Description of App
The BC4000 APP is a turn-based strategy game. The game has an online mode, a hot seat mode and a single player mode. You take on the role of the ruler of a civilization, attempt to build an empire in competition with other civilizations. The game begins in 4000 BC, before the Bronze Age, and can last through to AD 2100 with Space Age.
Along with the larger tasks of exploration, warfare and diplomacy, you have to make decisions about where to build new cities, which improvements or units to build in each city, when to expand your empire by new settlers, and how to transform the land surrounding the cities for maximum benefit. From time to time your cities may be harassed by units from other nations or barbarians. You should protect borders and maintain zones of control.
You can gain a large advantage if your civilization is the first to learn a particular technology and put it to use in a military or other context. Since only one technology may be researched at any given time, the order in which technologies are chosen makes a considerable difference in the outcome of the game and generally reflects your preferred style of gameplay. Please carefully consider about forms of government, tax rates and research priorities.
You can also build Wonders of the World after obtaining the prerequisite knowledge. These wonders are important achievements of society, science, culture and defense, ranging from the Pyramids and the Great Wall in the Ancient age, to Copernicus' Observatory and Magellan's Expedition in the middle period, up to the Apollo program in the modern era. Each wonder can only be built once in the world, and requires a lot of resources to build, far more than most other city buildings or units. Wonders provide unique benefits to the controlling civilization. For example, Magellan's Expedition increases the movement rate of naval units.
The game can be won by conquering all other civilizations or by winning the space race by reaching the star system of Alpha Centauri.
The strategy logic and user interactive concept are inspired by the original Sid Meier's Civilization. Most graphics, music, map and text materials come from public domain licensed by Creative Commons License or General Public License.
Comments
A few more things regarding map editing
Some of the terrain packed maps, such as the 500x250 world map will be removed from the editor. Also, you will no longer have to go into the brush menu to change between terrain and resources. All terrain and resources will be in one spot.
This just keeps getting
This just keeps getting better and better. I myself, I’m looking forward to being able to watch the rest of the game unfold when I lose, which to be honest, is most of the time! L O L
Well, I may have had it a bit wrong.
Well, technically you can watch the rest of the game unfold, but you won't actually be updated on who is doing what. Basically, you will just be in super player mode for the duration of the game, so I guess you will just have to explore every city on every turn to catch new developments. At first, I thought we would get turn by turn news updates or something. Still grateful for what we have though.
Well what do you know?
Well, I was just talking about notifications in the previous post, now they are suddenly a reality. When playing as the observer, we will be given turn by turn updates on what each nation is doing. It's madness I tell you, but I love it.
@DMNagel
Thank you, my friend, for all your help.
It seems I have, finally, solved some things that were not clear for me.
thank you for taking the time to help those of us who are struggling to understand this game.
You and Pañais are both awesome.
Indeed this game is just greater every day.
Now I'm just waiting for an update for DDH and I'll be happy. LOL.
A note of encouragement
Wow. I have not tried the new alien rule set yet but I cannot wait. I am simply blown away by how much energy Jianfeng Wu puts into this game. I don't think honestly that I have ever encountered a game developer who implements every feasible suggestion made by the players. It's clear that either we are all totally on the same wavelength or he actually cares about reading our comments and suggestions. I hesitate to use terms like the best ever, but this is definitely on my list near the top. And it just keeps getting better and better. Jianfeng Wu thanks and keep up the great work!
The public update is here.
To those who was holding up on the alien ruleset, now is the best time to try it, as it has made its way to the map editor. There are new units, terrain types, buildings, technologies and races to deal with. Should you lose all your cities and units, you can become an observer to the rest of the game. Note that when you are observing, the very first observation turn will contain all updates from the start of the game to wear you got killed off. You will be permanently in super player mode for the rest of the game, plus you will receive notifications on what each nation is doing. Have a good one.
Some changes.
So, it turns out that we have some new changes to the game. The first one is quite obvious, since there are new music. It took me a while to figure out the change regarding user defined tiles, but here it is. As you all know, previously when using the map editor and adding for example a plane, you would need to go through layers should you wish to improve the tile. For example, you would need to add a road first, followed by railroad and finally maglev. The same rule applied when adding food resources. You had to add irrigation first, before you could add farmland. Now, you don't need these layers anymore. Now you just add your plane, followed by farmland and maglev. In short, you can now skip the minor layers and add the best ones right away. You're welcome.
Well well well, what do you know?
Once again, a major update is in the works. A new ruleset is coming called Aviation. In this ruleset, you begin in the year 1900 and every turn is equivalent to one month. obviously, there will be new units, buildings and 115 technologies. This ruleset Will also be available in the map editor from the start. So far, when selecting to play on a randomly generated map, only the first 50 nations seem to be available for now. However, I haven't fully tested this on the map editor yet. This developer truly is awesome. It's really feeling like I'm playing different civilisation games.
Tutorials
Hey guys. I want to play this so much but is there any tutorials to get started besides what’s in the game? Just need to get my head around how it works!!
Tutorials
Unfortunately the only tutorials are those in the game, along with the encyclopedias and the descriptions on this website.
It’s very easy to get the hang of it
You can start a game without opponents and slowly figure how things work. Try using workers to improve the land around your city first. Also check out the guide to winning and the strategy guide on the encyclopedia. If you need any help send me a message and I will be happy to assist you.
What's coming in the next update
The rest of the nations will be making their way to the Aviation ruleset. Every map available in civilisation mode will also be making its way to the map editor.
New update
Version 1.6.3 ready for upgrade!
- Support to choose ruleset when start a new scenario
- Add more languages support to Battlefield module
- Fix crash issue on iOS 12
Maps
Some maps, such as the 500x250 world map will also be getting new sizes. Furthermore, there is a very subtle change when editing your own map. Instead of the minimum being 50x50, you can now adjust it to 25x25 should you wish to do so. I am not sure how the map of the Asian continent can be almost twice the size of the world map lol, but I'm not complaining. Just a bit baffled by the logic.
New distances between cities
As you all know, previously we were able to choose The minimum and maximum distance for cities to be away from each other. We could choose between 3 to 5 tiles. In the latest upcoming version however, we will be able to select between 1 and 11. This would drastically limit or even increase the number of cities you can build, making the game even more hard or easy. I've also asked the good doctor to consider dropping these limits in the map editor as well. I want cities to spring up like mushrooms lol.
Got to admit, I'm in the clouds.
One of my custom maps (Strange little world) was apparently good enough to be accepted as a community map. Feel free to check it out, should you have time. I'm also looking forward to hopefully see more maps created by members of our blind community.
Help needed
Could someone give me some advice on using this app?
I can find my cities, but I have no idea how to place workers or build irregation. Additionally, moving units on such a massive map can be very slow and difficult to do; are there any ways to make this easier? Lastly, is there any way to pick your opponent in the online game? I have a friend I want to show this game to, but I'm not sure if I could set up a one-on-one game with him.
Workers and irrigation
Check the mini map from within a city's menu. Move workers to all the tiles on that map and build roads/irrigation. Alternatively, you can just double tap on the work button and the workers will move to those tiles and perform work automatically. As for online games, you can just select the invite a friend option and it should work nicely. there are currently three ways of navigating depending on your situation. First, you can simply use the directional buttons which is perhaps the simplest way of moving a unit. Secondly, you can select the go to button, then explore the map with your finger and double tap on the tile you wish to go to. The unit will find its way to the location automatically, assuming that it's within reason. Thirdly, if you have cities, you can select the go to city button and make use of those menus to order units around from city to city. That's pretty much it. Hope that it was helpful.
Clarification
When talking about workers, what DMNagel meant, is that you need to check the minimap within the city interface, in order to find out which tiles and their corresponding coordinates, are within the workable area of your city. Then you must select your workers on the actual map of the game, and direct them to improve the tiles you are interested in.
Concerning online mode, in my version of the game the invite friend option is not available and thus choosing an opponent is not possible.
Indeed
Now that I've checked thoroughly, it appears that there is no invite friends button, so I guess you and your friend will simply have to be online at the same time, then hope for the game to pair you up with each other.
It was before and it will probably be again
However, the multiplayer interface was redesigned so for the moment the invite friends option is gone.
By the way this is a great map you made DMNagel! Congrats!
Thanks
Glad you're enjoying my map. The thing is, I'm not really fond of huge maps, because make the game running a little slower on my iPhone XS max.
Still Confused
So I can see the mini-map within a city. I then go back to the world map, and tap on that square. However, I don't see a way to get a citizen to work that tile. I see something like terrain forest, food production 1, shield production 2. But nothing about workers, or having someone work that square.
Let me explain
There are two things you can do with a tile. Work it and improve it.
To work a tile, you must put your citizens to work on the tile. This is done using the mini map within the city interface.
To work a tile, double tap on it until the game indicates that the selected tile is currently worked by your citizens. When a tile is worked by one of your available citizens, along with the tile coordinates, the game also indicates the resource output of the tile in question. If no output is indicated by the game when you tap on a tile, then the tile is not worked by your citizens.
Improving tiles is another story altogether. The benefit of improving tiles is that when improved, tiles provide extra output to their city when worked by your citizens. To improve tiles you must first build units that are able to provide these improvements. Such units are workers and engineers, although settlers can also do the job all be it slower.
After you have built and selected your workers on the actual map, you must move them upon the tile you want them to improve. When there, just select the improvement you want them to carry out. The main improvements you can build on a tile our irrigation, mine and Road.
Also note that by building certain improvements on a tile, you can also change the nature of the tile. For example if you select to irrigate a forest, the forest will turn into a plane upon which you can then build actual irrigation, in order to gain more food.
Who is currently playing and beta testing iOS 16?
So far, I have found that BC4000 and DDHeroes are, (in some areas), difficult to use.
You have to switch recognition mode on and off in order to access some parts of the game.
Even when you are sure that you have the right button and you are about to press it, you don't get the result that is expected.
I have left a message for BC 4000 in discord but, so far, I have not gotten an answer.
In my message I mentioned that in DDH the "points of interest" button is not working. It is inaccessible.
Those of you who are beta testing BC 4000 and, if you are also beta testing, iOS 16, please give DDH a look and help me get the developer's attention to this issue.
I also need your help corroborating this problem.
I hope I am not the only one experiencing these difficulties with both games.
Thank you so much.
Building
How do I build workers and engineers, and what's the difference?
Building workers and engineers
From within a city's interface, select the change button and select the things you wish to build. Workers/engineers should be among the options. Basically, an engineer is an upgraded worker. They can work faster than ordinary workers and even perform better tasks, such as transforming certain areas into others. They even gain higher levels as they work, allowing them to work even faster. They only become available with higher technologies.
Ocean Confusion
How do I get a settler across an ocean if I don't have any airplane capabilities? Can triremes or other boats get settlers over water? If so, how do I do it?
Build a trireme or transport
When that is done, there will be an option which says load into the ship when using your setler. Next, you simply move it across the ocean. Please note that a trireme can't move in the deep ocean, only ocean. To move in the deep ocean, you need a transport.
Minimum Military
So I've been playing some 2-player games against a single novice AI opponent. Even though I leave one defensive unit, I keep getting my cities conquered. However, when I build more military units, it kills my gold reserves and bankrupts me, which drastically slows down my production and gets me conquered too. It also sends my cities into disorder, even when I have temples and the cathedral wonder. I've been using the 25x25 map (since the big maps are really overwhelming and take forever to keep track of).
A few starting tips
I would actually suggest starting with bigger maps, anyway, because smaller maps mean that you have smaller distances between nations, which means that you will definitely get conquered faster. Either that, or you could start with just one nation on novice mode. It wouldn't be as interesting I suppose, but then you would have plenty of leeway to figure out the game first. A few people before me have actually recommended that idea; it wouldn't hurt to go through some of the comments here.
BC 4000 and iOS 16
I've been having the same issue as
DrummerGuy
Where I will try to select a button and it doesn't do what I'm expecting it to do. In some cases it's actually quite a big problem because I can't figure out how to actually open the menu for each individual city. Is there some shortcut that I can use to get around that? Like for example, I tried to tap on a city to change its production, and voiceover makes it appear as if nothing is happening.
Am I making sense?
Please report any problem to this email address
dr.jianfeng.wu@gmail.com
trade
How do I set up trade routes between cities? I build a caravan in one city, and have it travel to another, but once it arrives, there's no establish trade route button. Apparently I should also be able to sell goods or help build wonder, but I don't see that either.
There is a bug with trade routes
First of all, cities needs to be at least nine tiles away from each other in order to establish trade routes. Secondly, you need to move your caravan using the directional buttons, otherwise the commands won't pop up. I have tried reporting it via The feedback option, but the bug is yet to be addressed. Oh and another thing, if you have an alliance with another nation, you can also set up trade routes with them and the distance between your nations can be five tiles.
I have reported this issue, but have not received any answer.
I am having the same issue with BC4000 and DDHeroes and have reported this problem but yet no answer.
Every time there is a new update I am thinking that perhaps the problem has been resolved, but the only thing I see our new maps.
I have not been able to play since I first started reporting this problem.
I sincerely hope that my emails have found their way to the developer.
If not, there might be something wrong, and I am continuously trying to see what it could be.
The developer has shown great commitment in making his games accessible for the blind community.
So, the only thing I can think of, is that maybe I am not doing something right.
Hopefully, this issues can be solved soon.
Fixed voiceover issue
The latest update fixes the issue with voiceover. It is now possible to select cities again.
We have two new cheats.
I'm not sure if it has been released for the public yet, but you can now watch advertisements to instantly fill your granary, as well as boost research at critical moments, or basically any time you want.
It has
Yes, that was released in the last update. Though it only fills the granary to 75% full. also, if there is a way to watch an ad to boost research, I don't know where it is.
Re cheats
I just checked, and you are correct. The one about the granary is already out, but the research booster just arrived today in the beta. When it becomes public, it should be the very first option on the research selection screen.
Ad Accessibility
Is it just me, or is watching ads inaccessible? I can watch an ad, but I can't close it without closing the app. When I do that, I lose the reward. How can I watch ads and close them, without having to close the app?
Ads
I get two types of ads. One has no buttons and the only links in it are to go to the App Store and such. With those I just have to find the text that says reward granted, and then flicking right after that, it will say close video with a Question mark, And then again, and it will say you will lose your reward, and then one more time and it says close video and I double tap on that. I just have to kind of feel around the screen for it. The other kind is much simpler and when it's done, I tap somewhere in the middle of the screen and there's the image to click on that will take you to the ad, and then flick left, and that's the close button. I hope that helps.
Tap on the bottom of the screen with four fingers
Once you are at the bottom, swipe left and tap on the first close button you find.
Research output
Is anyone else unable to watch an ad to boost research output? Whenever I tap the button, nothing happens.
Leader name
Well, that seems to be a bug. Because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Also, Is there anyway to change the leader name from was in a game, or do I have to move the map so it can be edited?
Setting the leader name from within the game
Double tap on the nations button, then nation report and finally, double tap on the leader’s name.
About the game BC 4000
The game ITS in deed good. The problem that I have with the game, is that I no longer can invite Friends to my on line game. In rest, it's excelent.
By trial and error.
Create online games and eventually your friend will join your game or vice versa. it’s little annoying though. The developer might fix this or he might not. We’ll see.
Ads
I can't seem to close any ads. When I get an ad I find where it says reward granted on the screen but then I flick and it doesn't go anywhere. And also I've tried just feeling around the screen and I can't find anything that says close video.