The two most important questions about gameplay

[Buttercup]

1. What aggression level do you set the AI at?

2. How long do you spend on each turn?


I have survived to the end of the game on Sid level before, but it was archipelago and the AI was set to least aggressive. I would say this was an easier game than playing Monarch or Emperor with normal AI aggression. You hear of people winning on Sid level, but has anyone ever won on it's hardest setting of a Huge Continent, Sid, Most Aggressive AI, Raging Hoards?

Also, when finding a healthy balance between length of game and perfect allocation of resources do you find civ3 more enjoyable the more time you dedicate to each turn or do prefer to race through the turns, happy that the position is good enough to get to your destination even if you miss the opportunity to keep switching between land and ocean squares depending on what you are producing?

 

[CommandoBob]

1. What aggression level do you set the AI at?

2. How long do you spend on each turn?

Generally, I set the AI agression to Normal.

Time per turn, well, that can vary a lot depending on the in game circumstances. Warfare certainly makes a turn go longer, so can a healthy dose of mircomanaging your cities when you have a bunch of them.

Worker allocation is something else that can take time to get set up.

I have survived to the end of the game on Sid level before, but it was archipelago and the AI was set to least aggressive. I would say this was an easier game than playing Monarch or Emperor with normal AI aggression. You hear of people winning on Sid level, but has anyone ever won on it's hardest setting of a Huge Continent, Sid, Most Aggressive AI, Raging Hoards?

The best place to check would be in the Hall of Fame, though AI and Barbarian settings are optional (can be set as the player desires) for each submission. The HOF is broken down by difficulty, map size and victory condition; land settings (pangea vs. continent vs. archipelago) are not categorized.

Also, when finding a healthy balance between length of game and perfect allocation of resources do you find civ3 more enjoyable the more time you dedicate to each turn or do prefer to race through the turns, happy that the position is good enough to get to your destination even if you miss the opportunity to keep switching between land and ocean squares depending on what you are producing?

Except for science farms, I don't spend a lot of time tweaking each city to produce. I'll just improve and go. I might come back later if the city is producing something at a huge shield overrun, like 49 spt to build a 100 shield unit in 3 turns, wasting the shields on the last turn, but I generally let them be. I do find the more I cycle through the city list the more adept I become at picking out cities that do need tweaking.

 

[vmxa]

I really do not see the AI aggression as having an impact at all. Maybe I have not tried it enough, but even in the games of others it looks like it does little or nothing. They play the same either way.

 

[Spoonwood]

Lowest aggression level.

 

[PaperBeetle]

1. What aggression level do you set the AI at?

I don't choose. Game of the Month staff set the level for me.

2. How long do you spend on each turn?

My goal is to win my chosen victory condition as quickly as possible in game time, not real time. Therefore I take as long as necessary to be sure that I do not have unmoved 'pieces' which have clearly advantageous moves availiable to them. 'Pieces' include citizens, sliders, potential diplomatic agreements etc...

 

[Fiddlin Nero]

Time spent on each turn? Varies alot. I don't go 'after' a victory condition and I usually play well into the 23rd century. I like to seek what I think of as the groove, a way of timing things so I have a continous interest in what is happening now and what is just out of reach. An example would be my use of workers, I clean pollution as quickly as possible, I clear rubble 1 to 3 tiles a turn, pace and varying level of intensity is what I go after.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

I really do not see the AI aggression as having an impact at all. Maybe I have not tried it enough, but even in the games of others it looks like it does little or nothing. They play the same either way.

I don't know either if there is any big difference. However, the civs themselves have an agression level already built-in, France and India for example are very low, whereas Germany and Persia are very high. One difference that I noticed is that the unagressive civs tend to make the best prices, i.e. offer a little bit more money or ask a little bit less all else equal.

 

[creamcheese]

The hall of fame was already suggested, but you could look in the stories and tales forum for some really fun to read games. The sticky called something thing like "Legendary Games" showcases some very high difficulty variants, some epic comebacks, and just great all around games. Just reading these games greatly improved my play when I first found this site; it showed me what was possible with a little luck and good strategy.

 

[timerover51]

I don't know either if there is any big difference. However, the civs themselves have an agression level already built-in, France and India for example are very low, whereas Germany and Persia are very high. One difference that I noticed is that the unagressive civs tend to make the best prices, i.e. offer a little bit more money or ask a little bit less all else equal.

If India is set low, why is Gandhi always declaring war on me?

 

[Lord Emsworth]

If India is set low, why is Gandhi always declaring war on me?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_question

IOW, is he?

(On the other hand, if he DoWs you, then maybe that goes to show that he is not in trouble elsewhere. )

 

[creamcheese]

I realize I replied without answering the two original questions:

1.) I just leave it at normal most of the time, it doesn't seem to do as much as you'd think. In my experience anyway.

2.) In the early game a turn might take 30 seconds or less, very few things to move. In the late game it might take an half an hour or an hour, or more if I am MMing that turn.

 

[Yoda Power]

AI agression level does have an effect. At least in my experience, when you play a map with 31 civs on it, setting it low will stop them from declearing war very early, like they usually do.

 

[Verarde]

1. What aggression level do you set the AI at?

I have never played a game that I was serious on completing, that I did not set it on Normal. Sometimes, I would experiment, but never really play the game after the first 100 turns.

2. How long do you spend on each turn?

Well, that really depends on what era it is. In the early game, when all I have is perhaps a warrior to explore with, and one worker to manage, and one city to manage, quite quickly. Whenever I have a war MMing my units slows down the turns.