Should I get the Hint book?

[KoalaBear33]

I have a question for all of you from a newbie (I loved Civ 1; played Civ II but didn't play a TBS since then):

how quickly does a game like Civilization get patched? That is, are there lots of balance changes made? I come from an RTS background and in the RTS genre, changes are VERY COMMON. The strategy guides for RTS games are totally useless after one month (mostly because patches significantly alter balance--also none of the guides are written from an online gaming perspective but that's another story). So does Civ change quickly or not?

Thanks!

KoalaBear33

[Lorizael]

It would be cool to know all the formulas for the game but I would never use them because I feel that takes some of the fun outa the game.

Anyway, how many people are there on Apolyton? Much better to discuss it with a bunch of people who are truly obsessed with the game, and have a wide range of opinions.

[SerapisIV]

Get the hint book only if you plan to buy it now, as in right now and will spend the next 24 hours transcribing each word to an Apolyton thread.

If you don't want to do the above actions, don't bother. For an open-ended game like civ3, which most likely has a pretty decent manual already, it'll be worthless

[Ironwood]

Boycott Pre-release "Strategy Guides"!

MOO's hintbook was good for a reason. CTP's was bad for a reason. Go here: http://hometown.aol.com/aemrich111/a...11/decline.htm

This was written by the guy that wrote the MOO strategy guide, IIRC. Quite simply put, "Official" strategy guids suck, because people are stupid enough to buy them despite the fact that they suck. Wait for the high quality "unofficial" guide. Unless the devs got things done a *long* time ago and were just waiting for the strat guide to release, the book will be useless.

[The Templar]

Given that we know stuff changed after the official hint book was written, I wouldn't bother. Even if you are new to civ, learn by trial and error - its more fun that way.

[Skanky Burns]

Originally posted by SerapisIV
Get the hint book only if you plan to buy it now, as in right now and will spend the next 24 hours transcribing each word to an Apolyton thread.

That would be the only reason i would recommend someone (else) to buy the hint-book But i would never waste my money on it. Better strategies to be had here. Although its up to you, if you feel its worth it to have something next to you while playing, rather than alt-tabbing to find info...

[SuiteSisterMary]

Actually, the Master of Magic strategy guide is the best one in existence. :-)

[Skanky Burns]

Update: Dont bother getting the Hint-Book. We already have found a 'poor sap' who bought it, and hes busy posting whats contained in it on This Thread about the Hint Book for all to see.

If you are still debating whether or not to get it, send a personal message to the guy whos posting info

[Leonidas]

Yolky:

I pretty much agree with everyone here - hint books are a waste of money.

Here's an easy way to get started on your very own hint book.

Open Wordpad, then go to the topic in this forum called: "The Strategy Guide is Out". Copy and paste the info that you find useful there into your Wordpad document, making headings for specific information. When the game does come out, you'll be ready to play.

Then keep coming back to this forum and "copy and paste" the hints and tips as they appear from people playing the game. Soon, you'll have a wealth of information for which you spent no money acquiring.

You can arrange and organize the info you put in Wordpad to suit
your tastes