Tilted Mill, the developers of my favorite city builder, Children of the Nile, have announced that Caesar IV is in the works. The made the announcement at this week’s game developer’s conference in Leipzig. Vivendi Universal, the heirs of Sierra, will be publishing it. All the news at www.caesariv.com.

Returning to Rome is a good move for Tilted Mill. As former Impressions employees, the legacy of the Caesar series looms large. Rome is familiar to gamers, and has a more traditional economy than the feudal oligarchy of ancient Egypt. There’s a nice brief on the history of the Caesar games at the new game’s site.

Caesar IV will have the walkers follow their needs just as they did in Children of the Nile instead of following the near random routes that they did in the earlier games. I loved this innovation, though not all did. One friend disdains my love of Children of the Nile and, like many gamers, considers Pharaoh a superior game.

Tilted Mill will have some competition, though. Deep Silver’s Heart of Empire: Rome is on its way and will probably hit stores before Caesar IV does. There doesn’t seem to be a lot to choose between the graphics. I do hope that they keep the grungy feel of CotN; in spite of what Hollywood would have you believe, the ancient world was not all stone and marble.

No release date appears to be set.