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Not much else I can say that anyone else already has. If your goal is to win, then I would suggest the time-honored SSS(Settlers, Settlers, and Settlers) strategy. Civ3 was designed around the ICS frame of mind, which is why the AI blindly rushes to grab every square acre of land. So, do what they do, only smarter:
-Scout early and often and make sure that you are sending Settlers to every bit of decent land you can find. Grab every resource as quickly and often as possible.
-When dealing with other Civs, *buy* Maps, don't trade them. The AI behaves much differently if they 'legitimately' know your borders and the particulars therein than when they don't. If you keep your exploration findings to yourself, the comp is less likely to swarm across/around your borders to get at that one available tundra square that may or may not have oil in it 1000 years from then.
-"Contain" the AI. Even if a neighbor is your ally and settling rapidly on your border, send a military unit to shadow their Settler/Unit combination. If you have a military unit within a space or two of their settler, they are much less likely to plop down a city.
Warfare is extremely important as well. Knowing how, when, and where to conduct your wars against the AI as well as what to do with the spoils is, in my opinion, the cornerstone of success.
-First off, avoid prolonged wars like the plague. No matter what government you are in, the AI gov can outlast you. So make your wars quick, decisive, specific, and overwhelming.
-Scout, scout, scout. Then scout. Know where the resources in the civ's countries are. Find out where their only Iron/Saltpeter or Gems spot is. Know their capital and the chokepoints of their city pattern. Once you know this, you can fight a smaller, more effective war that will have longer effects than a drawn-out painful one.
-Fight your wars for a specific purpose/goal. If a neighboring civ has only one of a resource, strike that area first and hard. Plan your wars in the manner of quick strikes. Take out 3 or 4 key cities and garrison them with enough units to hold out until the Civ is ready for Peace. Then, wait 10 turns, gear back up and take 3 or 4 more cities. This can help in many ways. For one, it'll help your War-weariness to smaller doses that can lower in between the minor wars since you strike only to gain and consolidate, not fully conquer; thus, you have fewer and far-between casualties. Also remember: as long as you are making progress with fewer casualties, no matter how long it takes, you are still winning the war.
-Plan your wars. The amount of turns required to prepare for the war should massively exceed the time it takes to fight it. Know the layout and weak points of your enemies' land and build your forces according to your goals.
Diplomacy is a subject that has a couple of schools of thought. Some say to be as friendly to your neighboring civs as possible. Some others feel that the other civ's true purpose is to play against other civs using war alliances. If you plan to play in the way I describe above, I would suggest limiting your relationships with other civs at the cordial point. Avoid entering any MPP or war alliances. The reasoning for this is that while you are going to be fighting rapid wars (wherein your status with the opposing civ is likely to change every 10 turns), your ally is going to continue fighting until he/she or your opponent run out of steam. Making peace with the opposing civs while in an alliance hurts your reputation and your trade.
-Fight wars against one enemy at a time, whenever possible and even then, by yourself.
-Trade often with the AI, even if only for purchasing the occasional tech. This helps build up a good reputation. Also make it a note to trade (preferably a spare resource or luxury) to your opponent’s friends. If they are in as equal (and obligating, hence the resource/luxury trade) standing with you as your enemy, they are more likely to stay out of the war and let you to your own devices picking apart your enemy over the course of a century.
-Do not give away your map. Ever. It prevents you the ever-so-often gold bonus you get from selling it, but in the long term, it helps. It genuinely does effect the way the AI conducts wars against you and settles near you if it does or does not "know" what your land looks like. (Yes, I'm aware that the AI 'knows' the lay of the land right off the bat, but it's behavior seems much more ‘conservative’ in many respects when you have not revealed yourself to it.
Those are pretty much the base strats that help me the most. If I want to win at Deity, I pretty much do this. Now, if you really want to have some fun later, play a game like this:
Huge Map.
Pangea Config.
1 City Only (your capital is the only city you are allowed to build/hold)
Americans.
No aggressive wars (May not declare war upon any civ; when at war, may not attack units outside your culture borders. That includes enemy cities.)
No colonies.
No custom rules. Pure Random Map.
Try that once. I’ve played this one all the way through 6 times already and came out on top (Space Race) in 4 of them. The other two involved my getting crushed by 3 civs.
Now I’m off to look at Vel’s Guide in the hope that I didn’t inadvertently rip off anything from him (I’ve yet to read it. Maybe I’ll do that now.)
-Scout early and often and make sure that you are sending Settlers to every bit of decent land you can find. Grab every resource as quickly and often as possible.
-When dealing with other Civs, *buy* Maps, don't trade them. The AI behaves much differently if they 'legitimately' know your borders and the particulars therein than when they don't. If you keep your exploration findings to yourself, the comp is less likely to swarm across/around your borders to get at that one available tundra square that may or may not have oil in it 1000 years from then.
-"Contain" the AI. Even if a neighbor is your ally and settling rapidly on your border, send a military unit to shadow their Settler/Unit combination. If you have a military unit within a space or two of their settler, they are much less likely to plop down a city.
Warfare is extremely important as well. Knowing how, when, and where to conduct your wars against the AI as well as what to do with the spoils is, in my opinion, the cornerstone of success.
-First off, avoid prolonged wars like the plague. No matter what government you are in, the AI gov can outlast you. So make your wars quick, decisive, specific, and overwhelming.
-Scout, scout, scout. Then scout. Know where the resources in the civ's countries are. Find out where their only Iron/Saltpeter or Gems spot is. Know their capital and the chokepoints of their city pattern. Once you know this, you can fight a smaller, more effective war that will have longer effects than a drawn-out painful one.
-Fight your wars for a specific purpose/goal. If a neighboring civ has only one of a resource, strike that area first and hard. Plan your wars in the manner of quick strikes. Take out 3 or 4 key cities and garrison them with enough units to hold out until the Civ is ready for Peace. Then, wait 10 turns, gear back up and take 3 or 4 more cities. This can help in many ways. For one, it'll help your War-weariness to smaller doses that can lower in between the minor wars since you strike only to gain and consolidate, not fully conquer; thus, you have fewer and far-between casualties. Also remember: as long as you are making progress with fewer casualties, no matter how long it takes, you are still winning the war.
-Plan your wars. The amount of turns required to prepare for the war should massively exceed the time it takes to fight it. Know the layout and weak points of your enemies' land and build your forces according to your goals.
Diplomacy is a subject that has a couple of schools of thought. Some say to be as friendly to your neighboring civs as possible. Some others feel that the other civ's true purpose is to play against other civs using war alliances. If you plan to play in the way I describe above, I would suggest limiting your relationships with other civs at the cordial point. Avoid entering any MPP or war alliances. The reasoning for this is that while you are going to be fighting rapid wars (wherein your status with the opposing civ is likely to change every 10 turns), your ally is going to continue fighting until he/she or your opponent run out of steam. Making peace with the opposing civs while in an alliance hurts your reputation and your trade.
-Fight wars against one enemy at a time, whenever possible and even then, by yourself.
-Trade often with the AI, even if only for purchasing the occasional tech. This helps build up a good reputation. Also make it a note to trade (preferably a spare resource or luxury) to your opponent’s friends. If they are in as equal (and obligating, hence the resource/luxury trade) standing with you as your enemy, they are more likely to stay out of the war and let you to your own devices picking apart your enemy over the course of a century.
-Do not give away your map. Ever. It prevents you the ever-so-often gold bonus you get from selling it, but in the long term, it helps. It genuinely does effect the way the AI conducts wars against you and settles near you if it does or does not "know" what your land looks like. (Yes, I'm aware that the AI 'knows' the lay of the land right off the bat, but it's behavior seems much more ‘conservative’ in many respects when you have not revealed yourself to it.
Those are pretty much the base strats that help me the most. If I want to win at Deity, I pretty much do this. Now, if you really want to have some fun later, play a game like this:
Huge Map.
Pangea Config.
1 City Only (your capital is the only city you are allowed to build/hold)
Americans.
No aggressive wars (May not declare war upon any civ; when at war, may not attack units outside your culture borders. That includes enemy cities.)
No colonies.
No custom rules. Pure Random Map.
Try that once. I’ve played this one all the way through 6 times already and came out on top (Space Race) in 4 of them. The other two involved my getting crushed by 3 civs.
Now I’m off to look at Vel’s Guide in the hope that I didn’t inadvertently rip off anything from him (I’ve yet to read it. Maybe I’ll do that now.)
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