[R&F] How do you play if you want the AI to have a fair chance?

[Nigel_Tufnel2]

I almost never build any early Campuses, preferring Holy Sites instead. This allows the early/mid-game to develop a little slower, tech-wise. (I often take the Science from building belief, so I actually don't fall ridiculously far behind.) Most games I avoid too much chopping, and the only reason I tend to move Magnus around is to pop out faith Settlers closer to where I am expanding next. I do a lot of coastal cities, and really focus on exploration and Barbs/Villages. I tend to build military as if the AI were a true threat, and like having strike/defensive forces spread out for any contingency. Sometimes I'm even surprised a bit, but I can't recall losing a city since the first week of vanilla release. I always have a big navy.

These are all sub-optimal play, and I love it. I play Immortal or Deity, with certain mods that really flesh out the religious game. I'm not even slightly bored the first 140 turns or so, game after game, in part because I'm still sending out new Settlers, still planning for new canal cities, trade routes, lux hotspots, etc.. (I often start with only 4 cities until the Gov Plaza and Tier 1 Settler building is built.) I figure these moves allow the AI to expand on their early advantages longer.

 

[c4c6]

These are all sub-optimal play, and I love it.

Sub-optimal or 'inefficient' in the sense of reaching victory in the lowest number of turns ... perfectly optimal for generating joy out of gaming (for a specific type of gamers).


Because playing the diplomatic game lavishly also fits well here, I want to mention

I always enjoyed playing the diplomatic game and would spend a lot of time in the first 50 turns working out just whom how and when.

The diplomacy aspect of Civ 6 has the potential to be quite interesting. Just not relevant, as the like or dislike of your neighbours seems a non-factor to me.

I think, the AI players participating in Emergencies should receive a couple of FREE appropriate units (offensive or defensive depending on their role against the human).



Another aspect is a 'Ironman-Mode', ie. not reloading purposly for advantages (starting location, outcome of bad decisions ...). Methinks in general, if I take away the "bad luck" by not accepting it, I finally deprive me of the "good luck" also. If there are no lows, ultimately there are also no highs - simple, but my personal opinion, of course.


Talking about highs & lows - I associate up & down, rise & fall ...
rise & rise & rise again feels "all flat" in the end.

Well, in Tresham's Civilization the disasters are so numerous, that they are always distributed "fair" - besides that strong shoulders, which can carry more, get more ... (just to be sure, they cannot run away towards victory too fast). And one gets used to them.
So far methinks, 'dark ages' & disasters aren't necessarily bad, because they ARE THE KEY for a great recovery after suffering. I don't like the lows too, but without them there are ultimately NO highs. (Just as in real live )

Why do people wonder to find THAT "all flat" boring??

 

[acluewithout]

I think, the AI players participating in Emergencies should receive a couple of FREE appropriate units (offensive or defensive depending on their role against the human).

Yes please.

I also think the Aggressor should only earn Era Score if they win, not actual Gold, with perhaps the losers losing some Era Score. Otherwise it's just a silly windfall for the player.

 

[Leathaface]

As I always do. By peaceful victories. War as you say is too easy

I always go peaceful for sure, for the same reason you do; war is easy. I don't like it when twitch streamers get 10+ Knights, pair them with a battering ram and conquer on turn 85. I just stop watching the stream if that happens.

 

[c4c6]

As I always do. By peaceful victories. War as you say is too easy

War is too easy. From this I derive that houserules and/or mods for restrictions on the number of human player units & their usual experience level (-> extra rules for disbandment & new enlistment of units) may help.


Stillwind "I did NOT expect the Spanish inquisition" gives here a nice example of How to play if you want the AI to have a fair chance? ... - Just use less units :
Let's Play Civilization 6 Rise and Fall - Fancy French
@ 25:33 All is fine
@ 35:17 "maybe I should be slightly worried"
@ 40:56 Capital is lost
@ 72:48 "game started lovely, but isn't going well now", 2nd front crumbling
@ 78:40 Surrender

 

[Zuizgond]

Remove half of your brain.

 

[Disgustipated]

I literally opened this thread to reply "drunk" but you beat me to it.

I've done this a couple of times. Though not stumbling drunk, I don't like to drink that much. Honestly, I can still stomp on the AI pretty good after 4 or 5 beers. Although I don't play the highest level. The challenge comes in that it's hard to focus on the screen. The screen in Civ6 can be pretty intense as is (especially golden age or dark age), as it causes a lot of eye strain, but after drinking enough it become impossible to focus on key details.

 

[Aristos]

I turn the monitor off.

Seriously though, why would I have to play ala US military in Vietnam (with one hand tied to the back)? I will never do that, I use all the mechanics at my disposal... if the AI is too weak and/or badly designed, I will criticize the devs until they "put their batteries on" (a Central American slang, "ponerse las pilas"), relentlessly, but will not diminish my game because they refuse, or are not able to, improve their AI.

Soren, come back....

 

[darkace77450]

Here are some self-imposed handicaps I play with.

• I don't keep conquered cities (the exception being capitals when playing for a Domination Victory) and I delete captured Settlers.
• I don't declare surprise wars after the Ancient Era, and I only do it in the Ancient Era to curtail AI forward settling.
• I limit myself to seven cities.
  
• I limit myself to one Campus, Theater Square, Holy Site, Encampment, and Harbor until the Renaissance Era. This greatly slows progression through the tech and civics trees and places a greater emphasis on eurekas and inspirations.
• Every city gets a Commercial Hub, Industrial Zone, Neighborhood, and Entertainment Complex or Water Park. This necessitates growing my cities to larger populations and procuring amenities to keep these large populations happy. It also serves as a series of speed breaks since the AI is free to do its thing while I'm flushing production down the toilet on inefficient builds like Industrial Zones.
  
• Policy cards are one-use only. Once I swap a policy card out for something else it's off limits for the rest of the game.

I play on King difficulty because I don't like the idea of early game wonders being off the table. Even with these handicaps in place the AI never threatens to win, but my time to victory is much slower and I'm able to enjoy the various eras for what they're supposed to encompass.

 

[Leathaface]

"How do you play if you want the AI to have fair chance"

I just don't archer spam early on, or build 10+ Knights and invade on turn 80; I play peaceful. Playing on Immortal if I don't declare friendship with a neighbouring Civ and that Civ is hostile, it can be a bit of a challenge to defeat an invading army. If there are 2 hostile Civs either side of you then it's even harder.

But, as has been said, if you make it to mid-game and have a good economy and good districts, then you have a very good chance of winning. (unless you're going for a CV and Pericles has 800 Culture)

 

[BarbarianHunter]

I'm not a fan of boxing myself in, as freedom to do as I please, how I please, and when I please, is one of the things I find enjoyable about civ. probably another reason why I refuse to go 100% effeciency route as well, and don't generally use limes. Maybe build 3 holy sites and shrines for the first 3 districts, then do as I please.

 

[playshogi]

No replaying of turns even if you make a misclick.

 

[MrRadar]

This Civ3 story may serve as an inspiration: get hold of some sort of a RNG and let IT (aka your "wise men council") decide what tech and civic is to be researched next, and then try to live with it.

You can try delegate even more decision making to RNG, e. g., whenever AI comes to you with an offer, you could seek an answer "yes/no" from the same "wise men". The problem is, that at the moment AI mostly comes to you with some questionable trade offers, only seldom offering a friendship and very rarely offering to join a war. Well, at least you could yourself put a proposal to go to war before the RNG concil, and then set yourself some turn limit before another war initiative could be proposed. Or else, define that war can only be proposed every 30 turns, e.g., t30, t60, t90 etc, so it would be easier to keep track.

The philosophy is that to give AI a fair chance you must act on AI's behest, as a clever underling to whom the cruel Fate gave a cold, blind and deaf overlord possessing astonishing computing powers, but nevertheless immensely stupid otherwise. The worst part is, both of you have a common cause.

 

[TomKQT]

To give the AI a fair chance, you just have to:

• don't use any exploits (I never use them anyway),
• don't cheat by save-load to change the outcome of some action (I do this sometimes).

Sadly the AI cannot keep up with you even without this

 

[Mesix]

How about not declaring any surprise wars. Wait for the mid came cassis belli to become available and then only DOW when you have met the requirements. In addition to removing the advantage the player has over the AI in the early game, this will also force you to play the diplomacy game a bit more which can be fun. In addition, if the AI declares war on you, stop at taking only their closest city (or liberating any cities they have taken from CS or other players).

Alternately, you might try starting at a later tech era. You can't race ahead of the AI if all the players start in the Modern Era.