EU3 vs Civ 4

[ZEE]

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[Theben]

You seemed to enjoy Civ4 not too long ago. What's changed?

[LDiCesare]

every damn game is the exact same no matter the map type

I tend to disagree.
Pangaea + aggressive ai != archipelago without.
Some map types really provide for different experiences (pangaea, archipelago, Terra, lakes, and some map scripts like creation.py).
I suppose the game may look the same because the difficulty level makes your strength or handicap wrt other players is too important for the map type difference to be seen.
Difficulty levels are probably too different (you may want to mod something between monarch and prince for instance).

[ZEE]

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[Heraclitus]

Re: EU3 vs Civ 4

Originally posted by AAHZ

Civ 4 = ridiculous difficulty handicaps, horrible AI leading to said difficulty differences, every damn game is the exact same no matter the map type, cant play for more than 1 hour unless i MAKE the game interesting by a war or whatever, Killing REXing was the biggest mistake they ever made, I could go on forever...

I can understand this, you should get into Diplo gaming. Its a unique experience it feels like MP 2.0, you really feel like the head of an empire. For 3-8 moths a whole world you can be a part of springs to life, always fresh always unpredictable.


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the coast of France. I watched lasers glitter in the dark over Machu Pichu. All those ... moments will be lost in time, like tears...in rain.

[TriMiro]

I was bored playing Civ IV after some time,but then I started playing Rhye's and Fall of Civilizations MOD. This is not a mod, this an entirely different game on its own. I have played t almost exclusively for the past 8 months and I cannot stop. I have hard time coming back to regular games after playing RFC.

[Verrucosus]

To be fair, AAHZ conceded in the opening post that he still enjoys MP (which diplo gaming is a part of, isn't it?), so the focus should be on single player.

I'm not sure whether actual or perceived design flaws have more to do with boredom than the familiarity that sets in when you get to know a game really well. Even if a game is not boring in itself, it's easy to become bored with it at some point.

The excitement of my very first game of Civ1 is something that I will never get again from a Civ game. Every new edition becomes familiar even in its nuances after a while and for some people, the moment they have understood how a game works is the moment to move on. For those who stay, Civ4 offers enough replayability (random maps, optional rules, scenarios, etc.) to be enjoyed over and over again. Roleplaying and obsession with micromanagement both help, but once you are bored with a game you will probably lack the patience for either. With me, boredom has a tendency to reinforce itself: When I cannot be bothered to attend to all the little details of the game, I tend to play faster, automate stuff and start making routine choices with the unsurprising result of having a boring game.

I suppose that most players who are invested enough in a game to visit sites like this one will inevitably become bored at some point. In my case, switching the scenery always does the trick. If EU3 is not enough of a change for you (and I agree that it's far less replayable than Civ4 because of the fixed map alone), why not return to the old classics? Because they are "dated"? You can REX to your heart's content and go crazy with caravans in Civ2, balance the centralised economy of Imperialism, reenact Gettysburg or look in awe at Caesar III's marketladies. All of these are still fun in my opinion. Find a different game that holds your interest for a while and come back to Civ4 after two or three months.

I have not said much about EU3 because I'm not that familar with it myself yet. I am sorry if I seem to have changed the topic. I'm afraid the overstatements in the opening post ("horrible AI", "broken", "complete lack of effort") do not lend themselves to a productive discussion of the games' merits and flaws.

Now, back to my current Civ1 game with the Egyptians (King level, just to have some more room for fun).

[ZEE]

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[Alexander I]

You could try Crusader Kings. It's like EU set in the Middle Ages, but with a lot of the boring micromanagement streamlined.

More wars, and characters with individual traits.

[Supr49er]

Originally posted by Alexander I
You could try Crusader Kings. It's like EU set in the Middle Ages, but with a lot of the boring micromanagement streamlined.

More wars, and characters with individual traits.

Is Crusader Kings turn based or real time?

[Alexander I]

Originally posted by Supr49er

Is Crusader Kings turn based or real time?

Real Time, like EU.

I don't think Paradox could pull off a turn-based strategy game. Too many factions.

[Hauptman]

I've been playing EU3 nonstop for a few weeks now...

Playing my second game at the moment, completely different from the first. And I am on the edge of my seat. Boring? Only if you let it be. Sure it has boring periods, but thats why they let you speed it up. But when everything falls apart and you have to fight for your life, thats not boring. Plus you never know when it's coming. Just last night I had 2 of the 4 european super powers contest a "will the throne" event at the same time! I tell you that wasnt boring. In case you where wondering, I won. Poland is now my vassal. The east is secure. My little 10 province Brandenburg beat back Austria AND Poland/lithuania at the same time for teh win!~

CIV. Well I feel like I have mastered the AI. I do know what when where it's going to do. Not much of a challenge left in it, BUT I still love it. Never call it boring, but I did need a break from it.

[LDiCesare]

If you want a good strategy game that doesn't look like the same thing when you play it again, you could try Dominions 3 over at www.shrapnelgames.com. It's got outdated graphics and is mostly about MP (pbem or network). But it is huge.

As for mods, Rhye's feels too contrived to me. You MUST play the civ the way it was intended else the game punishes you. Too bad if you think Rome should conquer Spain before Gaul, or want to raise the difficulty level and play Babylon.
Fall from Heaven II is a great mod to give a try if you like fantasy.

[Theben]

The only thing that kept civ2 alive so long was the mods and scenarios. Playing the basic game in itself is extremely boring, to the point that if I do I only play OCC games, so it doesn't take too long.

[ZEE]

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