What difficulty level will you play first?

[kingjon]

I have to start slow to get used to the game, should be Regent by tonight though.

 

[Sadan01]

I'll probably start noble or one lower. I hate getting half-way thru the game, doing really well and finding no resistance, winning on every side.... I do plan to turn on tutorial tips if there are any.

I think that is a good point. I will probably turn on or play the tutorial (if it is separate from an epic game) first instead of reading the manual. Who wants to read the damn manual when you could be playing civ? The manual can be read in other quiet "moments"...

I have similar goals, but I also plan on honing my skills so I can be competitive online as well

In that regard, you may be very lucky. I do playing on playing succession games but that is as far as "online" as I will go. I dont have many friends that actually LIKE Civ. They dont know what they are missing

 

[Danger Bird]

Noble. I will probably lose. In fact I hope I don't make it very far.

Why? Because one of the least realistic aspects of civ is that the player knows a lot about the future: what upgrades to what, what resources will appear, etc. So, in a way, the most satisfying and realistic games are the first few played, where the future is unknown.

I want to preserve that feeling as long as possible. So I'll play at the middle level that I think I'll eventually be able to do well at.

 

[Elhoim]

Always the middle one, always the middle one...

It was kinda difficult with six levels tough...

 

[DarkSchneider]

I used to play Civ II on the hardest difficulty setting and Civ III on the second hardest, which means my first game in Civ IV will have to at least be on the Noble setting, more likely Monarch. Then again, if Firaxis really did beef up the AI to the point where the computer is competant, they wouldn't necessarily need a huge production bonus to win, just alliances among themselves...

 

[shikaeshi]

Settler for me. I haven't played Civ 3 in at least a year...

 

[doronron]

Chieftan or Warlord, then work my way up. I'd like to be struggling in Emperor by the time the first expansion pack is ready and Diety (or Sid) before Civ V is released.