Fall from Heaven II
May 16, 2009 Full Version 4 commentsFall from Heaven II is a dark fantasy mod for Civilization IV. The Age of Ice has ended, what is left of the once great empires of man have formed into...
Fall from Heaven II is a dark fantasy mod for Civilization IV. The Age of Ice has ended, what is left of the once great empires of man have formed into small tribes, ready to rebuild and retake that which was lost. But the world is not empty. Hordes of barbarians await these new civilizations. Wild animals stalk hapless scouts and reckless emissaries. Giant spiders lie in patient wait in the jungles and the forests waiting for their prey to take that last, fatal, step.
There is great evil, but also selfless good. There are those who strive to remain neutral in the coming conflict as opposed ideologies break the world asunder once again. The first goal, is survival. The second goal is power, for good or ill. Will you pursue power through strength of arms or arcane studies, through piety or blasphemy? Choose carefully. On each path you will allies, and bitter foes, and the deeper you delve into the secrets of combat, or sorcery, or the divine, the harder it will be to turn back.
Here is a brief list of some of the new features in Fall from Heaven:
Magic! - Spellcasting units can take promotions in the different spheres of magic, granting them access to new spells and abilities. There are three sorts of casters, those that know Sorcery, those that practice Summoing and Divine casters. A unit has access to spells depending on what sort of caster it is and the spell spheres it chooses which of 14 spheres it wants to learn when it levels up (Fire, Entropy, Nature, Spirit, etc). Casters gain experience slowly automatically, so there is no need to risk them in combat as they pursue their studies in the mystical arts.
Experience - Veteran units are now more valuable. The base promotions have been essentially doubled, making the difference between experinced units and greenhorns especially noticeable. Also, new anti-racial promotions have been added, become the scourge of the elves, if it suits your fancy.
Upgrading - In order to upgrade the the strongest units a unit must first prove itself worthy. Do you want to be an Immortal? Unable to die, and thus able to fight for all eternity? Then you have to be at least a Lv. 6 Maceman.
Religions - Not all religions are created equal, and some of them effect the alignment of your civilizations. If you choose to follow the vile practices of the Ashen Veil, your civilization will descend into the depths of Evil. You will of course be rewarded with immense arcane power, knowledge and the aid of Demons. On the other hand, if you follow the Runes of Kilmorph, you will be able to obtain the aid of the reclusive dwarves and share in their love of gold and gems.
Heroes - In times of darkness and strife, heroes will rise to lead their civilizations to victory. Heroes are world units, that can only be built once. If they die, they cannot be rebuilt. Each civilization has at least one hero associated with it, as does each religion. Heroes gain experience each turn, meaning that in any given game, they will probably be your most powerful unit by far. They are capable of taking lightly defended cities by themselves, but they're only a short dogpile away from being dead, so protect them!
Technology - Specialization is the name of the game here, while you may be able to generalize into the first or second tier of techs, you're probably better off specializing in one of the various forms of combat or the arcane or the religious. Tech progression is noticable slower in FfH, giving you an opportunity to play with those new toys you just discovered. There are also religious specific techs, that cannot be researched unless you follow the appropriate state religion.
Choose your Civilization:
Choose your Religion:
Choose your Mana:
And try to survive Armageddon:
2 comments by stenchy on Jan 30th, 2009 digg this super bookmark
Fall from Heaven II has finally released it's final version, that is to say it's feature complete, after 3 years of development. Those of you who consider yourselves regulars of ModDB may still be scratching your heads in confusion over this mod. This is the part where I say it's for Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword and you go, "Ohhh ok," and then turn around in search of something with some pew-pew in it. Seriously though, Fall from Heaven is the most popular mod for Civ 4. It's even made it to the top of the popular mods list here on ModDB without making a release post. That in itself is a feat that speaks to the quality of the mod.
I've installed the mod and invested a couple hours into it so far and only scratched the surface. The amount of custom content and added features is staggering (Check out their profile for details). Unfortunately, being somewhat of a Civ 4 noob and having a no time to set aside for epic campaigns until after MOTY ends, I can't fully explore everything this mod has to offer. So far though, it's a definite recommended download for Civ 4 and strategy game fans alike. I know those may be few and far between here on ModDB, but it's nice to step away from the shooters every once in a while for a change of pace.
Furthermore, and this is something that can appeal to all developers out there, how many of you can say you've been interviewed by the project lead of the very game you set out to make a mod on? Soren Johnson, the project lead and lead designer for Civ 4 among other games (Civ 2, Spore) posted a 3-part dialogue with the developers of Fall which discusses the history behind the mod, postmortem reflections and even some critiques from Soren himself. It's worthwhile reading for all developers out there, regardless of your stance on the Civ games or Fall from Heaven II.

All 21 races included in Fall from Heaven II
Fall from Heaven II is a dark fantasy mod for Civilization IV. The Age of Ice has ended, what is left of the once great empires of man have formed into...
This version includes all 21 Civs with descriptions of their Heroes, World Spell, Unique Units, and Leaders. This is a Manual and Reference document NOT...
This Doc provides an Overview over the unique characteristics, units and mechanics of the 21 unique Civs. Ideal for starters
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Dang i just got Civ IV, and this mod looks amazing!
Why do I crash all the time???
Oh snap! This looks amazing!
Why didn't you guys make dragons into a replacement for aircraft. Like instead of building an airplane and bombing cities or units you built dragons or griffins? Would have been a cool touch.
wow you guys have quite the character lineup
Awesome mod and great work guys.
Voted!
the game crashes onces i try to start a game=( but i went to the civopedia n it looks nice=]
go to the trouble shooting forum here
Forums.civfanatics.com
they will help you asap
It is not just a great mod! It is a great *game*!
Well done!
Better than Civ4 itself.