Since patch, game is much harder.

[Smokeybear]

Always winning is not cool.

Who said anything about 'always winning'? I was *sometimes* winning at Emperor, now I'm back to only sometimes winning at King. Like climbing up the proverbial sand dune.

 

[Socratatus]

Always winning is not cool.

Haha. I never always win at this game! I was quite happy with the difficulty as it was before, I certainly didn`t need it making harder.

But this is the achille`s heel of the internet and Devs who view still don`t get that the loudest complainers, ie the self-proclaimed experts who say Diety is too easy are the MINORITY and most of us who feel we`ve achieved something by just surviving on King are the majority.

In other words content people, happy with the difficulty setting don`t whine, but unhappy people do. This gives the Devs a topsy turvy view of what they think people are happy with and hence we get the pendulum swinging from one side to the other.

 

[bc1]

Can't you find a difficulty level with which you are confortable ?

 

[Emstinson]

I've dropped from regularly winning on emperor back to king. I had enjoyed winning once in a while on Immortal, but not often. Deity has always amused me because it really requires you to develop really good singularly focused plans to work for that early lead, now I figure that applies to the top 2 or 3, at least for my skill set. I can't stop playing this game, I must be near 2,000 hours now since release. It gets better and better every time. Getting beaten by the AI just inspires me to try harder next time, move my citizens around a little better in the second and third cities... woohoo addiction!

 

[Donaskme]

Getting beaten by the AI just inspires me to try harder next time, move my citizens around a little better in the second and third cities... woohoo addiction!

Same with me, I still play King. I don't even have enough time to play an entire game during the week, and rarely play to victory except on Fridays and Saturdays. I can never seem to continue from a savegame unless it's Saturday morning with a hot coffee in my jammies. Er, I'm in my jammies, that is, and there's also a hot coffee nearby...

Just working out my opening and playing maybe 200 turns each weeknight is uber fun. And I look forward to the weekend, when I can take my increasingly well-honed opening skills and have a full game of it.

 

[Juanholio]

I've found the range of AI behaviour has widened. On one hand runaway AI with an established religion seem to spam more cities than before. In one game France was putting cities on every last unclaimed peice of land (standard) and even as we went to war and I trashed these pointless cities I was intercepting settlers all over the place.

On the other hand I played a game where Greece built such a big army they completely crippled themselves. At first I thought 'that's a bit stupid' but then I thought it's a gambit and if they'd taken a whole bunch of cities it may have payed off. But having played a few post patch Emperor games I'd adapted and obliterated his army - by that time his science had suffered his army was obsolete. I build more military units now and usually forgo any ancient wonder (which is probably a better strategy anyway). I also play more aggressive as a result - it's quite handy for your neighbour to build, say, statue of zeus and then take it off them.

Haven't tried immortal, frankly I found it too frustrating before the patch and enjoy Emperor enough not to bother improving my game to beat it. I'm not going to break any records but I enjoy the game, and thats the point right?

 

[Donaskme]

I'm not going to break any records but I enjoy the game, and thats the point right?

Right!

 

[Tony.Uk]

Trouble is I got bored after a while, as I always end up getting a science victory
around 2040. There is always one runaway civ, on this occasion Monty with a sizeable points lead, no happiness problems, and the other AI's way behind.If you build a decent size army at this level, then it should be a cakewalk.And dont wonder spam too much.There is always some poor devil you have to attack at some point even if friendly,more so if they are a neighbour.

I do not feel motivated enough to play another,only to end up with the same old science victory. Back to HOI3 TFH then?

 

[Jaybe]

Same with me, I still play King. I don't even have enough time to play an entire game during the week, and rarely play to victory except on Fridays and Saturdays. I can never seem to continue from a savegame unless it's Saturday morning with a hot coffee in my jammies. Er, I'm in my jammies, that is, and there's also a hot coffee nearby...

Just working out my opening and playing maybe 200 turns each weeknight is uber fun. And I look forward to the weekend, when I can take my increasingly well-honed opening skills and have a full game of it.

I get the impression that you don't often save your game to continue another day. For me, a large epic (I don't do smaller or shorter) game takes at least a week, sometimes 3.

 

[Donaskme]

I get the impression that you don't often save your game to continue another day.

I often save it for another day, I rarely actually continue from the save during the week. It takes me a good two evenings to complete a Standard game on King, but I only seem to do that on the weekends.

 

[Greasy Dave]

Could you post your latest Immortal game save file`?

Not sure why you'd want to see it but here's the last immortal victory.(theodora 1844AD)
I think I've deleted the original start save, I can't find it, so all I've got is the victory, not sure if that helps you.

IF you wanted to try and play a winnable immortal game yourself ,then I've attached an autosave of a different immortal game I started last night which from this position should be straightforward to victory. I abandoned it because I was tired and a little drunk and went and planted my fourth settler forgetting that I was still building the NC and that I didn't have enough money to rushbuy a library. But your neighbours are all warring with each other, you've got DOF's with most of them, yuo've got HW and three desert cities and desert folklore (And I didn't reroll until I got a good start...that just happened to be the random set up), which means an archer every 4 turns and longbows to come. Have fun!

Just for fun there's a couple of deity saves. The Ethiopia one just shows how huge the step between the two levels is. My cities are in very defensible positions. DEclare war on BAbylon - sit back and ride the waves of the babylonian army, and just keep riding them because they don't stop coming, even if you get Washington or Alex as your allies.I think a couple of turns after that save Nebuchanezer enters the rennaissance too.

The Theodora deity (Theodora 825BC) save is more interesting. I think it could be taken further. I just haven't had the energy and time to sit down and concentrate on it. To attempt Deity I have to be really, really concentrating. Playing immortal, I relax.

Anyway, back on topic, I'm not complaining that they've made the game harder per se. Just that I need something between immortal to deity. The problem with setting setting myself restrictions is that I never keep them....though I might start playing immotral with limited resources...and see if that's more challenging.

 

[Donaskme]

I abandoned it because I was tired and a little drunk and went and planted my fourth settler forgetting that I was still building the NC and that I didn't have enough money to rushbuy a library.

I do that stuff all the time because of beer. My fourth library gets done, go to queue up the NC ... and realize I "forgot" to research Philosophy....

 

[Jaybe]

I do that stuff all the time because of beer. My fourth library gets done, go to queue up the NC ... and realize I "forgot" to research Philosophy....

I'll do that sometimes (though not because of inebriation). It's not a HUGE deal; just resume it when the prerequisite building is completed. Building decay doesn't start for 100 turns and then it's only 1%/turn. You've just got to remember which city you started it in ... a written note or the WHoward's Map Pins mod (if it's still compatible).

 

[ense7en]

Really Greece, really? Settling right in my face on both sides...

This is Emperor, not even Immortal.

Spoiler :

I'm not interested in ever continuing that game.

 

[The Pilgrim]

Yeah, senseless wonder spamming from turn 0 is not as easy on emperor as it used to be. What a bummer.
What bothers me on this screenshot, is that AI can settle 3 cities on rivers, yet all 3 of them are placed 1 tile off.

 

[Gamewizard]

Really Greece, really? Settling right in my face on both sides...

This is Emperor, not even Immortal.

Spoiler :

I'm not interested in ever continuing that game.

Where exactly would you like them to expand? Those are decent city spots, although on the river or next to a mountain would be better spots. You still have plenty of room to your east to expand, although you will definitely need an army because Alexander will DOW 100% of the time in this situation. Get some ballistas and take out those cities before they put up walls. Building your army instead of the Great Pyramid would probably have been the better choice. 3 workers before building a military unit is kind of ridiculous.

 

[Browd]

Looking into my crystal ball, I see Greek puppets in your future.

Although, if you take them quickly, might be better razed and refounded.

 

[blackcatatonic]

Looking into my crystal ball, I see Greek puppets in your future.

Although, if you take them quickly, might be better razed and refounded.

Agreed. Corinth I would have founded one hex north-east, so it's on the river but still within reach of the mountain. Closer to Rome, but whatever. Argos I'd have either killed the barb camp and founded on that tile - coastal, river, etc - or to the south, much closer to Athens and Sparta.

It's funny how he's managed not to get any of his cities on a river

 

[smallfish]

Yeah, senseless wonder spamming from turn 0 is not as easy on emperor as it used to be. What a bummer.
What bothers me on this screenshot, is that AI can settle 3 cities on rivers, yet all 3 of them are placed 1 tile off.

I dunno about Argos, but Corinth I believe Alex just wants that Old Faithful asap without having to spend cash...

It is still... boogabalooo, though.

 

[smallfish]

I would also have tried peering into Athens to see if they are any unprotected workers... and then nabbed them myself. And if those city settlers came in unescorted (or the escort is some tiles off), more free workers.

The best part is getting free gold deals this early plus all that free workers... mmm, 46-pop cap here we come