Virginity Lost

[Virgin Civ]

Ok so the story continues. I posted yesterday about my frustrations at being new to the game and not understanding it or knowing really what to do. I got some great responces from some of you and decided at lunch today to go to my favourite Mexican and have a Shrimp something or other take the manual and read.
At 12.45 sitting in my office at work I thought I would give it another try for 15 mins before the afternoon started and I didn't look up from the computer until 3.45 usually about the time I leave to avoid traffic.
Crap this thing is addictive. I have currently a score of 1158 and am in 1970's getting my bum kicked by the Greeks. I guess the game is just about getting your feet wet and I know I'm only scratching the surface but its really cool. I followed a lot of the games suggestions and was non aggressive and have made it so far. A couple of other questions.
How long should each game last. Are we talking Sims three or four weeks or three or four hours? Or is each game different?
Does it pay to be aggressive? I like a good fight!!!

Sorry but have to go back and see how many more things I can loose in battle. Does the game end when all turns are used up?

Cheers

 

[homeyg]

each game is different

 

[Stumpy123]

First, let me say welcome to the wonderful world of Civ 4 .

Second, it's good to just play some games to get a feel for it, to get used to the technology tree, building armies, learning the interface, etc. Once you learn, the real challenge lies in not letting it take over your life .

As for your questions:

Games can take a very long time or can be very quick; it depends on difficulty and map size. Smaller maps will make for faster games, and lower difficulties don't require as much deliberation to move forward in the game. You'd be surprised how much planning and strategy can go into a high level game. I tend to play on standard maps, and it can take me a few weeks to play it all the way through; then again, I think a little too much on some things .

As for being aggressive, it certainly does pay to know how and when to fight. It is mandatory for survival at the high levels and especially in multiplayer. The key is to use a good mix of units, as all have their strengths and weaknesses (you'll get a feel for them as you play more). Attacking early in the game is often necessary; it is better to hit the enemy hard and fast before they get really dug into their cities.

One more thing: eventually, you'll want to manage your workers and cities manually; the governors and the automation are inefficient and often build exactly what you don't need. But for now, you can use them to get a feel for the game.

Hope that helps, and again, welcome to Civ .

 

[Morgrad]

A standard map I can play on a wife-free Saturday pretty easily, and that includes yapping with a pal for awhile, cooking dinner for the family, and paying half attention to the TV.

Huge maps on Marathon speed? Weeks and weeks at a couple hours a night.

Duel map on normal speed? An hour or two.

Just keep playing - get to where you can win on Settler with Time, Space Race, and Conquest victories really easily, then upgrade a difficulty level (or two). Just keep in mind that a lot of low-level strategies don't work on higher difficulty levels. Once you're above Warlord level, don't jump more than one at a time - you'll get *crushed*.

The biggest thing? Play the game on Settler until you can win well, because at that point you'll have a solid grasp on a lot of core concepts of the game - then come back to Civ Fanatics and read through the strategy articles again. Instead of saying "huh?", you'll instead say "Ooooooh! Cool!"

When it comes to difficulty levels, don't listen to anyone else about what you should play. There are people on this board that can consistently win solidly on really high difficulty levels, and others who won't go above Noble level without losing badly. Sometimes when you ask for help on something you'll get a response like "Warlord level? You don't need help. That's easy." Ignore those comments and listen to the ones that have value. =)

Summary:
1. Learn Settler level really well.
2. Come back to Civ Fanatics and read the strategy articles.

 

[Disgustipated]

my games are fairly quick. But I don't do as much micromanagement with my workes as some people may. I generally let the computer manage what squares my workers work.

Due to computer limitations, I can only play standard sized maps. My games usually run from 3 to 5 hours for a space race victory. For domination victories they can get up to 9 hours in length.

Assuming you don't build a spaceship (or get a different victory such as conquering everyone or dominating the earth) before 2050 the game will end. But it will give you the option of playing on, but the score won't matter at that point. You only play on just for the sake of playing.

Yes it does pay to be aggressive. but you have to balance it out. If you are too agressive and conquer too much land too early, your empire will be so large, it will be difficult to manage (ie maintenance costs will be high- and your research will suffer). You may fall behind the rest of the world in technology (though if you are on a low difficulty you should be fine). So don't bite off more than you can chew. Conquer the world in small chunks. Or just build up a sufficient military to keep the other civilizations from conquering you and keep them off your back while you research your way to building a spaceship.

 

[Duraska]

Wait... are you playing at work? Man, I could never do that. It's the same reason why I could never telecommute. My boss asked me once if I was "set up at home for some telecommuting." I told him "not really" (even though I am) because I know darn well I'd just end up playing Civ IV.

My productivity is inversely proportionate to how close to me the Civ IV CD is...

 

[KMadCandy]

Crap this thing is addictive.

well yeah!

Does the game end when all turns are used up?

there's a saying "one more turn". sometimes it means "i'm just going to play one more turn..." before going to bed, or leaving work to avoid traffic , etc. also, after you've actually won the game (and i think after you've been defeated like in a space race, but surely not after you've been conquered and don't exist any more) there's a little box up at the top that asks if you want to return to main menu or "wait! just one more turn!" something like that.

and there's more! you can turn off time victory *giggle*. i've never done that, but i guess if you turn off all victory conditions, maybe just have conquest on and leave at least one other civ with one city, you could play the same game forever. i don't know why you'd want to, but i suppose you could.

i've had one-more-turn-itis since civ2. if sid meier had never been born my house might actually be clean or something. i'm glad you're having fun!!

 

[eldar]

i've had one-more-turn-itis since civ2. if sid meier had never been born my house might actually be clean or something. i'm glad you're having fun!!

I've been suffering since SMAC, through Civ3 and all its expansions, a detour into Oblivion, and now CIV. Yet somehow I've also managed to acquire a wife and a daughter in that time, too! Of course it means I have less time to actually play (try "crying baby" vs. "Must take out that next Aztec city" sometime...), and I rarely actually finish a game on anything bigger than a Duel-sized map. I'm terrible at picking up a game again after 24 hours, especially one that's essentially won.

 

[LucyDuke]

Wait... are you playing at work? Man, I could never do that. It's the same reason why I could never telecommute. My boss asked me once if I was "set up at home for some telecommuting." I told him "not really" (even though I am) because I know darn well I'd just end up playing Civ IV.

If I had civ on my computer at work, it would certainly be the end of my job. I have enough trouble finishing up in the forums at the end of the lunch hour. A Mozilla window minimizes much more neatly than the CivIV window would, and the forums seem to chill out a bit in the early afternoon.

Quite the thread title, too, virgin. Considering this place is 95% (?) male and mostly young (ish), you're certainly catching a lot of eyes.

 

[wotan321]

you may want to go ahead and bookmark:

http://www.civanon.com

You will need it.... its a sad truth.

 

[Johnlynch2nd]

you may want to go ahead and bookmark:

http://www.civanon.com

You will need it.... its a sad truth.

hahahahahaha... good one!

 

[Jerrymander]

I've played from 5 to 648 minutes.
It all depends on map size, leader choice, and game speed.
Vanilla Washington, Huge, Archipelago, High Sea Level = Long.
Vanilla Capac, Duel, Pangea = Short.

Ah, reminds me of when I first got CivII.

 

[RegentMan]

I wouldn't recommend playing settler for too long. Win once or twice, then move up. Rinse and repeat. If you stay on a difficulty for too long, you'll grow rather accustomed to it and if you attempt to move up, you'll be disheartened if (when) things don't go your way.

My forum name is RegentMan because I played on regent at the time, everytime. As you can see, I'm only on monarch, years later.

Don't be afraid to lose!

 

[LlamaCat]

Not sure if someone already answered this question: the game ends when all turns are used and a winner named by score, but you can continue playing indefinitely past those turns if you want. you don't have to quit the game at that point, in other words. this to me was a nice change from the earlier versions of the game.

I was up until 2:30 am last night with OMT syndrome, playing as Cyrus on epic speed and trying to break into Prince level...

 

[Capt Buttkick]

and there's more! you can turn off time victory *giggle*. i've never done that, but i guess if you turn off all victory conditions, maybe just have conquest on and leave at least one other civ with one city, you could play the same game forever. i don't know why you'd want to, but i suppose you could.

You would probably have three cities producing some kulcher by then, though? Which means you'll win a culture victory sooner or later

 

[Helmling]

You would probably have three cities producing some kulcher by then, though? Which means you'll win a culture victory sooner or later

He said "turn off" all other victory conditions.

Why anyone would want to conceive of a way to make Civ last longer I can scarcely imagine...

To the OP, there is also a speed setting for the game. I've recently become a fan of Quick games after being a die-hard "longer is better" kind of player. I think Quick would be a good way to get your feet wet and play through a couple of games. The best thing about Quick is that you can actually react to an enemy invasion, whereas in longer-play games if you had not planned ahead for the possibility of such an invasion you are likely doomed since everything takes so long to build.

Good luck...oh, and you might as well say goodbye to all your friends and family for a while.

 

[automator]

Welcome to the game.

I just came back from playing, and God, is this game harder than I remember. I think when I stopped playing (about four months ago), I was winning about half my Prince games. After my hiatus (brought on by a WoW addiction), I've played and abandoned a dozen Prince games.

Yes, playing times will vary. Yes, aggression and such will vary. If I were you, I'd get myself up to the level just before Prince (can't remember the name -- Noble maybe?) and play that one with the Aggressive AI button checked. Also, turn off Space Race, since that's pretty much an easy win. Once you can win most games at Noble with Agg AI and no Spaceship, you're ready for Prince, which is a pretty vast jump in AI abilities.

 

[KMadCandy]

Yes, aggression and such will vary. If I were you, I'd get myself up to the level just before Prince (can't remember the name -- Noble maybe?) and play that one with the Aggressive AI button checked. Also, turn off Space Race, since that's pretty much an easy win. Once you can win most games at Noble with Agg AI and no Spaceship, you're ready for Prince, which is a pretty vast jump in AI abilities.

opinions vary of course. but i'd certainly not turn off Space Race my first attempts at noble, it severely handicaps the AI if the game lasts that long and wouldn't really teach you what you need to know before you jump to Prince IMO. (see below for disclaimer about how i'm not real clear on noble/prince space speed lately)

space victory is odd. at all but the highest levels, it can make a game an easy win in the way i think you're implying, when you're at the "ok when is the fat lady gonna sing" stage and don't feel like dragging it out, it's obvious you're going to win. i don't think that having that easy win option available is necessarily a bad thing but that's not my reason for posting.

the problem is, having space race disabled makes things easier for the human in an artifical way. it handicaps the AI since space is the only way they're programmed to win. if the game lasts long enough, they tech towards space techs in all cases, that's how they're coded. they don't check the F8 screen to see what victory conditions are enabled. yes in every game they have wars along the way, of course they want your cities and land, but if you turn the spaceship victory off they don't know that. with space race off they should prioritize their focus (what techs to pick, when to turn down science, etc) more towards war, like the human is obviously going to, but they don't. so that wouldn't be ideal preparation for going from beginner to prince IMO.

the human plays smarter anyway, but with space off that's intensified. they still tech towards fusion, even if the GE for discoving it first is gone, it's in their programming. if they've built the Kremlin, well, getting fusion in a no space game is a terrible idea, since you want to avoid even Fiber Optics at all costs so that it doesn't go obsolete! at the very least they're missing info about when they could turn down science and make money unless they really want future techs.

aggressive AI would partly make up for that, since they start out disliking you more than usual. and the "race" part of space race, keeping up in techs, doesn't really show up until the higher levels anyway. my memory is off here since my latest space race was at deity. i was trying for an OCC deity diplomatic victory, but i had all victory conditions turned on. my turns were short, only one city to manage, and at the end of the game every single time i hit enter, i got to hear at least 3 spaceship parts roll off the line. meanwhile i didn't even have rocketry. man that was scary, and it really was a space race! obviously at noble/prince you don't turn off tech when i did, and the AIs don't speed-tech like they did there, but so many people have never thought about the programming issues that i figured it was worth a mention. opinions vary and as always, the goal is to have fun and everyone should play with whatever options they like

 

[Disgustipated]

Welcome to the game.

I just came back from playing, and God, is this game harder than I remember. I think when I stopped playing (about four months ago), I was winning about half my Prince games. After my hiatus (brought on by a WoW addiction), I've played and abandoned a dozen Prince games.

Yes, playing times will vary. Yes, aggression and such will vary. If I were you, I'd get myself up to the level just before Prince (can't remember the name -- Noble maybe?) and play that one with the Aggressive AI button checked. Also, turn off Space Race, since that's pretty much an easy win. Once you can win most games at Noble with Agg AI and no Spaceship, you're ready for Prince, which is a pretty vast jump in AI abilities.

if you are using warlords and downloaded patch 2.08, there are several ai improvements made by Blake.