I dunno about elite but I can win previous versions on deity or Emperor(no deity in civ1).
They most certainly did not design this version with me in mind.Not at all.Almost every area has been dumbed down.Or as some like to say "streamlined".This game was made trying to lure the first time Civ player.
Combat,well,it has taken a big step back.
This is taken from the civ3 manual,page 39,last paragraph:
"
Firepower gone:Combat has been improved so that the concept of firepower is no longer necesary"
and this is from the original civ2 manual pages 32 and 33.
"Players of Civilization were occasionally disconcerted when a "lucky" vet phalanx fortified in a city,destroyed an attacking battleship.Mathematically,it was possible,but the image conjured up just didn't sit right.How could an ancient spearman take out a modern steel warship?..To smooth such freakish reaches of probability,Civ 2 has added 2 new stats for each unit:hit points and
firepower"
"These new stats widen the gap between primitive techs and modern weaponry.A musketeer with a strength of 3 attacking a pikeman of strength 2 has an effective strength far greater than than 3,simply because it's increased hit points(20 representing it's firearms) allow it to sustain twice as much damage as the pikeman.A vet phalanx may still damage a battleship,but the chance of utterly demolishing it is negligible"
end quote
Thes 2 new stats worked very,very well.You did not see the odd results.I sure did not.Beleive me,I played civ2 once or twice
Problem with 3 is they only have hit points or more accurately,health points.The system does not work without both stats.
So we are back to civ1.The decision to drop FP was a big one.Clearly a major step backwards.
Sid has said in print he doesn't mind the "battleship killing phalanx" of civ 1.Reynolds does not.You read between the lines...
In my last four games, i've had a total 4 culture flips, 3 of which in my favour. 
