This afternoon I loaded up some modified RFC maps, tweaked them a bit to get them closer to the original RFC maps, deleted everyone but the four starter civs, and played a few games as Egypt and Babylon [using the Ottomans instead]. I was trying to replicate the UHVs of these two civs in something like a classic environment, in order to see what elements in CiV might have to be tweaked, and where UHV conditions might change to suit the new game.
TO BE CLEAR ON THIS: These are NOT strategy guides or attempts to set records. These are just observations and suggestions made from careful but casual gameplay.
Egypt: I tried 2 games as Egypt. In the first I concentrated on getting the three UHV wonders (Pyramids, Great Library, and Great Lighthouse). These are all early builds in CiV, with the Lighthouse (which is a fairly late build in RFC) being a possible first acquisition in CiV. But I started my first city at its Niwt-Rst-like starting point and went after the other two first.
I beelined Masonry so I could get two nearby Marbles (one subbing for Stone) online and to prep the Pyramids; while researching this and other techs (Pottery and Writing for the Great Library, followed by Sailing for the Lighthouse) I built a monument and a worker. I did the monument first so I could ramp up culture (another UHV condition) and to quicken my acquisition of the Aristocracy Social Policy, which turbo-charges Egypt's already super-charged Wonder-building capacity. Results: I was able to build the Pyramids by turn 55, the Great Library by turn 68, and the Great Lighthouse on turn 96. (The latter required me to build another city.) I'm not saying this is the fastest you can get these wonders, but at least it's an indicator of what a Newbie can get done on the Prince level.
After that I concentrated on culture. I wasn't able to get the hugely cultural Stonehenge wonder, but I used the Library to snag Philosophy, which let me build culture-enhancing Burial Tombs in my two cities. Those and my culture amping Social Policies (Piety and Mandate of Heaven), plus the other wonders I built (National Epic, Hanging Gardens, Oracle) plus a monastery meant I was generating 33 culture points per turn by the time I hit turn 143. On that turn I had accumulated 1541 culture points over the course of the game; by turn 86 I had picked up 279 points.
[Note: it's a little tricky keeping track of culture points, since the number accumulated resets each time you buy a social policy. I kept track of the number that went into each policy (for instance, 25 points at the first, 45 at the second, 90 [if still one city] for the third) so that I knew that I had accumulated 160 points after taking my third policy.]
I missed a few opportunities to pick up more points, but the above gives an indication of what casual play will get you on the Prince level. In summary:
Wonders built by turns 55, 68, and 96.
Culture on turn 86: 279
Culture on turn 143: 1531
In the second game I concentrated on getting culture, and on taking Wonders second. Because the wonders come so early, I only managed to snag one UHV wonder (the Pyramids, on turn 66). I lost the Great Lighthouse on turn 72, and the Great Library on turn 73.
Thanks to an early grab of Stonehenge, though, I had picked up 422 culture points by turn 279, and around 2300 points by turn 143. thanks to those points and the Oracle, I was able to buy 9 social policies. Summary:
1 Wonder built in turn 66
Culture on turn 86: 422
Culture on turn 143: 2300
Babylon
I set Babylon down in the middle of 4 city-states, replicating the political scene of RFC. There's no flipping or wars (unless you start some), so this was only important for keeping Babylon isolated, as it typically is early in the game. It also put a bit of a premium on picking up cash so I could buy attractive tiles before the city-states got them.
There isn't really a way of replicating Babylon's tech race in CiV, since Monarchy and Code of Laws have vanished as techs, and the tree has been so pruned that Writing can easily be a tech that the other civs will chase early. The closest I could come to replicating the structure, length of research, and similarity to Monarchy and Code of Laws was to race for the too-easy Mathematics and the inappropriately medieval tech Civil Service instead.
I also couldn't tell whether I got techs first or not, so I can only report how early I got them. I also can't tell if I was number one in culture, and have only limited evidence that Babylon was the biggest city in the world on the appropriate turn. Results:
I tried to combine all aspects of Babylon's play. This meant building a monument first, to get culture going, and then a worker to farm the surrounding tiles. With early cash from meeting my neighbors I scored a dye and the marble resources and grabbed a hill. I went for Calendar first and built Stonehenge on turn 47. Thanks to this, the monument, the Temple I purchased (mostly) I was able to end turn 94 with 710 culture points. I don't see how any other civ could have beat this, since Stonehenge by itself was throwing off 8 points a turn for almost 40 turns. I had also built Babylon up to a population of 9; a scout I sent out showed that Thebes was at a 7, Delhi at a 6, and Beijing at a 6 at around this time.
I probably would have lost the tech race, though. I got Writing on turn 40, and thanks to the Great Library I got Civil Service on turn 72. But Math (a cheap, easy tech) came only on turn 91. I delayed Math because I wanted the Library for Civil Service, but had to build the Library before someone else got it. Without the Library, it would have taken me 40 turns or so to get Civil Service.
Suggestions
1. Racking up "culture points" was always just a boring way of running up numbers. I suggest changing "culture point totals" UHVs to Social Policies goals, such as completing the Tradition group or the Piety group. If the Social Policies are modded, this would also have the effect of making the civs more closely resemble their real-world counterparts. If these are made goals of Egypt and Babylon, they would also incentivize the player to keep his civ small (like the originals) so that the policies don't retreat out of reach because he's building cities.
2. Related: Babylon's "Monarchy" tech goal could be replaced by the Monarchy social policy as a "first to acquire" goal.
3. Stonehenge is way too overpowered in culture races; whoever gets it first will almost certainly win any culture-centered races like the above. It needs some different power, such as granting a free social policy, or acting as a prereq for units/buildings/etc., and have its culture output cut back to match that of other wonders.
4. Ancient/Classical tech races are weak because there are too few ancient/classical techs. I've no immediate ideas for techs that could be added, but it feels like some are wanted.
5. At least one of Egypt's wonders should be moved back later in time, to the classical era, so that they are not all clustered so early in the game. Suggest moving the Lighthouse to Optics and the Library to Education; or invent some techs that would hold these.
