Retro Game Walkthroughs for Civilization IV (PC Games)
Submitted By: oooooooooo
This walkthrough is of my own work. Machie.
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CIVILIZATION IV
===================
This is the 4th and latest game in the Civilization series. I have been playing the Civilization games since the first, which came out in 1991. With each generation the graphics and gameplay improved greatly and this was no exception for the 4th installment. The makers of the game seem to know just what the fans want in the game and it's great to see they deliver it. Even after all these years Civilization 4 holds up the reputation of being an extremely addictive game that you can continue to play for many many years. Now that's real value for money.
===================
PATCHES
===================
Since it came out in late 2005 there have been several patches released to help improve the games stability. It is very important that you download the patches as quite a lot of bugs and errors have been fixed and the game doesn't eat use up so much memory. So for your own benefit visit the Civilization website and download the latest patch.
===================
SELECT A CIVILIZATION & LEADER
===================
To begin you need to choose a civilization and a leader, in Civ4 there are even more to choose from. They're all quite different and have their own strength and weaknesses. Look at the traits and starting technology of each and see which one suits you best. There are no 'best civilizations' so I can't tell you who to choose.
There are many different traits and which one you choose depends on what you intend to do in the game. If you want to fight and conquer then you might like 'Genghis Khan' of the 'Mongolians'. His traits are 'Expansive' and 'Aggressive' which would be perfect for expanding your civilization and having a strong military power. However if you want a more peaceful and religious game then perhaps 'Gandhi' of the 'Indians' would work well. His traits are 'Industrious' and 'Spiritual', so along with religion you could have a huge cultural civilization.
Some of the civilizations get a good headstart with the technology they begin with, such as 'Mysticism' by the Indians. With this they'll be quick to discover new religions which would be a great culture boost for them at the beginning of the game. Others might start with hunting which would bring in more food and commerce which would also be a make a good start provided their our resourses around your first settlement.
===================
WORLD MAP
===================
This is where you choose the world your civilization lives in. You have even more choices in this new game so it'll give you the chance to experience different types of gameplays because of the terrain.
If you choose 'Continents' then there might be groups of civilizations on the same island. This is great if you want to interact with other civs, whether peacefully or starting wars. However if the World you select is small then you might end up on a continent all on your own. Although this will allow you to grow it does mean you won't have the benefit of sharing knowledge/trade with other civilizations.
So it's up to you how you want to play the game. The larger the world the longer the game seems because the area is so vast it takes quite a long time to cover it all. Especially if you want to destroy all the civilizations.
===================
GETTING STARTED
===================
When the game starts and you finally have control of your units. It might be a good idea to find a good location to build your first Town. I know it's tempting to build it straight away but if there are better resouces just a move or two away then you'll get a better headstart. Building your Town near a river or sea could also be quite important to your Town's growth so use the scout to explore a little.
Deeping what difficult setting you have the game on, it might be wise to build a warrior or better military unit as soon as possible. You don't want to leave your Town undefended. It might be a good idea to send your scout out, just a little. To examine the rest of your surrounding. Perhaps there might be a few villages, or you might find some good location for a second town that has lots of useful resources, or perhaps you might run into another civilization.
Once you've built your warrior unit fortify him in your town and start production on a worker unit. You'll be able to use it to build roads and depending on your starting technology build irrigation or with 'Hunting' take advantage of any wildlife resources around you.
With the technology it's up to you what you want to study. If you want to discover a religion then you might want to go for the ones that will lead to them, hopefully you'll be faster than the others. Discovering a religion can increase culture a lot in your Town which would be a nice big boost but you won't be able to spread your religion until a little later in the game when you've met other Civilizations. If you want a good military power than go for the ones that will give you an advantage. It might be good to take out any civilizations too close to you now while they're still young.
If you can, set your science output as high as possible without losing any money, this will give you a good headstart. You'll want to get as much technology as possible. In one of my previous games, I was using tanks and helicopters while other civilizations were still using Riflemen.
Culture and trade is very important so try to link up all your cities together and link up to any other civilization. This will boost trade and encourage good relations.
If you want a live a peaceful existance, try to befriend some of the more larger civilizations. However if you want total power and to dominate the rest of the civs you might want to take any action against civilizations who are getting too big for your liking. You might want to take them out sooner rather than later when they might become a thread to you.
So try to build a good number of cities, but spread out a little to maximise resources. Try to discover a religion and spread it. Trade with other civilizations and try to keep them happy. Keep a good number of units defending your cities and have a few workers ready to do any rebuilding.
===================
TIPS
===================
- Unlike other civilizations games, the one with the most cities doesnt mean they're the most powerful. A civilization with 20 very good cities would be more than a match for a civilization with 40 weak cities. So yes try and get a good number of cities but don't go nuts. Work on improving the ones you have an not starting new ones.
- Space out your cities so that they can use up all the resources around them. Having the so close will make the cities a little weaker.
- Always keep workers ready, barbarians and any enemy civilizations will totally destroy your roads, irrigation, everything. You'll need to rebuild them as soon as possible.
- You MUST keep atleast 3 powerful defensive units in each city. Not only will this make your population feel more secure but like you the enemy will be able to see which is your weakest city and attack that. If you have barbarians set on high then you'll really feel the pressure as the higher the setting the more attacks which can get a little tough.
- Exchange and trade as much as possible. Whether this is with trade or technology, though think first before you do it. You don't want to give away important resources to civilizations you might want to invade later on in the game. Same with technology, if you're working on a world wonder, you don't want to give away the technology and let other Civs try and build it too.
- Build up armies before you start any wars. They'll start attacking you whether you're ready or not, so prepare yourself. You'll want attacking, defending and artillery units together. Catapults and cannons are great at doing damage to a city or the units inside it. The defending units will protect all the units while the attacking units will kill off what's left from the catapult and cannon attacks.
- If you have a religion spread it to as many civilizations as you can. If rivial religions are spreading, it might be good to try and convert them, and if you can't you could start a holy war and use the civilizations of your faith to destroy the ones who arent. Spreading your religion is a great way to improve your culture, finance and relationship with other civs.
===================
FINAL WORD
===================
Okay I've provided lots of useful tips but there's still so much to learn about the game, but I feel it's best that you learn it from experience. Civ4 is a very addictive game so try not to play it for long periods of time and take a break once in awhile. Oh and make sure to save often. Thanks
----------
===================
CIVILIZATION IV
===================
This is the 4th and latest game in the Civilization series. I have been playing the Civilization games since the first, which came out in 1991. With each generation the graphics and gameplay improved greatly and this was no exception for the 4th installment. The makers of the game seem to know just what the fans want in the game and it's great to see they deliver it. Even after all these years Civilization 4 holds up the reputation of being an extremely addictive game that you can continue to play for many many years. Now that's real value for money.
===================
PATCHES
===================
Since it came out in late 2005 there have been several patches released to help improve the games stability. It is very important that you download the patches as quite a lot of bugs and errors have been fixed and the game doesn't eat use up so much memory. So for your own benefit visit the Civilization website and download the latest patch.
===================
SELECT A CIVILIZATION & LEADER
===================
To begin you need to choose a civilization and a leader, in Civ4 there are even more to choose from. They're all quite different and have their own strength and weaknesses. Look at the traits and starting technology of each and see which one suits you best. There are no 'best civilizations' so I can't tell you who to choose.
There are many different traits and which one you choose depends on what you intend to do in the game. If you want to fight and conquer then you might like 'Genghis Khan' of the 'Mongolians'. His traits are 'Expansive' and 'Aggressive' which would be perfect for expanding your civilization and having a strong military power. However if you want a more peaceful and religious game then perhaps 'Gandhi' of the 'Indians' would work well. His traits are 'Industrious' and 'Spiritual', so along with religion you could have a huge cultural civilization.
Some of the civilizations get a good headstart with the technology they begin with, such as 'Mysticism' by the Indians. With this they'll be quick to discover new religions which would be a great culture boost for them at the beginning of the game. Others might start with hunting which would bring in more food and commerce which would also be a make a good start provided their our resourses around your first settlement.
===================
WORLD MAP
===================
This is where you choose the world your civilization lives in. You have even more choices in this new game so it'll give you the chance to experience different types of gameplays because of the terrain.
If you choose 'Continents' then there might be groups of civilizations on the same island. This is great if you want to interact with other civs, whether peacefully or starting wars. However if the World you select is small then you might end up on a continent all on your own. Although this will allow you to grow it does mean you won't have the benefit of sharing knowledge/trade with other civilizations.
So it's up to you how you want to play the game. The larger the world the longer the game seems because the area is so vast it takes quite a long time to cover it all. Especially if you want to destroy all the civilizations.
===================
GETTING STARTED
===================
When the game starts and you finally have control of your units. It might be a good idea to find a good location to build your first Town. I know it's tempting to build it straight away but if there are better resouces just a move or two away then you'll get a better headstart. Building your Town near a river or sea could also be quite important to your Town's growth so use the scout to explore a little.
Deeping what difficult setting you have the game on, it might be wise to build a warrior or better military unit as soon as possible. You don't want to leave your Town undefended. It might be a good idea to send your scout out, just a little. To examine the rest of your surrounding. Perhaps there might be a few villages, or you might find some good location for a second town that has lots of useful resources, or perhaps you might run into another civilization.
Once you've built your warrior unit fortify him in your town and start production on a worker unit. You'll be able to use it to build roads and depending on your starting technology build irrigation or with 'Hunting' take advantage of any wildlife resources around you.
With the technology it's up to you what you want to study. If you want to discover a religion then you might want to go for the ones that will lead to them, hopefully you'll be faster than the others. Discovering a religion can increase culture a lot in your Town which would be a nice big boost but you won't be able to spread your religion until a little later in the game when you've met other Civilizations. If you want a good military power than go for the ones that will give you an advantage. It might be good to take out any civilizations too close to you now while they're still young.
If you can, set your science output as high as possible without losing any money, this will give you a good headstart. You'll want to get as much technology as possible. In one of my previous games, I was using tanks and helicopters while other civilizations were still using Riflemen.
Culture and trade is very important so try to link up all your cities together and link up to any other civilization. This will boost trade and encourage good relations.
If you want a live a peaceful existance, try to befriend some of the more larger civilizations. However if you want total power and to dominate the rest of the civs you might want to take any action against civilizations who are getting too big for your liking. You might want to take them out sooner rather than later when they might become a thread to you.
So try to build a good number of cities, but spread out a little to maximise resources. Try to discover a religion and spread it. Trade with other civilizations and try to keep them happy. Keep a good number of units defending your cities and have a few workers ready to do any rebuilding.
===================
TIPS
===================
- Unlike other civilizations games, the one with the most cities doesnt mean they're the most powerful. A civilization with 20 very good cities would be more than a match for a civilization with 40 weak cities. So yes try and get a good number of cities but don't go nuts. Work on improving the ones you have an not starting new ones.
- Space out your cities so that they can use up all the resources around them. Having the so close will make the cities a little weaker.
- Always keep workers ready, barbarians and any enemy civilizations will totally destroy your roads, irrigation, everything. You'll need to rebuild them as soon as possible.
- You MUST keep atleast 3 powerful defensive units in each city. Not only will this make your population feel more secure but like you the enemy will be able to see which is your weakest city and attack that. If you have barbarians set on high then you'll really feel the pressure as the higher the setting the more attacks which can get a little tough.
- Exchange and trade as much as possible. Whether this is with trade or technology, though think first before you do it. You don't want to give away important resources to civilizations you might want to invade later on in the game. Same with technology, if you're working on a world wonder, you don't want to give away the technology and let other Civs try and build it too.
- Build up armies before you start any wars. They'll start attacking you whether you're ready or not, so prepare yourself. You'll want attacking, defending and artillery units together. Catapults and cannons are great at doing damage to a city or the units inside it. The defending units will protect all the units while the attacking units will kill off what's left from the catapult and cannon attacks.
- If you have a religion spread it to as many civilizations as you can. If rivial religions are spreading, it might be good to try and convert them, and if you can't you could start a holy war and use the civilizations of your faith to destroy the ones who arent. Spreading your religion is a great way to improve your culture, finance and relationship with other civs.
===================
FINAL WORD
===================
Okay I've provided lots of useful tips but there's still so much to learn about the game, but I feel it's best that you learn it from experience. Civ4 is a very addictive game so try not to play it for long periods of time and take a break once in awhile. Oh and make sure to save often. Thanks