National Wonders and Projects

In Civilization 4 every civilization can build each national wonder once (Heroic Epic, National Epic, Wall Street, Oxford University and the rest), and each city can hold only two of them. Projects are big one-time builds: the Manhattan Project enables nukes for everyone, the Apollo Program unlocks the spaceship parts, the Internet grants techs and SDI intercepts nukes.

National wonders in Civilization 4 can be built once by each civilization, and each city may build only two of them, so the Civilization 4 manual (p. 95) tells players to plan ahead where they go. Unlike world Wonders, which only one civilization can own, every civilization can have its own Wall Street or Heroic Epic, so there is no race and no gold for losing one. Projects are the other kind of special build: the Manhattan Project, the Apollo Program, the Internet and SDI, listed apart from the wonders in the manual's chart, plus the spaceship parts that the Apollo Program unlocks.

Quick facts

National wonders	One of each per civilization; at most two per city
In the manual's chart	13, counting the Palace
Most expensive	West Point, 800 hammers
Doubles a city's output	Wall Street (gold), Oxford University (research), Hermitage (culture), National Epic (Great People), Heroic Epic (military units)
Captured	National wonders in a captured city are destroyed
Great People points	+2 each; +1 in Beyond the Sword
Projects	Manhattan Project, Apollo Program, the Internet, SDI
Spaceship	7 kinds of parts, 13 parts in all

Sources: Civilization 4 manual, pp. 95-96 and charts pp. 210-215; Warlords manual, charts pp. 135-136; Beyond the Sword manual, p. 46.

Why national wonders exist

Soren Johnson, the game's lead designer, explains in his afterword to the manual (p. 179) that national wonders are part of Civilization 4's push toward specialized cities: Wall Street doubles a city's gold, Oxford University its research and the Hermitage its culture, and because a city can hold only two of them, players have to spread them across their empire.

A national wonder is lost with its city. Capturing an enemy city destroys the national wonders in it, while its world wonders pass to the new owner, the manual says on page 96.

Every national wonder

National wonder	Cost	Requirement	Effect
Palace	160	4 or more cities	Makes the city the capital; reduces maintenance in nearby cities; +1 happy
Forbidden Palace	200	6 Courthouses; 8 or more cities	Reduces maintenance in nearby cities
Globe Theatre	300	Drama; 6 Theatres	No unhappiness in the city; 3 Artist slots
Hermitage	300	Nationalism	+100% culture in the city
Heroic Epic	200	Literature; Barracks; a level 5 unit (level 4 before patch 1.61)	+100% military unit production in the city
Ironworks	700	Steel; 6 Forges	+50% hammers with Iron, +50% with Coal; 3 Engineer slots; -2 health
Mount Rushmore	500	Fascism	-25% war unhappiness in all cities
National Epic	250	Literature; Library	+100% Great Person birth rate in the city
Oxford University	400	Education; 6 Universities	+100% research in the city
Red Cross	600	Medicine; 6 Hospitals	Free Medic I promotion for units built in the city
Scotland Yard	500	Communism (Beyond the Sword: a Great Spy)	The city can build Spies (base game); an espionage bonus (Beyond the Sword)
Wall Street	600	Corporation; 6 Banks	+100% gold in the city; 3 Merchant slots
West Point	800	Military Tradition; a level 6 unit (level 5 before patch 1.61)	+4 experience for new units trained in the city

Source: Warlords manual, charts pp. 135-136 and p. 104; costs in hammers.

The Heroic Epic and the National Epic both need Literature, and the Heroic Epic and West Point also need a unit of a certain level, which a unit reaches by earning experience and taking promotions. West Point gives every new unit trained in its city 4 experience points; the manual (p. 45) says the other free sources it lists (Barracks, the Vassalage civic and Theocracy) add up.

The Forbidden Palace is the answer the manual gives to the cost of a large empire. City maintenance grows with each city's distance from the capital and with the number of cities, and the manual names Courthouses, the Forbidden Palace (a second center of government unlocked by enough Courthouses) and the State Property civic as the ways to cut it; see Economy. Building a Palace in another city moves the capital there and removes the old one.

Beyond the Sword changes

Beyond the Sword made three changes to national wonders, per its manual (pp. 18, 46). Scotland Yard can now be built only by a Great Spy, the way a shrine needs a Great Prophet, and gives its city a large espionage bonus (see Espionage). All national wonders give +1 Great Person point instead of +2. And the National Park appears in the manual's list of new wonders, with its effects left to the in-game Civilopedia.

Projects

Project	Cost	Tech	Effect	Double speed with
The Manhattan Project	1,500	Fission	Enables nukes and Bomb Shelters for all players	Uranium
The Apollo Program	1,000	Rocketry	Required to build spaceship parts	Aluminum
The Internet	2,000	Fiber Optics	Grants every technology known to 2 or more civilizations you have met	Copper
SDI	500 at release; raised by patch 1.61	Satellites	+75% chance to intercept nukes	Aluminum

Source: Civilization 4 manual, chart p. 215; SDI change from the Warlords manual, p. 104.

3D map of a city and countryside with a towering pink and gray mushroom cloud at the center and smoke over the streets below. — Gameplay from the Steam store page: a mushroom cloud rises over a city on the map, among rail lines and farms. Firaxis Games and 2K

The Manhattan Project and nukes

The Manhattan Project opens the nuclear age for everyone, not only its builder: once anyone completes it, every civilization that knows Rocketry and Fission and has Uranium can build ICBMs, the Civilization 4 manual explains (p. 134). A nuke has unlimited range and hits its target and the eight tiles around it equally; buildings, units and improvements there can be destroyed and fallout can spoil the tiles, but wonders survive. A Bomb Shelter cuts the damage in its city by 75%, SDI has "an excellent chance" of stopping nukes aimed at your territory, and using them brings heavy diplomatic penalties and may start global warming (pp. 134-135).

Patch 1.61 raised SDI's cost and made it wait for the Manhattan Project, per the Warlords manual (p. 104). Beyond the Sword added the Tactical Nuke, which GameSpot described on May 25, 2007 as "not as powerful but a lot quicker to make than ICBMs".

The Apollo Program and the spaceship

The Apollo Program is the gate to a space victory: no spaceship part can be built until it is complete, and then the parts themselves are built like projects. The base game's ship needs 13 parts of seven kinds, each with its own technology, per the Civilization 4 manual's chart (p. 215):

Part	Cost	Tech (with the Apollo Program)	Needed
SS Casing	400	Rocketry	5
SS Thrusters	600	Satellites	3
SS Engine	1,000	Fusion	1
SS Docking Bay	1,200	Robotics	1
SS Cockpit	800	Fiber Optics	1
SS Life Support	600	Ecology	1
SS Stasis Chamber	1,000	Genetics	1

Source: Civilization 4 manual, chart p. 215.

Beyond the Sword changed the race: some parts need different technologies, and a ship can launch with the minimum parts or with extra ones, its arrival delayed by a time that depends on what it carries, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 46). The Space Elevator wonder speeds spaceship production by 50% in all cities. The Space Race Guide covers the race itself.

The Internet

The Internet costs 2,000 hammers with Fiber Optics, is built twice as fast with Copper, and grants every technology already known to two or more civilizations you have met, per the Civilization 4 manual's chart (p. 215).

Frequently asked questions

How many national wonders can a city have in Civ 4? Two: the Civilization 4 manual (p. 95) says each city may build only two national wonders, and each civilization only one of each.

What does the Heroic Epic do in Civ 4? The Heroic Epic gives +100% military unit production in its city; it costs 200 hammers and needs Literature, Barracks in the city and a level 5 unit since patch 1.61, per the Warlords manual (pp. 104, 135).

What does the National Epic do in Civ 4? The National Epic gives +100% Great Person birth rate in its city; it costs 250 hammers and needs Literature and a Library, per the Warlords manual's chart (p. 135).

What do you need for Wall Street in Civ 4? Wall Street needs the Corporation technology and 6 Banks, costs 600 hammers, and gives +100% gold in its city with 3 Merchant slots, per the Warlords manual's chart (p. 136).

How do you get the Forbidden Palace in Civ 4? The Forbidden Palace needs 6 Courthouses and 8 or more cities, costs 200 hammers, and reduces maintenance in the cities near it, per the Warlords manual's chart (p. 135).

Does the Manhattan Project let everyone build nukes in Civ 4? Yes: once any civilization builds the Manhattan Project, every civilization with Rocketry, Fission and Uranium can build nukes, per the Civilization 4 manual (p. 134).

What does the Apollo Program do in Civ 4? The Apollo Program costs 1,000 hammers with Rocketry, double speed with Aluminum, and is required before any spaceship part can be built, per the Civilization 4 manual's chart (p. 215).