How can I stick to a time schedule and not overdo it?

[justanick]

Well I usually play small maps so I can finish things faster but I now started playing standard games and will move to large later on,

If you are serios about limiting the time consumed by Civ3, than you should not move to large maps. Even standard maps are quite big and time consuming, they should be interpreted as the exception, not the rule(small). I effectively ignore large and huge and think

tiny(60x60/2=1800 tiles) = small
small(80x80/2=3200 tiles) = standard
standard(100x100/2=5000 tiles) = large
large(130x130/2=8450 tiles) = don't even think about it
huge(160x160/2=12800 tiles) = maybe i find time for this after i am dead

The smaller a map the faster a proper point can be found for saving the game and possibly stop playing for now. At large maps it takes very long to get a good idea of where you left of. Large maps might be fun for pure AI vs. AI games, but the human mind is not really made for this.

 

[GeneralAchilles]

If you are serios about limiting the time consumed by Civ3, than you should not move to large maps. Even standard maps are quite big and time consuming, they should be interpreted as the exception, not the rule(small). I effectively ignore large and huge and think

tiny(60x60/2=1800 tiles) = small
small(80x80/2=3200 tiles) = standard
standard(100x100/2=5000 tiles) = large
large(130x130/2=8450 tiles) = don't even think about it
huge(160x160/2=12800 tiles) = maybe i find time for this after i am dead

The smaller a map the faster a proper point can be found for saving the game and possibly stop playing for now. At large maps it takes very long to get a good idea of where you left of. Large maps might be fun for pure AI vs. AI games, but the human mind is not really made for this.

Yeah I sort of agree that small should have been the standard, it's just that I see many people prefering standard and large maps and I sort of want to try them as well.

Edit:after some thinking I decided to follow your advice and not play on standard map (at least when I play solo) it is indeed time consuming and I prefer to invest my time elsewhere.

 

[Theov]

If you are serios about limiting the time consumed by Civ3, than you should not move to large maps. Even standard maps are quite big and time consuming, they should be interpreted as the exception, not the rule(small). I effectively ignore large and huge and think

tiny(60x60/2=1800 tiles) = small
small(80x80/2=3200 tiles) = standard
standard(100x100/2=5000 tiles) = large
large(130x130/2=8450 tiles) = don't even think about it
huge(160x160/2=12800 tiles) = maybe i find time for this after i am dead

The smaller a map the faster a proper point can be found for saving the game and possibly stop playing for now. At large maps it takes very long to get a good idea of where you left of. Large maps might be fun for pure AI vs. AI games, but the human mind is not really made for this.

This also very much depends on how much of a perfectionist you are.
I am very critical of my own play so I take time and consideration in my turns, I still have fun and dont overthink things but I want to win and dont want to mess up.
My adhd friend though, he runs through games like a bull in pamplona.

 

[GeneralAchilles]

This also very much depends on how much of a perfectionist you are.
I am very critical of my own play so I take time and consideration in my turns, I still have fun and dont overthink things but I want to win and dont want to mess up.
My adhd friend though, he runs through games like a bull in pamplona.

True as do I since I have read crackers articles I micromanage things and even though I am not at monarch level yet I wish to improve so I don't put workers to automate mode.

 

[tjs282]

I hope when I become better to participate in a game like that!

Just name the place and time...

Yeah I sort of agree that small should have been the standard, it's just that I see many people prefering standard and large maps and I sort of want to try them as well.

In my experience, the complications of larger maps (especially Pangaeas) are a potentially higher tech-speed, more complex wars, and a greater tendency to end up getting dogpiled (because — at least once they've met each other — the AIs have more partners to trade/ fight/ ally with). Also, the Wonders get spread more thinly, since all the AI-Civs use the same algorithm to 'decide' when to start building Wonders (so they start at roughly the same stage in their development), and there are more AI-Civs to build them (so when one Wonder finishes, the cascades finish a lot quicker, giving a consolation-prize Wonder to each AI in the race). So in some ways it's easier to end up falling behind. OTOH, on Large+ Continents/Archipelagos, it is also easier to find long-term trading partners than on Tiny/Small Cont/Pan maps, where 1 AI running away will tend to quickly wipe out the others (because they're all relatively closer to one another).

My shortest game to date was on a Small, Randomly-rolled (80% Pang, I think) map at DG: I got Random-assigned the Inca as my Civ, and was wiped out by Iroquois Warriors attacking my Warrior-guarded capital after only ~20 minutes of gametime (20 turns in: on the interturn my capital was due to reach Pop3 and build my first Settler; the Iros already had 4 towns!). So of course, I immediately rolled another one...

 

[GeneralAchilles]

Just name the place and time...

Thanks! I will message you when I am ready.

In my experience, the complications of larger maps (especially Pangaeas) are a potentially higher tech-speed, more complex wars, and a greater tendency to end up getting dogpiled (because — at least once they've met each other — the AIs have more partners to trade/ fight/ ally with). Also, the Wonders get spread more thinly, since all the AI-Civs use the same algorithm to 'decide' when to start building Wonders (so they start at roughly the same stage in their development), and there are more AI-Civs to build them (so when one Wonder finishes, the cascades finish a lot quicker, giving a consolation-prize Wonder to each AI in the race). So in some ways it's easier to end up falling behind. OTOH, on Large+ Continents/Archipelagos, it is also easier to find long-term trading partners than on Tiny/Small Cont/Pan maps, where 1 AI running away will tend to quickly wipe out the others (because they're all relatively closer to one another).

My shortest game to date was on a Small, Randomly-rolled (80% Pang, I think) map at DG: I got Random-assigned the Inca as my Civ, and was wiped out by Iroquois Warriors attacking my Warrior-guarded capital after only ~20 minutes of gametime (20 turns in: on the interturn my capital was due to reach Pop3 and build my first Settler; the Iros already had 4 towns!). So of course, I immediately rolled another one...

Indeed it seems everyone has preferances and I now believe there is not a best map size since everyone of them has advantages and disadvantages so I will focus to master sizes small to large (I can't see myself playing a huge map and tiny map has little opponents).

About your game it was just bad luck, I sometimes even leave my first city undefended to search for good position to settle and find other civs so I don't see anything wrong with leaving one warrior to defend and I also know not to doubt your playstyle since you are a lot better than I am.

 

[WeirdoJoker]

My shortest game to date was on a Small, Randomly-rolled (80% Pang, I think) map at DG: I got Random-assigned the Inca as my Civ, and was wiped out by Iroquois Warriors attacking my Warrior-guarded capital after only ~20 minutes of gametime (20 turns in: on the interturn my capital was due to reach Pop3 and build my first Settler; the Iros already had 4 towns!). So of course, I immediately rolled another one...

I may have had an even shorter one than that, having been wiped out very early a couple of times when I decided not to pay tribute to someone (especially Germany) out of pique.

 

[Buttercup]

If I might recommend you plan and make available somewhere between three to five hours per session, then you'll likely find a more optimum and realistic time period to maximise both your enjoyment while minimising both burn-out and impatience.

 

[GeneralAchilles]

If I might recommend you plan and make available somewhere between three to five hours per session, then you'll likely find a more optimum and realistic time period to maximise both your enjoyment while minimising both burn-out and impatience.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[vorlon_mi]

I got back into the game in mid 2015, after freeing up more time after providing eldercare. Since getting back into playing, I have been trying to win with each of the Civ's, to try them all out. According to my tracking spreadsheet, I've played 18 games since June 2015 at Regent difficulty. Just about ready to launch my Greek spaceship in my latest effort.

 

[GeneralAchilles]

I got back into the game in mid 2015, after freeing up more time after providing eldercare. Since getting back into playing, I have been trying to win with each of the Civ's, to try them all out. According to my tracking spreadsheet, I've played 18 games since June 2015 at Regent difficulty. Just about ready to launch my Greek spaceship in my latest effort.

May I ask how you keep track of your time spent? You keep notes or some kind of program/application?

 

[vorlon_mi]

May I ask how you keep track of your time spent? You keep notes or some kind of program/application?

I don't track the total time spent on Civ3; I look at the total time that the game reports on the victory screen when I win; it is often 35, 45 or even 60 hours, and it's always spread over multiple days and weeks of calendar time. I have a spreadsheet on my Google Drive where I note which tribes I have already played, and the date when I finished that game. Only two more to go, until I've played them all at least once.

 

[WeirdoJoker]

I have a spreadsheet on my Google Drive where I note which tribes I have already played, and the date when I finished that game. Only two more to go, until I've played them all at least once.

I have a spreadsheet with all that and more. (I assume by "date" you mean the game date and not the real life date?)

I still have many tribes left to play in C3C, and have not yet played a Seafaring tribe. My next one is the Mayans.

 

[Lanzelot]

I play like 10-12 games per year, mainly the GOTMs and COTMs. (And maybe a succession game every 3 years, though I haven't played in one for quite a while. I think robbus' game was the last one.)
I often have long train rides, so I take my laptop and play 3-4 hours while on the train. And I play a bit while wife & kids are watching a movie.

 

[Theov]

I have a spreadsheet with all that and more. (I assume by "date" you mean the game date and not the real life date?)

I still have many tribes left to play in C3C, and have not yet played a Seafaring tribe. My next one is the Mayans.

You haven't played as the Dutch or the Vikings?!
Oh boy you are missing all the fun.
The Dutch grow like crazy because they are agr and the Vikings have the Berserker which is amphibious. Planning invasions is so much fun with them.

 

[WeirdoJoker]

You haven't played as the Dutch or the Vikings?!
Oh boy you are missing all the fun.

Not yet ... I intend to play them all until circling back around, at which point I will play those I haven't won with yet.

The Dutch grow like crazy because they are agr and the Vikings have the Berserker which is amphibious. Planning invasions is so much fun with them.

The Vikings, I imagine, would be great fun. I've never had to go up against them in a war yet ... and I keep forgetting the Berserker is amphibious.

 

[Lanzelot]

The Dutch grow like crazy because they are agr

Plus they have the perfect starting tech combo (Pottery and Alphabet, for a fast granary and a good chance at the Republic slingshot even at Demigod or Deity level) and they have extra commerce due to being seafaring (again for a good chance of achieving the Republic sling!) The extra commerce from being seafaring helps right from turn zero, while the extra commerce for commercial civs kicks in only when you have size-7 cities, so comes too late to make a difference for the Republic sling!
In my opinion, the Dutch are the most powerful civ! (And therefore they are often the top choice for expert players when trying their hands at Deity or Sid level.)

 

[Spoonwood]

And therefore they are often the top choice for expert players when trying their hands at Deity or Sid level.

Tiny Histo. Sid-3 others. Small Histo. Sid-1 other. Huge histo. Sid-8 others.

Space-Huge 1 other. Large-1 other. Standard-3 others. Small-1 others. Tiny - 4 others.

Dominaton-Tiny at least 10 others. Small-3 others. Standard-5 others. Large-1 other. Huge-2 others.

Diplomatic-Huge 1 others, 3 Dutch. Large-1 Dutch 2 others. Standard-3 others. Small-2 others. Tiny-3 others, 1 Dutch.

100k Tiny-2 others. Small-1 other.

20k Huge-1 other. Large-Dutch 1, 7 others. Standard-4 others. Small -8 others. Tiny-8 others

Conquest-Tiny 10 others. Small-3 others. Standard 1 Dutch, 4 others. Large-2 others. Huge-1 other.

So, with respect to the HoF we have (+ 3 1 1 1 1) = 7 Dutch entries in the HoF. The Maya have 8 histographic entries, a conquest entry, and a domination entry for 10 total entries. The Byzantines have 10 20k entries, 6 diplomatic entries, 3 domination entries, 3 spaceship entries, and a conquest entry for 23 total entries.

At Deity the Dutch have 2 conquest entries and 2 domination entries. The Iroquois have more entries than the Dutch, and so do the Byzantines, Sumeria, the Celts, and the Aztecs.

From what I've read succession games seem to end up fairly well spread out in terms of the tribe selected.

So, I don't think the data supports the proposition that the Dutch are the most selected choice for expert players when trying their hands at Deity or Sid level. More like the data suggests it's a false proposition, at least the HoF data does.

 

[CKS]

As a non-expert, I'm going with the Byzantines, not the Dutch, at Deity or Sid, because I'm not going for a military victory. I'll be trying to sneak in a cultural, diplomatic, or spaceship victory. Here the free techs for being scientific will pay off a lot more than being agricultural, which _I_ won't be able to turn into anything useful. I'll fill up my little island, and that will be it. My dromons will come in handy defending my island, though.

 

[Lanzelot]

Ok, the HoF tables refute me, but I didn't think of checking them before posting my claim. I still had the "recent" Sid attempt over at Civforum.de in the back of my mind, when I said that: Cotta had started it all, then Memento jumped in and tried it as well, and templar_x and myself watched and "gave good advice"... And we all agreed that the Dutch are a very good choice for a first attempt at Sid.
(Ok, I even found Memento's old story: https://www.civforum.de/showthread.php?87892-Sid-und-Vulkane-gegen-Memento-Wer-obsiegt )