Patch v2.08 for Warlords Available! Firaxis has released v2.08 of Warlords. You can download the patch here. A full changelist is also available. More >
Railroads! Demo Firaxis has just released a demo version of Sid Meier's Railroads!. The demo comes at a whooping 265 MB, and it is available for download here on Planet Civilization. More >
War Front Demo Command experimental weapons, prototype vehicles, and more in this unique WWII RTS.
Modding Competition Which mods are the best? Submit your mod and win signed copies of Civilization IV or the official game soundtrack!
Simon Bradbury on CivCity: Rome Simon Bradbury talks to Planet Civilization about his new game, CivCity: Rome. He explains new features, research, daily lives of the citizens, and even giant death robots.
Sid Meier's Pirates PSP 8:30 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Our colleagues at GameSpy have tried out the upcoming PSP version of Sid Meier's Pirates! You can read a preview and see some screenshots here!
You can also find yet another preview (with some more screenshots) at our network partner site IGN.
Three Men and a Victory (9/10) 8:28 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Apolyton has published the ninth in the ten-part "Three Men and a Victory" from 'ApolyCon '06' earlier this week. Three representatives from Civilization IV developer Firaxis Games participated in a multiplayer tournament for the game. The game's Lead Designer Soren Johnson, fellow Designer/Programmer Jon "Trip" Schafer and Software Engineer Alex "alexman" Mantzaris went head-to-head with an on-looking crowd... and a camera documenting it all.
Civilization Online 9:30 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News For all those who can't get enough of normal CIV, or for all those who simply don't like graphics, there's a new online version of Civilization. The game works via a heavily text-based interface, and you control your civilization and fight against thousands of others online. The game is always on, and continues while you're away -- CIV-MMORPG!
It's free, it's beta (like everything these days), so go check it out at www.civ-online.com
Soren Johnson on the future of PC gaming 3:49 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News ComputerAndVideoGames has posted an interview with Soren Johnson, the lead designer of Civilization IV, where he discusses the problems facing the PC gaming industry. His main concerns are the focus that publishers put on console development and the outdated distribution model. He calls for more downloadable games at lower prices, and hopes that in this way publishers can see the great advantage of the PC -- flexibility.
He also revealed that he is working on a new game:
Let's enter dream land for a second - if you asked Santa Claus for your perfect or dream videogame, what would that videogame be and why choose it?
Soren Johnson: I'm working on that game right now. I can't talk about it, of course!
Three Men and a Victory (8/10) 3:42 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Apolyton has published the eighth in a ten-part
series titled "Three Men and a Victory" from ApolyCon'06's last
evening. Three representatives from Civilization IV developer Firaxis
Games participated in a multiplayer tournament for the game. The game's
Lead Designer Soren Johnson, fellow Designer/Programmer Jon "Trip"
Schafer and Software Engineer Alex "alexman" Mantzaris went head-to-head
with an on-looking crowd... and a camera documenting it all.
Railroads Patch 1.1 3:53 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Firaxis has released Railroads! patch 1.1 just in time for Christmas! The patch features a few bug-fixes, larger maps, and a free camera mode! You can find the patch here!
Happy Holidays! 3:47 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News The whole team at Planet Civilization wishes you happy holidays (this inlcudes merry Christmas, merry Hanukka, merry Yule, merry Mithras, or whichever other festival you are celebrating). But remember... Christmas is a family event, so what are you doing on this site? Just kidding!
Players will have to actually save Christmas, by ensuring that Santa and his little elves get all the toys delivered in time, while up to three enemy barons will try to destroy the entreprise.
Inlcuding a new train, two new skins, custom sounds, a North Pole environment and much more, the scenario is available now, free of charge.
Beyond routine upgrades, this patch includes some noteworthy features that make the game more accessible, like shortcuts, Kids Mode, Auto Save, advanced camera options and the Undo Feature which allows a brief window of time for you to change your mind after deleting a building.
13:51 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Apolyton's official podcast has published its fourth episode. "Two by Two" is now available for download in MP3 format at 64kbps quality running 67m51s (32.5MB). The "Interview" segment features the second in a two-part chat with 'Civilization III' Co-Designer and 'Civilization IV' Lead Designer Soren Johnson from Firaxis Games to discuss 'Civilization Chronicles'.
GS: Recently, EA announced that Command & Conquer 3 is coming to the Xbox 360. Can you see a Civilization game coming to next-gen consoles, given their processing power?
SM: Yes. I think the latest consoles have the processing power to deliver fun experiences with the bigger strategy games. It's definitely something we've been keeping our eyes on, and we'll let you know where we'll go from here.
GS: Age of Empires was successfully ported to the DS, but so far the only portables that Civilization series has touched are mobile phones and the ill-fated N-Gage. Could we see a DS Civilization some time in the future?
SM: Our goal is to deliver Civilization on any game platform that makes sense. If we can deliver a fun experience to the players on the DS, then we'll do it. We're still in the exploratory mode on all of this, but will definitely let you know our plans as soon as they're set. I believe the N-Gage version was a licensing deal that Atari made using the Civ II version. Firaxis wasn't part of the development process, so it was ill-fated from the beginning.
