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 >
Supreme Commander Demo: Sample the next evolution in the Real Time Strategy genre.
Modding Competition Which mods are the best? Submit your mod and win signed copies of Civilization IV or the official game soundtrack!
Railroads Strategy Guide Railroads! strategy guide in several installments!
File Uploading/Submission Fixed 9:59 PST | KBowen | Print News | Mail News File uploading, submission, and modification is working once again. Please let us know if you experience any issues and apologies once again for the brief inconvenience.
File Uploading/Submission Down 13:42 PST | KBowen | Print News | Mail News Due to a few technical problems, the uploading, modification, and submission of files on this site is currently disabled. We apologize for the temporary inconvenience and hope to have this issue fixed soon.
Pirates! PSP Screenshots 9:46 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News We've updated our screenshots gallery to showcase the new PSP version of Pirates!, which was just released in the US and is coming to Europe in spring. Generally, the game looks pretty much the same as in the PC version, just that the resolution is lower and the aspect ratio is closer to 16:9. It looks very promising.
PolyCast 7 9:41 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News "PolyCast," Apolyton Civilization Site`s (ACS) official podcast, is now publishing its seventh episode. "The Lucky One" is available for download in MP3 format running 56m07s (26.3MB).
Paul Stephanouk Presentation (2/5) 9:38 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News In the second of five parts, Stephanouk reviews the early days of Rise of Nations` development, including the humbling the team received at the hands of one Starcraft player brought in for playtesting. Why the game incorporates a 2D/3D hybrid appearance and the limitations that brings follows as well as what he regards as the most enjoyable element in the development of a game of this scope. Learn what nation was cut during RoN`s development, one of the hardest things game developers struggle to find the time for and who at BHG is the worst for making changes to gameplay at anytime.
Railroads Strategy Guide Part 1 14:11 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News We have posted the first installment of our Railroads! strategy guide. This first article explains how to start out your railroad and what to look for when laying down your first tracks.
Paul Stephanouk Presentation (1/5) 13:09 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Big Huge Games (BHG) designer Paul Stephanouk gives a presentation on
the development of the company's premiere title, Rise of Nations, which
offeres a glipse into BHG's approach to game development in general.
In the first of five parts released on Monday, Stephanouk introduces himself as RoN's Producer with an interest and love of gaming that predates his employment in the industry. On the BHG approach to game design, he explains their layer approach highlighted by four primary tiers: art (visuals), designers (architecture), programming (code) and production (administration). He acknowledges the influences Alpha Centauri, the Civilization series and boardgames had on RoN`s evolution, and notes how within three weeks of signing the game`s contract with publisher Microsoft Game Studios in mid-2000 the company had a basic but playable build of the game was in place.
Firaxis at Red Bull Flugtag 14:33 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Tom Symonds, an artist who worked on Firaxis Games' Sid Meier's Railroads! built a flying vehicle for this year's Red Bull Flugtag in Baltimore. The contraption was modelled on the 4-4-0 American locomotive featured in Railroads, and built by a team of Firaxis employees. It won the people's choice award at the event.
The building process and the launch (and fall) of the flying locomotive can be downloaded as a video on the Railroads! website (in the downloads section).
Sid Meier's Pirates! (PSP) Available Now 12:31 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News 2K Games announced today that the PSP (PlayStation Portable) version of Sid Meier's Pirates! is available as of today (in the USA, coming to Europe in March). The game is pretty much the same as the PC version, with one marked difference: It allows multiplayer games!
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.
