When to give up?

[CBR1100]

I've been playing each game with a higher dificulty level and the last one was Prince. After a couple of goes at it I won a game so now I'm the next level up (can't remember the name). I'm playing on a huge map with epic timescale and everything has gone OK with me getting lucky with the placement. I start on a continent all of my own that spans north/south so should have all the resouses I'll need. I got to the point of covering the whole continent with well placed cities without meeting too many other races. But now I've met them all and I'm miles down the technology lader and second from bottom on points. I've just spotted some of the AI's untils and they are grenadiers while I'm still using crossbow men.

I'm tempted to start again from the initial save but has anyone ever recovered from this low down. I'm miles ahead of anyone else in productivity and my culture score is through the roof. Any point in carrying on?

[Mergle]

You might be able to pull a cultural victory out of the hat if you can beeline to mass media while maintaining strong defence.

If you've gone down a different research path to them, you may be able to sell the same tech to every civ to lever yourself back into the tech race. I wouldn't worry too much about your placing in terms of score if you can get near tech and production parity. (Just don't go for a time win!)

[Enigma_Nova]

Someone overexpanded.

[Son of David]

Yep. Sad when that happens. You need to have at least one big period of building-consolidation after each major war - courthouses and markets, then banks and universities, etc.

[Enigma_Nova]

I find building the "Raze the city" and the "gift the crappy cities away in such a way as to make other AIs war with each-other" improvements are much better chan courthouses.

[Son of David]

I'm with Soren on that one - I dislike razing cities. If for nothing else they provide a welcome chance to get your troops into friendly territory to heal more quickly before attacking again - especially later in the game when cultural boundaries are hard to push back.

[Enigma_Nova]

Have a Friendly Open-Borders civ babysit them for you, then.

[Axxaer]

It depends;

If you are playing just to win easily, then you may as well restart.

If you are playing because you enjoy the game, enjoy developing you nation, enjoy interacting with the other civs and will enjoy a challenging rest-of-the-game, then you should definitely keep playing.

Just so long as you aren't solely playing to win, then you should definitely not restart from your position. Sounds like you are in a fairly strong position (not neccessarily relative to the ai but in general) and you just need to stop expanding completely until you have made significant development in your cities and technology - as Mergle suggested, you should try trading some techs to various civs as they may not possess the same ones. Just make sure you don't give them an even bigger advantage!

[Urban Ranger]

Quit when the game is no longer fun.

[Kriegsspieler]

I always quit when someone's tanks and mech infantry show up on my shores and all I've got to fight them with are grenadiers and riflemen!

Till then, it's fuin to see what I can make of the situation.

[Bill3000]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Quit when the game is no longer fun.

I guess the question is when it is no longer fun, though.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Bill3000
I guess the question is when it is no longer fun, though.

That is a very individual question.

Some people like to, uh, get challenged. Others prefer much lighter games.

[Enigma_Nova]

Originally posted by Bill3000
I guess the question is when it is no longer fun, though.

... The Forum can't answer that, we're not mind readers.

[mimi]

I figure now would be a good time.

[Ithkul2]

I favor a restart. Try some new tactics. Early war can give you a head start. I usually dont build cities, i just take them. Monark is a challenge tho.