increasing AI competetiveness without increasing difficulty level?

[guermantes]

Hi,

I can usually win my BTS games on Prince these days when playing a random leader. I usually eat up a neighbour or two until midgame and then after consolidating my empire my production base is large enough to finish off the rest within 150 turns, either by space ship or domination/conquest. I play normal speed and large pangea and aggressive AI option turned on

The early game is always quite stressful though because I can really feel how I am behind the AI and I am desperately trying to catch up and launch my first war.

For that reason I am hesitant to move up one difficulty level because I would not like it to become even more anguishing to be behind in the early game. I would rather prefer a better challenge through-out the game instead.

So I wonder what would be the most difficult conditions to play under on Prince. Map type? Only aggressive trait AI civs (or would they then just war with each other and let me surpass them anyway)? Always war? Vassal states on or off?

Or should I try out a scenario?

Does the question make sense? Or do I have to move up a level?

Thanks!

[Krill]

Aggressive AI

[guermantes]

I already do play with aggessive AI. Or do you mean that I should only have aggressive civs around me?

[Krill]

Drop the ag Ai and go up to monarxch. When you are used to monarch turn on agg AI, it's pretty decent IMO if you don;t want to think about most decisions.

[MoonWolf]

Also set the "no tech brokering" active. That makes harder levels easier.

[wodan11]

Originally posted by MoonWolf
Also set the "no tech brokering" active. That makes harder levels easier.

No tech brokering makes the game harder for players skilled in trading, so to some extent this is a wash.

Wodan

[MoonWolf]

True, but that must be a very narrow strategy to be that based on trading.

[jkp1187]

Increase number of AI civs.

[Solver]

Move up to Monarch, drop the Aggressive AI. Aggressive AI Prince is harder than usual Prince, so you should do fine on regular Monarch, hopefully.

If you're confident that you can destroy a couple of neighbours and then wrap the game up, means it's time to move up a level.

[rah]

I find that increasing the number of AIs makes it easier.

[Supr49er]

You could always play a game with the 'Always War ' option on. That way ALL the AIs are always at war with you, but not each other.

[guermantes]

Originally posted by Supr49er
You could always play a game with the 'Always War ' option on. That way ALL the AIs are always at war with you, but not each other.

Only with me, not with each other? That sounds a bit too suicidal.... I guess I will move up to monarch and bite the stress bullet of the early game...

Thanks all!

[smbakeresq]

Changing the map size and type will also increase AI competetiveness somewhat since eventually you will hit a map size and style that does not mesh well with your style

[wodan11]

Originally posted by MoonWolf
True, but that must be a very narrow strategy to be that based on trading.

I don't know that I'd say lightbulbing and trading is either the sum total of a player's strategy, or that it's narrow. Rather that it's a building block that many players use to enable them to compete on a higher level.

Wodan

[snoopy369]

No Tech Trading can make the game quite a bit harder for people who keep up with aggressive trading; usually it is possible to outplay the AI with tech trades by clever research.