Strategy

[Smokey Gator]

Im kinda new to civ 3 considering i havent played it in years so i remember nothing about the game.

Does anyone have any good suggestions as to what i should do for my first game to get back in it?

ie- world size, opponents, climate,...

Thanks.

 

[Fiddlin Nero]

Welcome

Put everything to random, until you find the options you like. For me, the big variable is how many opponents, I like room to build a good core before having to deal with the AI.

 

[Smokey Gator]

thanks, but is there a fool proof setup.

 

[Aabraxan]

Welcome to CFC, Smokey Gator!

I don't know of a foolproof setup, but I'd go with standard sized, continents, and set everything else "down the middle." That way, you get some land combat, some naval stuff, and aren't overwhelmed with any one terrain, like jungle or mountains. As for opponents, I'd just go all random. If you want to pick your opponents, though, the answer really depends on how you want to win. Any idea on a victory condition?

 

[undertoad]

I'd recommend Warlord difficulty if you can't remember the game well. Chieftain is just ridiculously easy. I think my first CivIII game was on Chieftain, and it wasn't really a challenge.

Standard map, I reckon, or even Small. A Large map game takes ages, and in this first game you'll be getting the hang of things again, probably realising lots of things you could have done better. Long games can be a pain even if you find you're winning easily.

Make sure you give yourself lots of land: personally I prefer Continents or Pangaea landmass-type, as Archipelago can give you a frustrating small-island start, with the possibility of no trade being allowed until your ship-technology progresses. Independent of the landmass-type is the proportion of land to sea. The highest sea (thus lowest land) settings are IMHO for specialists looking for a big challenge.

Number of opponents: I always go for the max for the map. Means more rivals, but on the other hand more trading opportunities. Back in Civ2 I could be a science-powerhouse on my own; in CivIII trading techs is a huge (and very satisfying) part of the game. With a low number of rivals, you're more likely to grow quite a bit before running into rivals - but on the other hand your tech will go slowly because you won't meet anyone.

Age/temperature etc: I like the middle Age setting, or a young planet. Hills and mountains are good for production. Warm and Wet gives you loads of Jungle and Marsh, which is very frustrating. Try middle settings on all these, see how you like it.

Another important setting is the allowed victory types. If you like wiping all opponents off the face of the earth, make sure "Domination victory" is unticked. Domination makes you win when you control X% (I forget the number, 65%. 70%? - never use it) of the land.

Culture-flips is IMHO a great part of CivIII. You can switch this on or off. On means a captured city has a chance of "flipping" back to its original owner if they have more culture than you. Some like it, some don't.

Enjoy! And this forum is packed with ideas, solutions to common problems people run into - [EDIT] Welcome!

 

[goodsmell]

as for a first game I would play a tiny-small maps . first learn the very very basics and fundamentals, what trades are availble, some infrastructure, wonders, military and so on .

There are lots of articles in CFC, which I promise to you, they will come handy as you'll first look at C3C world . Climate, opponents and map. It's really personal preference . I usually play Pangea and my goal for victory is usually by conquest/domination sometimes SpaceRace . opponents don't matter much to me unless I play specific variant .

:]

 

[Krunchyman]

You should start by playing on chieftain level, and also, remember, the bigger the map is, the harder the game will be. If you start on a huge map, the game will be very slow and difficult. Smaller maps are quicker, easier, and less challenging. I remember when I was a noob, I would generate huge maps with only one or two players. Don't do that, unless you do stuff like accelerated production and have experience with Civ 3.

Oh, and also with climate, a 3 billion year old map will have more resources like horses and wine, while older maps will have more resources like iron and gems. I think.

And with opponents, some good ones to start out with are Tokugawa of Japan, Gandhi of India, and Chairman Mao of China.

 

[Bowsling]

I have to agree with undertoad. I hadn't played the game for a couple years, then I came back to the game, and I figured I'd play on cheiftain because I didn't remember the game that well, and I absolutely clobbered the AI.