I got the Crossroads DLC but didn't pay for the founder's which included the Rise DLC.
Frankly, even having PAID for Crossroads, I never even bothered playing Nepal. I burnt out at that point. So I would never bother paying for Rise.
However, Tides is free. Thus, I have reinstalled Civ 7 and played.
Right now, I've played Tonga with Teach to set up a Pirates game. Huge Archipelago map. I think I made the right choice. I sort of messed up my optimization and could have expanded more and done better, but even so the Tonga scout ability to cross oceans and explore distant lands has been amazing on a Huge/Archipelago map. My civilization is small and weak but I have a lot of the map scoped out. I also have a ton of naval units. Teach's ability to poach naval units is key, and while I think age reset is better or I prefer the idea of it, continuity means my Antiquity naval units (ugh Antiquity naval is lame in Civ 7) that I've built and the many many I have poached will start me out very strong in Exploration. The perfect set up for a plunderin' nasty Pirates campaign. My plan is to find unclaimed treasure spots and settle them, while building a massive navy that punishes everyone else for expanding. We'll see.
Still, something that was clear before, but very clear now, is that Age progress is too aggressive.
Tonga has this ability to build - in theory - culture and influence. It has an AMAZING ability to trade and even befriend distant lands city states (wow!). But it's turn 60 before any of that really comes into force, and then the crisis comes before I know it.
Without the pacing of non-standard game speed, I want to have developed districts, pump out wonders, build many trade routes, have a powerful navy BEFORE the crisis hits. I want to realize and leverage the potential of my Antiquity civ, THEN transition to abandon it.
In this philosophy, the crisis would hit harder, but primarily faster.
So I recommend about 50 turns fluff at the end of each age to realize and leverage the engines you've built, then a harder, and much faster crisis at the end of that. Rather than having a hard transition, I support continuity but in conjunction with very punishing crisis.
I need to somehow soar on the wings of my antiquity success for a bit before moving on, so the crisis must be late and short, but if the late, short crisis is punishing, then continuity itself won't nullify the idea of an age "reset".
It's clear to me this is the change needed. Other than this, there is a very difficult, nuanced, subtle issue with the "just convert to cities and recycle production resources" META. That META holds, but it depends on a dice roll that provides production resources. They've nerfed it to a degree but it still fundamentally exists. They need to really correct for this and I think a 50 more turns buffer at the end of Antiquity to play in the playground you built before a transition is necessary.
Frankly, even having PAID for Crossroads, I never even bothered playing Nepal. I burnt out at that point. So I would never bother paying for Rise.
However, Tides is free. Thus, I have reinstalled Civ 7 and played.
Right now, I've played Tonga with Teach to set up a Pirates game. Huge Archipelago map. I think I made the right choice. I sort of messed up my optimization and could have expanded more and done better, but even so the Tonga scout ability to cross oceans and explore distant lands has been amazing on a Huge/Archipelago map. My civilization is small and weak but I have a lot of the map scoped out. I also have a ton of naval units. Teach's ability to poach naval units is key, and while I think age reset is better or I prefer the idea of it, continuity means my Antiquity naval units (ugh Antiquity naval is lame in Civ 7) that I've built and the many many I have poached will start me out very strong in Exploration. The perfect set up for a plunderin' nasty Pirates campaign. My plan is to find unclaimed treasure spots and settle them, while building a massive navy that punishes everyone else for expanding. We'll see.
Still, something that was clear before, but very clear now, is that Age progress is too aggressive.
Tonga has this ability to build - in theory - culture and influence. It has an AMAZING ability to trade and even befriend distant lands city states (wow!). But it's turn 60 before any of that really comes into force, and then the crisis comes before I know it.
Without the pacing of non-standard game speed, I want to have developed districts, pump out wonders, build many trade routes, have a powerful navy BEFORE the crisis hits. I want to realize and leverage the potential of my Antiquity civ, THEN transition to abandon it.
In this philosophy, the crisis would hit harder, but primarily faster.
So I recommend about 50 turns fluff at the end of each age to realize and leverage the engines you've built, then a harder, and much faster crisis at the end of that. Rather than having a hard transition, I support continuity but in conjunction with very punishing crisis.
I need to somehow soar on the wings of my antiquity success for a bit before moving on, so the crisis must be late and short, but if the late, short crisis is punishing, then continuity itself won't nullify the idea of an age "reset".
It's clear to me this is the change needed. Other than this, there is a very difficult, nuanced, subtle issue with the "just convert to cities and recycle production resources" META. That META holds, but it depends on a dice roll that provides production resources. They've nerfed it to a degree but it still fundamentally exists. They need to really correct for this and I think a 50 more turns buffer at the end of Antiquity to play in the playground you built before a transition is necessary.
