IV up by a few weeks. The game was released on October 25th, although most people didn't get the game by the 26th in North America. Click here (from the official Take-Two website) and here to read more on this (from GameSpot).

• 2K Games had launched the Sid Meier's Civilization IV Pre-order program. Here is a quote from GamesIndustry.biz:
  Customers who pre-order Sid Meier's Civilization IV at participating retailers in North America will receive the Pre-Order Edition of the game at no additional cost. Shipping on the same day as the regular version of the game, the Sid Meier's Civilization IV Pre-Order Edition will feature: collector's packaging, a CD soundtrack of the game, a keyboard template, a tech tree map and a spiral bound version of the manual. The Pre-Order Edition will be offered through participating retailers while supplies last. Click here to read the full article.

• The regular version of the game in the US comes with two CDs. The European version comes with a DVD. The tech tree poster comes standard with these.

• Expansions are planned, and support for the game will continue after its release so things are kept fresh.

• A Mac version of the game is also planed by Aspyr Media. It will be available in 2006.

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Playing Requirements

This section will deal only with the Official System Requirements for the game, as well as the ESRB Rating.

• The Minimum System Requirements for the game are: 1 GHz CPU, 256MB RAM, and a 32MB video card with hardware transform and lighting capabilities. The recommended Specifications are: 512MB of ram, Pentium4 processor, and a recent graphics card (like the Radeon 9800).

• The rating of the game is "E 10+" by the ESRB (the Entertainment Software Rating Board).

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A New Expression

The look and feel of a game are very important to most players; the description of these can be found here. For screenshots, visit the "In-Game Visuals" section.

• The Graphics Engine Civilization IV is using is the NDL's Gamebryo 3D graphics engine. Firaxis' PC hit, Sid Meier's Pirates! also uses it.

• The engine will naturally provide an engaging 3D world with unparalleled scope and detail. Soren also mentions in his PowerPoint that the game has a "What-you-see-is-what-you-get," approach to it, meaning that the terrain does not lie in terms of what it displays. An example of this are Great Wonders. When they are built they will be displayed on the terrain near the city which built it.

• Rivers and resources such as horses and elephants are animated. You will also see different animations as the resources are being worked on, and of course, many other aspects which make the world more dynamic.

• Due to the move to 3D, Barry Caudill (senior Civ4 producer) says that the largest maps in the game are slightly smaller compared to those of Civilization III.

• The new 3D engine will allow for powerful, smooth zooming, from a global level, to a very local one. The tiles of Civ4 are plain squares, rather than the diamond view we had with Civilization III (when viewing the game from the default position). The Camera views are very flexible. You can spin it around any way you like. There is a Civ3-Style Isometric view, and the classic Civilization I top-down view. You may zoom in and out by using the Mouse-Wheel (speaking of Mice, Civ4 will even have its own specific Mouse-Cursor).

• You'll see Aqueducts go from the mountains or hills into your cities when they are built.

• A Random Map Generator, like previous Civilization titles, will form unique worlds reflecting the settings you put in. The Map Generator is one of Civilization's most successful aspects, because one cannot play on the same map twice without wanting it, so replayability is very, very high.

• Continents are the default world setting. "Standard Size" map you will have about five to ten cities. By that time, your borders are established and it is a race of who can advance through the tech tree faster. By that time, your oldest few cities will also be the "core" cities of you empire. Here are the different map sizes: Duel, Tiny, Small, Standard, Large, Huge and of course, Random. There are no restrictions on the number of Civilizations you are allowed to play with on a certain map size. You can have all 18 Civs on a Duel map. The map widths in Civ4 are about double than what they used to be in Civ3.

• The Mini-Map starts out zoomed in when the player starts a new random game. As they explore, the Mini-Map will expand. This has been done so exploration is a lot more interesting each game. What it means is that when one starts a game, he or she does not know exactly where on the map they are. In Civ3 the player always knew where they were exactly in the beginning. Now this is not the case at all.

• There is a Global View, in which you see the whole planet. There, you can also use options to filter thing such as resources, units, trade networks, cultural borders, religions and more. Below are three examples of the powerful new zoom. Details such as cloud cover can also be seen in the Global View (first image):

  

• Music for Civilization IV is also a major focus. Jeff Briggs (Firaxis' CEO) himself is taking charge of this aspect of the game (and he is perfectly suited to do so as well, since this was his first career). Jeff anticipates that Civ4 will have much more music than any other game ever released. The game will include music from some of Jeff's original compositions, as well as licensed performances by old greats such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, company, as well as contemporary greats like John Adams and Christopher Tin. Here is Civ4's opening soundtrack: Baba Yetu.

• Jeff will also be composing the music for all 28 wonder movies included in the game as well as all of the game's diplomacy music. Where possible, folk tunes are used to represent the character and attitude of each Civilization and each ruler. The music for Franklin D. Roosevelt for instance is the Marine Hymn. Jeff has also gone as far as to arrange each piece of music to fit the various time periods of the game. If you meet with Roosevelt in the early part of the game, you'll hear ancient instruments playing the theme. By the end of the game, the tune will have swelled and taken on a more Sousa-like quality.

• Firaxis is also hiring voice talent for various game parts. Ambient sounds can also be heard, when you are over different terrains. For example, if you are over the ocean or on its shore, you will hear waves splashing and breaking up. When you are over desert closer up, you will naturally hear very dry winds.

• When clicking on a unit, that unit will respond in the language of your selected region or Civilization.

• With each built improvement you'll hear a sound related to it when it is accomplished.

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User Interface & Control

Control is a very important aspect for any game. With Civ4's new interface, ruling you empire just got a whole lot easier.

• To start a Single-Player game: You must choose your map style (some options are: Archipelago, Continents, Custom Continents, Highlands, Great Plains, Inland Sea, Lakes, Oasis, Pangaea, and Terra) and size, climate and sea level and Civilization you want to play. You can also select whether you want aggressive AIs, Random Personalities, etc. Also, AI personalities are stored in XML data files.

• In the "Custom Game" menu (there is also a "Play Now!" option which allows you to start games quicker) there are a variety of options and combinations. In regards to map scripts there are much more. The "Custom Continents" option allows you to select exactly how many continents you want in the game. The "Highlands" map scripts allows you to select everything from mountain density to lake size. Of course, the most random map options you have are the classic "Archipelago," the basic "Continents" setting, as well as the regular "Pangaea" option which allows you to also set in different shore options.

• There also the "Aggressive" AI setting where AIs lean towards war instead of diplomacy.

• While in the process of loading, the game will display tips for certain things from Hot-Key commands to strategies during war-time. Here is a screenshot which shows some of these. Note that when the game actually starts, you have a very similar Civilization introduction as in Civ3. You can see what I mean by clicking here.

• At the start of the game, you do not start with a Worker unit as in Civ3. You must build your first one at the time of your own choosing. Note that whenever building a Settler or Worker, these units both use Hammers and Excess food to be built instead of Hammers only. The city also does not grow during this period, and when either of the units is complete, the city size does not shrink like it used to in Civilization III.

• The Civilopedia is now available from the main menu of the game for easy access.

• The general layout of the interface is this:
  The Mini-Map is on the bottom-right corner, unit statistics are on the bottom-left side, unit control and buttons are on the bottom center of the screen. On the top-right, we see a "?" sign (which indicates the Civilopedia. The Civilopedia is like the game's manual. It includes all available information on the game) as well as the year and era. Technological research are located on the top, in the center. And finally the scientific research rate buttons are on the top-left side. On the same side, you can also find your income and Gold Per Turn (or "GPT"). There also appear to be landscape characteristics on the bottom-left side. This most likely appears as the player rolls over the terrain with the mouse. Here is a screenshot of the lower portion of the interface only. For City interface information, click here.

  

• The classic unit controls such as Disband, Fortify, Explore and Sentry also appear to be on the center of the screen at the bottom. There are a few more, but we do not know what they do at this point.

• The main Interface can also be collapsed so the player only sees the unit buttons/controls/promotions on the very bottom of your screen. You can see this in the GameSpot Game-play Footage 3 video.

• Also in the same video you can see all the Civilopedia Sections. The sections are: Technologies, Units, Buildings, Resources, Improvements, Promotions, Unit Categories (such as Melee), Civilizations, Leaders, Religions, Civics, Projects, and finally Game Concepts.

• In Civilization IV you can left click on a unit, and then right click on the tile youd like that unit to go. This is very different compared to Civilization III.

• Advisor screens: depending on which you open, you can see where all of your units are on a global map, or look at raw statistics like the average life expectancy of your people (versus the world average), your gross national product or approval rating.

• A more streamlined and intuitive interface should be familiar to any RTS player. This is one feature that will make the franchise more accessible and in line with PC gaming trends. In general, the interface and help screens are more modern, improved, and easier to use.

• Many tool-tips and pop-up help features are available (such as the terrain characteristics I explained just above, and the ones you can see in the screenshot). Firaxis feels you should be able to play from the main map, and use other screens only if you are a true power user. All this is aimed at getting new players off and playing as quickly as possible. Again, this is the "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" concept. Below, in the next section, you will see that this concept is carried onto the Terrain Improvements as well. They will basically animate if a citizen is working that tile.

• Sid Meier's Tips on tool-tips (such as Units and Technologies) are included. This option can of course be turned off via the preferences screen. The preferences screen also allows the player to enable Single-Unit graphics instead of Multi-Unit graphics.

• Numerous Advisor pop-ups also appear during the game which will recommend to you to build a certain building in a particular city or town. You can disable these if they are unneeded to you or become too annoying.

• The game will prompt you to construct improvements if it sees an opportunity or it feels that you've missed an opportunity.

• Playing the game either with a keyboard only or mouse only is easy (or you can of course use the two combined).

• By default you'll be moving units with the right mouse button. However in the preferences section, you can change that so you can move units with the left mouse button and have a right-click menu when clicking the right.

• Wide-Screen resolutions are supported (as well as any other resolution you might be running your PC on. Civ4 also supports Dual-Monitor play. The game has to be in windowed mode and you have to give it a resolution which covers both screens.

• Hot-Key commands: Just about 100.

• City information such as its buildings, and workforce is now all accessible from the main screen. You are able to see what a city is building as well, including what state of religion it is in (although Cities can have more than one religion). To the right is an example of Shanghai building a Market. It is also Buddhist (as the icon above the city name displays).

• Adjusting what you want to displayed on the map is easy. This includes city names and sizes. You can limit everything to a maximum and allow only Units, Cities (with no names), and Roads to be displayed. You can also turn on an option to display the properties of different tiles, you will also be able to turn on a resource plot location feature, mentioned here.

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Landscape Characteristics

To expand your empire, first you would need as much detail about the terrain as possible.

• More tile/terrain improvements are included (each resource has its own specific improvement). Pastures, Wineries, Watermills, Windmills, Lumber Mills, Mines, Fishing Nets, Offshore Platforms, and Factories are all represented in detail on the terrain. 20 improvements in all are going to be included. Improvements being worked on with citizens will animate, which makes it convenient to see where your citizens are working. For example, if a Mine is being worked on by a citizen, you will see smoke coming out of its chimney. Details such as mine carts being pushed out of a mine are also available. This interface feature even helps you during war time, allowing the player to see which tile an enemy is using. Certain Technologies will make some improvements more productive as well.

• Roads and Rail-Roads will only provide a movement bonus to your units and nothing else. This has been done so the player does not have Roads and Rail-Roads on every tile later on (unlike in Civilization III).

Improvements
Camp Requires: Hunting Effects: Pillage yields 5 gold on average Bonus Yields: Deer (+2 food, +1 health), Fur (+3 commerce, +1 happiness), Ivory (+1 hammer, +1 commerce, +1 happiness)
Cottage: +1 commerce Requires: Pottery Effects: Becomes a Hamlet in 10 turns (all of this is on "Normal" Game Speed!), Pillage yields 10 gold on average
Hamlet: +2 commerce Requires: Nothing Effects: Becomes a Village in 20 turns, Pillage yields 15 gold on average
Village: +3 commerce, and +1 additional commerce with Printing Press Requires: Nothing Effects: Becomes a Town in 40 turns, Pillage yields 20 gold on average
Town: +4 commerce, +1 commerce with Printing Press, +2 commerce with Free Speech, +1 hammer with Universal Suffrage Requires: Nothing Effects: Pillage yields 25 gold on average
Farm: +1 food with irrigation, +1 additional food with Biology Requires: Agriculture Effects: Carries Irrigation, May be built only on flatlands, Pillage yields 5 gold on average Bonus Yields: Corn (+2 food, +1 health), Rice (+1 food, +1 health), Wheat (+2 food, +1 health)
Fishing Boats Requires: Fishing Effects: May be built in water only, Pillage yields 5 gold on average Bonus Yields: Clam (+2 food, +1 health), Crab (+2 food, +1 health), Fish (+3 food, +1 health)
Fortress Requires: Mathematics Effects: +25% defense on tile it is built on
Lumbermill: +1 hammer, +1additional hammer with a Railroad, +1 commerce when next to River Requires: Replaceable Parts Effects: Pillage yields 5 gold on average
Mine: +2 hammers, +1 additional hammer with Railroad Requires: Mining Effects: Small chance of discovering Aluminum, Coal, Copper, Iron, Uranium, Gems, Gold, or Silver on that tile; Pillage yields 10 gold on average Bonus Yields: Aluminum (+3 hammers, +1 commerce), Coal (+3 hammers), Copper (+3 hammers), Iron (+3 hammers), Uranium (+3 commerce), Gems (+1 hammer, +5 commerce, +1 happiness), Gold (+1 hammer, +6 commerce, +1 happiness), Silver (+1 hammer, +4 commerce, +1 happiness)
Offshore Platform Requires: Plastics Effects: May be built in water only, Pillage yields 10 gold on average Bonus Yields: Oil (+2 hammers, +1 commerce)
Pasture Requires: Animal Husbandry Effects: Pillage yields 5 gold on average Bonus Yields: Horse (+2 hammers, +1 commerce, +1 health), Cow (+1 food, +2 commerce, +1 health), Pig (+3 food, +1 health), Sheep (+2 food, +1 commerce, +1 health)
Plantation Requires: Calendar Effects: Pillage yields 5 gold on average Bonus Yields: Banana (+2 food, +1 health), Dye (+4 commerce, +1 happiness), Incense (+5 commerce, +1 happiness), Silk (+3 commerce, +1 happiness), Spices (+1 food, +2 commerce, +1 happiness), Sugar (+1 food, +2 commerce, +1 happiness)
Quarry Requires: Masonry Effects: Pillage yields 5 gold on average Bonus Yields: Marble (+1 hammer, +2 commerce), Stone (+2 hammers)
Railroad: Maximum of 10 turn movement and just like roads, makes trade networks (between cities, Civilizations, etc) Requires: Railroads
Road: Faster Movement and a may create trade networks (between cities, Civilizations, etc) Requires: The Wheel
Watermill: +1 hammer, +1 additional hammer with Replaceable Parts, +2 commerce with Electricity, +1 food with State Property Civic Requires: Machinery Effects: Requires to be built by a River, May only be built on flatlands, Pillage yields 5 gold on average
Well Requires: Combustion Effects: Pillage yields 10 gold on average Bonus Yields: Oil (+2 hammers, +1 commerce)
Whaling Boats Requires: Optics Effects: May only be built on water, Pillage yields 5 gold on average Bonus Yields: Whale (+1 hammer, +2 commerce, +1 happiness)
Windmill: +1 food, +1 commerce, +1 additional commerce with Electricity, +1 hammer with Replaceable Parts Requires: Machinery Effects: Pillage yields 5 gold on average
Winery Requires: Monarchy Effects: Pillage yields 5 gold on average Bonus Yields: Wine (+1 food, +2 commerce, +1 happiness)
Workshop: -1 food, +1 additional food with State Property Civic, +1 hammer, +1 hammer with Guilds, +1 hammer with Chemistry Requires: Metal Casting Effects: May be built only on flatlands, Pillage yields 5 gold on average
Misc. Terrain Features	Affect
Tribal Village	Provides bonuses such as more experience points for the unit that uncovered it, maps, technologies, etc. (Goody Huts, or Tribal Villages, cannot be built by the player.)
City Ruins	Sites of razed cities remain on the map (when you first capture a city, you may raze it, however this can be turned off so there is no city razing).
Worked Tile	Worked tiles have their own animations and icons. For example, if a Quarry is worked, the crane will move. If it is not, the crane will not move.




• There are many new resources. When you are zoomed out to the Global View, resources are clearly marked for easy identification if you choose to mark them.

• There is less restriction when it comes to resources. Firaxis will probably give players something to synthesize Oil, and Gunpowder units no longer require saltpeter.

• All resources, including food ones are tradable. Food resources will help your city's health status.

• Securing the seven types of food resources can also lead your cities to become more healthy, as they represent nutritional variety. Each different food resource decreases your unhealthy population by one.

• Better resource balance: Since Python Scripts are used to generate random maps, resource placement can be fine-tuned. This means that a resource of one group cannot be a certain distance from a resource from the same group (comparing luxury with luxury, food with food, strategic with strategic). The Civ3 dilemma where one faction gets more resources than another seems to be gone. Resource migration will also not happen anymore.

  Resource
  Strategic Resources
  Aluminum: +1 hammer Improvements: Mine (+3 hammers, +1 commerce) Requires: Industrialism (reveals it), Mining (enables Mine) Allows: Modern Armor, Jet Fighter, Stealth Bomber
  Coal: +1 hammer Improvements: Mine (+3 hammers) Requires: Steam Power (reveals it), Mining (enables Mine) Allows: Ironclad
  Copper: +1 hammer Improvement: Mine (+3 hammers) Requires: Bronze Working (reveals it), Mining (enables Mine) Allows: Axeman, Maceman, Spearman, Phalanx
  Horse: +1 hammer Improvement: Pasture (+2 hammers, +1 commerce) Requires: Animal Husbandry (both reveals it and enables Pasture) Allows: Chariot, War Chariot, Immortal, Horse Archer, Keshik, Knight, Conquistador, Cavalry, Cossack
  Iron: +1 hammer Improvement: Mine (+3 hammers) Requires: Iron Working (reveals it), Mining (enables Mine) Allows: Swordsman, Praetorian, Axeman, Maceman, Samurai, Spearman, Phalanx, Pikeman, Crossbowman, Cho-Ko-Nu, Knight, Conquistador, Cannon, Frigate, Ironclad
  Marble: +1 hammer Improvement: Quarry (+1 hammer, +2 commerce) Requires: Masonry (enables Quarry) Allows: Some city buildings get built faster with Marble
  Oil: +1 hammer Improvements: Well (on land; +2 hammers, +1 commerce), Offshore Platform (on water; +2 hammers, +1 commerce) Requires: Scientific Method (reveals it), Combustion (enables Well), Plastics (enables Offshore Platform) Allows: Tank, Panzer, Modern Armor, Gunship, Transport, Destroyer, Battleship, Submarine, Carrier, Fighter, Jet Fighter, Bomber, Stealth Bomber
  Stone: +1 hammer Improvement: Quarry (+2 hammers) Requires: Masonry (enables Quarry) Allows: Some city buildings get built faster with Stone
  Uranium Improvement: Mine (+3 commerce) Requires: Physics (reveals it), Mining (enables Mine) Allows: Transport, Destroyer, Battleship, Submarine, Carrier, ICBM
  Luxury Resources
  Dye: +1 commerce Improvements: Plantation (+4 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Calendar (enables Plantation)
  Fur: +1 commerce Improvement: Camp (+3 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Hunting (enables Camp)
  Gems: +1 commerce Improvement: Mine (+1 hammer, +5 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Mining (enables Mine)
  Gold: +1 commerce Improvement: Mine (+1 hammer, +6 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Mining (enables Mine)
  Hit Movies Require: Hollywood Effects: +1 happiness
  Hit Musicals Require: Broadway Effects: +1 happiness
  Hit Singles Require: Rock & Roll Effects: +1 happiness
  Incense: +1 commerce Improvement: Plantation (+5 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Calendar (enables Plantation)
  Plantation (+5 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Calendar (enables Plantation)
  Ivory: +1 hammer Improvement: Camp (+1 hammer, +1 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Hunting (enables Camp) Allows: War Elephant
  Silk: +1 commerce Improvement: Plantation (+3 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Calendar (enables Plantation)
  Silver: +1 commerce Improvement: Mine (+1 hammer, +4 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Mining (enables Mine)
  Spices: +1 commerce Improvement: Plantation (+1 food, +2 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Calendar (enables Plantation)
  Sugar: +1 food Improvement: Plantation (+1 food, +1 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Calendar (enables Plantation)
  Whale: +1 food Improvement: Whaling Boats (+1 hammer, +2 commerce, +1 happiness)
  Wine: +1 commerce Improvement: Winery (+1 food, +2 commerce, +1 happiness) Requires: Monarchy (enables Winery)
  Food Resources
  Banana: +1 food Improvement: Plantation (+2 food, +1 health) Requires: Calendar (enables Plantation)
  Clam: +1 food Improvement: Fishing Boats (+2 food, +1 health)
  Corn: +1 food Improvement: Farm (+2 food, +1 health) Requires: Agriculture (enables Farm)
  Cow: +1 food Improvement: Pasture (+1 food, +2 hammers, +1 health) Requires: Animal Husbandry (enables Pasture)
  Crab: +1 food Improvement: Fishing Boats (+2 food, +1 health)
  Deer: +1 food Improvement: Camp (+2 food, +1 health) Requires: Hunting (enables Camp)
  Fish: +1 food Improvement: Fishing Boats (+3 food, +1 health)
  Pig: +1 food Improvement: Pasture (+3 food, +1 health) Requires: Animal Husbandry (enables Pasture)
  Rice: +1 food Improvement: Farm (+1 food, +1 health) Requires: Agriculture (enables Farm)
  Sheep: +1 food Improvement: Pasture (+2 food, +1 commerce, +1 health) Requires: Animal Husbandry (enables Pasture)
  Wheat: +1 food Improvement: Farm (+2 food, +1 health) Requires: Agriculture (enables Farm)

  
  

• Trading is established automatically when you make deals. Rivers are like roads in Civ4 (in terms of their trade potential), so if two cities are on one river, they are connected and no road is needed to establish the particular trade network.

• Due to the expanded aspect of trading involving Rivers (making them like roads in terms of connectivity), City placement in Civ4 is made much more strategic. If a river connects to a lake, then a worker is able to build a road to the lake and expand the Civilization's Trade Network.

• Defensive bonuses will now only be generated on Forests, Hills, and Jungles. Since this also relates to the combat system, click here to go to that section of the article.

• Here are the known terrain types, as well as other information regarding the terrain:

  Terrain
  Coast: +1 food, +2 commerce Special Abilities: Defending units receive a 10% strength boost
  Desert Special Abilities: +1 commerce if by River, Improvements take 25% more time to build
  Grassland: +2 food Special Abilities: +1 commerce if by River
  Ice Special Abilities: Improvements get built 50% slower to complete
  Ocean: +1 food, +1 commerce
  Plains: +1 food, +1 hammer Special Abilities: +1 commerce if by a River
  Tundra: +1 food Special Abilities: +1 commerce if by a River, Improvements are 25% slower to get constructed
  Terrain Features
  Fallout: -3 food, -3 hammers, -3 commerce Special Abilities: Movement is decreased by 2, +0.50 unhealthiness in nearby cities, Improvements cannot be built on a tile containing Fallout
  Flood Plains: +3 food Special Abilities: +1commerce if by a River, +0.40 unhealthiness in nearby cities
  Forest: +1 hammer Special Abilities: Movement decreased by 2, +0.50 health in nearby cities, +50% strength for units stationed there
  Iceberg Special Abilities: Impassible Terrain
  Jungle: -1 food Special Abilities: Movement decreased by 2, +0.25 unhealthiness in nearby cities, Units stationed there receive +50% strength
  Oasis: +3 food, +2 commerce Special Abilities: Movement cost decreased by 2, source of fresh water, cannot build cities or improvements on Oases

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Victory or Defeat?

It all comes down to this: Achieving it against the AI earns you ego. Achieving it against another player earns you respect.

• There are a lot more difficulty levels than in previous Civilization games. Settler, Chieftain, Warlord, Noble, Prince, Monarch, Emperor, Immortal, and Deity are the available difficulties now.

• The length of games is reduced from 540 turns (as in Civilization III) to 430. You are able to start in any era you wish (Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Industrial, Modern, Future. You start with a different amounts of units in each era, you will have more population in newly founded cities, as well as a few more buildings). Later era starts will give you larger starting cities, more settlers, and of course more techs. They will also have some limitation - earlier wonders and buildings may not be available. The developers are also constantly working to even out the pace of the game, hence the speed options described below.

• There are four game speeds: Quick (mostly for Multiplayer, in Single Player mode (or SP) it is equal to Civ3's Accelerated Production mode), Medium (a bit faster than Civ3, 15-20 hours of game-play), Epic (around 600 turns) and Marathon (introduced in patch v1.52). All of the game speeds (Quick, Normal, and Epic) retain all the flavor of Civ itself. So even though the speed is different, the feel will not change.

• The different speeds of the game (Quick, Normal, and Epic) will have their Technology costs, Unit production costs, and Building appropriately tuned for the appropriate speed of the game.

• The game still spans from 4000BC to 2050AD. That means you have 6,050 years to achieve one of the victories below.

• Civilization IV seems to have struck the balance between explored land and years passed. What this means is that no longer will you have the entire world explored by 400AD. This, by the way, is the same for all three speeds (Quick, Medium, & Epic).

• Most of the victory conditions have not changed from Civ3. Here they are:
  

  • The Time Victory: One can win this by having the highest score at 2050.
    
  • The Conquest Victory: By eliminating all rival Civilizations, you have achieved this victory.
    
  • The Domination Victory: This is awarded when you have a 25% lead in population over their best competitor, and 65% of the global land mass.
    
  • The Cultural Victory: You can achieve this by having three cities with a 50,000-point Culture rating.
    
  • The Spaceship Victory: Having first built all the components of a Space Ship and launching it to Alpha Centauri, earns you this victory.
    
  • The Diplomatic Victory: After building the United Nations Great Wonder, your Civilization is voted on to take control over that organization. Since it is difficult to maintain good relations with all Civilizations (especially in large games), this is possibly the most difficult victory condition to achieve. Click on the United Nations link for more information on that wonder.

• Winning the game also gives you a movie (no matter how you chose to win it).
• The Spaceship (which is required for this) contains about a dozen components total. Some of the parts are: SS Casing, SS Cockpit, SS Docking Bay, SS Engine, SS Life Support, SS Stasis Chamber, and the SS Thrusters. You may boost production on this by constructing Laboratories in your cities or by construction the Space Elevator Great Wonder, which boosts Spaceship part production in all of your cities.
• The game will calculate a running score for each Civilization. This is based on the following details: Civilization size, technology, military power, and more. If you leave your Civilization lightly defended or with obsolete units, other nations will take advantage of this.
• There is still a replay at the end of the game (when it is won or lost), and after each game the replays are saved so you can later view them in the "Hall of Fame" and look at how well you did in different games. They show things such as the appearance of Great People, City foundations, Civs being wiped out, etc. The Hall of Fame screen not only remembers every game's statistic under your profile (you can create different profiles in Civ4). It remembers Difficulty Level, Game Speed, Victory Achieved, Starting Era, World Size, Finish Date, as well as the Score Itself and more. It also saves every game's replay so you can look back to any previous game which you have finished and watch how you developed. The score, by the way, is broken down in a detailed manner in-game as you move your mouse cursor over your name (the score is broken down to Population, Land, Technologies, Wonders, etc). These can also be saved separately from a regular game save and you can send these to other people.

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The 18 Civilizations

There are a lot of opportunities in the game to form allies, and that is necessary to fend off enemies.

• 18 playable Civilizations are featured in Civilization IV.

• There are 26 world leaders. Choosing between two leaders for a Civilization is a possibility. You can choose from two leaders from each Civilization, however not every Civilization has two leaders.

• You can name the leaders after yourself, and pretty much name everything else throughout the game...

• Unique Units for each Civilization are still in the game. Some of the known Unique Units (or "UUs") are below in the Civilization Chart.

• You are able to see more of the leaders bodies, unlike in Civilization III, where one could not see them make hand and finger movements. An example of this can be seen when watching the "Game-Play Footage 2" video at GameSpot. Leader animations will also reflect their mood and natural personality.

• An offer in the favor of Louis XIV or Hatshepsut will show animations of the leaders that suggest their happiness with the deal. They will simply act pleased. However some rulers are a bit more inscrutable. The only difference in personality you will see in the Chinese ruler, Qin Shi Haug is the elevation of his eyebrows... the same as the Mongol leader Genghis Khan. Rulers like Alexander the Great of the Greeks and Julius Caesar of the Romans are much more expressive in their emotions. Julius will give you a gladiatorial thumbs-up or thumbs-down in reaction to your proposal. Gandhi is generous to weaker nations, while Genghis Khan will shy away from any diplomacy at all. Basically, there are a variety of unique personalities, some warlike, peaceful, trustworthy, etc. You can also select Random Personalities at the start of the game so every leader acts differently than what they usually do.

• Units of different nationalities can now share tiles. If you have open borders with a Civilization, your units can literally go to any tile (even in Cities!).

• All the known Civilization properties have been listed below. Each Leader has two Traits. Each of these grants them a unique bonus and cuts the cost of two city improvements by half. Here are the statistics, and both of the following charts are brand new:

  Trait	Benefit
  Aggressive	Free Combat I promotion of melee and gunpowder units. Double production speed of Barracks and Drydock.
  Creative	+2 culture per city. Double production speed of Theater, Coliseum.
  Expansive	+2 health per city. Double production speed of granary and harbor.
  Financial	+1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce. Double production speed of Bank.
  Industrious	Wonder production increased 50 percent. Double production speed of Forge.
  Organized	Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent. Double production speed of lighthouse and courthouse.
  Philosophical	Great People birth rate increased 100 percent. Double production speed of University.
  Spiritual	No anarchy. Double production speed of the Temple.




Civilization & Cities	Leader 1 (Traits)	Leader 2 (Traits)	Unique Unit	Starting Techs	Flag
America Washington, New York	George Washington (Financial & Organized; favors Universal Suffrage)	Franklin D. Roosevelt (Industrious & Organized; favors Universal Suffrage)	Navy SEAL; replaces the Marine	Fishing & Agriculture
Arabs Mecca	Saladin (Philosophical & Spiritual; favors Theocracy)	-none-	Camel Archer; replaces the Knight	Mysticism & The Wheel
Aztecs Tenochtitlan, Tlatelolco, Teotihuacan	Montezuma (Aggressive & Spiritual; favors Police State)	-none-	Jaguar; replaces the Swordsman	Mysticism & Hunting
China Beijing, Canton, Shanghai, Tientsin, Tsingtao, Xinjian, Turfan	Mao Zedong (Philosophical & Organized; favors State Property)	Qin Shi Huang (Industrious & Financial; favors Police State)	Cho-Ku-Nu; replaces the Crossbowman	Agriculture & Mining
Egypt Thebes, Memphis, Alexandria, Elephantine, Pi-Ramesses, Byblos	Hatshepsut (Spiritual & Creative; favors Hereditary Rule)	-none-	War Chariot; replaces the Chariot	Agriculture & The Wheel
England London, Hastings, Warwick, Newcastle	Queen Victoria (Expansive & Financial; favors Representation)	Queen Elizabeth (Philosophical & Financial; favors Free Religion)	Redcoat; replaces the Rifleman	Fishing & Mining
France Paris, Orleans	Louis XIV (Creative and Industrious; favors Hereditary Rule)	Napoleon (Aggressive & Industrious; favors Representation)	Musketeer; replaces the Musketman	Agriculture & The Wheel
Germany Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Dusseldorf	Frederick (Creative & Philosophical; favors Universal Suffrage)	Bismarck (Expansive & Industrious; favors Representation)	Panzer; replaces the Tank	Hunting & Mining
Greece Athens, Thermopylae	Alexander (Aggressive & Philosophical; favors Hereditary Rule)	-none-	Phalanx; replaces the Spearman	Fishing & Hunting
Inca	Huayna Capac (Aggressive & Financial; favors Hereditary Rule)	-none-	Quechua; replaces the Warrior	Agriculture & Mysticism
India Delhi, Bangalore, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Jaipur	Mahatma Gandhi (Industrious & Spiritual; favors Universal Suffrage)	Asoka (Organized & Spiritual; favors Universal Suffrage)	Fast Worker; replaces the standard Worker	Mysticism & Mining
Japan Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Edo	Tokugawa (Aggressive & Organized; favors Mercantilism)	-none-	Samurai; replaces the Maceman	Fishing & The Wheel
Mali Timbuktu, Djenne, Gao, Kumbi Saleh, Niani, Tadmekka, Walata	Mansa Musa (Financial & Spiritual; favors Free Markets)	-none-	Skirmisher; replaces the Archer	Mining & The Wheel
Mongolia Karakorum, Herat, Khanbalik, Old Sarai, Samarqand	Genghis Khan (Aggressive & Expansive; favors Police State)	Kublai Khan (Aggressive & Creative; favors Hereditary Rule)	Keshik; replaces the Horse Archer	Hunting & The Wheel
Persia Persepolis, Susa, Pasargadae, Arbela, Bactria, Gordium, Tarsus	Cyrus (Expansive & Creative; favors Representation)	-none-	Immortal; replaces the Chariot	Agriculture & Hunting
Rome Rome, Antium, Cumae, Neapolis, Pisae	Julius Caesar (Organized & Expansive; favors Representation)	-none-	Praetorian; replaces the Swordsman	Fishing & Mining
Russia Moscow, Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Rostov	Catherine (Creative & Financial; favors Hereditary Rule)	Peter (Expansive & Philosophical; favors Police State)	Cossack; replaces the Cavalry	Hunting & Mining
Spain Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo, Salamanca, Santiago, Murcia, Cordoba, Seville, Zaragoza	Queen Isabella (Expansive & Spiritual; favors Police State)	-none-	Conquistador; replaces the Knight	Fishing & Mysticism
Barbarians Cherokee, Phoenicians	-	-	-	-

• Barbarians in Civilization IV are not able to develop a full culture like the main 18 competing Civilizations, however you will see them forming independent cities and small militias. They are like a "mini-Civ" that can cause trouble at any time.

• Barbarians may also capture and control your cities as well as the obvious pillaging of your improvements if you find them in your territory.

• Animal attackers (which pose a similar threat as Barbarians do), such as Lions, Bears, Jaguars and wolves are present early on in the game.

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Artificial Intelligence

Perhaps a significant component of good game-play is a good AI. The AI is much improved in the new game...

• Improving the AI has been a large priority. For months now, much focus has been dedicated to it.

• The AI now seems to be blind. It does not know where certain things appear (unlike in Civilization III. On higher levels, the AI still receives production bonuses. In the end, rest assured, you are playing against a smarter AI, not a more cheating one.

• The AI is more interactive and it will contact you much more often for various things in its interest.

• The AI will no longer attack in a few huge stacks of units. Instead you will now see the AI attacking in steady waves of units that just keep coming!

• The AI attitudes toward you can be either Friendly, Pleased, Cautious, Annoyed, or Furious). This the reasons for this are, again, very clearly laid out in the diplomacy window.

• Selecting AI Random Personalities is also a possibility at the start of the game. This way, you do not know how the AI will behave (Gandhi may not always be polite, and Genghis Khan may not be warlike!).

• The City Governor AI will also be more improved to assist you better. And that is an important part, because it naturally allows you to micro-manage less. And another main goal of Firaxis is to kill player micro-management.

• When in the Bargaining Table, you can now see why the leader's attitude is the way it is. Here is a positive point in the relationship and attitude: "+1 Years of peace have strengthened our relationship." Here are also a few negative points which may occur: "-1 Our close borders spark tension," "-3 We are upset that you have fallen under the sway of a heathen religion," "-1 You have traded with our worst enemies!" These can be seen here. Basically, the positive points are: If you have the same religion with that Civ, similar Civics, resource trading, fair trade relations, years of peace. The negative points may be: If you have a different religion than that Civ, if you have traded with an enemy of that Civ, closed borders (they spark tension), refuse to stop trading with a certain Civ. Different leaders will place different weights on these factors. There are true hard feelings in this system, and it is much harder to simply bribe an AI in diplomacy in order to make it do what you want it to do.

• The game is sped up thanks to faster AI moves during the Middle and Late stages of the game. Some features tended to slow down the late game. They have been removed (for example: pollution cleanup, city riots, and units disbanding due to money issues). This means the late game is just as enjoyable to play as the rest of the game.

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International Affairs

Above, the AI and Diplomacy virtually go hand in hand. Both are also improved... which means a much more powerful system.

• The AI must respect your borders or declare war in Civilization IV. AI's did not have to respect your border at all in previous Civilization titles. Look back at any game and most players will see frustration of how the AI kept wondering around in your own border, without you being able to do anything about it.

• If you have a Defensive Pact with someone, and they get attacked, you will have the option to back down and not get involved in that war. This will of course damage your reputation, but remember that in Civ3 you absolutely had to get into a war no matter what.

• Negotiating peace in diplomacy is now possible between two Civilizations which are at war with each other. On the other hand, it is also possible to make two other Civilizations go to war, even if you do not wish to get involved at all.

• Your military still plays a large role in Civ4 however it has been balanced out with other options, such as diplomacy. A lot of emphasis has been put in in balancing different aspects of the game so the player does not focus on one aspect more than on another.

• Trading made easy: There is a new screen that explains what other Civilizations have to offer and what they want to trade for (it also tells you what technologies and resources the AIs have). This is all in the foreign advisor screen. This screen also tells you the AI relations toward you, current ongoing deals, etc.

• The player may gift units to the AI by moving a unit in their territory and pressing the "Gift" button which automatically makes that unit theirs.

• The diplomatic victory condition is triggered by construction of the United Nations great wonder. When it is first constructed, a Secretary General is elected (every Civilization gets a vote during this. The builder of this does not automatically get to be the secretary General). If you get elected, you can get various resolutions passed. Here they are:
  

  • Free Trade - Free Trade removes all trading restrictions in the world between all Civilizations. It basically functions as if all Civilizations have open borders - No matter what their real diplomatic relationship may be.

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation - As Thunderfall's article has mentioned already, adopting this means that no nukes may be built, however existing nuclear weapons are not destroyed. Note that if this resolution passes before any nuke is built in the world, it means that the game itself will proceed without nukes appearing. This may be a benefit to you if you're playing against aggressive Civilizations.

  • Universal Suffrage - All Civilization's civics are changed to Universal Suffrage (+1 Hammer from Town; Can spend gold to finish production) no matter if they have the required technology for that specific Civic (this counts for all UN Resolutions relating to Civics).

  • Free Speech - All Civilizations adopt the Free Speech Civic (100% culture in all cities; +2 gold from Town).

  • Emancipation - All Civilizations switch to the Emancipation Civic ((100% Growth for Cottage, Hamlet, Village; Unhappiness for civs without that civic).

  • Environmentalism - All Civilizations adopt the Environmentalism Civic ((+6 health in all cities; +1 happiness from jungle, forest).

  • And finally, Free Religion - All Civilizations Adopt this Civic (No non-state religion spread; +1 happiness per non-state religion in a city, +10% science in all cities).

  If you fail to get elected, you have to wait until the next election. You can use the UN as a diplomatic tool to force other nations to adopt certain policies which they normally wouldn't. Note that after every three resolutions, a new Secretary General is up for election.

• Building Spy units is possible just like in Civilization II (they now have a movement of two and cost 80 Hammers). The player is limited to the number of Spies you can have in the game. Before construction the player must have the following: Communism and the Scotland Yard National Wonder, meaning every Civilization may build its own (500 Hammers; +1 Great People Points; More likely to generate a Great Scientist). You are allowed to have a maximum of four spies at any one time. They are invisible to other Civilizations just like Submarines. These units cannot be attacked or interacted with, however they can be exposed by rival Spies (you are able to expose enemy Spies as well). Other abilities of the Spy unit include:
  

  • Investigate City - This is rather basic. It allows you to have a peek inside an enemy city and see all its properties (what it is producing, Culture amount, what unit it has, etc, etc).

  • Destroy Production - If you order your Spy to destroy the production of whatever a city is producing (and if successful), half of whatever is being produced is destroyed (therefore slowing down dramatically production of, say, a Great Wonder). However, if the Spy fails, it is killed.

  • Sabotage Improvement - If a Spy is ordered to do so, and if successful, a terrain improvement will be destroyed (such as a valuable Oil Well). If unsuccessful, the Spy will be destroyed.

  • Steal Plans - First of all, the Spy has a much better chance of having success at this if the action is taking place in a City which contains either a Palace (therefore the capitol of that Civilization), a Forbidden Palace, or the Versailles Great Wonder (Requires Divine Right; Reduces Maintenance in nearby cities; City in which it is built in is more likely to generate a Great Merchant; Doubled Production speed with the Marble resource).

  The above actions need gold. Success depends on the amount of units the other Civilization has in the area of where the action is taking place. Nearby enemy spies also decrease the amount of success your Spy unit has.

• Other Civilizations have different favored Government and Religious settings, and they will try to pressure players into changing to their favored religion or government to suit their desires in return for better relations with your Civilization. They can even ask you to stop using a Civics option you have set.

• Leaders will appreciate other leaders that share their traits and civic or religious choices (as stated above), and they will tend to form blocs. If you find leaders that share your tendencies, it will be possible to form lasting (even permanent) alliances.

• What you choose might affect other Civilizations as well. If you have already introduced Emancipation, it sometimes may lead to unhappiness and revolts within other nations without Emancipation, but to you, it does not give a direct benefit (so it provides a negative aspect to other Civs, if they don't have it). Also, if your Civilization is the first to outlaw slavery, that will create discontent in societies that have slavery.

• In diplomacy you can try to make another civ adopt a certain Civic or a Religion that you have. However the AIs are much more focused on their own agenda. Some Civs care more of your type of religion, others care more about your Civics, others follow whoever has the most money. AI Civilizations can even call up the human player and ask him/her to stop trading with a Civilization they hate. This make the player make decisions which impact relations a great deal.

• Filling in the blanks: You can put a deal on the table and then ask the AI leader to fill in the blanks, no matter what combination is out there. You can also tell when a deal would never happen because the choices will show up in red on the list. On a related AI note, Soren Johnson (the Lead Designer for the game) is now totally focused on tweaking the AI.

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Controlling Your People... by Decree

All the power is in your hands. What you do with it can lead to your Empire's victory or your utter demise.

• World Religion, Civics and Great People are things many people have suggested be put into the game, Soren has described these as "killer" features in his PowerPoint. These are in Civ4, and they will have an influence on your whole empire. The factors which have a domestic affect are described below...

• Factors which are not fun in the game such as corruption/waste, rioting, pollution, and maintenance are started from scratch or removed (this means that they are replaced by a much better concept that maintains game balance better). Pollution is most affected. It was dumped, although not completely removed. A more extensive health system is something new, although no details about it have surfaced yet. Annoying micromanagement tasks will also be decreasing dramatically, and more high-level control is provided.

• The concept of corruption has been replaced with maintenance costs. This time instead of Courthouses being able to reduce corruption (since it is gone) they will actually lower maintenance costs.

• You will have to develop your culture or risk being enveloped by a larger neighbor (so a nation can be completely engulfed by another's borders).

• The luxury slider is now a culture slider. The more culture you give, the happier your people will be, as well as producing more culture for your entire Civilization, meaning it can also expand your borders more, the more you increase it (but at the expense of Commerce and Science Research).

• Culture basically modifies your borders in relation to the culture of your neighbors, so you can overwhelm your neighbors with a superior culture.

• Culture now also increases a citys defensive value, and it helps smaller cities with more culture feel safer. Since it restarts when you capture a city, your top priority is to maximize culture in that city.

• There is no more Cultural Dominance in flipping Cities. Instead, as your nation expands, foreign cities will begin to become more and more in awe with your Civilization as a whole. This will cause the people in those foreign cities to get unhappy, and therefore their Civilization will have to spend money to keep them happy. As this burden gets heavier, that Civilization might just offer to give you their Cities via diplomacy. One easy way to counter unrest in your cities due to your neighbors having superior culture is to station more units into that city.

• Culture essentially represents a "Soft Power." This means that nations can defeat other nations through more peaceful means.

• Health is just as important as maintaining your treasury and the happiness of your people. Health is tied to available food and resources to simulate Epidemics. However, if you have Fresh Water near you, it will give you a health benefit.

• There is a lot of built-in automation in the game (also aimed at reducing micromanagement). Setting units such as the Warrior to "Auto Explore" and find "Goody Huts" (which give you free bonuses such as a Settler, or something else) is a great idea.

• Thanks to automation, when a Worker is available, the player is able to automate the worker and let the artificial intelligence take control of it. The worker will then build the best available option on each square, as well as link your cities together by roads. This improves the pace of the game immensely and is a very efficient process, since you don't have to worry about manually moving the worker (you can do that still, however).

• Variety in food can improve your citizens moods making them happier. Entertainers are also available, spending tax dollars to buy their happiness and city improvements.

• In total, there are 25 Civics options. There are five categories and five options per each category. The five categories are: Government, Legal, Labor, Economy, and Religion. Some of the known Civics options are: Free Market, Environment, Slavery, Free Speech, Conscription, Emancipation, Religious Tolerance and the Nationhood (it magnifies culture accumulation). Below is a table of how you will see your Government system in the game. Having all these choices means that you will not have "fixed" governments anymore (simply known as Democracy, Communism, etc in Civ3). Note that Civics choices have an upkeep cost (depending on the Civic).

• Changing to new Civic forms will have a dramatic effect on the character and success of your civilization. You'll be able to boost or cut productivity, wealth, and happiness, make choices to increase/decrease the spread of religion, and even affect your ability to produce and maintain a large standing army. It is also never as simple as choosing the only the highest levels in the Civics section. "...You could end up with a really great government that puts you in the poorhouse," says Barry.

  Government	Legal	Labor	Economy	Religion
  Despotism: Low Upkeep	Barbarism: Low Upkeep	Tribalism: Low Upkeep	Decentralization: Low Upkeep	Paganism: Low Upkeep
  Hereditary Rule: +1 happiness per military unit in city. Medium Upkeep. Required Tech: Monarchy	Vassalage: New Units receive +2 Experience Points. Lower unit support cost. High Upkeep.  Required Tech: Feudalism	Slavery: May use population to rush production in a city. No Upkeep. Required Tech: Bronze Working	Mercantilism: +1 Free specialist per city. No foreign trade routes. Medium Upkeep. Required Tech: Banking	Organized Religion: Can build Missionaries without a Monastery. Cities with state religion construct buildings 25% faster. High Upkeep. Required Tech: Monotheism
  Representation: +3 Science per specialist, +3 happiness in top 5 largest cities. Low Upkeep. Required Tech: Constitution	Bureaucracy: +50% hammers, +50% commerce in Capitol City. Medium Upkeep. Required Tech: Civil Service	Serfdom: +50% Worker build rate. Low Upkeep. Required Tech: Feudalism	Free Market: +1 trade route per city; Low Upkeep. Required Tech: Economics	Theocracy: +2 experience points in cities with state religion. No non-state religion spread. Medium Upkeep.  Required Tech: Theology
  Police State: +25% military unit production. -50% war weariness. High Upkeep. Required Tech: Fascism	Nationhood: May draft 1 unit per turn. +2 happiness from Barracks. Low Upkeep. Required Tech: Nationalism	Caste System: Unlimited Artist, Scientist, and Merchant in cities. Medium Upkeep. Required Tech: Code of Laws	State Property: -100% maintenance costs from distance to Palace/Capitol City. +1 food from Workshop and Watermill. No Upkeep. Required Tech: Communism	Pacifism: +100% Great People birth rate. +1 gold support cost per military unit. No Upkeep. Required Tech: Philosophy
  Universal Suffrage: +1 hammer from Town. May spend gold to finish production. Medium Upkeep. Required Tech: Democracy	Free Speech: +100% culture in all cities, +2 gold from Town. Low Upkeep. Required Tech: Liberalism	Emancipation: +100% growth for Cottage, Hamlet, Village. Unhappiness penalty for civilizations without Emancipation. Required Tech: Democracy	Environmentalism: +6 health in all cities. +1 happiness from Jungle and Forest. Medium Upkeep. Required Tech: Medicine	Free Religion: No non-state religion spread. +1 happiness per non-state religion in a city. +10% science research in all cities. Low Upkeep. Required Tech: Liberalism

• When you are at peace, Free Markets, Emancipation, and Representation are fine choices as Civic options. During war, you can select Civic choices which are better suited for that situation (which may mean that your units are not as expensive to maintain, and therefore you can have a larger army). Of course, to prevent you from switching back and fourth, there will be a temporary anarchy period between Civic choices if switching.

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A New Aspect: Religion

All religions in the game are equal. However they also have an impact on diplomacy. "It's like culture without borders," as Jesse Smith Puts it.

• State Religions can be declared by any Civilization. You can also switch this, but you will go through a period of anarchy, just like when switching the state of your government. Declaring a State Religion means that all cities in the Civilization with the same religion get extra happiness and produce more gold. The default to no-state religion is Paganism, which means there is no organized religion.

• Founding a Religion is done when a Civilization discovers a technology that is linked to a certain religion. Afterwards, a Holy City is established. When a Religion is established in a city, it will gradually spread from there.

• When a City has a religion which differs from the State Religion of the Civilization, the citizens in that city may become unhappy and eager to adapt the state religion.

• Since cities which are not in the Civilization's state religion do not share the happiness and commerce bonus, it is a good strategy for you to spread an unofficial religion. However, spreading too many religions to one Civilization is not always a wise tactic, The Freedom of Religion Civics option grants bonuses to civilizations which have many different religions.

• You can see which State Religion of another Civilization you have made contact with by checking the small leader board in the lower-Right corner of the game screen.

• Like what has already been mentioned before in prior updates, the first Civilization to discover a technology that enables a religion will be assigned a Holy City. Owning a Holy City gives you a line of sight for all cities in the world that share that religion, and therefore encouraging you to spread to spread your faith even more around the world. In the Holy City you can also build Great Wonders that have the ability to improve the happiness of people throughout your empire. Holy Cities are assigned to the AI by random, but most likely near the center of the empire, or the capitol of the empire.

• Not only will you see Wonder Movies (CGI Cutscenes showing the construction of a wonder), but you will also see a movie each time you discover a religion. Winning the game also gives you a wonder movie (no matter how you chose to win it).

• Every temple in the world dedicated to a religion will generate gold which will go to that religion's Holy City. This makes it even more worth it to try and convert other cities around the world to your State Religion.

• Conquered people who have a different religion than your state religion will naturally be pretty unhappy. In later eras you can research technology to mitigate these effects, but religion now has to factor into your overall strategy.

• Seven real-world Religions are available in the game. There is also a special unit for all Religions: the Missionary. Below is a helpful chart of the religions in the game, and their real-life significance:

  Religion		First to Discover	Wonder & Buildings
  Buddhism		Meditation	The Mahabodhi; Buddhist Monastery, Buddhist Stupa, Buddhist Temple
  Christianity		Theology	The Church of the Nativity; Christian Cathedral, Christian Monastery, Christian Temple
  Confucianism		Code of Laws	The Kong Miao; Confucian Academy, Confucian Monastery, Confucian Temple
  Hinduism		Polytheism	The Kashi Wishwanath; Hindu Mandir, Hindu Monastery, Hindu Temple
  Islam		Divine Right	The Masjid Al-Haram; Islamic Monastery, Islamic Mosque, Islamic Temple
  Judaism		Monotheism	The Temple of Solomon; Jewish Monastery, Jewish Synagogue, Jewish Temple
  Taoism		Philosophy	The Dai Miao; Taoist Monastery, Taoist Pagoda, Taoist Temple

• The Missionary may be sent out to try to convert other cities to your religion. Just like Civics, AIs will try to convert you to their religion the same way.

• If you are successful in a city, you will also receive a line of sight bonus and if you capture or control the main holy city of each religion, you get line of sights in each city in the world that has that religion.

• To keep your civilization's religion strong, you must constantly be building religious buildings and pushing your own Missionaries to convert foreign cities. If you do not want foreign Missionaries to enter your lands, simply do not sign open borders. The only other time Missionaries can enter your borders are when a Civilization declares war on you.

• While Closed Borders mean that other missionaries cannot enter your lands and spread their religion, it also means that you will not be able to trade with other Civilizations.

• Success in spreading your State Religion to the AI will lead to better relations.

• Religions will not have bonuses (most likely the developers like to keep everything perfectly balanced because it is a touchy subject), but they will impact diplomacy. If you ally yourself with a Civilization with the same religion as yours, it will enable you to curry favor with other like-minded peoples. However, they come with a memory, if you suddenly switch to their religion, they will not be as inclined to cooperate with you. You will need to be in their religion for a significant amount of time.

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The Influence of Great People

Great People also add a great deal of variety to the game. Some offer extremely great benefits as we'll cover below...

• There are five categories of Great People: Great Artist, Great Merchantman, Great Prophet, Great Engineer, and Great Scientists. All of them have a movement of two, and are invisible to other units. These will probably be triggered by City performance, therefore, they cannot be built. Each will also have three to four benefits, including culture boost, Academies (created by Great Scientists), multiple Golden Ages (when having two different Great People), and free techs, as well as wonder construction and city output. Please look at the first chart below for more details on their ability and historic figure.

• Great People are easier to get in Civilization IV, and they will also be the only way a player can spark a Golden Age other than by constructing a particular Great Wonder. (Please see the chart below for more information on what exactly is required for a Golden Age when having available Great People.)

• A Golden Age means that you get a boost in production and happiness (a Golden Age also lasts for eight (8) turns). Again, you can also have multiple Golden Ages (each subsequent golden age will require more Great People) unlike in Civilization III, where you were allowed only one.

• You can get great leaders by specialized cities. You can customize each city to fit a specific purpose such as science or culture. Great engineers will allow you to rush production on a wonder, or other building and naturally, they may only be used once, so it shouldn't come as a surprise. A Great Merchant may let you establish an extremely lucrative trade deal (meaning you will get a large boost in your treasury), or a Great Scientist will significantly boost your research or create an Academy. Look below in the chart for much more details on this. Also you may want to check out the Cities section for more information on specialization.

• You can generate more "Great People" points by taking city population away from working the land and turning them into specialists. Also, certain civics choices are able to make your specialists more productive and that can also have a positive effect on your "Great People" point production.

• For all but one (the Great Prophet), there are ancient and modern representations of the unit.

• Great People can be turned into "Super Citizens" where they can give a city an ongoing bonus for a period of time, or they can be used to give your Civilization a large one-time bonus. Below is a detailed list of the Great People, how they can be used, and the historic figures they might represent:

  Great Person	Benefits
  Great Artist (Emphasis on Culture)	Has the potential to trigger a Golden Age (or GA). Requires two Great People for the first GA*. Can join a city and produce +3 gold and +12 culture per turn. Producing a "Great Work" grants the city 4,000 culture points automatically. (Labeled as the "Culture Bomb"). They can discover a Cultural-Related Technology, for example, Literature.
  Great Engineer  (Emphasis on Production)	Has the potential to trigger a Golden Age. Requires two Great People for the first GA*. Can join a city and produce +3 hammers and +3 science per turn. May rush production, like a Great Wonder. Can discover an Engineering-Related Technology
  Great Merchant  (Emphasis on Wealth)	Has the potential to trigger a Golden Age. Requires two Great People for the first GA*. Can join a city and produce +1 food and +6 gold each turn. Can establish a one-time trade mission for 1000~ gold. Can discover a Commercially-Related Technology, like Banking.
  Great Prophet  (Emphasis on Religion)	Has the potential to trigger a Golden Age. Requires two Great People for the first GA*. May join a city and produce +2 hammers and +5 gold per turn. May build one Shrine/per religion, in the city of the founded religion. Can discover a Religious-Related Technology
  Great Scientist  (Emphasis on Science)	Has the potential to trigger a Golden Age. Requires two Great People for the first GA*. May join a city and produce +1 hammer and +6 science. May create an Academy (boost of Science and Culture) in a city. Can discover a Scientific-Related Technology.
  * With each Golden Age Requiring more Great People... For more information on the other units, go here.

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City Essentials

Cities are like the many hearts of your Civilization. If you take care of them, they are bound to take care of you.

• Instead of shields, youll see hammers. The more you have, the faster you build units, buildings, etc. The amount you have is determined by the terrain, and improvements

• There is some sort of Hammer/Beaker rollover (Hammers mean production, and Beakers mean Technology research as said before).

• When viewing the City Screen, a bag of money = 5 gold, an anvil = 5 hammers, and a loaf of bread = 5 food.

• City Specialists: The number of city specialists are limited. However, with the "Caste System" civic you may have unlimited city specialists. Even though specialists provide bonuses to your cities, they do consume food (just like unhappy citizens, which don't provide any bonuses at all). The total number of specialists are five. They are: Scientists, Priests, Engineers, Merchants, Artists. Citizens are the ones who actually work on the land and give you benefits such as food, hammers, and gold/commerce.

• Drafting can occur with either spending gold, or city population. Naturally, this depends on your Civics choices and it will also create unhappiness if you do draft.

• Before founding your first City, the User-Friendliness of the game will immediately highlight attractive tiles to establish your first city, and later on, other cities. This feature takes into account nearby resources, terrain features and the proximity to other Civilizations.

• GameSpot says that "Once you've settled down into your first city, the game bends over backward to be user-friendly." Your first task after building a city is to select a list of offered and available technologies. Some of these are recommended to you before choosing them (it is very possible to ignore these recommendations). After selecting what you want to research, you will have to select what you want your city to build. Two of the options are recommended (just like some of the Technology Choices are). The recommendations are, of course, sound choices. But again, you can feel free to follow your own path.

• Founding a second city quickly can be immensely helpful in solidifying a lead against your neighbor or neighbors.

• To get more culture, in addition to the slider already described, Entertainment Specialists also help with culture generation. Building still matter, but they will just serve as cultural multipliers than producers.

• A single city can sometimes be found with more than one religion. This usually happens when a foreign Missionary establishes its own religion in a city with a different established religion.

• You are not guaranteed the nine-square territory when you first build a city in Civilization IV. You may find a city that owns only its base tile, and is completely engulfed in another Civilization's borders. To the right is an example of this...

• Cities do require a maintenance amount, and with each city that will increase (therefore one can't just start building Settlers and Cities right away like crazy). Even though this is a significant change, the ability to build very large empires is still there. The difference is that it requires more strategy to do so. As cities grow, they are able to sustain themselves better without putting too much weight on the overall economy. Naturally, using diplomacy, religion, trade networks, and improvements will increase income (and that will help fight increasing maintenance costs).

• Cities on the outer-most fringe of your empire will still build relatively quickly (as there is no corruption anymore). However their maintenance cost will be higher to compensate for that.

• The game is more balanced towards not having as many cities. You will, however, still have a broad area. The focus is to have fewer but more specialized cities. Also note that there is no city limit. You may build as many as you wish however keep note of the previous comment in the last sentence.

• The city maintenance cost puts pressure on rapidly expanding Civilizations, when rapid expansion might not be the best choice at the time. The AI will recognize this too, and they will not keep throwing settlers towards your boundaries.

• Balancing out your priorities is the key. If you build cities too often, they will be very vulnerable. However, if you don't build cities and expand fast enough, you will be left in the dust. Prioritizing between expansion, research, building military units, and improving your core cities is really essential. Reading the landscape for resources, and good city positions is also very important. Building cities on hills or on rivers will help them survive longer, and make them less vulnerable.

• Civic improvements/buildings are shown off on the terrain, as well as wonders. Basically, everything that you build (other than units) is shown on the terrain near the city.



• Right-Clicking on a city will bring up contextual menus, which will show the player options such as build orders, and governor settings. Having said that, the city governor provides much more control over automation.

• Information in the city itself is much clearer as well, for the players who do wish to get a more detailed picture. Each improvement in the city has the specific benefits it offers to the city itself. Contentment and culture are also present in more detail. This means that the player will no longer have to keep looking through the Civilopedia for what certain buildings or aspects add to the game-play.

• In order to simplify your building choice in cities, you are able to Shift-Click on a city in order to select what you want it to build, this even without entering the main city interface. It will all be on the main interface. You will also be able to set Build Queue orders so you can select which things you want to build in a particular order (so if you select the Archer then Temple and then the Pyramids in this order, production will automatically switch each time a unit/building is done).

• Selecting multiple cities makes management even easier. Jesse Smith states in this Developer Interview at GameSpot that the goal is to make everything as easy for the player as possible. This allows the player to set the same building orders to a few cities at once. These features (the Build Queue and the city selection method) along with the flexibility of options from the City Governor make managing cities extremely easy. There are six governor options which will make it easy for you to customize what you want from that city. Emphasize food, production, commerce, science, great people, and "Stop growth." These can be mixed, matched, etc, etc.

• Setting common Rally Points to cities (or multiple cities via the Shift-Click method) is also possible. This allows units that have just been built to go to that selected spot automatically without the player's input.

• When entering the city menu itself, you will see that older-style text-based menus have all been replaced with graphical icons instead. The uppermost part of the screen includes Scientific Research (center), Income and current gold amount (left), and the date (right). Also in the upper part is the current production (units, buildings, etc), growth rate, City name, as well as the defensive bonus of the city (determined by improvements as well as culture), health status (healthy to unhealthy citizens) as well as happiness (happy to unhappy citizens, this also includes the reasons the citizens are happy or unhappy). The top-left includes Scientific Rate, Culture Rate (as well as the happiness it generates), and Tax Rate (these three are determined as a percentage). We also can see a Maintenance Cost. On the left side of the City Interface is a Trade Route Bonus display (these provide gold), as well as what your current Buildings are. Also visible is the percentage of your nationality and Culture rate per turn. The bottom part is the build queue (Units, Improvements, or Wonders -- all represented as icons), the lower-right part are the City Governor options as well as the Mini-Map. The Right Side of the screen we can see the current city religion; Luxury, Strategic, and Food resources; the city specialists are also on the right side, as well as the Great People accumulation points. The middle, of course, is the City Display. The Circled tiles represent worked tiles by your citizens Since a picture can speak a thousand words, here is a perfect example of the city screen.

• Just moving the mouse over the city will produce results such as how fast the city is growing, building status, resources collected, as well as culture and Great People information.

• No longer will you be able to transfer production from one project to another. This exploit has remained for a long time, and it has been addressed.

• An example of the above bullet point is that when you lose a wonder to another Civilization by a few turns, you will also lose all the production made on it, therefore you will no longer be able to transfer it to another project however you will be refunded a certain amount of gold. This rule is for units and other buildings as well. For example, if you switch production from a Settler to an Archer, the production will not shift to the Archer, however it will be saved for the Settler when you come back to it, and you will pick up from where you left off.

• If someone beats you to a World Wonder, you will get a refund, mot likely in the hundreds of gold, depending on how much time you've spent on that wonder. This has been mentioned just above. This (the fact that you can no longer simply transfer production) makes it much harder for you to "monopolize" the Great Wonders. This is even more evident on the harder levels.

• Cities will no longer riot, but unhappy workers will not work. Until you address the problem, it will remain so.

• City names can also be changed by the player, as in Civ3.

• The bigger your city gets, the unhealthier it becomes. And that can take a toll on the population, as the city will eventually begin to starve (unhealthy citizens are not able to do as much work). You can combat this by building certain types of buildings, such as aqueducts and hospitals. However improvements such as Factories tend to decrease the city's health status.

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Building Options

Strategy comes to play even more here... there are a total of 102 buildings, and each has its own benefits. It is up to you to be the builder

• There are a total of 102 buildings in Civilization IV, as mentioned above.

• Each religion has its own improvements and mini-wonders associated with it. These benefits of the wonders will still exist in cities that have switched away from that religion.

• The known buildings are below... note that this section has building costs which were played at the "Normal" game speed:

  Building	Requirements	Cost (Hammers)	Effect
  Academy	none	none	+4 culture; +50% science
  Airport	Flight	250 hammers	+1 unhealthiness; May airlift one land unit per turn; +1 trade routes
  Aqueduct	Mathematics, Masonry	100 hammers	+2 health; Required for the Hanging Gardens; Free if starting the game on Industrial or later era
  Bank	Banking	200 hammers	+50% commerce; Required to build Wall Street; Available for free on Modern and later eras
  Barracks	none	60 hammers	New land units receive +4 experience points; Required to build the Heroic Epic
  Bomb Shelters	Electricity; The Manhattan Project	100 hammers	-75% damage from ICBM
  Broadcast Tower	Mass Media	175 hammers	+50% culture; +1 happiness per 10% culture rate; can turn 2 citizens into Artist; +1 happiness from Hit Musicals, Hit Singles, Hit Movies
  Bunker	Electricity	100 hammers	-75% damage from Air Units
  Castle	Engineering; Walls	100 hammers	+1 culture; 50% defense (except Gunpowder Units); Doubled production speed with Stone
  Coal Plant	Assembly Line; Factory	150 hammers	Provides power with Coal; +2 unhealthiness
  Colloseum	Construction	120 hammers	+1 happiness per 20% culture rate
  Courthouse	Code of Laws	120 hammers	-50% maintenances; Required for Forbidden Palace
  Drydock	Steel	120 hammers	+1 unhealthiness; New water units receive +4 experience points; May build water units 50% faster
  Factory	Assembly Line	250 hammers	+25% hammers; +50% hammers with Power; May turn 2 citizens into Engineer; Required to build Coal Plant, Hydro Plant, Nuclear Plant
  Forge	Metal Casting	120 hammers	+1 unhealthiness; +25% hammers; May turn 1 citizen into Engineer; +1 happiness from Gems, Gold, Silver; Required to build Ironworks, The Colossus, The Eiffel Tower, The Statue of Liberty; Available for free on Modern and later starts
  Granary	Pottery	60 hammers	Stores 50% of food after growth; +1 health from Corn, Rice, Wheat; Available for free on Renaissance and later starts
  Grocer	Guilds, Currency	150 hammers	+25% commerce; May turn 2 citizens into Merchant; +1 health from Banana, Spices, Sugar, Wine; Required to build Supermarket; Available for free on Industrial and later starts
  Harbor	Compass	80 hammers	+50% trade route yield; +1 health from Clam, Crab, Fish; Available for free on Modern and later starts
  Hospital	Medicine	200 hammers	+3 health; Heals units an extra 10% damage per turn; Required to build the Red Cross
  Hydro Plant	Plastics	200 hammers	Provides Power; Requires Factory
  Jail	Constitution	120 hammers	-25% War Weariness; Available for free on Modern and later starts
  Laboratory	Computers; Observatory	250 hammers	+1 unhealthiness; +25% science; +50% Space Ship Production; May turn 1 citizen into Scientist
  Library	Writing	90 hammers	+2 culture; +25% science; Required to build University, National Epic, The Great Library
  Lighthouse	Sailing	60 hammers	+1 food on water tiles; Required to build The Great Lighthouse; Available for free on Industrial and later starts
  Market	Currency	150 hammers	+25% commerce; May turn 2 citizens into Merchant; +1 happiness from Fur, Ivory, Silk, Whale; Available for free on Industrial and later starts
  Nuclear Plant	Fission; Factory	250 hammers	Small chance of Nuclear Meltdown!!! Provides power with Uranium
  Obelisk	Mysticism	30 hammers	+1 culture; Obsolete with Calendar
  Observatory	Astronomy	150 hammers	+25% science; May turn 1 citizen into Scientist; Required to build Laboratory
  Recycling Center	Ecology	300 hammers	No unhealthiness from buildings which produce unhealthiness
  Supermarket	Refrigeration; Grocer	150 hammers	+1 health from Cow, Deer, Pig, Sheep
  Theatre	Drama	50 hammers	+3 culture; May turn 2 citizens into Artist; +1 happiness from Dye; Required to build Globe Theatre
  University	Education; Library	200 hammers	+3 culture; Required to build Oxford University
  Walls	Masonry	50 hammers	+50% defense (except vs. Gunpowder Units); Required to build Castle; Double production speed with Stone
  Religious Buildings
  Buddhist Monastery	Meditation; Buddhism	60 hammers	+2 culture; +10% science; Required for Buddhist Missionary; Obsolete with Scientific Method
  Buddhist Stupa	Music; Buddhism	300 hammers	+50% culture; +2 happiness if Buddhism is state religion; Can turn 2 citizens into Priest; +1 happiness from Incense; Doubled production speed with Copper
  Buddhist Temple	Priesthood; Buddhism	80 hammers	+1 culture; +1 happiness; Can turn 1 citizen into Priest
  Christian Cathedral	Music; Christianity	300 hammers	+50% culture; +2 happiness if Christianity is state religion; Can turn 2 citizens into Priest; +1 happiness from Incense; Doubled production speed with Stone
  Christian Monastery	Meditation; Christianity	60 hammers	+10% science; Required for Christian Missionary; Obsolete with Scientific Method
  Christian Temple	Priesthood; Christianity	80 hammers	+1 culture; +1 happiness; Can turn 1 citizen into Priest
  Confucian Academy	Music; Confucianism	300 hammers	+50% culture; +2 happiness if Confucianism is state religion; Can turn 2 citizens into Priest; +1 happiness from Incense; Doubled production speed with Copper
  Confucian Monastery	Meditation; Confucianism	60 hammers	+10% science; Required for Confucian Missionary; Obsolete with Scientific Method
  Confucian Temple	Priesthood; Confucianism	80 hammers	+1 culture; +1 happiness; Can turn 1 citizen into Priest
  Hindu Mandir	Music; Hinduism	300 hammers	+50% culture; +2 happiness if Hinduism is state religion; Can turn 2 citizens into Priest; +1 happiness from Incense; Doubled production speed with Marble
  Hindu Monastery	Meditation; Hinduism	60 hammers	+10% science; Required for Confucian Missionary; Obsolete with Scientific Method
  Hindu Temple	Priesthood; Hinduism	80 hammers	+1 culture; +1 happiness; Can turn 1 citizen into Priest
  Islamic Monastery	Meditation; Islam	60 hammers	+10% science; Required for Islamic Missionary; Obsolete with Scientific Method
  Islamic Mosque	Music; Islam	300 hammers	+50% culture; +2 happiness if Islam is state religion; Can turn 2 citizens into Priest; +1 happiness from Incense; Doubled production speed with Marble
  Islamic Temple	Priesthood; Islam	80 hammers	+1 culture; +1 happiness; Can turn 1 citizen into Priest
  Jewish Monastery	Meditation; Judaism	60 hammers	+10% science; Required for Jewish Missionary; Obsolete with Scientific Method
  Jewish Synagogue	Music; Judaism	300 hammers	+50% culture; +2 happiness if Judaism is state religion; Can turn 2 citizens into Priest; +1 happiness from Incense; Doubled production speed with Stone
  Jewish Temple	Priesthood; Judaism	80 hammers	+1 culture; +1 happiness; Can turn 1 citizen into Priest
  Taoist Monastery	Meditation; Taoism	60 hammers	+10% science; Required for Taoist Missionary; Obsolete with Scientific Method
  Taoist Pagoda	Music; Taoism	300 hammers	+50% culture; +2 happiness if Taoism is state religion; Can turn 2 citizens into Priest; +1 happiness from Incense; Doubled production speed with Copper
  Taoist Temple	Priesthood; Taoism	80 hammers	+1 culture; +1 happiness; Can turn 1 citizen into Priest

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Wonders of the World

Even greater buildings, however, are the ones which build up your civilization as a culture, and put it along other major powers: The Wonders of the World

• In total, there are about 28 Great Wonders (Great Wonders may be built by only one Civilization), and about 12 Small Wonders (every Civilization is allowed to build these, and they are more city-specific. For example, a benefit of +100% science.

• On top of that, what makes Wonders so exciting is the fact that Wonder Movies are back! Each time you build a wonder, you will be viewing a short clip of it. There are around 45 movies in all.

• Below are all the known wonders and their Characteristics:

  Wonder	Requires	Cost	Benefits
  Small/National Wonders
  Forbidden Palace	At least 8 cities; 6 Courthouses	200 hammers	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; Reduces maintenance for nearby cities; City more likely to generate Great Merchant
  Globe Theatre	Drama; 6 Theatres	300 hammers	+6 culture; No unhappiness in city; May turn 3 citizens into Artist; City more likely to generate Great Artist
  Hermitage	Nationalism	300 hammers	+100% culture; +1 Great People points; More likely for city to generate Great Artist; Doubled production speed if Marble is available
  Heroic Epic	Literature; Barracks; Unit of level 4 experience	200 hammers	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +100% military unit production; More likely to generate Great Artist; May only be built in Renaissance and earlier starts; Double production speed with Marble
  Ironworks	Steel; 6 Forges	700 hammers	+2 unhealthiness; +1 Great People points; +50% hammers with Coal; +50% hammers with Iron; May turn 3 citizens into Engineer; More likely to generate Great Engineer
  Mt. Rushmore	Fascism	500 hammers	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; -25% War Weariness in all cities; More likely to generate Great Artist; Double production speed with Stone
  National Epic	Literature; Library	250 hammers	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +100% Great People birth rate; More likely to generate Great Artist; May be built only in Renaissance and earlier starts; Double production speed with Marble
  Oxford University	Education; 6 Universities	400 hammers	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +100% science; May turn 3 citizens into Scientist; More likely to generate Great Scientist; Double production speed with Stone
  Palace	At least 4 cities [in order to be switched out of original capitol city]	160 hammers	+2 culture; +1 happiness; Marks the Capitol city of a Civilization
  Red Cross	Medicine; 6 Hospitals	600 hammers	+2 culture; +1 Great People points; Free Medic I promotion to units built in the city; More likely to generate Great Scientist
  Scotland Yard	Communism	500 hammers	+1 Great People points; Required to build/train a Spy; More likely for city to generate Great Scientist
  Wall Street	Corporation; 6 Banks	600 hammers	+1 Great People Points; +100% commerce; May turn 3 citizens into Merchant; City more likely to generate Great Merchant
  West Point	Military Tradition; Unit of level 5 experience	800 hammers	+1 Great People points; New units receive +4 experience points; More likely to generate Great Engineer; Doubled production speed with Stone
  Great Wonders
  Angkor Wat	Philosophy	500 hammers	+8 culture; +2 Great People points; +1 hammer from Priest in all cities; May turn 3 citizens into Priest; More likely to generate Great Prophet; May be built only in Medieval and earlier starts; Doubled production speed with Stone; Obsolete with Computers
  Broadway	Electricity	800 hammers	+2 Great People points; +50% culture; Provides 5 Hit Musicals; More likely to generate Great Artist
  Chichen Itza	Code of Laws	500 hammers	+6 culture; +2 Great People points; +25% defense in all cities; More likely to generate Great Prophet; May be built only in Medieval an earlier starts; Double production speed with Stone; Obsolete with Rifling
  Hollywood	Mass Media	1000 hammers	+2 Great People points; +50% culture; Provides 5 Hit Movies, +1 happiness; More likely to generate Great Artist
  Notre Dame	Music	650 hammers	+10 culture; +1 happiness in all cities on the same continent; More likely to generate Great Artist; May only be built in Medieval and earlier starts; Double production with Stone
  Rock & Roll	Radio	800 hammers	+2 Great People points; +50% culture; Provides 5 Hit Singles, +1 happiness; More likely to generate Great Artist
  Stonehenge	Mysticism	120 hammers	+8 culture; +2 Great People points; Free Obelisk in every city; Centers World Map; More likely to generate Great Prophet; May be built only in Classical and earlier starts; Double production speed with Stone; Obsolete with Calendar
  The Colossus	Metal Casting; Forge	250 hammers	+6 culture; +2 Great People points; All city water tiles receive +1 commerce; More likely to generate Great Merchant; May be built only in Classical and earlier starts; Doubled production speed with Copper; Obsolete with Astronomy
  The Eiffel Tower	Radio; Forge	1250 hammers	+6 culture; +2 Great People points; Free Broadcast Tower in every city; More likely to generate Great Merchant; Doubled production speed with Iron
  The Great Library	Literature; Library	350 hammers	+8 culture; +2 Great People points; +2 free Scientists; More likely to generate Great Scientist; May be built only in Classical or earlier starts; Double production speed with Marble; Obsolete with Scientific Method
  The Great Lighthouse	Masonry; Lighthouse	200 hammers	+6 culture; +2 Great People points; +2 trade routes for all costal cities; More likely to generate Great Merchant; May be built only in Classical and earlier starts; Obsolete with Corporation
  The Hagia Sophia	Engineering	550 hammers	+8 culture; +2 Great People points; Workers build improvements +50% faster; More likely to generate Great Engineer; May be built only in Medieval and earlier starts; Double production speed with Marble; Obsolete with Steam Power
  The Hanging Gardens	Mathematics; Aqueduct	300 hammers	+6 culture; +2 Great People points; +1 health in all cities; +1 population in all cities; More likely to generate Great Engineer; May be built in Classical and earlier starts; Double production speed with Stone
  The Kremlin	Communism	1000 hammers	+2 Great People points; -50% hurry production cost; More likely to generate Great Artist; Double production speed with Stone; Obsolete with Fiber Optics
  The Oracle	Priesthood	150 hammers	+8 culture; +2 Great people points; 1 free technology; More likely to generate Great Prophet; May be built in Classical and earlier starts; Double production speed with Marble
  The Parthenon	Polytheism	400 hammers	+10 culture; +2 Great People points; +50% Great People birth rate in all cities; More likely to generate Great Artist; May be built in Classical and earlier starts; Doubled production speed with Marble; Obsolete with Chemistry
  The Pentagon	Assembly Line	1250 hammers	+2 Great People points; New units receive +2 experience points in all cities; City more likely to generate Great Engineer
  The Pyramids	Masonry	450 hammers	+6 culture; +2 Great People points; Enables all Government Civics; More likely to generate Great Engineer; May be built only in Classical and earlier starts; Double production speed with Stone
  The Sistine Chapel	Theology	600 hammers	+10 culture; +2 Great People points; +2 culture per specialists in all cities; More likely to generate Great Artist; May be built only in Medieval and earlier starts; Double production speed with Marble
  The Space Elevator	Robotics; Space Race Victory must be enabled	2000 hammers	+2 Great People points; +50% Spaceship production in all cities; More likely to generate Great Scientist; Can build at a maximum latitude of 30 degrees; Double production speed with Aluminum
  The Spiral Minaret	Divine Right	550 hammers	+8 culture; +2 Great People points; +1 gold from all State Religion buildings; More likely for city to generate a Great Prophet; May be built in Medieval and earlier starts; Double production speed with Stone; Obsolete with Computers
  The Statue of Liberty	Democracy; Forge	1500 hammers	+6 culture; +2 Great People points; +1 free specialist on all cities on the continent; More likely to generate Great Merchant; May be built in Renaissance and earlier starts; Double production speed with Copper
  The Taj Mahal	Nationalism	700 hammers	+10 culture; +2 Great People points; Starts a Golden Age; More likely to produce a Great Artist; May be built in Renaissance and earlier starts; Double production speed with Marble
  The Three Gorges Dam	Plastics	1750 hammers	+2 Great People Points; Provides Power to all cities on the continent; More likely to produce Great Engineer
  The United Nations	Mass Media; at least 3 teams/Civilizations; Diplomatic victory must be enabled	1000 hammers	+2 Great People points; Triggers Global Elections; Guarantees eligibility for Diplomatic Votes; More likely to produce Great Merchant
  Versailles	Divine Right	800 hammers	+10 culture; +2 Great People points; Reduces maintenance in nearby cities; More likely to produce Great Merchant; May only be built in Industrial and earlier starts; Doubled production speed with Marble
  Projects (Cannot be Rushed)
  Apollo Program	Rocketry; Space Race victory must be enabled	1600 hammers	Required to create SS Casting, SS Thrusters, SS Engine, SS Docking Bay, SS Cockpit, SS Life Support, SS Stasis Chamber; Doubled production speed with Aluminum
  -SDI	Satellites	750 hammers	+75% chance of intercepting ICBMs; Doubled production speed with Aluminum
  -SS Casting	Rocketry; Space Race victory must be enabled	600 hammers	5 Required for Space Race Victory; Doubled production speed with Aluminum
  -SS Cockpit	Fiber Optics; Space Race victory must be enabled	1000 hammers	1 Required for Space Race Victory; Doubled production speed with Copper
  -SS Docking Bay	Robotics; Space Race victory must be enabled	1600 hammers	1 Required for Space Race Victory; Doubled production speed with Aluminum
  -SS Engine	Fusion; Space Race victory must be enabled	1200 hammers	1 Required for Space Race Victory
  -SS Life Support	Ecology; Space Race victory must be enabled	800 hammers	1 Required for Space Race Victory; Doubled production speed with Copper
  -SS Stasis Chamber	Genetics; Space Race victory must be enabled	1200 hammers	1 Required for Space Race Victory; Doubled production speed with Aluminum
  -SS Thrusters	Satellites	1000 hammers	3 Required for Space Race Victory;
  The Internet	Fiber Optics	2000 hammers	Grants all technologies known by 2 other Civilizations; Doubled production speed with Copper
  The Manhattan Project	Fission	1500 hammers	Enables building of ICBMs for all Civilizations; Enables building of Bomb Shelters for all Civilizations; Double production speed with Uranium
  Religious Wonders
  The Church of the Nativity	Christian Holy City	-	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +1 gold per city with Christianity; Spreads Christianity; May turn 3 citizens into Priest; More likely to generate Great Prophet
  The Dai Miao	Taoist Holy City	-	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +1 gold per city with Taoism; Spreads Taoism; May turn 3 citizens into Priest; More likely to generate Great Prophet
  The Kashi Wishwanath	Hindu Holy City	-	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +1 gold per city with Hinduism; Spreads Hinduism; May turn 3 citizens into Priest; More likely to generate Great Prophet
  The Kong Miao	Confucian Holy City	-	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +1 gold per city with Confucianism; Spreads Confucianism; May turn 3 citizens into Priest; More likely to generate Great Prophet
  The Mahabodhi	Buddhist Holy City	-	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +1 gold per city with Buddhism; Spreads Buddhism; May turn 3 citizens into Priest; More likely to generate Great Prophet
  The Masjid Al-Haram	Islamic Holy City	-	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +1 gold per city with Islam; Spreads Islam; May turn 3 citizens into Priest; More likely to generate Great Prophet
  The Temple of Solomon	Jewish Holy City	-	+4 culture; +1 Great People points; +1 gold per city with Judaism; Spreads Judaism; May turn 3 citizens into Priest; More likely to generate Great Prophet

Top

Your Advances

It is not the technology that matters It is how well you use it.

• The Technology Tree, just like its technologies, is smart and flexible. You will have the ability to research different things, but they will lead to the same level of technologies. It will offer unique paths to guide your empire along. There are no longer static eras, as in Civilization IIIs case, that is, the tech tree is not split into eras at all (although, as previously said, you can start in different eras). To put it simply, eras do not restrict your Technology choices and progress.

• Like buildings, the player is able to switch from one technology to another, however that research will not get accumulated for the new technology you are switching to (in "Beakers," the accumulation of technology. It is similar to "Hammers" when talking about production). And when you switch to the technology you were originally researching, you will get back where you left off. However this "banking" of resources or research is limited in terms that you will eventually start to lose production or research slowly over time. This change (production not carrying over to new buildings or technologies) has not been a large balance issue because both the AI and Human Players are "on a level playing field" (to quote Barry).

• There are different ways to discover technologies, like the already mentioned Great People and Goody Huts.

• You will also be allowed to skip whole branches of the Tech-Tree if you wish.

• The direction of your research will have an impact on the kind of Great People that are born. The player is free to choose any path whether it be all-military, all cultural, all-science, balanced, etc. You also dont need all the techs that connect to the one you want. A connection to it is all that is needed.

• Even with evenly spaced-out resources it can happen that in the early game a player may not always have a resource such as iron or horses. The tech-tree also balances that out should it happen. It makes it easy for the player to switch strategies and head in the direction of Gunpowder (for example).

• There is no longer a minimum amount of turns in which you can discover a technology (in Civ3 it was four turns minimum). This makes it easier to come back and get older technologies you have not yet researched.

• There are 125 paths to Civ4's Future Technology. This information has been gathered from grumbler's post here in the forums. Check it out for more information.

• Below are all 86 technologies in the game. This technology tree has been put together by CivFanatics' Administrator, Thunderfall (taken from several separate screenshots). Below it are details of what each technology has to offer:

  

  Technology	Requires...	Leads To...	Enables...
  Ancient Era
  Agriculture		Animal Husbandry & Pottery	May order Workers to build a Farm
  Alphabet	Writing	Drama & Literature	Can trade technologies, Can turn production into research
  Animal Husbandry	Agriculture or Hunting	Horseback Riding & Writing	Can build a Pasture
  Archery	Hunting		May train Archer
  Bronze Working	Mining	Iron Working & Metal Casting	Enables Slavery; May train Spearmen; Reveals the Copper Resource; Workers can remove forest
  Compass	Iron Working	Optics	May train Explorer, Construct docks
  Fishing		Sailing & Pottery	Work Boat, Fishing Boats
  Horseback Riding	Animal Husbandry		May train Horse Archer
  Hunting		Animal Husbandry & Archery	Can build a Camp; May build a Scout, Spearman
  Iron Working	Bronze Working	Compass	May train Swordsmen; Reveals the Iron Resource
  Masonry	Mining or Mysticism		May build Walls & the Pyramids; The Great Lighthouse; Quarry
  Mathematics	Writing	Calendar, Construction, Currency	May build the Aqueduct, & Hanging Gardens, May construct Quarry
  Meditation	Mysticism	Priesthood & Philosophy	First to discover founds Buddhism; May build a Monastery
  Metal Casting	Bronze Working	Machinery	May build the Colossus Great Wonder, Forge; Workers may build a Workshop
  Mining		Bronze Working & Masonry	Can build Mine
  Monarchy	Monotheism or Priesthood	Feudalism, & Divine Right	Enables Hereditary Rule Civic
  Monotheism	Polytheism	Monarchy & Theology	First to discover it founds Judaism; Enables Organized Religion Civic
  Mysticism		Masonry, Meditation, & Polytheism	May build Obelisk & Stonehenge
  Polytheism	Mysticism	Priesthood & Monotheism	May build Parthenon; Founds Hinduism
  Pottery	Agriculture or Fishing; Requires The Wheel	Writing, & Metal Casting	May build Granary, Plantation
  Priesthood	Polytheism or Meditation	Code of Laws, Monarchy, & Writing	May build Oracle; May build a Temple
  Sailing	Fishing	Compass, & Calendar	May build Galley; May build Lighthouse
  The Wheel		Pottery	May build Chariots; May order Workers to build Roads
  Writing	Animal Husbandry, or Pottery, or Priesthood	Alphabet & Mathematics, Code of Laws, Feudalism, Theology	May build a Library
  Medieval Era
  Banking	Guilds	Currency, & Economics	May build a Bank; Enables Mercantilism Civic
  Calendar	Mathematics	Astronomy	Makes Stonehenge & Obelisk obsolete
  Civil Service	Code of Laws or Feudalism	Nationalism, & Paper	Can build Maceman; enables Bureaucracy civic
  Code of Laws	Currency or Priesthood	Constitution, Civil Service & Philosophy	May build the Courthouse; Chichen Itza; enables Caste System Civic; First to discover it founds Confucianism
  Construction	Masonry, Mathematics	Engineering	Enables building of Catapult, War Elephant; Colloseum
  Currency	Mathematics	Banking, & Code of Laws	May build a Market, can turn production into gold
  Divine Right	Monarchy, & Theology	Nationalism	May build Versailles, Spiral Minaret & First to discover it founds Islam
  Drama	Alphabet	Music & Philosophy	Theatre
  Education	Paper	Liberalism, Economics, & Gunpowder	University, Great Library
  Engineering	Construction, & Machinery	Chemistry	May build Halberdier, Castle; Workers may build a Fortress
  Feudalism	Monarchy, & Writing	Civil Service, & Guilds	May build Longbowman; Enables the Serfdom and Vassalage Civics
  Guilds	Feudalism, & Machinery	Banking & Gunpowder	Knights; Grocer; Improved Workshop Production
  Liberalism	Education, & Philosophy	Communism	Enables Free Speech and Free Religion Civics
  Literature	Alphabet, & Polytheism	Music	Can Build Hermitage, National Epic small wonders
  Machinery	Metal Casting	Engineering, Guilds & Optics, Printing Press	Enables Crossbowmen, Enables Watermills and Windmills
  Military Tradition	Nationalism		Enables Defense Pact; May build Cavalry
  Music	Literature, & Mathematics	Military Tradition	Notre Dame, first to Discover gets Great Artist
  Nationalism	Code of Laws, & Divine Right, or Philosophy	Military Tradition & Constitution, Fascism	the Taj Mahal; Versailles; Nationhood Civic enabled
  Optics	Compass, & Machinery	Astronomy, & Medicine	May build a Galleon
  Paper	Civil Service or Theology	Education & Printing Press	Enables Map Trading
  Philosophy	Code of Laws or Drama, Meditation	Liberalism, & Nationalism	Angkor Wat, Enables Pacifism Civic, First to discover it founds Taoism
  Printing Press	Machinery, & Paper	Democracy, & Replaceable Parts, Scientific Method
  Theology	Monotheism, & Writing	Paper	Sistine Chapel; Founds Christianity; Theocracy
  Industrial Era
  Artillery	Physics, Rifling, Steel	Rocketry	Can Build Artillery
  Assembly Line	Corporation, Steam Power	Fascism & Industrialization	Can train Infantry, build Factory, Coal Power plant, Pentagon
  Astronomy	Calendar, Optics	Physics, & Scientific Method	Observatory, Opens up the seas for trade, Obsoletes Colossus
  Biology	Chemistry, Scientific Method	Ecology, & Medicine, Refrigeration	+1 food from farms, enables farms w/o irrigation
  Chemistry	Engineering, Gunpowder	Steel, Scientific Method, Biology, & Steam Power	Workshops gain +1 Hammer; May train Grenadier & Frigate, Obsoletes Parthenon
  Communism	Liberalism, Scientific Method		Enables the State Property Civic; Can build Spy Unit; Can construct Scotland Yard & Kremlin
  Constitution	Code of Laws, Nationalism	Corporation, Democracy	Can construct a Jail, Enables Representation Civic
  Corporation	Constitution, Economics	Assembly Line	+1 Trade Routes per City; May Construct Wall Street; Obsoletes Great Lighthouse
  Democracy	Constitution, Printing Press		Can build Statue of Liberty, Enables Universal Suffrage and Emancipation Civics
  Economics	Banking, Education	Corporation	First to discover gets Great Merchant, Enables Free Market Civic
  Gunpowder	Education or Guilds	Chemistry, & Rifling	Can build Musketman
  Physics	Astronomy, & Scientific Method	Artillery, Electricity, & and Flight	First to discover it receives a Great Scientist; Reveals the Uranium Resource
  Railroads	Steam Power, & Steel	Combustion	Can build Machine Gun; Workers can build Railroad
  Replaceable Parts	Printing Press & Banking	Rifling & Steam Power	May build a Lumbermill; Increases Windmill production & Watermills receive +1 Hammer
  Rifling	Gunpowder, & Replaceable Parts	Artillery, & Rocketry	Allows the construction of Riflemen, Obsoletes Chichen Itza
  Scientific Method	Astronomy or Chemistry, & Printing Press	Communism, Physics, & Biology	Obsoletes Oracle, Angkor Wat, reveals Oil
  Steam Power	Chemistry, Replaceable Parts	Assembly line, Railroads	Reveals Coal
  Steel	Chemistry, Iron Working	Artillery, & Railroads	Can train Cannon, Ironclad; can build Drydock, and Iron Works
  Modern Era
  Combustion	Railroads	Flight, & Plastics	Can build Transport, Cruiser; Obsoletes Whales; Worker can build Oil Well
  Composites	Plastics, Satellites	Future Tech	Can Build Modern Armor, Jet Fighter, Stealth Bomber
  Computers	Radio	Genetics & Robotics	Can build Laboratory; Obsoletes Spiral Minaret, Angkor Wat
  Ecology	Biology, Fission, Plastics		Recycling Center, Enables Environmentalism Civic
  Electricity	Physics	Fission, Industrialism, Refrigeration, & Radio	Windmills gain +1 Gold, Watermills gain +2 Happiness; May Construct Bunker & Broadway
  Fascism	Assembly Line, Nationalism		Mt. Rushmore; Police State
  Fiber Optics	Computers, Plastics, Satellites	Fusion	;Obsoletes Great Library; Can build SDI Defense
  Fission	Electricity	Ecology, Fusion	Enables Manhattan Project, can build nuclear power plant
  Fusion	Fiber Optics, & Fission		First to discover it gets a Great Engineer
  Flight	Combustion and Physics	Rocketry	Aircraft Carrier, Fighter, Airport
  Future Technology	Composites, & Genetics		Happiness and Health Bonuses
  Genetics	Computers, & Refrigeration	Future Technology
  Industrialism	Assembly Line, & Electricity	Plastics	Can build Marines, Armor, Destroyer; & Obsoletes Ivory; & reveals Aluminum
  Mass Media	Radio		Broadcast Tower; Hollywood & United Nations
  Medicine	Biology, Optics	Genetics	Battlefield Medicine
  Plastics	Combustion, Industrialism	Composites, Fiber Optics, Robotics	Three Gorges Damn, Hydro Plant, Offshore Platform
  Radio	Electricity	Computers, Mass Media	Can build Submarine, Bomber, Eiffel Tower
  Refrigeration	Electricity and Biology	Genetics	Can Build Supermarket
  Robotics	Plastics, Computers		Modern Artillery, Space Elevator, Assembly Plant
  Rocketry	Artillery or Flight, & Rifling	Satellites	Can Build TOW Infantry, Helicopter, Missile. Can Build Apollo Program

• Future Technology research gives you extra health and happiness, as described above. In Civ3 it is important to know that Future Technology did not do much for the player, and it is nice that that has improved as well.

• Every time a Technology is researched, the grandfatherly voice of Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock himself!) kicks in with an appropriate quote from history.

Top

The Military Backbone: Units

There are many different types of units, and all have different abilities. On top of that, there are special promotions as well. This makes each military unit unique.

• Civilization IV will ship with a total of 83 units (this includes barbarian animal units, which the player cannot build in a regular unedited [via the World Builder] game. This includes domestic units such as workers, military ones (of course) and special units such as Great People.

• Units can be upgraded by using your gold, as they become outdated. This is similar to the Civilization III way.

• Unique combat animations are a priority, so you won't see the same old animation for different types of units.

• Units will also give verbal confirmation when you select them and give them orders, again, this will be a specific language to the Civilization that is chosen.

• When a unit is victorious, a short music clip plays confirming the victory.

• There are Medallions on top of flags units are carrying to indicate how many units are in that tile. If there are 15 units in a single tile, there will be 15 Medallions above the flag on that tile.



• Picking units out of a stack is easy so the player won't have to repeat the picking out of a unit many different times over.

• The longer a unit stays fortified, the more advantage it will have when defending against other units. For example, being fortified for five turns gives the unit its maximum defense bonus of 25%. The unit does not get an instant bonus the moment it is Fortified.

• "First Strike" is a system which simulates the advantages of ranged units such as archers. If a unit has this ability, it can make a "First Strike" against another unit before the combat actually begins, giving it an advantage.

• Workers, when captured from another Civilization, build at the same rate as your own workers. There is no "half-normal" effectiveness as was the case with Civ3.

• The game will also be using multi-unit graphics for individual units, they will also be carrying banners for their countrys flag and for easier identification. The Multi-Units represent actual hit-points. If you do not like to see multi units, you can turn this feature off so you see single-graphic units only. Below is a table of all known facts about units:

  Unit	Strength	Movement / Range	Hammers (Cost)	Requires	Other Abilities
  Archery Units
  Archer	3 strength	1 move	25 hammers	Archery	1 first strike; +50% city defense; +25% hills defense; Upgrades to Longbowman or Crossbowman
  Skirmisher (Mali)	4 strength	1 move	25 hammers	Archery	1-2 First Strikes; +50% city defense; +25% hills defense; Upgrades to Longbowman or Crossbowman; Replaces Archer
  Longbowman	6 strength	1 move	50 hammers	Feudalism & Archery	1 First Strike +25% city defense +25% hills defense; Upgrades to Rifleman
  Crossbowman	6 strength	1 move	60 hammers	Machinery & Archery; Iron	1 first strike +50% vs. Melee Units; Upgrades to Rifleman or Grenadier
  Cho-Ko-Nu (China)	6 strength	1 move	60 hammers	Machinery & Archery; Iron	2 first strikes Causes collateral damage +50% vs. Melee Units; Upgrades to Rifleman or Grenadier; Replaces Crossbowman
  Armored Units
  Tank	28 strength	2 moves	180 hammers	Industrialism & Rifling; Oil	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Starts with Blitz; Upgrades to Modern Armor
  Panzer (German)	28 strength	2 moves	180 hammers	Industrialism & Rifling; Oil	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; +50% vs. armored units; Starts with Blitz; Upgrades to Modern Armor; Replaces Tank
  Modern Armor	40 strength	2 moves	240 hammers	Composites & Computers; Oil & Aluminum	1 First Strike; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Starts with Blitz
  Gunpowder Units
  Musketman	9 strength	1 move	80 hammers	Gunpowder	Upgrades to Rifleman
  Musketeer (French)	9 strength	2 moves	80 hammers	Gunpowder	Upgrades to Rifleman; Replaces Musketman
  Rifleman	14 strength	1 move	110 hammers	Rifling	+25% vs. mounted units; Upgrades to Infantry
  Redcoat (English)	16 strength	1 move	110 hammers	Rifling	+25% vs. mounted units; +25% vs. gunpowder units; Upgrades to Infantry; Replaces Rifleman
  Grenadier	12 strength	1 move	100 hammers	Chemistry	+50% attack vs. Rifleman; Upgrades to Infantry or Machine Gun
  Infantry	20 strength	1 move	140 hammers	Assembly Line & Rifling	+25% vs. Gunpowder Units; Upgrades to SAM Infantry or Mechanized Infantry
  SAM Infantry	18 strength	1 move	150 hammers	Rocketry	Can intercept aircraft (40% chance); +50% vs. helicopter units
  Marine	24 strength	1 move	160 hammers	Industrialism & Rifling	+50% attack vs. machine gun; +50% attack vs. artillery; Starts with Amphibious promotion
  Navy SEAL (American)	24 strength	1 move	160 hammers	Industrialism & Rifling	1 first strike; 1-2 First Strikes; +50% attack vs. Machine Gun; +50% vs. Artillery; Starts with Amphibious and March promotion; Replaces Marine
  Mechanized Infantry	32 strength	2 moves	200 hammers	Robotics & Rifling	Can intercept aircraft (20% chance); Starts with March promotion
  Helicopter Units
  Gunship	24 strength	4 moves	160 hammers	Rocketry & Flight; Oil	Cannot capture enemy cities; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Flies over terrain; Can withdraw from combat (25% chance); +100% vs. Armored Units
  Melee Units
  Warrior	2 strength	1 move	15 hammers	-	+25% city defense; Upgrades to Axeman or Spearman
  Quechua (Incan)	2 strength	1 move	15 hammers	-	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; +25% City Defense; +100% vs. archery units; Upgrades to Axeman or Maceman or Spearman; Replaces Warrior
  Swordsman	5 strength	1 move	40 hammers	Iron Working; Iron	+10% City Attack; Upgrades to Maceman
  Jaguar (Aztec)	6 strength	1 move	35 hammers	Iron Working	+10% city attack; +25% jungle defense; Upgrades to Maceman; Replaces Swordsman
  Praetorian (Roman)	8 strength	1 move	45 hammers	Iron Working; Iron	Upgrades to Maceman; Replaces Swordsman
  Axeman	5 strength	1 move	35 hammers	Bronze Working; Copper or Iron	+50% vs. Melee Units; Upgrades to Maceman
  Maceman	8 strength	1 move	70 hammers	Civil Service & Machinery; Copper or Iron	+50% vs. Melee Units; Upgrades to Rifleman or Grenadier
  Samurai (Japanese)	8 strength	1 move	70 hammers	Civil Service & Machinery; Iron	2 First Strikes; +50% vs. melee units; Upgrades to Rifleman or Grenadier; Replaces Maceman
  Spearman	4 strength	1 move	35 hammers	Hunting; Copper or Iron	+100% vs. mounted units; Upgrades to Pikeman
  Phalanx	5 strength	1 move	35 hammers	Hunting; Copper or Iron	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; +25% Hills Defense; +100% vs. mounted units; Upgrades to Pikeman; Replaces Spearman
  Pikeman	6 strength	1 move	60 hammers	Engineering; Iron	+100% vs. mounted units; Upgrades to Rifleman or Grenadier
  Mounted Units
  Chariot	4 strength	2 moves	25 hammers	The Wheel; Horse	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Can withdraw from combat (20% chance); Upgrades to Horse Archer or Knight
  War Chariot (Egyptian)	5 strength	2 moves	25 hammers	The Wheel; Horse	Immune to First Strikes; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Can withdraw from combat (20% chance); Upgrades to Horse Archer or Knight; Replaces Chariot
  Immortal (Persian)	4 strength	2 moves	25 hammers	The Wheel; Horse	Can withdraw from combat (30% chance); +50% vs. Archery Units; Upgrades to Horse Archer or Knight; Replaces Chariot
  Horse Archer	6 strength	2 moves	50 hammers	Horseback Riding & Archery; Horse	Immune to first strike; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; +50% vs. Catapult; Upgrades to Knight
  Keshik (Mongol)	6 strength	2 moves	50 hammers	Horseback Riding & Archery; Horse	1 first strike; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Ignores terrain movement costs ; +50% attack vs. Catapult; Upgrades to Knight; Replaces Horse
  Knight	10 strength	2 moves	90 hammers	Guilds & Horseback Riding; Horse and Iron	Immune to first strikes; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Upgrades to Cavalry
  Camel Archer (Arabian)	10 strength	2 moves	90 hammers	Guilds & Horseback Riding & Archery	Immune to first strikes; Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Can withdraw from combat (25% chance); Upgrades to Cavalry; Replaces Knight
  Conquistador (Spanish)	10 strength	2 moves	90 hammers	Guilds & Horseback Riding; Horse & Iron	2 first strikes; Immune to first strikes; +50% vs. Melee Units; Upgrades to Cavalry; Replaces Knight
  Cavalry	15 strength	2 moves	120 hammers	Military Tradition, Gunpowder & Horseback Riding; Horse	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Can withdraw from combat (30% chance); +50% attack vs. cannon; Upgrades to Gunship
  Cossack (Russian)	18 strength	2 moves	120 hammers	Military Tradition, Gunpowder & Horseback Riding; Horse	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Can withdraw from combat (30% chance); +50% vs. Cannon; +50% vs. Mounted Units; Upgrades to Gunship; Replaces Cavalry
  War Elephant	8 strength	1 move	60 hammers	Construction; Ivory	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; +50% vs. mounted units; Upgrades to Cavalry
  Naval Units
  Galley	2 strength	2 moves	50 hammers	Sailing	Cargo Space: 2; Cannot enter ocean; Upgrades to Galleon
  Caravel	3 strength	3 moves	60 hammers	Optics	Cargo Space: 1 (can carry Scout, Explorer, Missionary, Spy, or Great People); Can explore rival territory w/o triggering war; Upgrades to Frigate or Submarine
  Galleon	4 strength	4 moves	80 hammers	Astronomy	Cargo Space: 3; Upgrades to Transport
  Frigate	8 strength	4 moves	90 hammers	Chemistry & Astronomy; Iron	Can bombard city defenses (-10/turn); Upgrades to Destroyer
  Ironclad	12 strength	2 moves	100 hammers	Steel & Steam Power; Iron & Coal	Cannot enter ocean; Can bombard city defenses (-10%/turn); Upgrades to Destroyer
  Transport	16 strength	5 moves	125 hammers	Combustion; Oil or Uranium	Cargo Space: 4
  Destroyer	30 strength	8 moves	200 hammers	Combustion; Oil or Uranium	Can see submarines; Can intercept aircraft (30% chance) Can bombard city defenses (-15%/turn)
  Battleship	40 strength	6 moves	225 hammers	Industrialism; Oil or Uranium	Causes collateral damage; Can bombard city defenses (-20%/turn)
  Submarine	24 strength	6 moves	150 hammers	Radio & Combustion; Oil or Uranium	Cargo Space: 1 (carries scout, explorer, missionary, spy, great people); Invisible to most units; Can see submarines; Can explore rival territory; Can withdraw from combat (50% chance)
  Carrier	16 strength	5 moves	175 hammers	Flight; Oil or Uranium	Cargo Space: 3 (carries fighters)
  Recon Units
  Scout	1 strength	2 moves	15 hammers	Hunting	Better results from tribal villages; Can only defend +100% vs. animals; Upgrades to Explorer
  Explorer	4 strength	2 moves	40 hammers	Compass	Better results from tribal village Can only defend; Ignores terrain movement cost Starts with Guerilla I, Woodsman I
  Siege Weapons
  Catapult	5 strength	1 move	40 hammers	Construction	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Can withdraw from combat (25% chance); Causes collateral damage Can bombard city defenses (-15%/turn); Upgrades to Cannon
  Cannon	12 strength	1 move	10 hammers	Steel; Iron	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Can withdraw from combat (25% chance); Causes collateral damage; Can bombard city defenses (-20%/turn); Upgrades to Artillery
  Machine Gun	18 strength	1 move	125 hammers	Railroads	Can only defend; 1 first strike +50% vs. Gunpowder Units; Upgrades to SAM Infantry
  Artillery	18 strength	1 move	150 hammers	Artillery	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses; Can withdraw from combat (25% chance); Causes collateral damage; +50% vs. siege weapons; Can bombard city defenses (-25%/turn)
  Air Units
  Bomber	16 strength	1 move; 8 range	140 hammers	Radio & Flight; Oil	Causes collateral damage; -50% vs. water units; Can destroy tile improvements and bomb city defenses (-15%/turn); Upgrades to Stealth Bomber
  Fighter	12 strength	1 move; 6 range	100 hammers	Flight; Oil	Can intercept aircraft (50% chance); Can destroy tile improvements and bomb city defenses (-5%/turn); Upgrades to Jet Fighter
  Jet Fighter	24 strength	1 move; 10 range	150 hammers	Composites & Flight; Oil or Aluminum	Can intercept aircraft (70% chance); Can destroy tile improvements and bomb city defenses (-10%/turn)
  Stealth Bomber	20 strength	1 move; 12 range	200 hammers	Composites, Flight & Robotics; Oil & Aluminum	Can evade interception (50% chance); Causes collateral damage; -50% vs. water units Can destroy tile improvements and bomb city defenses (-20% turn)
  Nukes
  ICBM	0 strength	1 move; global range	500 hammers	Rocketry & Fission; Uranium	Can nuke enemy lands; Requires The Manhattan Project
  Spies
  Spy	0 strength	2 moves	80 hammers	Communism; Scotland Yard	National Unit (4 allowed at a time); Invisible to all units; Can explore rival territory; Can expose rival spies in nearby tiles; Starts with sentry
  Domestic Units
  Settler	0 strength	2 moves	100 hammers	-	Can found a new city
  Fast Worker (Indian)	0 strength	3 moves	60 hammers	-	Can improve tiles; Replaces Worker
  Worker	0 strength	2 moves	60 hammers	-	Can improve tiles
  Work Boat	0 strength	2 moves	30 hammers	Fishing	Cannot enter ocean; Can create Fishing Boats, Whaling Boats, and Offshore Platform
  Religious Units
  Buddhist Missionary	0 strength	2 moves	40 hammers	Buddhism; Buddhist Monastery	May have three of them on the map at a time; May spread religion to your cities, or to foreign cities
  Christian Missionary	0 strength	2 moves	40 hammers	Christianity; Christian Monastery	May have three of them on the map at a time; May spread religion to your cities, or to foreign cities
  Confucian Missionary	0 strength	2 moves	40 hammers	Confucianism; Confucian Monastery	May have three of them on the map at a time; May spread religion to your cities, or to foreign cities
  Hindu Missionary	0 strength	2 moves	40 hammers	Hinduism; Hindu Monastery	May have three of them on the map at a time; May spread religion to your cities, or to foreign cities
  Islamic Missionary	0 strength	2 moves	40 hammers	Islam; Islamic Monastery	May have three of them on the map at a time; May spread religion to your cities, or to foreign cities
  Jewish Missionary	0 strength	2 moves	40 hammers	Judaism; Jewish Monastery	May have three of them on the map at a time; May spread religion to your cities, or to foreign cities
  Taoist Missionary	0 strength	2 moves	40 hammers	Taoism; Taoist Monastery	May have three of them on the map at a time; May spread religion to your cities, or to foreign cities
  Great People	Since great people are in a class of their own, check the Great People section for more information on their abilities
  Animal Units
  Bear	3 strength	1 move	-	-	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses
  Lion	2 strength	1 move	-	-	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses
  Panther	2 strength	2 moves	-	-	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses
  Wolf	1 strength	1 move	-	-	Doesn't receive defensive bonuses

• A nuclear explosion can cause severe damage to the tile targeted and the eight adjacent tiles. You are not able to attack your own territory or cities with the ICBM. Everything goes through a "kill check" (buildings, units and terrain improvements). Buildings are either destroyed or come out unharmed if they pass. Units can be destroyed if the "kill check" fails or damaged or unharmed if they pass. Wonders, roads and railroads are not affected by a nuclear strike. In addition to these potential damages, radioactive fallout must be cleared by workers when the Ecology technology is researched. Otherwise the affected tiles are unworkable.

• Each time a nuke is used, the attitude of a Civ nuked goes down by 2 points (read more). Your relationship with other Civilizations around the world will also be negatively affected.

• The UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty bans the construction and use of all nuclear weapons, but existing nukes do not disappear. If this resolution passes before the Manhattan Project is complete, you will not even be able to finish that project and therefore no nuclear weapons will be built or used throughout that game.

• You can, of course, defend yourself from nukes by building the SDI Project which has a 75% chance of intercepting enemy nuclear weapons throughout your territory. You may also build a Bomb Shelter in cities. This reduces damage from ICBMs by 75%. Without the Bomb Shelter, the City's population can be reduced as much as 50% by a single ICBM.

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A New Combat System

How will you wage war? What new systems are involved? This is the section for the warmonger.

• The battle system is something that has been ameliorated (it is like an RTS "rock-paper-scissors" concept). It has been made to actually encourage players to use the array of forces they have. Players are able to group units, as an interface change. For example, you can group a Settler and a Spearman, and they will always be together (unless you decide to re-group). Workers can be grouped together as well, and then their actions within that group can be queued. This has been changed so you will favor most different units, and not stick to your most powerful, for instance.

• Using mixed attacks such as ground and aerial bombardments and not just on a single overwhelming stack of units (commonly known as the Stack of Doom) is highly encouraged. This brings more strategy to battles, and also makes them more realistic.

• The fact that Artillery can attack all units in a stack forces players to spread out their forces to avoid damaging more units (artillery units can damage all units in a tile because of the collateral damage feature they have). Note that Artillery units such as catapults attack like normal units, although they can bombard cities and reduce their defenses.

• The terrain also takes a large part in Combat. However, it can also be said that it is more simplified. The only time you will get a defensive bonus is when over hills, forests, or jungles.

• Great Artists may also have a military-related use to them. If you capture a city and it is rioting, dropping a Great Artist and giving the city a 1,000 point culture boost should quickly suppress all rioting and change the mood of the citizens in the city. The only way you could suppress rioting in Civ3 was to basically start building a lot of cultural buildings such as Temples and Libraries.

• Selecting any or all units in a given square has many shortcuts to it. The game determines the best attacker when you give a stack attack order or the best defender when your stack is attacked.

• Stack attack works by stacking a bunch of units and giving them the attack command. If you are using combined arms in that stack (a balance of defensive and offensive units), the game will automatically look at who you are attacking and who their defenders are.

• The amount of damage a unit does to another unit is now out of a scale of 100, even though that's more or less hidden from the user. The amount of damage a unit does is relative to its different strengths. So now when a spearman attacks a tank, he may hit three times, but that's only going to take off a quarter of the tank's hit points. Meanwhile, a tank hitting a spearman only has to hit him once or twice, and he's gone entirely.

• To further explain the combat system: Two units of the same relative power will do about 20% damage per hit, so it would take five hits to kill a unit. When one unit is much more powerful (a tank for example), the more powerful unit does a higher percentage of damage than the less powerful one (a Spearman for instance). In other words, if both manage to hit three times in a battle, the Spearman would have done only around 40% damage, while the more tank would have already killed the spearman. However that is not all to the combat system. Many more calculations are going on behind the scenes that make for fewer lucky strikes, which further balance the system.

• In the options screen, players can turn on an option that will let them see bars over units so they can judge their chances of winning or losing before even entering the combat.

• In all, Civ4 will offer about 41 different promotions for units (with 20 different promotion types. However some have more than one level, as you will see below. Units may receive up to 20 promotions as well). This allows each unit to be extremely flexible in its abilities. So, how do units get these promotions? Well, they might get them from a battle, depending on how difficult it has been. The great thing about promotions is that they are not triggered by technology either. As they win, they will gather experience points.
  You will make specialized units without changing any of their previous specializations; you can also change their paths with certain situations.

• Auto Promoting units is also an option you have. However you can always promote them manually.

• The numbers and types of available bonuses differ per unit type and only land and sea military units can acquire them (air units are different).

• There are no XPs (experience points) from bombarding fortifications or if the opposing unit withdraws.

• Units can also gain experience from a Barracks (land units), a Drydock (sea units) or a goody hut.

• Some wonders, civic choices, and leader traits can give units extra experience or even certain promotions. As you might expect, the first promotion comes rather quickly, while each subsequent promotion requires more XP. Here are the different types of promotions and their abilities below:

  Promotion	Benefit to Unit
  Amphibious	Gives no penalty when attacking across a river
  Accuracy I	+10% City Bombardment Damage
  Accuracy II	Better chance of damaging enemy units
  Accuracy III	Better chance of damaging enemy units
  Barrage I	More collateral damage
  Barrage II	More collateral damage
  Barrage III	+50% Collateral Damage; +10% versus Gunpowder Units
  Commando	Grants speed bonus for units; Use of enemy rails/roads
  Combat I	Grants 10% extra power
  Combat II	Grants 20% extra power
  Combat III	Grants 30% extra power
  Combat IV	Grants 40% Extra power
  Combat V	Grants 50% extra power and healing benefit
  Sentry	+1 Visibility Range
  Mobility	-1 Terrain Movement Cost
  Drill I	One Extra First Strike Chance
  Drill II	+1 Extra First Strike
  Navigation I	+1 Movement Range
  Navigation II	+1 Movement Range
  Guerilla I	+20% Defense on Hills
  Guerilla II	Double Movement on Hills; +30% Defense on Hills
  Medic I	Heals Unit in the same tile; Extra 10% Damage per Turn
  Medic II	Heals Units in adjacent tiles; Extra 10% Damage per Turn
  Flanking I	+10% Withdrawal Chance
  Flanking II	+20% Withdrawal Chance
  Shock	Gives bonus against melee units
  Formation	Gives bonus against cavalry
  Cover	Gives bonus against ranged units
  Woodsman	+20% Jungle Defense; +20% Forest Defense
  City Garrison I	City defense strength +20%
  City Garrison II	City defense strength +40%
  City Garrison III	City defense strength +60%
  City Raider I	+20% City Attack
  City Raider II	+40% City Attack
  City Raider III	+60% City Attack

• Some Units might also have an invisible characteristic. Great People (and possibly spies) are an example of this.

• Infantry will have defensive bonuses in difficult terrain, while cavalry will have an advantage attacking ranged units such as archers. Artillery/Siege units are stronger and will allow for damaging all of the units in a stack. Bombardment units are now like a hybrid of previous games. The damage a unit has is relative to their strength. Again, these changes were done to encourage use of combined arms.

• There are no longer separate attack or defense bonuses such as in Civ3. They will have only one base strength that might or might not increase or decrease. Units also have advantages or disadvantages against certain units. Pikemen will have a decided advantage over mounted units and Axmen are especially good against melee units.

• Units strength is represented by the number of units. At full strength, a unit will have three units, and when it takes damage it loses a single unit until it is destroyed.

• Armies have been eliminated (in Civ3 terms, now they will only serve as moving of units together), but more customization and countering is available in return as describe above.

• Surrounding and isolating a foreign city with your forces is now a new strategy. This puts pressure on the foreign leader and he might eventually offer it to you via diplomacy. If he or she does not want to trade the city to you, the city itself has a good chance to riot because the city's population would want to join your Civilization.

• You can blockade cities, for example, by moving your naval units close to an enemy city (that means that city can no longer work its water tiles). Water resources can also be harvested (this has been known for a long time). If you're getting all your Oil from the water, you are in trouble because another Civ can cut off your oil supply, unless you can do something about it and defend your weak points.

• The infamous "Spearman defeats Tank" phenomenon is now gone, needless to say.  This has caused a lot of headaches for Civ fans in the past. This will mean that units that are inferior will not be able to win against more modern ones.

• Early on the best city defense unit is no longer the Spearman, it is the Archer. Spearmen are more useful against other Cavalry units. Warriors are the weakest unit, however they are perfect for escorting Settlers and/or workers through danger zones (filled with wild animals as well as Barbarians).

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The Multiplayer

Some people, of course, like to play with others online. How the multiplayer mode seems so far is promising.

• This time, Civilization IV will have an integrated multiplayer so you won't have to wait for expansion packs like we did with the Civ3 series. A new co-op feature allows for more satisfying game-play than before when playing with other people, as you will form alliances against the AI, or other opponents. The map generator ensures that everyone starts equally as well, as the map is generated randomly. Player in MP will also be able to form permanent or temporary alliances with one or more players. Every game starts out with the server host picking rules, players picking factions (and sides if applicable) and then entering the game.

• Youll be able to play a very quick online game with a friend or play long, ruthless campaigns lasting months. In MP, you can start out early, and end up playing well into the modern age, something which was difficult to achieve with Civ3s MP. In MP, there are five speed settings: Blazing, Fast, Normal, Slow, and Snail.

• Even though, through PitBoss, players can play as long as they like, there is a mode which also lets players to play shorter games (100 turns, from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age for example).

• Right out of the box Civ4 supports up to 18 players online. This allows basically every Civilization to be played.

• Players are able to compete in traditional turn-based or simultaneous move games either on a network or via the Internet.

• If and when a player or players are disconnected from the game, a screen (labeled "Democracy") pops-up giving the other players still in the game to vote on what to do. The options are: Kick the player out of the game and replace his Civilization with an AI player, save the game and continue playing until the player can join back, or just wait for the player to re-connect and proceed with the ongoing game. Games are generally easy to save, even if the circumstances are not so bright.

• Team Play: Players can form alliances with each other in multiplayer games. Allied nations will put their accomplishments together, join forces in combat and share all information, even line of sight, benefits of wonders, research (two players, for example, can research one thing at the same time to discover it faster), unit trading, and sharing of territory. These additions deliver a plethora of new strategic and tactical options to the players. Team-Play is available both in MP and SP (Single Player) modes.

• In Multiplayer, the server browser will include buddy list functionality to keep track of friends easier.

• Timers are set in Multiplayer in order to make everything move smoothly (and so people can't stand there doing nothing for a longer time).

• Missionaries are very valuable in Multiplayer. It's even possible to force another civilization to adopt your religion, which can potentially bring in a tidy sum of money for you. Citizens can become very unhappy should their way of life change so dramatically, however.

• Teams can easily communicate with each other. Example: You are able to put signs on tiles and draw lines on the terrain and other players are able to see that and know where to go (if a specific location is your goal. This is available in Single-Player mode as well). Players can even send little pings to alert teammates of important events happening around their map. Support for voice over IP also allows players to talk while playing.

• You can go in and protect your ally's cities unlike in Civ3.

• There is also a new "Double City Elimination" in Multiplayer which means that if you lose two cities, you lose the game. To go into more detail, there are different modes of it. If you take one city it can instantly burn to the ground, and therefore you are at an instant advantage. You can also set it so the city does not get razed, and if your opponent takes back that city, the score is leveled out. The "One City Challenge" option means that you can have only one city. There are the "Always War" and "Always Peace" options as well. For a game, you can chose one or the other (you are, obviously, unable to select both at the same time). These features can be mixed to create the MP game you want.

• A particularly hardcore game can be created by playing with teams and handicaps. With two teams (one with one person, set the level to the easiest difficulty so that player gets a bonus on most all areas of game-play) and one with several other people on a normal, or harder difficulty for a greater challenge.

• In addition to the standard internet, Hot Seat, and LAN modes, Civ4 is playable by email (PBEM), or on a persistent turn-based server, or PTBS (named PitBoss).

• The Pit Boss persistent turn-based server will allow for players to play as long as they like and leave when they like without disrupting the game. Players can also fill in for AI players and join when they like (so it is possible to jump in right in the middle of a game and take an AI's role). The server will download the current game state, then a player takes their turn and the server afterwards saves for the next player. It is like playing a streamlined version of play by e-mail or hot seat multiplayer.

• The Multiplayer pit boss, which will allow persistent multiplayer games of Civ4, was released in December.

• Firaxis will cull all sorts of statistics from multiplayer matches, which will let it rank players, which is aimed to avoid some of the frustration when you find yourself in a multiplayer match with ruthless Civ pros.

• Connectivity: From Jesse "Friedrich Psitalon" Fletcher's MP article - GameSpy NAT negotiation allows people behind routers, firewalls, etc, to play with no trouble at all - no opening or closing of ports, zones, etc. If needed, Direct IP still exists, and WOULD require playing with ports, but the only port you need to open is 2056, or whichever port you specify in your INI file. No more OOS. Except if you are playing a different version of the game. The game has even shown the ability to "resynch" itself if a genuine
  problem arises temporarily (hotjoining players sometimes cause a 1 or 2 second OOS).

• Protected copies of all original files will guarantee that everyone in a game is playing by the same rules (be it in a casual MP game, or in a Tournament).

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Customization Flexibility

People do not lie when they tell you some like to customize the game just as much, or even more so than to actually play it. What's new here?
View Section Notes

• Civilization IV will set a new standard for user-modification allowing gamers to create their own add-ons using Python and XML. It is the most customizable version of Civ to date! Basically, full mod support is offered here, and almost nothing in the game is hard-coded (unlike in Civilization III. Firaxis has also said that a fully customizable Government system will also be available, among the many other things...Below are the four modding levels Firaxis games has released information on, ranging from the easiest (the Map Editor), to the most difficult (the Software Developer's Kit).

• Map Editor: This will probably be like the Civ3 Map Editor. It is the easiest way to mod the game your way, and yes, anyone at all can do it with ease. Just open the editor and you'll see the ability for you to tweak and change everything from Cities, Technologies, Units, and Diplomacy. For cities, you are able to add a specific population number (as the screenshot to the left illustrates), culture points, gold amounts and even change that city's religion. Adding technologies to the ones you already have is also possible. For units, you are able to change the level and promotion type of any available unit as well. Changing the terrain type is also another distinct possibility. Just like you are able to edit Technologies, Cities, and Units for your own Civilization, you are given the option to change these same aspects for the other available Civilizations in the game just as easily. The World Builder even goes as far as letting you change diplomatic options and relations. The editor also opens the way for cheating. - Quoted from CivFanatics' Hands-On preview. The World Builder can be launched at any time during a game so players can add new cities as well as creating new starting conditions. The created maps are stored in a text-based format, which can be opened in a text editor. What this does is basically make it easy for you to edit without even starting the game.

• The Flexible XML (eXtensible Markup Language) Files: All values of the data for the aspects of the game such as units, terrain, texts, camera controls, graphics scales, mouse and keyboard mapping, links to Python, audio scripts, and so forth are stored here. Game speed will also be Moddable through the XML files. A perfect example of this is that a player can make some units get build really fast, while making other improvements get built at a slower rate. There are lots of tutorials on the Web for this, so you may want to check out this sections notes and get prepared for it if you are enthusiastic about modding the game (as so many people are). Every art asset has a scale value is in XML, and it can be modified the way you like (these include buildings, trees, units, improvements, resources, etc). You can also modify terrain-specific movement just by doing a change in the XML file(s). An example is "Mountain Infantry". Also, through XML, players can add new unit or building types, change the cost of wonders, or add new civilizations. Players can also change the sounds played at certain times or edit the play list for your soundtrack. NOTE: You can have custom soundtracks simply by adding music to the custom folder. You only need to edit the XML in order to assign certain pieces to specific eras or remove certain pieces.

• Python: Moving up to a more difficult modding level for most players, Python is a very powerful scripting language that will allow people familiar with the scripting language to do things from changing and totally reorganizing the interface (as all of the interface is written in Python) to changing more algorithmic parts of the game like map generation, combat, triggers/events (there are, by the way, around 30 triggers including new unit, building, end turn, unit move, etc), and even the AI. A Python interpreter is also added to the game which makes it possible for the player to open it during a game and generate code "on the fly" or check other variables. Players will now have the ability to add scripted events to the game like automatically generating units when a tile is reached, having specific situations trigger automatic war, or get this, bringing back Civil Wars caused by unrest, Civ II style!

• AI Software Developers Kit (or SDK): For even more advanced modders, Firaxis is offering the entire AI and Game Code of the game. Here, players can change literally everything about the game they want. They can even create and write their own game types to pretty much building their own game, loosely based on Civilization. Literally everything can be changed (including the camera position). It has been said that it is very, vary rare for such an amazing modding level to be released for a strategy game. The AI SDK will be available shortly after the game ships, in early 2006. Modders can do anything short of changing the basic graphics engine, the core Civ engine, or the network code.

• Some new modding tools are the: Unit Formation Editor (this gives control of where units stand on a tile, how many units are in a formation, and under what situations a certain formation is used), Hot-Swapping of Assets (meaning that the computer detects any changes and can load them "on the fly"), Python Scripting for the World Builder, Python Interpreter Console, Python Editable UI, L-System (Lindenmayer System) City Building (which makes the city graphics look random with each build, but it is also used to generate terrain features such as trees), Colored Map Overlays... The GameCore DLL is a "Pluggable Module," which will make no assumptions about the underlying platform and hardware, [and more].

• The new Bitmap Converter lets you import BMP files and turn those into Civ maps, letting you download a topographical map (or a picture of your favorite celebrity) and have the game extract sea levels, mountain ranges and other information straight from it. Giving the Bitmap Converter any BMP image and it will make a Civilization IV map from it. Everything blue becomes water, everything green becomes grass - with the proper image even entire mountain formations can be achieved (fives images: Terrain type, plot type (mountain, hills, flat, water), rivers, features (jungle, forest) and resources.. This tool is already available. Click here to download it (it did not ship with the game).

• A debugging mode is included, so you can switch off the FoW (otherwise known as the "Fog of War") and watch how the AI behaves and plays.

• A number of pre-built scenarios will also be available with the game as it ships that also have different victory conditions. The World War II scenario, for example, will start you with all your cities and military units already built, and instead of conquering the whole world, you may have a more focused goal, such as taking or defending Paris. There will also be a World-Map included. An American Revolution scenario will be included in the game as well. Here is a screenshot of it. Greek World, Earth 1000 AD and Desert War are also some scenarios which have been included in the game.

  • Even more Scenarios and a really top-notch tutorial (to help new players out) will also be included in Civ4. There is also no doubt that with the presented modding abilities, we will see some very exciting creations from all corners of the Civ community!

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In-Game Visuals

Here, you will be able to see all that the game has to offer for the eye. Movies, screenshots, and more! For all known screenshots, go to CFC's Screenshot section. For all videos, go to the Videos section.

• (Added November 6th) GameSpot and IGN have posted their video reviews of the game (both give the game a 9.4/10 score).

• (Added November 6th) The Official Civ4 Site has posted a new Trailer narrated by actor Martin Sheen, a Fansite Kit (31.5MB in Size) containing audio, concept art, wallpapers, screenshots, and more! The site itself has Six Wallpapers. Check all of these out in the Downloads Section of that site!

• (Added November 6th) Many, many new screenshots have been included between the last update (October 16th) and today. Too many to list in fact. So check out our Gallery to see them all!

• (Added October 16th) GameSpy and IGN have posted various screenshots from October 8th to today (October 16th). We have our own CivFanatics Screenshots as well from my Hands-On preview and Thunderfall's "Nuclear Weapons in Civilization IV" preview. Here are a few samples. Don't forget to go to our Gallery for all the newest screenshots!
  Nuke Blast, My starting game, Sid's Tips, Civilopedia Entry, Modern Terrain Improvements.

• (Added October 16th) In Thunderfall's preview you can also see animated .gif shots of an ICBM strike.

• (Added October 30th) The official Civilization IV site is up! Go there to see various unit animations, and MP3 soundtracks and lots more information!

• (Added October 8th) GameSpot and IGN have posted a total of 54 new screenshots. Here are only five examples of them below:
  Civics Screen, Incan Leader, Pyramid Construction, Bowman Attack, Strike.

• (Added October 8th) The Hanging Gardens Wonder movie has been posted on FileShack.

• (Added October 1st) GameSpot & IGN both have new screenshots posted (GameSpot with 26, IGN with six). Here are five of them:
  Combat Odds Display, More Combat Odds, Mansa Musa, City Screen, Alexander of the Greeks.

• (Added October 1st) There are also a few more GamePlay Footage Videos at GameSpot. Check them out (#15 and #16 of the GamePlay Footage Series)!

• (Added September 24th) During the past four days, about 58 new screenshots were posted on GameSpot (from Sept 20th-23rd). This is only scratching the surface, but here are five:
  Large City Close-Up, Borders, Mountains & Resources, UN Resolutions, New York at 525BC.

• (Added September 24th)GameSpot also has posted around 14 new Game-Play Videos and one new Video Preview (spanning from September 20th-24th). Check them out!

• (Added September 24th) If you missed the live interview from GameSHOUT (featuring Sid Meier, Soren Johnson, & Jeff Briggs) on September 21st, don't get disappointed just yet! Not that there was no new information (there was!) but because you can download the entire podcast (about one hour long). It is in two separate files, each about 1/2 hours long. Part I and Part II.

• (Added September 17th) GameSpot has posted twelve new screenshots, of these, only five are new. Here they are:
  Inca, Lakes, Horses near a city, New York, Pigs.

• (Added September 14th) PC IGN has posted twelve new screenshots. Here are five samples:
  Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan, Washington City, Forest & Cities, Mongolian Civilization.
  There is also the Radio Interview with Sid Meier on PC Gamer Podcast. You can download the 47 minute file here.

• (Added September 10th) GameSpot and IGN have each posted the same eight new screenshots. Here they are:
  Building Concept Art & Final, Leader Concept Art, Rostov, Horses, Terrain, & Cities, Barcelona, Windmills, Workers, & City, Interior Concept Art.

• (Added August 31st) WorthPlaying has posted eight new Civilization IV Screenshots. Here are five of them:
  Windmill, Low Camera Angle, Riflemen, Throne Room Concept Art, Church Concept Art.

• (Added August 20th) GameSpot has posted a new Developer Interview Video as well as five new Civilization IV screenshots. Here are the screenshots:
  Cities, Units, and Horses, Cultural Borders, Large City Close-Up, River, Galley at Sea.

• (Added August 10th) Seven new screenshots added to Civ4's Screenshot Section at GameSpot! Here are five of the seven samples:
  Scientist, Prophet, Merchant, Elvis (Great Artist), Great Prophet.

• (Added July 23rd) Here are a few of the new GameSpot Screenshots:
  Close Up, Missionary, At an Angle, Hindu Missionary, Taoist Missionary.

• (Added July 20th) GameSpot has posted a new Developer Interview Video with Jeff Briggs. It also includes game-play footage of Civilization IV.

• (Added July 12th) There is a new eight-minute long developer interview with Producer Jesse Smith posted at IGN.

• (Added June 29th) Watch the 1UP interview with Jesse Smith.

• (Added June 24th) You can listen to Civ4's opening movie soundtrack, Baba Yetu here as well.

• (Added June 24th) There are four new videos you can watch as well on IGN.

• (Added June 24th) These are just four of the fourteen new screenshots released by IGN:
  Saladin Leader Head, Landscape and Territory, Motown Zoomed Out, Athens.

• (Added June 16th) These are the five new screenshots from GameSpot:
  Single-Tile City, Low Camera Angle, Desert Workers, Walled City, Qin Shi Haung.

• (Added May 26th) New screenshots were just posted on Firaxis' Civ4 section. Here are a few samples:
  Timbuktu, Knights, Spearmen, Julius Caesar.

• (Added May 20th) There are four videos at GameSpot. Check them out!

• (Added May 18th) More new screenshots have been posted at GameSpot. Here are five samples:
  Mali, Tundra: Close-Up, Swordsman Sketch, Civ Landscape: Close-Up.

• (Added May 17th) The first online screenshots have been released! They are located at IGN. Here are a few samples:
  Pyramids, Landscape, Globe, Camel Archer Sketch.

• (Added April 28th) This isnt an in-game image, but it is probably the official Civ4 logo, first featured on the PC Zone Magazine Cover here.

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Helpful Links

This section includes helpful links, from Tech Support, to helpful threads regarding Modding, etc.

• The official Civilization IV website has their support section up. Click here to check it out if you have common problems with installing and running the game.

• Patch v1.52 is out! Get it either through the game's main menu (Advanced > Check for Updates), or get it here.

• Having an ATI Radeon graphics issue? This thread has a solution taken from Civ4's official website.

• If you do discover a bug in the game, make sure you post about it in our Bug Reports forum! Guidlines for posting bugs.

• Need a place which compiles solutions to various problems? Here is a thread which does just that!

• Get your facts straight regarding graphics cards and T&L (Transform & Lighting) here.

• Know what the latest Drivers for your ATI Graphics card are in this thread!

• The Unofficial Tech Support FAQs thread.

• Planning to Mod Civ4? Make sure you post in this thread!

• Modding: The Modders Guide to Civ4.

• Cheating - Learn how to enable it here!

• World Builder - If you want to learn how to use this tool in detail, read forum member Dale's manual. You can check this helpful information here.

• Patch v1.61 has been released including many changes, fixes and additions. You can get the patch from here, as well as read what it brings to the game. The SDK and PitBoss are also available. Get these here.

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Miscellaneous Article Information

Some answers to your questions might get answered here, if you needed help. This section concerns the article only.

• Credits: This information has been first put together and maintained by Civrules (posted on December 6th, 2004). The article was also first transferred to its HTML version from the forum version by Thunderfall on May 31st, 2005. Since much more information has been coming out just before the game's release, and therefore not all information could be pin-pointed and added to the article, Ex Mudder and Aks K had the task to gather and insert missing information (mainly in the charts). The missed details were posted on the 61st and 62nd article updates.

• "Customization Flexibility" -- Section Notes: If you want to learn how to mod Civ4 even before it is released, through Python, check out Gingerbread Mans lessons, and tutorial on how to use the Python programming language. Click here to go to his thread, and here to enter his tutorial site. If you are interested in XML, click on the XML Tutorial for more information, on XML's official site. ^

• Contact Information & Feedback: If you have any suggestions, know of more information that could be added here, or you see that some of the current information is inaccurate or needs editing... or you simply need help, please let me know either through the Article's discussion thread, Private Message (if you are registered at the forums), or E-mail. I will make sure to make additions/changes as soon as possible when need be, and proper credit will be given.

• Article Usage: If anyone intends to use this information for similar purposes, please, you must put this, or the site itself (CivFanatics) as a source, just as I have done for other sites below, in the Current Sources section.

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Update Information

This is the place where all updates -- past and present -- are kept. Each update also has a link to the exact information source; be it screenshots, previews or other source links.

• Update Information: Items above marked as "" are from the most recent update. Smaller updates, however, occur all the time as I do update this often for things that need very minor improvements or changes. For reference, I have added all updates which I have posted up to this point below:

  Bold Text - An article change that does not necessarily include an informational update.
  Update Date & Number	Update Information
  First posted on Monday, December 6th, 2004	Included first basic Civilization IV information mainly from the January issue of PC Gamer Magazine, and the information Frictionless Insight Reported. I also changed the publisher from Atari to Unknown (as Atari had sold off the franchise since November 24th, 2004).
  (1) Tuesday, December 7th	Made some corrections with the posted information.
  (2) Friday, December 10th	Updated with a little extra missed information from the PC Gamer magazine ("Great People," and the "Health System").
  (3) Tuesday, December 14th	Updated information on very first sighting on the Civ4 release date from the Computer and Video games site.
  (4) Wednesday, December 22nd	Added information from Firaxis' new site (mentions new Civilizations, units, and technologies).
  (5) Thursday, December 23rd	Added a missed bit from the Firaxis site which states that Jesse Smith will be producing Civilization IV.
  (6) Article Recreated on Sunday, December 26th	It has been recreated so that more posts could be reserved for future information.
  (7) Monday, December 27th	Put an update with information from the PC Gamer UK magazine. Describes the games interface, and also puts up a different release date for the game of early 2006 (which is most likely not correct).
  (8) Tuesday, December 28th, 2004	Added an update with more information from the same magazine, including the priority of Firaxis to put an emphasis on combined unit attacks.
  (9) Tuesday, January 4th, 2005	Ive put up a very small update which yet again differs in release dates. It suggests the release date to be in mid-October, from an EB Games employee, and later similar information was found on GameStop, at Civ4s section. (Now the information has expired.)
  (10) Sunday, January 23rd	Added some more rumors that have been going around, and made some improvements throughout the article, with a minor redesign. Moved away more obvious information from the Rumors and Presumptions section (now gone). Also removed the 2006 ETA as it seems to be the more unlikely date.
  (11) Tuesday, January 25th	Added a similar article navigation as is included in the Sid Meier's Pirates! -- Pre-Release Information. Also changed up the colors so they are not as bright and distracting.
  (12) Wednesday, January 26th	It has been confirmed that Take-Two Interactive is the owner of the Civ Franchise, and that it will be published under the companys label of 2K Games. Take-Two confirmed that the game will be scheduled for release later this year.
  (13) Saturday, January 29th	Reorganized the information sources.
  (14) Sunday, January 30th	Removed the Brief Summary section because it was unneeded. And also because I wanted to free up more space.
  (15) Saturday, February 5th	Added the Memo from Sid and Jeff regarding the progress of Civ4 and other things regarding their games and the new partnership with Take-Two. (The Memo has been replaced with a more recent addition.)
  (16) Sunday, February 6th	Added short, but convenient descriptions to each section.
  (17) -- Saturday, February 12th	Rearranged the title and the Article Navigation, as well as other minor changes.
  (18) Sunday, March 6th	With the latest update, Ive removed the Rumors & Presumptions section. Added more content from Sorens PowerPoint. Confirmed that the 3D engine used in Civ4 is NDL's Gamebryo Engine.
  (19) Saturday, March 12th	Added in a minor detail which mentions the use of Boost.Python in Civ4. Mustafa Thamer (Civ4 lead programmer) mentioned this on Mail.Python.
  (20) Saturday, March 19th	Added information from the Game Informer Magazine. Includes number of civs, tech tree, religion and great people details, and more!
  (21) Wednesday, March 23rd	Added new Civ4 music which was posted on the Media Page of Firaxis' site. (Music has been removed, because it was probably a Civ3 music clip after all.)
  (22) Thursday, April 7th	Removed music clip from the article, as it was removed from Firaxis' site as well. Added a few other details from Game Informer Magazine.
  (23) Thursday, April 28th	Posted information from a new Article from CVG.
  (24) Sunday, May 1st	Added a lot more info from the PC Zone and Computer Gaming World Magazine Previews.
  (25) Monday, May 2nd	Added in some missed information from yesterdays update.
  (26) Wednesday, May 4th	Posted some additional informational pieces from the same PC Zone Preview.
  (27) Saturday, May 7th	The Articles sections have been expanded. Added a lot more details from the German Magazine, Computer Bild Spiele.
  (28) Thursday, May 12th	Posted some minor information from the brief UGO article. Also corrected some info and updated Tech-Tree chart, and Civilizations chart. (Note that most of the information from that article was later proven to be wrong and corrected.)
  (29) Friday, May 13th	Included more information from a PC Zone screenshot along with a few other details.
  (30) Saturday, May 14th	There are mostly corrections, and a few extra information pieces from the German magazine, Computer Bild Spiele.
  (31) Tuesday, May 17th	Put up an update from the first online Civ4 Preview posted by IGN. There are also some brand new Screenshots. The first official ones posted online. Civ4 was also featured on 2Ks site today, with some minor details.
  (32) Wednesday, May 18th	Posted new screenshots which were released on GameSpot. There is also a new Pre-Show Report, as well as the E3 Impressions.
  (33) Thursday, May 19th	Added additional info from GameSpot Videos and the E3 IGN Report.
  (34) Friday, May 20th	Added GameSpy Civ4 preview article and additional new information.
  (35) Wednesday, May 25th	Added the Spring Memo from Jeff Briggs and Sid Meier on Firaxis' site which mentions Civ4's progress and a few extra details not relating to the game itself.
  (36) Thursday, May 26th	Included info & screenshots from the new Civ4 article which was posted on Firaxis' Civ4 section.
  (37) Tuesday, May 31st	For the first time, the article has been featured as a HTML document on CivFanatics' main site. The Article was transferred to HTML first by Thunderfall, and no new Civ4 information bits were included.
  (38) Wednesday, June 15th	The entire HTML article has been overhauled and improved in many, many ways. I've also added the missed information from the days I had not updated it (because of the improvements I had to work on). Missed previews were from ActionTrip, GamesRadar, HardGame Question & Answer article with Barry Caudill, and the GameReactor video (which was later made to run for members only). Today's new Preview comes from Strategy Game Informer. It is an interview with 2K Games.
  (39) Thursday, June 16th	Included the new Screenshots and the new Q&A GameSpot posted with Barry Caudill (senior producer of Civ4). Information is also included from Next Level Gaming.
  (40) Friday, June 24th	Update posted with the huge IGN Preview, the new screenshots, and the new videos. Information has also been put from the GameSpy preview. Civ4's Opening Movie Music has also been added.
  (41) Sunday, June 26th	Added information from the updated GameSpot Impressions and Jesse Smith's Developer Interview.
  (42) Tuesday, June 28th	Added more information from Yahoo!'s GamesDomain Preview.
  (43) Wednesday, June 29th	Included the new 1UP Preview and Developer Interview with Jesse Smith.
  (44) Tuesday, July 12th	This update feature information mainly from the IGN Interview article with Sid Meier, as well the video interview with Producer Jesse Smith. Other more minor information is also gathered from the GameDaily Preview as well as the Digital Entertainment News Preview, and the WorthPlaying Preview.
  (45) Wednesday, July 20th	Information from this update has been put from GameSpot's "A Bigger, Better Civ" preview. Also there is a new Video Developer Interview with Jeff Briggs (CEO of Firaxis Games.
  (46) Saturday, July 23rd	Added new screenshots from the GameSpot update.
  (47) Wednesday, August 3rd	Added information from the August edition of GameDeveloper Magazine regarding the moddability of Civ4.
  (48) Wednesday, August 10th	Added new screenshots and Game Arts from the GameSpot screenshots update.
  (49) Friday, August 12th	Added more details on Great People from the IC-Games Preview. From that preview, and the CVG preview, I also updated the "Great People" historic names list.
  (50) Saturday, August 13th	Firaxis' "Behind the Scenes" section has been updated with a Summer-edition Memo.
  (51) Saturday, August 20th	Updated the article with clarification on Paganism (from Firaxis' "Ask Sid" section). Also included are five new screenshots, a video interview with Soren Johnson, as well as a written-up Q&A article with Civ4's Senior Producer Barry Caudill, all from GameSpot.
  (52) Wednesday, August 31st	Added info from a short WorthPlaying Preview, as well as its included screenshots. This article was actually the first Designer Diary, written by Senior Producer Barry Caudill. Miscellaneous minor info also put in from previous days. Also included is minor info from the GameSpy Interview with Sid Meier (although no real game details were uncovered then).
  (53) Saturday, September 3rd	No new information included, but improvements have been placed throughout the article. New screenshots were introduced to the article, and the sections have been made easier to follow. Miscellaneous [very] minor updates were also placed where appropriate.
  (54) Thursday, September 8th	Added info on Take-Two pulling up the release of Civ4 by a few weeks. Also added in the Pre-order program launched by 2K Games.
  (55) Saturday, September 10th	This update contains eight new screenshots that were released on various sites: GameSpot, IGN, etc. Also added an article Barry Caudill (Senior Producer) wrote about Civics. The new and official Civilization IV website is also about to be launched! Check it out. I've also changed the "Official Features" section to include the updated official features which are found on the preview of Civ4's official site. However, note that the information there is not new.
  (56) Wednesday, September 14th	Updated with new screenshots and an article focusing mostly on Civ4's Multiplayer. These were posted by IGN. Also added a radio file from PC Gamer Podcast (PCGP Episode 3).
  (57) Saturday, September 17th	This update includes information from the GameSpot Hands-On Multiplayer preview, as well as GameSpy's Multiplayer Hands-On preview. Also included are five new screenshots posted by GameSpot at the same time (although GameSpot posted twelve screenshots in total, only five of them were new).
  (58) Saturday, September 24th	The largest update to date, the information here is mainly from GameSpot's two previews, "World Exclusive Hands-On" (posted on September 20th), "Hands-On - The Middle and Late Eras of the Game" (posted on Sept 22nd), as well as the Game-Play Movies 8-10 (posted on Sept 20th), the Game-Play Movies 11 & 12, and the Video Preview (posted on Sept 22nd). There is also a single Game-Play movie (#13) which was posted on September 23rd and one which was posted today, it is #14. However, GameSpot has also posted many, many new screenshots (a total of 58 in three days spanning from September 20th-23rd). The WarGamer Site has also posted the Second Developer Diary by Barry Caudill, which focuses on the game's Modding features. Among other things, this update includes the GameSHOUT podcast files (an interview with Soren Johnson, Sid Meier and Jeff Briggs). Get Part I and Part II. This update also includes various article improvements and screenshot rotations.
  (59) Sunday, September 25th	Added in a few missed details from yesterday's update. Mainly missed leader names, a leaderhead (Isabella), and some chart updates.
  (60) Saturday, October 1st	Put in GameSpot's "Profile Preview - Civilizations and their Leaders," as well as the 26 new screenshots and GamePlay Footages #15 & #16. Also included are more details from previous screenshots and videos. More information has been added from ShackNews' preview entitled, "Eleven Things You Didn't Know about Sid Meier's Civilization IV." 2K has also released six new screenshots which you can find on IGN (they were originally posted on September 29th). IGN also started a "Civilization of the Week" feature, in which the first Civilization is Mali. Also confirmed and posted on Civilization.de is that the game will be released on November 4th in Germany. They also have a high resolution German box art (which is similar to the US version). A preview interview was also posted on PCGames.de in German, but it has been translated to English by forum member DarkDude for everyone to enjoy. That interview was made with QA-manager Timothy McCracken of Firaxis Games.
  (61) Saturday, October 8th	Added the second part of Shacknews' article "Eleven Things You Didn't Know About Sid Meier's Civilization IV." There is also a wonder movie (the Hanging Gardens). I've also added the six new screenshots posted at GameSpot. IGN has also posted 48 new screenshots, as well as a three-page preview. Also added information from Soren Johnson (Civ4's lead designer) that Rail-Roads' movement will now be limited at 10 turns (instead of unlimited movement). Added screenshot of the American Revolution scenario. Added some additional information regarding the technology tree thanks to the post created by grumbler. Lots more missed additions have been added back thanks to Ex Mudder.
  (62) Sunday, October 16th	CivFanatics -- Hands-On Preview information has been added from my own Hands-On preview (Six new screenshots), as well as Thunderfall's "Nuclear Weapons in Civilization IV" article (Eight screenshots & Two animated .gif shots). Apolyton Civilization Site has also posted two Hands-On previews (by MarkG (Five screenshots), co-owner of Apolyton and by Solver (Five screenshots), Civ4 forums co-moderator). The official Civ4 site is up and alive! Check it out. There are many new things to find there, from MP3 soundtracks to unit animations and much more! IGN's Civ of the week are available for the past two weeks (Arabs & Persians). This includes no game-play info. IGN has also posted fifteen new screenshots (from October 8th to this update). GameSpy has also posted a preview of Civ4 with 11 new screenshots (from October 8th to this update). Do you like Civilization related humor? If so, go to PlanetFargo: A Civilization Movie Pitch!
  (63) Sunday, November 6th	This is the first update after the game's release. Even though it has been a few weeks since the article has been updated, the below information is all the information which came out between October 16th and today. This article will continue to get updated in the future as well. Just because the game has been released, doesn't mean that I have finished with working on it!!! The article has been renamed to the "Civilization IV Info Center." Added "Helpful Links" Section. Reviews were gathered from GameSpy, Times Online, Amped IGO, 2404.org, GameSpot, IGN, ActionTrip, Computer Gaming World, Yahoo! Games, 1UP, EuroGamer, ToTheGame, and Strategy Informer. The average score of the game is 94%. The game has already been released (October 25th, although most people got it on October 26th)! It went Gold on October 19th. Aspyr Media will be bringing Civ4 to the Mac in 2006 [source]. Civilization III: Complete (featuring both Civ3 expansions: Play the World and Conquests will also be available for the Mac in December. Added info from the Official Site (Civ4.com). This includes Wallpapers, A Fansite Kit, the new trailer, a support section, and much more. Added info from Chieftess' Multiplayer: Hands-On Preview. Also added info from my last preview What We Still Don't Know: Filling in the Gaps. Added info from Apolyton's Part 2 and 3 Previews by Solver (Apolyton Civ4 forums Moderator). Also added in info from Jesse "Friedrich Psitalon" Fletcher's Multiplayer Review (Consultant to Firaxis Games and admin of Civ4Players. Added info from Bob "Sirian" Thomas' Map Info Reference guide. It includes both the technical specs (text) and thumbnail visuals of real instances of the maps (screenshots). You may download the 6MB Zipped file by clicking here. This, however, is also available in our Reference section in HTML format. Added info from the Slashdot Q&A Article with Soren Johnson. Added info from our own Question & Answer session in our IRC chatroom with Firaxis during CivFanatics' Civ4 release party there.
  (64) Sunday, January 1st	The second patch for Civilization IV has been released. You can get it here. The Direct2Drive patch is also available. There is also a Demo! Get it here. Most tables have been redone with information from v1.52 if the game. Included Civilization IV's official websites in German, Italian, Spanish, and French. www.firaxis.com has a new poll on their site. Give feedback of what you think should be included next time! Linked to the Xfire developer chat. Check out our Articles section for more reviews of Civilization IV (and there are a lot of them!)
  (65) Saturday, March 25th	Civilization IV: Warlords has been announced and will be available this summer. Details have been gathered from the Firaxis website as well as XGP Gaming. Check out the expansion's own section in this article for more details!
  (66) Sunday, April 16th	The latest patch for Civ4 has been released (v1.61) on Thursday, April 13th. It is 45.7MB in size and includes many fixes, changes, and additions. You can download and see all the patch notes by clicking here. The SDK and PitBoss are also available. Get these here.
  (67) Monday, July 3rd	Inserted link in the Warlords section which leads to Civilization IV: Warlords' own Info page.

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Current Sources

All of the following deserve to be credited with the provided information above.

• First off...
  Thanks to the members of our very own Civilization Fanatics' Center for providing some of the news.

• Thanks to the Companies and their Members:
  
  
  
  Firaxis Games, the developers of Civilization IV.
  Aspyr Media, bringing the game to the Mac in 2006.
  2K Games, the Publishers of Civ4, under Take-Two's Publishing Label.
  Take-Two Interactive, the new owner of the Civilization Franchise.
  Civilization IV's Official Site.
  Also... Civilization Anonymous. Are you at risk? (2K Games promotional site for Civ4.)
  
  

  • Other Companies:
    Entertainment Software Rating Board, responsible for rating Civilization IV and many other games.
    NDL, The Gamebryo 3D Engine used in Civ4.
    The following are also being used in Civ4's development: Boost (Boost.Python), Python, XML.

• Other Gaming Sites and Magazines:
  1UP | 2404.org | ActionTrip | Amped IGO | Apolyton.net | Christopher Tin.com | Computer Bild Spiele | Computer Gaming World Magazine | Computer and Videogames | Digital Entertainment | EuroGamer | FrictionlessInsight | GameDaily | GameDeveloper Magazine | Game Developers Conference | GamesDomain | GameInformer | GamesRadar | GameReactor | GamesIndustry.biz | GameSpot | GameSpy | HardGame | HomeLAN | IC-Games | IGN.com | NextGeneration | Next Level Gaming | The magazines PC Gamer/PC Gamer UK | PC Games (Germany) | PC Zone Magazine | ShackNews | Strategy Game Informer | Times Online | ToTheGame | UGO | WarGamer | WorthPlaying | XGP Gaming | Yahoo! Games.

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