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Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

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Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
Developer(s)Firaxis Games
Publisher(s)Take Two Interactive
EngineGamebryo
Platform(s)Windows XP, Windows Vista
Release
  • AUS: July 18, 2007

  • UK: July 20, 2007

  • USA: July 23, 2007
[1]
  • DEU: July 27, 2007
[2]
Genre(s)Turn-based strategy
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is the second official expansion pack of the critically-acclaimed turn-based strategy video game Civilization IV.[3] The expansion focuses on adding content to the in-game time periods following the invention of gunpowder, and includes more general content such as 11 new scenarios, 10 new civilizations, and 16 new leaders.[4][5] PC Gamer Magazine has given the game a rating of 93%.[6]

Features

Overview

  • Corporations: A new gameplay feature, similar to religion allows players to create corporations 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 their government’s secrets.
  • Random Events: New random events such as natural disasters, pleas for help, or demands from their citizens will challenge players to overcome obstacles in order for their civilizations to prosper.
  • Advanced Starts: This new option allows the player to start the game in any era by purchasing components for an already-developed nation.
  • Expanded Space Victory: Obtaining a space victory is now more difficult and requires more strategy and decision-making than before.
  • Expanded Diplomatic Victory: It is now possible to achieve diplomatic victories much earlier in the game, and to defy resolutions.
  • New Game Options: Beyond the Sword offers various new game options, like new world-types and the option to play any leader-civilization combination.

Corporations

Corporations become available with discovery of the Corporation technology. Each of the seven available Corporations requires a particular type of Great Person, a particular additional technology, and access to particular resources to build the Corporate Headquarters and found that Corporation; each of the seven Corporations can be founded only once per game. Each Corporation consumes specific resources, and supplies alternate resources or benefits in return. The more instances of resources they consume, the more food, production, commerce, or resources they supply. Corporations can be spread like religions (using the Executive unit as a missionary) to other cities, including foreign cities; any city hosting a Corporation branch must pay a maintenance fee for its services, but the owner of the Corporate Headquarters receives bonus gold for each branch.

Players can block foreign corporations from operating in their cities by adopting the Mercantilism civic, and they can block all corporations, even their own, by adopting the State Property civic.

Currently, the following seven Corporations appear in the game. The Corporations are not based on real-life corporations, unlike Religions.

  • Standard Ethanol Company[7] offers the player, after the use of a Great Scientist to build its headquarters,[8] the possibility to provide oil in exchange for corn, sugar, or rice.
  • Cereal Mills[7][9] provides additional food for a city in the form of cereal, in exchange for corn, rice, or wheat. The player can build its headquarters with a Great Merchant.[8]
  • Creative Constructions[10] provides extra production and culture in exchange for obsolete strategic resources like iron, copper, stone, or marble. A Great Engineer can create a Creative Constructions headquarters.[11]
  • Aluminum, inc.[10] provides Aluminum in exchange for Coal. Its headquarters can be created with a Great Scientist.[11]
  • Civilized Jewelers requires the Mass Media tech [8] and needs a Great Artist to create its headquarters. The corporation consumes gold, silver or gems to increase happiness in cities.[11]
  • Mining Inc. corporation's headquarters can build with a Great Engineer.[12] It consumes Coal, Iron, Copper, Gold or Silver and increases a city's production.
  • Sid's Sushi Co. requires the discovering of the Medicine tech[8] and the use of Great Merchant to build its headquarters. This corporation uses Fish, Crabs, Clam or Rice to provide extra food and culture to cities. Its name is a reference to the creator of the whole Civilization saga, Sid Meier.[11]

Espionage

Espionage's importance in Civilization IV has been raised to compare with that of scientific research, culture, income from taxes etc. The new espionage slider allows the player to divert part of their income towards espionage activities against other civilizations. Once the player has reached certain thresholds of espionage investment, the player starts gaining some automatic intelligence benefits over rival civilizations.

The player can also send Spy units into foreign territory to gather further intelligence and to perform various missions of destruction and propaganda. Their role is a bit different, because spies are now invisible to all units, save for other spies. [13] Great Spies are born in cities, like other Great Persons. Great Spies can perform typical functions like serving as a Specialist, starting a Golden Age, or building a unique building. Their special function allows them to infiltrate into enemy cities, giving the player significant advantage in espionage against that civilization. Just like other Great Persons their appearance changes accordingly to the time period, e.g., a Great Spy in the ancient era shows up as a ninja, just as the Industrial-Age Great Spy appears as a tuxedo-sporting James Bond-style unit, complete with similar thematic music once a mission is performed.[14]

The names used for the Great Spy units are given at List of historical figures in Civilization IV.

Random events

The Beyond the Sword expansion reintroduces Sim City- and Alpha Centauri-style random events from the original Civilization game, which can cause the game to swing in the player's favor or present another obstacle the player must overcome. There are more than 100 of these events, including natural disasters, such as earthquakes that can destroy buildings, and diplomatic marriages that might suddenly turn two former rivals into friends. Together these new events give each game a completely unique flavor. [15] In addition, each game offers players the opportunity for rewards through the completion of special events in the form of missions ("quests").[16]

Some examples of Random Events in the game include:

Advanced starts

Advanced Starts are a pre-game setup phase players use to purchase cities, improvements, buildings, technologies, and units. It works in both single-player and multi-player. The player decides what to purchase and where to place it. When everyone is done, the game starts with players controlling relatively balanced, advanced empires with a working infrastructure. This mechanism is ideal for those who want to jump right in and experience a balanced game in a further era, without having to start it from the stone age.

Expanded Space Victory

To acquire a Space Victory, the game now requires the player's spaceship to reach Alpha Centauri, rather than simply launch. It is now also possible to build spaceships that fly faster than those of other civilizations, so that a player can achieve Space Victory, even if they finished building a spaceship after a competitor. It is also once again possible to end a rival's space program by capturing his capital city.

Expanded Diplomatic Victory

The new Apostolic Palace wonder allows the player to win an early diplomatic victory, centuries before the United Nations is due to make its appearance. The wonder is tied to the state religion of the player who built it. Depending on the influence of the Palace's religion on their civilization, players get votes to cast on decrees like holy wars, trade embargoes, or peace enforcement. It is later rebuffed by Communism and made obsolete by Mass Media. At this point, the more modern United Nations takes over many of its functions.[20]

New game options

The expansion offers various new world-types and game options. The player will have the option to play as any leader-civilization combination, therefore allowing intriguing "what-if" possibilities. Also, a new feature is the option to only trade away player researched technologies. Finally players can choose the religions founded by specific technologies, so that the same religions will not be dominant in every game.[21]

New content

New content includes:

  • 10 new civilizations
  • 16 new leaders, one for each new civilization, 6 for existing civilizations.
  • 25 new units, 18 buildings and new technologies added primarily to the late game.[17]
  • 11 new scenarios.[5]
  • 6 Wonders of the World.
  • New diplomatic resolutions through the United Nations.

General changes

  • Improvements in AI (Artificial Intelligence) making for more difficult games on all difficulty levels. The AI player will also attempt more ways to win than before. It is now better at conducting wars, especially naval operations. It is much better at economic management and it knows how to use all the new features added.[22]
  • Earlier units such as the Settler, Spearman, Worker, Knight (All but Mediterranean style), Horse Archer (Only Mediterranean), Axeman, Warrior (All but European style) and Scout (All but Pre-Columbian style) are now different region art style motif. For example, Charlemagne's Scout and Suryavarman II's Scout are different.
  • On-map ocean trade routes that enhance the importance of the navy[23]
  • Colonies splitting from their motherland to form new civilizations[24]
  • The foreign advisory screen has been overhauled.[22]
  • The Expansive trait has been changed and only grants a 25% bonus to worker production instead of 50%.[25]
  • Augustus Caesar's traits have been changed from Creative/Organized (now Zara Yaqob's traits) to Imperialistic/Industrious. (see below) After Beyond the Sword, Charismatic/Creative, Protective/Organized and Philosophical/Industrious are the only unused trait combinations.
  • Beyond the Sword includes some material from the previous Warlords expansion pack, specifically the core game features, but not the Warlords scenarios.[22]
  • The Greek Phalanx now replaces the Axeman instead of the Spearman, and the Spanish Conquistador replaces the Cuirassier instead of the Knight.
  • The standard game now comprises 500 turns, but still ends at 2050 AD. [citation needed]
  • The slavery civic is changed to medium upkeep.

New civilizations

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword features 10 new civilizations:

Short Description Civilization Starting Technologies[26] Leader Leader Traits Favored Civic Unique Unit Unique Building First City
Babylonia Babylonian Empire Wheel, Agriculture Hammurabi Aggressive, Organized[26] Bureaucracy Bowman (Archer)[26] Garden (Colosseum) [26] Babylon
Byzantium Byzantine Empire Wheel, Mysticism Justinian I[17] Imperialistic, Spiritual Theocracy Cataphract (Knight)[26] Hippodrome (Theatre)[26] Constantinople
Ethiopia Ethiopian Empire Hunting, Mining Zara Yaqob[26] Creative, Organized Theocracy Oromo Warrior (Musketman) Stele (Monument) Aksum
Holy Rome Holy Roman Empire Mysticism, Hunting Charlemagne[27] Imperialistic, Protective Vassalage Landsknecht (Pikeman)[26] Rathaus (Courthouse)[26] Aachen
Khmer Khmer Empire Hunting, Mining Suryavarman II[26] Creative, Expansive Organized Religion Ballista Elephant (War Elephant) Baray (Aqueduct) Yasodharapura
Maya Maya Empire Mysticism, Mining Pacal II[28] Expansive, Financial Hereditary Rule Holkan (Spearman)[26] Ball Court (Colosseum)[26] Mutal (Tikal)
Native America[4] Native American Empire Fishing, Agriculture Sitting Bull Philosophical, Protective[26] Environmentalism Dog Soldier (Axeman)[26] Totem pole (Monument)[26] Cahokia
Netherlands Dutch Empire Fishing, Agriculture Willem van Oranje (William of Orange)[29] Creative, Financial Free Religion East Indiaman (Galleon)[26] Dike (Levee)[26] Amsterdam
Portugal Portuguese Empire Fishing, Mining João II (John II)[30] Imperialistic, Expansive Hereditary Rule Carrack (Caravel) Feitoria (Customs House)[26] Lisbon
Sumeria Sumerian Empire Wheel, Agriculture Gilgamesh[17] Creative, Protective Hereditary Rule Vulture (Axeman)[26] Ziggurat (Courthouse)[26] Uruk

New leaders

There are 7 new leaders in Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword for pre-existing civilizations.

Civilization Leader Leader Traits Favorite Civic
America Abraham Lincoln Charismatic, Philosophical Emancipation
Celtia (Celts) Queen Boudica[23] Charismatic, Aggressive Universal Suffrage
France Charles de Gaulle[25] Charismatic, Industrious Nationhood
Greece Pericles[31] Creative, Philosophical Representation
Ottomans (Ottoman Empire) Suleiman the Magnificent[29] Imperialistic, Philosophical Hereditary Rule
Persia Darius I[25] Financial, Organized Free Religion

Existing leaders

Traits in bold are new traits introduced for that leader. These new traits replace the older assignment of traits for the leader. The older traits are given alongside:

Civilization Leader New Traits Old trait(s)
Rome Augustus Caesar Imperialistic, Industrious Creative, Organized

New scenarios

The expansion will deliver 11 new scenarios, some developed by the fan community.[5] The following scenarios are to be included.[32][33][34][16][35]

  • Afterworld

This single player scenario was designed by Firaxis' Tim McCracken featuring a Science fiction/Horror/Role Playing Game theme where a team of "Gravebringers" are sent to a world inhabited by human robots to retrieve research. In this squad based tactical scenario the player must fight against zombies and the undead. Besides being a X-Com styled thriller this scenario is unusual in that it does not contain many defining aspects of Civilization like leaders, cities or technologies. [36][16] In addition, if any of their gravebringers die, the player loses.

  • Broken Star

Russia is divided, and a civil war is coming. To unite the Motherland the player may purchase military units from the U.S. or promotion upgrades from the Chinese Black Market; conscript the Russian people or bribe enemy forces; or even deploy the ultimate in doomsday weaponry, the nuclear bomb.[16]

  • Charlemagne's Wars

This scenario is based on the wars fought by the legendary Charlemagne in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the Charlemagne's Wars scenario, units outside friendly borders will not heal without supply trains following them along. These defenseless units will have to be protected if the player wants to continue the advance against the Saracens. The Supply Truck is a new unit for this scenario only that will heal troops in enemy territory. [37]

  • CIV Defense

In CIV Defense, Civilization IV becomes a single player tower defense in which players start with a small amount of cash to buy an advanced start and to get a single city going before the game starts. At that point, the player is confronted with a wave of enemies who are hellbent on capturing the cities. After weathering each new wave of attacks, the player is rewarded with additional gold for each city that survives. In the Buy phase he then acquires new units, new cities and new technologies before the next wave of attackers comes. This pattern continues and gets more and more difficult over the course of twenty waves. Once the player has survived them all, he/she is declared the winner. [35]

  • Crossroads of the World!

A late medieval age scenario where the player carves out a fortune from the riches of fourteenth-century Africa, Arabia, and Persia. Victory is achieved by trading, betraying, and battling one's way towards control of the Crossroads of the World.[16]

  • Fall from Heaven: Age of Ice

A plot-heavy scenario set in the world of Erebus, home of the popular Fall from Heaven public mod[38] and made in cooperation with Firaxis staff and members of the mod team.

The scenario begins 350 years into the Age of Ice. Mulcarn, the God of Winter, reigns and the world is little more than a frozen wasteland ravaged by blizzards. Mankind has lost the knowledge gained during the previous age and has broken into small tribes fighting for survival.

The player controls Kylorin, an ageless hero, as he tries to gather several tribes into a force capable of standing against Mulcarn. To do that, the pieces of a legendary sword, the Godslayer, have to be found and numerous threats have to be overcome. These threats could be creatures that roam the wilderness, enemy civilizations or the power of Mulcarn himself. If the player reforges the Godslayer and takes it into battle against Mulcarn he can win the scenario and end the Age of Ice.

  • Final Frontier

The Final Frontier space scenario adapts Civilization into space with a brand new tech tree, units and terrain. The sides are different extrasolar colonies that have now lost contact with Earth. Over the course of the scenario, clues about what happened to humanity's home planet are revealed. The focus is not on building cities, but colonizing entire star systems. [19]

  • Gods of Old

Gods of Old is the standard game, with the exception that the Mesopotamians were right when it comes to religion. Each of the seven Ancient Mesopotamian gods in the game has a special ability and can unleash calamities such as earthquakes and floods.[5]

  • Next War

A futuristic sci-fi scenario with clone armies and mechanized units set in the 2050s. This scenario is available as an expansion on the Epic game as well as being a standalone scenario. The setup of the map at the beginning of the scenario is similar to the world in Nineteen Eighty-Four with Armerica Inc. as Oceania, Europa as Eurasia, Asia as Eastasia, and The Southern Empire as the war zones.[16]

  • Rhye's and Fall of Civilization

Another improved and updated favorite among fans' mods for Civilization IV that tries to provide a realistic and historically correct game based on an Earth map.[16]

  • World War II: Road to War

Play as the Allies or Axis in the European Theater starting in either 1936 or 1939 or the Pacific Theater starting in 1936 of the Second World War[16]

New World Wonders

New wonders feature in the game:

New National Wonders

  • Moai Statues (gives the player production in all water tiles of that city) [41]
  • National Park (removes access to Coal, removes any unhealthiness in the city and give one Free Specialist per Forest Preserve)[42]

New buildings

New units

New promotions

  • Air unit promotions [44]
    • Range: increases how far a unit can operate [44]
    • Interception: increases the chance that a unit can catch enemy aircraft as they come into range[44]
    • Ace: increases the unit's chance to evade interception[44]
  • Woodsman III

New technologies

These new technologies are narrated by Sid Meier.

Game Errors

  • The graphic model and movie for the 'Apostolic Palace' is not the real palace, but St. Peter's Basilica, in Rome, which is right next to the palace. This is similar to how Saint Basil's Cathedral is represented in the original Civ IV instead of its own adjacent palace.
  • The diplomacy head for Hammurabi is messed up. It is entirely magenta.

In-game easter eggs

See also

References

  1. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=222075
  2. ^ http://www.amazon.de/Civilization-4-Beyond-Sword-Add/dp/B000PDZBT2
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ a b c d e f http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detail.php?gameid=16
  5. ^ a b c d http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/beyondthesword
  6. ^ Brett Todd, "Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword: Everyone's Favorite Turn-Based Strategy Epic Gets the Director's Cut Treatment," PC Gamer Magazine 168 (October 2007): 68.
  7. ^ a b c http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=223198
  8. ^ a b c d http://pc.ign.com/articles/798/798385p3.html
  9. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=227265
  10. ^ a b c d e http://pc.ign.com/articles/791/791168p2.html
  11. ^ a b c d http://media.pc.ign.com/media/896/896712/img_4643244.html
  12. ^ http://media.pc.ign.com/media/896/896712/img_4643279.html
  13. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilizationivbeyondthesword/news.html?sid=6171558&mode=previews
  14. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=227415
  15. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/civilizationivbeyondthesword/news.html?sid=6171558
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h "Civilization 4:Beyond the Sword". BigPond Game Arena. Retrieved June 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i Melville, Richard (May 25 2007). "Preview - Civilization IV:Beyond The Sword". Eurogamer. pp. p. 1. Retrieved June 18. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ http://pc.ign.com/articles/792/792037p1.html
  19. ^ a b http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=76804&page=2
  20. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=222075
  21. ^ http://play.tm/story/10816/2
  22. ^ a b c http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=225548
  23. ^ a b c d e http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=165702
  24. ^ a b c http://pc.ign.com/articles/791/791168p1.html
  25. ^ a b c d e f g http://pc.ign.com/articles/797/797847p2.html
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Butts, Steve (June 19 2007). "Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword: Full details on all the new toys the expansion holds!". IGN. pp. p. 1. Retrieved June 28. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  27. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=227277
  28. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=5448204#post5448204
  29. ^ a b http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=223656
  30. ^ http://pc.ign.com/articles/788/788749p1.html
  31. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=224007
  32. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=5496896&postcount=6
  33. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=224790
  34. ^ http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=5497552&postcount=214
  35. ^ a b http://pc.ign.com/articles/801/801206p1.html
  36. ^ http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_bts_afterworld.php
  37. ^ http://pc.ign.com/articles/792/792037p2.html
  38. ^ http://pc.ign.com/articles/796/796807p1.html
  39. ^ a b c d e f http://pc.ign.com/articles/788/788749p2.html
  40. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gibson, Sam (June 3 2007). "Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword with Alex Mantzaris". PlayTM. Retrieved June 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ a b c http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=5563190#post5563190.html
  42. ^ http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2007/172/reviews/938800_20070622_screen025.jpg
  43. ^ a b c d e f http://pc.ign.com/articles/797/797847p3.html
  44. ^ a b c d http://pc.ign.com/articles/798/798385p4.html
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