I've read the other's complains about balance too, and this game simple need everything re-done when it comes to combat.
Deleting your colonists to get rebel sentiments was just one "bug", but there is simply no way to not exploit this game. If you try to defend your cities they will fall right away, but if you defend from outside the city, 1 soldier and 2 cannons is enough to beat any army no matter how big it is. The AI wont attack a well defended unit and you can therefore simply stand on a defencive spot outside the city and let the cannons kill everything.
The way the game is build, combat is all about promotions. With the right promotions, you'll have >99% chance of winning every battle except against heavily fortified cities (where cannons will bring down the defence anyway). It seems like there has been no playtesting what-so-ever, and the different difficulties doesn't really make any difference at all. This game really doesn't desurve having "Civilization" in it's name, since there is very little which can resemble strategy.
But instead of picking at the problems, can we try to look for solutions? I could force myself not to exploit the game, but when picking the right promotions and taking advantage of the terrain is all that is needed, I think it's too much too ask. What can take this a little step further is to remove the REF's insane attack bonus and instead give it some way to defend it's cities. But this is really just a hot-fix to the problem. The real problems are the promotions. They are much too strong and there is no way the AI can stop a well promoted army. Simply removing the promotions would be the easiest fix, but some might feel like this is removing some of the fun of the game. Any better suggestions?
Deleting your colonists to get rebel sentiments was just one "bug", but there is simply no way to not exploit this game. If you try to defend your cities they will fall right away, but if you defend from outside the city, 1 soldier and 2 cannons is enough to beat any army no matter how big it is. The AI wont attack a well defended unit and you can therefore simply stand on a defencive spot outside the city and let the cannons kill everything.
The way the game is build, combat is all about promotions. With the right promotions, you'll have >99% chance of winning every battle except against heavily fortified cities (where cannons will bring down the defence anyway). It seems like there has been no playtesting what-so-ever, and the different difficulties doesn't really make any difference at all. This game really doesn't desurve having "Civilization" in it's name, since there is very little which can resemble strategy.
But instead of picking at the problems, can we try to look for solutions? I could force myself not to exploit the game, but when picking the right promotions and taking advantage of the terrain is all that is needed, I think it's too much too ask. What can take this a little step further is to remove the REF's insane attack bonus and instead give it some way to defend it's cities. But this is really just a hot-fix to the problem. The real problems are the promotions. They are much too strong and there is no way the AI can stop a well promoted army. Simply removing the promotions would be the easiest fix, but some might feel like this is removing some of the fun of the game. Any better suggestions?