It all goes horribly wrong

[scloopy]

I need to try that. I think my first big problem would be city placement. I always seem to start in a lousy location.

 

[Specialist290]

I've done a couple. It's the only way I've ever managed to play a whole game in a single day. They're pretty fun when you really get into 'em (and know what you're doing).

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

I need to try that. I think my first big problem would be city placement. I always seem to start in a lousy location.

While OCC can be done essentially anywhere (some places are just harder than others), if I am planning to play an OCC game (particularly if dealing with time constraints), I will often start the game, scout the surroundings for a good spot and then decide whether to play or quit and start over.

In the GOTM games, our friendly neighborhood Pachyderm will often post an exhaustive scouting report for nearby potential OCC sites, just based on the information gained viewing the starting position.

For the lowdown on how to play OCC, here's the definitive OCC reference guide. There are some minor variations and improvements that have been made since Paul's original plan, but it pretty much covers the whole process.

 

[scloopy]

Thanks, a little light reading for tonight. I tried it this afternoon and got wiped out pretty quick. Should be quite a challenge.

 

[ElephantU]

One issue with OCC is that it is MUCH easier to do in Civ Classic rather than MGE due to AI hostility changes. You cannot be wiped out by Barbs if you only have one city, but the AI can come after you pretty hard if you do not keep their attitudes favorable. If you are making decent progress in tech you can gift them regularly, but MGE attitudes revert downward much quicker than Classic.

One major improvement over Paul's OCC guide has been in the area of trade. Paul does not cover the concepts of locking in trade routes, changing commodities, and keeping unblocked commodities flowing. All of these things can greatly speed your mid and late game tech progress, as well as bringing in large amounts of cash for end game spaceship part purchases. It really isn't necessary to build your city production up to 80 shields anymore, if you have built up a decent treasury to buy your ship outright. Stockpiling food caravans and freights cuts the price dramatically as well.

 

[scloopy]

Is there a way to keep the AI hostility a little lower in the beginning when you have hardy anything to trade?

I know one can not back up to classic, but does it have a name difference other than the lack of Multiplayer?

 

[jadelicia]

Hmm...I thought you could be wiped out by Barbs. I've seen the AI wiped out by them.

 

[Tanstaafl]

I have been playing for years and love the conquest route to victory. It must be a way for me to get out my hostilities that arrive in life. But I have tried the OCC and it is one of the best challenges I have ever attempted in CIV II. I haven't won with it yet but I'm still trying.
When I get tired of the intellectual route there's always a different game of "kill em all and let God sort them out" to relax with.

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

Hmm...I thought you could be wiped out by Barbs. I've seen the AI wiped out by them.

Well, actually you can, but you have to be very careless.

If you have one and only one city (which you always do in OCC), a barbarian attacking the city itself will ALWAYS loose the battle, so long as you have some unit 'defending' in your city. Even if the barb attacker is artillery and the defender is a 0 defense diplomat, the artillery will loose. Only if your city is undefended can the barbs take it.

If the AI is attacking, it's normal battles. If you attack the barb unit, or fight them out 'in the open' then it's also normal, but if you are in your city and defending you will always emerge unscathed.

Keep in mind, the barb unit may fortify himself on a fort or mountain. Worse yet, he wander around your city radius pillaging your hard-earned terrain improvements. You have to decide when it's worth risking an Attack on him, but until you are ready, your city remains safe.

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

I know one can not back up to classic...

Actually it is possible. If you go to cedric's page you can upgrade MGE to TOT, then downgrade ToT to FantasticWorlds (FW) 2.7.8 and/or Classic 2.4.2. Copy your entire Civ folder and upgrade the copy so the upgrade doesn't wipe out your original install.

Otherwise, just look for "Civilization II" in your local bargain-bin games (then apply the Civ 2.4.2 bug-patch from the civfanatics downloads section). I never see MGE, but I still see the original Civ II (jewel-box version) in BestBuy or CompUSA sometimes.

 

[scloopy]

I have TOT around here as it is the first CIV Game my Grandson gave me. I shall find it and have a go. I tried OCC again last night and as of now I am still alive, bruised but alive and at peace for the moment.

 

[ElephantU]

At some point in the upgrade loop there was a CIV2ORIG.EXE, which is supposed to be Classic/2.42. The auto installer does not create a Start menu link to it; check your /MPS/CIV2 subdirectory for the file and double click it.

 

[scloopy]

I did a search in the Micropose directory and did not find the file.

 

[scloopy]

I found everything and got a classic going and it is better for OCC.

Now my problem seems to be that the only thing that keeps me going is trade, but with only one city I can't trade a lot of stuff. I am wondering if OCC might be more possible in III or conquest or PTW than II.

I lasted until the end and I guess being alive and healthy is sort of a win.

 

[Zwelgje]

When you follow Paul's guide you should be able to win OCC.
Just start with the lowest level and focus on a few things: you want your city to grow fast, you want wonders that will help your science, get good trade going, switch to democracy soon.
What you want to do is to have your city maxed out and in democracy at an early time as before 1AD your science goes quicker. If you do well you should be getting 1 or 2 advances each turn and the AI will not be able to keep up (trust me).
Actually, OCC in Civ2 is quite easy when compared to Civ1 in which the AI is much more aggressive.

 

[scloopy]

One more time hopefully with more success. Maybe this time I will pick a better spot and my city will grow faster.

 

[ElephantU]

OCC is stripped-down Civ2. You need a really good starting location, you need a tech plan and a build plan, you need to focus on key wonders and improvements for research and ignore temptations to war and explore, you need to swallow pride and be a pacifist in order to milk AIs for gold and tech (early on, before your research machine gets going), then keep them happy with just-in-time tech gifts especially to your KeyCiv. You need to focus on trade, both early trade routes and keeping one or two commodities unblocked in the mid/late game for repeating deliveries, while using surplus gold to rushbuild food caravans to stockpile to assist building your spaceship. You need MarcoPolo or embassies with as many civs as possible in order to watch what they are working on and milk alliances. OCC is not a build-everything game; it is a tech-dash. Several players have done OCC in recent GOTMs; check the Spoiler threads to see if anyone posted a log. I'm on vacation at the moment but #43 or #44 might be a good challenge for OCC.

 

[scloopy]

I think my approach the first two times was too scattered and not focused enough. I downloaded the ones you suggest.

Did the OCC's starting spots that can be downloaded just happen or are they the result of jury rigging because I have neven happened upon sites so perfect.

 

[ElephantU]

If you are getting starts from Paul's page, a lot of them were chosen or engineered specifically for OCC. I've seen a few good random starts that people noted were good for OCC, and I usually check the GOTMs to see if any decent ones might be nearby. Check the Spoilers to see if they pan out.

 

[scloopy]

I got them from Paul's page. I will check out the GOTMs tonight. I played a couple of the older ones and they have helped my play a lot I think.