Switching to SP and turning off advanced start

[Kate]

I play Civ IV almost exclusively in hotseat with my husband, as a team against the AI. Since BtS came out, we haven't played a game without a sizable advanced start (about 20,000 points). Usually we play hemispheres or islands, huge map, marathon speed, unrestricted leaders, noble difficulty, vassals off. He tends to pick Huayna Capac of the Dutch, and I'm fond of Darius, Hannibal, or Napoleon of Rome. I like to war early and war often. In our most recent game I played Elizabeth of Rome (my first try at a specialist economy). The micromanagement was a bit tedious, but the rewards are well worth it. My only concern is how I ever go to war before Rifling. (We were on an islands game, so I had a nice isolated start.)

I'd like to start playing single player again. I've tried some games but found that my cities inevitably run out of useful buildings to build in the early game -- my tech strategy needs work. I haven't succesfully axe-rushed or used an early war in either MP or SP, advanced or normal start, since Bhruic and patch 3.13 solved the AI's dumb tech buying. (Prior to the patch, I could count on wiping out two civs with my praetorians.) Because I'm used to advanced start, I have no idea when to build units and buildings in the early game. Normally I'll start with all my workers, all the settlers and cities I'll need until I go to war, a decent amount of defending military units (and sometimes a small offensive army), my cities blown out to their happy cap with a few buildings in them, and my resources all improved and hooked up.

I'm winding my way through Sisiutl's beginner's guide, but still have a few questions.

1. I want to wean myself off advanced start. It's a lot of fun to use and gets rid of what my husband calls "the Enter turns", but it takes the air out of civs like the Egyptians. I'm thinking I'm just going to ratchet this down gradually instead of stopping cold-turkey. Are there any other advanced start ex-addicts out there? How did you adjust?

2. I'm used to MP, where I have my husband as a team member to build the wonders and I share their benefits. I tend to woefully neglect production in general -- especially in my last game as Elizabeth, where I kept Slavery on far longer than I should have in order to pop-chop stuff. Do you have any tips for learning to be more self-sufficient in terms of production?

3. I'm trying to stretch my playstyle a bit -- play civs I normally don't, maps I wouldn't normally. I am a big fan of Financial leaders and have usually played Rome in previous games (also the Dutch, Holy Rome, England, and Ethiopia less frequently). I have played the occasional restricted leaders games. How much should I force myself out of my comfort zone of game settings to learn stuff? I generally prefer Pangaea on SP games -- it's much easier, and I suspect I'm going to have to turn the difficulty level down a notch or two if I'm quitting advanced start altogether. Marathon speed seems to be really long for SP games. What speed, maps, and settings do you prefer for yours?

If people are interested and want more detail, I can start a game and post some saves.

 

[ungy]

Welcome to CFC Kate!
I would recommend taking the speed down off marathon to epic or normal.
That'll help with the length of the game.
I would also recommend trying some different civs--both financial and a strong UU are a crutch. Take the level down a notch or two until you get comfortable--and there are some good strategy articles in these forums.
Personally I play mostly continents and normal speed. Epic is better for warmongering and slightly easier for the player.

 

[martin026]

I would also suggest dropping the game speed down a level or two. That will help the "just press enter" feeling.

I would check out this thread for some ideas of early game builds and production:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=248435&highlight=snatty

It is intended for higher level play, but some of the ideas there can be used on lower levels also.

 

[Winston Hughes]

Do you have any tips for learning to be more self-sufficient in terms of production?

If you're used to pumping out troops the whole time, then it's possible that cash and research will be the problem, rather than production.

You'll probably have to get used to producing your troops from a smaller number of cities, with more of them dedicated to generating commerce (or running specialists). Commerce cities need some production, of course, but they don't need to produce tons of hammers - just enough to get the necessary buildings.

If you're not used to going for World Wonders, then I'd suggest continuing to avoid them in your first few SP games - they can too easily become a crutch and mask deficiencies in your basic game.

Once you've got a decent grasp of economy building, though, it's certainly worth going for one or two. But be sure to take full advantage of whatever benefits they offer - there are few things more pointless than wasting 100s of hammers on a building you never use.

National Wonders, on the other hand, should definitely feature as part of your strategy. The two opened up by Literature (National Epic and Heroic Epic) can both be hugely powerful if used correctly, offering bonuses far greater than anything else you can build at that time.

Later on, it's usually worth building the Universities/Banks/Courthouses required to enable Oxford/Wall Street/Forbidden Palace, since these can have a massive effect on your economy. In each case, though, choosing the right location for a National Wonder is very important (especially since no city can house more than two), so think carefully before making that decision.

How much should I force myself out of my comfort zone of game settings to learn stuff?

Maybe try dropping down a level or two, and taking an entirely peaceful approach. Build enough troops to protect your empire against attack, but otherwise just concentrate on learning how to expand peacefully, develop an economy, and work your way through to the latter stages of the tech tree.

One very basic (but very important) tip I'll give you now is to make sure you build enough Workers (which I assume you haven't had to worry much about previously) - a minimum of one per city.

If people are interested and want more detail, I can start a game and post some saves.

This is unquestionably the best way to sort out whatever problems may be affecting your game, though it would be helpful if you waited until you've played three or four games first, so you can tell us where you seem to be having trouble.

If you have any more specific questions in the meantime, then this is definitely the place to ask them.