Is it worth buying Civ 4 in 2022

[Sherlock]

I think the graphics will always be good enough. Yes, technically graphics will continue to improve a lot, but our brains and eyes not so much.

On the one hand the Civ IV graphics are a little bit worse.

On the other hand the Civ IV music is a lot better. And how can you beat Leonard Nimoy as a narrator?

 

[The_J]

This is news to me, I didn't know you could go native 1920x1080. Guess I'll have to pick up a copy next time it goes on sale.

5€ right now, https://www.gog.com/fr/game/sid_meiers_civilization_iv_the_complete_edition .

 

[uhu]

Civ IV was 4x3 aspect ratio but I keep seeing youtube vids with what appears to be 1920x1028 16x9 size. What's the deal with that?
...
This is news to me, I didn't know you could go native 1920x1080. Guess I'll have to pick up a copy next time it goes on sale.

I'm uncertain about 2005's vanilla, but sure about my BeyondTheSword CD version: I played that already before 2009 on a FullHD 50'' TV as monitor.
It's amazing, eg in the city screen you have not only the selected city, but also the neighbouring cities when planning the layout of which city shall work which tiles ...

 

[TheBirdMan]

I'm uncertain about 2005's vanilla, but sure about my BeyondTheSword CD version: I played that already before 2009 on a FullHD 50'' TV as monitor.
It's amazing, eg in the city screen you have not only the selected city, but also the neighbouring cities when planning the layout of which city shall work which tiles ...

Try the (BTS] release with the newest version of the Realism:Invictus mod on top - that is "crème de la crème" I tell you. Challenging gameplay and good graphic "all-in-one" so to say,



P.s.: I guess Walter H (the RI court painter as he describes himself ) is working on an updated version.

 

[Zygmunt]

And how can you beat Leonard Nimoy as a narrator?

So true. For it's day Civ IV really was maxed out in awesomeness . Can't get any better than Leonard Nimoy

 

[Kaiman]

I think the graphics will always be good enough. Yes, technically graphics will continue to improve a lot, but our brains and eyes not so much.

Yeah, the important thing to me is that they serve the game function well and unambiguously, not that they be spiffy and fancy.

However that seems kinda high for a game made in 2005 and I used to have the game for free from Twitch so I'm hesitant to shell out 30 bucks.

I just bought the base game when it was on sale for $10 - $15 and got dozens of plays out of it without feeling like I needed any expansions. Civ6 is pretty good although completely different; I prefer 4 still. I just plain didn't think Civ5 was good at all.

 

[Lexicus]

Hey everyone,

I've long been a lurker on these forums and I played Civ4 a long time ago... however I just got a new (to me) PC and was thinking of downloading it again. It has Windows 7 and a decent graphics card and RAM.

It's currently for sale on Steam at around $30 for the "full package" which I believe is Vanilla plus BTS and the other expansions..?
However that seems kinda high for a game made in 2005 and I used to have the game for free from Twitch so I'm hesitant to shell out 30 bucks.
Anyone know if there's a better way to buy the game besides STEAM? Or is that the safest route? Amazon sells a copy of it I think, but it might need Steam to launch?
Do you guys think it'll go back on sale? Do you know when the next iteration is due to be released (as that sometimes lowers the price of older games)?

Secondarily to this question, I've been watching Henrik on youtube since he seems to be the only one still publishing new Civ4 content. Anyone else you guys enjoy watching on YT?

Civ 4 is worth buying, I wouldn't get it for $30 but it's the best game in the Civ franchise and may be the best PC game period.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Civ 4 is worth buying, I wouldn't get it for $30 but it's the best game in the Civ franchise and may be the best PC game period.

It's certainly up there in the top 10 once you add all the mods into the equation.

 

[Shawnees]

Civ 4 is top 10 PC games of all time with mods. If you like fantasy, you must try Fall From Heaven II.

 

[Gwaja]

I am not sure about now, but Civ 4 Complete Edition was on sale over at GOG at 75% off for less than 8 USD. It seriously is a no brainer for a game that is far superior, in my opinion, than Civ 5 or Civ 6.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

On the one hand the Civ IV graphics are a little bit worse.

With Blue Marble and BUFFY or BUG I would argue Civ IV's graphics are the best in the series, they look good, are clear and different terrains are distinct.

 

[Caleb of Hebron]

Signed up just to add: you may ask the very same question in ten years and the answer will still be yes. This game has a certain subtlety not found in later iterations, I think. It is less obvious with its mechanics (I like 6, but it seems desperate to be understood right away). It lets you take your time uncovering strategies and studying the mechanics, just like 3 did.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Signed up just to add: you may ask the very same question in ten years and the answer will still be yes. This game has a certain subtlety not found in later iterations, I think. It is less obvious with its mechanics (I like 6, but it seems desperate to be understood right away). It lets you take your time uncovering strategies and studying the mechanics, just like 3 did.

Assuming that the hardware and windows of the day will run the game in ten years time I agree.

 

[Caleb of Hebron]

Fingers crossed.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

Assuming that the hardware and windows of the day will run the game in ten years time I agree.

You can run all the versions of Civ back to the original thanks to emulators etc, no reason Civ IV won't be the same.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

You can run all the versions of Civ back to the original thanks to emulators etc, no reason Civ IV won't be the same.

I wish I shared your optimism. In reality we don't know what direction the field of home computing is going and several of those on offer lead to paths where old games become unplayable Like say for example anything where windows becomes as walled off as IOS is or anything relating to moving people to the cloud as microsoft has been dreaming about for ages. Plus there are the usual hardware incompatibilities of small and large scale that might effect things.

20 years is a very long time in the computing world. A very very long time.

 

[TheBirdMan]

On the one hand the Civ IV graphics are a little bit worse.

On the other hand the Civ IV music is a lot better. And how can you beat Leonard Nimoy as a narrator?

As for the graphics: This is from my favourite expansion [BtS] and with my favourite mod Realism:Invictus (newest version with all the newest and detailed graphics you can think of).....

I just find it really pretty and detailed. And most graphics hold this standard.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

In reality we don't know what direction the field of home computing is going and several of those on offer lead to paths where old games become unplayable

I'm struggling to see how a world where we can play Civ 1 in a browser will change such that this becomes impossible.

 

[s.bernbaum]

I wish I shared your optimism. In reality we don't know what direction the field of home computing is going and several of those on offer lead to paths where old games become unplayable Like say for example anything where windows becomes as walled off as IOS is or anything relating to moving people to the cloud as microsoft has been dreaming about for ages. Plus there are the usual hardware incompatibilities of small and large scale that might effect things.

20 years is a very long time in the computing world. A very very long time.

When you upgrade your computer, put the old one away in a safe place, so that if the day comes that you can't run CIV on the current hardware or OS, you can set up the old computer and still play.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

I'm struggling to see how a world where we can play Civ 1 in a browser will change such that this becomes impossible.

As a professional software engineer who keeps up with industry trends let me tell you there are futures out there that frighten me.