Regent

[smith]

I started a new game last night, first time playing regent level. (yes, I'm n00bish).

I was totally pwned as far as technology goes. I was even playing the Babylonians...WTH??? Do I need to trade with the AI to keep up?

I already know I spent too much time lollygagging while building cities. Next game I start, I'm just going to plnk down settlers like a fat girl eating Krispy Kremes.

 

[Sullla]

Originally posted by smith
I was totally pwned as far as technology goes. I was even playing the Babylonians...WTH??? Do I need to trade with the AI to keep up?

Well, I got a nice laugh out of this one, smith. Yes, you are going to have to trade with the AI, and you will have to get god at it to succeed. On Regent you should still be able to out-research the AI in most cases, but go much higher in difficulty and it's not possible. Try looking through the Strategy forum for information on what to do.

 

[cracker]

Once you get above Regent you can never go back. You will eventually say, "Man, that cheiftain and warlord crap was for the birds."

Begin to think of things in the extreme. If you are going to go to war, then plan to do it in a way that makes a definate blip on the replay screen. If you research techs, then beeline for a specific objective that you have a plan to use. learn to do things that the AI can't and then smack em with the results.

The primary advantage the AI uses on regent is a combination of knowing everything about all your units all the time and then almost freely swapping everything it knows with all its sisters and brothers.

Depending on how many civs you have on your map and how many you can expect to encounter you can expect to need to do research on Regent at some point fairly early in the game. You will have to think about the trades of techs, gold, maps, contacts, and positions as a part of whole strategy to get as much as possible from your neighbors before you "commit them to the deep."

 

[TheNiceOne]

Originally posted by smith
I started a new game last night, first time playing regent level. (yes, I'm n00bish).

I was totally pwned as far as technology goes. I was even playing the Babylonians...WTH??? Do I need to trade with the AI to keep up?

I already know I spent too much time lollygagging while building cities. Next game I start, I'm just going to plnk down settlers like a fat girl eating Krispy Kremes.

As you've already seen from the other responses: Yes, you need to trade with AI to keep up. A common scenario: You stumble into another civ before you have discovered any techs. If the civ has other characteristics than you, you will know two techs they don't and vice versa. Trade them and you both get wiser. If you don't trade, the other civ will trade with the next civ it meets instead, which will mean that they both get ahead of you.

Regarding settlers - you will probably have time for a warrior or three before your first settler, but you should always try to time it so that the first settler is built on the exact same turn that your capitol reaches size 3 for the first time. Then, with your first settler, look for any city spots with cattle or grain and make that city a settler factory. Then you can build units and improvements in your capitol.

 

[RX2000]

I used to be the Babylonians too. I thought the science trait was soooo uber. Well it aint ****. The best thing for me, I've found, is to be an expansionist civ (usually America). I always play on huge maps, so this works well for me. Build a few scouts at the start, and run around snatching up all the goody huts. Sometimes I hit the middle ages before 1000 BC this way, on regent. A tech lead that big always insures that I am the tech leader for the rest of the game.

I always get WAY more free techs than the crummy 3 that scientific provides. Also, the lower cost for universities and libraries is nice, but not THAT good. The only thing I miss about Babylon is the 1 turn anarchies.

 

[ainwood]

There are other ways to "keep up" with the AI in tech races. You can sell luxuries and resources for gold-per-turn later in the game which can be very useful in allowing you to keep your science research up.

The alternative is to set your science down low to generate lots of money. Build lots of marketplaces and banks to help this, and just buy techs, but they can be very expensive in the late game (in excess of 200 per turn even)!

The best option (I think) is to beeline for techs along a specific path, rather than get all the firat column, then the second etc. This makes you more likely to get a tech that the AI doesn't have, even if you are behind in techs overall. Then sell it. If it has an unbuilt wonder attached, the AI will often pay a lot for it. The Theory Of Evolution is very good for catching up in the tech race. Build it, get the two techs, and sell / swap them.

And the other option: War. Use MPPs to get the Ais into wars with each other, and they are severely slowed down -> they don't swap techs with opponents during wars! And if you can reduce a civ to a few cities, then 1.) they will be severely hampered in their reserach and in buying techs and 2.) You can often get techs as part of a peace deal.

 

[sumthinelse]

Originally posted by TheNiceOne

A common scenario: You stumble into another civ before you have discovered any techs. If the civ has other characteristics than you, you will know two techs they don't and vice versa. Trade them and you both get wiser. If you don't trade, the other civ will trade with the next civ it meets instead, which will mean that they both get ahead of you.

Sometimes the AI civs are unreasonable about trading though. When one civ proposes preposterous deals (1 gold for your 2 advances) try to contact another one. I guess it depends on the particular civ's opinion of you. Even if I contact another civ on the first turn, where we both have 2 starting techs, sometimes he regards me as technologically ******** and won't accept a reasonable offer. I don't know if this is a bug or just random AI lunacy. In that case, I recommend trying another AI civ if possible.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

Also, go to the editor and set AI-AI trade (it's under difficulty levels) for Regent to 100%. Otherwise, you'll never get fair deals.

 

[sumthinelse]

Originally posted by Lt. 'Killer' M.
Also, go to the editor and set AI-AI trade (it's under difficulty levels) for Regent to 100%. Otherwise, you'll never get fair deals.

You are correct, and I did that. I should have stated that in my post. But even if you set the AI trade rate to 100 the AI still refuses to be reasonable in many cases.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

@ sumthinelse:


I know. It depends on the cost of the techs, if you have two cheap ones and they two expensive one, even though all foru are starting techs you won't get a deal.

Also, the AI leaders have different characters, Jean will never deal fair while Caesar is often very willing to go 1:1.

Aside from that: the trade in the game sucks big time! We know it and there won't be a patch

 

[sumthinelse]

Originally posted by Lt. 'Killer' M.
@ sumthinelse:


AI leaders have different characters, Jean will never deal fair while Caesar is often very willing to go 1:1.

You are right about Jean. That's why she ends up near the bottom of the tech standings I guess. India and China seem more reasonable.

 

[ainwood]

Originally posted by Lt. 'Killer' M.
Also, go to the editor and set AI-AI trade (it's under difficulty levels) for Regent to 100%. Otherwise, you'll never get fair deals.

Not much use for GOTM

Currently, Tokugawa won't even trade Space Flight for Genetics & miniaturisation, even if I throw in luxuries.

He is "furious" with me, but then again, he was "furious" when I first met him....

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

Originally posted by ainwood
Not much use for GOTM

Currently, Tokugawa won't even trade Space Flight for Genetics & miniaturisation, even if I throw in luxuries.

He is "furious" with me, but then again, he was "furious" when I first met him....

He's a real pisser if he fells strong or if he feels inferior

GOTM: I stopped plaxing GOTM when 1.17 can out, and I'm never tempted to play again. Off-the-shelf Civ3 is S*it!

 

[Black Waltz]

I like it. More of a challange.

 

[smith]

Update:

FYI Civs in my game (in descending score order)

Aztecs
Egyptians
Russians
English
Babylonians (me!!!!)
Greeks
Romans
Germans(down to one city, courtesy of egypt)
Xerxes and his wimpy horde (taken out early by egypt)


As stated earlier this is my first regent game, it's around 1960 and I'm completely KILLING egypt in a war. It's been a slow tech game for me and egypt.... I just got computers, allowing meto get mech infantry.

Egypt still doesn't have it.

To begin the war, I took one of their cities and positioned many mech inf. in it for defense. I put around 50 tanks in a neighboring city of mine to attack egypt's flank when it would try ot retake the city.

Sure enough, Egypt rolled approx 70 tanks up on the city and would try to take it on the next turn. My bombers flew in, my artillery rained and my tanks rolled over those *****e$.

They currently have 2-3 tanks, 150ish regular infantry. I had to take the city in question because I didn't have any rubber and Montezuma was raping me every 20 turns.

Next stop, Egyptian oilfields. I plan on denying them oil (thus the ability to build tanks and mech inf, if they ever get the tech) as my next step.

I just felt the need to brag. This is only my 2nd full Civ game (other games were started by other people) and my first on regent. I don't think I'll win this one but I've got the foundation to whup AI butt next time.

 

[cracker]

Smith,

I think its great that you are enjoying yourself on regent. That's what the game is all about.

As the difficulty level increases from here, the AI does not get any smarter, its just that they get a bigger head start and more of a cost advantage in every factor. Remember this AI cost advantage is more than just a "cost advantage" as you may think of it. It gets applied to everything including population growth rate, research etc.

Once you understand the basic rules and unit progressions you will always be able to find enjoyment at regent and monarch levels if you choose to tackle different game strategies and style of play.

Good luck,

 

[smith]

Final Update:

I rolled through another 5 or so Egyptian cities and they looked like they might be poised for an interesting coutner offensive, but then I got this message around 1967:

You have faced a disgraceful defeat.



I'm like WTH????

I guess somebody won the U.N. election, launched a ship, or something. Oh well.

Out of 8 civs, I finished 5th and only 60ish pts behind number 4. I'm happy the way the game ended because to be honest, when the game started I didn't know anything about trading luxuries, tech, or happiness manangement. I actually used communism to my advantage. I planted a couple spies (for the first time) and actually flipped a city to my side!

This game is fun. I look forward to my second regent game. I'll spare you all the details though.

 

[Knightblade pDM]

I myself play Regent, although I'm not a newb at the game, it just seems that it's more fair cheating wise, supposedly, it's even but I don't believe that. Anyway, as far as your game goes, did the score go into the Hall of Fame? If so, check there and see what kind of victory it was. If it was a Diplomatic..you would've had to vote so you would've known if it was that. Spaceship is possible as well as a domination victory. But the HoF should show it

My last 5 regent games haven't been nice to me. Awful starting positions, crappy civs(I always go Random on everything), no luxuries, nothing. And when I turn down a demand for free gold, techs or whatever, I get declared war on EARLY. I'm talking 2000 BC here LOL. My last two games I've been Zulu and I've had a great town buildup both times. But Germany(in game 1) and Persia(Game 2) wanted free things from me and of course I'm like no way. BAM!!! I get declared war on and due to the fact that both times the civs had more units than me, I get wasted. But I leave the game before I officially lose. GRR!!! Impi just don't cut it against Elite Warriors and Archers.