difficulty :)

[rattlecage]

here comes a new question ...

as i said before i play civ for a verrrryyy long time but i still have too much to learn and need to read civilopedia more often and i still play at regent skill? what do you choose for difficuty?

[ChrisiusMaximus]

I play Regent most often for a challenging but even playing field, no AI bonuses or Human player bonuses on this level.

I have played several monarch games with varying degrees of success, and find it winnable approx 50% of the time.

Warlord or below I find too easy and unsatisfying, but as with most others who post here I too had to start from the easiest setting and work my way up.

Have tried the higher levels but really did not enjoy them though I would say they are winnable if you can be bothered.

I much prefer the Regent level experience and I only play Single Player against the AI.

[Rhothaerill]

I've played monarch level for awhile and only recently moved up to emperor level. After a few fits and starts I'm becoming competitive at that level....finally.

If I may put in a plug...over in the strategy forum and on MZO, Theseus and others are currently designing an Apolyton University Introduction Game designed especially for regent level players and below to help improve their game. EDIT: if that sounded uppity, I didn't mean it that way. It's just a way for anyone to pick up tips to improve their game. Despite it being geared as an introduction game, anyone can pick up tips to improve their games, even monarch players and above.

Keep an eye on the strategy forum in the near future and think about trying the course when it comes out.

[TheArsenal]

I play Regent. It is "forgiving" of my mistakes. I've come to the point where I can pretty much thrash about the globe like a crazed militarist and there's little the AI can do about stopping my win. But when I step up to Monarch, which I do from time to time, I have a devil of a go at it, and don't have a whole lot of fun. This means I have glaring errors in my game play somewhere and have to step back and take a good look at how I'm doing things. May have to start posting savegames to get some input.

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by TheArsenal
I play Regent. It is "forgiving" of my mistakes. I've come to the point where I can pretty much thrash about the globe like a crazed militarist and there's little the AI can do about stopping my win. But when I step up to Monarch, which I do from time to time, I have a devil of a go at it, and don't have a whole lot of fun. This means I have glaring errors in my game play somewhere and have to step back and take a good look at how I'm doing things. May have to start posting savegames to get some input.

I had the exact same experience. I could win on regent but would always get toasted on monarch. Then I started following the strategy forum and took a lot of that into my gameplay. It helped to make me a better player because it broadened the way I think about the game.

That was kind of the point I was trying to make earlier (I just made it very poorly ) with trying out the AU introduction course when it is up.

[David Murray]

Don't forget that the difficulty level is not the only thing that can make a dramatic difference to the overall difficulty of the game. I would say that beating the computer at Emperor on a small Pangaea with a half-decent start is much easier than beating it at Monarch level, huge map.

I have perfected my Emperor-beating skills on small maps, but find it much more difficult even on a standard map!

[Shogun Gunner]

where's that cheat feature from Civ II??????

[eric2075]

Rhothaerill, which thread are you talking about? I would be interested in playing the same start as others and seeing the differences in play-styles. I've been playing at Monarch for a little while but there's all kinds of room for improvement.

A big part of my problem is that I get locked into a certain way of playing and it's hard for me to vary from it.

[vmxa1]

I agree that maps size and start locations are very important to the difficulty of winning a game, regardless of the setting.
I like Monarch games for the most part as you do not have to pay close attention to them to win. My current game is a cakewalk at emperor, because it is mostly on one big land mass and I had a good start (except for food bonus).
I only pay Deity once in about 8 games, as I find it too much work. I guess I have not adjusted my additude to deal with the bully at deity. I am use to the hole I have at emperor, but not deity.

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by eric2075
Rhothaerill, which thread are you talking about? I would be interested in playing the same start as others and seeing the differences in play-styles. I've been playing at Monarch for a little while but there's all kinds of room for improvement.

A big part of my problem is that I get locked into a certain way of playing and it's hard for me to vary from it.

The introduction game hasn't been introduced yet because it is still being worked on. In the meantime though, go to http://www.apolyton.com/forums/showt...threadid=83557 for all the other Apolyton University courses. The most recent is AU402, but I have to warn you, it takes A LOT of computer resources. I'd suggest starting with one of the later 20*'s (* being the number of the course). That thread also contains links to all the After Action Reports (AARs) too so don't read them yet if you're planning on playing one of the games. You can write up and post your own AAR if you want to and ask people to comment on it.

Have fun.

[vmxa1]

Yes watch out for Au402 and AU208, they were some what extreme.

[eric2075]

Great, I'll have to try some of these. Hope they are for vanilla civ. I understand what to do with the .savs, but it looks like some of them are .bic and bix. How do those work?

[CerberusIV]

Download the file and put it in the appropriate scenarios folder (Civ3 or PTW). Then click load scenario from the main screen. Choose the one you want and away you go.

bic files are civ3, bix files are PTW.

[Cort Haus]

Usually Monarch on Standard Pangea. I play the occasional game at Emp, but it's not so much fun. It's much easier to beat emp militarily than peacefully.

[TheArsenal]

Originally posted by David Murray
Don't forget that the difficulty level is not the only thing that can make a dramatic difference to the overall difficulty of the game. I would say that beating the computer at Emperor on a small Pangaea with a half-decent start is much easier than beating it at Monarch level, huge map.

I have perfected my Emperor-beating skills on small maps, but find it much more difficult even on a standard map!

Good point. I always alternate between huge and large map size, depending on what kind of game I want. I have tried playing on standard maps, but I find it difficult transition (twice, actually. And one of those was the fearsome AU 208). The game feels claustrophobic and the terrain abrupt and choppy. But as the game is, I assume, designed with standard map play in mind, it may be instructive to go back and force myself to play on these maps. It would make issues of micro management more bearable, and maybe give me a better idea of what level player I am or am not.

edit - grammar