Plunging into BTS

[Huorn]

Hi guys,

I've been playing Vanilla for some time now, and am quite familiar with the basics. I play Noble games and win most of them by Space Race or Culture Vic. (No I'm not a war mongerer).

I just read through the manual for BTS, bought it this weekend (excited!), and I feel like this will be a whole new game, with new strategies to play by.

Coping with:
- a whole new spies game
- corporations
- vasal states (when, how, why,...???)
- tons of other stuff

Off course, it is, like the title says, a matter of plunging in (this evening!), but will my normal strategy of dominating the AI by tech tree research or boosting Culture still work? Or will I have to rethink my strategy all together, due to the new items and rules involved in BTS?

Maby a last question to throw upon: How does anyone with a tech tree fetish (I MUST be first in that race, can't help it), win on domination or by wiping the others out??

Looking forward to some insight from my (in any case: far more than me) expert collegues on this forum.

[johnmcd]

BtS makes everything better really. Doesn't require huge changes in direction.

The tech front and how to be first when warring is an issue for me too, I love to be first in tech. I think the key thing to doing both is to make sure you are not overly dependant on trade for your own commerce and then simply wipe out the next best in tech over and over again. If you keep reducing the total amount of commerce in the world you will keep reducing the tech competitiveness of the rest of the planet!

[MoonWolf]

If you are well enough ahead in tech, you can dedicate a few of your cities to unit-production just keep others away or maybe make their life miserable by running some guerilla wars. Just remember that on levels prince and above, you may just as well experience som large invasion forces.

[TriMiro]

With proper management (both war and peace), you can win domination victory and be the first in the tree all the time (on Prince).

If you develop your economy well, you should not have problems.

Moving from Vanilla to BtS, beware of the AI. The computer is generally much smarter. That was the biggest challenge for me.

[wodan11]

Make sure you use the in-game update to get to version 3.13, and then update to Bhruic's patch http://apolyton.com/forums/showthrea...hreadid=170826

[joncnunn]

Oh and I personally find BTS easier than Warlords. It could be the AI doing the wrong things with the new features to BTS.

[Hauptman]

Originally posted by joncnunn
Oh and I personally find BTS easier than Warlords. It could be the AI doing the wrong things with the new features to BTS.

No you just got better...

The only dumb things that effect the ui in BTS over warlords are spy and corporate CEO spammage. Genrally the AI's have been much more to contend with now, specially the SoDs that even backwards nations throw at you.

[Hauptman]

Re: Plunging into BTS

Originally posted by Huorn
Hi guys,

I've been playing Vanilla for some time now, and am quite familiar with the basics. I play Noble games and win most of them by Space Race or Culture Vic. (No I'm not a war mongerer).

I just read through the manual for BTS, bought it this weekend (excited!), and I feel like this will be a whole new game, with new strategies to play by.

Coping with:
- a whole new spies game
- corporations
- vasal states (when, how, why,...???)
- tons of other stuff

Off course, it is, like the title says, a matter of plunging in (this evening!), but will my normal strategy of dominating the AI by tech tree research or boosting Culture still work? Or will I have to rethink my strategy all together, due to the new items and rules involved in BTS?

Maby a last question to throw upon: How does anyone with a tech tree fetish (I MUST be first in that race, can't help it), win on domination or by wiping the others out??

Looking forward to some insight from my (in any case: far more than me) expert collegues on this forum.

If you dominate evry AI in research, bump up the level, you should always have 1 or 2 equals (if not better) to compete with, makes the game more interesting.

[Wiglaf]

Originally posted by Hauptman


No you just got better...

The only dumb things that effect the ui in BTS over warlords are spy and corporate CEO spammage. Genrally the AI's have been much more to contend with now, specially the SoDs that even backwards nations throw at you.

This is bull ****, considering BTS made the default AI far more passive and took away many of its cheats.

[rah]

I assume that means you don't check the aggressive AI box.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by rah
I assume that means you don't check the aggressive AI box.

Well, he did say default AI............

ACK!

[The Priest]

Not sure I agree with the implication that aggressive AI is harder. Aggressive AI can just make the AI waste more of its energies on units and war, while you storm through to a tech and production/research base lead. "Fight among yourselves while I win". Not always of course, but I think it beings different play not easier.

[Supr49er]

Well at least the AI will use its navy now, even if it will often launch "suicide" amphibious attacks directly against your coastal cities. But I haven't seen much use of Privateers.

[The Priest]

Yes my advice would be:

1. Don't get distracted by the new things like spies. Play as before and watch for the new opportunities. Its an evolution not a revolution.
2. Don't make assumptions about what the AI will or won't do. If they are based on previous versions, half of them will be wrong. In the past you 'knew' the AI wouldn't do X or Y - e.g. amphibious attack - work on the assumption that it might until you have played enough BTS to know.

[Wiglaf]

Originally posted by Tuberski


Well, he did say default AI............

ACK!

Tuberski