Congratulation to me.

[M. le Comte]

I just wanted to share the fact that, for the first time ever, I have managed to destroy all my opponents in the following circumstances:
- huge map;
- 16 civs;
- monarch level;
- 4505 pts;
- 1918.


I didn't think it was possible. The trick: don't take the enemy cities. Burn them all.

I would be very interested to know what level people here in this forum have reached. I guess I am nothing more than a newbee with my recent militaristic victory.

So please, don't be shy. Use this thread to spread your pride and tell the other what you have done to the AI. I'm very curious to know how far on can go.

His excellency le Comte

[vmxa1]

Monarch is one of the best for all around play. I find emperor to be a nice level as well, but more of a pain due to unhappiness.
Deity is a level I play only once in a while as I find it to be too unpleasant to be in the hole for so long and spend copious amounts of enery trying to keep the empire happy. The final victory is great, but not enough to offset all the grief.

[GodKing]

I am like vmxa1 - usually emperor. Monarch is fun, but I find I am almost always guaranteed a win (even with random map adn random civ) even if it is a long and hard win. Deity is just such a pain, but the feeling you get when you win is cool.

I usually play on small or tiny maps because of the time needed to play a game, but larger maps are fun occasionally.

[Kaos XIII]

Hi!

Congratulations! That's very impressive, 16 civs, huge map. You're right about the razing, which is why I could never do this.
I just can't see myself razing all these cities.

[M. le Comte]

Thanks Kaos III.

However I forgot to say one thing: I played with Japan. It's a useful help, because their UU, the samourais, are one of the best chivalry unit. They remain useful against cavalry and riflemen. A good investment. I am not sure I could win the same way with another civ, let say, the Greeks (I keep loosing with the Greeks against angry Aegyptians).

[M. le Comte]

Originally posted by GodKing
Deity is just such a pain, but the feeling you get when you win is cool.

I'm impressed. I could only manage to win once at deity in civ2 (even if I didn't play deity very often, for the way the AI cheated got on my nerves ). I believed it was very very (very very very) rare to win in deity at civ3.

I will try to do as good. However I must first win at emperor's .
For the moment I just survive.

[Dr. A. Cula]

One question: how did you manage to keep the other civs from reclaiming the territory? I once eliminated my 2 neighbours by razing all their cities, only to find about half of the "liberated" land settled by civs coming from the other side of the world. And they were far from occupying their own continent, as well.

[M. le Comte]

I think, Dr. A Cula, that there are three elements for your answer:

1) You only raze cities too far away from your capital or your hidden palace. If the territory you have conquered is five squares away from your palace, just keep it.

2) The rule 1) excepted, you only raze cities for which an occupation would be either dangerous (too powerful culture) or slackening for your conquest. If you can keep a city for a low cost, even if this city only produces corruption, then keep it.

3) The fact that a remote civilization try to colonize the no man's land you have created is never a big deal. Indead, when you are able to destroy a twenty-citizened city, I am sure you will be able to deal with a one/two-citizened colony far from its mainland.

In my latest game, it was the Indians which tried to take benefit in that way from my war against Mongolia. As soon as Mongolia fell, India bit the dust.

[BulMaster]

I envy i wanted so many time to win by conquest but my good man hearth forbids me do it even if is just a game. I find much more pleasure in having good wars but never eliminate civs, well not always, but i don't eliminate all of them cause i don't have such a goal. Like in my current game( i talk everywhere about it) i wanted so much to conquer korea cause they occupied GB and i wanted those islands since europe was mine, so i seized an opportunity and well before i took seoul for example it was 16 pop units inside and i bombarded it so much with artileery and bombers that i became pop 1 before i moved the troops. I'm ruthless killing more than a million ppl by bombarding only of course GB is now mine since the other 3 big cities followed the same faith not really the same cause not so much bombing when i took seoul it was empty everything destroyed i left the others more developed so i wont' spend money on developing .

anyway congrat friend i also play on monarch i find it on other lvls boring cause the AI cheats sooo much, but he never spy on me on monarch i never experiensed sabotaged production :S

[Yahweh Sabaoth]

I would have to second the point about Japan. The Samurai unit makes a domination or conquest victory very easy indeed, and Japan's neighbors can be easily taken out early in the game, I find.

[M. le Comte]

Originally posted by BulMaster
...before i took seoul for example it was 16 pop units inside and i bombarded it so much with artileery and bombers that i became pop 1 before i moved the troops. I'm ruthless killing more than a million ppl by bombarding

To be honest, whenever at war with a civilization endowed with a too high culture, if I haven't gained a "pop 1" with the artillery, I get it later with a good and frank organised famine. Grim.

Anyway, when I play, I just switch off diplomatic and domination victories.
- diplomatic, because I find this way to victory far too easy, and far too unrealistic.
- domination, because it's always frustrating to win without having had the opportunity to carry on til its end a military campaign.

[pedrojedi]

One question: how did you manage to keep the other civs from reclaiming the territory? I once eliminated my 2 neighbours by razing all their cities, only to find about half of the "liberated" land settled by civs coming from the other side of the world. And they were far from occupying their own continent, as well.

I like to use an isolation line. I just put some old useless non-upgraded units alongside the coast and my frontier, thus preventing every civ to enter the Wastelands. Of course, sometimes this demands enormous amounts of old cranky units.

[M. le Comte]

I agree, that is a good strategy. However workers can do that as well...

[Rhothaerill]

That's an awfully big investment (either units or workers) to protect the coastline of a barren wasteland. If any AI's resettle it and start to annoy me then I'll just take them out when they're far from home. Then they'll have to start resettling again. Rinse, repeat.

[WhiteBandit]

I myself have only beaten Monarch level twice in my entire life. Civ 2 was much easier in this scheme, as I could hang on Deity!! But no longer in Civ 3 (though I think C3 is a hell of a lot better as well).

But yeah, victories on Monarch are pretty elusive for me. Even if I have a fantastic start, I start to fall behind by about the middle ages, and then it is down hill from there. I guess I just need to declare more war