AI and game settings in Civ4 BTS - questions

Hi guys,

I am long time Civ 1/2/3 fan, but I am late to the Civ4 party.

I only started playing this game (BTS edition) few weeks ago. So far I love it for the most part. IMHO one of the best features of civ4 is that micromanagement was reduced a lot without sacrificing the depth of the gameplay.

I've just finished the game on Prince difficulty level (large map, standard speed/settings). I have beaten AI easily while learning the ropes. Now that I've learned the basics I am thinking about increasing the difficulty and perhaps tweaking the rules a bit.

I have several questions about AI and game settings, and I hope some of the expert players around here could help me with them.

1. Question for the veterans - could you please elaborate in as much details as you can on the connections between game's speed, game's map size, game's map type on one side, and AI difficulty on the other?

In other words how can I make AI more challenging and enchance game experience for myself?


2. Should I turn AI to "aggressive" and turn "restless barbarians" ON to get the most interesting and rewarding game experience?

3. What speed people are mostly playing this game - Epic or Normal? (I think marathon is probably too slow for me) How does it affect AI?

4. Same questions regarding map types and map size.

5. Are there any popular mods that improve AI? For example I've heard about unofficial BTS patch. Does it improve AI in a significant way, and do most people play the game with this unofficial patch? Are there any other AI mods that are recommended?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Map size and gamespeed can, but must not affect the difficultie. I.g. bigger maps on faster speeds make military games a bit harder. Big maps obviously mean longer walks to reach someone.

Another thing on big maps is - the game becomes increasingly slow towards late game. Even on good computers.
Standard size is big enought, to get a good game and experience all features, while keeping the slowdown low. I tend to add 2 or 3 more AI's on Standard maps.

On Aggressive AI - there are long winded discussions about it being harder/cooler/"The way it was intended to play" or not. In the end it's differen. The Agg. AI will build more troops and attack more often. But they economy and research will suffer a bit. So if you are agressive player yourself, Aggresisve AI will probably make the game easier for you.

About map type/size... For the AI Land is Power (So is for everyone, but the human adapts better). So the AI will perform best, on maps with bigish continents: Fractal, Hemispheres, Continents. Archepelago-like maps usually make the AI perform weaker. Also overcrowded maps might give the AI trouble sometimes - unless they grab enought land.

The unofficial patch does not primarily adress the AI. It's still a good idea to get it, for the fixed bugs.
There is a "Better AI" Mod. Look for it in creation and customization.

Edit: And welcome on the forums

Stormbinder said:

1. Question for the veterans - could you please elaborate in as much details as you can on the connections between game's speed, game's map size, game's map type on one side, and AI difficulty on the other?

Click to expand...

game speed - I play Marathon and Epic exclusively. Marathon is considered a bit easier because it gives you more time for fighting wars (which the human does better than the AI). But the tech rate vs. movement rate on Normal can be downright frustrating when your muskets reach a rival's interior cities and find themselves obsolete.

Also, note that units, techs and buildings scale differently. On Marathon, IIRC, the tech rates, game turns, and build times are all multiplied by 3, whereas the unit hammer costs are multiplied only by two.


map type - My impression is that Continents is considered a good challenge. On the one hand, you have to deal with navies and ocean exploration; but on the other hand, the AI is not crippled by its lack of competence in the oceans.

The BtS Vassal States feature also makes Terra maps fun. You get the joy of exploring a new continent, then you can turn the management over to a Vassal Colony (who will love you like an overfed puppy).


difficulty - Hard to answer. I'm up to Emperor myself; you might be better. In general, the AI advantages are terribly front-loaded (they start with more techs and units). So on Monarch, for example, once you fight out of that initial hole you can be fairly dominant the rest of the game. I think the really high levels (Immortal & Diety) would be most fun if you either (a)Played for Domination and went to war from very early, or (b)Played a strategy that can succeed with a very small Empire (e.g., Cultural). Without war, you will get a small and cramped empire on these levels.

Stormbinder said:

2. Should I turn AI to "aggressive" and turn "restless barbarians" ON to get the most interesting and rewarding game experience?

Click to expand...

I'm not fully qualified by experience, having played Raging Barbarians only once. I think at Monarch and higher you will get enough barbarian activity (with the normal setting) to present a challenge so long as the map is not too crowded.

And if you want a "somewhat" aggressive AI, you can pre-select some of your rivals: Alexander, Ghengis Khan, & Montezuma always seem eager to start a war. There are huge differences in personality among the AI leaders.

Stormbinder said:

What speed... map types... map size...

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See above. Plus, the warmonger AIs will fare slightly better with slower game speeds because they can build more units before losing tech parity.

Stormbinder said:

5. Are there any popular mods that improve AI? For example I've heard about unofficial BTS patch. Does it improve AI in a significant way, and do most people play the game with this unofficial patch? Are there any other AI mods that are recommended?

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What Refar said.

I've just been playing the HoF Mod myself, because (a) It prevents me from cheating and (b) It lets me compare my results with others who are playing by the exact same rules.

(HoF Mod = Hall of Fame, used for submitting games to the hall of fame. Also used for the Game of the Month.)

Refar said:

...the game becomes increasingly slow towards late game. Even on good computers.

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A quick note: If you've been playing a session for a long time and the city screens start to drag, you should restart the game. There is some bit of inferior programming that doesn't relenquish memory or [insert technical jargon here].

Stormbinder said:

Thanks a lot for your help!

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Verbose as I am, I should thank you for listening.

Cheers,
Jason

Stormbinder said:

1. Question for the veterans - could you please elaborate in as much details as you can on the connections between game's speed, game's map size, game's map type on one side, and AI difficulty on the other?

In other words how can I make AI more challenging and enchance game experience for myself?

Click to expand...

I like a Fractal map, because you don't know what's coming.

Stormbinder said:

2. Should I turn AI to "aggressive" and turn "restless barbarians" ON to get the most interesting and rewarding game experience?

Click to expand...

I like Aggressive AI.
Raging Barbs are OK if you don't build the Great Wall as an exploit.

Stormbinder said:

3. What speed people are mostly playing this game - Epic or Normal? (I think marathon is probably too slow for me) How does it affect AI?

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I play 75% marathon, 25% epic.

Stormbinder said:

4. Same questions regarding map types and map size.

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Expansive leaders do well on large pangea maps.
Dutch/Carthage/Portugal/Vikings do well on water maps like Archipeligo.

Stormbinder said:

5. Are there any popular mods that improve AI? For example I've heard about unofficial BTS patch. Does it improve AI in a significant way, and do most people play the game with this unofficial patch? Are there any other AI mods that are recommended?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Click to expand...

I like the BUG and BAT mods.

Welcome to the Forums Stormbinder.

Stormbinder said:

1. Question for the veterans - could you please elaborate in as much details as you can on the connections between game's speed, game's map size, game's map type on one side, and AI difficulty on the other?

In other words how can I make AI more challenging and enchance game experience for myself?

Click to expand...

Generally the slow game speeds are somewhat easier. Marathon in particular is noticeably easier than than normal, mostly because it makes warfare easier. Since the AI is rather bad at this relative to the average human player, the slower speeds are easier.

The others are more debatable. Personally I find larger maps easier (at least with the default numbers of civs). More civs makes tech trading so much easier. Map type really depends on how you play. An aggressive player might prefer a Pangaea, a peaceful player a nice archipelago start. Continents is a decent middle ground but the generator gives really dull maps with that setting. Big/Small and fractal are much less predictable, and I find give better games.

2. Should I turn AI to "aggressive" and turn "restless barbarians" ON to get the most interesting and rewarding game experience?

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Definitely no to the first one, and probably no to the second question as well. Aggressive AI merely results in the AI rush attacking its neighbours at the expense of tech pace. It makes it harder to survive the early phases of the game, but if you get to about the Renaissance (particularly Rifling) in any reasonable condition, you've already won. The AIs just stagnate at a low tech level. In the long run it's probably easier, and it makes for very repetitive games of fending off huge stacks of obsolete units.

3. What speed people are mostly playing this game - Epic or Normal? (I think marathon is probably too slow for me) How does it affect AI?

Click to expand...

There was a poll a while back that showed most people here are playing Epic or Marathon. A few play Normal. Practically no one plays Quick, at least in single player mode. As mentioned earlier, slow speeds generally favour the human player. Map sizes and types I don't think there's an obvious one people go for. Maybe a tendency to the larger maps.

5. Are there any popular mods that improve AI? For example I've heard about unofficial BTS patch. Does it improve AI in a significant way, and do most people play the game with this unofficial patch? Are there any other AI mods that are recommended?

Click to expand...

The unofficial patch doesn't directly aim to improve the AI - it's more there to fix bugs, but it's well worth getting just for that. A lot of people use it (mainly because the earlier versions of BtS had some horrible bugs that the unofficial patches sorted out long before the official ones).

There is a "BetterAI" mod out there, and probably a few others - though bear in mind you may simply end up with a "different" rather than a "Better" AI.