[BTS] How often do you re-load? I do it all the time and I want to know if I'm the only one

[Gumbolt]

I guess the idea is smaller map so techs should be quicker as players will fill out land quickly. Where on huge maps you can often build 15+ cities before all the land is taken up so a slower tech rate makes sense.

Not a fan of small maps as often you have 4-5 AI? If you start with 2-3 peaceful Ai the game should be pretty easy if they only have 4-6 cities all game. On huge maps the AI can at least build 30-40 strong stacks and at times go to war. Different challenge I guess. Perhaps it's nice that Civ 4 has so many ways of adapting difficulty and fun to the game.

What is so great about small maps? Is it a difficulty thing to stop the AI getting too big?

 

[qouigv93027]

For me it honestly depends on what's more fun. And I'll play some games "seriously" (i.e. little to no reloading; reloading only for mistakes), and some games "casually" where I reload whenever it annoys me too greatly what just happened.

 

[gavenkoa]

Not a fan of small maps as often you have 4-5 AI?

In the Assets/XML/GameInfo/CIV4WorldInfo.xml:

iDefaultPlayers / iTargetNumCities

DUEL    2 players 4 Cities
TINY    3 players 4 Cities
SMALL   5 players 5 Cities
STANDARD 7 players 5 Cities
LARGE   9 players 6 Cities
HUGE   11 players 6 Cities

What is so great about small maps?

Less tiles: less events. Compare managing workers for 6 towns vs 20 towns... 1 turn could take 10 min ))

I even learned a rally point shortcut (Shift+Right Click) so lessen micromanagement burden.

On Duel I practiced rushes with Warriors and other units...

On Tiny / Small I practiced putting extra 2-3 AIs to lower AI land-power when practiced Immortal level. Seems I feel comfortable now as games ends before modern era. So need to stop packing AIs for a greater challenge.

As you pointed, smaller maps has lower tech costs. I'd like to experience slower tech rates to widen unit relevance. For this I'll try the "standard" map with higher sea level: to keep amount of world data less time consuming, as each tile requires attention during power gaming.

One downside of small maps is low trade roots income as city distance is a major contributor... It is really a different economy.

 

[Plains-Cow]

I seriously never reload. Ever. I just like to go along with where the game takes me. There's a bit of a self-competitive streak in me, too, where it feels like reloading is cheating myself because why wouldn't I reload for every failed attack on the AI?

I don't think that OTHERS reloading is cheating, but I never felt like reloading was me "playing fair" according to how I like to have fun with the game.

Edit: I will reload if trying to understand a mechanic and/or how the AI responds to certain things, but that's not really in a "serious" game since I'm going in to learn something rather than win which generally involves worldbuilder.

 

[Fippy]

Yup, loading to learn / improve something regarding empire management is imo not comparable with combat.

 

[gavenkoa]

loading to learn / improve something regarding empire management is imo not comparable with combat.

Instead of reloading one can use world builder to remove annoying Barbarian: what's the point to rely on RNG if that warrior could ruin your going to be enjoyable game? ))

If you vow to play without reloads you deliberately play early game defensively for 99.999% change to withstand barbs at the cost of development, it is just a viable strategy.

If your goal to study game mechanic or add fun to they game, no problem with using convenience tools like reloads or world builder.

 

[Fippy]

Barbs are dangerous on deity (sometimes very dangerous), but if you need that on Immortal or lower you are doing something wrong

 

[Major Tom]

I sometimes reload if the WFYABTA limit mess up a massive tech trading turn. Don’t spend time writing down number of previous trades. I mean, BUG should have kept this count, so I dont feel too bad about it.

 

[Plains-Cow]

Instead of reloading one can use world builder to remove annoying Barbarian: what's the point to rely on RNG if that warrior could ruin your going to be enjoyable game? ))

If you vow to play without reloads you deliberately play early game defensively for 99.999% change to withstand barbs at the cost of development, it is just a viable strategy.

If your goal to study game mechanic or add fun to they game, no problem with using convenience tools like reloads or world builder.

You can just turn barbs off, then, with a custom game.

 

[gavenkoa]

I mean, BUG should have kept this count, so I dont feel too bad about it.

There are two problems:

* exposing leaders' thresholds, they are individual, like 0% or 50% or 100% known by others
* your personal counter of tech trades decays with a time with some probability: personally I want to see it but others might argue they want only the count of trades, hiding decay part.

 

[Major Tom]

There are two problems:

* exposing leaders' thresholds, they are individual, like 0% or 50% or 100% known by others
* your personal counter of tech trades decays with a time with some probability: personally I want to see it but others might argue they want only the count of trades, hiding decay part.

I think you are talking about something else. The thresholds are about when they are willing to sell stuff that are fairly fresh on the market.
The decay is not a problem, quite the opposite.

We Fear You Are Becoming Too Advanced appears after he sees you receive 8 techs from AIs on Emperor Difficulty (Varies based on difficulty, Tech steals don't count)
Will trade techs that don't unlock units or buildings to human when 30% of the other AIs also know the tech

I am talking about the situation when you like to trade a tech to several AI (or at least two) and they are willing to sell theirs. Sometimes you have to sell in the right order so the limit is not kicking in for one of them. If that is the case you wanted to trade with him first.

Of course there’s other problems too that may stop them (trading with worst enemy or being bumped up on the upper half). You must have that in mind too. But those things are not about the original problem.

 

[Alekseyev_]

I reload all the time in SP. (MP with friends we only reload in very rare circumstances)

When I'm playing alone, I don't have to prove anything to anyone, I am just trying to have a good time in my limited free time. And that might mean that rather than "wasting" a game and the lifetime spent on it due to a bad decision or unlucky RNG, I only lose the last 2 to 20 minutes and can continue the game to its conclusion. Of course this means that almost any game is theoretically winnable, as you can just undo any mistake, but for me winning the game is not even always the primary goal - it's to watch the world unfold and the stories the civs tell and having fun alongside that. Which is also why I (in civ 3) enjoy going for culture victories, as it keeps the world intact, rather than conquest or domination where you are so quickly past the point where any AI could stop you.

Anyway to summarise my opinion, in a single player game everyone can be free to reload as much as they want and should not be judged for it.

 

[gavenkoa]

I don't have to prove anything to anyone, I am just trying to have a good time in my limited free time.

Right. We trade lifetime for enjoyment, I want a better deal then ))

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Barbs are dangerous on deity (sometimes very dangerous), but if you need that on Immortal or lower you are doing something wrong

Reminds me of that one LP where I lost two archers defending a city to a single barb archer attacking it. I didn't reload that, but it's one of the rare times I've wanted to so strongly lol.

I also lost a knight to a catapult with 100% displayed odds before they patched the game to not display 100% odds. Probably would have been justified to reload an objectively bugged outcome, but I didn't. Quite memorable though, stayed with me over 12 years!

 

[Berul]

I never reload.

Sometimes it means that a game that was going well is ruined by a single bad event, but it also forces me to pay attention to not letting those bad events happen and, all in all, I'm having much more fun that way.