Is there a list of all the changes implemented with the Beyond the Sword expansion. I've been playing FFH for a while now, but have not got around to buying BtS. I was just wondering if there is a list somewhere of all the changes made, without having to read every changelog between 0.23 and 0.31.

Don't know for FFH, but vanilla Civ versus BtS is a world of difference... reams of content, all sorts of new features. Unique buildings, lots of new civilizations, new wonders, new units, espionage...

If you ever play unmodded Civ, the upgrade is very recommendable.

I think the closest you would come is to read the manual. Won't tell you precisely the differences, but will tell you precisely what the current status is.

Anyone know of the major changes then? For instance, I read that apparently magic was changed, but I don't know if what version it was changed so I don't know where to look it up.

I would definitely recommend the upgrade.
I think playability as well as content has increased A LOT. i mean, we added and removed a lot of features to increase fun and atmosphere, we improved graphics and gameplay as well.

So, I think it is hard to list all changes, but as xienwolf stated, the manual will show you whats in now, for comparison.

Does it really matter?

Bottom line is there's been new content, balance changes, etc. And new content and more balance changes are still coming out (a patch is due this Friday, for instance). If you're satisfied with 0.23, great, keep playing. If you'd like a more recent version, get the upgrade.

If money is the issue, it's available on Bittorrent. Not that I'd advise doing anything illegal, of course. You could always Torrent it and then, like, actually pay for it if it delivers.

See, the thing is I play with a group of 5 people. So I was looking for something to tell them about to try to convince them that the upgrade would be worth it.

That brings up a side question. If I bought the BtS and installed it, would I still have the option of playing regular Civ IV?

yes you would
it uses different discs to play and BTS makes itself a nice little folder inside the cIV folder

Yep you could still play regular civ4 if you have BTS they have two different exe files.

EDIT: darn ninjaposted by civ king.

Off the top of my head major changes:
Sorcery and summoning merged
New civs - sidar and svalfatfar

Council of Esus and Empyrean are both added religions as well.

Plus the Over/Undercouncil & Shadow/Sun mana.

Being able to still play vanilla will make it worthwhile. I'm waiting for a "Civ Complete" with revolutions and the other add ons.

There is a CivComplete but it only has bts/warlords/vanilla.

Being able to still play vanilla will make it worthwhile. I'm waiting for a "Civ Complete" with revolutions and the other add ons.

revolutions is essentially a dummed down console version of Civ without access to mods.... In terms of the best possible civ experience, BTS is it for a good long while (Until Civ V).

Being able to still play vanilla will make it worthwhile. I'm waiting for a "Civ Complete" with revolutions and the other add ons.

Civilization Revolution isn't an expansion pack, and it isn't for PC, only consoles (as far as I know).

Just in case you mean the Revolution mod (which I doubt), it's freely available on civfanatics for BtS, and is a definite improvement over vanilla BtS, but nowhere close to FFH.

That brings up a side question. If I bought the BtS and installed it, would I still have the option of playing regular Civ IV?Yes, but why on earth would you want to? BtS has a lot of stuff that really should have been in the basic game, such as Great Commanders, which were in Civ III and mysteriously got taken out of the base game, only to be added in the expansion. Money grab much?

From what I recall, Civ 4 is done by a completely different group than all the previous Civ's woere done by. And they decided to write it from scratch, instead of just altering previous code to bring it up to the latest Tech Spec and add enough features to attract the fans. Thus it would be quite easy to wind up with a LOT of things cut out of it, if the team evaluated it as not being worthwhile/fun. Then bring it back if all the fans complain too much about how great it really had been.

Great Commanders weren't in Civ III, Civ IV, or BtS. Great Commanders are the FfH specific unit. Civ III had great leaders that were called just that, but they weren't handled nearly in the same way as the Great Generals of BtS.

Civ III had great leaders, but they operated completely differently.

Civ IV is a complete redesign. It made possible things like == mods!

Feh. There were mods in Civ II.

Okay, none were as good as FFH (although Midgard was pretty fun), but still. What's new is the ease of making huge changes to the code, adding new features, etc.

midgard was awesome heh

To answer the "Why would you want to?" question, it is because I very much enjoy playing multiplayer with my friends, and I know that if even the littlest thing gets changed, we wont be able to play together.

Yeah, but you can keep the old version of the mod, and play that with others if they don't upgrade, so long as you hang on to your current civ 4 disc and don't delete the mod folder. So if you have the $, we all recommend it. Eventually your friends will upgrade too. ;)

BtS also runs better.

If you play Vanilla you should play v 1.21 IMO, which is to this day the best FFH version ever in terms of gameplay. The latest versions of BtS are improving though.