Civilization 4: Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
Most importantly, welcome to the FAQ! This collection of popular questions and answers has been compiled to become a one-stop reference for both general and specific questions about Civilization 4. We ask that you give this a quick read before you ask a question in the forum, and hopefully in doing so, you will learn something new. If you wish to search this thread, you may do so either by pressing the Search This Thread button in the top right of this thread or by pressing Control + F in your Internet browser. We hope this thread is of use to you in your Civilization 4 experiences.
Note: In questions that have different answers for Civilization 4 and Warlords, or for information specific to one game, we have written them as Civilization 4 and Warlords to stand out.
Index
- Introduction
- Installation
- Game Setup
- Basic Questions
- City Management
- Empire Management
- Civics and Religion
- Resources and Terrain
- Diplomacy
- Warfare
- Strategy and Techniques
- Warlords
- Multiplayer
- Modding
- Civilization Community
- Changes from Civilization 3
- Technical Support
- Forum Help
- Credits
Installation
Is the game on a CD or a DVD?
Both - however, it's based on your location. For Americans, the game was on 2 CDs, but for Europeans and others, it came on a single DVD.
When was Civilization 4 released?
Civilization 4 was released on October 25th, 2005, although it did not reach most stores until October 26th.
What is Warlords and when was it released?
Warlords is the first expansion pack, and it was released July 24th, 2006. It contains new civilizations, scenarios, units, wonders, and more.
When I enter the second disc labeled Play, I get an error message. Why won't it play?
This is a known problem with the Civilization 4 CDs. Although both discs are used in the installation, only one is needed to play the game. However, due to some sort of error, the disc labeled Play is not actually the disc you want in the CD drive. Disc #1, or Install, is actually the one needed to run the game.
How much size does the game take up?
Civilization 4 takes up about 1.5 gigabytes and Warlords takes up slightly over half a gigabyte.
What are the system requirements for Civ4?
The absolute minimum requirements are: 1.2 GHz Pentium 4 or similar AMD Athalon, 256 MB RAM, 64 MB video card (with Hardware Transform and Lighting), and DirectX 9.0c, which comes with the game. Recommend specifications are 1.8 GHz, 512 MB RAM, and a 128 MB video card (with pixel and vertex shaders).
What are patches? Do I need one?
Patches are modifications made to the game, usually to fix bugs or errors, that are released after the game in response to a newly discovered problem. The most recent, and probably final, patch for Civilization 4 is version 1.61 (v1.61). The most recent (and first) Warlords patch is v2.08. When installing a patch, you only need to get the most recent patch, not all the previous patches as well. You can get the patches here, or in game by selecting Advanced from the main menu, and then Check for Updates.
What were the extra things inside the Special Edition box for Civ4?
The Special Edition of Civilization 4 came with a few extras: a CD of the official Civ4 soundtrack, a fold-out keyboard shortcut chart, a chart with a technology tree, terrain and resource info, and promotion tree, and a spiral bound manual.
Where is my Civilization 4 folder located?
Your files are in two seperate locations. The default files, including artwork, rules, and scenarios that come with the game, are installed to C:/Program Files/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Civilization 4/. The other folder for Civ4, located in ../My Documents/My Games/Sid Meier's Civilization 4/, houses all the user's files. These include your screenshots, saves, any mods you have downloaded, maps, scenarios, and new artwork. In short, the latter is where you can change your game, because you should keep the default game files in your Firaxis Games' folder unaltered.
What is my ".ini" file? What does it do?
Your .ini file (or initialization file), named CivilizationIV.ini in your ../My Documents/My Games/Sid Meier's Civilization 4/ folder, is a text document that contains all of personal settings and options for Civ4. If you double click it to open it in Notepad, you will see lines such as "Era = ERA_ANCIENT", explaining that the last turn played was in the Ancient Age, or one like "Alias = Ginger_Ale", indicating your name in-game. The .ini file is also home to more technical settings, most of which can be changed by writing a 0 for no, and 1 for yes. While some of these options, like whether or not to play music, are available in-game, this is where many other options are located.
Do I have to take screenshots manually or can I set the game up to do it automatically?
One cool new feature is the ability to have the game save a screenshot in your ../My Documents/My Games/Sid Meier's Civilization 4/ScreenShots/ folder every time you press PrintScrn (near F12). To set it up, open your .ini file and scroll down to the line that says AllowScreenShots. Make sure this setting is set to 1. Also, you can choose the format of the screenshots from TGA, JPG, or BMP. Then, once you are in-game, just press PrintScrn and it'll save the screenshot automatically. To give a screenshot a custom name, press Shift + PrintScrn.
If you encounter problems during installation, visit our Technical Support forum.
Game Setup
How many leaders and civilizations are there?
In Civilization 4, there are 18 civilizations and 26 leaders (8 of the civilizations have two leaders). Warlords added 6 new civilizations as well as 10 leaders (1 for each of the new civilizations, and 4 additional ones for civilizations in Civilization 4). This makes a total of 24 civilizations and 36 leaders!
How come some civilizations have two leaders and others just have one?
This is just the game was made, unfortunately. The good news is that, with Warlords, 50% of the civilizations have 2 leaders, with the other half just having one.
What are civilization traits?
Traits are characteristics assigned to leaders to make them unique. Each leader is given 2 traits, and each trait gives the leader's civilization some sort of bonus as well as double the build speed of certain city improvements (this is replaced with another various bonus in Warlords). The following is a list of all 11 traits and their benefits:
Agressive: Free Combat I promotion for all melee and gunpowder units and double build speed of barracks and drydocks.
Creative: +2 culture per city and double build speed of theater, libraries, and colosseums.
Spiritual: No anarchy time when switching civics and double build speed of temples.
Industrious: +50% production when building wonders and double build speed of forges.
Organized: Upkeep of civics reduced 50% and double build speed of lighthouses, factories, and courthouses.
Philosophical: +100% birth rate for Great People and double build speed of universities.
Financial: +1 commerce on tiles with 2 or more commerce.
Expansive: +3 (only +2 in Warlords) health per city, +50% production for workers (only in Warlords), and double build speed of granaries and harbors.
Imperialistic (only available in Warlords): +100% emergence rate of Great Generals and settlers are built 50% faster.
Charismatic (only available in Warlords): +1 happiness in each city, +1 happiness from monuments and broadcast towers, and 25% less XP needed for a promotion
Protective (only available in Warlords): All archery and gunpowder units receive the Drill I and City Garrison I promotions when built and double build speed of walls and castles.
Creative: +2 culture per city and double build speed of theater, libraries, and colosseums.
Spiritual: No anarchy time when switching civics and double build speed of temples.
Industrious: +50% production when building wonders and double build speed of forges.
Organized: Upkeep of civics reduced 50% and double build speed of lighthouses, factories, and courthouses.
Philosophical: +100% birth rate for Great People and double build speed of universities.
Financial: +1 commerce on tiles with 2 or more commerce.
Expansive: +3 (only +2 in Warlords) health per city, +50% production for workers (only in Warlords), and double build speed of granaries and harbors.
Imperialistic (only available in Warlords): +100% emergence rate of Great Generals and settlers are built 50% faster.
Charismatic (only available in Warlords): +1 happiness in each city, +1 happiness from monuments and broadcast towers, and 25% less XP needed for a promotion
Protective (only available in Warlords): All archery and gunpowder units receive the Drill I and City Garrison I promotions when built and double build speed of walls and castles.
What are the different advantages/disadvantages on the difficulty levels?
For starters, there are 9 difficulty levels in Civ4. From easiest to hardest, they are Settler, Chieftain, Warlord, Noble, Prince, Monarch, Emperor, Immortal, and Deity. The different benefits that you and the AI receive at the start of the game depend on the difficulty, but they include:
Empire Bonuses: The lower the difficulty level, the more bonus health and happiness your cities start with. Also, benefits from goody huts are dependent on difficulty as well: the lower the difficulty, the better your chances of getting the best possible result.
Finances: On easier difficulties, civic costs, maintenance costs, and monetary inflation are all lower.
Production Speeds: The AI receives production, research, and growth penalties/bonuses depending on the level. Below Noble, it takes them more food/hammers/beakers to grow a city/build/research something, on Noble you and the AI have the same required amount, and above Noble, the AI gets discounts.
Barbarians: The human player gets bonuses when fighting barbarians, and the exact number is determined by your difficulty level (the lower it is, the higher the bonus). Also, on higher difficulties, barbarians appear earlier in the game and more frequently.
AI Start Bonuses: Much like Civ3, AIs receive free units, such as settlers and workers, on high difficulty levels, as well as free technologies. For example, AIs start with a free worker on Monarch and work their way up to a free settler on Deity!
Unit Support: On lower levels, you can build more units before you have to start paying gold to support them.
Finances: On easier difficulties, civic costs, maintenance costs, and monetary inflation are all lower.
Production Speeds: The AI receives production, research, and growth penalties/bonuses depending on the level. Below Noble, it takes them more food/hammers/beakers to grow a city/build/research something, on Noble you and the AI have the same required amount, and above Noble, the AI gets discounts.
Barbarians: The human player gets bonuses when fighting barbarians, and the exact number is determined by your difficulty level (the lower it is, the higher the bonus). Also, on higher difficulties, barbarians appear earlier in the game and more frequently.
AI Start Bonuses: Much like Civ3, AIs receive free units, such as settlers and workers, on high difficulty levels, as well as free technologies. For example, AIs start with a free worker on Monarch and work their way up to a free settler on Deity!
Unit Support: On lower levels, you can build more units before you have to start paying gold to support them.
What are the types of maps I can play? How are they different?
There are a wide variety of map types in Civ4, ranging from typical continents and archipelago-style maps to unique ones like a "wheel" or a "maze". In total, there are 21 different map scripts included in the game. Twelve of these (Pangea, Continents, Archipelago, Terra, Lakes, Ice Age, Great Plains, Highlands, Inland Sea, Fractal, Shuffle, and Oasis) are selectable when you start a game via Play Now. These are more of your standard maps. However, there are other maps, some oriented towards fair Multiplayer games and some towards just plain wacky games! All the map scripts are very consistent in delivering maps of a certain type. For more information, please see this map guide by Sirian (Bob Thomas), the man who actually created most of these map scripts!
How can I change the number of opponents in a game?
Under the Single Player menu, select Custom Game instead of Play Now, and change the drop-down menus on the left to Closed.
How do I set up a game involving teams?
In the Custom Game screen, the second column is used for determining which team each civilization is on. If they are all different, then it's a free for all. However, by assigning the same number to multiple civilizations, you are placing them on the same team, allowing for games like 2v2, 3v3, and even 2v2v2.
What are the benefits of being on the same team?
In team play, one of the most obvious advantages is the ability to work together on research. You can research twice as fast if you have a teammate, but take note that you don't have to research the same tech as your ally. Also, you share the fog of war, open borders, and the ability to see your teammate's city screens. A wonder built by one member of the team will affect the whole team. Perhaps the biggest difference the fact that you can never declare war on your ally.
What are the different ways to win the game?
There are 6 ways to win the game (the same type of victory conditions as in Civ3): Domination (controlling 65% of the world’s land and having 25% more population than the next biggest civilization), Conquest (defeating all enemies), Diplomatic (building the UN, being elected Secretary General, and calling up the resolution for a diplomatic victory), Space Race (building all the required spaceship parts and “launching” it), Cultural (getting 3 cities to have a total of 50,000 culture points), and Time (known as Histographic in Civ3, it involves having the highest score at 2050 AD).
Basic Questions
What are goody huts?
Spread throughout the map at the beginning of the game, goody huts (formally known as “tribal villages”

What is the Fog of War?
Every tile has three different states it can be in: visible (you have explored this tile and can currently see it, whether you have that tile within your territory or you have a unit on that tile, etc.), fog of war (meaning you have previously discovered this tile, but it is not currently visible. For example, most tiles that aren't inside your territory are part of the fog of war.), and unknown (basically you have no knowledge of what type of tile it is). All unknown tiles are black - in the beginning of the game, almost every tile is unknown! Visible tiles are brighter than tiles in the fog of war, although in the fog of war you can still see each tile as well as other features such as terrain and resources. Keep in mind, however, that the state of a tile (e.g. it's tile improvement, or road status, etc.) maybe have changed if it's in the fog of war. The fog of war simply represents the state of a discovered tile as you last saw it. Also, barbarian units can spawn in any tile that is not visible, even in the fog of war.
What is the event log?
The event log, located in-game, is where you can see a list of events that took place as well as the corresponding year in which it took place. Things that are logged include the outcome of battles, the founding of religions, the completion of wonders, and similar occurrences. You can access the event log by clicking the pencil icon (located in the top left part of the screen) or by the shortcut Control + Tab.
People have said to read the Civilopedia. What is that?
The Civilopedia is a place that contains information for almost everything in the game, including attack/defense/move values and resource requirements for units, benefits and shield costs of wonders, information about every civilization and their Unique Units, and all the different kinds of terrain and their tile yields, to name a few. It is a resource that contains a lot of data about the things that makes up the game. To open the Civilopedia, click the book-type icon in the top right corner of your screen, or press F12.
Can you abandon cities?
No, you cannot. Once you build a city or capture a city and decide not to raze it, it's there for good.
What are unique units?
Unique units (UUs) are civilization-specific units whose abilities are better than those of the unit that they replace. Each civilization has their own unique unit that only they can build. For example, the UU of England is the Redcoat. The Redcoat, which replaces the Rifleman , has an additional 2 strength points (16 total) and also has the bonus of +25% vs. gunpowder units. These benefits make the Redcoat better than the Rifleman unit that all the other civilizations build. Unique units allow for a civilization to have the upper hand in a certain type of unit some point in the game.
What are unique buildings?
Like unique units, each civilization has a unique building that only they can build. An example of a unique building is the English Stock Exchange; it gives +65% gold instead of the +50% provided by a regular bank. Unique buildings are only available in Warlords.
What are the game's "ages", such as the Ancient Age, Medieval Age, Renaissance Age, and others? How do I progress through them?
These ages don't actually represent anything other than a historical reference. Every standard game starts out in the ancient age, unless you select otherwise when you create the game. Every tech has an age "assigned" to it, meaning when you research a technology with has a different age, you will enter that new age. Graphics for things such as cities and terrain improvements will also change as you enter a new age.
What are the different "speeds" for the game?
There are 4 different speeds for Civ4: Quick, Normal, Epic, and Marathon. The longer the speed, the longer it will take for things such as building units, growing cities, expanding borders, and researching technologies. As it implies, Normal is the speed that the game is probably best played on if you want an average length game. Be warned, however, that Marathon games really do last a very long time!
Is there a minimum or maximum research time like in Civilization 3?
No, there is no set research limits. It is very possible to have some new technologies take an extremely high amount of turns while old, undiscovered techs might take just 1 turn!
Are ships able to travel along river tiles?
No, they are not. Keep in mind that rivers are not actually tiles, they are between tiles.
How can I draw lines and label the map?
First, you have to zoom out (by scrolling the mouse wheel or by clicking the globe icon) until the icons above the minimap in the bottom right of your screen change. Then, select the Strategy button, and you'll see several options appear, including the ability to draw lines and label the map. You can also press Alt + S, which is the hotkey for adding a sign to the map.
Are there any scenarios that come with the game?
Yes, there are 3 Firaxis-made scenarios: the American Revolution, WWII in the Mediterranean, and The Greek World. Also, there is a standard Earth map, the Earth at 1000 AD, and the Earth in the Ice Age.
What is the "WorldBuilder"?
The WorldBuilder, included in Civ4, is an in-game editor, much like an advanced Civ3 editor. By pressing Control + W in the middle of a game, you enter WorldBuilder mode, in which you can: add units, give units experience, create cities, add improvements/wonders, change terrain, add religions to cities, reveal fog of war, add civilizations, and more! The best way to learn about the WorldBuilder is to just experiment around in it and test its features, but you can also head over to the Creation and Customization forum to learn more. Keep in mind that in some competitive games, such as the Game of the Month, the WorldBuilder is locked to prevent cheating.
City Management
What are specialists and what is their purpose?
Specialists are citizens in a city, that, instead of working a surrounding tile to bring in food, hammers, and commerce, contribute other things to a city. These contributions include extra culture, research, gold, hammers, and Great Person points. The six different specialists are:
Artists: Each artists provides +1 research, +4 culture, and +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Artist being born).
Engineers: Each engineer provides +2 hammers, +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Engineer).
Merchants: Each merchant provides +3 gold, +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Merchant).
Priests: Each priest provides +1 production, +1 gold, +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Prophet).
Scientists: Each scientist provides +3 research, +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Scientist).
Citizens (not to be confused with a standard laborer working a city's tiles): Each citizen provides +1 hammer (no Great Person points). Citizens are the default specialist assigned when your city has more population points than tiles to work. You can turn these into other types of specialists if you have openings.
Engineers: Each engineer provides +2 hammers, +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Engineer).
Merchants: Each merchant provides +3 gold, +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Merchant).
Priests: Each priest provides +1 production, +1 gold, +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Prophet).
Scientists: Each scientist provides +3 research, +3 Great Person points (increasing the probability of a Great Scientist).
Citizens (not to be confused with a standard laborer working a city's tiles): Each citizen provides +1 hammer (no Great Person points). Citizens are the default specialist assigned when your city has more population points than tiles to work. You can turn these into other types of specialists if you have openings.
As you can see, specialists are much stronger than in previous Civ games, especially because of their ability to generate Great People. Because of this, sometimes you will find it worthwhile to build a "Great Person farm", a city which has enough food to sustain large numbers of specialists to rapidly gain GP. Also, take note that there is a certain number of specialist type available: for example, to assign a citizen to become a scientist, you must have built a library or university. The Caste System civic allows unlimited artists, merchants, and scientists in cities, the Mercantilism civic allows 1 free specialist per city, and the Pacifism civic double the Great Person points in a city that has the state religion, greatly increasing the value of specialists.
How can I tell what kind of Great Person my next one will be?
In the city screen, if you mouse over the Great Person points bar, you will see it shows the probability that the next Great Person will be a certain type. These percentages can fluctuate based on new sources of Great Person points, whether it's from changing around specialists or building a new wonder.
What is the build queue?
The build queue is a way to maintain a list of multiple items you want to build in a city after the current project finishes. When you open the city screen, the current build is displayed in the bottom left of the screen. By holding in Shift + clicking the mouse on other units/improvements/wonders, you can place them after what is currently being built, so you can plan ahead and not have to select a new project everytime the city completes on. To delete items you do not want from the build queue, you can simply right click on them.
What are "food", "hammers", and "commerce"?
Every tile has a certain amount of food (used by cities to grow its population), hammers (used to build projects such as units, city improvements, and wonders), and commerce (used for science research, spare cash, and potentially extra culture and happiness). For example, a grassland tile has just 2 food, 0 hammers, and 0 commerce. By building certain tile improvements with your workers, such as a farm, you can increase the food to 3, or a hamlet, which will add 1 commerce. Also, resources found on tiles yield extra food/hammers/commerce, making them more attractive than a standard terrain tile. Every citizen in a city, besides specialists and angry citizens that refuse to work, "works" a tile in the city's radius (it starts out as the surrounding 8 tiles, and after a cultural expansion it goes to 21 tiles, or 2 tiles in every direction except directly north, south, east, and west). The yields from the tiles that these citizens are working make up that city's total food per turn, hammers per turn, and commerce per turn. This determines how fast a city grows (more food = faster growth), how quickly is builds things (more hammers = faster production), and how fast your civilization researches technologies and how much gold you have (more commerce = more commerce converted into science research and gold).
How does my city grow and increase its population?
A city requires a certain number of surplus food to grow to the next population point. Keep in mind that the amount of food needed for growth is dependent on the speed you have your game set on as well as the current size of the city. For example, if, from all the tiles a city is working, the city brings in 17 food, and uses 16 food to "feed" its citizens, you will only have a surplus of 1 food per turn (fpt), so it will take longer than if you worked more food-producing tiles such as farmed grassland. The amount of food needed to for the city to grow and the amount you currently have stored up is depicted by the food bar on both the main map screen under the city's name and on the city screen. Also, remember that if you use up more food than you bring in, your city will starve and can lose population. Granaries divide the amount of food needed for growth in half.
How much food does each citizen use up? Does this include specialists and angry citizens who refuse to work?
Every citizen uses up 2 food per turn, regardless of whether they are working a tile, acting as a specialist, or even refuse to work. They still have to eat!
How can I increase my city's defense?
Your city's defense bonus is a result of gaining high culture, or building certain improvements, such as Walls or Castles, which increase the defense rating. Keep in mind that certain units automatically get bonuses when defending cities, such as the warrior, who gets a 25% increase. There are also promotions that increase that unit's strength when defending cities (the City Garrison I, II, and III promotions).
What are We Love the King celebrations in my cities?
Much like Civilization 3, We Love the King celebrations occur in cities when there is happiness in large cities. The requirements are the following: the city must be size 8 or higher, have no food lost to unhealthiness, and have no angry citizens. If it meets all those criteria, that city will pay no maintenance costs for the turn.
My city seems to be losing food even though I have enough to feed my citizens! What's going on?
This involves an imbalance of health and sickness. In normal cities, the amount of "health" it has outweighs sickness, which comes as a result of factories, lots of population, and other factors that increase as a city grows. In order to combat this, you must have an equal or higher amount of health points in the city. You can acquire health in various ways: from resources, from city improvements, from nearby forests, and from difficulty levels (the lower the difficulty, the more bonus health each city starts out with) among others. When you do not have sufficient health, however, for each sickness point more than the amount of health you have, it costs 1 food. Because of this, even if your city appears to have enough food, it may actually be starving!
Why aren't all my citizens working? What do I have to do?
If your city does not have the same amount of tiles being worked as its population, there are two possibilities: the first is that the game might have changed some of the laborers into specialists, so first check to see if you have any that you weren't aware of. The second possibility is that some of your citizens may be so angry they refuse to work. By checking the top middle of your city screen, where it lists the city name, you will see a line that reads something like 7 happiness > 5 unhappiness. This means that your citizens are happy enough and are all working tiles like normal. However, if there is more unhappiness than happiness, the difference between the two will be the amount of citizens that refuse to work. Factors that contribute to unhappiness include overpopulation, war, and certain improvements the citizens do not like. To counter this, you can build improvements such as temples, bring in more luxury resources, or do any other action that provides happiness for the city.