Civ IV Lead Artist talks about his favourite artwork
(2 October 2009, 16:30 | Civ4) Steve Ogden, lead artist of Civilization IV, talks about some of his favourite civ4 artwork in a new article in Firaxis "Behind the scenes" series.
"It just said "Civ" to me – building something awesome that was going to last for ages." Ogden says about an image in the Pyramids wonder movie.

Read more about Ogden`s favourite art right here - Robert Plomp

Firaxis is "Calling All Spies!"
(28 September 2009, 16:25 | Civ4) A message was delivered, mysterious and unclear:

"A coded message has been posted on our site. Is it a contest with fabulous prizes? Decode the message and find out!

http://www.firaxis.com/community/bts_crypto.php"

This message and it`s meaning can be discussed in our forums - Robert Plomp

Patch v3.19 released for BTS!!
(11 June 2009, 12:34 | Civ4) Firaxis released the v3.19 patch for Civilization IV:Beyond the Sword today!
Unexpected but very welcome.

The complete changelist for this patch is available in our forums
Firaxian `alexman` listed some additional changes in the forums of civ fansite CivFanatics.

The patch also takes~away the need to put the Beyond the Sword CD or DVD in your computer to launch the game!

Thanks to secondsaber87 for informing us!
Discuss the news on our forums - Robert Plomp

A RELIGIOUS REVIEW
(19 July 2008, 00:21 | Civ4 | 30 comments) Jordan J. Ballor of Blogcritics magazine posted an article that reviews Civilization IV from a religious perspective. First summing up what other religious sources have said about the game, Ballor postulates:

Indeed, while Civ IV deserves praise for integrating non-material elements like religion and culture into the game play, in the end these pieces suffer the same fate as the rest of the game`s components. Civ IV, ultimately, is less about the development of civilization than it is about the expansion of imperial tyranny.

He continues to explain what role religion plays in the game but how in the end it still boils down to conquer[ing] your opponents, by any means necessary.

The author concludes the the game`s popularity is well deserved as it taps in to a fundamental human drive for dominance in a way that promotes critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. He compliments the interface while taking issue with the repetive nature of the gameplay and some of its bugs, as well as the underwhelming graphics. Overall the author considers it a suberb game though, but the adeptness with which it meets the deepest human desires for power and control teaches us as much about ourselves as it does about the progressive unfolding of history.

Read the full two-page review on the Blogcritics site. - Locutus

BTS PATCH 3.17 OUT NOW!!!
(18 June 2008, 22:53 | Civ4 | 104 comments) Firaxis Games, producers of Civilization 4 and Civilization 4:Beyond the Sword, have released a new update to their title Civ4:Beyond the Sword. This patch updates Civ4: Beyond the Sword to version 3.17 and should supersede all other patches. It corrects many bugs, including those corrected in Bhruic`s unofficial patch, and also contains many enhancements and balances based on fan feedback.

You can download the official patch in one of several places, depending on which version of the game you have.

If you have the retail (boxed- CD/DVD) version, you may download the patch from Apolyton`s servers, a 168 MB download. You may also obtain the patch by logging into Civ4`s multiplayer Gamespy service, which will prompt you to patch automatically.
If you use a game purchased on Steam, do not install these files; Steam will automatically update you if you have it set to do so, or you may choose to update from the Steam client.
If you purchased the game from Direct2Drive, you may download the update from their website. The Direct2Drive patch is somewhat larger at about 258 MB.

Please ensure you are downloading the correct patch for the game you are playing, as otherwise it could render your game unplayable.

Further details, and a full changelog, may be found in the forum thread. - snoopy369

RTW ADDON PACK 2 AVAILABLE NOW
(15 April 2008, 09:27 | Civ4 | 32 comments) Apolyton Civilization Site is pleased to announce that Dale "Dale" Kent has released an expansion to his highly popular mod, The Road to War: RTW Add-on Pack 2!

With a recorded 90,000+ downloads (from all sources) the Road to War has become the second most popular mod for Civilization IV! Join the war and rewrite history today!

There have been a great many changes in the Road to War over the last six months. The changes are so comprehensive that no definitive change list exists. However, you will notice differences in every aspect of the game.

Some of the major noticeable changes include: new maps, new events, new wars and much much more!

The Add-on Pack 2 rounds off the Road to War mod to be the most complete World War II mod available.


Add-On Pack 2 is available at the RTW Homepage as a 410MB download. It is a full install and replaces any previous installation. RTW Add-on Pack 2 requires BTS with the 3.13 patch. - snoopy369