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I started nerding back out with Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword. This is an excellent add-on that really adds a lot of stuff to keep the game interesting while you are grinding away.

You can get both on Steam for $40, which is a great deal.

There is also an excellent fan forum: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

would this work on Windows 7 if I bought it from Steam? I have the original and Warlords in CD form and Windows 7 will not let them run

Hi hoos!

...I miss homeless shirtless hoos...

I like Civ 4 Revolutions on the PS3 but the time constraints annoy the feck outta me.

Yeah, I also wish they had some of the scenarios from IV and Warlords

I just picked up the Civ IV bundle from the Steam EOY sale for $10 with all the addons. Ive never played a Civ addon before, not sure what to expect really. Will probably give it a shot this weekend.

Reviving a long-dead thread here, but I've had Civ VI on my Steam wish list for quite some time and saw that it's on sale for like 8 bucks, so I'm planning on picking it up. I know that Civ VII also released earlier this year. Any fans of Civ present in the audience?

I tried one of them a long time ago, could not get into it at the time. I can't remember what is was like now though it's been that long.

I do own V & VI, but I've only ever played VI.

Unless you count Revolutions for console back in the day.

What are your tips for a complete Civ noob, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]? I've played some RTS in the past, but I recognize this is quite different.

I'm am awful at Civ, really any turn based games like them too. If you find any good tips, share 'em with me?

Hehe, will do! I've heard it described as a board game on the computer. Since I love board games, hopefully I'll be able to pick up some sort of strategy, but to be honest steep learning curves often keep me away from trying things. We'll see what happens with this, though!

The last Civ game I played was 5, had more time in 3 and 4. I think saying it plays like a board game is a good analogy - things move at a slow pace and there's a lot of depth. I think the biggest factor in my enjoyment of large-scale strategy is to not worry about winning or getting good at it, but falling into the fantasy of building a nation from scratch and seeing the rewards and consequences of your choices!

Charlie wrote:

I think the biggest factor in my enjoyment of large-scale strategy is to not worry about winning or getting good at it, but falling into the fantasy of building a nation from scratch and seeing the rewards and consequences of your choices!

I was just talking about this similarly in the Red Dead Thread, how important it is to enjoy games for themselves, not just to complete a goal or feeling accomplished. I struggle to not let this bleed into my gaming (and other free time activities), which I wish I didn't do so much. Appreciating the intrinsic value of a game and the setting it puts you in is what it's all about. I hope to take on the persona of the nation builder over time with this game, or of being a cowboy in RDR, but I often find myself as I've gotten older getting too mixed up in the game-based objectives than really getting immersed. There's a reason I haven't touched Crusader Kings, even though it seems interesting, it seems to loosely structured for me that I feel like I would need someone or the game to be telling me what I should be trying to do the whole time. Just going at it for the heck of it isn't usually how I play games, but I want to do more to appreciate games for their own intrinsic value, not just the instrumental value of making me feel like I've accomplished something or did something meaningful with my time.

TLDR; looking forward to playing this and enjoying it for what it is!

Charlitos wrote:

I often find myself as I've gotten older getting too mixed up in the game-based objectives than really getting immersed.

To be fair, that seems to be a surefire design strategy to keep players engaged so I wouldn't be surprised if that's a common sentiment in modern gaming. 4x / grand-strategy feels a bit untouched by that design since it's a bit niche, though there are still plenty of players who's sole objective is to simply 'win'. One thing you can do is set up your own objectives to follow, but of course that requires an understanding as to what you can actually do in the game. To start off, you could say that you're going to be completely pacifist, or you'll go to war with any nation that disrespects you. Or if you know any history, you can try and follow the path that your nation had irl. Give yourself some rules to follow and the game may open up from there

Also, from my little time in CK2, it's absolutely overwhelming the amount of stuff you can do, but it's perfect for that kinda gameplay once you're comfortable with it. I played the Game of Thrones mod and did a few "what-if" campaigns, of making all the opposite choices that were made in the books.

Finally got to try it out, and had a total blast! General game mechanics weren't as complex as I was expecting, and any questions I did have I was able to find answers to quickly.

I appreciate the balance in the game of different strategies actually being viable. I often feel like through my experience in RTS games or grand strategy games in general there may be multiple options to succeed, but conquest is really the only way forward. We'll see how true this really is for Civ VI as I continue playing, but I was pleasantly surprised by my first impression. Again, I'm trying to be intentional about not making my enjoyment of the game all about winning, but I'm still setting some goals of success for myself.

My wife even got in on the action and watched me play/helped me think through some of the decisions, which is always a plus when there's games we can do together, even to this degree! 4X games always make me geek out about history and society building. Definitely in one of those stages right now

Nice!! That's so good to hear. I've always been under the impression that Civ is designed to be a good pacifist experience with different ways to achieve success, which is great. Definitely adds a lot of variety (plus if you're a history geek then added bonus!)

How do you find the AI empires? Do they feel natural/interesting? That seems to often be the biggest challenge for a game like this.

Still yet to complete my first full game apart from the tutorial, so I don't have a great gauge on the AI mechanics yet or how they feel. So far I haven't noticed much of a difference between one from the others based on their actions. I'm playing on the normal (Prince) difficulty. I'd be curious to see how much an increased difficulty level leads to different leaders leveraging their special bonuses more heavily. I also have had no diplomacy experience so far, so will hopefully get a better sense of their differences through that as I play too. I definitely agree with the problem of AI empires feeling the same in these sorts of games, which is disappointing if you're trying to get that more historical experience which I'm sure lots of players want.