Poll: Play-style vs Experience

[Taefin]

I’ve been interested in how two factors affect your experience of Civ7.

1) Regardless of game speed, do you play on Long Ages OR Regular ages (if playing abbreviated ages, please answer “regular”, since both create time pressure)?

2) Regardless of your preferred difficulty level, do you focus on playing with less AI-caused disruption, perhaps focusing on improving your personal records (e.g., turn count at victory, getting all legacies, etc.), possibly in games where you are ahead of the AI in most yields OR do you prefer games where the AI provides disruption to your plans for optimal play and/or do you prefer to focus on reacting to those disruptions.

And then, do you have an overall positive or negative experience of the game.

Disclaimers: To keep the options down to 8 permutations, not all experiences will be perfectly captured. I want the data to reflect interactions between the three factors, not a total count of each factor independently. I recognize folks likely play at a variety of settings, and with a variety of goals. And I’m not suggesting that one type of gameplay is more challenging or skillful than another, but rather I am trying and to capture two general approaches I hear folks taking to making a fun and engaging game out of limited quality AI. It also seems like some core issues that drive folks to love or hate civ7 (e.g., having time to build everything, or never seeing tier 3 units) seem to manifest more in one age length setting vs the other.

 

[Siptah]

Long ages, personal records, positive.

Civ to me has always been a game about personal records. I always settle for a difficulty in which I win the vast majority of games with ease and lets me enough freedom to experiment (which has been 1-2 under deity in the past three games). If I want a challenge or time pressure, I play other games. Civ has always been the cozy, relaxed, feel-good one for me.

 

[Yzman]

I use long ages now as I fjnd antiquity ended too quickly for my taste. I am always trying to maximize challenge scores. I am enjoying the game.

 

[AriochIV]

The poll options don't reflect my experience with the game.

I have played several games with Long Ages, but I really haven't noticed any difference. I play on Immortal, but the only time the AI was able to disrupt what I was doing was when I was attacked by four different entities at once in Antiquity. I'm not any kind of Civilization ace (I play Civ6 on King or Emperor), but the Civ7 AI is just not very challenging despite being very aggressive.

I have enjoyed my time playing the game, but it has come with a lot of frustrations and I think I am rapidly coming to end of that enjoyment. The very rigid system for Ages, Crises and Paths and lack of map options makes every playthrough feel pretty much the same as the last. I'm mostly through the meaningful combinations of civilizations, and once that's done I expect that I will have to wait for more content.

I have been playing for longer than I played Civ5 or Civ6 on release, so I suppose that has to be regarded as an improvement. But running out of things to do in barely more than a month in a 4X strategy game that cost more than a hundred dollars doesn't feel great.

 

[Taefin]

The poll options don't reflect my experience with the game.

I have played several games with Long Ages, but I really haven't noticed any difference. I play on Immortal, but the only time the AI was able to disrupt what I was doing was when I was attacked by four different entities at once in Antiquity. I'm not any kind of Civilization ace (I play Civ6 on King or Emperor), but the Civ7 AI is just not very challenging despite being very aggressive.

I have enjoyed my time playing the game, but it has come with a lot of frustrations and I think I am rapidly coming to end of that enjoyment. The very rigid system for Ages, Crises and Paths and lack of map options makes every playthrough feel pretty much the same as the last. I'm mostly through the meaningful combinations of civilizations, and once that's done I expect that I will have to wait for more content.

I have been playing for longer than I played Civ5 or Civ6 on release, so I suppose that has to be regarded as an improvement. But running out of things to do in barely more than a month in a 4X strategy game that cost more than a hundred dollars doesn't feel great.

Maybe my goal of presenting both options for what they have, rather than don’t have (AI pressure) isn’t helping. Would you say that you play to enjoy experiencing the civ/leader combos? It sounds like you aren’t particular seeking out AI disruption as an end in itself, and I was intending to capture various reasons why someone might prefer that (but also to be brief).

My hypothesis is that the game is least fun for folks that enjoy long ages and minimal AI disruption. I find these games drag, feel same-y, and remind you each time you reach modern than not much of what you did differently from game to game affects the timing or feel of the last push toward victory. Obviously not enough data yet to say one way or another.

 

[Chefofrats]

Long ages, personal records, positive.

Civ to me has always been a game about personal records. I always settle for a difficulty in which I win the vast majority of games with ease and lets me enough freedom to experiment (which has been 1-2 under deity in the past three games). If I want a challenge or time pressure, I play other games. Civ has always been the cozy, relaxed, feel-good one for me.

I wanted to post something along those lines, too! Just one difference though: I don't like games to challenge or pressure me, at all (climate change and populism are providing me with enough of that IRL), so I play not only Civ but all my games to relax.

I'm playing regular ages, to see my civilization grow and thrive, all on Sovereign, and I'm having a blast. I won a game on Immortal and Deity, no problem, too, but on a regular basis I enjoy Sovereign more.

 

[protocol7]

I play regular ages, since I assume that’s how the game was designed, on deity hoping for a challenge. Unfortunately it’s much too easy, there’s no challenge and my experience is negative. The reason I don’t play personal records / easy mode is because any civ game starts to get really repetitive to me playing this way, but especially civ7 with no expansion packs.

 

[uppi]

I am curious: does anyone play with short ages? It is probably correct, to omit them for this particular poll, but I would be interested anyway.

 

[Calcifer]

The second factor is quite confusing to me: I like the AI distruption and having to react to the game state, but I’m also trying to set personal records. Unfortunately we still don’t have a hall of fame and the modern age pace seems still a bit off so I guess the personal records aspect has a lower impact.

Anyway, we can already see a clear distinction between two play styles: long ages + setting records (laid back games) and regular ages + disruptive AI (higher pressure games).

 

[evonannoredars]

Regular ages, personal records, positive.

I'm playing on Immortal (or whichever one is below Deity), but really should move up to Deity - I'm a coward when it comes to the AI having a chance to conquer me, even though I feel like it'll be really fun to have wars where I'm not demolishing the AI. One day perhaps!

 

[123joanna321]

Personal records are meaningless for me, I just like to SimCity it, making a nice looking, happy nation. Basically I want my own little corner with natural borders, but otherwise I welcome an AI who can beat me in the victories. That have a personality, that make global politics fun. Same way I play Paradox Grand Strategy games. I want them to be a big threat once I have my corner. Long ages/Epic to spent more time with my civ. Having the most fun a civ at launch ever.

 

[moondog385]

I don’t know that I identify with either personal records or disruptive AI — I do like empire building and the simulation aspect but I also like competing with the AI on some level. Don’t want it to be a cakewalk. But I went with personal records.

Long ages because the ages are too short. I find myself still not even finishing the tech and civic trees in Antiquity on the long ages. Pacing needs to be worked out somehow.

 

[protocol7]

I’m surprised so many people are having a positive experience with disruptive ai, I’m playing on Deity and they are a non-factor. What is it you guys are doing to get them to be disruptive?

 

[stealth_nsk]

I’m surprised so many people are having a positive experience with disruptive ai, I’m playing on Deity and they are a non-factor. What is it you guys are doing to get them to be disruptive?

Standard continents map is the most challenging, I believe. Other than that, standard or small map, standard speed, no mods. It's beatable, but challenging.

 

[Mudkip1001]

I’m surprised so many people are having a positive experience with disruptive ai, I’m playing on Deity and they are a non-factor. What is it you guys are doing to get them to be disruptive?

RHQ AI Mod, its pretty tough at times and makes the ai very aggressive. I always end up modding civ way too much


I don't think I've even tried playing a game without the long setting, I don't like the idea of the age ending prematurely...

 

[Taefin]

I’m surprised so many people are having a positive experience with disruptive ai, I’m playing on Deity and they are a non-factor. What is it you guys are doing to get them to be disruptive?

Giving the AI a few more units through increased bonuses works wonders.

 

[protocol7]

Giving the AI a few more units through increased bonuses works wonders.

Is there a button for that somewhere? I'm already on the highest difficulty level.

 

[Vandlys]

I’m surprised so many people are having a positive experience with disruptive ai, I’m playing on Deity and they are a non-factor. What is it you guys are doing to get them to be disruptive?

The question is about what you prefer. I don't feel the AI is disruptive, but I don't focus on playing avoiding a disruptive AI, so I chose "disruptive".

 

[Taefin]

Is there a button for that somewhere? I'm already on the highest difficulty level.

Not built in, but I made myself a mod to give quicker access to changing AI bonuses:

Thread 'Taefin's More AI Cheats'

Mar 2, 2025

THIS IS AN ALPHA VERSION: some parameters may be acting is unexpected ways.

WHAT IT DOES: This mod increases the difficulty of Deity, by increasing all AI yield and production bonuses from 80% to 120%, except gold which is increased to 200%. I did not change CS or XP bonuses. It results in surprisingly large AI armies, especially when they are defending against invasion. This is ostensibly due to the increased bonus to unit production and/or increased gold (I am not sure how FXS coded this, but given how many units the AI has, it is even possible that setting the unit production bonus to...

• Taefin
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Released Mods

• 

It might go further than some folks are interested, but I commented the code inside so that values can be adjusted to taste. I think it’s a combination of the 200% gold bonus and 120% unit production bonus that leads to AI building significantly more units.