I'm just playing a game with Egypt, and i'm at 700+ science beakers by turn 239. Only 21 turns left to reach 1700 with 6 cities by turn 260 lol.
But I improved, at last. The thing that discouraged me is that whatever I seemed to do, I was still stuck with my old scores.
I had some luck with city states, the 4 surrouding me had lux i didn't have. Managed to ally one military early and keep the alliance. Also, the UB of Egypt kept me right with happiness, despite permanent growth and quite well sized cities.
However I had late libraries in my first 4 cities, finished discovering NC way before actually building it. I guess that's what put me out, I was far from the ~100 science beakers at turn ~100. (70 later right after NC completion)
Of course i built Chitzen Itza and Notre Dame for the extra happiness, but I'm now at ~20 so I guess I could spare them. Built also some impressive early wonders, like Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (in a city with 2 extra cotton and... 4 stone, a premiere for me) and Machu Pichu in the capital. (finished on same turn !)
All in all I'm happy with that game. Finally, I saw some improvment. I won't thank you, as I did it on my own without any bit of good advise from you in this topic.
I just deplore that Civ5 has so many unviable ways of playing in higher difficulty levels. For example, you should ideally not build cities in good spots if there is no new luxury near it. There should be big letters in red flashing saying "no, you shouldn't settle here", because that's so important for continuing growing like crazy without interuption. It's uncool also that lux are so dependent on map generator, like you can have only two some times, what is really, really bad. Than you should have in mind to conquer ASAP, wich I failed in the game before it. (happiness shortage during a long period)
All this demands attention (first game where I mentally map each new resource discovered with scouts) and multiple games planning, unless it is luck. (the fact to grow like crazy without interuption dispite happiness rarity, honestly i think nobody really keeps tracks of happiness ins as they constantly change, it's just becomes a flow you have to feel by mostly playing) All in all any game on Deity requires attention and cautiousness.
Not sure if that's the way I like to play, I play for relaxing eventhough I don't spit on challenge. But I think challenge is just a lure for my pride. That's why I prefer the much more easy Civ2 over Civ4 and Civ5. It has features and it was fun. AND, I could beat it on Deity, what was a satisfaction. (and, a way to put it like it : if I beat the game on Deity, I will stop playing it because I consider it would be completed) As an example, I found it fun to just watch the different geographies unfolding in totally different geoplitics and even atmospheres. Either there were a focus on middle age with some wars, or on modern (mostly wars, you got it !) and even cold (wars). All what I can say is that Civ5 seem to lack features in order to paint different works like this, it just feels mechanical and disincarnate. That's what I can see and tell myself, that pleases me in video games. Not really achieving a really hard to figure victory.
Of course it's rewarding to achieve something you couldn't before. But, it's just that, like done in suffering. And it's not why I play VG.
