Civ4 - Review & Trailer

[Freakin]

IGN Review (http://pc.ign.com/articles/660/660495p1.html)

Official Trailer (http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/downloads.htm)

I've never been so excited for a game to come out. This is going to destroy my income.

It'll probably take me a good 6 hours before I get back into the swing of things, and even more to figure out all the new units & buildings.

It looks like they actually did away with the Attack/Defense ratings, and it's now only a strength rating. That interests me more than the religions, personally.

Does anyone have this preordered yet? When are you expecting it (supposedly going to be in stores tomorrow).

The multiplayer is also supposed to be pretty streamlined (finally) and you can play in a variety of different ways (like by email and [censored], apparently).

Here's a few screenshots



Freakin http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/660/660495/civilization-iv-20051021033952752.jpg
http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/657/657957/civilization-iv-20051012104919063.jpg

[cokehead]

yes this game looks awesome. will destroy my grades and sex life.

[jason_t]

My life is over. I got Age of Empires III this weekend and will be getting Civ 4 tomorrow.

[bicyclekick]

My income will be cut in half at best.

[pokerdirty]

[ QUOTE ]
yes this game looks awesome. will destroy my grades and sex life.

[/ QUOTE ]

i guarantee it's not because of this game.

[Freakin]

[ QUOTE ]
My income will be cut in half at best.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's an expensive game, given your PT screenshots.

[wayabvpar]

I have it pre-ordered. Of course, my [censored] PC died last night, so will have added time and expense before I can play it. ARRGGH!

[HopeydaFish]

I'm definitely getting it. The "other" game I play will have to be put on the backburner for awhile. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[kurosh]

Why did you have to remind me this was coming out? /images/graemlins/frown.gif I would have forgotten.

[Blarg]

Doh, title says review, but there's no review!

Frys Electronics/outpost.com has this on sale for $37.99, I think the ad said.

I'm interested in seeing a real review on it, if anyone wants to do one, when it comes out. I'll go check out the IGN review.

I like the Civ games, but they take too long for my tastes. I'll probably skip this one unless it sounds like it plays shorter than Civ 2.

[StevieG]

Birthday is mid Novemeber. I just told Mrs. StevieG it might make a nice gift.

Her response: "Great. So I'll see you again in the spring."

[Stuck]

On seeing your post I went to order it from Amazon. They told me that if I liked Civ 4 I might also like:

How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men (Paperback)

How odd.

[Blarg]

LOL, you ranked a 11 on their nerd index. Checking out Civ 4 made them think you're not only a garden variety nerd, you must be an ultra-nerd Asian engineering student.

[Freakin]

[ QUOTE ]
Doh, title says review, but there's no review!

Frys Electronics/outpost.com has this on sale for $37.99, I think the ad said.

I'm interested in seeing a real review on it, if anyone wants to do one, when it comes out. I'll go check out the IGN review.

I like the Civ games, but they take too long for my tastes. I'll probably skip this one unless it sounds like it plays shorter than Civ 2.

[/ QUOTE ]

If I had it, I'd be WAY too busy to do a review of it...

Freakin

[Hamish McBagpipe]

I can pwn anyone at this game. My strat of rush researching Divine Right and convert my Babylonian bowmen to Judaism means you are finished. Give it up.

Here's the new tech tree.
Tech tree (http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/techtree/)

[Etric]

I preordered it at Gamestop; I get it on Wed.

No pollution anymore; I'm so excited!

[sfer]

Comments from the early-purchasers/uber-nerdy?

[BottlesOf]

Wow do you play computer games? I was thinking of getting this myself, unless someone can make a convincing case for Quake 4 instead, or something else.

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow do you play computer games? I was thinking of getting this myself, unless someone can make a convincing case for Quake 4 instead, or something else.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not since Civ2.

[Blarg]

www.planetcivilization.gamespy.com (http://www.planetcivilization.gamespy.com) is up. It's got walkthroughs in it that you guys might like, as well as forums, etc.

[Freakin]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow do you play computer games? I was thinking of getting this myself, unless someone can make a convincing case for Quake 4 instead, or something else.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've only played Q4 singleplayer so far, but it's basically just like HalfLife/HL2. I'm sure the multiplayer is pretty decent.

They could charge $200 for Civ4, and I'd pay it.

If you're only looking to play for 30-40 minutes at a time, this game probably won't be a very good fit for you. If you're looking to really get into a game and spend a while developing your civ, then you'll love it.

Freakin

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow do you play computer games? I was thinking of getting this myself, unless someone can make a convincing case for Quake 4 instead, or something else.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've read some pretty lukewarm reviews of Quake 4.

[ThaSaltCracka]

what are the system requirements?

[Shilly]

I went out of my way today to go to State St. and pick this up, and they DIDN'T [censored] HAVE IT. I guess I'll go back tomorrow /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[pokerdirty]

[ QUOTE ]
I went out of my way today to go to State St. and pick this up, and they DIDN'T [censored] HAVE IT. I guess I'll go back tomorrow /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

you guys DO know it's not out until Nov 4th, right?

[Blarg]

I wouldn't take the minimum ones too seriously. These days even the recommended specs are often well shy of the mark you need to get an enjoyably playable game.

The min specs were like a Pentium 1.8 and 512 megs of memory and a totally garbage vid card, as I recall. The recommended were a P4 2.5 and a gig of memory and a 128 meg card.

I'd be very surprised if a gig of memory and a 128 meg card was enough to avoid notable slowdowns. When I got Civ 2, I had a great system at the time, and a gig of memory, and I had the map catch and hesitate when scrolling all the time. It struck me as a notably unspeedy game for one which had virtually no movement to speak of. Maybe this one uses fewer resources or uses them better, but since it's 3d, I doubt it.

[ThaSaltCracka]

oh man, I am [censored]. Oh well.

[cokehead]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went out of my way today to go to State St. and pick this up, and they DIDN'T [censored] HAVE IT. I guess I'll go back tomorrow /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

you guys DO know it's not out until Nov 4th, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

was supposed to be out Oct 24, yesterday.

EDIT: Nov 4th is the european release date.

[Blarg]

Check this out from a gamespy article.

[ QUOTE ]
After hours of play and several games, we've come to a few conclusions about the next Civilization. Not only is it going to be one of the best PC strategy games of the year ... it's actually in the running to be one of the best Multiplayer PC strategy games of the year.

[/ QUOTE ]

This astounds me. The last thing that Civ games seemed to me is less than ridiculous as a multiplayer game. But check this out from the same article:

[ QUOTE ]
In our previous hands-on we talked about how the game plays out faster than the last incarnations of the franchise, even in multiplayer mode. While it's true that it's a much more streamlined game than Civ III, further testing shows that you can easily have a single game stretch on for hours. We played a game on a small ocean map with five civilizations, two of which were controlled by humans, and after about three and a half hours we'd gotten to Napoleonic-era technology. It looked like another two hours or more to finish the game off. Alternatively, if you play on a tiny map with no bodies of water separating the world powers, it looks like you can burn through a game in a couple of hours.

[/ QUOTE ]

Civ in a couple of hours??? Now that's more my speed. I'm not a fan of the 50 or 70 hour civ game.

It still sounds like a multiplayer match could be brutally long, i.e, if it takes one guy five hours to play a game, it will probably take two players at least twice that long, stretching a match into a time-intensive two or three day affair. And that might be at the minimum. But it still sounds workable for the real devotees/mental cases a game like this tends to breed. I don't think many people would want to play one multiplayer game after another that way, but of course the real nuts would. At any rate, most anyone who would get the game would definitely fine the occasional ten hour match fun and doable, and probably pretty rewarding. That bit from the article made me reconsider getting Civ 4. A game that could take as little as a night or two sounds much more palatable to me than one that could take two weeks of near non-stop play before you can come up for air.

[pokerdirty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went out of my way today to go to State St. and pick this up, and they DIDN'T [censored] HAVE IT. I guess I'll go back tomorrow /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

you guys DO know it's not out until Nov 4th, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

was supposed to be out Oct 24, yesterday.

EDIT: Nov 4th is the european release date.

[/ QUOTE ]

check gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com). it says Nov 4th. gamespot is not usually wrong.

[Blarg]

Check this out. Collector's edition at the same price the regular edition is at elsewhere. This is at outpost.com.

[ QUOTE ]
Civilization IV - Collector's Edition
Take 2:
For Windows
Outpost #: 4586387
# Contents of the Civilization IV Collector's Edition Collector's case: Navy blue "leatherette" bookshelf case embossed with the Civilization IV logo.
# CD Soundtrack: Containing original compositions by Christopher Tin (http://christophertin.com/news.html) and Jeffrey Briggs (composer of Civilization II), as well as classical pieces throughout the ages.
# Keyboard template: A die-cut keyboard layout for quick reference to keyboard commands during the game.
# Tech Tree map: A foldout poster that displays the tech tree for ease of reference. A tech tree is a path you need to take with your scientific research in the game in order to reach certain goals. The path you take helps shape the society you create and help shapes you as a leader. Here's an example: http://www.civfanatics.com/civ3/techtree/
# Spiral bound manual: The 250pp+ manual is upgraded from the standard perfect bound to a spiral bound version, allowing it to sit flat while open.

Limit 1 per Household.

[/ QUOTE ]

The spiral binding sounds handy, but most of all the fold-out tech tree map. I found this invaluable in Civ 2 for laying out the choices in a quick, easy to read format.

Outpost strangely enough has their regular version at the same price, but with free shipping. I've dealt with them before by the way, and they did an excellent and reliable job.

[jgorham]

I mean of course the process isn't short, but one of the multiplayer options is a simultaneous play mode, so each player is taking his turn at the same time. This can cause a couple of problems when people are fighting (one person just waiting for the other to move before moving his own units), but it is well worth it for the amount of time it shaves off the game. Civ 2 multiplayer took such a long time I don't think our games ever even got to gunpowder.

[Blarg]

Simultaneous play? That sounds interesting. I wonder how popular that will become. I'm not sure this would create problems with people choosing not to move till you do, because that's simply a strategy choice, which you can address by moving. Initiative often has just as much or more value than counter-attack.

It does sound like it could make games manageably short, as in perhaps taking a single longish night session of four or five hours.

[Freakin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went out of my way today to go to State St. and pick this up, and they DIDN'T [censored] HAVE IT. I guess I'll go back tomorrow /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

you guys DO know it's not out until Nov 4th, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

was supposed to be out Oct 24, yesterday.

EDIT: Nov 4th is the european release date.

[/ QUOTE ]

check gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com). it says Nov 4th. gamespot is not usually wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]

I called Gamestop in Bellevue, WA today, they said it would be on sale tomorrow. All the US preorders supposedly shipped today.

Freakin

[cokehead]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went out of my way today to go to State St. and pick this up, and they DIDN'T [censored] HAVE IT. I guess I'll go back tomorrow /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

you guys DO know it's not out until Nov 4th, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

was supposed to be out Oct 24, yesterday.

EDIT: Nov 4th is the european release date.

[/ QUOTE ]

check gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com). it says Nov 4th. gamespot is not usually wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]

gamespot says 10.25 on the front page. scroll down

[Emmitt2222]

so I have a laptop with 16mb video memory. I know that this is below the minimum so does that mean my computer will be completely unable to run it? Is there any way I can turn down all of the graphics so that it will work? I wish there were USB video cards for laptops :[

[Aytumious]

[ QUOTE ]
so I have a laptop with 16mb video memory. I know that this is below the minimum so does that mean my computer will be completely unable to run it? Is there any way I can turn down all of the graphics so that it will work? I wish there were USB video cards for laptops :[

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd say no freakin way you can run it with that setup.

[Blarg]

Some new laptops do come with replaceable video cards. The leap has finally been made.

I think your system would completely choke on Civ 4.

[BadBoyBenny]

It's Civ 1 for you!

[Blarg]

From the official Civ site:

[ QUOTE ]
# New Multiplayer Options

# Variable game speed – hosts can choose quick or epic timescales, depending on the amount of time players can commit to a game.
# Hot join – join a game in progress by taking over an AI opponent.
# Team play – whether playing multiplayer or single player, team play offers a new way of setting locked alliances that result in shared wonder effects, technology, visibility, unit trading and shared territory that delivers a plethora of new strategic and tactical options.
# Simultaneous Turns – speeds up multiplayer games by allowing players to take their turns at the same time, rather than waiting in turn for each player to finish their move.
# Connectivity – LAN, Internet, and Play By Email allow options to suit multiple play styles.



[/ QUOTE ]

Team play sounds pretty cool.

[pokerdirty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went out of my way today to go to State St. and pick this up, and they DIDN'T [censored] HAVE IT. I guess I'll go back tomorrow /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

you guys DO know it's not out until Nov 4th, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

was supposed to be out Oct 24, yesterday.

EDIT: Nov 4th is the european release date.

[/ QUOTE ]

check gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com). it says Nov 4th. gamespot is not usually wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]

gamespot says 10.25 on the front page. scroll down

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, i went into game stop tonight and they said tomorrow. heh, you can't win 'em all i guess.

[imported_anacardo]

*** CIV 4 TRIP REPORT ***

...I need a new video card.

Sure sounds great, though.

Also, one of the manual add-ons came in French.

Paging mslif, please come to the white courtesy phone.
mslif, please come to the white courtesy phone.

<font color="white"> &lt;3 </font>

[Reqtech]

[ QUOTE ]
*** CIV 4 TRIP REPORT ***

...I need a new video card.

Sure sounds great, though.

Also, one of the manual add-ons came in French.

Paging mslif, please come to the white courtesy phone.
mslif, please come to the white courtesy phone.

<font color="white"> &lt;3 </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

What are you currently using?

[Blarg]

Specifics, man, tell us more.

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]
yes this game looks awesome. will destroy my grades and sex life.

[/ QUOTE ]

i f you actually play this game, I seriously doubt you ever had a sex life to begin with.

/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[imported_anacardo]

I'm using the motherboard-embedded card that came with a Compaq. /images/graemlins/blush.gif The world map is mostly black. Leaderheads appear as eyeballs, teeth and epaulettes only (I [censored] you not.) On the plus side, Leonard Nimoy narrates, which A) is a pleasant surprise and B) is nice, because it means that Leonard Nimoy's still getting work. In short, I can't play the game, and I wonder why you guys don't have your own copy yet.

[imported_anacardo]

I have a sex life, you smug [censored]! It's just not terribly up-to-date. Post-collegiate slumps rock me /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[4_2_it]

I pick up my reserved copy after work this evening. I can't wait to multiplayer online.

[Blarg]

I said I wasn't going to, but I broke down and ordered it yesterday. From Amazon. They usually add a day or two if not more extra into the shipping no matter what speed you tell them to ship it at.

[imported_anacardo]

I will purchase a newish Radeon, then I will own your soul. /images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[Blarg]

What kind of CPU and memory do you have? This looks like a game that's guaranteed to eat through a gig of memory like it's nothing.

[mslif]

[ QUOTE ]
*** CIV 4 TRIP REPORT ***

...I need a new video card.

Sure sounds great, though.

Also, one of the manual add-ons came in French.

Paging mslif, please come to the white courtesy phone.
mslif, please come to the white courtesy phone.

<font color="white"> &lt;3 </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

What do you need?

[imported_anacardo]

2.0 gig Sempron. 712 meg of RAM. Everything seems fine except for the paper clip I use as a video card.

[imported_anacardo]

Nothing, really. Phrases like "arbre des technologies" and "+10% en Puissance" aren't enough to tax even my limited vocabulary. Your rapid response is appreciated, though. I think you've got a future in our organization. + mslif sightings = never bad.



<font color="white"> &lt;3 &lt;3 </font>

[Blarg]

Laptop specs. If you can add in more memory, I bet you'll get a whole lot of mileage out of it.

[Asufiji2004]

These are the specs on an Emachines I bought awhile ago. Do I have a shot running this game?

Specifications
CPU: AMD Sempron™ 3300+ Processor (64-bit)
(256KB L2 cache, 2.0GHz, 1600MHz FSB)
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB), 400MHz (PC3200)
Expandable to 2GB
Hard Drive: 160GB (7200 RPM, 2MB cache) 2
Video: S3 Graphics Unichrome™ Pro
64MB DDR Shared Memory
AGP 8x slot available for upgrade

[Blarg]

Civ games are memory hogs. You will want at least a gig of memory, or you will have lots of slowdowns panning across the screen, and at other times too.

[A_C_Slater]

Civ 3 was the ultimate in mental masturbation. Civ 4 would make me go blind. Good thing my computer can't run it. I may have to buy a new one.

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
I will purchase a newish Radeon, then I will own your soul. /images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's an exclusive screenshot from when I crush your pathetic excuse of a civilization:

http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/4610/smurfs5vj.jpg

[Asufiji2004]

So I should go buy another 512MB of memory? What's that like $80? Is my video card good enough? My comp isn't really intended for gaming, but I bought it before I knew Civ IV was coming out.

[imported_anacardo]

You're going to want a 128 MB video card. Check your specs.

[Asufiji2004]

Baaah! New video card and more memory and the game? Gonna cost me like $300!!

[ QUOTE ]
They could charge $2000 for Civ4, and I'd pay it.

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Freakin]

Luckily, i just snagged the last two copies from gamestop for retail price. I was too lazy to preorder, but i still got hte preorder box.

Hot [censored], I want to go home right now.

Freakin

[Blarg]

At least that much. The prices vary wildly because memory is always on sale, all over the place. Try www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com) for a very reliable place that usually has sales on memory, among other things. Pretty much the favorite nerd site for buying comp stuff online.

I don't know how familiar you are with memory, but in some systems you have to be them in matching pairs. If you don't know how many slots you have free, find out, and buy accordingly. If you don't have enough slots to put into two fresh RAMs, you might have to throw out the ones you've got. If you've got two filled out of a four possible slots, then just grab whatever pair you feel like blowing the cash on, as long as it's the kind that fits your machine.

Games are starting to require more than 1 gig for smoothness these days, especially games with big maps and lots of units -- which means, like a Civ game. 1 gig would be the minimum I'd expect to play a game like this with without really annoying and frequent slowdowns. Go for more if you can afford it. And remember that sales on RAM are virtually everywhere. You can always get it on sale. Newegg changes some of their sales literally every day. Outpost.com does too.

[4_2_it]

Picked up my copy at EB last night and started conquering. This is going to severely cut into my backgammon playing /images/graemlins/wink.gif time. I also got the French science/unit chart. You just go to the website and fill in your name and address and they send you an English one (They also have a pdf file if you are desperate).

In a week or so I'll ready to multiplayer!

[vulturesrow]

Im jealous /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[sfer]

Why can't I just download this off their site? Seems like such an easy solution.

[Freakin]

I AM GOD EMPEROR!!!!

Man, the easier difficulties are much easier than they used to be. I went one or two steps over the default and just walked all over the other civs. I only played for 4 hours, but I got up to Flight in 1220AD pretty easily.

Religion is complicated. I'm gonna have to do a little reading on that one. Also, Great People kick ass.

We're gonna have to get a pathetically depressing Friday Night Civ4 OOT game going or something.

Freakin

[4_2_it]

I'm in, but I have to warn that I usually suck at all things online except p--, errr cribbage. I played one game for about 3 hours and was miles ahead of the AI. I converted everyone to my religion and had them sacrificing their children to me.

How do you like the new unit promotes. I'm trying to get a handle on which ones are great and which ones should be avoided. It appears that 1st strike is awesome.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Alright, quick! Compare/contrast to Civ3 in the next 15-20 minutes. Go!

Also, keep it to actual gameplay. I don't give two shits about the graphics or the audio.

[MarkL444]

Ive never played any Civ games but it seems like something I would like. However, I only have a laptop (dell Inspiron 6000)with an integrated graphics card. (other than the [censored] card, its a good laptop) Would Civ 3 work well with that card?

tia

[jason_t]

Civ 3 ran on my old Inspiron 5x00 (can't remember x) perfectly.

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
Alright, quick! Compare/contrast to Civ3 in the next 15-20 minutes. Go!

Also, keep it to actual gameplay. I don't give two shits about the graphics or the audio.

[/ QUOTE ]

No more pollution and cities revolting in CIV4.
Less military units, but the units are upgradable, which makes for more variety. For instance, your warriors, once they defeat a few foes, get experience points that you to upgrade them with better abilities (like jungle defense, +20% city attack, +10% strength)

You cannot enter an opponent's border without a treaty unless you declare war

Religion is totally different and plays a much bigger part in the game

No more Armies

CIV 4 has Great People which you can use to build wonders, increase science, culture

More flexibility in your government structure, Instead of governments like Monarchy, Republic, Democracy, CIV 4 has 5 or 6 different civics which have 5 or 6 options each, so your government can be very flexible.

More and better resources

Trade routes are automatic.

AI seems more intelligent

Space race victory is achieved when you build the ship

Thanks all I can think of for now, but I've only played for about 4 hours.

[astroglide]

nvidia-based desktop: fails. caused a system reboot once, permanently garbled graphics.
nvidia-based laptop: seems to work fine.
ati-based desktop: seemed to work fine, but i discovered it would randomly make units invisible.

from my experiences and those reported on the various forums already, it would appear that the game is rather buggy.

[Sephus]

i have a pentium 4, 1 GB RAM and a farily new video card, and the game gets bogged down pretty quickly. ill have to wait til i buy a new machine apparently. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[4_2_it]

I have a Dell XPS (1G RAM) that is about 1 year old and it seems to run fine.

[Voltron87]

i never played civ 3, should i get it or just get civ 4?

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
i never played civ 3, should i get it or just get civ 4?

[/ QUOTE ]

Go right to CIV4 (and it's not even close). The learning curve will be the same and CIV4 is much better and has multiplayer.

[Voltron87]

cool. i played the original civ tons, but never really 2 or 3. i was wondering whether it was one of those "each game is the same thing as the last only better and more advanced" or whether each game is a new worthwhile game. kind of like how you wouldnt but madden 05 if you could get madden 06. im guessing it is just like that.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

I decided last night that if I could find a copy of the collector's edition at a local store, that I'd go buy it, but if not, then I'm holding out for a while (maybe until there's an expansion package) and I'll just play Civ 3 for a while. I was way late getting on Civ 3, so it's not worn out yet. I'm especially leaning towards not getting IV now that there's all this crap about it being such a hog and/or being buggy. FWIW, nobody locally says they have any collector's editions (left). I can apparently still get it on ebgames.com or outpost.com, but... I don't know.

[4_2_it]

I ordered from EBGames.com and picked it up in the store. It hasn't been buggy for me, but I have a pretty new set-up and I've only played about 4 hours or so.

They really did a good job of eliminating the crap that made CIV3 boring (pollution, AI running rampant in your territory) so I would recommend it over CIV 3, but I loved CIV 3 so I can understand why you would want to wait a while. Sounds like you found something to add to your Christmas list. I'll have a better idea on how good this game is on Monday after I've wasted a weekend on it.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
I ordered from EBGames.com and picked it up in the store.

[/ QUOTE ]
This would be most excellent. I didn't see where to do it online, though, so I just assumed they didn't have this option. I stopped by EB on the way home and their reply to when I asked if they had the collector's edition was "only for pre-orders". I called again today just to be belligerent and he said they don't have any. I suspect he's just saying they don't have any of the collector's edition. They must've had extras.

edit: I've found shipping to a store in the FAQ and I've added the nearest store to my address book, but it's not showing up as an option for me to ship it to the store when I go through checkout. Also, if they really don't have any copies in the store, then I might as well just have them ship it straight to me instead of having to go to the store to pick it up.

[Blarg]

Some people are saying things like, "It runs okay on my system" or "My Pentium 4 seems to be handling it." For people to understand what that means, people reporting it's okay or bad on their system should be more specific. There's a huge range of Pentium 4's, for example. And if you don't include your CPU, RAM, and video card at the same time, it's much harder to get any value at all out of a mention of how it's doing on your system.

[bicyclekick]

On my third game of it.

It is so fun. It's how civ should be.

Back to playing I go.

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
Some people are saying things like, "It runs okay on my system" or "My Pentium 4 seems to be handling it." For people to understand what that means, people reporting it's okay or bad on their system should be more specific. There's a huge range of Pentium 4's, for example. And if you don't include your CPU, RAM, and video card at the same time, it's much harder to get any value at all out of a mention of how it's doing on your system.

[/ QUOTE ]

Great point. I'll try to remember to post my system's specs tonight. From memory it is a P4 3.2G processor with 1G RAM and a 256M video card. I'll try to post specifics tonight.

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
On my third game of it.

It is so fun. It's how civ should be.

Back to playing I go.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who are you? I tried the Spanish for my first game and they were okay.

[Freakin]

I'm running it on

Asus nvidia
AMD 3500+
BFG GeForce 6800GT OC (PCI-e). Drivers are from August or so.
2GB Corsair XMS TwinX
Raptor 10k RPM HDD

I'm running it at 1920x1200, and it's flawless. It was running for about 4 hours last night without a single stutter or noticible error.

[Freakin]

I went German for my first game. I usually go with someone industrious and scientific. (which i think was roman in civ3)

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
I went German for my first game. I usually go with someone industrious and scientific. (which i think was roman in civ3)

[/ QUOTE ]

Try someone spiritual (Saladin). You can easily found 3 religions and convert everyone. Makes it easier to build up your forces and crush them later /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Freakin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went German for my first game. I usually go with someone industrious and scientific. (which i think was roman in civ3)

[/ QUOTE ]

Try someone spiritual (Saladin). You can easily found 3 religions and convert everyone. Makes it easier to build up your forces and crush them later /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I still have NO idea how religion works....

State religion, missionaries, converts, making money off it, spreading religion to your own cities, temples, mosques, all that stuff.....

Freakin

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went German for my first game. I usually go with someone industrious and scientific. (which i think was roman in civ3)

[/ QUOTE ]

Try someone spiritual (Saladin). You can easily found 3 religions and convert everyone. Makes it easier to build up your forces and crush them later /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I still have NO idea how religion works....

State religion, missionaries, converts, making money off it, spreading religion to your own cities, temples, mosques, all that stuff.....

Freakin

[/ QUOTE ]
I tend to hate religion and magic crap in video games. Please tell me it's not a significant part of the game.

[Voltron87]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went German for my first game. I usually go with someone industrious and scientific. (which i think was roman in civ3)

[/ QUOTE ]

Try someone spiritual (Saladin). You can easily found 3 religions and convert everyone. Makes it easier to build up your forces and crush them later /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I still have NO idea how religion works....

State religion, missionaries, converts, making money off it, spreading religion to your own cities, temples, mosques, all that stuff.....

Freakin

[/ QUOTE ]
I tend to hate religion and magic crap in video games. Please tell me it's not a significant part of the game.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah the religon does not sound like a good feature so far.

[Matt Flynn]

Difficult decision. I lost a semester to Civ:Call to Power.

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went German for my first game. I usually go with someone industrious and scientific. (which i think was roman in civ3)

[/ QUOTE ]

Try someone spiritual (Saladin). You can easily found 3 religions and convert everyone. Makes it easier to build up your forces and crush them later /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I still have NO idea how religion works....

State religion, missionaries, converts, making money off it, spreading religion to your own cities, temples, mosques, all that stuff.....

Freakin

[/ QUOTE ]
I tend to hate religion and magic crap in video games. Please tell me it's not a significant part of the game.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is not significant. It is one of several strategies that you can employ, but you will do fine if you chose to totally ignore it.

[Freakin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went German for my first game. I usually go with someone industrious and scientific. (which i think was roman in civ3)

[/ QUOTE ]

Try someone spiritual (Saladin). You can easily found 3 religions and convert everyone. Makes it easier to build up your forces and crush them later /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I still have NO idea how religion works....

State religion, missionaries, converts, making money off it, spreading religion to your own cities, temples, mosques, all that stuff.....

Freakin

[/ QUOTE ]
I tend to hate religion and magic crap in video games. Please tell me it's not a significant part of the game.

[/ QUOTE ]

I basically ignored it for the 4 hours i played last night. I was threatened one time to convert to taoism by the trecherous Americans, but I declined. I think it gives you specific benefits if you have different religions, and i think you get benefits from founding them. I can't really say just yet...

Freakin

[pokerdirty]

[ QUOTE ]
yeah the religon does not sound like a good feature so far.

[/ QUOTE ]

if man had only figured this out a long time ago...

[RunDownHouse]

[ QUOTE ]
I think it gives you specific benefits if you have different religions, and i think you get benefits from founding them. I can't really say just yet...

Freakin

[/ QUOTE ]
The review I read on IGN specifically stated that all religions functioned exactly the same. The only difference is the name.

[mosuavea]

So is it the consensus that a 128 meg vid card is manditory to run this even if running it at 1024*768 on a lappy with 712megs of ram and an A64 3000+?

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm running it on

Asus nvidia
AMD 3500+
BFG GeForce 6800GT OC (PCI-e). Drivers are from August or so.
2GB Corsair XMS TwinX
Raptor 10k RPM HDD

I'm running it at 1920x1200, and it's flawless. It was running for about 4 hours last night without a single stutter or noticible error.

[/ QUOTE ]

You make me cry. /images/graemlins/frown.gif That's such a beautiful system. I'd be surprised if it didn't run well on something like that.

I'm hoping my Athlon XP 3000, 128 meg ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, 1 gig of ram, and 7200 HD runs it well. I don't mind turning some graphic options down in most any game, though, if necessary.

I wonder -- does anyone find the music slows the game down for them at all? Often that happens in games, and you get a sudden boost by canning the music.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I think it gives you specific benefits if you have different religions, and i think you get benefits from founding them. I can't really say just yet...

Freakin

[/ QUOTE ]
The review I read on IGN specifically stated that all religions functioned exactly the same. The only difference is the name.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Gamespot.com review I just read said that the religion you choose determines what technologies you can build, and I think some units, too.

They gave it a 9.4 rating, btw.

[pokerdirty]

nerds.

[Blarg]

I'd be very surprised if you didn't find having a gig or more very helpful in this game. Note I don't have it yet, but this was the case with RTS games even going years back, and with Civ 2. We're up to Civ 4 already, and I'm sure the demands on systems have only gotten greater.

Any time a game has lots of units and a big map, it has a ton of stuff to put in memory. Especially considering the units aren't static, nor are the stats, like how much food you have, etc. Keeping all that info at your fingertips takes a ton of memory. I expect regular slowdowns with the gig of memory I have.

[Cancer Merchant]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm using the motherboard-embedded card that came with a Compaq. /images/graemlins/blush.gif The world map is mostly black. Leaderheads appear as eyeballs, teeth and epaulettes only (I [censored] you not.) On the plus side, Leonard Nimoy narrates, which A) is a pleasant surprise and B) is nice, because it means that Leonard Nimoy's still getting work. In short, I can't play the game, and I wonder why you guys don't have your own copy yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

This seems to be a problem with ATI cards, known as the "cheshire cat bug". There seem to be some workarounds posted on one of the freeciv Message board -- bugs (http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=170)

[mosuavea]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd be very surprised if you didn't find having a gig or more very helpful in this game. Note I don't have it yet, but this was the case with RTS games even going years back, and with Civ 2. We're up to Civ 4 already, and I'm sure the demands on systems have only gotten greater.

Any time a game has lots of units and a big map, it has a ton of stuff to put in memory. Especially considering the units aren't static, nor are the stats, like how much food you have, etc. Keeping all that info at your fingertips takes a ton of memory. I expect regular slowdowns with the gig of memory I have.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the reply. I have a home sysytem that definitely can accomodate the game, this was more for use while "working" where I have loads of down time, which is why I would like to play on the laptop. So I guess it will run, just quite slow?

[Blarg]

Don't have the game yet, but I remember Civ 2 was surprisingly slow when the game had gotten going for a while and I had to pan across maps, and at that time I had a great system and a gig of memory, back when it was sort of unusual to have that much. I'd be surprised if you don't get them, because I'm anticipating plenty of them.

[Blarg]

Check out this thread from a guy who has 512 megs, courtesy of the link from a poster above.

[ QUOTE ]
Other users are reporting the same problem. I have that problem as well.

It has been suggested that there is a memory leak in the program. I just completed a test run where I ALT-TABbed out of the game regularly to look at a CPU and memory use meter. Slowly but surely CIV4 consumes more and more RAM until the available physical RAM was exhausted. At that point the system slowed to a crawl. CIV4 was using ~400MB of RAM when it crippled the system.

I was able to terminate the program using Task Manager and then the system came back around.


[/ QUOTE ]

A memory leak is a bad, bad thing. The less memory you have, the worse.

But these things get fixed too. It just means you might start off with some frustration for a while until the fix is in. I have no idea how responsible these guys are on that kind of thing. A memory leak doesn't exactly recommend them on the responsibility front, nor does shipping without a couple features they advertise.

[Emmitt2222]

OK so my 16MB video card in my laptop is crap. I need an upgrade for p+ker anyway and I want this game. I'm looking at getting a Dell Dimension E510 with a great coupon today. Can someone tell me if these specs will work well for the game and if this system might be solid or not?


<font color="white">and 6 tabling with PT and PA at the same time </font>

Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz

1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz

256MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radean X600 SE

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
i confirmed it on my sony vaio t-250 which has cheshire cat heads and a dark terrain map showing only resources and forests. it IS a game bug of some kind. how do you know ? because there are people here using world builder to show all tiles and they can see the terrain, you couldn't do that if it was your video card.

on my laptop i did something different, i chose "pangea" land size, played the smallest map possible, with high water, all in an effort to put me on the smallest piece of real estate possible. when you do that you can see that the map is visible on part of the screen, just not where you're standing. it's a game bug!

not that any of this solves all the problems ... but the "get a new graphics card" retort might be costing some people some unnecessary money, and a lot of laptops including mine can render these graphics afterall. i thought it was weird that i could play age of empires iii and yet not be able to render these graphics. this looks like a FIXABLE bug!

[/ QUOTE ]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=d8c823546c7a14dfc2aa091b6e8d46ab&amp; t=133659

[Freakin]

Talk about poor memory management.... it was at 800MB after about 5 hours of gameplay and 90-odd modern armors roaming the screen.

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
Talk about poor memory management.... it was at 800MB after about 5 hours of gameplay and 90-odd modern armors roaming the screen.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess I'll be buying a new computer.

[obsidian]

[ QUOTE ]
OK so my 16MB video card in my laptop is crap. I need an upgrade for p+ker anyway and I want this game. I'm looking at getting a Dell Dimension E510 with a great coupon today. Can someone tell me if these specs will work well for the game and if this system might be solid or not?


<font color="white">and 6 tabling with PT and PA at the same time </font>

Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz

1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz

256MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radean X600 SE

[/ QUOTE ]
That video card is lacking. Just get the integrated and you can spend about $200 and get a Geforce 6800 which would be much better.

[Blarg]

As usual, Amazon is taking forever to ship this. It doesn't matter what mailing arrangements you make, they take three days to even get the thing out their door.

[lastchance]

[ QUOTE ]
Check out this thread from a guy who has 512 megs, courtesy of the link from a poster above.

[ QUOTE ]
Other users are reporting the same problem. I have that problem as well.

It has been suggested that there is a memory leak in the program. I just completed a test run where I ALT-TABbed out of the game regularly to look at a CPU and memory use meter. Slowly but surely CIV4 consumes more and more RAM until the available physical RAM was exhausted. At that point the system slowed to a crawl. CIV4 was using ~400MB of RAM when it crippled the system.

I was able to terminate the program using Task Manager and then the system came back around.


[/ QUOTE ]

A memory leak is a bad, bad thing. The less memory you have, the worse.

But these things get fixed too. It just means you might start off with some frustration for a while until the fix is in. I have no idea how responsible these guys are on that kind of thing. A memory leak doesn't exactly recommend them on the responsibility front, nor does shipping without a couple features they advertise.

[/ QUOTE ]
My 256 can run it, but the settings are all shot. I have a 1.67 GHZ motherboard, 256 MB of RAM, and also a GEForce 2 MX 400.

I definitely should buy some more RAM, but other than that, this game is definitely runable with my somewhat outdated computer.

[Blarg]

Cool. That's definitely an older computer for modern games. You definitely could use lots more memory, too.

I have an ATI card, and people are up in arms complaining about all kinds of problems with ATI cards. Sure hope I don't have any. I'll find out on Monday or Tuesday, I guess, when I expect it to come in. Maybe Wednesday, considering how incompetent Amazon is.

[WillMagic]

Best game ever.

Will

[BadBoyBenny]

I have very similar specs and had to adjust the default settings to make it work acceptably fast. But it should be fine for you.

[Voltron87]

I just got this. Looks good, but is there any way to speed up the gameplay? I don't care for the animations and I'm sure some of the pauses could be removed.

[RustedCorpse]

How does the multiplayer work? Does it connect to a master server or can I direct connect to a specific IP address?

[Alex/Mugaaz]

Anyone want to play PM me

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
I just got this. Looks good, but is there any way to speed up the gameplay? I don't care for the animations and I'm sure some of the pauses could be removed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do a search for the civ thread I started, after this one was made. There are a few tips there. You can edit most of the settings in notepad, like a regular .ini file. Just be sure to save it in notepad txt form of course. Also, under options in the game, both before you start and when the game is really going, you can adjust all kinds of things, visual, speed wise, etc.

That's one cool thing about the game, you can mod the hell out of it without really knowing jack. Like if you want an age to go faster or slower(say you want to spend more time in ancient before rushing up to modern), well, you can do that. You can do a lot with it.

I'm having fun with the game, but I have to admit the combat model disappoints me and I wish it weren't so rudimentary. But I think cultural, diplomatic, and domination, and space race victories are all fun. Military I just kinda put up with.

Oh, and I still suck at it. Some of these guys on the civ boards stepped into it and achieved mastery almost immediately because they've been playing the old civ games for so many years now. This is a game with a ton of stuff to learn about, so it'll be a long time till I'm even halfway decent, if I even get that far.

I've been playing everything standard, but might try for some quick games too. Sometimes an hour or two sounds pretty cool but five or six hours sounds lame.

[Ogre]

I just got this game. I havent played any civ for a few years. somebody send me a PM if they wanna pwn me or teach me how to play.

[astroglide]

a lot of things aren't clear after playing the tutorial. i'm not takling about tech tree stuff, which will be fun to explore or whatever. it's more like, 'why can't these guys join up with these guys?' and 'why do these guys attack twice?' and that sort of thing. and i'm not talking about upgraded units, just the dumb joes you first get with a barracks. i don't feel like reading the bible just to figure this stuff out, and it's the sort of thing that drives me nuts even if it doesn't seriously affect me. so i haven't played outside of the tutorial and i wonder if i ever will.

[Hamish McBagpipe]

God, your STILL going on about this game. I am so over the Civ 4 hype. I pwned this game 2 weeks ago. When's the expansion module coming out. Sick of you damn nublets.

[ilya]

IMO there's not enough of a payoff to compensate for the ludicruous amount of detail &amp; the incredibly slow pace of these games. That's why I'll always prefer abstract games like chess &amp; go. &amp; poker.

The overworld screenshot is pretty, though.

[Ogre]

i cant get this stupid game to work! i installed it and while i was launching it it said, "your movies are not installed correctly" wtf is my problem

[Blarg]

I agree that chess and go and poker are much better games. I've seen some fans say that Civ 4 is like chess or go, but more complex, and think...whaaa? Not hardly. What it has is tons of detail, but not enormous complexity. Huge difference.

I agree that the pay-off for the complexity doesn't rank it up there with chess or go or poker, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some virtues. The slow pace can be enjoyable after a teeth-gritting session of poker or a mind-frying game of Go. It does take a great deal of patience to learn all the little things about it, though, and I think most people wouldn't want to bother. Or they'd just play along happily more by the seat of their pants, like I do.

People should try the strat section of the civ 4 fanatics website. Here's a thread I found really useful, for starters:

Early rush strat (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=137557)

As to time frames, you can speed up the games so they only take a couple hours. That's really not too bad at all. A standard sized map at normal speed takes around 6 to 8-ish hours.

This might be one where it's a lot more fun played against others, too. Many computer games play almost like completely different games once you are fighting humans instead of the computer AI's.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
i cant get this stupid game to work! i installed it and while i was launching it it said, "your movies are not installed correctly" wtf is my problem

[/ QUOTE ]

Like almost all video games, they rushed this one out prematurely, and it is getting notorious for having problems with LOTS of video cards, especially ATI Radeon's. Check to be sure you have all the latest drivers on well, everything.

I'm running it great on an ATI 9800 128 meg vid card with drivers dated April 2004, but some are having trouble with much more recent cards and drivers. It seems to be kind of a matter of luck.

P.S. Check out Sulla's walkthrough on the Civ 4 fanatics site.

[ChipWrecked]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i cant get this stupid game to work! i installed it and while i was launching it it said, "your movies are not installed correctly" wtf is my problem

[/ QUOTE ]

Like almost all video games, they rushed this one out prematurely, and it is getting notorious for having problems with LOTS of video cards, especially ATI Radeon's. Check to be sure you have all the latest drivers on well, everything.

I'm running it great on an ATI 9800 128 meg vid card with drivers dated April 2004, but some are having trouble with much more recent cards and drivers. It seems to be kind of a matter of luck.



[/ QUOTE ]

This has been a problem on every Civ generation released. Alpha Centauri was notoriously buggy as well.

[Blarg]

Unfortunately, a very high percentage of games are released this way now. The review sites and mags have for the most part given up on even mentioning it for the major games, who are also their major advertisers, so releasing betas instead of finished games has become the norm. This is why I'm rarely an early adopter on games.

[ddubois]

I bought AoE3 and Civ4 at the same time last week, and I've been having so much fun with AoE3 that I haven't bothered to install Civ4 yet. I don't really have time for games that require a multi-hour commitment; I would like to, but I have wife/job/kids.

[TheCroShow]

it's tough to play a quick game of civ4, CURSE YOU CIV4!