Another one joins the masses...

[jeffreyac]

Hi all,

I was playing Civ IV:BtS at my dad's recently, and to my pleased surprise my stepmom was very interested in the game. So, I sat her down in front of the computer and turned her loose on a very low difficulty level - and she loved it, so much that we got her her own copy the next day!

My question is - I know there are some basic strategy guides on here somewhere, and I can't seem to remember where they went. Can anyone refresh my memory on where those were located? Also, I'm talking VERY basic strategy guides here - i.e. city placement, basic steps... as far as I know, she didn't read the manual, just dove in with the limited hints that I gave her while I was watching over her shoulder. The guides I did see here on the forums assumed a basic grasp of the game - I'm trying to find something to GET someone a basic grasp, starting from a no-experience standpoint.

I'm going to try and sit down and write up some notes for her to get her started (concepts like the FC for city resources, city placement, basic combat, basic ideas for strategies) from a very-much-beginner level. Anyone have any ideas on topics to include? I don't want to make it very long or complicated - she's smart, and will discover much on her own. But as we know, civ is a pretty complex game, so some hints to start might be nice...

Oh, and I get a bonus Great Person in my next game for referring a friend to the game, right? I could have sworn there was some reward...

Thanks in advance for any and all advice offered!

 

[plesniak]

Hi all,


My question is - I know there are some basic strategy guides on here somewhere, and I can't seem to remember where they went. Can anyone refresh my memory on where those were located? !

If you go to the civ fanatics home page and look down the left hand side of the page you will see a section called "war academy" there are some very good articles there.

 

[TommyTankRush]

Its very touching that your stepmom is feigning an interest in Civ iv in order to bond with you, I hope you're nice to her.

I've never managed to get any woman in my life to show the faintest interest in Civ, I just don't think it appeals to female brains.

My girlfriend can spend 4 hours looking at jeweled tiaras on the internet, but cannot understand why I play Civ.

 

[jeffreyac]

lol.... actually, I truly believe it is genuine interest, but I guess time will tell. Since I see her only rarely, I doubt it'll be a great bonding agent for us (unless I can figure out how to set up multiplayer games on the internet; I haven't ever really tried any multiplayer stuff having enough trouble with AI opponents!)

So, for what it's worth, I think she's just another civ addict in the making. I did tell dad that many of us gamer types would be thrilled to be going to Best Buy to buy a computer game for a wife...

 

[King Flevance]

You could also play a hotseat game if you are both playing at the same time. I play hotseat with my mom sometimes and it helps her grasp a little more of my strategies. I usually play monarch, and she usually plays Warlord. So to make it interesting for both, I put us on a team and we play on noble. Sometimes I will go down to Warlord or something but we beat the snot out of the computer on noble if we are teamed. I give the AI a sporting chance by putting them on teams too though. OK, maybe not sporting but a better chance.

As for online MP, it is pretty easy once you get the hang of setting it. And its pretty easy to get the hang of. I haven't tried it recently though.

Small note: Some people are having trouble with MP sync issues with the current patch. But I am not sure of the specifics. I havent even had time to attempt a MP game for a while outside of hotseat.

 

[jeffreyac]

Oops, I guess I should have mentioned my age; I'm old enough to be married and out in my own house, about 8 or 9 hours drive time away from them, so hotseat games may be tough - though could give me something to do when we visit... This also lends credence to the 'she just likes the game' theory...

For the multiplayer, do I have to go through the gamespy thing, or is that something different? Anyone with multiplayer experience care to give a MP-for-dummies approach to how I should set up a game for the two of us?

 

[Ossian]

Call or Email her and say "my game name is ____ and the password is ___"
Or you could try getting hamachi program which acts like a fake LAN cable over the internet, but thats complicated so I'd stick with online.

It's fairly easy to make a account online.
Just hit make a account in the ingame M player section once in the lobby create game with your settings and password it.
Beware of Mplayer, Players aren't like AI's and can think out long planed strategies on how to win.

 

[jeffreyac]

lol - yeah, hence why I've stuck with AI... I figure, if I struggle on Noble, I'm probabl;y not ready for multiplayer just yet...

Thanks for the help!

 

[King Flevance]

I wouldn't say that. If anything, come down to her difficulty setting. It will also give you time to learn some new tricks with the game being more forgiving than your usual settings.

As for going into multi-player, Just click multi-player, then internet I believe (its been a while) create a new account if you don't have one and it will put you in a lobby. You won't actually need to open anything other than the game itself. It does all that for you. Once logged in, it will spit you into a lobby. Create a new room, set a password and get ahold of her to let her know where you are and what the password is as Ossian said.

 

[TommyTankRush]

I'm glad you're older - because after I posted I suddenly panicked that I'd shattered the illusions of some 9-year-old. Again

And you're probably right - nobody can convincingly profess an interest in something they find horribly dull.

Get your economy straight, and everything else fits into place. You can afford a huge army, a massive research budget. Life's peachy. And mine hills. Always mine hills.

But I guess you know all that - I only intend it as a 2 sentence strategy guide to help your stepmum.

 

[KaytieKat]

Hi

If you look in the strategy and tips forum one of the stickied threads at the top is titled something like "quick tips for beginners" . Stuff in there should be helpful

Kaytie