Recent content by BenDover

When playing single player, I tend to attempt to base critical choices off of what I believe my current leader would do in my current circumstance, including social policies and religion. This really isn't intended for competitive means, just for fun. When I come across choosing a religion...

Thanks for all the advice. :D I will continually read bits of AI behavior over time to reach a greater understanding. I'm afraid, however, that this thread is focused on how to topple the AI as if I was playing alone. But I'm not, and I rarely ever play alone. We constantly manipulate the AI to...

Ok, so would the Spiritual trait be worth it help to encourage swapping between caste system and slavery when necessary? Otherwise, Elisabeth or Huayna Capac seem to have the best traits for this setup. I'm probably way off.

Who's Tacky, and was it Taboo to post in an old thread?

Thanks a ton for this. I can finally collect my thoughts and experiment on what works best for me. I can't stand suggestions that imply that it's too complicated to stick to a single strategy. This is a no brainer. Of course you need to be flexible in a game as diverse as this, but at least now...

There has got to be a faster way to go about this. My sessions are a mix between players and AI, and they all last roughly 500+ turns, if players can survive for that long, with all victories turned on but time. This is what I gathered so far... AI manipulation is a big deal. Competing...

When conquering tactical cities throughout the game, it's important to not lose them again to the enemy. Sometimes we can go back and forth conquering the same cities turning it into a stalemate until one or the other builds better units. I'm still learning how to adapt to the environment and...

If no one else picked it up, I don't mind sacrificing 16 turns (how much it cost me during my most recent session) for a decent wonder.

Thanks for all the advice. Perhaps UU and UB are much more important to take into consideration that I initially thought. I still have a ton of trouble if I start on/near terrible land like in tundras or deserts, or isolated from decent resources. Imperialistic seems like a double edged sword...

Ok, I'll try to narrow it down a bit. This is my understanding of how the world is generated: The game seems a bit random depending on who happens to start closer to resources or if someone finds a great variation between land that provides great production/food vs research/food. Also, if you...

I see. So perhaps Cyrus would be the optimal choice? I guess that would depend on whether or not you start with horses.

So the Philosophical and Imperialistic traits DO work together. That's critical information that I only suspected to be true. With that out of the way, I'm used to playing with Philosophical, Financial, and Industrious leaders. Elisabeth, Frederick, Peter, and Lincoln have been my favorite...

100% Great General Emergence; 50% Faster Production of Settlers. I understand producing settlers in less turns, but what on earth is great general emergence? How does it work? How does it effect my Great Generals in combat if at all? Does it only work in my territories or anywhere? Does he...

Just finished reading your story. I really like how "in character" your campaign is. Can't wait for the next chapter

Hey, I recently purchased Civ IV and it's expansions on steam. It's become my new obsession, so I thought I'd join to improve my meta game. :D I may very well get Civ V when Gold comes out. Religion looks a lot more interesting in that game.