Civilization IV has been patched, and the changes are pretty interesting.

In probably the most significant gameplay change, the “chop till you drop” strategy has been seriously weakened. Many of the most successful Civ IV players center their early game around the deforestation of their first few cities. The wood is converted into hammers, pushing production ahead very quickly. The new patch limits forest cuts and decreases their productivity the further you chop from a city. Discovering mathematics will give you a 50% bonus to the deforestation effort.

The biggest longterm balance changes, though, relate to modifications to civilization traits and civic costs. Expansive states now have extra health to let their cities manage growth better and financial states don’t get the bonus that came with banks. These changes are in line with many complaints from users that financial leaders were overpowered and expansive ones too weak to really expand.

The Pit Boss and SDK have also been released, which means that there should be a revival of MP interest and lots of new mods in the coming months.