What Game Modes Do You Use

[Miserable Old Git]

Now we've got used to the idea of game modes, I'm interested in how they're viewed. For my own part, I have used Tech and Civic Shuffle every game since it was released, as it provides variety to every game and doesn't make development paths predictable and semi-fixed. I also like the Barbarian Clans mode for the city states: the ones that get to live tend to be clustered round the poles, and allows there to be plenty of CSs left towards the late game (in normal games without the mode, most of the city states disappear to AI conquest).

I can't see myself playing any of the other modes: they make too fundamental a change to the game machinery.

Feel free to vote...

 

[Unmitigated Gaul]

Dramatic ages is the most fun for me. It is kind of a weird mode because it makes the AIs life worse than it does the player, but it has really thrown a wrench in my plans many times.

Having to scramble for golden ages and then, if they don’t work out, fighting civil wars/battles of royal succession are a lot of fun. Adds a lot of diversity to a science or culture game.

Heroes/Secret Societies were fun for a game or two but the yield boosts/benefits are just so high.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

Dramatic ages is the most fun for me. It is kind of a weird mode because it makes the AIs life worse than it does the player, but it has really thrown a wrench in my plans many times.

Having to scramble for golden ages and then, if they don’t work out, fighting civil wars/battles of royal succession are a lot of fun.

It's really funny how different we all are - Dramatic Ages is the mode I use the least as I find it horrible and as far away from fun as you can get!! I like to build my empire up and DA I find just really annoying lol.

 

[InsidiousMage]

Only use Societies but I'm probably going to stop using that one soon unless I'm going for a Diplo Victory. Haven't tried Barbarians but I feel no great urge to do so. Most of the mode feel like novelties that are interesting at first but don't really a lot of replay value because of the lack of depth most of the have. Even something like Societies is getting boring to me because of the lack of proper integration into the core game mechanics.

 

[UWHabs]

It's really funny how different we all are - Dramatic Ages is the mode I use the least as I find it horrible and as far away from fun as you can get!! I like to build my empire up and DA I find just really annoying lol.

My problem with the dramatic ages is that in all the times I've played with them, I've only once fell into a dark age in a game that I kept playing. Like, a couple of times I basically go dark and then that kills me enough to not continue to play. But I find in almost every game with it on, there's 1-2 AI who are completely and utterly wiped out by it, since if you get a couple civs nearby to each other who both go dark, the loyalty pressure from those free cities is just too much to handle.

So while it can be fun at times to see little clusters of free cities grow and develop, too often it seems to end up being that the free cities are the strongest civ in the game and it just makes it too easy to take on the AI. It really feels like the mode needs a true heroic age to balance it out - so like, if you go dark, you get a seriously tiny threshold for the next era, and if you hit that, then it should be like 1000 points of loyalty added to your empire, and basically any free city within 5 or 10 tiles of your empire should immediately get swept back. If you added that in, and basically had civs come out of the ashes, that would truly make the mode epic I think.

 

[Linklite]

1. Apocalypse - I played once, and didn't like it. I'm not a fan of the disasters anyway, and the soothsayer really didn't do much for me.
2. Secret Societies - I actually really like this one and almost always play with it on.
3. Tech and Civis Shuffle - Never played it. I can see its value for those who get stuck in their "optimal strategy", however, I still check the tree every time at the moment so it wouldn't do anything for me. Perhaps in thr future.
4. Dramatic Ages - Never played it. I struggle in the Classic anyway and I'm not a fan of losing lots of cities., so maybe when I improve I'll give it a go.
5. Heroes & Legends - I quite like it, particularly as it brings a bit more focus on the cultures of various civs. I play with it on most times.
6. Monopolies & Corporations - I quite like it, but it is incompatible with the CV, so I'll only have one or the other active, but I'll have at least one on.
7. Barbarian Clans - I really enjoy the concept, if I have Barbs on, I'll have this mode on.

 

[Unmitigated Gaul]

It's really funny how different we all are - Dramatic Ages is the mode I use the least as I find it horrible and as far away from fun as you can get!! I like to build my empire up and DA I find just really annoying lol.

I have had some really frustrating moments with it, but I enjoy the historical immersive nature of it.

When reading history books and biographies, the great kings/queens that we play with in this game frequently had internal challenges to authority. They couldn’t spend all their time and energy projecting outward, as they had rebellions, plots, etc...

It does tend to eat the AIs lunch though.

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

All of them... Except maybe Apocalypse. I keep having an inner debate on whether I should or should not use it.

 

[Linklite]

All of them... Except maybe Apocalypse. I keep having an inner debate on whether I should or should not use it.

Simultaneously? How does that work out for you? I imagine it would be chaos, particularly Barbs + DA.

 

[TreVor_ish]

Simultaneously? How does that work out for you? I imagine it would be chaos, particularly Barbs + DA.

That's how I run my world!

 

[Taefin]

Dramatic ages gets so much better if you eliminate free city loyalty. I actually give free cities a -10 malus, which guarantees the border cities flip in 5 turns. Also turn up the rebellion proportion to 30-50%. This makes the dynamic more about cities rebelling to join a neighboring empire, and can really help a few AI grow. Definitely need to bump up the per-city penalty too so the player gets dark ages when playing wide. I’m currently doing a Zulu game and must have 40+ cities, Renaissance threshold was ~120 above last score which I’m only going to get with Taj Mahal. Also pairs well with Zees pacing mod so that lagging AI don’t slow down era profession.

Also agree that Tech shuffle is super fun, allows for random breakthroughs into advanced tech, but without the prescribed bee lining. Barbarians hasn’t felt too meaningful, but I’ve played pretty aggressive starts both games. Also after societies felt so unbalanced against AI, I had no interest in heroes.

 

[Kupe Navigator]

Once march update comes out I am thinking of putting all if them for a one game. It would be a fricken chaos!

 

[Sixty_Three]

I’ve tried each mode. The majority require that you learn new functionality, increasing game complexity. I can see how that might appeal to more experienced players than myself. But I’ll pass on them for now.

The exception is the “Tech and Civic Shuffle” mode, which mainly adds extra randomness to the game. It made me think of - and watch again - a few episodes.of the TV series “Connections”. The one presented by the science historian James Burke. Anyhow I like the way it can change your research strategy, increasing my involvement in the game.
The key is to know what’s needed to trigger eurekas or inspirations. Which is handy even if one hasn’t enabled this mode.

 

[nauberry]

I would love to sue dramatic ages, if the AI made any effort to retake their flipped cities. The games where I have used the mode, one continent turns into a continent of free cities, which causes all AI cities to join it. If the loyalty effect of the free cities was nerfed a bit, the mode would be fun!

 

[Abaxial]

I'm mildly surprised Dramatic Ages is as popular as it is. I like the basic mechanics of it, but it be much better if you still had normal ages as in the basic game. The city loss is fair enough, and I like the Golden Age cards - in the standard game I often feel the Golden Age dedicatons are underwhelming. There is a mod which I generally use which brings the city-loss-in-Dark-Ages mechanic into the basic game.

No surprises at only a few votes for Apocalypse mode. Constant repairs are not a lot of fun and soothsayers are just silly. The devs were scraping the barrel to think of something to put in, making the whole idea something that should never have left the drawing board.

 

[blackbutterfly]

No surprises at only a few votes for Apocalypse mode. Constant repairs are not a lot of fun and soothsayers are just silly. The devs were scraping the barrel to think of something to put in, making the whole idea something that should never have left the drawing board.

Apocalypse mode is great for desert and tundra civs & maps, cos the land can get crazy fertile with disasters. Not just volcanic soil, but tundra forests as well.

Play Apocalypse mode on TSL Europe as Russia. (Don't chop any tundra woods!)

 

[Leah and Rachael]

1. Apocalypse Mode: played once, never again. For me, it is WAY too frustrating. And I mean the constant micromanaging of repairing improvements. I actually like the disasters and how horrible it can get - if only there was a way to set cities and/or builders to auto repair after a disaster and thus save you the constant micro, it would be perfect in my books!

2. Secret Societies: for me, one of the top 3 game modes I always play with. I like having insane yields and it's really fun when you pull it off. I also like the way you get to pick only one and thus you give up the benefits of the rest

3. Tech and Civics Shuffle: this mode isn't for me. I get why some people like it, and it's actually a good mode. In fact, I think it comes closest to what I think the devs were going for - an optional mode that fundamentally changes your experience with it on.
It's just a personal preference. I played it once and I think it's a really good mode. Just not something that I like doing

4. Dramatic Ages: played about thrice, and it may be the best mode of the entire NFP! The desperation to get a Golden Age is amazing, I ended up getting just enough score for a Golden Age in two consecutive eras on the last turn before the era end, it was so nerve-wracking. I loved it! Another time I lost my cities without an army and had to completely change what my Civ was focusing on to regain them. I lost an entire era's worth of progress. I love such hiccups (which is why I think there's a great mode in Apocalypse)... I consider this a 'special' mode which I rarely play unless I want to have a particularly interesting experience

5. Heroes and Legends: the second 'always-on' mode I play with. I don't like the way they were presented (could have made them more 'mystical'). But they're so cool, and not always accessible - even if you get the hero you want - which is great

6. Monopolies and Corporations: the third of a trio of game modes I always play with on. The problem with this mode is the insane tourism monopolies give. Winning Culture using this mode on feels unearned

7. Barbarian Clans: sometimes on, sometimes off. It's not a bad mode at all. Depends on how I'm feeling

 

[kaspergm]

Currently, I use Monopolies and Barbarian mode, but I'm not too satisfied with either of them.

Monopolies needs urgent bug fixing of the tourism bug and the fact that AI doesn't improve resource. If/when those are fixed, I might continue using this mode, even though it doesn't add as much to the game as I had hoped to.

Barbarian mode I use mostly for the novelty at the moment. While the ideas are intriguing, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The idea of hiring/paying barbs early game is fun, except the gold cost is way beyond what I ever have available to use for something with such marginal result. The city state balance is completely off, although I've had a moderately succesful run by setting the number of initial city states very low.

As for the others, Secret Societies feels like running easier mode (lots of yields with little planning and drawbacks), Heroes feels like running super easy mode (get Sindbad, win), while Dramatic Ages actually has some fun elements but the lack of normal ages and the super powerful plug-and-switch element of the golden age cards is a downside.

 

[Deadly Dog]

I've used them all quite a bit and all too often too many simultaneously, except the Shuffle mode which I thought I would like turns out not so much. And the one I thought I would like the least, Dramatic Ages, is the one I use almost always. I've learned to avoid it on most Pangaea/Continents type maps. Fractal maps work well, though sometimes still get a dense pocket of cities that snowballs into an empire or anarchy. I also haven't played a Domination run since NFP, so have no idea how that would work.

Mainly I like having GA bonuses come as Policy cards, so my bonuses aren't locked in for an entire era but they do take up policy slots. But also I find I game era score less...I'm just always after more era score almost all the time.

Apocalypse I use sparingly now, as much as I enjoyed the disasters I found the soothsayers tedious to develop into actual useful mobile units.

There are key aspects of each mode that I like, and the 3 modes I would use all the time if they were less buggy/unbalanced are Dramatic Ages, Barbarians, and Monopolies and Corporations. I also like the SS and Heroes quite a bit for some zany fun, but both run the danger of giving me too many different things to focus on, and now that I've finally had a couple of runs with the Hermetic Order both those modes are going to be only used intermittently.

Also every once in a while load up all the modes at once, but usually a Water or Terra Map and I take Kupe or Harald so I can go hide somewhere with a bunch of CS's and just watch from a distance

 

[Wellfooled]

Where is the "I don't use any" voting option?

I've played around with all of the gamemodes and some have potential if they're ever fixed and balanced, but all and all they're not part of my regular games currently, because they're unusable by the AI, break the game's balance either by design or through glitches, or don't fit into the setting of Civ.

Though they still wouldn't be amazing, I would regularly use some if the AI could make use of the features. Otherwise I just feel like all gamemodes are just handing me a giant advantage over the AI and I don't want that. At the moment though the AI seems to me like it doesn't know how to utilize these features well. Sometimes turning on the gamemode even breaks the AI, like with monopoly and corporations.