onefinneday
Chieftain
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2020
- Messages
- 26
I just gave up on my best Emperor game yet in the latest version. I could have won it, but it was going to be really, really rough. Things I noted that are 3.55 specific:
- Tech limitations really help the AI - not possible to build up a huge tech lead like it was pre-3.55, outside of medieval era and certain strats.
- Confederation is... strong. I was using it for a large part of the game, because every other government would bankrupt me at the size I was at.
- I think the inflation mechanic needs to be weakened, now that technological stagnation is a thing. If a game goes to the 1800s, inflation will cut into the fewer and fewer ways to reduce upkeep cost that you do have. Before I quit I was at 0% science / 20% culture (no other way to get happiness), and had to go to extreme lengths just to stay solvent. At the end I wound up forfeiting cities to vassals in a hope to stabilize the economic situation. It did solve the econ crunch to the point where I could run 10% science, albeit with a much smaller base.
- My lead opponent was pretty close in tech and was creeping ahead. I was building an invasion force but because no money it was impossible to upgrade units (something I was able to do easily before inflation destroyed my income).
- Solar Cult's community in Free Religion is a bit too strong if your empire is super wide. Each Solar Cult community would save 13 GPT in every city. Civil Service's Local bureaucracies and the Kremlin were used too.
- Cult of Personality is still stupid. Doesn't bring happiness compared to a religion or the religious communities (and you will probably have 3 religions to spread).
- Golden ages are surprisingly useful with the humanist trait, at least for super wide empires. First GA in really late medieval was worth ~10k beakers and the GPP points.
- I reach a point at renaissance where my cities have built almost everything they're going to build. Aside from building arsenals, the government officials in Civil Service are fairly useless. I built a couple and then decided it was better to just use the hammers of the late settled / captured cities.
When I quit (during Industrial era) I was at 8k beakers per turn (all cities building research because I ran out of things to build), that went down to ~6k when the money crunches happened). I was still likely to stay ahead of the lead opponent, but the moment I went off commerce to actually build an army I'd probably face a strike.
If I could go back I'd probably have gone Centralist Constitution. Fed looks really really appealing except Great People are only somewhat useful at that stage of the game.
- Tech limitations really help the AI - not possible to build up a huge tech lead like it was pre-3.55, outside of medieval era and certain strats.
- Confederation is... strong. I was using it for a large part of the game, because every other government would bankrupt me at the size I was at.
- I think the inflation mechanic needs to be weakened, now that technological stagnation is a thing. If a game goes to the 1800s, inflation will cut into the fewer and fewer ways to reduce upkeep cost that you do have. Before I quit I was at 0% science / 20% culture (no other way to get happiness), and had to go to extreme lengths just to stay solvent. At the end I wound up forfeiting cities to vassals in a hope to stabilize the economic situation. It did solve the econ crunch to the point where I could run 10% science, albeit with a much smaller base.
- My lead opponent was pretty close in tech and was creeping ahead. I was building an invasion force but because no money it was impossible to upgrade units (something I was able to do easily before inflation destroyed my income).
- Solar Cult's community in Free Religion is a bit too strong if your empire is super wide. Each Solar Cult community would save 13 GPT in every city. Civil Service's Local bureaucracies and the Kremlin were used too.
- Cult of Personality is still stupid. Doesn't bring happiness compared to a religion or the religious communities (and you will probably have 3 religions to spread).
- Golden ages are surprisingly useful with the humanist trait, at least for super wide empires. First GA in really late medieval was worth ~10k beakers and the GPP points.
- I reach a point at renaissance where my cities have built almost everything they're going to build. Aside from building arsenals, the government officials in Civil Service are fairly useless. I built a couple and then decided it was better to just use the hammers of the late settled / captured cities.
When I quit (during Industrial era) I was at 8k beakers per turn (all cities building research because I ran out of things to build), that went down to ~6k when the money crunches happened). I was still likely to stay ahead of the lead opponent, but the moment I went off commerce to actually build an army I'd probably face a strike.
If I could go back I'd probably have gone Centralist Constitution. Fed looks really really appealing except Great People are only somewhat useful at that stage of the game.
