Civilization 4

[Darren S]

All I can say is that if you're a fan of any of the previous three games - you need to get this. They've done a massive overhaul on the graphics engine (not that the screenies below prove that much) and the sound effects and music are fantastic.

The AI players are a lot more devious now and get very edgey when you ally with the 'wrong' nation. Religion is incoporated into the game now and on a whole, they've made the good things within Civ3 that much better.

I'm currently playing as the Persians - have just introduced Islam and bureaucracy and am the most powerful nation in the game. All that's a cover though. I keep bullying the other nations, yet have the military equivalent of pea-shooters, should they turn around and have a go. Hopefully, they won't find out...

D.

 

[Griff]

How easy is it for someone who's never played any of the previous games to pick up? It's not going to take weeks to master is it?

 

[Darren S]

Griff - that's the clever bit of the game, m8. You can make it as easy or as difficult as you like. Want to win by peace, love and tree hugging. You can do it. Want to be a total military despot mad-b*****d. Fine.

There are loads of background options in the game - finance, politics, research etc that by default are ticked to auto-manage. Obviously, if you untick them, it's up to you to intervene.

It's not the easiest game to pick up and play straight away, I'll admit, but its worth it. The tutorials are excellent too.

D.

 

[Griff]

I might give it a try then via Mr Newshosting..

I've played Age of Empires 3 and got to grips with that so hopefully this wont be too hard.

 

[Lee]

I've got more than enough games to keep me going at the moment.

F.E.A.R, Call of Duty 2 and Quake 4 are all getting installed as I type. Not sure which to play first. Think it's going to be F.E.A.R.

 

[Darren S]

Lee - I've got CoD2 as well. Not tried it yet though.....

Far too many games. Far too little time....

Griff - if you can handle AoE3, then you should have little trouble with it!

D.

 

[Griff]

Lee if you like COD try the new Brothers in Arms game, Earned in Blood.

As for fear I'm struggling with a Athlon 64 3400 (clawhammer), 1gig of PC3200 and a 6800GT (@Ultra) Think it's one of those games that really needs 2gig to play properly.

 

[Lee]

Stop suggesting more games. I'll never leave the house at this rate. lol

I think I'm going to play F.E.A.R first then maybe a little Q4 Deathmatch. I'll email me save games home as usual so I can play at home and work.

 

[seb]

what spec do you need for civ 4?

 

[Griff]

what spec do you need for civ 4?

Minimum System Requirements

Operating System:

Windows� 2000/XP Processor:

1.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent Memory:

256 MB RAM (Windows 2000) / 512 MB RAM (Windows XP)

Hard Disk Space:

1.7 GB Free

CD-ROM Drive :

4X Speed Video:

DirectX 9.0c-compatible 64 MB video card with Hardware T&L support ( GeForce 2/Radeon 7500 or better)

Sound:

DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card

DirectX®:

DirectX® version 9.0c (included) or higher



Recommended System Requirements

Operating System:

Windows� 2000/XP Processor:

1.8 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent

Memory:

512 MB RAM

Hard Disk Space:

1.7 GB Free

CD-ROM Drive :

4X Speed Video:

128 MB Video Card w/ DirectX 8 support (pixel & vertex shaders)

Sound:

DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card

DirectX®:

DirectX® version 9.0c (included) or higher



Supported Operating Systems

Windows 2000

Service Pack 1 or higher WITH Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher Windows XP

Home or Professional w/ Service Pack 1 or higher




It is very important that you ensure that you are using the latest drivers and versions of all of your software. While doing this you might encounter some specific conflicts with the minimum specifications for Civ4.

For example, if you have an ATI video card and you are using Windows XP you must (it says recommends but when problems are present and no solutions present themselves it is sometimes necessary to make recommended a requirement) have Service Pack 2 installed to meet the requirements of the ATI driver.

 

[seb]

i've got a 1.4gig athlon, 256 ram and 256 geforce fx 5200 card.

prob run very poorly!

 

[Darren S]

Seb - it will probably be your memory amount that will be the biggest issue, m8. It sounds like Civ4 creates a HOOOGE disk cache when you're playing. The only game that ties up the hard drive for similar periods when I exit is Battlefield 2 - and I know that 1GB is a realistic bare minimum for that...

D.

 

[seb]

for example i play generals-zero hour and that can occasionally freeze fro a few seconds and takes quite a while to shut down to get back to windows.

so would some more memory sort it out for a bit and make civ 4 more playable?

 

[Darren S]

It would certainly help - all other things keeping the same. I'd hazard a guess you're running with PC2100 memory on your PC from the spec you mentioned? That stuff's dirt cheap at the moment - 512MB is around £30 and probably less from some places.

Do you know the exact make and model of your motherboard?

D.

 

[seb]

^^dunno i love technology but i have no idea what its all about. i had to replace the fan box thing in the computer and that was tricky enough! only a few cables.

any way i can find out by typng something into my computer?

 

[JoelDee]

What kind of games that fear, keep hearing them talking about it on the radio is it any good?

 

[Griff]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=8143&type=mov

 

[Darren S]

Rather than do a new thread, I thought I'd rehash an old one!

Civ 4 Complete, which includes the main game plus the two expansion packs is now available from Play at £4.99. Deep, deep game - but easily customizable to make it as easy as you want....

http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/3439123/Sid-Meier-Civilization-IV-Complete-Edition/Product.html

Perfect to buy for yourself - but at this time of year, a great cheap pressie for someone if you know they are a strategy fan. Even if they aren't, this might just change their minds!

D.