What's in Civ4. Just the facts, ma'am! (2nd edition)

[Modo44]

Originally posted by CyberShy
Are there games on the market right now that are that moddable?

Yes, there are. Various settings, like units, techs and the like are moddable in many games. Of course, it depends on the game if those tweaks are easy or difficult to make. Putting some data into text files is not a new idea in Civ, so the use of XML is just a minor improvement here—basically keeping up with current standards. What it will (hopefully!) provide is an easier way to distinguish things you can change safely (labels, variable values) from the ones that can break the game (variable names).

The ability to change the AI is not new either. But (hopefully) the controls available for modders will be much more precise in CIV, and far-reaching than so far. You see, there were options to mod the AI in Civ3. The thing is, they were not enough to achieve more than a slight improvement, even combined with tweaks to overall game mechanics (AU Mod). Python promises more power in this area, so my hopes are high.

[Rommel2D]

3D

2D!

[GeoModder]

Lynchparty!!

[vovan]

Originally posted by Xorbon
I was looking at the tribes list, and I noticed the Greeks, Romans, and Babylonians aren't there yet. With a total of 18 tribes and 16 already listed, that leaves just 2 spots for those remaining civs to fill. Don't tell me they're going to have to cut one (or more) of them!

Nice to see Mali finally replacing the Zulus though. (No offense to any Zulus out there! )

I smell expansion packs.

[Robert]

I already smelled expansion packs when cIV was announced!

[Myrddin]

Screenshots at IGN

Add
Improvements
Sea tile improvements - fishing net
Religious buildings are tagged with religion name

Units
Maceman

Flags
English - St georges cross

Civs
Who has built a city named Cherokee?

[Shogun Gunner]

One of those fishing nets seems to be on a "empty" sea tile.

[Modo44]

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
One of those fishing nets seems to be on a "empty" sea tile.

The same way you can build a Mine on a Grassland without a Bonus, perhaps?

[Shogun Gunner]

That would suggest it will end up looking like ctp with your harbor filled to the brim with fishing nets and fishing farms. :ugly:

[Modo44]

Well, land tiles already look like that and nobody is complaining. You get used to things.

[vovan]

Originally posted by Myrddin
Sea tile improvements - fishing net

Somebody in another thread suggested that they might not be tile improvements, but rather indications of "worked tiles". That makes sense, since it is reasonable to assume you can see what tiles are worked by a city on the main map -- what with them claiming you never need to go into additional menus unless you are a power gamer.

Plus, with the units on the rest of the map, it seems a wee bit early for marine improvements.

Vovan

[Jaybe]

We've seen some ancient & classical units. I would like to see some gunpowder & 20th century types!

And what about the aircraft and naval units?! In addition to how the systems work, of course.

[Robert]

I remember of cIIIv that only early units are showed in screenshots
I think that's because when screenshots are going to be made they just startup a new game and make the screenshots as soon as possible.

We didn't got much diplomacy information yet.
So far only the 'ask another civ to go to war with a civ you're not at war with' and the 'stop the war with civ x' option.
But how does diplomacy work? Like cIIIv but expanded? Or a totally new system?

[Spiffor]

The interface looks the same as in Civ3.

[GeoModder]

Originally posted by Jaybe
We've seen some ancient & classical units. I would like to see some gunpowder & 20th century types!

And what about the aircraft and naval units?! In addition to how the systems work, of course.

Well, in that E3 movie they show the units screen briefly, and as far as I could see the later spaces were still open. I guess they're still in the developping stage for those animations and graphics.