It's Impossible to Enjoy a Game w/o Happy Wonders

[Gatekeeper]

Everyone:

This holds especially true at the emperor and deity levels. The AI has the production advantage on you and uses it to snatch everything away from the human player. I admit to being a perfectionist player (read: fish food), but it's absolutely insane how the AI can just build a wonder in three to six turns at the higher levels.

I can go without any wonders except happiness ones. If you don't have those at the emperor or deity levels, you had just as well trash the game and start over. I have better things to do with my time than tend to a crappy, stagnating civilization whose citizens are freaking out all the f*cking time 'cause their mommas didn't kiss 'em in the morning. Don't even get me started on Elvises or changing percentages. It barely works and it doesn't change the outcome: a stagnant, last-place civilization.

Without happy wonders, you're toast. Simple as that.

CYBERAmazon

[Smash]

well...there is more than one way to succeed.

There are differnent government forms to choose from.

You can build infastructure to keep citizens under control.Temples,colliseums,cathedrals all keep unhappy citizens content.2 for temple with Mysticism,4 more for colliseum and Electronics and 4 more for cathedral and Theology.Thats 10 without a drop of luxuries.Add in trade improvements and routes and it becomes difficult NOT to celebrate "we love" at 20%.

[My Wife Hates CIV]

For the most part I agree with smash. but to really max wltpd you have to go to 30 or 40 most of the time on luxuries. i do anyway.

[Gatekeeper]

quote: Originally posted by Smash on 04-15-2001 07:49 PM well...there is more than one way to succeed. There are differnent government forms to choose from. You can build infastructure to keep citizens under control.Temples,colliseums,cathedrals all keep unhappy citizens content.2 for temple with Mysticism,4 more for colliseum and Electronics and 4 more for cathedral and Theology.Thats 10 without a drop of luxuries.Add in trade improvements and routes and it becomes difficult NOT to celebrate "we love" at 20%.

OK. Maybe I just hate the Aztecs then. All by their lonesomeselves, I didn't get any free techs and had only one settler. By the time I managed to build Marco Polo's Embassy, every civ was at least six to 12 techs ahead of me. And this wasn't even the modern era and my science was at 60 percent.

BTW, I think the king level is perfect.

CYBERAmazon

[My Wife Hates CIV]

There's always Shakespear's Theatre also. Build this in a high production city (of course) and field a large army free from unhappiness. Make it a high production city with ocean access.

[MattHiggs]

Yep, just notch the luxuries up to about 40 ish.

[Smash]

just because you are behind is no reason to panic.The peoples science program works well for playin catch up.Diplomats are very good at research.
Maybe you are ahead in certain areas.Use military to catch up in population.If you have Chivalry and they have Bronze..use the technological advantage as it was intended for example.
Play aggressively when trying to catch up.Do what the ai does to bug you first...become a pesky tyrant


....or die trying

[Scouse Gits]

quote: Originally posted by Smash on 04-16-2001 12:08 AM Play aggressively when trying to catch up.Do what the ai does to bug you first...become a pesky tyrant ....or die trying

Yes!

Send out a task force and capture a couple of cities with the happiness wonders you missed.

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SG(2)

[Scouse Gits]

Go for the double wammy -- take the city containing a key happy wonder and then buy the rest of their empire at half price once their cities fall into dispute ...

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Scouse Git[1] -- git1@scousers.net

"Staring at your screen in horror and disbelief when you open a saved game is one of the fun things of a succession game " - Hueij
"The Great Library must be built!"
"A short cut has to be challenging,
were it not so it would be 'the way'." - Paul Craven

[finbar]

I'm currently in a MP Deity-level game with Hydey and Alexander's Horse. I built every single one of the Happy Wonders and just about every other Wonder, to boot. We're late in the 19th century, Horse has just overtaken me in population, and he's only a handful of techs behind me. Which proves that a good player doesn't really need any of the Wonders. It takes a bit longer - and costs quite a few shields and gold more - but you can easily duplicate the effects of all the worthwhile Wonders.

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Founder, ACS Pedantry Institute
Founder, ACS Gourmet Recipe Exchange
Horse and Hydey Wrangler
Mono Rules!
#33984591
[This message has been edited by finbar (edited April 16, 2001).]

[Gatekeeper]

Smash:

I limit myself to not stealing techs from AI civilizations. It's a handicap to make my games a bit more "challenging." As for playing aggressive, I suppose I'd have to break out of my perfectionist mode. Which is hard to do, since I love my big, well-defended and well-developed dozen or so cities. I do go warmonger later in the game, though. Usually not before 1500 AD, though.

CYBERAmazon

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Scouse Gits:

I would, except the Wonders are in Africa and the central Eurasian continent in well-defended Zulu and Russian cities. Moscow and Zimbabwe, to be exact. I'm sitting in North America with the Aztecs and warmongering numerous Sioux as my neighbors. Joy!

CYBERAmazon

[Gatekeeper]

quote: Originally posted by finbar on 04-16-2001 08:08 AM I'm currently in a MP Deity-level game with Hydey and Alexander's Horse. I built every single one of the Happy Wonders and just about every other Wonder, to boot. We're late in the 19th century, Horse has just overtaken me in population, and he's only a handful of techs behind me. Which proves that a good player doesn't really need any of the Wonders. It takes a bit longer - and costs quite a few shields and gold more - but you can easily duplicate the effects of all the worthwhile Wonders.

Finbar:

I usually go that route if I'm by myself on a continent. But being behind early, having no happy Wonders *and* having the berzerker Sioux as my neighbors simply made that game miserable.

CYBERAmazon

[Chris1111]

I know how you feel. Thats why I never play emperor and diety the unhappiness is just to irritating. I cant function without my michaelangelo's chapel if I dont get it its even worse then losing leo's shop.

Hmm in your game the Sioux are still alive and you are the aztecs *shudder*. Little to cramped there for my style, the sioux would of been removed from my site as fast as possible .


[This message has been edited by Chris1111 (edited April 16, 2001).]

[finbar]

quote: Originally posted by CYBERAmazon on 04-16-2001 07:03 PM Finbar: I usually go that route if I'm by myself on a continent. But being behind early, having no happy Wonders *and* having the berzerker Sioux as my neighbors simply made that game miserable. CYBERAmazon

I'd be miserable too. But if you research Construction, Monotheism and Theology, etc, you can build the Happy improvements that will, effectively, give you the Happy Wonders anyway.

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Founder, ACS Pedantry Institute
Founder, ACS Gourmet Recipe Exchange
Horse and Hydey Wrangler
Mono Rules!
#33984591

[Chronus]

What I find most difficult in Diety is building a new city when you already have many of them. The first population point is unhappy (sometimes extra-unhappy!) which means I have to send a military unit with the settler (Monarchy and such), or immediately build a temple via Rush buy (Republic and such). Yeah, I know, I can also hire Elvis but, as you know, that seriously handicaps the city.

Michael's and/or at the very least, J.S. Bach's are such blessings in these situations!