How to get better?

[ivanbin]

I came here looking for some advice from fellow FFH2 players.
I play FFH2 and it's numerous modmods (MoM, RifE, etc), and i can more or less hold my own on medium-highish difficulties, but i often suck vs human opponents.

I like to tech up before I attack, making me very prone to early rushes...
I have NO idea how some people manage to have an army 5x my size, while maintaining higher tech pace. etc.

I was wondering if any one here knows some guides, if not for FFH2, then just for Civ4 in general. Perhaps something that explains some strategies in the game. Because right now, i cant plan for **** (say I notice unhappy cities, i start researching happiness buildings, or i research something for no reason at all, but just cuz its cheap and would only take 1-2 turns :-( )

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

well, generally it pays to have a longterm plan even before the game starts, and make sure all your micro decisions are always bringing you forward to your ultimate goal. for generale effectiveness at playing civ4, you should check the strategy section, there's plenty of articles on how to best manage your empire.

for FFH, you can't go wrong with aristograrian but you should know that already. it's very important to stay focused instead of teching many cheap techs that ultimately bring you nothing. you also have to get used to plan in advance, i.e. if you know you're going to need X in Y turns, make sure you have what you need handy when you need it, and try to coordinate what you build with what you tech.

the difference between seizing the initiative and reacting to the circumstances is also huge, always try to plan ahead and be the one dictating the flow of the game.

 

[ivanbin]

Actually, i dont even know what aristograrian means >_<
I would really appreciate is someone can point me to perhaps a video, of a person playing a game, while he explains his choices and why he makes them?

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

google fall from heaven let's play, should work

aristograrian means using civics aristocracy and agrarianism and spamming farms to bring food and commerce, which is a lot more powerful than relying on cottages.

 

[Qgqqqqq]

Read some of the PBEMs at RB (Link:http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=22, scroll down to FFHPBEMs - the first ~60 are BtS).
PBEM1 is probably the best for explaining mechanics (Link:http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=68), and Pocketbeetles thread is easily the most interesting one (Link:http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3418).