Hey, just throwin out my 2
.
I play on prince(rdy to move onto monarch i think), standard map size(most sp types) always have AGG AI and Raging barbs ON aswell as No Tech Brokering and ive tried all the game speeds except quick.
I started playing on normal speed(only been playin civ for a couple weeks never played civ b4 BtS) to get the feel for the "base" build/tech times then moved on to Epic and then quickly onto Marathon.
I cant say i noticed much of a difference in difficulty! I do however mostly go for domination wins. Thats why i like agg AI, the game is way to easy without it on! Same goes for Raging barbs it makes the expansion part of the game much more challenging, just played a game where there was atleast 7-8 barbs on screen at once!(very shortly after 2000bc, Fun Fun
). If you havnt noticed i dislike a cake walk and for that reason i have space race turned off(i guess it doesnt go well with agg ai if you yourself are going for a space victory, imho its boring and pretty easy and sometimes i just dont wanna feel rushed). Anyway, just ramblin(as i guess i tend to do on forums) about my playstyle which ofcourse is directly related to my feelings about game speed.
For normal games its just as much a click fest(a less fun click fest) to end the turn as it is on marathon(espescially if going space race or really any win besides dom/conq) the techs go by so quickly they are almost useless especially military techs. I wonder if the reason i see so many space race victories is 'cause most people play on normal where teching is much quicker?
Epic is cool, everything costing 50% more lets me actually use the things i research and build and i can see why people would say that it "feels more like civ".
Marathon for me is just simply even cooler.
Techs being 3x base cost and units only being 2x base cost makes war alot of fun with big stacks and/or tacticle strikes(you now have the time) rather than just another form of tech race!
Having to end the turn a few times in a row because there is nothing to do in the begginning of the game is such a small price to pay for the great game ahead! My marathon games on a standard map (dom victory) only take me twice aslong as on normal speed (9-12hours) which feels just aslong anyway 'cause theres alot more important moves to make at war(among many other things) and its just more fun to me i guess(times flys when your havin fun
)
With marathon i just feel like im getting the most out of everything, without feeling rushed or feeling like the game is almost over when i just started to play 2 hours ago.
Well i could probably say alot more but the point is Marathon for me hits the sweet spot where everything has its use and its just ultimatly a more fullfilling game/experience. As i think Mad Scientist said its more of a personal flavour than a challenge thing.
PS: Im a total noob when it comes to forums only joined galciv2 forum and only posted a couple times awhile ago. I know this is a great community so i think ill enjoy my time here...once i learn how to post.