Okay, I just bought CivIV...

What can I say, I'm a little bit of a late bloomer.

Anyhow, I'm going to install and try it out today after work. Can any experienced CivIV players point me in the right direction for any patches I will need to download and install?

Thanks...

The Civ equivalent of the Org for me is:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/index.php?

Follow the general menu at the top to find downloads, then downloads patches and then you should find the 1.61 official patch. (Or find the official patch for Warlords if you bought the expansion too).

Civfanatics has several very useful strategy articles too - I liked Wounded Knight's guide in particular.

http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/stra...ndedknight.php

Have fun - it's a great game.

Pick up the Warlords expansion. It has some great scenarios (my favorite is ancient china), and has plenty of good stuff that enhances the main campaign, such as unique buildings for each civilization.

Thanks to both of you. I can't wait to get home...

I second the suggestion to get Warlords. I just love the Vassalisation option.

Very fun, so glad i play with beefy187

Make sure you don't play too much TW before CIV, because it can spoil your fun...

Civ IV has a usefully build in update checker which downloads and install the latest patches.

I agree which the warlords expansion is great !

Are there any good mods out for it?

For mods: check Civfanatics, they've got a bunch of them there, haven't tried any myself though.

Just remember, the difficulty levels actually mean what they are labeled, once you get past monarch, the computer gets so many bonuses that it isn't funny allowing them to easily run past you early in the game

This is the coolest mod I've seen for it. Great stuff.

http://www.civ4.houmie.com/

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=198161

Gives each nation a unique look for starters, along with many other changes. It's one of those, once you play you can't go back to vanilla mods.

Just got CivIV as well... it reminds me very much of a great blend of Civ the original and AlphaC.

Just played a little bit of Civ IV again after a couple of months. I must say, it has dissapointed me given how long I kept interest in Civ II when it came out