Winning on the higher difficulties?

[tuore]

While waiting for Civ5, I've been playing Civ4 BTS for about a week now relatively non-stop (after having a pause of about 6 months). I have no trouble winning on the first three difficulties, but it always seems that when I choose noble, the AI slowly goes ahead on me in the technologies. I almost managed to win a space race victory (1 part missing before launch), when Gandi won a cultural victory in 2023.

So, any tips on how to win with the higher difficulties? I think the main reason is that then you need to "plan your game" more, as in choosing early on which techs to take, which goal to take etc.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

2023 is too late to be winning a space victory.

Sounds like you aren't trading techs with the AI.

 

[Derakon]

CIV has a bunch of snowball effects. Getting techs earlier means you can make better units sooner which means you can take out your rivals which means you get their cities which improves your tech rate which means you get techs earlier, etc. Or, getting techs earlier means you can build better buildings sooner which improves your tech rate etc. Hooking up that corn field next to your capital as soon as possible will have long-term effects on how quickly you can grow that capital and therefore big effects on its productivity.

In general, CIV gives big advantages to players who are efficient. Your workers should focus on building important improvements and not wasting their movement. Your cities should focus on building only the buildings they need, and on building units (especially more workers) otherwise. Your techs should be chosen based on your short-term goals and what your economy needs. You should aim for tech advantages over your neighbors and then roll over their outdated militaries. And so on.

Check out the strategy forum for the Nobles Club threads, which should help you with more specifics in beating Noble. It's a big jump over the previous difficulties, where you can pretty much do whatever and the AI will generally leave you alone.

For reference, when I go for space victories, I'm generally building spaceship parts by 1910 or so, and I'm quite sure others can do far better. Space victories are all about teching like crazy and then having a few good production cities to pump out the parts in 5-10 turns each.

 

[tuore]

2023 is too late to be winning a space victory.

Sounds like you aren't trading techs with the AI.

I am trading with them. And yes, the 2023 went a little late, since I first tried to do a cultural victory, but realized that I was really close to the spaceship techs.

 

[Saxif]

On Noble you shouldn't have any trouble expanding to 10 cities. You should put alot of cottages down on maybe 5 of them, have 1 running lots of food for great people, have 2 - 4 as production, if you do not need units produce gold tp up your tech rate and they can churn out wonders. Also build multiplier buidlings asap, Libaries, Uni's, put down Acadameys (my spelling has gone tits up) and as soon as you can produce Oxford, the Steelworks or Wallstreet, don't mess around start building them somewhere!!

Sax.

 

[obsolete]

So, any tips on how to win with the higher difficulties?

Stop reading those terrible IGN walkthrough/playthroughs...

 

[Casi]

Well what i found helping me as a starter...
try the extremes.
Like: take an awesome leader for teching like Lizzy or Mansa, focus on building cottages and stuff, scientists, and see how far you can get ahead on still low diff. like noble or prince.

Then to get a feeling for the opposite, take a decent warmonger and build/chop out units en masse, and unleash havoc on other civs.
Civ is a game where you see the full potential on strategies only when you go for the extremes imo

 

[Saxif]

I agree with Casi. I don't like it but I find I have more luck winning when I got wtfpwnage with a military leader than I do with a techy leader. Though you can defo out-tech the AI at Noble, you just got to see how, generally spamming cottages so at least 3 out of 4 tiles on a city have a cottage.

Also for every 4 cities you have, make sure there are 6 workers running around. Play a new game, try and get 8 cities bt 5AD and a tech rate of at least 75 beakers, aim for that and everything else will follow imo

Sax.

 

[Siran]

While waiting for Civ5, I've been playing Civ4 BTS for about a week now relatively non-stop (after having a pause of about 6 months). I have no trouble winning on the first three difficulties, but it always seems that when I choose noble, the AI slowly goes ahead on me in the technologies. I almost managed to win a space race victory (1 part missing before launch), when Gandi won a cultural victory in 2023.

So, any tips on how to win with the higher difficulties? I think the main reason is that then you need to "plan your game" more, as in choosing early on which techs to take, which goal to take etc.

Go over to the Strategy and Tips section of the board. Read through some of the games there. People are playing at a higher difficulty and post there progress through the games including their ideas of what to do next and screenshots. Read some threads where other people asked for help. Look for the Nobles Club, this is a series of games, played by a lot of people. Try the game yourself and than compare what other people did. Or read first and try to use the same strategy. That's lot more difficult than most people think.
Last but not least you can post your own game there. Start one, take a screenshot of your starting place and post your thoughts. Give people a day or something like that to read and comment. Read people's suggestions and start the game. Play for 50 turns, take some screenshots post your ideas of what to do, where to settle and those screenshots in your thread. Give people another day to comment. Rinse and repeat. If you get bored, try another game in the meantime but leave the one you play on the board alone until all the comments are in.

Giving you pointers in the right direction without a game from you to look at is difficult.

Build more workers! 1,5 workers per city are the number people seem to agree on. Don't automate them. Improve the special resources around your cities. Don't work unimproved tiles. Don't let cities grow until there angry. You don't get anything out of these angry people. Stop the city from growing or whip them away. Don't build every building in every city. Don't build every wonder. Trading with the AIs is good. If you go to war build enough units to conquer the civ your attacking or at least to put a good dent into them.

You really should go to the S & T section of the board. People over there are winning on deity. Me, I'm still struggling on monarch. So these people know a lot more than I and can really help you improve.

 

[Notenoughtrebs]

Are you running slavery? Do so. I do until democracy comes, except for caste during golden ages.

And use the slavery. Whip granaries, lighthouses, libraries (especially if you have representation) and courthouses.