nickleby
Dec 30, 2005, 01:49 AM
One of the most important, and least talked about, choices in the game occurs before the first turn is played: Choosing the game setup.
My purpose in setting up this thread is not to help myself, I can get by (althouth not as well) and practice setting up maps. My greater concern is that there is a repository for this information that seems to be lacking elsewhere. The manual (as they often do), only tells the effects of setup, and those are fairly obvious from their names (quick takes longer than epic, we get it). This is to go above and beyond.
While much of this is based on personal preference (i.e. difficulty level and the type of game a person wants to play), it is vital to know the ins and outs of the different choices. Having practiced Civ 4 on a few shorter games (and as a long-time fan of previous versions, and perhaps biased to the gameplay I experienced there), I feel the need to create a setup that I can live with. So, here are some issues that you "experts" could throw in your two... gold pieces:
1.) GAME SPEED------- (the most important)
While I've found a few offhand references about tech modifiers and such, there seem to be few explainations about the differences. Does it take longer (that seems pointless in and of itself, other than troop movement) for everything, or just technology special things like wonders? Do build times for cities/settlers/units take longer?
My underlying questions behind all of these details are about the long-term gameplay. I would LOVE to build a giant civilization while tech and wonders progress slowly, but I would hate to just take more time to build that larger tech.
AND, does anyone know the details on the new marathon speed? Is that fast (like a race), or is it really slow (that's what I thought and the name suggests)? And, how slow does it turn out to be? Unbearable, or really wonderful for those of us who love long games?
2.) World types---
Any favorites here. This appears to be one of the most personal choices, depending on the type of game one desires.
2.a) As a related topic, how are scenerios? I've always liked to play one of my first games on an Earth Map (usually as the Romans, a throw-back to Civ I days) in earlier versions. Without looking at the map (that would spoil the "suprise") or others, do these tend to provide balanced games.
3.) World Size---
I've always loved really big maps. The concern, however, always seems to be if the maps become uncontrollable. Can games on huge be played without requring 80% of the attention to be devoted to minutia, or requiring an age to transport an army across the ocean. I'm not opposed to long games (see above), but I remember those hour+ long turns in Civ 2 and 3, and they weren't the most pleasant.
4.) Climate---
This one seems a no brainer to me. The climate on Civ 4 already seems a bit harder to build cities anywhere than previous versions. Does anyone like any of the non-temperate climates out there?
5.) Sea Level---
Any thoughts? As a completely new concept, I'm a little unfamiliar with the practical effects of this. Does it mean that it is harder to transport troops with ships because there is less water, or that the distance traveled on water is lessened?
6.) Dificulty---
Being a veteran of the series (as I suppose many here are), I didn't want to begin any lower than noble. However, I've never really liked the highest difficulties; they always seem too unbalanced (for those who like to build impressive civs). The problem, it always seems, is that once you get on top (it takes longer on harder levels) in a game (usually with technology or winning a couple of wars), the rest remains easy. To put another way, you only have to get over a hill, and then no one is your equal. In large games, that makes later play boring. How does this stack up in long-term Civ 4 games?
7.) Civilization---
I've always chosen Romans (for nostalgia sake, and placement on Earth maps). How big are differences here when not playing at the super-advanced levels? Any favorite civs (like in games such as Age of Empires and company)?
SO--- Thanks for any and all input. I hope that this thread can help the many newcomers to the game (and those who are looking for new ways to play) create games that are to their liking.
My purpose in setting up this thread is not to help myself, I can get by (althouth not as well) and practice setting up maps. My greater concern is that there is a repository for this information that seems to be lacking elsewhere. The manual (as they often do), only tells the effects of setup, and those are fairly obvious from their names (quick takes longer than epic, we get it). This is to go above and beyond.
While much of this is based on personal preference (i.e. difficulty level and the type of game a person wants to play), it is vital to know the ins and outs of the different choices. Having practiced Civ 4 on a few shorter games (and as a long-time fan of previous versions, and perhaps biased to the gameplay I experienced there), I feel the need to create a setup that I can live with. So, here are some issues that you "experts" could throw in your two... gold pieces:
1.) GAME SPEED------- (the most important)
While I've found a few offhand references about tech modifiers and such, there seem to be few explainations about the differences. Does it take longer (that seems pointless in and of itself, other than troop movement) for everything, or just technology special things like wonders? Do build times for cities/settlers/units take longer?
My underlying questions behind all of these details are about the long-term gameplay. I would LOVE to build a giant civilization while tech and wonders progress slowly, but I would hate to just take more time to build that larger tech.
AND, does anyone know the details on the new marathon speed? Is that fast (like a race), or is it really slow (that's what I thought and the name suggests)? And, how slow does it turn out to be? Unbearable, or really wonderful for those of us who love long games?
2.) World types---
Any favorites here. This appears to be one of the most personal choices, depending on the type of game one desires.
2.a) As a related topic, how are scenerios? I've always liked to play one of my first games on an Earth Map (usually as the Romans, a throw-back to Civ I days) in earlier versions. Without looking at the map (that would spoil the "suprise") or others, do these tend to provide balanced games.
3.) World Size---
I've always loved really big maps. The concern, however, always seems to be if the maps become uncontrollable. Can games on huge be played without requring 80% of the attention to be devoted to minutia, or requiring an age to transport an army across the ocean. I'm not opposed to long games (see above), but I remember those hour+ long turns in Civ 2 and 3, and they weren't the most pleasant.
4.) Climate---
This one seems a no brainer to me. The climate on Civ 4 already seems a bit harder to build cities anywhere than previous versions. Does anyone like any of the non-temperate climates out there?
5.) Sea Level---
Any thoughts? As a completely new concept, I'm a little unfamiliar with the practical effects of this. Does it mean that it is harder to transport troops with ships because there is less water, or that the distance traveled on water is lessened?
6.) Dificulty---
Being a veteran of the series (as I suppose many here are), I didn't want to begin any lower than noble. However, I've never really liked the highest difficulties; they always seem too unbalanced (for those who like to build impressive civs). The problem, it always seems, is that once you get on top (it takes longer on harder levels) in a game (usually with technology or winning a couple of wars), the rest remains easy. To put another way, you only have to get over a hill, and then no one is your equal. In large games, that makes later play boring. How does this stack up in long-term Civ 4 games?
7.) Civilization---
I've always chosen Romans (for nostalgia sake, and placement on Earth maps). How big are differences here when not playing at the super-advanced levels? Any favorite civs (like in games such as Age of Empires and company)?
SO--- Thanks for any and all input. I hope that this thread can help the many newcomers to the game (and those who are looking for new ways to play) create games that are to their liking.