WAY too good for Warlord, but not good enough for Regent......

[The Omega]

I've got a really big problem......I've masered warlord, and haven't lost a game in a long time on that difficulty. But I'm not good enough to play an epic game on Regent. I'm a master at games where you start out with cities, and no need to colonize, but I can't get the hang of an epic game on Regent. I don't want to go back to Warlord though. What should I do?

 

[Tomoyo]

Try to slightly rig the map on Regent. Restart until you get a really good start, or play an archi with a SEA civ, or something like that.

 

[The Omega]

Try to slightly rig the map on Regent. Restart until you get a really good start, or play an archi with a SEA civ, or something like that.

Tried that, but I'm not good at settling. I can win practically any war (even if I gain no ground, I've normally killed so many of their units that they'll give me at least all their gold), but I can't settle.

 

[Bootsiuv]

but I can't settle.

Then the epic game isn't for you....as the early settling/expansion phase is the most important part of the game.

You can settle though. You just have to keep practicing, and learn what to look for, optimal build order in various situations, etc, etc.

 

[citizen001]

There's an old saying that goes like this :

"Practise makes perfect"

Use it well.
Could you post a save on regent to see what you're doing wrong.

 

[wilbill]

Read the War Academy articles on Settler Factories. From Regent on up in difficulty, it's the first and foremost necessity for winning.

 

[viper275]

Build settler factories, play on archipelago first (easier IMHO.) Try an easier civ like the Iroquois (assuming this is C3C.)

 

[Frollo]

My first reaction was, try a One (of Five) City Challenge if the current difficulty is too easy for you but you aren't quite ready to move up.

Then I read the other comments and they all advise you to learn to settle first. So forget what I said

 

[The Omega]

Could you post a save on regent to see what you're doing wrong.

Don't have a save at the moment.

 

[satchel]

Contrary to what others are saying, you don't need formal settler factories to succeed at Regent. I play solidly at Monarch without the kind of micromanaging that the very advanced players use; I have never built a four-turn settler factory in my life and if I've built six-turn settler factories it's been fortuitous. I'm saying this so you do not read the settler-factory articles and become intimidated into thinking this is how careful and lucky you have to be to succeed at Regent. That is simply not the case.

You do need your core cities building settlers early and often, however, even if you don't have a formal settler factory. I typically have three or four of my core cities building settlers alternating with one or two units (depending upon how much delay is needed to achieve enough growth) that can be used to escort the settlers out into the wilderness.

So tell us a little more about the particular problems you are having. What do you mean when you say you "can't settle?" Perhaps you are using too wide a city spacing. Or, are you tying up your core cities building wonders? If so, I recommend Ision's Wonder Addiction article in the strategy articles section of the forum. If you try playing without building a single ancient age wonder you may be surprised at how much stronger your empire is in the end. At any rate if you post a save or two, or tell us more about what you are doing in the early game, you will get more pointed advice.

 

[IbnSina]

I had this problem at one point (for me it was the regent-monarch step), and found it very helpful to take a single start and play it repeatedly to 1000 BC, trying different "build orders" each time. It's a way to get a good feel for what produces the most, quickly.

 

[KabeDerlin]

Alas, when i was moving up through the difficulties i caught a snag on Regent as well. The best advice I can give you is Don't Automate workers, don't use the city governors, and settle everything you can. It's probably best you stop using the CxxxC method of settling (where C means city and X means spaces between cities) and start using the CxxC method of settling. This gives much more room for cities and that means more production power and more money!

Get one city next to some cows or deer or even wheat if you got it, as well as some bonus grassland or hills. You can turn this into a settler farm by irrigating the cows/deers/wheat tiles and mining the others. If you do it right you could be pumping out a settler every 5 turns.

Also, try and not start early wars your first few games because it's much harder to settle fast when you have to also worry about military.

 

[Volstag]

I agree with what Satchel said. Attempting to get a 4-turn settler factory off the ground will only frustrate the heck out of you. As with Satchel, I've never had a 4-turn settler factory. You need an ideal start to get it going. Shoot for a 6 turn settler factory.

I've just gotten to the point where I can reliably win on Regent (3 wins in a row). Here's my tips for making the transition:

* Concentrate on expansion in the early game. This is, IMO, the single most important thing you can do. Quite simply, you'll want a settler (w/ escort) heading out as often as realistically possible.

* Expand as much as you can until borders start touching.

* Others may disagree, but don't worry about Ancient Age wonders. It just takes too many resources to get one off the ground. Those shields are much better suited towards expansion. Once you get the hang of rapid expansion, you'll be able to fit wonders into your early game.

* Watch your build orders closely. You can't afford to squander shields/time on improvements/units/etc that you don't necessarily need.

* Workers. Build them, love them. Connect your cities. Grab those luxuries and resources. Shoot for, at MINIMUM, 1 worker for every city. Workers are, arguably, the single most important unit in the game. Do not scrimp on workers.

Edit:

* Do not automate your workers until very late in the game. Automated workers are horribly inefficient.

Hope this helps. Keep us updated.

-V

 

[gunkulator]

There are many good suggestions here. The ones that bear repeating are:

CxxC spacing: Sorry, no more size 20 cities all with their own terrain. The distance corruption will kill you. CxxC also allows you to reinforce a city from its neighbor(s).

Workers: You almost can't get enough of these little critters. Mine the grass first. Irrigate the plains next. Build roads on both. Don't bother with any other terrain until much later. Hook up those resources, however. Your goal is to have a tile ready on the turn that each city grows to need it.

Improvements: You don't need them. Really. I'm serious. Ok, you need a few barracks but for most of the Ancient Age, your shields are better spent on workers and military units. Another advantage of CxxC is that you don't need temples to fill in the culture gaps.

Contacts: Another thing you can't get enough of. Build those curraghs, warriors, scouts and *send them out*. You need this for:

Trade: No way can you expect to discover every tech first. You *must* trade with the AI. The right way to do it is to research one tech first that the AI tends to ignore and then trade it around with all your contacts. You can get 3 or 4 techs for every 1 that you research. If they don't have a tech, get gpt deals so that the Ai is effectively funding your research.

Wonders: Get out of the habit of depending on these, especially the ancient era ones. They are horribly expensive and they all expire (except pyramids). Those shields are much better spent on:

Military: War, baby. That's the name of the game. 300 shields can build 10 horsemen that are more than enough to capture the city that built the pyramids. Wars are also good to pick up luxuries and resources, or simply to cripple your neighbors' growth.

Government: Quite simple, really. Despotism is fine for the ancient age. Republic for the rest of the game. If you're religious and have a big empire, Communism will easily be the most productive gov't. Wars under Republic should be kept short and goal oriented, however it leads to the need to use:

The luxury slider: Much much better than entertainers or improvements. Both sap your production. You need shields to crank out your war machine. However, if it climbs into 40% or 50%, it's time to make peace.

 

[Oddible]

Question - what kinds of losses are you experiencing - that will help to explain things a lot.

I don't do CxxC - mostly CxxxC for city placement. I love my first ring of cities around my capitol to be massive as they're the big producers. CxxC hurts you later in the game because you don't have huge cities to build the larger cost items (though you may not need to since you'll have already won by then). I don't build too many ancient wonders - maybe Great Library or Lighthouse. The first wonders I really shoot for are the ones at the end of the middle ages, Smiths is a biggie. Then Theory of Evolution / Hoover.

The workers suggestions cannot be stressed enough. You need at least a worker for every city. A worker is often the first thing I'll build in a city. Then Temple, then Market. Barracks are not something I would build early as they will sap your treasury. If you are getting smacked around by the AI, build a bunch of warriors early so you have a large army (you can disband them later if you don't want to upgrade). Temples and Markets make your people happy so they are essential but maybe not first - workers and warriors. Courts in cities beyond the first ring (and later in the game in your first ring cities too - you don't need a court in your capitol).

Big suggestion. Read Succession Games or better yet join one. Joining a SG that's playing on Regent or even Monarch will dramatically improve your game - you'll get great advice from all involved.

Succession Games Threads

 

[The Omega]

Since so many people are asking, I'll give an example of the type of thing that seems to keep happening to me.

i'll start out, Be doing pretty good, maybe even have some good terrain (this rarely happens to me. The RNG has cursed ever member of my family that plays civ3), and I'll be doing pretty good, but then either A)I'll have spent too much on settling, and I'll be invaded and completely crushed OR B) I won't have spent enough and I'll get surrounded, not able to get communications with any other civs, can't buy the techs that the civs surrounding me are buying, they won't let me get a right of passage, and I'm not large enough to support a largescale war to break through.

 

[casual_moose]

Yes, trust these guys, everything said here is GOOD advice.

Workers, I use to play with not too many, then I got into a bad game, wasn't doing all to good. I then started getting bored and, lo and behold, built a bunch of workers to pass the time. I set them all to work, and, suddenly, my game improved drastically. Just like said before, irrigate plains, mine grassland (Some exceptions, of course) et voila!

The stuff said about wonders, I read that guid that someone talked about earlier that suggested not building many wonders, I tried it out, and its true. I think its only said about once before, but with the shields it can be used to build a military and capture the city! Better yet, maybe two! Three even! Where does it stop? (Probably around 10, but, bah.)

Anyways, basically, trust the guys here at CFC. There great.

 

[Volstag]

Since so many people are asking, I'll give an example of the type of thing that seems to keep happening to me.

i'll start out, Be doing pretty good, maybe even have some good terrain (this rarely happens to me. The RNG has cursed ever member of my family that plays civ3), and I'll be doing pretty good, but then either A)I'll have spent too much on settling, and I'll be invaded and completely crushed

Hmmmm... based on your comments, it sounds like you either place WAY too much emphasis on settling, or not enough. I don't know if this is happening to you, but... If Civs make demands during the early game (e.g. "Give me X gold as tribute"), it's often better, in the long run, to simply give them what they want (within reason, of course). Return at a later date to grind them into dust. I know that was a big mental block for me... and it resulted in a lot of early wars I couldn't afford to fight. While rapid expansion is the key, do what you can to maintain somewhat of a military presence. Focus on offensive units as opposed to defensive units.

OR B) I won't have spent enough and I'll get surrounded, not able to get communications with any other civs, can't buy the techs that the civs surrounding me are buying, they won't let me get a right of passage, and I'm not large enough to support a largescale war to break through.

A breakthrough might not be necessary. Simply grabbing, and holding, a handful of cities might do the trick. Set realistic strategic objectives, and go for them with single-minded zeal. Sue for peace when you're happy with your gains. Rest, relax and reformulate. When the time comes, engage in another limited war w/ the objective of siezing key resources/cities/luxes. Basically: grind down your opponents bit by bit, until you can afford to engage in a full scale war of conquest. Sooner or later you will achieve the breathing room that you want -- hopefully.

-V

 

[The Omega]

Hmmmm... based on your comments, it sounds like you either place WAY too much emphasis on settling, or not enough. I don't know if this is happening to you, but... If Civs make demands during the early game (e.g. "Give me X gold as tribute"), it's often better, in the long run, to simply give them what they want (within reason, of course). Return at a later date to grind them into dust. I know that was a big mental block for me... and it resulted in a lot of early wars I couldn't afford to fight. While rapid expansion is the key, do what you can to maintain somewhat of a military presence. Focus on offensive units as opposed to defensive units.



A breakthrough might not be necessary. Simply grabbing, and holding, a handful of cities might do the trick. Set realistic strategic objectives, and go for them with single-minded zeal. Sue for peace when you're happy with your gains. Rest, relax and reformulate. When the time comes, engage in another limited war w/ the objective of siezing key resources/cities/luxes. Basically: grind down your opponents bit by bit, until you can afford to engage in a full scale war of conquest. Sooner or later you will achieve the breathing room that you want -- hopefully.

-V

1. Yes, I know, I do have a problem with focusing on one thing too much....On the AI threatening me, what seems to happen is that I'm so insignificant, that they don't even bother to notice me!

2. I do that sort of war alot, but what I want is being able to get a path to the other side of their land so I can contact other civs, since the AI won't give me communications for anything.

 

[Mescalhead]

My capital is usually the only city producing settlers. I build two units for scouting, a military unit to hang 'round the capital. I then build granary then my capital proceeds to warrior or spearman/settler until I am satisfied. While my capital is busy, my other cities build temple/worker/granary if on fresh water/barracks/military units for early invasion of my nearest neigbor. I will always have either my second or third city (whatever has better food and production, to start right away on barracks and units. Always take time to build workers. Have at least 10 to 15 workers before the medieval age.

Another thing, pay attention to trading techs. Try and broker the best deals, talk with everyone at least every other turn. Stay up to date. Paying out 2 to 3 gpt early usually is acceptable by me.