wtiberon
One man who stands alone
Getting Online
The beauty of Civ III:Conquests is there is no need to download any program nor set up accounts so getting online is easy. Simply click Multiplayer game and then click Online and your in.
The Lobby
There are two ways of occupying the lobby, either by using the game or by using Gamespy (GS). Gamespy is a very useful lobby tool it allows you to private message (PM) other Gamespy users, check what players are currently in the lobby, mute annoying players, see what players are currently starting games and add friendly players to buddy lists. Conquests lobby is very simple allowing you to see players games, start and join games, connect directly by IP, or switch connection to LAN.
Joining a game
Joining a game is easy. Simply click on any open game and enter the players room. Often players may wait to collect a certain amount of players so patience in getting a game setup is important.
Ladder games
We've all been here. You join a game and the host asks you if you are ladder. You reply no and you are asked to leave . What is a ladder? Why can't a new player play in a ladder? Are they elitist? No. The ladder is a league of online multiplayers who use win/loss reports to keep players from quitting games due to bad land, no resources, etc. If a ladder player allows you into their game he/she has no guarentee that you will not quit. It's free and easy to sign up and you find games are more rewarding using this style of play.
The Setup
Ok now its time to decide what sort of game you will play. Multiplayers have broaden their horizens quit a bit so simply chosing ancient start games are a thing of the past. Now there are several choices like Quick Civ, Midevil start, Industrious Start, Modern Start, Future Start, UU Madness (All civs are capable of building any UU depending on what resources, strategic and luxury, they hold...for instance anyone can build a Jaguar Warrior if you hold Wine.) , One city challenge, CTON, Team Games, FFA, etc. A couple things you can count on for any game is that they game will use Simultaneous Moves and accelarated production. Both are important for making a game as short and fun as possible.
The Civ
Ok we have decided to play the most popular online style; an ancient game, acc production, pangea, one city elimination normal point system and 90 turns. Ancient era starts will usually never get far beyond early midevil techs...perhaps one or two techs, so now we must decide on what civ we should chose. Which is the most powerful? First lets see what sort of traits will be useful in the ancient era.
Agricultural: Basically the dominant trait in the ancient era. Players without this trait will have a hard time keeping up with players who do. Its ability to grant an extra food per turn for each city built near a fresh water terrain square adds up over 90 turns. Also it's ability to make use of desert is a huge advantage of being able to overcome poor starts. Drawbacks are if you find yourself without a river or lake you basically now have a one trait civ.
Industrious: Still a popular trait even though it was somewhat hamstringed from its glory in the PTW days. Still over time this trait is dominant over non-industrious civs. Drawbacks are workers are cheap and a non-industrious civ can overcome their shortcomings by simply increasing its workers, also since it is rare for civs in a 90 turn game to switch governments you do not recieve your shield bonus.
Religious: Cheap temples = more points = good. Drawbacks are that rarely does anyone change governments so the 1 turn anarchy is lost.
Militaristic: Cheap barracks, faster unit promotions, and a higher percent of gaining a military leader all excellent benefits. Drawbacks are in acc production barracks can be population rushed with one shield for any civ.
Expansionist: The gamblers trait. This can be the most powerful or most worthless trait in the game. Expansionist is good for getting an early feel for the terrain, quickly finding enemies, find strategic resources, pop early settlers, techs, and friends. Drawbacks are if you find your self on an island, in a huge jungle and goody huts only gives you maps or conscript warriors then your trait has become worthless.
Commercial: This traits main purpose in Ancient start is getting an early b-line for philosophy since it starts with Alpha. Drawbacks are since it takes awhile to develp your cities the gold bonus is short lived and the reduced corruption is almost unnoticable.
Scientific: Cheap libraries, free techs, and increased SGL chance...nuff said. Drawbacks are if you find yourself in a gold crunch you may have to shut off your research and thus losing any advtange you have.
Seafaring: Early naval 4 movement is very powerful along with extra commerce for coastal cities. Drawbacks are that Seafaring isn't paired up with a good civ combination for the ancient era. Carthage and Netherlands are decent civs but Carthage without being agricultural and with an expensive UU often falls behind in development while Netherlands UU comes far too late.
continued
The beauty of Civ III:Conquests is there is no need to download any program nor set up accounts so getting online is easy. Simply click Multiplayer game and then click Online and your in.
The Lobby
There are two ways of occupying the lobby, either by using the game or by using Gamespy (GS). Gamespy is a very useful lobby tool it allows you to private message (PM) other Gamespy users, check what players are currently in the lobby, mute annoying players, see what players are currently starting games and add friendly players to buddy lists. Conquests lobby is very simple allowing you to see players games, start and join games, connect directly by IP, or switch connection to LAN.
Joining a game
Joining a game is easy. Simply click on any open game and enter the players room. Often players may wait to collect a certain amount of players so patience in getting a game setup is important.
Ladder games
We've all been here. You join a game and the host asks you if you are ladder. You reply no and you are asked to leave . What is a ladder? Why can't a new player play in a ladder? Are they elitist? No. The ladder is a league of online multiplayers who use win/loss reports to keep players from quitting games due to bad land, no resources, etc. If a ladder player allows you into their game he/she has no guarentee that you will not quit. It's free and easy to sign up and you find games are more rewarding using this style of play.
The Setup
Ok now its time to decide what sort of game you will play. Multiplayers have broaden their horizens quit a bit so simply chosing ancient start games are a thing of the past. Now there are several choices like Quick Civ, Midevil start, Industrious Start, Modern Start, Future Start, UU Madness (All civs are capable of building any UU depending on what resources, strategic and luxury, they hold...for instance anyone can build a Jaguar Warrior if you hold Wine.) , One city challenge, CTON, Team Games, FFA, etc. A couple things you can count on for any game is that they game will use Simultaneous Moves and accelarated production. Both are important for making a game as short and fun as possible.
The Civ
Ok we have decided to play the most popular online style; an ancient game, acc production, pangea, one city elimination normal point system and 90 turns. Ancient era starts will usually never get far beyond early midevil techs...perhaps one or two techs, so now we must decide on what civ we should chose. Which is the most powerful? First lets see what sort of traits will be useful in the ancient era.
Agricultural: Basically the dominant trait in the ancient era. Players without this trait will have a hard time keeping up with players who do. Its ability to grant an extra food per turn for each city built near a fresh water terrain square adds up over 90 turns. Also it's ability to make use of desert is a huge advantage of being able to overcome poor starts. Drawbacks are if you find yourself without a river or lake you basically now have a one trait civ.
Industrious: Still a popular trait even though it was somewhat hamstringed from its glory in the PTW days. Still over time this trait is dominant over non-industrious civs. Drawbacks are workers are cheap and a non-industrious civ can overcome their shortcomings by simply increasing its workers, also since it is rare for civs in a 90 turn game to switch governments you do not recieve your shield bonus.
Religious: Cheap temples = more points = good. Drawbacks are that rarely does anyone change governments so the 1 turn anarchy is lost.
Militaristic: Cheap barracks, faster unit promotions, and a higher percent of gaining a military leader all excellent benefits. Drawbacks are in acc production barracks can be population rushed with one shield for any civ.
Expansionist: The gamblers trait. This can be the most powerful or most worthless trait in the game. Expansionist is good for getting an early feel for the terrain, quickly finding enemies, find strategic resources, pop early settlers, techs, and friends. Drawbacks are if you find your self on an island, in a huge jungle and goody huts only gives you maps or conscript warriors then your trait has become worthless.
Commercial: This traits main purpose in Ancient start is getting an early b-line for philosophy since it starts with Alpha. Drawbacks are since it takes awhile to develp your cities the gold bonus is short lived and the reduced corruption is almost unnoticable.
Scientific: Cheap libraries, free techs, and increased SGL chance...nuff said. Drawbacks are if you find yourself in a gold crunch you may have to shut off your research and thus losing any advtange you have.
Seafaring: Early naval 4 movement is very powerful along with extra commerce for coastal cities. Drawbacks are that Seafaring isn't paired up with a good civ combination for the ancient era. Carthage and Netherlands are decent civs but Carthage without being agricultural and with an expensive UU often falls behind in development while Netherlands UU comes far too late.
continued