I could really use some help

[Garth Vader]

I know I have alot of questions but here's one more.
It doesn't really have to do with the game itself but it's an important part of playing Civ. Seeing as how the game is more addicting than heroin and requires so much time and hardcore focus, when do you play? What does your wife/gf think of it? My wife hates it more than anything else. Lately, I've been playing late at night after she goes to sleep.

You have to end up playing less than you want to, but more than she wants you to.

I'll play for a while after supper, but leaving enough time for us to do something together for a while too. The same on the weekend. I'll play on Saturday/Sunday afternoon, but leave the other times for us.

[Blaupanzer]

btw this could be a common question but I am new to these forums. How does everyone handle expansion in the early game? It seems that if I try to keep up with the AI my economy goes into the toilet. But if I try to be more conservative with my expansion, they always end up with way more land than I do.

Nice of them to settle your cities for you. You can even rename them when you take them later. Secure a decent resource base, 5 or 6 cities. Let your economy indicate when you are stretched, then stop. Do as others have noted as to techs and cottages. Make sure you have at least sufficient culture to fill the land gaps in your city group. Eventually, you will have the army and economy sufficient to expand at your neighbor's expense.

I know I have alot of questions but here's one more. Seeing as how the game is more addicting than heroin and requires so much time and hardcore focus, when do you play? What does your wife/gf think of it? My wife hates it more than anything else. Lately, I've been playing late at night after she goes to sleep.

Talk to your wife about it. As bad time-consuming habits go, this one is pretty gentle. I don't drink and carouse, take illegal drugs, get in fights, chase other women, AND I do Civ at home. After so many years, my wife will compromise, and we work out a fairly generous, but override-possible, playing schedule. Then, we decide when we will have a social life and personal life in the next few weeks and let these override the planned specific civ times. This process works like a charm, and I still play 15 - 20 hours a week AND get enough sleep.

[eris]

I know I have alot of questions but here's one more.
It doesn't really have to do with the game itself but it's an important part of playing Civ. Seeing as how the game is more addicting than heroin and requires so much time and hardcore focus, when do you play? What does your wife/gf think of it? My wife hates it more than anything else. Lately, I've been playing late at night after she goes to sleep.

Insomnia. It is not a willling strategy; it's a medical issue, but since I am up, I may as well Civ. However, adjusting to insomnia, a family life, work, etc: that part I am still working on and probably always will be.

[Blaupanzer]

eris, be sure to keep an eye on your heart, that is very stressful for us humans. I have a bit of that myself. But in Anyong's case, he says he is sneaking to avoid confrontation. Another kettle of fish entirely.

[Anyong]

I stayed up late last night as well; and achieved a domination victory on prince difficulty. It's amazing! Before I found this site, the AI would chew me up even when I had it set on Warlord! So that means that your suggestions made all the difference. Keep it up

[talha the turk]

in my opinion, the more u increase the level of the game, the more the AI has some easier conditions than urs. im kinda always chosing the ottomans or germans. i am not following the technical improvements from back, but i cannot finish the wonders before the AI. and the economy is just "depending on some weak rope"(if i could write the phrase true). but sometimes the AI is so sneacky that, someone declares war on you, and then you have to build soldiers u know, so u cant find any chance to expand in culture, or territorial... and naturaly u fell to the bottom of the ranking list. although i still got some confusions about the GNP, about the mentality of GNP of Sid Meier's...

[Blaupanzer]

It's not supposed to be GNP, it's supposed to be taxes reflected in the income. Similarly we don't spend on general research, but directed research aimed at the next (chosen by us) breakthrough. Is your economy "hanging on a string" due to lack of cottages, courthouses and an aggressive science budget? If any combination of these, then work to relieve this with workers, city builds, reasonable rate-setting. Note that you should build a lot of troops all of the time to avoid having your whole economy disrupted by war. Use these troops to cow the enemy or to stop his incursions.

[Dinner]

in my opinion, the more u increase the level of the game, the more the AI has some easier conditions than urs. im kinda always chosing the ottomans or germans. i am not following the technical improvements from back, but i cannot finish the wonders before the AI. and the economy is just "depending on some weak rope"(if i could write the phrase true). but sometimes the AI is so sneacky that, someone declares war on you, and then you have to build soldiers u know, so u cant find any chance to expand in culture, or territorial... and naturaly u fell to the bottom of the ranking list. although i still got some confusions about the GNP, about the mentality of GNP of Sid Meier's...

As you go up in level the AI gets more bonuses to production plus it gets free units. Also the AI nations become more friendly to each other (more trading of techs) and more hostile to you (refuse to trade anything with you 90% of the time).

[slnz]

Diplo doesn't directly depend on difficulty for Noble and above, just indirectly (stuff like faster expansion -> faster border hate, more production -> more power -> more DoWs).

[sorinache]

This makes you totally average. But most hardcores have long ago reached the point where our spouses realize they are fighting a losing battle and settle for just trying to minimize the damage.

Mine is particularly dogged and wouldn't admit defeat (after all these years ...). I've tried explaining that not playing Civ is like trying to not breathe - you can't go on for too long ... but she didn't quite swallow it ... oh well ... maybe I have enough on my hands on this front and this is why I avoid fights in my Civ games

[-Jrabbit]

she didn't quite swallow it

I hate when that happens.

[Blaupanzer]

Suggest your wife choose another habit for you: heavy drinking, drug use, carousing, gambling, affairs with her friends or your workmates as appropriate. If she has a habit of her own, compare it to that. My wife shops constantly and reads romance novels. That comparison helped work it out with her. Course, we have been married 35 years and the game is 18, so other, less desirable habits had already been tried by each of us. The current ones are pretty gentle and keep us home at night as she now shops and reads on the web.

[Ming]

Yeah... my wife simply gave up. She has her habits and I have mine. She understands and knew she was getting involved with a gamer from the very begining... Heck, she is a gamer too, but not a civer. She is even willing to listen to my civ tales, and nods at the appropriate times. I at least try to get the family stuff out of the way before blasting away at Civ MP until all hours of the morning