Winseer
Chieftain
Ok, I used to be a programmer myself, but I'm rather dismayed to find that "difficulty" level refers far more to the odds of battles being changed per level than beefing up the AI.
Try playing on Deity level, and the reason you find it's impossible, is the AI civs start with 3 settlers, and umpteen units!
Add to this, their attack 1 units can easily beat your defend 2 spearman time after time, despite being fortified, etc.
...And finally - Woe is me, the AI building within cities is back to CIV1 where they get the box size reduced by a considerable amount!
My first game I had to give up due to appalling corruption that totally paralyzed all but the cities within 10 squares of my capital (about 6 of these) By the time I finally got Monarchy, I've got an Ironclad turn up from a newly met civ, demanding furs (about the only bargaining chip I've got!) and when I refuse, I get all my coastal improvments bombarded to oblivion...
My solution?
Alter the game script so that other civs start with the same as you. Even with this "levelling", they still race away with the tech levels due to heavy trading between AI civs. You can bet your boots that any tech gained by any AI civ will trade it with just about all the others pretty quickly.
I also altered the terrain defences back to CIV2 status - Ie fortifying on a mountain gives you a veritable Masada which is completely realistic (Civ2 had mountains triple defence, CIV3 has only double) Sticking a decent defending unit or three on a mountain chokepoint gives you some pretty impressive stand-offs with those massive barbarian uprisings.
I play with max barbarians 'cos the money from sacking their pop-up villages more or less runs my economy... And you all thought that "Expansionistic" had no use?
I played England because of Expansionistic (loads of money from sacking villages) and Commercial (LOWER CORRUPTION!)
Ok, I'm a limey anyway, and I got my ass kicked in the industrial age, but since loading the new patch I'm playing Rome and the whole game is different, although AI still race away with the techs, I now have a substantial, working, empire with diplomacy working very well indeed.
Winseer
"Oh Lord, help me to accept the things I can live with, and raise my power so I can alter those things that I can't..."
Try playing on Deity level, and the reason you find it's impossible, is the AI civs start with 3 settlers, and umpteen units!
Add to this, their attack 1 units can easily beat your defend 2 spearman time after time, despite being fortified, etc.
...And finally - Woe is me, the AI building within cities is back to CIV1 where they get the box size reduced by a considerable amount!
My first game I had to give up due to appalling corruption that totally paralyzed all but the cities within 10 squares of my capital (about 6 of these) By the time I finally got Monarchy, I've got an Ironclad turn up from a newly met civ, demanding furs (about the only bargaining chip I've got!) and when I refuse, I get all my coastal improvments bombarded to oblivion...
My solution?
Alter the game script so that other civs start with the same as you. Even with this "levelling", they still race away with the tech levels due to heavy trading between AI civs. You can bet your boots that any tech gained by any AI civ will trade it with just about all the others pretty quickly.
I also altered the terrain defences back to CIV2 status - Ie fortifying on a mountain gives you a veritable Masada which is completely realistic (Civ2 had mountains triple defence, CIV3 has only double) Sticking a decent defending unit or three on a mountain chokepoint gives you some pretty impressive stand-offs with those massive barbarian uprisings.
I play with max barbarians 'cos the money from sacking their pop-up villages more or less runs my economy... And you all thought that "Expansionistic" had no use?
I played England because of Expansionistic (loads of money from sacking villages) and Commercial (LOWER CORRUPTION!)
Ok, I'm a limey anyway, and I got my ass kicked in the industrial age, but since loading the new patch I'm playing Rome and the whole game is different, although AI still race away with the techs, I now have a substantial, working, empire with diplomacy working very well indeed.
Winseer
"Oh Lord, help me to accept the things I can live with, and raise my power so I can alter those things that I can't..."
