Warnings
- The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
- GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).
Key points
- Mod friendly.
- Active community.
- If you own the retail version, you must request the multiplayer patch.[1]
- Steam version online multiplayer has been transitioned to Steamworks.[2]
General information
- Official Downloads page (patches, SDK, etc.)
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
- Civilization IV Steam key exchanging services was discontinued on June 4, 2017.[5]
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
Civilization IV: Warlords |
|
|
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword |
|
|
Version differences
Retail DVD version
- Civilization IV: Gold contains the base game and Warlords.
- Civilization IV: Complete contains the base game, Warlords, and Beyond the Sword, and was released before Colonization.
- The similarly named Civilization IV: Complete Edition contains the base game, Warlords, Beyond the Sword, and Colonization on a single DVD. It contains an updated DirectX installer and contains no DRM. The individual games still require patches to the current version.
Steam version
The tutorial for the game is only available through the base game installation, and the Warlords expansion contains exclusive scenarios which are only available through its installation. All other gameplay contents and features are included in Beyond The Sword; if you do not need the base game tutorial and Warlords scenarios, you may uninstall them respectively. Colonization is a standalone game which does not overlap with Beyond The Sword.
Essential improvements
Patches
Detailed installation steps
A very thorough set of instructions on how to install Civilization IV and its expansions are available here.
Skip intro videos
Game data
In-game general settings.
In-game gameplay settings.
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
Video
Input
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Music, Sound Effects, Speech, Ambience, Interface. |
Surround sound |
|
Up to 8.1. |
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
EAX support |
|
EAX 4.0. |
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
|
|
|
French |
|
|
|
|
German |
|
|
|
|
Italian |
|
|
|
|
Japanese |
|
|
|
Retail only |
Polish |
|
|
|
Retail only |
Russian |
|
|
|
Retail only |
Spanish |
|
|
|
|
Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
2033, 2056, 3783, 6500, 6667, 28900, 29900, 29001 |
UDP |
2302-2400, 6500, 6515, 13139, 27900 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues fixed
DirectX issues
- To ensure the original game and its expansions run properly, install the latest DirectX End-User Runtimes. This is not a problem with the Complete Edition, which installs the correct DirectX version automatically.
Failed Initializing Python
- Caused by discontinued support for Python 2.3 in OS X Yosemite 10.10.
Copy Python 2.3 back into OS X[8]
|
- Download BTS YosemitePython Fix.7z.
- Copy the folders '2.3' and '2.5' to
/Library/Python/ . Enter your administrator password.
- Go to
/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/ and delete the alises for '2.3' and '2.5' and copy in the '2.3' and '2.5' folders from the BTS Yosemite Python Fix.
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9 |
|
OpenGL |
|
macOS/OS X only. |
Shader Model support |
3 |
[citation needed] |
Executable | PPC |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows | |
|
|
|
macOS (OS X) | | |
|
32-bit only.[9] Colonization does not support PowerPC processors. |
Middleware
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
2000 |
XP |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 4 1.2 GHz AMD Athlon 1.2 GHz |
Intel Pentium 4 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon 1.8 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
256 MB |
1 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
1.7 GB |
3.8 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 2 ATI Radeon 7500 64 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible
| 128 MB of VRAM |
macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
10.7.5 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel 2.0 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
512 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
3.5 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 ATI Radeon 9600 128 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[3] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[4]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References