I don't think aggression needs to be dialed down. At least it's too early to tell, sample size is still very small.
New game, this time as Germany. Epic, Immortal, 8 players.
I'm not the biggest fan of tall play or Tradition, but Germany does kinda demand a certain playstyle. CS diplomacy doesn't scale, and neither does Bismarck's UA. Tradition and Statecraft are a must.
Got off to a ludicrously good start in a big forest with tons of pigs and deer, grabbed that Goddess of the Hunt pantheon and in no time my capital grew ******* huge. Got even better when I discovered the Great Barrier Reef nearby, and more importantly a ton of city states. I share a continent with China, Indonesia and the Netherlands, and, not expecting nor desiring any war, the early game goes quick. I grabbed 3 wonders in my capital (Stonehenge, Halicarnassus and Oracle) and settled only 3 more cities. Already with the placement of our respective 2nd cities, China and I marked our border and started a long tradition of friction. The AI in this version REALLY hates border disputes.
I founded the 4th religion, didn't get my desired founder belief (Divine Inheritance) and had to settle for Transcendence, which I don't mind whatsoever. Mastery as my first follower, later Diligence, Universalism and Global Commandments. Didn't take any buildings because I got Mandir, Mosque and Church in my capital from wonders. Both Mastery and Diligence scale really well with giant cities. Wu Zetian and William also founded a religion, so after naturally converting all the CS in my vicinity I also have to put some effort into converting Indonesia to max my Transcendence yields. Hence the Universalism enhancer pick.
So, at the start it looks like William, Ganja whatever and me are forming a bloc against China, but eventually Indonesia flipped to China's side shortly after fighting a war against them. Again, I like how dynamic it can be. Since then, It's been 2 pairs of friends on this continent, and while I haven't fought a single war, William has had 1 or 2 against both China and Indonesia.
Possible minor AI bug: Early in the game, Indonesia asked me to declare a joint war against China, and I said 10 turns. About 10 turns later (don't know exactly because I didn't remember which turn he asked), he declares war on China himself without even calling me in.
Interestingly, both China and the Netherlands had one of their cities rebel and go independent. Even better for me. Being Germany, I obviously focus a lot on city state quests and have good luck with them. Also a funny moment when I read that "Lhasa wants The Juice". Who doesn't?
Time flies, I find the other continent with Augustus, Pacal, Suleiman and Shaka (the latter 2 are extremely weak), and finish Printing Press. When I see how many delegates I already have, I can't resist the temptation of going for World Religion in the first congress.
Now, I don't want the success of my proposal to depend entirely on how the AIs distribute their delegates among the 3 proposals. So, a plan unfolds in my mind. Do I have Astronomy researched? Yes. Who are the religion founders on the other continent? Pacal and Augustus. Who's closest to me? Suleiman. At this moment I thank Jehovah for granting me the foresight to pick Universalism, buy a stack of 8 missionaries with my saved up faith, and send em across the ocean to juice up the Ottomans.
BAM!
I am actually shocked at how far ahead I am at this stage of the game, especially considering my civ. I thought my start with 2 ancient and 3 classical wonders was good, before I built 5 Renaissance wonders (could do even more if I really wanted to). I also not only have the single biggest, but the 2 biggest cities in the world, and I have near permanent golden ages. Then again, I have virtually no army and China could roll me any time they wanted. Guess she's just extremely pacifistic, never declared war despite being hostile the entire game.
On another note, I can't help but feel that something is fundamentally wrong with the tactical AI in last couple versions. It's been ages since I've seen an AI conquer a city or even have a war score of more than 3. Anyone else?
In this game for example, on the other continent, Augustus' army (the entire game, I believe) has been more than big enough to steamroll Suleiman completely, or at the very least conquer some of his cities. He's been at war with him at least once, but never achieved anything. I didn't pay much attention to them tbh, but I've seen the same thing in all my recent games.
... otherwise this game is THE best war game I've had in a long time thanks to all these AI diplo changes.
