Best AI I have ever seen hands down!

[PrinceBimz]

It is kicking the living daylights out of me! I cannot even come close to winning a game and thats on Regent level. I have played all the CIV games and CTP series, never have I been beat so bad. Its like I am doing ok I guess until another nation declares war on me. Then they bring huge and I am talking huge amounts of units and they just don't stop. They keep on and on coming at me then sometimes when they take over one of my important cities they burn it down! Talk about P.O. me!

It seems I do better at CIV3 being a coward and avoiding wars and answering the demands of nations who threaten me. I always end up having 2, 3 or more nations at once declaring war on me. Its like they watch one nation attacking me and think "hey that looks like fun, let me go and beat the piss out of him too"... LOL. Then one nation after another declares war on me and I have the whole world sending units at me from everywhere.

I have been playing the world settings on random everything. I setup everything to be random and pick large size world and all nations set to random too. I find each of my games extremely different with all random settings. Anyway, CIV3 is one challenging freaking game and I have never once remember any of the other ones being like this. I would not be surprised if one day when I see another of one my cities burned down, I **** back and punch my fist straight through my monitor screen

BTW, In my last game, I was actually developing deep feelings of hate towards some of the leaders. I really hated them, especially that Zulu and England leader! Now its all funny, but when I was playing the game I was really mad at them...LOL

[Auwi]

I agree, they do seem to be much better at producing units. I'm having a pretty good game on Monarch, but I had to adopt the meek, diplomatic, defensive stance right from the start.

I've just been following the Egyptian juggernaut around with lots of settlers and filling in the holes they create as they raze other civ's cities. Seems to work pretty well, but that's probably only a Pangea tactic.

I guess the question is, are they actually smarter or do they just cheat more?

[sugar daddy]

If you get bullied by other nations it means that they have no respect for you. Build a stronger millitary and watch them go from spitting on you to licking your boots . I always have to control the entire continent/island I start on, but instaed of totally annihilate the other civs, I give them a peace treaty when they are almost beaten and blackmail the living c*** out of them. Then I pay them to go to war with my other enemies ( if any ). Since they now a rather pitiful nation, other civs gang up on them and usually destroy them, leaving me to take the cities without a new war declaration. But the clue is that the AI is very easy to reason with if you have a bigger millitary than him. I always build a large army even if I go for a builder strategy where I might never use it four other than negotiating purposes.

[Auwi]

I don't know about that, sugar daddy. I usually play the warmonger, but the asskissing approach seems to work much better with the latest patch. The other civs don't seem to be responding in the usual disrespectful way. Besides, you should have seen Egypt's army. Really, overpowering them was not an option.

[sugar daddy]

well I havent played very much with the latest patch, but even a peace monger like myself would rather take my empire and all its people down with me than to give in to the AI if it starts demanding free techs from me. I can give in the first time, but only so I can buy time to build an army and kick their backsides ( or get mine kicked ), but hey, thats just me
thats why I love the civ-series, I get so involved. I sit at work and think : " I cant wait to get home and teach those -insert any civ who provoced me here- a lesson". I can GIVE away stuff to my allies and friends to build relations but never if they demand it...

[Ethelred]

It is kicking the living daylights out of me! I cannot even come close to winning a game and thats on Regent level. I have played all the CIV games and CTP series, never have I been beat so bad.

You probably aren't starting well. From what I have seen most of the people having trouble on Regent or lower are doing one of two things wrong.

Not building settlers and therefor cities fast enough.

Not building enough workers and not using the workers they have properly.

Mine grasslands. Irrigate plains. Road every tile in use. Only improve tiles that are in use. Road tiles that aren't in use early only to connect to cities and resources.

Build settlers and lots of them. I usually dedicate my capital to building settlers especially if there is a food bonus available. Build cities at least untill you get the Forbidden Palace notification unless you are going the warmonger route of taking cities instead of building them.

With one food bonus and to mined grassland tiles your capital can produce a settler every ten turns. I build three warriors in my capital and then settlers till I have enough cities. Its getting harder to do this on Emperor but it still works if I do everything right.

Too bad I didn't do everything right in my first game with the .121f patch. I am so far behind. I am hoping to rescue the game with railroads but I have serious doubts. I kept forgetting I was playing a religious civ and didn't go for Monarch. STUPID STUPID STUPID.

[dunk]

I am in a game where I thought I was toast. I was the Chinese and the Germans attacked me. I had a very small army. Most cities only had one spearman in them and a couple had a spearman and a warrior. The Germans took my Pyramid city and two I had on neighboring islands. The map was "seaworld" which is downloaded in the Files section (good map). I had no horses or iron. So I couldn't even build Riders to whoop upon the Germans. I had to take my cities back with Longbowmen. Ugh, that was tough. But, I did it. Woo Hoo! And now I have horses, but still no iron. But, I'm almost to Military Tradition, then I'll be able to wipe the Germans off the map. Yes, I do have saltpeter. Woo Hoo! I also sit here at my exciting job waiting to go kick some butt.

[sugar daddy]

You have a point Ethelred. In fact you have more than a point. If you get a good start and expand rapidly you should have no trouble from your neighbours at regent, but what if you dont get those food resources or even grassland in the beginning?? Do you restart or try to beat the odds?? With a bad starting position you probably have to do some serious asskissing. But I wouldnt know, I always restart myself untill I get a good start.

[Arrian]

Sd,

No shame in getting yourself a decent starting spot, as far as I'm concerned. I'm picky as all hell when I start a new game. I want a river, I want a cow, and I want shielded grassland. AND I WANT THEM NOW!! Well, that's what I tell my computer.

-Arrian

[PrinceBimz]

sugar daddy, I find to be correct. I have noticed the other nations respect you more if you are worth respecting. I don't know what the heck the Zulus problem was though. Sometimes out of nowhere two nations will form an alliance and declare war on me. Then it appears it was something they would plan because immediately after the declaration here comes 2 massive forces of armies and some ships in the sea land more units.

I normally put most of my workers on automated and I build a good amount of them. That may not be the best thing to do on higher levels? I just find CIV3 so much more challenging. I am scared to death to play on any level higher then regent...LOL

[Dinner]

Re: Best AI I have ever seen hands down!

Originally posted by PrinceBimz
It is kicking the living daylights out of me! I cannot even come close to winning a game and thats on Regent level.

If you like that then you should try CTP2 with the cradle mod. The AI is super aggressive and most people have trouble surviving much less winning.

[Auwi]

I'm not picky at all about where I start out. I think dealing with the lousy hand you're dealt is supposed to be part of the "fun". I think the picky players are really missing out. Sometimes its fun to start out weak and see how much you can overcome it with some shrewd diplomacy and trading.

In my current game I started out as the smallest civ, and it looked like the Egyptians were running away with it. Wiping them off the map wasn't a realistic option so I made some trades with them and some other civs to keep them polite or gracious. When the Chinese declared war on me, I got an alliance with the Egyptians and 3 other civs, which made those civs like me even more, and kept the Chinese completely off my back. I really think the AI are much smarter now about knowing when they're licked and why.

I'm in the end game now. Damn Egyptians beat me to the UN by 2 turns. Don't think I can beat them outright at this point, but it was FUN.

I think this situation calls for some nuclear backstabbing.

[Solver]

AI is one of the reasons while I still rate Civ 3 higher than CtP 2 with MedMod/Cradle Mod. Those mods surely add much to the AI of CtP 2, but it still does act strangely somewhat. It's no longer a complete pushover, but I'm not stunned by AI's clever moves.

I'm going to play my first 1.21f version game now.

[Coracle]

The AI cheats outrageously.

That does NOT mean it is smart.

[Inverse Icarus]

the AI doesnt cheat on regent. thats where theres no cheats (helping or hindering the AI)