This has probably been discussed here before, but my search did not bring up anything relevant. Sorry if I'm repeating; feel free to point me to a previous thread.
I'm playing Civ 3: Conquests after a long pause of not playing Civ. Starting up again has reminded me of a big problem I had - compared to Civ and Civ 2, the tech race feels boring.
First, there do not seem to be independent technology paths that create "either-or" decision making.. Everyone seems to be researching the same techs at the same time; the AI trading and the lack of true "branches" means that it seems rare for me to get knights while someone else is going after trebuchets. There is no feeling of "now I got that unit I want, lets see if it changes things," because either everyone else has it within a turn or two, or I am so far ahead that it didn't really matter if I got the unit.
Likewise, for building, it does not feel like there is much choice. Typically, I've built everything. There is no feeling of "marketplace or library" like there was in the old game. Instead, it feels like you put out buildings faster than you get new options for building through technology.
In general, the tech tree feels pretty pointless; everyone is muddled together in the middle, and differentiation does not come from choosing different paths, but instead from pulling ahead in the race in general.
Are there any patches or mods that have resolved this?
I'm playing Civ 3: Conquests after a long pause of not playing Civ. Starting up again has reminded me of a big problem I had - compared to Civ and Civ 2, the tech race feels boring.
First, there do not seem to be independent technology paths that create "either-or" decision making.. Everyone seems to be researching the same techs at the same time; the AI trading and the lack of true "branches" means that it seems rare for me to get knights while someone else is going after trebuchets. There is no feeling of "now I got that unit I want, lets see if it changes things," because either everyone else has it within a turn or two, or I am so far ahead that it didn't really matter if I got the unit.
Likewise, for building, it does not feel like there is much choice. Typically, I've built everything. There is no feeling of "marketplace or library" like there was in the old game. Instead, it feels like you put out buildings faster than you get new options for building through technology.
In general, the tech tree feels pretty pointless; everyone is muddled together in the middle, and differentiation does not come from choosing different paths, but instead from pulling ahead in the race in general.
Are there any patches or mods that have resolved this?
