Just heard about BtS - worth getting?

[BigOldCat]

Hi folks. I'm a longtime Civ player who hasn't had much time for gaming lately, and I just heard about the BtS expansion. The Big Question: is it worth getting? I don't have a lot of either money or time, so it would have to be enough of an improvement over vanilla Civ 4 that it would be worth opening the wallet and dusting off the mouse. Thoughts? Any pointers to overviews of BtS would be welcome as well. Thanks!

[jkp1187]

Short answer:

Yes. A lot of new additions. The AI is head-and-shoulders better than what it was before (not perfect, of course, but what is?) such that you will probably have to drop a level or two from where you were used to playing. If you get it, be sure to use Solver's Patch pending the release of the 3.13 patch (which is supposed to be out this week.)

Then again, if you don't have that much time for playing games, it might NOT be a good idea for you to buy...

[Nugog]

Originally posted by jkp1187
Then again, if you don't have that much time for playing games, it might NOT be a good idea for you to buy...

Very true!

BtS is a major jump from the original Civ 4 - would highly recommend getting it!



The AI improvements and espionage are the big features.

[PrinceBimz]

Re: Just heard about BtS - worth getting?

Originally posted by BigOldCat
Hi folks. I'm a longtime Civ player who hasn't had much time for gaming lately, and I just heard about the BtS expansion. The Big Question: is it worth getting? I don't have a lot of either money or time, so it would have to be enough of an improvement over vanilla Civ 4 that it would be worth opening the wallet and dusting off the mouse. Thoughts? Any pointers to overviews of BtS would be welcome as well. Thanks!

You answered your own question. You said, you are a longtime Civ player, which means BtS is a must buy. I for one highly recommend it!

[gdijedi7]

Beyond the Sword has a LOT of cool stuff.

Lincoln's back, ther's a space mod, Lincoln's back, now you can found Corporations, Lincoln's back, Several cool scenarios and mods, Lincoln's back... you get the picture.

On the other hand, you say you have very little time for gaming. Well, that means its up to you. I spent $30 to buy the game. You have to decide whether a decidely cool add on is worth $30...or however much it is where you live.

[Dis]

i'm waiting for the patch I think. I've gotten over my wow addiction, time to get addicted to this game again. .

but I heard about slow downs and such. I'm concerned about that. As it is, I can only realistically play the game up to standard sized map. Anything more and it takes too long between turns in the late game.

[LzPrst]

i say yes, worth it.

(havent noticed any slowing, except when blockading, but that changes in the patch)

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by Dis
.... As it is, I can only realistically play the game up to standard sized map. Anything more and it takes too long between turns in the late game.

Nonsense! You just need more patience in the late game.
Particularly with Aggressive AI turned on, there can be inter-AI wars taking up processor time.

[gdijedi7]

Actually, on my computer, Beyond the Sword works better and faster than Warlords.

[Willem]

Originally posted by gdijedi7
Lincoln's back, ...

Not only that, but so is Babylon.

[vilemerchant]

Originally posted by jkp1187
Short answer:
The AI is head-and-shoulders better than what it was before (not perfect, of course, but what is?) such that you will probably have to drop a level or two from where you were used to playing.

LOL are you kidding? The AI has lost so many bonuses and techs so SLOWLY now you definitely need to move UP a level just so the AIs will actually have the occasional tech to trade to you. Oh and if you play without agg-AI turned on the AI will barely build any defenses in the early game - so no early wars or you're basically cheating

[gdijedi7]

Originally posted by Willem


Not only that, but so is Babylon.

Yet another thing I love

[Willem]

Originally posted by vilemerchant
Oh and if you play without agg-AI turned on the AI will barely build any defenses in the early game - so no early wars or you're basically cheating

An early butt-kicking I recieved from both Shaka and Ragnar would dispute that statement. Shaka in particular. He had a city near my territory that I was building up troops to take out, and just a couple of turns before I could strike he hit me with a sizable number of Impis. Far more than the Axemen I had waiting near his border. And they kept coming after that. He easily took back the city of his I captured and went on to take one of mine.

[Kloreep]

If you don't have Warlords, I definitely recommend BTS. The combined changes make for a very different & improved game.

Personally, I think having Blake's improved AI is itself a reason to get BTS (though as someone else said, you have to decide what's worth your $30)

[Supr49er]

I believe it's a must have game. Be prepared to spend some time on the learning curve and review the forums often! The random events can be a lot of fun.