Recommendations for first game?

[Clovis]

What would you recommend I start on, besides Settler? What sort of map, how many opponents, which opponents, etc. etc. ???

I have played CivII but #4 is entirely new to me.

 

[Cam_H]

Call me conservative, but the default settings are probably best. Continents will encourage you to start considering a navy if you're looking for a Domination or Conquest victory - and a defensive navy isn't a bad idea at the best of times. Go with 'random' in terms of opponents. Some players prefer Epic speed to Normal (I don't - but that's just me). If you're familiar with Civ2, you might want to push your difficulty level up a notch - some elements will be familiar (e.g. attack in big stacks, go after resources), but there are plenty of changes. I prefer Civ4 over Civ2 - and believe me, I was addicted to Civ2! Enjoy!

I am very wary to not to start telling you how to run your life on this thread with a stack of "Do this" and "Don't do that" suggestions, but one that might be handy for you is to spend some time reading Sulla's Civilization IV Walkthrough that hopefully will help you get your head around the game a bit quicker. The walkthrough was put together in the early days of Civ4, and since then there have been patches and the expansion, but the basic principles are the same.

 

[KMadCandy]

if the option is there (i can't remember if it's only warlords), do NOT check "require complete kills". so annoying to have to hunt down a civ's last unit, i bet you've had to do that in civ2.

the hotkey for the civilopedia is F12, i used it a ton my first games and still do, since i can't remember a lot of things ... mostly what unit upgrades to what (some have multiple options, so it's not always best to do it right away).

have fun!!

 

[Softnum]

I would say:

Don't turn off Barbs -- This is a bad habit, and Barbs bring some balance into the early game.

Don't play with significantly less opponents then the PC suggests for the map size. -- Another 'bad' habit that changes the early strategy.

I prefer Epic speed, since you get more of a 'game' out of it, but for your first game, especially starting on Settler, you may want to stick with Normal just to get the game finished quicker.

 

[KMadCandy]

true, start on normal. i've changed to epic for almost all games now but it might frustrate you as being too slow at first. so i second softnum's 2nd and 3rd recommendations.

as far as bad habits turning barbs off ... there's a lot to learn at the very start. barbs can be a heck of an added frustration and i don't think there's any harm in turning them off at the start. i turn them off in a lot of my games even now, HoF allows so i do it when i'm not in the mood to deal with henry rollins ... oops i mean their black flags. just know that when you play with them on, you will have to focus things differently, particularly in the early game. they're fun in some aspects. i love farming them to get troops i make in barrack-less up to level 10 at the start of the game.

there's a LOT to absorb at first, it's a huge steep learning curve and if it gets you down, take a break and come ask questions here or do some reading here. it frustrated me at first, relearning from civ2 was bizarre, but i love it now.

 

[Clovis]

I prefer Civ4 over Civ2 - and believe me, I was addicted to Civ2! Enjoy!

Yes, I can certainly imagine liking Civ4 better than Civ2!

I've actually read the walkthrough, and quite a few of the Epics, Adventures, succession games, and other variants that Sulla and Sirian organize. My problem has been a computer too slow/pathetic to run Civ4

But now I've got one that should run it fine!