What victory do you usually go for and what is the easiest (for you)?

[Windwalker]

I've only been playing on chieftain and warlord levels (Civ 3 is my first civ game, so i'm ramping it up slowly), and I tend to go for domination/conquest victories, as they seem to be the most satisfying (and are attainable for me at this level). However, I've had an extremely hard time doing conquest/domination by 2050 when there are multiple continents (on warlord), and it seems much easier to do when it is a pangea-style map. I have not even come close to a cultural victory (I got to 14600 on one of my cities once, though I was not going for it really at the beginning). I imagine at higher difficulty levels, the conquest-type victories become very hard to impossible, especially with multiple continents. So I'm curious, what do you big boys usually do on the harder levels? Is conquest still possible with multiple continents? Or is the tech race/diplomacy option the best way of actually achieving victory?

Of course, I'm going to try all the victory conditions at all the difficulty levels eventually, but I'm curious to hear what you diehard civ-types think

- Windwalker

 

[Beamup]

Well, I'm hardly a great expert, but here's my $0.02. Domination and conquest aren't exactly my thing, I'm more of a peaceful builder. For me, diplomatic victory seems impossible even when I spend the entire game greasing palms and smashing the enemies of my chosen friends. So, my victories so far have all been either culture or space race. Space seems to be the easier of these to me, since you only have to be about 5-10 turns (not advances) ahead in tech to be more or less guaranteed to get the thing built first, assuming you've been nurturing your industrial production.

Edit: oops, forgot to mention I haven't won on anything higher than regent yet.

 

[Ironikinit]

Diplomatic or space race.

 

[Arathorn]

I've not won diplomatically yet, but that's more of a lack of trying, I think, than a lack of ability to do so.

Which victory type depends on the map type. As you've noted, with pangea maps the militaristic wins are easier. Space race is always a good fallback win position.

Cultural wins are easiest on the extreme maps -- tiny maps for 20,000 in one city and huge maps for the 100,000 win route. Both are eminently doable and easiest on the extreme map sizes. They're certainly possible on more normal maps but less likely.

Even on archipelogo maps and hard difficulty levels, conquest/domination is definitely attainable well before 2050. I've not had a game get out of the early 1900's myself and I'm about to launch in the 1500's in my current deity game.

HTH,
Arathorn

 

[Windwalker]

Originally posted by Arathorn
I've not won diplomatically yet, but that's more of a lack of trying, I think, than a lack of ability to do so.

Which victory type depends on the map type. As you've noted, with pangea maps the militaristic wins are easier. Space race is always a good fallback win position.

Cultural wins are easiest on the extreme maps -- tiny maps for 20,000 in one city and huge maps for the 100,000 win route. Both are eminently doable and easiest on the extreme map sizes. They're certainly possible on more normal maps but less likely.

Even on archipelogo maps and hard difficulty levels, conquest/domination is definitely attainable well before 2050. I've not had a game get out of the early 1900's myself and I'm about to launch in the 1500's in my current deity game.

HTH,
Arathorn

Well I guess I have a lot to learn then! Launching in the 1500's? Geez how many poor laborers had to die for you to do that?

- Windwalker

 

[Shaitan]

Originally posted by Beamup
For me, diplomatic victory seems impossible even when I spend the entire game greasing palms and smashing the enemies of my chosen friends. So, my victories so far have all been either culture or space race.

Just before you finish the UN, sign Mutual Protection Pacts with everybody except your chief rival for the UN. Declare war on your rival to get the MPP's activated. When the vote comes up he will vote for himself. Everybody else will vote for you. You don't necessarily have to actually go to war. Just having the MPP's will get your allies to vote for you if they don't also have one with him.

That said, I usually win by conquest. Cultural victory is almost impossible at the higher levels unless you start taking down the other high culture civs. If you can do that anyway, why not encourage their conversion to your culture a bit more "forcefully"? The UN and Space Race are both good fallbacks but the game tends to drag for me by this time so I'll usually start instigating world wars before I get bored.

That also said, I usually don't win. I've been playing on diety and it's rough. If I can get past the middle ages in a strong position I'll generally win it. If not, I'm either dead or soon to be dead. (The second one is what usually happens)

 

[Sublime]

I have almost exclusively won via Space Race on the higher difficulty levels. On lower levels I had enough time to win via culture, conquest, domination, score. I haven't yet won on diplomacy, but it seems doable - I just have to modify my strategy to not killing everyone. Oh, and by the way... Launching in 1500 seems LATE to me on diety. Usually the tech is so rushed that the AI will be ready to launch and/or call for a UN vote in the 1300s. I have had the AI launch as early as 1270. My previous game on diety with standard map I launched in 1380 and was only 1-2 turns ahead of France.

-Sublime

 

[Dragon Warrior]

i always go for a military victory but the enemies would give in to my culture before i finnished them off. That is untill i turned off cultural victory.

 

[Moulton]

I have won a couple of each. Culture seems harder at higher levels, unless you select your map size and civ and opponents to aim for it specifically. since they build culture fast also. I can get ahead of them, but not twice as much, although I am trying for that at this time.
This game is approaching 2050, and havent started on the space race yet.... not from lack of trying. And I am ahead in tech by about 5....
Maybe it is easier to get ahead fast in tech if you have more civ's to trade with. I started with 8. Too much war, most of it not of my doing, but war is costly.
For a cultural win, it is easier with a large land mass--ie enough roome to build many cities.
I am still not double the chinese, and looks like I am not likely to be, this may be my first by having top score.

 

[Beamup]

Originally posted by Shaitan

Just before you finish the UN, sign Mutual Protection Pacts with everybody except your chief rival for the UN. Declare war on your rival to get the MPP's activated. When the vote comes up he will vote for himself. Everybody else will vote for you. You don't necessarily have to actually go to war. Just having the MPP's will get your allies to vote for you if they don't also have one with him.

Been there, done that. Even the civs I've been close allies with for centuries and giving lots of gifts to, and now we have an MPP and we're at war with the other candidate, ALWAYS vote for the other candidate.

 

[Jimcat]

In 2.5 months of Civ3, I've only actually won one game. That was a diplomatic victory which I won as Babylon on the huge Earth map.

I think that geography is the biggest factor in winning a diplomatic victory. My suggestions for those who want to win the UN vote:

* Huge map, plenty of oceans, maximum number of civs.

* Explore early and often. Get contact with everyone as soon as possible.

* Establish trading relationships and keep them for a long time.

* Fight as little as possible. Try to be in the lead culturally.

Basically what you're doing is establishing a reputation as a friendly, peaceful, yet powerful civilization. When other civs consider the prospect of you becoming the leader of the free world, you want them to think, "Yeah, he'll do right for us" rather than "Over my dead body!"

Having a lot of civilizations on faraway continents means that you can establish a lot of friendly relationships. Conversely, the fewer civilizations there are in the world, the greater the chance that you'll have fought with most of them by the time you build the UN. The civ most likely to vote for you is one with whom you've never been at war.

When I won in my Babylonian game, the Zulus were the only one of the sixteen civs with whom I'd ever fought. My rival for the vote was Egypt. The vote tally: Babylon 14, Egypt 1, one abstention (the Zulus of course).