Recent content by Asklepios

Hmm... of the bottom 43 civs, I'd say the best one is Poland. :)

Agree with this. If I'm playing a Deity game I'm simply not a good enough player to stand a chance off a weak starting location. On Immortal I'll reroll a start that is appalling (e.g. a load of tundra or blank desert, or too much jungle). On any lower level I'll just play what I get...

Ironworks seems a way to boost this easily, plus the techs that boost mines and the like. Going no Internal Trade routes makes things trickier, but I suppose we could use food trade routes to get to a big size first, then stop them. All in all, on Settler difficulty with a fed high population...

Agree with Acken here, though its definitely the case that the UI is less transparent than the Civ one, and accessibility is a definite relative weakpoint. However, in the age of the internet, its not hard to find play guides for optimisation, if thats what interests a player. Certainly...

As a change of pace, have you tried any other 4X games? I'd recommend a run through of one of the Europa Universalis games. Its a new set of strategies to master, a far worse game than Civ in many ways, and a far better one in many ways. Personally I find the EU games lack the longevity of Civ...

Right: for your domination game you're interested in three things. 1) Getting military tech quickly. 2) Getting units produced quickly. 3) Maintaining happiness. Anything that doesn't approach one of these three goals should be a secondary priority.

I found the main challenge in Deity was in learning how to fight a patient defensive war, and coping with not always being able to press the advantage once you've seen off their army. As others have said, Deity often sees your opponent with a LOT more units than you, and that means that you'll...

BWAH! I've been playing for so damn long, and micromanaging to ridiculous levels and it has never once occurred to me that you could sell off buildings in a city that is being razed. Thank you!

Easiest: Pangaea. You can always find a good CB rush target, and can find and finish off your opponents with great speed. Your religion can spread easily. Hardest: Pangaea. You can find yourself trapped between two warmongers and beaten into much pain. You can find yourself without a coast for...

I don't reroll for two reasons: Firstly, I don't mind losing. Its entirely possible I'll start a Deity or Immortal game, get a bad start location, find I'm hemmed in, and then get killed. On the other hand, I might succeed despite that start, and the victory will feel even greater. Second...

Also, entirely possible to have a coastal city or two, but still want caravans for internal trade routes if you have an inland Capital, or for completing a trade route to a city state inland that wants one.

I've built them once, just to see what they were like. I'd agree with your OP though: in the rare circumstances a game goes on that long (normally when I'm trying out a lower difficulty level for a "themed" playthrough rather than an optimised one) its just too much of a pain in the ass to walk...

I wouldn't enjoy a single player mode either, but I can see how some would. The goal, I guess, would be to maximise your score by the end of the game, and then replays would be to beat that score.

I can see how that might be problematic. Play Ethiopia, would be my advice, then at least you can drop the Shrine, and also benefit from having fewer cities than your opponents.

Settling city 3 or 4, and the realising ten turns later that I've badly delayed my NC because of that. Playing at 5am, for just one more turn, and not being able to focus my vision properly.