FF: What keeps you from being a better player - and what are you doing about it?

[Darkness]

My biggest flaw while playing civ3 is that I'm still to cautious.
I need to take more risks, like attacking 5 turns sooner with less units, but I always wait until I have so many units the outcome isn't in doubt anymore, but I will loose out on a lot of score that way...

 

[Yndy]

I guess it could be summed up in one word: time.

I know of most of the tactics used in civ (even if I don’t use them all) but now I can’t keep myself up to date because applying each tactic requires time, and my games are longer and longer. I am lucky enough for the new good tactics to be referenced in the GOTM forum ‘cause I have not visited the other sub-forums for months now.

I have improved constantly from last June to January 2003, and that was obvious in everything and can be seen in my GOTM score. The peak was my 5th ? place at GOTM 15 Russians. But that game ate my Winter vacation and New Year’s Eve. I knew I could never get back there due to my limited time. By that time I gave up playing other games but the GOTM. I usually played 4 games per month, all on large maps, but now it’s GOTM only and even if I finish around 20th, I don’t have time for a new game. In GOTM 16, 17, 18 and 19 I kept decreasing the amount of time I played only to see that my final position in GOTM was not much affected (discouraging milking also helped).

It’s interesting that on the learning curve I grew for 4 months (August to November), than I lost two games GOTM 13 and GOTM 14 only because I was pushing too hard like Darkness wants to , and I got my best game in GOTM 15. From then to now I tried an optimization of focus vs. result so that must seem like a decrease in performance. I intend to stay like that, I’m happy where I am and don’t want more.

I’m a little disturbed by the new players that pass me like a rocket and end up on the top 10 but with time I will be able to live with that.

 

[forged]

Like others, time & patience is my downfall. I am aware of things that I really should apply in my game, but having a lack of time prevents me from applying them correctly.

My only completed gotm (which happened to be my first game at emperor) managed to prove two things. 1) I sell myself short. 2) I have A LOT to learn and not enough time to do it in.

 

[Karasu]

Time it is.
Which of course means practice: I have only been playing GOTMs for the last year or so, with the rushed parenthesis of one tournament and a half...

And patience. I love planning, I spend a lot of time planning.
Then when I am done with it, I loose patience with the implementation of the plan.
So, either I make a nice plan and don't play, or I play for the fun of it -but out of instinct.
As a demonstration, I didn't have the patience to read all this thread...

But I love this game!

 

[tao]

Time. And experience. Playing on Macintosh, I have participated now in gotms 17-20. Plus I may do half a training game per month.

I'm still lacking the early rapid expansion capability, maybe because I'm too much of a builder and don't put enough emphasis on early fighting.

 

[zagnut]

Denyd:

Your list is a great resource. I have copied it and posted it next to my computer so that when I play I won't forget to do all the things you have listed. It really is amazing what we have to remember to play this game.

 

[Hergrom]

One word: Lazy

Unfortunately, I simply am too lazy to employ all of the tactics needed to consistantly be a top finisher. I despise micromanagement. I have all the time in the world to play these games, yet I cannot be bothered to ensure I do not waste shields and food in the early game. I have no desire to contact each and every civ for trades each and every turn. And do you believe I am a milker! A 2nd tier milker, to be certain, but a milker none-the-less.

My other biggest weakness is early game agressiveness. I never have early wars. Thus I never hit the domination limit early. Thus I have lower endgame scores.

Hergrom

 

[denyd]

One thing I have done with the current GOTM is plan ahead.

I take screen shots of the known map and of the F1 & f6 screens before I finish a session and make hard copies that I connect into a large map. Then during lunch at work, I plan my troop movements (pillaging, order of attacks on AI cities).

When the middle ages began, I selected a science path through this segment of the tech tree and with a goal in mind:
1. gunpowder for muskets (defense)
2. cavalry to attack my main rivals

any other techs of this path were either bought or traded for.

Between sessions I plan who I'll be attacking and who I'll want as allies, where to strengthen my defense and where to attack.

I also decide if any wonders are in reach and where my prebuild should be (palace & FP).

While I've looked for targets of opportunity, so far this games I've been able to stay pretty close to the plan.

 

[Yndy]

Originally posted by denyd
One thing I have done with the current GOTM is plan ahead.

I take screen shots of the known map and of the F1 & f6 screens before I finish a session and make hard copies that I connect into a large map. Then during lunch at work, I plan my troop movements (pillaging, order of attacks on AI cities).

I guess you mates from work think you're planning to joing the Army and invade Iraq again .

Or worst ...

 

[Ambiorix]

I've been thinking of joinging/starting a SG, but with all the SG's already going on, it might be better to start with reading up on a past one. Can anybody recommend a good Deity training SG to read up on ? There are probably a lot, but I'm just looking for 'common' gameplay; no always-war or let's-do-this-with-one-hand-tied-behind-our-back setups.
Thanks folks.

 

[flexo]

Biggest problem: I play for fun, I don't make plans for the entire game, just small ideas what I am about to do. Then I just play. To quick on the return key at the end of the turn instead of fixin' and fliping.

I should plan ahead even more. Think I have to become a bit more agressive in the war department. I can go to war without superior numbers.

If I want to have early victories I have to speed up the tech pace, which I rarely do. I try and hold it back as much as I can.

I rarely do any micromanagement.

I usually end up building to many improvements and not enough troops, but I have become better here, i don't build improvement that can't pay for themselves (ok I build some of them but not as many as before).

Early scouting. Must do a lot more of that. More sending away warriors far far away. Could be a great source of slave workers.


What happend to the idea of a mentor program? You got help and analysing of your game from someone higher up the food chain (which is bad luck for moonsinger since she is at the top but still). In turn you give help to someone lower down? Or was that idea just in my head?