CivIV: Beyond the Sword

[Thedrin]

Expansions news.

Edit: 2k Games Beyond the Sword. Contains press release and art work.

Beyond the Sword refering to a focus on the post-gunpowder era.

12 scenarios
10 new civs (including Netherlands, Portugal, Bab-something)
16 new leaders
New units
Corporations
Expanded espionage
Random events
5 new wonders
An earlier version of the United Nations
Expanded diplomatic options
Enhanced AI

[Thedrin]

Art work includes Abraham Lincoln and a native American leader.

Press release:

2K Announces Summer Release of Beyond the Sword, the Latest Expansion Pack for Sid Meier's Civilization IV

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword marks the series biggest expansion ever

New York, NY - March 2007 - 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., announced today that Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, the latest expansion pack for the critically acclaimed Civilization IV series, is set for release in July 2007. Developed for the PC by the company's world-renowned development studio Firaxis Games, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword ushers in the largest amount of expansion content in the history of the Civilization franchise.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is the second expansion pack for Civilization IV - the 2005 PC Game of the Year and major commercial success. The expansion will focus on the late-game time periods after the invention of gunpowder and will deliver 12 challenging and decidedly different scenarios created by the development team at Firaxis Games, as well as some esteemed members of the Civilization Fan Community. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword will also include 10 new civilizations, 16 new leaders, 5 new wonders, and a variety of new units that will offer even more fun and exciting ways for players to expand their civilization's power as they strive for world domination.

"Civilization IV has been an overwhelming critical and commercial success, so it only made sense for Firaxis Games to create the biggest, most ambitious expansion pack to one of the deepest PC games ever," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. Beyond the Sword exceeds the amount of new gameplay additions that have been included in each of the previous Civilization expansions, delivering more scenarios, civilizations, units, concepts, leaders and a host of other features." "Civilization is close to our hearts here at Firaxis and we're excited to up the ante on the series once again with what we consider to be our best expansion pack ever," said Steve Martin, president of Firaxis Games. "Fan requests and a constant stream of new ideas motivate our team to continue delivering more and better gameplay for our premier series. Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is a must-have expansion for every Civ fan."

Key features include:

# Expanded Epic Game: Firaxis Games has delivered a massive increase in new units, buildings, and technologies to the epic game with a tremendous amount of effort focused on the late game.
# New Game Scenarios: The expansion will deliver 12 new scenarios, many containing themes never seen in Civilization, custom designed by the team at Firaxis and some members of the Civ Fan Community.
# New Civilizations: The pack will provide 10 new civilizations, such as Portugal, Babylonians and Netherlands and their associated unique units and buildings.
# More Civilization Leaders: Sixteen new leaders will be provided. The list will include leaders for the new civilizations, as well as additional leaders for existing civilizations.
# Corporations: A new gameplay feature similar to religion that allows players to found companies and spread them throughout the world. Each corporation provides benefits in exchange for certain resources.
# Espionage: Now available much earlier in the game, this expanded feature offers players many new ways to spy on opponents, stir citizen unrest and defend your own government's secrets.
# Events: New random events - such as natural disasters, pleas for help, or demands from their citizens - challenge players with obstacles that must be overcome for their civilizations to prosper.
# New Wonders: Five new wonders await discovery including the Statue of Zeus, Cristo Redentor, Shwedagon Paya, the Mausoleum of Maussollos, and the Moai Statues.
# Expanded Space Victory: Winning the race to Alpha Centauri will now require more strategic planning and tactical decision making.
# Apostolic Palace: The United Nations will become available earlier in the game providing a way for players to win a diplomatic victory earlier. New resolutions will also be added which will expand the available diplomatic options.
# Advanced Starts: A major fan request, this new feature will enable players to "buy" components of a custom-tailored empire and begin play in the later part of the game, allowing them to experience many of the new features of the expansion in a shorter amount of time.
# Enhanced AI: The AI has received many enhancements making it tougher to beat on the higher difficulty levels. The ways in which the AI will attempt to achieve victory have also been expanded.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword from 2K will require the full version of Sid Meier's Civilization IV to play and will be released for PC in July 2007, retailing for $29.99. For more information please visit http://www.civilization.com/.

[PJayTycy]

Will there be a difference between
civ4+warlords+beyondthesword
and
civ4+beyondthesword
?

(except for some missing civs and scenarios)

Ie: will multiplayer be compatible, will the techtree be the same, will the great wall be included, .... ?

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Interesting.

for random events, though.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by PJayTycy
Will there be a difference between
civ4+warlords+beyondthesword
and
civ4+beyondthesword
?

(except for some missing civs and scenarios)

Ie: will multiplayer be compatible, will the techtree be the same, will the great wall be included, .... ?

I was wondering that. I'm warlords-free at the moment. I suppose that someday I'll need to pick it up cheap to be up to date.

[Thedrin]

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man
Interesting.

for random events, though.

I would be very surprised if this isn't optional like permanent alliances.

[rls669]

Bwahahaha, a Moai Statues wonder? Does it trigger the collapse and annihilation of your civ like the real one did?

[Thedrin]

Originally posted by rls669
Bwahahaha, a Moai Statues wonder? Does it trigger the collapse and annihilation of your civ like the real one did?

+100% production yield from all chopped forests.

[Krill]

That last point is one of the most interesting...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Corporations sounds interesting... after all the religion stuff starts to die out, you have something else to spread . I also like the events idea... though I'm positive it'll be optional.

[Common Sensei]

A certain someone will be happy to see the word "Babylonians."

[Common Sensei]

Corporations: a "secular shrine" for those who didn't found their own religion?

[Ekmek]

# Expanded Epic Game: Firaxis Games has delivered a massive increase in new units, buildings, and technologies to the epic game with a tremendous amount of effort focused on the late game.
# Corporations: A new gameplay feature similar to religion that allows players to found companies and spread them throughout the world. Each corporation provides benefits in exchange for certain resources.
# Espionage: Now available much earlier in the game, this expanded feature offers players many new ways to spy on opponents, stir citizen unrest and defend your own government's secrets.
# Events: New random events - such as natural disasters, pleas for help, or demands from their citizens - challenge players with obstacles that must be overcome for their civilizations to prosper.

I see the influence of CTP2 in this one...

man, Firaxis is really trying to stamp us out

[Jaybe]

Random Events!!
Areas of feast, areas of famine, ...

I LIKE the idea of having a little less short-term predictability in the game.

[Locutus]

Originally posted by E
I see the influence of CTP2 in this one...

Well, they do have almost all the good CtP2 modders working for them