Best Civ Advantages--Again

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by MotownDennis
The commercial traits does not give any cheaper buildings. If it did, I'd put it right near the top. As it is, I think it's one of the weaker traits.

The OCN boost added to starting with Alpha make it a near must for games played Deity and Sid on maps of large or huge.

You almost cannot be first to Philo at Sid without starting with Alpha. You can get the GL without a beeline to Phil, but it is very iffy.

The GL is very useful to me in that type of game as it lets me stop researching and save cash for support and upgrades.

I would surely agree it is not as useful as you drop down levels and use maps of standard or smaller. This is why I say the traits are very dependant upon the game settings.

[MotownDennis]

Oh don't get me wrong - commercial isn't a terrible trait. The OCN boost is nice, starting with alpha is also nice (although I think the "first to philo" thing is somewhat overrated). It's just that I can make a case that almost any other trait is better than commercial (militaristic being the exception).

Now if it did give cheaper marketplaces, it'd be so good as to almost be broken.

[vmxa1]

Traits are best use to meet your goals. I recently read a post about expansionist and did a test on it.

I went with a demi game on a large map as America. I soon abandon the game as not being fun. I was get getting settlers and advance cities and lots of techs.

I even popped Philo and got the current tech free, it was just insane.

The usefulness of the free tech is also level dependant. At levels that you would expect to be the tech leader from the start or nearly so, it is not all that functional.

If you intend to do constant research it is not all that great, such as Demi. It is useful in games you expect to trail a very long time or maybe even the whole game.

If nothing else it is a small brake on the AI research race and that is what I am looking for in those games. That is another reason why I would go with no huts. To reduce the tech boom and make it take a bit longer to get to the next age.

It is the middle age that is so scary for me, especially the later part of it. Once the GL is obsolete, I could face an enemy with much better units than I have.

The more time I have to prepare for that the better. I need to get my roads up and my defenses.

[Commy]

Sorry about the cheap commercial improvements thing...but anyway...you can always change the rules and make it so the GL never goes obsolete. Think of the possibilities. A successful diplomatic victory on Sid level...possibly a space race victory with strategic trading and diplomacy...

[joncnunn]

Only one choice allowed, so Agricuture is a non-brainer.
Like playing a full level of difficulty easier.

[joncnunn]

I'd probably rank Seafaring 2nd and Expanionist 3rd.

[Commy]

I really wish I could let you vote for three, heck, I'll start a new thread...