Game speed difficulty

[LDiCesare]

I've started my first marathon game and believe t's far easier than normal or epic.
This may be due to the settings I used (a small, a bit crowded map), but I do not think so:
Why would Marathon be easier than normal?
I was able to take out an enemy capital before they could build effective defenders, because it took them more time to find the needed techs than it would have on normal or even epic. Thus an early war looks easier to me on Marathon.
I tend to think epic is already easier and more interesting than normal because you can march an army and wage war before the army has become obsolete.
Furthermore, the ai gets free units (I'm playing at monarch), but these archers won't make such a difference because you have more time to build units, so it's easier to offset the small advantage given the ai in the early game.
Did I just make a good start or has someone else noticed that it's easier to win on Marathon than on normal?

[Jaybe]

While Marathon has triple the number of turns as Normal, unit training takes only twice as many hammers. This allows for more warfare, which magnifies the player's advantages over the AI (assuming the player knows how to war).

Personally, if you want a GOOD marathon game, make it HUGE and somewhat crowded, not small! Currently playing one with 15 opponents.

[Solver]

Marathon is out of proportion with the other speeds. On Marathon, training units is disproportionally cheap. So if you have a technological edge, waging war becomes easier.

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by Solver
Marathon is out of proportion with the other speeds.

Epic is also in that regard. 150% the number of Normal turns while unit training takes only 125%.

[Solver]

But the train/research/grow speeds are proportionate. The number of turns doesn't matter that much per se.

[xxFlukexx]

I've only played one marathon game (omg that early game on marathon is brutal) and it was very easy. I mean once I got assembly line I just plowed through people with my mass horde of Infantry. Machine guns, artillery, blah blah dead. On normal at least one AI would've been able to shoot for tanks and flight and heck even mech infantry before I got to them.

[Urban Ranger]

Does that mean Marathon is better for warmongering computer players as well?

[dh_epic]

Nope. The player benefits more from more war than the AI does by definition. The AI just isn't as good at war.

[Badtz Maru]

I noticed this as well - the first time when I played a Quick game. I had a lot more trouble keeping up with the AI than I usually did. I think this is due to a couple of things.

First, you have less time to maneuver your units, meaning wars tend to be quick. If you don't accomplish your goals in 5 or so turns of fighting on Quick, the AI is likely to upgrade their defenders and any tech advantage your attacking army has will diminish. Since the AI is not as good at warfare, on slower settings the player has time to pull ahead - once you have a grasp of the combat engine, you can easily beat civilizations with armies twice the size of yours. You don't have time to outthink the AI, and the defender will be able to upgrade his troops with the frequent tech advances while the attacker has to return to his land to upgrade.

Secondly, as new techs and resources become available more frequently on faster settings, you need to micromanage every turn to make sure you get the most of them. Minor mistakes you make will have larger negative consequences - if I forget to switch to Representation after building the Pyramids for 5 turns on Marathon, I haven't lost THAT much potential research/happiness. Five turns of boosted research and happiness on Quick can easily add up to an extra tech. Forget to get started on Plantations after getting Calendar and wasted worker turns on roads when they could have brought in happiness and money? Not notice that your neighbor is offering to trade you that tech you need for a few turns? All these things are going to hurt your game much more on Quick.

I think to be effective at Quick, you'd have to devote so much more extra attention to getting the most out of each turn that the game would take longer to play than Normal. Likewise, Epic and Marathon games give you time to figure out what you need to do, and diminish the significance of minor mistakes.