Builders delight.

[Gilg]

... I'm not really a warmonger, i prefer to outtech the AI and turn my capitol in to a real powerhouse. Gameplaywise I like one of the effects in orbi, the added number of happy resources. Playing on emperor I can't get a copy of every resource without sacrificing something vital to my economy and with that in mind diplomacy becomes more important + I desire my enemys border cities more because they frequently have something rare.

Ergo more resources spice up priorities.

I like that.

And "Delenda est Cathago". Guilds that brings value to every single unit of corn or wheat I have under my control...... That should be a part of the main mod!!

 

[fuzzy_bunnies]

Yea, I used to think that way (I was primarily a builder myself) but I found that its really the games where you're screwed that you remember.

One game I had no horses, no metals (at all), no incenseand no reagents. That was a tough one. I had to make an overwhelming force to take a neighbor's strategic resources and it was a really tough battle... but I still remember it. There have been a bunch of games where I easily turtled/teched my way to an altar or towers victory and those just weren't as fun.

 

[Gilg]

Yea, I used to think that way (I was primarily a builder myself) but I found that its really the games where you're screwed that you remember.

One game I had no horses, no metals (at all), no incenseand no reagents. That was a tough one. I had to make an overwhelming force to take a neighbor's strategic resources and it was a really tough battle... but I still remember it. There have been a bunch of games where I easily turtled/teched my way to an altar or towers victory and those just weren't as fun.

So... what, if any, type of game do you prefer now?

 

[abculatter2]

I think bunny is right. You're just remembering the ones that weren't perfect, and thus were more fun and easier to remember.

Also, personally I prefer building/teching.

 

[GePap]

I also prefer the builder game to a warwaging game (at least until I am strong enough to beat up on some neighbors without too much fuss). I usually play on epic or marathon. That said, Bunny is right that games that require epic challanges are more memorable and fun, to a point. I am no fan of having to spend the first half of the game barely eeking out survival as waves of barbarians come calling.

 

[fuzzy_bunnies]

So... what, if any, type of game do you prefer now?

Games where I'm behind then bite and claw my way to the top. Its a lot more satisfying to topple a civ thats got a 50% higher score than you. I'm still too chicken to try the high to low option yet.

 

[kdodge]

...games where I easily turtled/teched my way to an altar or towers victory ...

I have considered this, but how do you get a towers victory without capturing massive amounts of mana nodes?

Even on huge maps I find that my initial land-grab rarely leaves me with more than one to three mana nodes.

 

[Imuratep]

you need metamagic II and it'll be quite easy. Then you just need 4 mana nodes as with dispel you can first build all nodes needed for a single tower, build the tower and after that you solve the mana nodes and build the next and so on, till you have built all needed towers. The best strategy is to build the tower of divination to get strength of will. But first you should get a civic which allows you to accelerate the tower with money (as after strength of will you will never need another technology). The Sidar and the Luchuirp should be the best for this win condition as they can get tremendous production in their cities.

 

[fuzzy_bunnies]

I have considered this, but how do you get a towers victory without capturing massive amounts of mana nodes?

Even on huge maps I find that my initial land-grab rarely leaves me with more than one to three mana nodes.

Vassalage. The one time I built the tower of mastery I had 2-3 vassals that I demanded mana from and had everything I needed. I dunno if its chaged though, because now I notice that they renegotiate the one sided mana trade after 20 turns.

you need metamagic II and it'll be quite easy. Then you just need 4 mana nodes as with dispel you can first build all nodes needed for a single tower, build the tower and after that you solve the mana nodes and build the next and so on, till you have built all needed towers. The best strategy is to build the tower of divination to get strength of will. But first you should get a civic which allows you to accelerate the tower with money (as after strength of will you will never need another technology). The Sidar and the Luchuirp should be the best for this win condition as they can get tremendous production in their cities.

Hrmm I read about this but never tried it. Seems a little cheesy (like the infinite caster hero exploit with lich). Still tempted to try it tho

 

[rezaf]

Edit: Deleted, misread a previous post. Sorry.

 

[Psycho_Ivan]

Vassalage. The one time I built the tower of mastery I had 2-3 vassals that I demanded mana from and had everything I needed. I dunno if its chaged though, because now I notice that they renegotiate the one sided mana trade after 20 turns.



Hrmm I read about this but never tried it. Seems a little cheesy (like the infinite caster hero exploit with lich). Still tempted to try it tho

Some people DO cancel the trades. Hannah certainly wouldn't stand up for it, and I got to crush her again.

I see the thing about it being an exploit a lot differently- Dispel is really meant to be used in order to make the Tower a more plausible victory style, not to mention it adds some depth and options to picking what you change other nodes to.

 

[Schmoe]

Hrmm I read about this but never tried it. [Using dispel to reset mana nodes for a tower victory] Seems a little cheesy (like the infinite caster hero exploit with lich). Still tempted to try it tho

I seem to recall that this manifestation of the Dispel spell was specifically added to make a tower victory more manageable.

 

[heisenberg]

I don't really consider this an exploit either.
After all, going for a tower victory with just say 4 nodes means that you'd have to complete each tower before the next.
With the exception for the tower of divination which is excellent for bulbing Str of Will for the Tower of Mastery, the other 3 towers are pretty weak in comparison and are simply hammer sinks for one of your most productive cities for say... 30ish turns each.

It certainly is a much more managable victory method if you are playing on a large map than pure domination, but if you're the kind who loves rampaging through everyone till they're just rubble and corpses (like me ) you can always turn that victory option off

 

[Boko]

I started a High-to-Low game a while back. Monarch difficulty. Started as Calabim and switched to Khazak after about a 100 turns. Took me ages to get a high enough score to get to the top again (turn 400+).

The Calabim soon decided to wage war on me when I still had the lowest score so it was hard to destroy a Civ which you helped build up. Calabim stayed at the top of the high score until about turn 250 when my score was half way up the ladder. I managed to destroy 2 of the Calabim's cities and as the Calabim were at war with 3 other AI they weren't a threat anymore.

The Luchuirp had a VERY low score at that time and I personally didn't feel like playing them when I'd finally get to the top place again. I decided to conquer their territory. They only had 4 cities and their army was pathetic.

After I conquered that territory I was in 2nd place so I decided to attack the civ who had the top score. It didn't matter if the civ was stronger than me. I only need to capture/destroy 2 or 3 cities and after that I would switch to a different civ anyways.

To my surprise I didn't get the civ that I thought I would when I got to top score again. I got Minister Koun (or whatever his name is), who was a teammate of the 3rd ranked civ. This annoyed the hell out of me (only had 1 city) so I quit the game =/

Still, High-to-Low is pretty awesome. I recommend it to everyone if you want an interesting game

 

[Blackmantle]

I seem to recall that this manifestation of the Dispel spell was specifically added to make a tower victory more manageable.

This. Its exectely ment to do just what it does and Kael has commented that it also works out just like he wanted changing mana to work from the time it changed by switching borders (which was a rather odd mechanic but did work as well. Only that the ToM needed possession of all mana back then if I'm not mistaken...). Take a look at one of the more recent spells discussions. You'll find the quote there.


(Doesn't change of course that it is virtually the best Tier 2 Spell around thanks to the overall usefulness of Magic. Rejoice. )

So utterly working as designed and as unexploity as it gets...

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I still think that the Tower of Master should require you own 1 of each mana type, and that all levels of a spell sphere should require the appropriate mana instead of just the first level. Bringing back Dispel Magic's old effect of removing various magic promotions in addition to its current effect could be good too.