Abbreviations

Settlers IV terminology contains several abbreviations which can be unclear to outsiders. This is a list of the most popular abbreviations used by players.

PT / PeaceTime

In multiplayer matches, it is common to designate a peacetime during which no player may take hostile action against another. An explicit exception are usually thieves. Often, a second peacetime restricts the use of saboteurs and expansion into enemy settlements or over the mirror axis of the map.

Metzel ("Carnage")

Maps are referred to as Metzel-Maps if there is no area that needs to be prepared by diggers prior to building. Exceptions are things designated hills to allow roman players to produce wine. Aside from such exceptions, no diggers are needed at all! Additionally, mountains contain the highest possible amounts of resources, allowing mines to function at their full capacity, and resources in general are abundant. The art of this gamemode is to turn this abundance into soldiers in the most efficient manner possible. Metzel is usually played with a peacetime of 60 minutes.

Buddel ("Dig")

Buddel-maps are a niche similar to Metzel. Unlike Metzel, Diggers are required to construct buildings, and maps tend to be more compact. The usual peacetime for this mode is 45 minutes, with saboteurs often being allowed after 75 minutes.

HGHG & HGLG - Random maps

The abbreviations HGHG and HGLG refer to two different kinds of random maps. HG stands for "high goods" and LG for "low goods". The first part of the abbreviation concerns the amount of resources found on the map, while the second refers to the amount of goods each player starts with.

HGLG: High resources and low starting goods HGHG: High resources and high starting goods

Currently, HGHG is the most played gamemode found in Settlers IV, usually played with a peacetime of 60 minutes (HGHG60).

HGLG is more of a niche which is preferred by a dedicated group of players, here, a peacetime of 90 minutes is more commonly used (HGLG90). In general, HGLG is a slower experience due to the slower start.