To restart or not to restart: that is the question:

[Aramis]

Originally posted by TheArsenal
But I also find I’ll make a mistake worthy of a reload, but the turn itself (generally during a large war) was so time consuming and complex that I don’t have the patience to replay the turn and will just live with the mistake.

Been there too

[Alex]

i never restart. but i don't consider it 'cheating'. hey, you bought the game, play it as you like.

[Dis]

Originally posted by Jaybe

For crying out softly, why don't you just make a scenario where the hitpoints are increased?

Myself, I play Rhye's of Civilization where they are increased, and I edit them down to stock, except for Elite which is 6HP. But I just play Monarch level.

because scenarios suck. My scores don't end up on the hall of fame, and I don't get to see the little guy hitting the scale with the hammer . And if I recall correctly I don't get to see a replay either when playing a scenario.

[vmxa1]

I guess you are saying those are bad things? You can edit in your scores if you care about them. I don't know what to say about the warrior hitting the bell, it is the same as the palace. Some like it some don't.

[Theseus]

Originally posted by Last Conformist
I restart whenever I please. In practice, that translates into next to never.

Ditto. Especially when playing AU games.

[Tall Stranger]

For me, it depends on what I'm trying to do. If I want to play a relaxed, easy game, I'll restart if my initial starting position will be too much work. On the other hand, if I really want to push myself, I'll restart until I get an enormously crappy starting position.

As for reloading, I guess I don't really see the point of doing so to change the outcome of a battle or to keep from losing somehow. I have, on occasion, done so because I forgot to do something I genuinely intended to do (switching from a pre-build to a GW, for example), but that's about it. That said, if reloading is fun for you, have at it. It's your game.

[Aramis]

Originally posted by Tall Stranger
I'll restart until I get an enormously crappy starting position.

Cool! I've never even THOUGHT of doing that. If I want to lose, I'll just play the next difficulty level I haven't mastered.

[dunk]

I don't restart. I don't reload. I usually turn off the autosave.

Mostly because I dislike replaying turns and so on.

I don't restart because I like to see where I can go in the game.

[Mad Bomber]

I restart whenever I get bored with the game. I never replay turns. (Unless I have a power failure) I reload after breaks (I play games of 100+ hrs).

[Drachen]

Go Bucs! Some of the great team work coming out of Germany may need to be countered one of these days…

[Adagio]

I only restarts when the random Civ-picker picks a wrong Civ...


There's one Civ I don't want to play as, and for some reason it picks this Civ every 2nd game

[Shogun Gunner]

I'll restart/reload when I feel like it -- which is rarely. I however, voted for the option directly above the "whenever I feel like it option".

However, as busy as my life is, I won't waste time playing something that is a result of improper game operation or that is a waste of my time. Some examples are:

1. A ridiculous start -- on tundra or just a generally horrendous start position.
2. A bug/failure of the program -- this would include improper happiness calcuations on the part of the program, submarine bug, etc.
3. I don't like the fact that I'm forced to make decisions about alliances, war and trade without being able to consult my current treaty arrangements, trade reelationships and foreign relations. If I guess wrong, due to imperfect information (read: bad memory), I will restart to make the decision I intend.
4. If I click the wrong thing -- for example, accidently click "end turn" when I intend to check the DIPLOMACY or ESPIONAGE screens (why are they so close to the "end turn" area???

I however will never restart/reload to
1. Get a better combat result
2. Select an alternate decision/strategy due to a poor choice/result of my initial decision/strategy.
3. Erase a consciously made decision made on my part.

[Arrian]

I Qtrl-Shft-Q until I get a start I think is "decent" or, if I have had a bad run of luck recently, I may look for one that's "really nice." I rarely have played out a start that I think most peope here would consider bad.

My definitions of those terms, however, may vary from others.

Some people really relish the idea of taking whatever is given them and turning it into a win.

Me, I don't really play to just win. I play to win HUGE. I like taking a nice spot and seeing just how far ahead I can get. I like shooting for a full age tech lead, all the wonders I like, and access to all 8 luxuries (w/o having to trade for 'em ). That's an absurd level of power when compared to just winning. But I often get there, because I play nice starts on a level that is probably well below my skill (Monarch).

I do this because I enjoy it. I'm playing civ after working all day (or all week) and I'm looking to relax and have some fun. I tend to play fast 'n loose, with minimal micromanagement (after the early game). Occasionally I will seek more challenge, but most of the time I like playing a quasi-"sandbox" type of game. Many of those games are never finished. They get saved when I'm done with the first sitting (so ancient or early medieval age) and I never load 'em back up... I start a new one. Real UP games typically get played out right up to when I'm about to win... and then I leave 'em there.

It's all about what your goals are. Why are you playing?

Some play for challenge, and a sense of accomplishment in beating a tough difficulty with a crap start spot, or to "figure out" the game. Some work to get quirky maps that play atypically, for variety. Some, like me, play for ultimate power. This is a simplification, of course, but you get the idea.

-Arrian

EDIT:

As for reloading: I will reload if I make a non-strategic mistake. This means mis-clicks (oops, I just gifted Republic to the Egyptians!) and bad driving (hitting 8 instead of 9 and thereby getting my curragh sunk). Further, I often forget to adjust the lux slider to prevent disorder when I've got a good settler/worker pump going. This results in a riot, simply because I forgot to check on the city, which I find irritating as hell. I will often reload to prevent that disorder. Sometimes I just can't be bothered and let it go, though. I NEVER reload to get better combat results.

Actually, I have reloaded to change a strategic decision, but then I considered that game "lost" in my mind. I didn't actually lose, but a war went poorly (I basically ended up with an expensive stalemate). So I tried out a different strategy to see if it would work better. It did. This is part of the learning process, IMO. I learned that a late medieval/early industrial war against a strong, militaristic Emperor level AI civ is *a lot* harder than a similar war against a typical Monarch level AI civ. I didn't bring NEARLY enough firepower to the party the first time, and it cost me. So now I know.

[Theseus]

Good point about reloading and trying different strategies, Arrian. I was immensely pleased to see that so many people had done so in AU 503... as you say, learning BIG lessons in the process.

[Shogun Gunner]

I enjoyed your post Arrian!