Civilization IV Q&A - Post-E3 Questions

As the next chapter in the definitive PC strategy game franchise, Civilization IV is naturally one of the high-profile games of 2005. All that expectation comes with a lot of risk, though. Civ, as the series is simply known, is one of the most beloved and recognized brands in gaming, and each time the series is reinvented, the changes are closely scrutinized. Civ IV promises to upset the apple cart much more than its predecessors ever did, due to its bevy of changes. The designers have not only implemented a 3D engine for the first time, but they've also rewritten many of the gameplay conventions that have remained the same since the first Civ.

Civ IV will let you rewrite history in countless different ways.

The basic idea behind Civilization is that you start with a small tribe in the Stone Age, and you must guide it through history. You explore your surroundings and expand your civilization by founding new cities. You research new technologies that represent the breadth of human innovation. You engage in diplomacy and war with your neighbors and rivals. And you end the game either in control of the world, or as yet another civilization swept into the dustbin of history. While that formula remains the kernel behind Civ 4, pretty much everything else that you know about Civ has been modified or tweaked. The game had an excellent showing at E3 this year, and we came out of the demo impressed and brimming with questions. Thankfully, Barry Caudill, the game's senior producer, was more than willing to indulge us. Civ IV ships this winter.

GameSpot: First off, what are your feeling now that E3 is over? Has Civ IV picked up a lot of fans to add to its already-dedicated fan base after the show?

Barry Caudill: E3 was very good to us this year. We had a lot of great coverage in the tried-and-true gaming press, as well as a ton of consumer press exposure. The Civanon marketing promotion kickoff was very well received, and I think we have a lot of momentum as we head toward the finish line.

GS: The E3 presentation raised as many questions as it answered. For instance, the new unit and combat system seems to eliminate the ability to stack units on top of each other. Or will you still be able to do that?

BC: You can still stack units and move them as a group, but I believe the new system promotes a combined arms approach rather than indiscriminate stacking. There are many shortcuts available for selecting any or all units on a given square, and the game determines the best attacker when you give a stack attack order, or the best defender when your stack is attacked.

GS: We know that the team is getting rid of long-standing conventions that have been in the Civ series for years, including the way pollution and corruption were treated in the game. But how will you replace them? Pollution and corruption are two very important balancing factors. For instance, players won't have to worry about cleaning pollution squares, but will it reduce production in some way?

BC: As balancing factors go, cleaning up individual pollution squares is not very fun. We would rather keep the balancing factor and provide interesting decisions without adding in any tedium. Pollution is still a factor, as it will go to the overall health of the city, and that affects numerous things, including production.

GS: We understand that this will be a "shorter" Civ game, in that it will feature somewhat faster play thanks to the fact that there aren't as many turns. Could you elaborate on that? Is the goal to get a game that's playable in a night, as opposed to several days, like Civ III and Civ II often required?

BC: There will be three game speeds: normal, quick, and epic. Normal will be just what you would expect from a game of Civ based on any of the previous versions. Quick, on the other hand, will have all of the values (tech costs, build costs, etc.) tweaked to provide a much quicker game that still retains the flavor of a normal game. It's possibly a one-night experience, but we are still balancing it. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the epic game speed, which will provide diehard Civ addicts with a much longer game time that is balanced to still feel correct.

The combat system still allows unit stacking, but that won't be as important as creating a balanced army.

GS: How does religion work, exactly? Do you have to research an individual religion before you can convert to it, much like you had to research different government types in earlier Civ games? And once you have religion, how do you defend against encroaching religions so they don't convert your cities?

BC: The first person to discover certain technologies will find the religion associated with that technology, so you don't have to have the technology to convert. The easiest way to keep other people's missionaries out of your territory is by eliminating any open border treaties you might have. That would mean that the missionary unit could not cross your border without its owner declaring war first. Keeping your religion strong by aggressively building religious buildings and being aggressive in pushing your own religion with missionaries will also help.