Does anyone else think the "space race" kinda blows?

[DjPiLL]

I can understand when you play against 15 other civs... you have to shoot for the space race. It would be kinda difficult to wipe out all 15 civs in the default time allowed (maybe i'll load the mod that doubles the length / turns of the game to do this).

But to me... space race is the most boring way to win it. Hell.... I would rather win a cultural or diplomatic victory (even though I haven't actually won either of those two yet).

Conquest victory is the way to go for me. In fact... yesterday I got a taste on how much the Navy Seal kicks a__. I totally wiped out the Mongolians with my Navy Seals. They had 15 strength Knights... but they were no match.

Because of this... I tend to play much smaller maps with fewer civs. I am starting to like Tiny map with 4-5 civs. I turn off Space Race victory to make sure the AI doesn't build the ship before I wipe them out.

And its not even like I am a "warmonger". But this is the way to play the game for me.

 

[King Flevance]

I always turn it off.

2 things I always do is turn on raging barbarians and turn off space race.
The rest of the game is set up however I feel at the time.

You still get points ftw in time game for being first to launch I believe. So I just have it work similar to a wonder. I cant stand getting my ship done and still having things I want to do in the game.

 

[DjPiLL]

I hear that. The barbarians... yeah I turn that off too. Nothing annoys me more than sending out a settler to get killed by a lame panther. GRRRRR.

Hell... I would rather play with "raging barbarians" than with the default barbarian setting. At least then I can tell the barbarians to just "bring it".

 

[Lord Chambers]

You wanna talk about borning, talk about domination. I'm 2000+ points ahead of the nearest competitor, sending my modern armor up against almost hundreds of Calvary. The only challenge is setting waypoints for the endless numbers of units I have being produced in one part of the map and being sent to another while under heavy fire from low framerates. But to win, I have to spend minute after minute marching units around to reach that 66% land area point. I sure hope domination isn't such a pain in the ass on a non-lakes/Pangea type map, because it sucks.

 

[King Flevance]

You wanna talk about borning, talk about domination. I'm 2000+ points ahead of the nearest competitor, sending my modern armor up against almost hundreds of Calvary. The only challenge is setting waypoints for the endless numbers of units I have being produced in one part of the map and being sent to another while under heavy fire from low framerates. But to win, I have to spend minute after minute marching units around to reach that 66% land area point. I sure hope domination isn't such a pain in the ass on a non-lakes/Pangea type map, because it sucks.

Would be easier yet trickier on continents. Have to keep your eye out on your continent for other bringing armies in. But so long as you have military on your island for defense, and navy strength at the borders you should have an easier time maybe. Of course tyou have to charter the boats back and forth until you get a good foothold on the land somewhere.

 

[King Flevance]

I hear that. The barbarians... yeah I turn that off too. Nothing annoys me more than sending out a settler to get killed by a lame panther. GRRRRR.

Hehe, yeah. I escort them with an archer with first strike (exp 4/5:Barracks)and STILL lose them sometimes. I HATE it when that happens.
I have been defeated by barbarians a few times now. I usually play on Monarch/Emperor so they get tech pretty fast. (Based off majority civ techs)
You get about 2-3000 years and they start getting axemen and horses.

If they beat me though it is before then. Everytime they have taken me out, I would only have my capitol. I have seen them flood me so fast they took out 3 archers in my capitol once. Have taken out 2 a couple times. One key element is Sentry units early on.

 

[Kudos]

Yeah I would think it would be much harder for domination on anywhere BUT Pangea? The whole transport situation makes dominating on continents and, most especially, islands very difficult.

 

[agoodfella]

Yeah, the space race kinda blew in CivIII...

and guess what?

meet "new" space race, same as the last space race...

 

[King Flevance]

Yeah, the space race kinda blew in CivIII...

and guess what?

meet "new" space race, same as the last space race...

lol I never have used space race since the first time it happened and my game ended.

 

[mikh07]

i like space race...

 

[Joh]

as I posted in the other thread, it's my favourite way to win because I'm not a techy player. i just leave research at 60% all game, no scientists, and win the space race by sabotage at the end.

That way, it requires some real effort to achieve.

 

[azzaman333]

Space Race is the "bail out" victory.

"I cant win conquest, not evnough time left. Cant win Domination, that other island is too strong. Cant win culturally, not enough early investment. Cant win Diplo, everybody hates me. Cant win Time Limit, that other civ has an extra 1000 points that i wont be able to catch up. looks like its a spaceship victory for me... "

 

[Frimlin]

I like Space Race, but in Civ3 at least I did mostly play without that victory condition on. I love the idea of building a spacecraft to send to Alpha Centauri, just I don't so much like it when it is all built up and then... that's it -- you've won and now it is only because you're an addict that you'd want to play on.

I wish there was more to it than that, like if you win with Space Race you can then play your next game on whatever random Alpha Centauri world your people landed on. I'm holding out for a new "Future Age" added in an expansion pack. It'd definitely help to quiet those of us who still miss some of the other great stuff from SMAC.

So far I've kept Space Race on for Civ4, but I can see I might soon end up switching it off for Single Player games. Mostly at the moment in the end game, if I'm able to, I prefer to hunt down and lash back at those Civs who stood in the way of my people -- rather than keeping track to see just how close they are from blasting off out of here.

 

[Revolutionary]

the space race is much more serious in Civ4 than in Civ3

what I mean is that the AI rushes for the needed techs and actively trys to keep you behind in tech by trading among themselves but not with you.

in my last game I was dominating culturally and had the highest score and was planning on conquering the rest of my contintent when all of a sudden the top AI's shot up in techs and the space race begin

I ultimately won by completing the ship with the top AI only 2 parts behind me

anywho I felt a little cheat as I wanted to reek havoc with my armies...

 

[doggiedaddy]

I kept all options on in CIV III but turn off Space race in IV. I played several games that were cut short by that, and I think it changes the late game a bit too much. In one game, a warring civ only declared peace so he could pursue it. Another asked for a gift technology and beat me to the punch.

BTW....off topic.. I've gifted plenty of civs and NEVER get one if I ask for it. Not nice a'tall!

 

[Frimlin]

I love that you can turn the Time victory off. Could you do that in Civ3? I don't recall it, if so!

Last night I got a Domination victory in 2060 that I wouldn't have got if I'd left Time victory on -- felt more satisfying, even though I wasn't completely satisfied with a "oh by the way, while you were in the middle of what you were just doing you ended up in charge of most of the world, so you've won and that's basically it now" victory, either.

 

[Corlindale]

Well, in theory I think space race should be the most satisfying victory, because it is certainly the grandest achievement in real-life terms, but the way it's implemented is a little boring.

Perhaps it should be more like Civ 1, where you could actually decide how big your spaceship should be, and when to launch it, and then get a certain % succes based on how much effort you put into it.

I most often win by spaceship in Civ IV, simply because I find it's the easiest one and matches my playstyle well(I'm not particularly good at warfare, and even Diplo will often involve crushing enemies who won't vote for you).

 

[Grrrble]

i think that the space race should be totally revamped in the next expansion pack or Civ V.

like Corlindale said, they should change it to be what your success rate would be depending on your effort and timing. i also think that the space race should take that success % and translate it into a large point, production, or scientific bonus, instead of just winning you the game.

this way, the space race might very well help you achieve victory, but you wont get victory instantly from it

 

[weasel77066]

Space race only sucks when I lose it.. When Im about to launch up to a new planet, I like to blow the hell out of everything here. Throw the world into a 10K year nuclear winter and guarantee that nobody will eventually follow me to AC. (then Id have to start all over)
Seriously, I think its an easy out and normally I shut it off

 

[asmodeus81]

i think that the space race should be totally revamped in the next expansion pack or Civ V.

like Corlindale said, they should change it to be what your success rate would be depending on your effort and timing. i also think that the space race should take that success % and translate it into a large point, production, or scientific bonus, instead of just winning you the game.

this way, the space race might very well help you achieve victory, but you wont get victory instantly from it

Yeah, I'd like space race to either be Civilization 1 style, or a huge points/tech/great people/something bonus but not victory. Since a game where I had to rush through the rest of the parts as another civ started building, I've used custom game and disabled it.