Need help - culture victory on deity

[Ivana]

Have you won a culture victory on deity level? How did you do it?

The games I have played end at 1450-1650AD in a space race or UN victory. I have managed to get only 40,000 - 50,000 culture points with 30 - 45 cities by then. I have also tried the one city strategy, having 5 great wonders in it, but was able to get only about 10,500 points before they made the spaceship (20,000 is needed for a size 6 city and a victory).

The problem I'm having with winning culturally is CORRUPTION. In order to accumulate 100,000 points in about 150 effective rounds (after having built the empire) I need to get about 670 points per round. That means 36 cities with each having a temple, library, university, cathedral and colosseum (19 points per round)
by the year 50AD. But corruption makes this impossible - it takes 140 rounds to build a cathedral in the 37th city. Hurrying production doesn't work... It's difficult to meet the cost of my existing improvements when tax payers get killed. In order to hurry produce all the culture producing improvements I would also need to build marketplaces and a few banks, but that makes meeting the 50AD deadline impossible. Pyramids help, but not enough.

Ok, another strategy - I could make cities that have only a temple and a library. With thousand year bonuses that makes 10 culture points per round so in order to make 100,000 points in 150 rounds I would need to have 67 such cities by the year 50AD. Nope... that's conquest victory

If you have won the cultural please let me know - I think it's down right impossible on deity level. Prove me wrong.

 

[SirPleb]

With a purely builder approach this would certainly be difficult. I'm not sure but I think it would be possible if using a large or huge map with less than the maximum number of opponents. On a big map with room to grow, it could be possible to get enough cities with rushed temples and libraries, using a dense build. Playing Babylon might help, so that both temples and libraries can be rushed at a cost of only one citizen.

On other maps it is certainly possible if you combine it with war. I'm not sure if you were excluding war in your note. It is necessary to:
1) Build the UN so that you control the vote and don't ever hold one.
2) Weaken all other Civs so far that they cannot complete a space race.

If you do those two things then a culture victory is of course easy, the hard part becomes not getting one if you don't want it. Two games which prove this approach are in the HOF at http://www.civfanatics.com/civ3hof/ - SleeplessNights, and mine. (Mine is listed as Diplomatic but it can also be finished for a cultural win on the next turn from the saved game.)

 

[Ivana]

Thank you SirPleb, I will try a large map and less than default number of opponents. I have been using the early war strategy in order to grab land and technology quickly. After that I've tried to live peacefully which is difficult sometimes, as I do not want to waste time building a decent military threat against expansionist civilizations.

I think the game is far from being well balanced - it SHOULD BE POSSIBLE to win culturally a deity level game on a standard map and default number of rivals. Even on a small or a tiny map there should at least a remote possibility of winning culturally without hammering other civilizations and keeping them at bay.

Also - the diplomatic and space race victory are way too easy because the AI is not clever enough to build productive cities. But that's another topic...

Thanks again

 

[ssmith619]

Hehehe, I feel so proud! This is how I won my second game, and I'm an isolationist and by no means good (although I play on Cheiftain, hehehe), but I have one. I'm a culture monger, I build every wonder possible, doesn't matter what it is (they all give some culture points). I've consumed about...eh...ten out of about 25 cities by this manner at the end of the game when it just popped up and said I won culturally! That was surprising! I built every single wonder, no other culture even had one (which was odd, reeeeeally odd). Build temples EVERYWHERE and all the culture things you can, and build all wonders, no matter if they are obsolete or what. DO YOU HEAR ME BOY??? Alright...there's my two cents

 

[Ivana]

ssmith, I don't want to undermine your accomplishments, but the reality is that you can do anything you want on Chieftain level. On Deity you have to focus and concentrate. You cannot waste a single round - AI gets a head start, it cheats and games end in the 1800th century at the latest. My last game ended at 1465 AD to space race finish.

I suggest you move out of your comfort zone and into real battle. Boy.

 

[ssmith619]

lol, yes, i really do need to move up, you're right, next game (yes, yes, i always say that, hehehe) i'll do that, but chieftain is just so easy!!! :outs::

 

[DrSpike]

Haven't tried a culture victory since an early game I played - on emperor I think. But IMO the 20,000 points in one city is just as easily attainable on deity. Spit one settler out from your capital then leave it to produce cultural buildings or wonders if you think you can grab them. Get to 4 or 5 cities then build barracks, churn units, and go and grab some territory and level the tech race.

Either 3 space (you only need the capital to use a lot of squares, and not until later on) and keep up the fighting to grab more leaders and rush more wonders in the capital.

An alternative would be to use the Babs or Egyptians and stop after 20 or so well spaced cities. You can then build up an army in demo to stop the AI getting a space victory if necessary. Of course, you should build the UN, which shouldn't be a problem. You can easily be level in tech and snatch it with a leader or prebuild a palace somewhere other than your capital.

Hope this helps

 

[Ivana]

It is strange that in order to win culturally one has to wage war. It's understandable that a space race victory is done by scientific research and production and a conquest victory is done by means of war. But why the f*** did they design the game so that a culture victory is achieved by war?! I mean - in real life there are examples of culture spreading by warmogering - like ancient Roman Empire - but there are also great cultures that are not spread by war, but mainly by economic growth or religion. Like american and indian cultures. Deity level is truly one-dimensional if the only thing you can do to win is waging war! ;(

 

[Arathorn]

I got a 20,000 point culture win on deity. Played a tiny map, 80% water, so I could have a prayer of keeping up with the AI on tech. Built the UN, so they couldn't.

But, yes, I did have to go to war to prevent space race victories. Didn't actually WIN any wars, I was too weak for that, but I dropped two transports worth of artillery and mobile infantry on a mountain near their capital and watch their production of SS elements disappear. Was touch-and-go a bit, but they never got above 6 parts of the SS built. This was with the 1.17f tech-trading insanity, so it might be easier with 1.21f.

Weird map, BTW, with no luxuries or rivers anywhere on the map. And you HAVE to have fresh water for your capital city, so you can get to size 12 ASAP.

Arathorn