oooh er.....

[David In Asia]

hi all

playing my first game of CTP2 thats been modified. i bought and played it when it first came out, but it was just too easy and unbalanced - it just turned into a click-feast but i always kept it in the back of my mind, because (like most people, i think) i could see the potential.

so, i've come back to it after playing civIII for awhile, and went straight for the hard level. so, just to check what was happening and to get a feel for the game levels, i went into cheat mode to see how the civs were fairing. good god almighty. i've got 3 cities, about 4 farms, a couple of granaries and a few warriors. the other civs have got 9 cities (average), farms, mines, shrines, granaries........

now, this isn't going to be a "the computer must be cheating, this game sucks, rant, rant" thread, i'm more interested in where i'm going wrong. it's only the beginning of the game, so there is only a finite amount of choices and settings i can make. how the hell did i manage to fall so far behind? i know the other civs started with 1 more settler, but jeez!!!

anyhows, this post is more just for fun than anything else - i'm certainly not expecting any golden answers, i just wondered if anyone had any opinions. i mean, i dont care if the ai does "tweak" a little to stay ahead, what perplexes is me is what i need to learn to stay with them!! there's another 2 levels after this.....but i'll get there...

anyway, going to start a new game on next level down - keep you posted.

MULTIPLAYER?

the manual tells me nothing. how does it work? does it work? i'm really excited by the prospect of it.......

d

[Maquiladora]

Nah i think its just in the unmodded game it was REALLY dumb managing its own cities and so it makes sense that it should be in front so much, especially with that one valuable extra settler. Its just like if someone in multiplayer had an extra settler, theyd go waay out in front too, after a time it just snowballs and they expand to the end of their own continent in no time.
Maybe you could ask one of the modders for more info on what actually was done to make the AI manage it cities better, i dunno i just play the thing

[David In Asia]

had another little playaround - not only does it start with the extra settler, it gets 500 PW as well to start with, that explains all the farms and mines i saw.

ah well, no worries. i've just started a new game on medium level, so i'll just take it from there. hope it doesn't let me down, as it's so much better than civ in so many ways, but it all means nothing if there are flaws in fundamental aspects such as ai and gamebalance/play.

and multiplayer?? i haven't seen it mentioned too much, but i haven't looked too hard. anybody tried it? i use to play smac head-to-head with my mate, and that was just so good.

d

[hexagonian]

BTW, what Mod are you using?

This will help us tell you what is going on in your game - though there is a lot of crossover between all of the Mods.

Glad you are enjoying it so far...

[Martin Gühmann]

Yeah it is really necessary to know the mod you are using as the there are different start strategies in ech mod the AI use and other strategies for the player.

-Martin

[child of Thor]

Ref Multiplayer,
It depends how you want to do it. At the momment CTP2 supports Internet play(check the FAQ at top of this forum for more info),but you will need to do a little 'fix' to a few files as it was 'broke' when Activision rushed out the game. Or ,and the one i play, you can play over a LAN(TCP/IP) connection. Again check the FAQ for a few tips on how to get the best out of multiplayer mode. Unfortunatly there is no Hotseat option, but that is being looked at and maybe one day it will be another way in which the Modding community will have improved this game.
As for setting up the multiplayer game on a LAN, well its quite easy. all players need the same CTP2 setup(1.1patch, same mods etc.)
Select 'multiplayer' from the main menu
Select 'TCP/ip'
enter a 'Profile' name to play under
enter the 'Lobby'

One player needs to 'Create' the game(the guy with the best computer works well), remember to select 'dynamic rejoin' from the options available(will help you finish a game ).
All other players select 'Join game' and then all players 'Launch' the game. That's about it. It should detect your IP's automatically, so you(hopefully) wont have to mess around with that kind of thing!(but you might so don't be too stressed).
Oh yeah try to keep human players to 4max(the 1.1patch readme says this).I usually have 3 human and 5 AI when playing a game, oh and allow for a lot of time to finish(20hours plus!), i rarely finish a MP LAN game in one sitting.Good luck and it really is the best way to play, beating your friends!(and getting beat)

[DeanToth]

Hi David in Asia

To answer your original question about what you are doing wrong to be SO FAR BEHIND the A.I.

Answer: nothing (assuming you are playing unmodded)

The A.I. really is cheating. You would be right, though not the first, in ranting about it.

You have to be patient and consolidate your resources... in due time, you will have an army or two made up of 12 catapults or musketeers which will then trundle across the continents decimating every enemy it comes across.

In the meantime, do not overextend yourself, keep some forces at hand against barbarians and the occasional enemy-empire army... concentrate primarily on growth, followed by research in the early game.

Eventually, you will have geometry or gunpowder and though you won't be the first to have it, you will be the first to have a 12-stack of catapults/musketeers..

Once you do, this army will be near unbeatable and you can sweep across the landscape taking city after city...

At this point you will experience exponential growth/science.

Once this happens, nothing that A.I. can do will beat you... this is why the A.I. cheats so much!!