Which opponants do you pick when you set up a game?

[sboog]

When I set up a game, I usually just click "random" for the enemy civs.

But there must be a smart way to choose which civs to play against.

If I am Egypt, for example, which 6 civs should I choose to oppose me?

sboog

[dunk]

I always choose random. Also, i turn off "Culturally Linked Starts" which will always have Rome next to Greece, Egypt, and Persia.

I would say to choose the weakest civ traits to be your opponents if that's what you're looking for. Expansionist and Commercial are the two traits that seem to get the lowest scores around here. Try padding your game with those civs and see if it's any easier.

[Rasputin]

i too also only use random, but i seem to always end up figihting the egyptians !!!!

[Inverse Icarus]

i usually do random.

i've actually been mulling it over and you could technically devalue early techs simply by the civs you choose opposite you.

Alphabet is an expensive tech, yes?

Commercial civs start with Alphabet. Drop in the Romans, French, English, Greeks, and Indians, and all of them get Alphabet, and the tech gets devalued.

Never tried it, but it should work in theory, right?

you could do the same for masonry (put in industrious civs).

if you're looking for pure strategic means, you'll want civs that your UU can handle.

War Chariots? You dont want to see any hoplites or Legionarres.

[jshelr]

I'm annoyed by Greece -- 3pt defenders
I'm annoyed by the Zulu -- no explanation needed
I'm annoyed by scouts popping my huts

So, those considerations guide my selection for smaller maps. Shameless conduct, true. But it doesn't seem to reduce the fun.

I always include Ghandi so I can dial him up and stick my tounge out at him when I pass him in techs around the ToE.

[Moonsinger]

I have always chosen "random" so far.

[Todd Hawks]

I always chose random and turn off culturally linked starting places.

I even use a random civ as my own.

[Arrian]

I go with random, usually with culturally linked starts.

If you want to "fix" things, you could play a largish map (or less than max civs) and make yourself the only expansionist civ. If you want to fight early, avoid Greece, Rome and the Zulu. If you want to be a hippy, play with the least aggressive civs... etc.

-Arrian

[N. Machiavelli]

Regardless of map size, never play with fewer than 10 civs. Cleo and Joan have a special reservation (afterall, they make such nice vassel states), the rest are Random.

[vondrack]

I really wonder why... but I seem to stick to Standard maps, 7 randomly chosen opponents (culturally linked locations on).

[frostycreep]

I always pick the eight most dominating civs that are alive in the world today. I play as the English, and go against the Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Russians, French, Germans, and the Indians. But playing against the same civs can get kinda tiresome so ive started to do random.

[Hagbart]

I always choose all random..

[zorbop]

i do random but i turn on culturally linked start. it was incorperated for game play.

for instance, the rider would be very hard to defend against if you didn't have a knight to combat it with, so india needs no recources for one. and japan's knight has a better defence. and they star near eachother.

greece, rome and persia start near eachother. greece and rome are the only civs that have a defence of 3 during the ancient age, which would help combat persian immortals.

and the french and enqlish UU's suck so much, it won't matter

[frostycreep]

true about he french and english UU's both sucking, but what about the german panzer?

[Fighter]

The German panzer rocks. Being as how Germans are scientific, you tend to be ahead of the game slightly and get to armour before anyone else then start cranking out the Panzers and blitz. The Germans have big advantages very early on in the game and in the Modern era, one because of tech advantage and the other because you have the best offensive unit in the game at that point on your side.