First impressions

[itix]

It is currently on sale on Steam, so I decided to try it. First game play was not very positive. Everything was quite confusing, even in tutorial mode, I felt it didn't guide me enough. Can I settle anywhere I want, or can I only use tiles marked in green? Or must I settle on a city site only? I gave up after 50 minutes in frustration.

When away from my computer, I could not stop thinking about it. "It can't be that bad." I googled a little and followed some reddit discussions: "don't play it like civ".

On another try, it started to make sense. "Ok, that is how it works!" Eventually, I was playing the game until 3 am last night

Pros:

• Graphics are good. It looks better than Civ VI
• 1UPT has more tactical depth than in any Civ game.
• Unlike in Civ, it does matter if you found your city on hills or behind the river.
• There is so much content (events). In comparison, Civ VI feels very shallow.

Cons:

• It is easy to miss ruins which are important (and interesting!)
• Wall of text. As non native English speaker, I need more time to comprehend events. This game works best when it is available in your native language.
• Similarly I often miss tips in the loading screen.
• Managing units. I am often clicking an icon on top of the unit rather than the unit itself. There is more, but I have to try to check if/what key shortcuts there are.

Overall, this game is superb

 

[Dale]

Did you try the Learn to Play tutorials? Or just jump straight in?

You can change language in options.

Tips are all listed in the encyclopaedia.

 

[itix]

I tried the Learn by Playing tutorials first, and only then Learn to Play. I was eager to play...

The language doesn't matter because games never include Finnish, we are just too small market

 

[King Jason]

Glad you came back / stuck with it. New players hit a few speed bumps at first but a truly amazing game is waiting to be discovered if you stick with it.

 

[itix]

I just abandoned my first playthrough on standard difficulty level because the game felt too easy and stale. At one level higher, The Strong, it feels quite good now.

"The wall of text" feeling is now gone when I understand the game better. It is not really the wall of text, but information overload. I didn't quite get it at first that I am supposed to roleplay leaders. This adds interesting flavour, but I wish there were better visual clues when decisions are about my heir, when about the court, and when about foreign/tribe relations.

The order system is good. I like it. The combat system is great.

 

[itix]

Combat is tough. In Civ games it is enough to build a few archers and lure the AI to the kill zone. In Old World, you must think about where to place your units. And you need many, not just archers...

 

[Solver]

Yes, Civ players have to completely drop all Civ habits regarding combat and unit management. In Old World, you need many more units and terrain is very important for their placement. I think every Civ-to-OW player has had the experience of trying to fight a war with a Civ-style army and then getting that army wiped out in one hit.

 

[King Jason]

Combat is tough. In Civ games it is enough to build a few archers and lure the AI to the kill zone. In Old World, you must think about where to place your units. And you need many, not just archers...

I do think that this tactic rears it's head a bit once you get catapults. Combat is tougher and more involved than civ though. You need to get used to the different counters and the ways terrain can completely kill an advantage.

A dozen archers in the open can be super strong but if they end up in the woods then it's a rough time. Even scrub provides very good protection.

 

[itix]

Yes I knew in advance that battles are going to be harder. And I am probably going to fail on that, so I saved my game before my first attempts. It would have been unfun to start a new game only because I was decimated So far this has been good lesson.

I also like that diplomacy has true meaning. I neglected diplomacy and now everyone hates me.

And about descendants, most online guides advise against marrying into a tribe. They were wrong: I could convert their city sites to my cities. On top of that, my queen was having a relationship with a female tribe leader. Interesting!

 

[Trav'ling Canuck]

The depth of options in Old World is what impresses me. There's so much more to diplomacy, both external and with your internal families, that the world and your empire feels alive in a way no Civ game ever has.

Not always for the good for me. Currently I'm trying to play a peaceful game as Carthage and having fought off an aggressive war by Persia, who had a leadership change and offered peace, I'm now being invaded by the Hittites, Romans, Gauls, Danes and Vandals. Suffice to say, Orders are a shockingly scare commodity and my build queues are full of soldiers, rather than development projects. The Hittites in particular are driving me to distraction, because every time I manage to set up my defenses well enough to have a good turn, killing off their invading forces, they're right back at me with another set of invaders, almost faster than I can heal and refit my defenders.

It's awesome! I haven't had an AI offer this much of a speed bump to my empire-building since the good old days of having Shaka as a neighbour in Civ 5.