Speed (Civ4)

Speed is a game setting in Civilization IV that modifies the general costs and "scales" of all actions in the game, including the number of turns. It is represented as "Game Speed" on the Game Setup menu.

Generally speaking, Quick games have all their turn costs and research times 66% of their normal value (everything is a third faster), Normal games have 100% of their normal value, Epic games have everything at 150% their normal value (takes one and a half as long), and Marathon games are 300% their normal value (it takes 3 times as long). There are some minor exceptions. In practice, slower game modes mean: cities grow much more slowly, build times are much slower, and Workers will take much longer to build tile improvements, but units retain their normal movement speed.

Total Game Turns[]

In vanilla Civilization IV and Warlords, there are fewer turns because the game cannot support a turn interval of less than a year. This was fixed in Beyond the Sword.

Quick: 330 turns (320 in vanilla)
Normal: 500 turns (460 in vanilla)
Epic: 750 turns (660 in vanilla)
Marathon: 1500 turns (1200 in vanilla)

Turns and year[]

The year progresses in 6 to 8 iterations. When starting in the Ancient Era the game starts in 4000 BC and ends in 2050 AD. Below is a table showing the iterations of year progression at different game speeds.

Vanilla and Warlords[]

Iteration		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Quick speed	Years per turn	60	35	30	15	10	5	2	1
	Turns	50	30	30	25	30	55	50	50
	Years span	3000	1050	900	375	300	275	100	50
	Start year	4000 BC	1000 BC	50 AD	950 AD	1325 AD	1625 AD	1900 AD	2000 AD
	End year	1000 BC	50 AD	950 AD	1325 AD	1625 AD	1900 AD	2000 AD	2050 AD
Normal speed	Years per turn	40	25	20	10	5	2	1
	Turns	75	60	25	50	60	60	130
	Years span	3000	1500	500	500	300	120	130
	Start year	4000 BC	1000 BC	500 AD	1000 AD	1500 AD	1800 AD	1920 AD
	End year	1000 BC	500 AD	1000 AD	1500 AD	1800 AD	1920 AD	2050 AD
Epic speed	Years per turn	30	15	6	3	2	1
	Turns	100	140	70	70	40	240
	Years span	3000	2100	420	210	80	240
	Start year	4000 BC	1000 BC	1100 AD	1520 AD	1730 AD	1810 AD
	End year	1000 BC	1100 AD	1520 AD	1730 AD	1810 AD	2050 AD
Marathon speed	Years per turn	15	10	8	5	2	1
	Turns	200	150	40	90	60	660
	Years span	3000	1500	320	450	120	660
	Start year	4000 BC	1000 BC	500 AD	820 AD	1270 AD	1390 AD
	End year	1000 BC	500 AD	820 AD	1270 AD	1390 AD	2050 AD

Beyond the Sword[]

Iteration		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Quick speed	Years per turn	60	40	30	20	10	5	2	1
	Turns	50	30	20	30	25	40	65	70
	Years span	3000	1200	600	600	250	200	130	70
	Start year	4000 BC	1000 BC	200 AD	800 AD	1400 AD	1650 AD	1850 AD	1980 AD
	End year	1000 BC	200 AD	800 AD	1400 AD	1650 AD	1850 AD	1980 AD	2050 AD
Normal speed	Years per turn	40	25	20	10	5	2	1	1/2
	Turns	75	60	25	50	60	50	120	60
	Years span	3000	1500	500	500	300	100	120	30
	Start year	4000 BC	1000 BC	500 AD	1000 AD	1500 AD	1800 AD	1900 AD	2020 AD
	End year	1000 BC	500 AD	1000 AD	1500 AD	1800 AD	1900 AD	2020 AD	2050 AD
Epic speed	Years per turn	25	15	10	5	2	1	1/2
	Turns	140	90	40	90	70	100	220
	Years span	3500	1350	400	450	140	100	110
	Start year	4000 BC	500 BC	850 AD	1250 AD	1700 AD	1840 AD	1940 AD
	End year	500 BC	850 AD	1250 AD	1700 AD	1840 AD	1940 AD	2050 AD
Marathon speed	Years per turn	15	10	5	2	1	1/2	1/4	1/12
	Turns	100	300	170	201	129	180	264	156
	Years span	1500	3000	850	402	129	90	66	13
	Start year	4000 BC	2500 BC	500 AD	1350 AD	1752 AD	1881 AD	1971 AD	2037 AD
	End year	2500 BC	500 AD	1350 AD	1752 AD	1881 AD	1971 AD	2037 AD	2050 AD

Building Costs[]

Quick: 67% normal hammer costs
Normal: 100% normal hammer costs
Epic: 150% normal hammer costs
Marathon: 300% normal hammer costs

Tech Costs[]

Quick: 67% normal tech cost
Normal: 100% normal tech cost
Epic: 150% normal tech cost
Marathon: 300% normal tech cost

Unit Costs[]

Quick: 67% normal hammer costs
Normal: 100% normal hammer costs
Epic: 150% normal hammer costs
Marathon: 240% normal hammer costs

Culture Requirements[]

Quick: 50% Culture requirements
Normal: 100% Culture requirements
Epic: 150% Culture requirements
Marathon: 300% Culture requirements

Wood Chops and Whips[]

All chops and whips are multiplied in line with the factors above. A woodchop will provide 3x as much wood on Marathon as it does normally.