In another thread I asked what the advantages/disadvantages of playing on slower game speeds brought.

I'd like to know what game speed everyone plays on AND why they choose to play at that speed. Be as detailed as possible please and include what version you are playing (including patches), what map size and terrain (islands, continents, ...), difficulty, and how many opponents!

epic. just the right length of game.

Epic, dousins of AIs, the more random the better :D
I like long games :)

Marathon baby. I like to use my combat units from every era. :D

I always play on Epic Speed. I usually play on Hemispheres because I like the two large landmasses that it ususally generates with additional large islands. I play on BTS; I don't know if I patched it or not (it works fine either way). Always on a huge map (what can I say? I love exploring/hut-popping).

Epic is my cup of tea, not too short, not too long

Marathon. Otherwise, by the time you're half way through a war, your army becomes obsolete. I like each era to be significant, and every unit type to have its time in the sun.

I'm playing 3.13 with the unofficial patch, huge map, big and small type, Islands mixed in and snaky continents.

I usually play on Epic, but I'm thinking of giving marathon another try. I've yet to finish a marathon game >.> The name really doesn't lie and I don't think the early turns are balanced very well, but I can see it's merits.

Quick because thats the only speed people will play on MP.

I usualy play on Marathon, you got to love those longe games;)

marathon speed and huge maps

epic, because i can finish it :)

Epic, best balance for me, good tech rates, units don't go obsolete, yadda yadda yadda

EPIC all the way!
(marathon just takes forever)

I'd like to know what game speed everyone plays on AND why they choose to play at that speed. Be as detailed as possible please and include what version you are playing (including patches), what map size and terrain (islands, continents, ...), difficulty, and how many opponents!

Marathon, I love long games; they tend to draw you in, making you feel a lot more invested in your empire and it's successes and defeats. Furthermore, marathon speed lengthens the game to the point where it feels like you're involved in an unfolding storyline rather than just a normal game. That is, the fact that a single era can last for hundreds of turns means that a lot of action can take place during that time. For instance, in my last marathon game, the largest continent on the map just erupted into a massive war just as everyone was entering the Medieval Era. At one point, the Russians looked like they were going to wipe Germany off the map, but an eleventh hour declaration of war on the Russians by the Spanish and French allowed Germany to bounce back and reignite a whole new series of conflicts. All of this happening before anyone, including myself, discovered gunpowder.

Huge, and Big and Small maps. My computer can handle it, so I go for it. Big and Small because you get a wonderfully varied world with interesting continents and archipelagos.

All other settings, including victory conditions and number of AI players, I keep standard.

marathon
it just makes the game special

Has to be Epic, good game length, also nearly always go for Big & Small everything else is random

Epic, cause Sis does.

Quick because thats the only speed people will play on MP.

Not if you know the right people ;) I use to play with a couple of friends and we play only normal speed :) Even in MP leagues you can play normal: Just open your own game with the settings you want, usually enough people will join who like it.

On Topic: I was a devout follower of normal speed from initial release until very recently. I think it's perfect for the earlier eras which I always enjoyed the most. But recently (especially with BtS) my focus shifted towards the modern era and on normal speed the modern times advance so quickly that there was never time to wage any modern wars. In every game I would basically stop playing after the renaissance, only building things, hitting Enter and wait to win (or, occasionally, lose).

So I made my first try on epic speed for at least a year. After I was through the first, painfully slow stage, it was starting to become fun. I think I will play maps larger than standard always on epic from now on.

So I play BtS 3.13 with Bhruics patch, epic speed, large maps, standard number of opponents. I vary the type of the map, playing Hemispheres, Pangaea, Archipelago, Lakes and others. Also different leaders. Monarch difficulty at the moment.

Epic all the way, but still a little too quick for my liking.

marathon is just boring.

here should be a speed inbetween marathon and epic

I kindda feel like some of the others do. Epic is just a bit too quick for me, but Marathon is too slow. So I generally play on epic speed.
I don't like normal play speed, there's simply too little time to enjoy a good game.
Also on marathon and epic it takes longer to research new technologies (doh!), which makes them more valuable. So having a spy snatch a tech from an enemy, or threatening a "friend" into giving away a tech is much more important. It gives the single parts of the game more value, and thereby more interesting.

I play huge or large maps. I like 'em big! Larger continents that gives one time to really expand. I costomize my games: No barbarians! No space race victory! And lesser number of civs (I usually remove 3 or 4)!
Difficulty: Prince
Official patch, 3.13
Max no. of points: 45k

Good post :)

here should be a speed inbetween marathon and epic

agreed. Marathon is too long, Epic just that bit too short

I'm more of a builder than warmonger, so I usually go for normal. Also, I am still enjoying the experimentation of unrestricted leaders.

^^ That is true fun. :D

Wow, I'm surprised how few people play the default normal. Normal for me, I like the idea of each unit having its heyday, but I'm just too impatient for the slower speeds. :p

I generally play either Epic/Large maps or Standard/Normal maps, with the occasional Epic/Standard map. Once I get round to upgrading and can play Huge maps without much slow down I'll probably mainly play Huge/Epic.

Quick!, only quick! normally I play BTS for 3-4 hours per a game from Ancient to Future. I dont believe a lot of people play Epic. Do they play for a whole day?

Quick!, only quick! normally I play BTS for 3-4 hours per a game from Ancient to Future. I dont believe a lot of people play Epic. Do they play for a whole day?
:lol: We SAVE (or QuickSave) the game as necessary and play for WEEKS (50-70 hours for me on huge/marathon).
3 to 6 hours on most days. One to seven days break between games.

Epic FTW!

Not too long, not too short. Just right.
Not too hot, not too cold. Just right.
Not too hard, not too soft. Just right.

Not too...

AAAAAHHHH! BEEAARRRSSS!!!!!

Epic speed.
Big & Small map type OR Hemispheres map type.
Default setting for each map type.
Large map size.
Official 3.13 patch along with B's Unofficial patch.
No barbs, no Time / Space Race victories.

Quick, Standard, Any map type (customized), Bhruic 3.13, Raging Barbs, All victories.

As I have very little time to play, I almost always play quick. I like normal, but find even that takes too long. I played an epic game for about 120 turns once (Medieval quick start with Mao) before quiting and playing the same game under normal. I would never play CIV on normal and marathon because there are other more lively games (RPGs) to compete with a game that takes months. BTW, my quick games usually take 15-20hrs over 2 weeks on average. So I'm a slow player.

I only got the time to play every few weeks (an additional downside is having to boot Windows ;) ), but when I play, I do the marathon. I do not like technologies advancing so fast; marathon reminds me of a real world history the most, which is my thing.

Normal, Huge map, Custom Continents (8), 18 Civs, Official 3.13, No Time victory.

I try to enjoy a game not for the ending points, but for the game overall; so I play on Normal speed, without Time limit, and I like a lot modern warfare. I almost never start a war before Civil Service or better Gunpowder. Rifling it's the top. But I have to say that, if I play with Caesar with his awesome Praetorians, I'll start a short war to use them, peace when they are beaten (LongBows, for example), then I wait for CS and I go on with the newly created MaceMan :D

Normal. Balanced (although there's no doubt epic makes combat much more interesting) and ideal for the little time I have to play Civ nowadays...

I'm currently playing my first Epic speed game, and I must say it's fun to complete a unit's production before the unit is already obsolete and in need of upgrade.

I have a question: Is it true that on marathon speed, the units are not to scale in relation to the buildings? I don't know what the exact scale down is, but lets say something like buildings cost 4 times more than on normal speed while units cost only 3 times, making warmongering have a much stronger appeal?

I have a question: Is it true that on marathon speed, the units are not to scale in relation to the buildings? I don't know what the exact scale down is, but lets say something like buildings cost 4 times more than on normal speed while units cost only 3 times, making warmongering have a much stronger appeal?

You are correct, unit and building construction costs scale differently on Marathon.

On Marathon, construction of buildings takes 3x as many :hammers: compared to Normal speed, but the training of units only takes 2x as many :hammers:.

This discrepancy only exists on Marathon speed. This does indeed make warmongering easier, but there are other factors as well: since technologies are researched 3 times slower as well, units remain current for much longer compared to faster speeds. And since movement values don't change at all, you can easily conduct mutiple wars with the same type of unit before it goes obsolete.

I play mp mostly so it has to be normal otherwise a game could take up to a year not being able to do 6 hrs or whatever every night. I tend to skip certain types of units to save upgrading. I tend to be ahead in tech so even my out dated units are good against the ai. Normal is quick, but my time is pericous

Normal sized maps on Marathon.

You get the most from your buildings, (Castles being a really good example), you get to enjoy all the troop eras, and the story seems more engrossing as you have more of a relationship with the AI.

The slower pace of Marathon allows you time to think more clearly about the decisions you are making, or planning to make providing things don't go pear shaped in the interim. The end game can grind on a bit though, as I seem to have more fun in the classical - medieval period. You can still take calculated risks in the early to middle periods, but by the time you are in the modern period the world is very much an open book, and it's a bit unwise to take risks at that point - LOL.

Marathon lengthens the edge of the set enjoyable bits, and its pace does tend to create a very distinct playing style.

Regards - Mr P