Going back... Civ IV or V??

Dr. D said:

Typically they have a week of sales in which games are at a reduced price, and then one of those days it will be one of their deals of the day (actually 48 hours) at the lowest price available... could be Monday, could be Friday so you have to check each day. Someone always mentions it on the forums here too so keep on the lookout once the sales roll around.

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Alright! Thanks!

I think at this point Civ 5 with all the expansions is a better game.

Unlike some I think one UPT is a much more fun system, and I think the global happiness system (while I wasn't too fond of it at first) is better than the old system, since it means there is actual strategy instead of just city spamming. It also means you are much more dependent on foreign trade like in real life which forces you to make some interesting decisions. Same thing with culture policies.

Overall I think Civ 5 with all expansions is the better game.

hardcore_gamer said:

I think at this point Civ 5 with all the expansions is a better game.

Unlike some I think one UPT is a much more fun system, and I think the global happiness system (while I wasn't too fond of it at first) is better than the old system, since it means there is actual strategy instead of just city spamming. It also means you are much more dependent on foreign trade like in real life which forces you to make some interesting decisions. Same thing with culture policies.

Overall I think Civ 5 with all expansions is the better game.

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I agree with this. I also think it is aesthetically more beautiful. I cannot see myself going back to IV.

^^huh... The tourism feel is really cool. The ideologies like order illuminati autocracy and freedom are also better particularly in bnw where there's more social policies and trade routes that came back.

rschissler said:

I don't know what you mean by native version, but that resolution is available in the Options-Graphics menu.

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Really? All the screen shots on steam for CIV IV are 4:3 aspect ratio.


PS: Interesting that I don't see a 'CIV IV complete'. They want $35 for the game and both x-packs. Seems pretty pricey for a ten year old game.

Sherlock said:

Really? All the screen shots on steam for CIV IV are 4:3 aspect ratio.


PS: Interesting that I don't see a 'CIV IV complete'. They want $35 for the game and both x-packs. Seems pretty pricey for a ten year old game.

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You can pick them up for cheaper than that (I think) when they go for 66%-75% off once every like 1-2 weeks.

O RLY? Whaddaya call this?

Play some Civ IV, Civ V G&K, Civ V BNW, mods, EU4, etc. Don't limit yourself.

They are different games. In Civ V, you will build a relatively small empire; often no more than 4 cities you found yourself. Fewer units, but very interesting promotions, and religion gives another set of decisions to make. The social policies and ideologies are like a ratchet, in that once you adopt them one does not usually un-adopt them. Winning by conquest means capturing specific cities, not the whole map.

In Civ IV, you can build dozens of cities, hundreds of units, and sweep across large swaths of land. Civics and religions can be adopted, later switched, as the game situation changes. Having sliders for adjusting science, culture, and espionage is viewed by some as un-fun micromanaging, and viewed by others as necessary levers of power and sources of interesting decisions.

vorlon_mi said:

They are different games. In Civ V, you will build a relatively small empire; often no more than 4 cities you found yourself. Fewer units, but very interesting promotions, and religion gives another set of decisions to make. The social policies and ideologies are like a ratchet, in that once you adopt them one does not usually un-adopt them. Winning by conquest means capturing specific cities, not the whole map.

In Civ IV, you can build dozens of cities, hundreds of units, and sweep across large swaths of land. Civics and religions can be adopted, later switched, as the game situation changes. Having sliders for adjusting science, culture, and espionage is viewed by some as un-fun micromanaging, and viewed by others as necessary levers of power and sources of interesting decisions.

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Really?

In all my Civ V games Ive built way over 4 cities - cant help myself. And Id recommend Civ V over Civ IV at this stage - Id never go back to Civ IV now.

vorlon_mi said:

They are different games. In Civ V, you will build a relatively small empire; often no more than 4 cities you found yourself. Fewer units, but very interesting promotions, and religion gives another set of decisions to make. The social policies and ideologies are like a ratchet, in that once you adopt them one does not usually un-adopt them. Winning by conquest means capturing specific cities, not the whole map.

In Civ IV, you can build dozens of cities, hundreds of units, and sweep across large swaths of land. Civics and religions can be adopted, later switched, as the game situation changes. Having sliders for adjusting science, culture, and espionage is viewed by some as un-fun micromanaging, and viewed by others as necessary levers of power and sources of interesting decisions.

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The amusing thing for me is that my own experiences were the complete opposite of this. When I tried to play Civ IV, my empires collapsed as soon as I tried to expand past three or four cities. On the other hand, playing Civ V I've been able to make sprawling empires with much greater ease.

i kept missing civ iv at first after playing civ v complete. until i tried civ iv for nostalgia and found i just didnt enjoy it as much as civ v! i was surprised, but everyone is different. if you can then i say get both and play civ iv first, then play civ v. you might prefer to play one over the other, or just play whichever suits your mood at the time. if you have both you have options.

Allright, here we go.. Sale on Steam now.. 14,99EUR for the Complete Edition..

http://store.steampowered.com/app/8930/?snr=1_7_7_204_150_2

Should I hold on until the last day of the sale? Do you think they'll drop it further?

-75% is the lowest it usually goes, dont know how much it means in euros. But it was at -75% a few days ago, probably need to wait holiday sales for another -75%.

Acken said:

-75% is the lowest it usually goes, dont know how much it means in euros. But it was at -75% a few days ago, probably need to wait holiday sales for another -75%.

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It was?? How could I miss it!!!! Been looking every day, or every other at minimum!

Unless there's a difference from one region to the other

Acken said:

Unless there's a difference from one region to the other

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Dang it. OK, guess I'll pick it up tomorrow.. 50% is decent too.

windh said:

Dang it. OK, guess I'll pick it up tomorrow.. 50% is decent too.

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Make that Today..

I've had a long and rather intermittent history with Civ, starting with Civ 3 which was also when I was most active and played on the highest difficulty levels.

When both 4 and 5 were released them, I picked them up briefly and played them, but never conquered the highest difficulty levels, mainly due to RL time constraints and also WoW leaching my time.

I now have some more time to invest back into Civ and wanted to get the community's opinion on which game I should focus on. I bought and briefly played BE, but I like the historical aspect of Civ to make it my "main" game.

Here are some of my thoughts that I would appreciate guidance/input on for both games:

Civ 5:
-"New" factor; there's no denying the allure of superior graphics
-1UPT; does this make Civ 5 too easy? If I have a decent amount of skill will I find 5 boring?
-Steam support; how important is this, especially in terms of ease/access to mods for increased replay value?

Civ 4:
-Proactive gameplay (per Sullla's excellent Civ 5 review)
-Community attention; could I hop into SG's if I so desired, or is the focus on the newer games?

These are just some initial thoughts. Obviously I haven't played either extensively lately, which is why I'm asking these questions, so your input is appreciated!

Civ 5:
-"New" factor; there's no denying the allure of superior graphics

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The graphics are more "grown up", but as we all know, its the gameplay that really matters...

-1UPT; does this make Civ 5 too easy? If I have a decent amount of skill will I find 5 boring?

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The highest difficulty levels on 5 should provide as much of a challenge as on the past iterations. There are enough levels and mod ability to find your "sweet spot" relative to difficulty.

-Steam support; how important is this, especially in terms of ease/access to mods for increased replay value?

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Good enough.


Civ 4:

-Proactive gameplay (per Sullla's excellent Civ 5 review)

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If you thought that review was excellent...maybe stick to 4. Too much sour grapes for me to take it seriously.

If you thought 3 was the greatest thing ever and just needed more systems and mechanics and things and stuff, then 4 may well be the way to go. If you walked away from 3 feeling burned out by all the micro, 5 is the fix.