Mid game crisis

[karlkrlarsson]

Since advancing to prince I have come across a new set of problems. On noble if I managed to get a solid lead early on, I could dominate the rest of the game, but that is not the case on prince. I have realized I have no good mid game strategy. My early game strats are pretty good. I tech fast, I build cities, and I sometimes go to war. All with good results. But as soon as all the land is settled, and we are moving into the medieval age, I start to fall behind. By the time we are starting to research gunpowder I am no longer in the lead, I am teching slower, and my army is being pounded.

So my question to you is if you have had the same experience, and what is the solution. What are the goals and strategies of the mid game?

KKL

 

[Refar]

Somewhere in most game there is a point, where the early game economy becomess insufficient to compete with growing AI empires. Post mid-game it's especially true, that "Land is Power". Your old cities of course stay the backbone of the economy, but they will probably already heve grown to the happy cap, work all avaiable cottages, and have most infrastructure... So while those cities are strong, they stop growing. And stagnation leads to downfall...

So you need more land, to suplement your core empire, with joung, fresh, growing cities. This is a important break-point in every game, where you have to use the advantage you got in early game, and translate it into more land (or into a early win) - most likely by using your superior troops to take the land from someones dead hands... This is often somewhere around renaissance, sometimes even early industrial - depending on how much (and how good) land you was able to secure in your early expansion.

So early medieval age seems a bit too early to me - perhaps you need to check if you really do make the best out of the land you have... Cottages - more and earlier to have them mature. Buerocracy for enhanced capital output and a fast move towards Education for more research via Oxford...

 

[futurehermit]

I used to have the same problem. My hunch is that you are not building nearly enough cottages and/or you are not expanding your empire enough. Mid-game I usually shoot for 15 cities then decide on space (20-25 cities) or domination (conquer the world) after that.

 

[karlkrlarsson]

This is interesting indeed. You say 15 cities futurehermit? On what size map? I play standard to get 15 cities I might have to conquer two entire AI civs. I think you also are right about me not developing my cities enough

I very much enjoyed Refars points about translating early advantage into more land. I really hadn't thought about it that way. A simple, yet effective way of phrasing what I think my problem has been.

That being said I also believe that one of my biggest problems has been preparing insufficiently for the wars I start. These long wars with little results really drain an empire. No land to expand and war weariness becomes a double threat.

Thanks for the advice so far. Anyone else?

KKL

 

[oyzar]

Specialize your cities and build more workers.

 

[TRJS]

Agree with the other on the more land requirement.

Depending on map type you should expect to have conquered one to two civs by this stage if you are aiming for a dom win. Recently I am finding that I can decide my victory goal earlier based on my land at this stage of the game.

Might be worth looking at your land and seeing if you can improve your science output and shoot for the stars. Focusing on defensive only.

If however, you share your land mass then more aggressive warring might be required.

 

[PimpyMicPimp]

I sometimes find myself expaning early on, then getting comfortable and not expanding any further. Without a Super Science city, this can hurt your research badly.

Other than that, I'd say listen to Futurehermit (and his sig!).