Is there a PBE option for GalCiv4?
Basically PBE is Play by Email.... it is a old concept and maybe there is a better system now. On Steam for example you can get notifications to join the game on your turn through the friends list.
Anyway the way it works is that people all take their turns on their own time, without needing to be online at the same time in a classic "real-time" way. So for example I could get a notification that it is my turn, but not take my turn until after work...
So the more advanced PBM systems allow for asynchronous play. As in as long as the players are not interacting with each other you can just play as normal. It is only when the player turn order matters once the civilisations meet that you need to wait for the other player. This usually is done by everyone syncing turns once a round... so player 1 can end turn, then player 3, then 2 and they all wait for player 1 before a new round starts. Then latter on when civilisations meet they need to do a single turn and wait for the opposing player in turn order. I might have left out condition cases here but I think you get the idea.
The other less complex method is to just have each player take a turn and pass it to the next player, then they take a turn.. kind of like a hotseat, but the seats can be on the other side of the earth.
TL;DR : Dose GalCiv4 have any kind of Play By Email multiplayer?