# No Civ4 thread? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007 "2005-10-26T15:42:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/81 "2005-10-28T16:47:22Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I’m impressed with the AI so far. It’s a lot more like playing multi player. You have to keep balanced. My old standby of token-defense/play the nice guy/build an Empire in peace just doesn’t work. When a player realizes he can take you, he will. Barbarians and wild life are much tougher per difficulty level than earlier civ games too. > My only problem is the incomplete refference stuff. I’m not a civlopedia guy, I want a hard copy, but they just didn’t give one. I generally have the same technique, and I just had my ass handed to me in my first game on Prince (well, second game if you count the unfortunate incident where Washington D.C. was ransacked by panthers…) Once we all figger this thing out, we should have a SD multiplayer by email game. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/82 "2005-10-28T18:13:03Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > Dare I ask. Is it available for the Mac, or only the Lesser Machines? Coming for the Mac eventually: [http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/10/27/civ3/index.php](http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/10/27/civ3/index.php) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/83 "2005-10-28T18:21:10Z")
I finally just got a copy. Compusa here still doesn’t have it in stock. I’m looking forward to playing this tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/84 "2005-10-28T18:55:39Z")
Everything I’ve read online says that even experienced Civ folks won’t be able to just jump right into Higher difficulty games. I know I may be in trouble… Hehehe… ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/85 "2005-10-28T19:31:06Z")
One thing I really like after just a few hours of play is the end to the ‘patchwork of roads’ exploit – now it only makes sense to build roads to places you need to go (i.e. cities) and to resources (mines, etc). The hamlet/village/town improvement is a neat accomodation for the loss of commerce and actually makes more sense in that a country isn’t just a few huge cities. You can’t put them everywhere of course, but that’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/86 "2005-10-28T20:26:07Z")
Hm. What with this and Hearts of Iron 2 not ready yet, having a Mac is almost intolerable. But maybe I get more other things done this way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/87 "2005-10-28T21:11:49Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > Hm. What with this and Hearts of Iron 2 not ready yet, having a Mac is almost intolerable. > But maybe I get more other things done this way. 🙂 I didn’t go to work today. For a video game. I’m 29 years old and I called in sick to play a video game. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/88 "2005-10-29T00:38:04Z")
Weeee, just got mine by UPS, three days late (after pre-ordering it Oct.5) IMHO! Works great with my aged ATI Radeon 8500 card! Currently (circa 1300 A.D.) am Uno, monarch of the Greek peoples, worshipers of Confucious, destroyer (hopefully one day) of Persians, then the world!!! 😃 haven’t actually fought anyone yet, phalanx is still my best unit at this late date, heh ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/89 "2005-10-29T00:48:54Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I didn’t go to work today. For a video game. I’m 29 years old and I called in sick to play a video game. _sniffs_ My hero. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/90 "2005-10-29T01:39:31Z")
I tried finding Civ IV in my two nearest Best Buys to no avail. Not even space on the shelf where it would have been. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/91 "2005-10-29T01:45:05Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I didn’t go to work today. For a video game. I’m 29 years old and I called in sick to play a video game. So, what’s the problem? This isn’t just a video game, dude. This is CIVILIZATION. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/92 "2005-10-29T01:56:02Z")
Bwahaha! Take that Napoleon, Catherine and Alexander. You thought your feeble defensive alliance would thwart me? Three turns later my Panzers rolled through Paris, Moscow, and Athens. A bit of mop up duty remains, then on through the third world powers, but destiny is now clear; I will be victorious! ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/93 "2005-10-29T02:01:54Z")
> [@Shadez](#): > > Sad. No, not really. The minimum requirements are just that - if you don’t have at least those specs on your machine, there’s no guarantee the game will work properly. Intel video chipsets aren’t designed for games, and don’t have the full range of capabilities that higher end video cards do. It may be possible to change some settings that will let you run the game on Intel video, but Take Two isn’t obligated to provide support for something they never claimed. ATI owners have every right to be pissed though. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/94 "2005-10-29T02:52:17Z")
I got my copy today and have been fiddling around with it. Fun. I like Nimoy’s narration of the quotations for each discovery. Some of them are very funny. Is that Al Gore on the Internet discovery icon? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/95 "2005-10-29T02:59:02Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > Intel video chipsets aren’t designed for games, and don’t have the full range of capabilities that higher end video cards do. It may be possible to change some settings that will let you run the game on Intel video, but Take Two isn’t obligated to provide support for something they never claimed. Seems like they’re ignoring a large part of their market though. I don’t _need_ a high end graphics card - I don’t play shooters, I don’t play flight games, etc. If it’s necessary for me to go buy a high end graphics card just to play one game, well, as sad as I will be not to play it, I’ll just do without the game. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/96 "2005-10-29T03:22:53Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > If it’s necessary for me to go buy a high end graphics card just to play one game, well, as sad as I will be not to play it, I’ll just do without the game. I get your point, but I gotta say one of the most “magical” things about computers IMO are their nifty graphics, without which we might as well go back to pen and paper games. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/97 "2005-10-29T03:47:03Z")
Did anything change in regards to terrain and its effects on units? For example can a tank still merrily run through 4 squares of mountains, across some rivers and attack a city 15 squares into my territory? Can you kill with bombard? ---
**Author:** ![Shadez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Shadez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadez)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/98 "2005-10-29T06:10:54Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > No, not really. The minimum requirements are just that - if you don’t have at least those specs on your machine, there’s no guarantee the game will work properly. Intel video chipsets aren’t designed for games, and don’t have the full range of capabilities that higher end video cards do. It may be possible to change some settings that will let you run the game on Intel video, but Take Two isn’t obligated to provide support for something they never claimed. ATI owners have every right to be pissed though. Okay, I’ll explain better. First, you gotta realize I’m not savvy when it comes to video cards or random things like that. I went off the back of the computer box, which is extremely small type, and everything is mentioned in five lines in size 2 font. But that’s really beside the point. The damn box starts off saying you need an intel 4 processor or better. I thought, “Hey, I have Intel 8. Okay…” Sue me for not being savvy, I guess. That still doesn’t explain why some people with intel 9 work. Or why some people can try 3d analyzer and work. Or randomly getting terrains to appear (on an ‘sucky’ intel computer) after playing for 3-4 hours. And, if this is indicative of how many people thought it would work, I bring you this: > **[Terrain is Dark](https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/133056/)** > > When I started a game, the terrain was completely black, even where I had units. When I loaded the World Editor, the terrain was illuminated, but it... and > **[Game plays fine - but graphics problems](https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/game-plays-fine-but-graphics-problems.133130/#post-3214694)** > > I can install and play the game perfectly fine, but the graphics of the advisors (and Sid in the tutorial!) are headless teeth and eyes floating by... and here: > **[More T&L meaninglessness](https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/134084/)** > > It's getting to be clear that the problems with T&L are so seemingly random in their various extents. There are, if I'm not missing anything, > > 1)... and: > **[Game plays fine - but graphics problems](https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/133130/)** > > I can install and play the game perfectly fine, but the graphics of the advisors (and Sid in the tutorial!) are headless teeth and eyes floating by... and: > **[No TnL =\> Black Terrain? Maybe Not.](https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/134128/)** > > I have a laptop with the Intel 855GME chipset which, as every post in this forum notes, does not have TnL. I got the game yesterday and, like everyone... and: > **[Black terrain: a possible cause](https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/133959/)** > > First of all let me note that "black terrain" issue seems to be different from the "cheshire cat" issue: there are number of cases when these two... and: > **[The "No T&L" Bar is Now Open...](https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/133925/)** > > Man, I got my hands on the collector's edition this morning from EB and hauled ass to load it up on my two laptops > > IBM A21p > \- PIII > \- 512MB RAM > \- ATI... Seven threads on the first page of their forums alone. Each with 1-3 pages of replies of people having the same problem. So at least I’m not alone in my stupidity, I guess. God forbid they not alienate a chunk of their playerbase, and refuse to address the issue on their own website. 😉 /S ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/99 "2005-10-29T06:42:04Z")
> [@Shadez](#): > > So at least I’m not alone in my stupidity Meh, don’t be so hard on yourself fellow, wrestling with 'puters isn’t rocket science, but it’s pretty close. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007/100 "2005-10-29T06:43:44Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] I like Nimoy’s narration of the quotations for each discovery. Some of them are very funny. QUOTE] There are SMAC-esque quotes for discoveries? AWESOME! It took a couple of days for the game to make it through customs up to Vancouver. EB Games and Future Shop both sold out in about an hour. Even though I reserved a copy on Tuesday, the guy who took the reservation wasn’t working today, and said reservation was lost in the shuffle. I remain sans Civ IV; possibly until tomorrow morning, possibly for another week. I am annoyed at Future Shop, and playing Civ III to get my Civ fix. It just ain’t the same. Grrr… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-civ4-thread/328007.md?page=6)