Do you use Advanced Start?

Do you use advanced start?

  • Always!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes, not always, but often

    Votes: 8 8.6%
  • Yeah, but not often

    Votes: 25 26.9%
  • Nope. Not interested.

    Votes: 60 64.5%

  • Total voters
    93

blitzkrieg1980

Octobrist
Joined
Aug 29, 2006
Messages
4,899
Location
New Jersey, USA
I have been playing with Advanced Start on lately (and increasing the allowed points) and I've loved it. Now, I'm starting to get nostalgic over the first steps of the game that always get skipped with Advanced Start.

So I decided to see how many people actually use this feature and how often
 
I usually use it with 100 points just for first city placement. I occasionally put it at higher points, but very rarely.
 
I have used it, but prefer the early game management.
 
never used it because my favorite stage of the game is the ancient and medieval era, many times i don't finish games after they get in the industrial time :S
 
I have never finished a game before the Industrial Era (and that was only ONCE!) How do you guys finish your games so fast?
 
I used to use it every time I started a new game. There are advantages and disadvantages.

The main advantage of it of course, is that you are able to begin in the later stages while being able to customize your empire, so you can have wars with modern technology.

Obviously the disadvantage here is that you cannot pursue other courses of action to get there, like building certain wonders or conquering other continents or islands.

It has its uses and im glad the option is there, I hope they keep it from now on in future civ games.
 
ehhhmmmm... i didn't mean that i "finish" the game in the proper sense... sometimes i just abandon them :$

i think one reason was that i used to play always in huge maps, then micromanagement just get crazy complicated and time-taking after the industrial era, wars last ages to play each turn, etc. but now i am opting to play in smaller maps... hopefully i also start finishing more games.
 
Oh, I see. I've read many posts where people actually FINISH as in complete their games before the Industrial Era and are surprised when it goes into the Industrial era
 
hmmm... well, i can imagine finishing early in small maps, using a really aggresive strategy and winning domination. I am not familiar with diplomatic victory using the apostolic palace... maybe that's another option.

Usually my game is balanced between builder and warmongering, then usually my games last till modern era for space race victory (when i finish them)
 
I only used it in the Charlemagne scenario where I have to use it.
 
no unless for the EQM and thats not really an advanced start just different era starts.
 
I started playing some off-line games at Marathon speed, so I started using it as a way to get past the initial tedium of the first 100 or so turns of Marathon, where you have only one unit to move around (and he always spends several turns healing, of course) and when you do manage to finish building a Worker, there's very little for him to do.

Lately, though, I'm thinking of going back to regular starts and just dealing with the lack of activity in the initial few turns; I find that the AI doesn't handle advanced starts very well, whereas they can give a human a huge advantage. The AI seems to always spend its points on Settlers and cities, whereas I usually spend them on techs. So I have more of the map revealed initially and I know where the copper or horses are. The standard "blind start" is more of a challenge.
 
It's funny, but it gives the player a disadvantage when playing below noble. This is because all the bonuses to the player / penalties to the AI are compounded with each turn. So if you start a normal game, the build bonus, research bonus, etc etc start compounding immediately, whereas with Advanced Start, the AI gets to plop down a bunch of cities and units while avoiding the penalties of building settlers/workers/warriors.

But you probably play much higher than noble, so this won't apply to you Sisiutil
 
(Just repeating, I set advance start so it's just enough to get perfect placement for your capital on 1st turn, and no more.)

That's an interesting thought there, blitzkrieg1980. I never thought about it that way before. I might try advanced starts with a few extra turns of production to see how it goes. (I usually play warlord or noble.)

It's worth mentioning here, but there's a weird peculiarity with advanced start and creative: Any creative leaders immediately start with a 2-radius culture border in advanced start, with no point cost. It costs the normal amount of points to expand from 2- to 3-radius culture border, however.
 
^ ^ ^ a good reason to focus on more cities and units when Advanced Starting with a creative leader.
 
Never (defy resolution)
 
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