Your SID level experiences

[The Viceroy]

Just started my first ever SID level game, and wondered how other people have faired ??

First off, out of complete caution (or cowardess) I selected only 2 opponents and the least amount of aggression, convinced that even still, id end up with war on my hands in no time.

Well, its now 800AD, im hopelessly behind in techs (just got Currency .. I know, the shame) .. and im hoping to finally get Republic by 1000AD.. The Indians next to me have expanded so quickly that they have completely surrounded me, and the Greeks are on a mad "Build all wonders" spree.

Even so, im still alive, ive kicked the Greeks and the Indians out of my territory a few times without war, and im 100% convinced, had I put the aggresion level up a notch .. id be dead meat.

Score currently 1900.

Anybody else attempted this and had more success ???

[Filippo]

I tried a coupla times, had 4 opponents and AI aggression level didn't exist.

Just 2 words to describe the experience:

1) Nightmare
2) Impossible


enjoy

[DrSpike]

It's pain mostly. The increase in difficulty over Deity is akin to the old difference between Emperor and old Deity - that is to say large.

I'll have another look once the FP situation settles down.

[PLATO]

Hmm...I usually have a hard time at diety. I think I'll wait for the SID-strategy threads.

Good Luck Guys!

[The Viceroy]

I can't see any way of winning this, unless you turn off cultural or diplomatic victory .. then maybe you could last it out, catch up later on and stand half a chance in a war against your neighbour ???

Certainly, the corruption issue is killing my current game

[MotownDennis]

The only time I tried Sid level (am usually an emperor/demigod player), I picked the Aztecs thinking that I'd jag rush my neighbors into oblivion.

That was until I saw a stack of 13 Arab warriors and a stack of 13 Byzantine warriors - before I had completed MY FIRST JAG.

Reset, switch to demigod level, try to quit laughing.


I'm convinced that the ONLY way this can be won is with an archipelago map. Am I wrong?


Mo D

[Donegeal]

Originally posted by PLATO
Hmm...I usually have a hard time at diety. I think I'll wait for the SID-strategy threads.

Good Luck Guys!

Um... this is the Sid-Strat thread....

[MattPilot]

why don't ya all ask Sid himself? I'm sure he could beat it

[Aeson]

I have yet to play a game of Sid past the Middle Ages (mainly because the gpt bug was ruining games at that point if not sooner). Have gained tech and population parity by then in some games, in others fallen hopelessly behind, or just been overrun by alliances and/or sneak attacks early on.

It's not terribly hard if you have a decent area to grow into. It's viable to take on AI's that lose out in the Iron sweepstakes (if you haven't lost out on it too). A monopoly on Ivory makes winning wars against AI with Iron possible before they get to Pikemen sometimes too.

I find you get about 10 turns near the end of the Ancient Era in most starts to apply a Sword rush against a civ with Iron. Maybe another 20 turns or so before risking running into Muskets against AI without the Iron. Before then you just can't build/upgrade enough Swords to safely hit anyone by yourself, and after you have no shot before building up huge numbers of bombardment units. Even if you're "winning" the war when Pikemen show up, you'll end up paying for peace (you just can't win big enough unless the alliances are set up right), so have something ready to offer up. It's a good deal if you can take a few cities and/or generate a MGL. An army really makes a huge difference at Sid.

The AI absolutely ignore Literature regardless of difficulty level, and so a Great Library prebuild can beat them to it. Need to trade for Writing somehow once it shows up to have a good shot at it. Can be very useful.

Zeus is one of the biggest problems IMO. The AI build it very early when they have Ivory, and by the time you can get a military of your own together, it may have outproduced you by itself. Ancient Cavalry (on top of the AI's flood of regular units) are pretty much impossible to deal with unless you have a Sword army.

0 range bombard for Archers is one of the other major factors that makes Sid much harder than comparably modded PtW/vanilla difficulties.

[Alex]

Sid? He doesn't even play Civ anymore.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Aeson
The AI absolutely ignore Literature regardless of difficulty level, and so a Great Library prebuild can beat them to it.

I wonder if this will remain..........I also noticed it from the many starts to AD I played before the FP hoop-la started, and it does seem to offer a chink of light for Deity and Sid games.

[Theseus]

Aeson, have you tried Archer Rushes? Admittedly only at Demi-god, but I lost out on the iron (and horse!) sweepstakes in my current game, and had great success with Archers as the Sumerians... Even up to the point of Longbows / Trebuchets against Muskets, it was viable.

[DrSpike]

I'm sure you could find a counterexample but archer rushes are tough on Sid............they just have soooo many units, and they'll have pikes and probably swords (or medieval infantry) pretty early. Your window with archers is excruciatingly small.

[Theseus]

/me shakes his fist! I'll take on Pikes and Swords and MedInf and Lions and Tigers and Bears with Archers!!

/me thinks to himself: Holy cr*ppola, now what have I gotten myself into... where's that damn ivory??!!

[vmxa1]

Too many start units? A mere 12 offensive and 6 defensive, Thesues is not scare of them. Well if you have Germany for your neighbor, I would be scared.