Bonjour there, Civpeople. First post and already questions...heheheh, never expect anything good from me. Not to mention that, well, I have quite odd problem speaking of Civilization 4. Finally tried it out last week and it's most excellent, especially multiplayer gaming. As I'm absolutely new, I've started at Noble level, currently started one Prince game. Obviously BTS 3.19. And now...well, let me tell you story, a story of me playing Civ 4...
Well, game is extremely fun - I expected that since I played Civ2 on PSX yeeeeeears ago - yet obviously, having almost no clue what to do I looked for some tutorials around to see what I can see. Found Civfanatics and its War Academy - great stuff, I'm indebted to its creators. But going back to story, I'm playing Civ 4 a mere weak, yet all these guides gave me a brief idea about game. It seems really complicated and full of possibilities...don't get me wrong, it makes it even better for me. So far it sounds nice but...
Well, now that I know what Civ is about, I always feel that I'm horribly failing at it with every minor mistake or unrealized goal, even with simply bad luck I feel like, yeah, simply that I'm constantly doing something wrong even on level like Noble and even if what I did isn't even a mistake. Spawned in an average place, didn't manage to get cheap Stonehenge or discover/ convert to any religion early? Damn, I'm so bad. Whole game is down now, guess I gotta go and try with another country or simply stop for now. And I keep trying and sometimes it goes quite good as for a newbie, yet fact of a few wasted (or maybe not?) turns or unrealized goal haunts me through all the game and eventually makes me stop or start new campaign again. And I know - as I cannot express how I like that Civ 4 - I won't give up easily. And thus, while I'm playing and getting first worker a bit too early - I feel bad, to late - bad as well. But, guess what, it's double-edged sword. Current Prince game I started (Mongolia/Kublai Khan) is probably the best example.
So, the spawn was quite average, to not say poor - I decided to give it a go nonetheless, hoping to realize my goals either way. Maybe I'll be able to prove myself at least at once? Let's try. And then I...had too much luck. With villages. Earning about 500$ and Bronze Working in ~3600 BC is a lot, you can tell. I felt like it's too easy and now as I'm having so nice boosts I should achieve much more. But guess what, I didn't. Local area proved to be not that good - lots of deserts, low variety of resources, copper too far away to make a base there (maintenance would kill me). And now again, whichever way will I pick will be bad. Huge costs - bad, lack of copper - even worse. In meantime I struggled with techs a bit, guess I wasted a few turns (don't know which tech was it by now). In the end I finished Iron Working ~1500BC, again feeling wrong. I found Iron a bit closer than Copper, but then again it'll cost me much (had two cities at the time). Nonetheless I managed to claim iron, somehow. But how am I going to make Keshiks without horses? Again, horses were a few tiles away, close to England's border. And nowhere else in wide range from capital. Damn...again, I can claim it and pay even more, or leave it and be doomed. And yet again I feel like it's totally my fault that I couldn't make my way to Iron easier. And whole advantage of bronze working is lost by now...not to mention that lack of any religion haunted me since start. Around 500 BC Hinduism and Judaism arrived, but again I asked myself "shouldn't I be the one who founds religion?"
And again, and again, over and over, feeling that I've failed somewhere never lets me go since first turns. I would like to do everything exactly as I planned and wanted to, but well, it's either impossible or I'm that bad. Eventually, seeing that more and more things are bugging me I'm losing grip and...yeah, I can't even finish the game. Around 1300 AD is my record with Russia, while I eventually lost grip (and probably it is not that bad game - I even won a few wars and maybe I could go for domination/conquest). Is it usual start while playing Civ for first time? Surely I won't ever be pr0 yet, not even aiming for it, I'd like to at least constantly improve my skills? I'm also playing one MP game with two friends as Rome. Here I had much better starting position and managed to start almost exactly as planned (2500 BC now), but what if I will fail to fulfil any of my goals here? What's worse here that we are playing as one team - and slowly losing will to play while realizing that I could have that building or technology two turns earlier...I'd be completely worthless then. Even more than now.
Probably it's problem with attitude - I would simply want, no, I have to do everything in perfect manner exactly as I've planned to feel that I'm doing good. It is hopeless to watch someone failing, isn't it? Surely I will learn much more things about game in practice, but at some point it's not fun anymore, when I realize that I failed at least once. Everything must be in place. On the other side of coin there are good things. Like that early Bronze Working, or say magnificient spawnpoint. I'd probably again feel bad as it is too much for a start and it might be too easy. How such victory can be satisfying when you know that you had perfect start? I'd like to prove myself, simply, yet there are things I cannot foresee and overcome - I won't guess where copper is before Bronze Working. Is it fault? As you've read all that post, you can see I'm simply lost. I badly don't want to fail, but I also want game to be fair. Daily I'm spending some time in War Academy, reading all these guides and trying to form then into easier rules for me. Every game and see more and more things, and - what's horryfying - more and more places where I can fail. This way...yeah, I am doomed.
Told'ya, is it extremely stupid case. I want everything to be in its place, yet at some points there is always at least a minor fail. Like Stonehenge or not even strategic resource. Could anyone explain me how it is? I just don't know. Everything what doesn't goes as I've planned wrecks me, literally.
Would love to see some helpful responses from you Civ-Playes, although I realize how wrong (and after all fun - my MP-partners have good fun hearing me on TS desperately trying to keep everything in place from time to time) that problem is.
Anjin