Civ4

[Walsingham]

Summary:

 

New leaders, new units, new tech, new buildings. these things are welcome but secondary to the re-jigging of the subtler aspects of gameplay, including the civilisation domestics, and combat. Particularly air combat. In addition the expansion includes some kickass mods and scenarios that show the potential of the game. If you enjoy Civ at all you should buy this expansion.

[Tale]

That was so last month in the games you're looking forward to thread. Pshaw.

 

But yes, I love this game. I'm at war with Catherine the Great in my most recent game. I don't think I'll ever finish it because that ***** has too many bombers and stands between me and my nearest sources of oil. I was trying to play the game as an arrogant xenophobic technophile. I didn't get one of the main resources of the modern world (oil), but I did get the other (uranium). I eventually made a pact with the most technological nation (it's permitted, I'm a technophile), but that didn't stop the bastage from using the UN to get rid of my nuclear weapons before I could finish building my first one. God, I hate him.

 

I was going to stockpile countless nukes as deterrent and just sit on them before Catherine declared. When she did declare I decided to wipe her from the map. Then my "ally" made it so I can't build any more (read ANY AT ALL) nukes. *extends middle finger*

Edited September 13, 2007 by Tale

[Spider]

Fantastic expansion. So much better than Warlords that it's not even funny. I particularly like how corporations work. Also, the new tech tree and additional 100 turns make a huge difference in how the game progresses.

[Tale]

We should arrange a friendly game of Civ4! And by friendly game I mean "DON'T DECLARE WAR ON ME, YOU BASTAGE!" We could team up against the computer!

[Hurlshort]

Yeah, pitboss games work great. You can just log in and play a turn every 24 hours, and it doesn't get held up if someone misses a turn or two. Unfortunately we would need someone to keep the game running like a server.

[Enoch]

Back when vanilla Civ4 was all the rage, we had an interesting succession game going on around here for a little while. It didn't last very long (and everything took forever because whoever set it up used a huge map on marathon speed), but it was a neat way to see how others played the game.

[Pidesco]

I'm still up for some of that if anyone's interested. It was a lot of fun, even if way too short.

[Oerwinde]

I'm still up for some of that if anyone's interested. It was a lot of fun, even if way too short.

 

DOOO IT

 

Also, expansion is good. I'm glad they brought back my favorite combo of creative/financial. Too bad all my dutch colonies tend to end up being american.

[Enoch]

I'm still up for some of that if anyone's interested. It was a lot of fun, even if way too short.

 

DOOO IT

If we do, I'd suggest waiting a bit. There's a new patch due out next week, and I think it'll be easier to run if we're all on the same page, version-wise, when it starts off.

[Musopticon?]

I'd be so onto this. If I owned an internet connection. And a computer.

[Enoch]

In the meanwhile, I found the original succession game thread we did. It's still a fun read:

 

http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=40269

[SteveThaiBinh]

I'm in.

Beyond the Sword is really good, and the corporations are great fun. The AI seems to have improved on the lower levels, in terms of the computer-controlled civs handling their technological progression and going for victory. Perhaps it shows Firaxis is moving away from reliance on production bonuses/penalties to make the game challenging or easy.

[Walsingham]

I agree that warfare is now the best I've ever seen anywhere (in games terms, obviously not in realistic terms). I'm in a game at present whith two large continents. Needless to say I have been slowly nibbling my way along my continent, but on the other one jstinian has been building himself a huge and technologically superior one. Given he possessed riflemen and airships while I was still getting my spurs untangled I had been about to give up on it as a bad job.

 

It was then that I started looking at him from a non-attritional perspective and fell in love with this game.

 

He was reliant for all his oil on a small island (heavily fortified), and ddi not appear to have got refining yet. I therefore threw EVERYTHING into refining and managed to get there first. My superior navy then isolated the island, and slughtered the waves of galleons, caravels, and frigates while I used massive numbers of cannons and ballistas to pummel his machineguns and modern riflemen down to a level my grenadiers could storm. It was extremely bloody, but eventually worked.

 

As an adjunct I dispatched a second operational group to raze some of his vassal's cities, splitting him away from them, and bringing them into my own camp. This in itslef would just transfer more worries about my didgy allies, but I used the liberate function to turn over cities captured from him and them, thus sweetening them up, alongside massive gifts of every kind of resource. In addition I shipped them quantities of cavalry and riflemen.

 

It's working so far. He's pretty pissed off though.

 

The point is really that in this game you can take a system view of an enemy and go for the stiletto to the heart rather than pummeling him in the field.

[Enoch]

There's a new patch due out next week.

Well, as is often the case with patches, that "next week" turned into "three weeks from now."

 

You can now see the change list and get it here.

 

If there's still interest in doing a new succession game around here, I'd be happy to get things started. However, I'll be off on the left coast visiting with my fiancee's family until Monday, so somebody else is welcome to kick it off if they can't wait.

 

In the meantime, lets decide on some settings. I think "Prince" is probably a good difficulty to start on-- the last one was on Noble, but BTS is generally easier than vanilla Civ4 because the AI trades less and techs slower (although I don't know if that is still true after this patch). I'm thinking that one of the new map scripts would be appropriate. Perhaps "Big and Small"? Standard speed and 'normal' map size is probably best. Any preferences on Civs/Leaders?

[Pidesco]

I'm also interested in that succession game, and, like you, I've been following civfanatics while waiting for the patch. The wait is getting pretty annoying, actually.

 

As for starting off the game I'm also away from my computer for the rest of the weekend, so I won't be able get it started.

 

As for difficulty, I've actually been finding BTS to be slightly harder than vanilla, but between Prince and Noble it doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me. Regarding map type, I generally don't like dealing with a navy, so I usually choose either Pangaea, or 2 continents if I want to split off the Civs in two groups. Standard speed and normal map size sounds good to me, especially if there's someone with a PC with lower specs.

 

Is ten turns per player a good amount of turns?

 

Finally, I think we should wait to have at least five different players before starting the game.

 

People who want to join in should start posting.........

 

NOW!

[MrBrown]

If there's still interest in doing a new succession game around here, I'd be happy to get things started. However, I'll be off on the left coast visiting with my fiancee's family until Monday, so somebody else is welcome to kick it off if they can't wait.

 

In the meantime, lets decide on some settings. I think "Prince" is probably a good difficulty to start on-- the last one was on Noble, but BTS is generally easier than vanilla Civ4 because the AI trades less and techs slower (although I don't know if that is still true after this patch). I'm thinking that one of the new map scripts would be appropriate. Perhaps "Big and Small"? Standard speed and 'normal' map size is probably best. Any preferences on Civs/Leaders?

 

Actually, they revamped the AI for BtS, so it should be exactly the opposite... and I have been finding it such as well. Maybe you've been playing against AI with personalities that don't trade much?

 

Also, Noble is the default, average, difficulty setting... I have no idea why everyone seems to prefer Prince though.

 

 

I might also be interested in playing Civ4, but not a succession game. Pvp for me.

[SteveThaiBinh]

I prefer Noble, and I generally find the AI to be doing better in Beyond The Sword - not in combat so much, but in technological advance and in pursuing cultural and diplomatic victories.

[Pidesco]

The patch is out!

 

Go get it!

[Enoch]

I prefer Noble, and I generally find the AI to be doing better in Beyond The Sword - not in combat so much, but in technological advance and in pursuing cultural and diplomatic victories.

That's true, but my experience (albeit before the current patch) is that the AI tends to use the espionage slider a lot, which slows its tech rate. It is also coded not to trade a technology that it has a monopoly on.

 

We can do Noble for the succession game (assuming adequate interest). I find that level pretty easy-- you can out-produce the AI on even footing just by controlling your workers manually and turning the city governors off-- but I'm not going to be the only person playing. I think 10 turns is a bit short, at least for the early game. Maybe start at 20 and consider shortening them in the middle ages.

 

 

 

Note: There have already been a few issues with the new patch. An unofficial patch from a civfanatics poster is available that fixes the most egregious of them. I haven't tried it personally yet, but it looks like a must-have.

 

Note-the-Second: Anyone who wants to improve their CivIV play and increase their understanding of the game should read the civfanatics threads on Sisiutil's "All Leaders Challenge". Great walkthroughs of games by a very smart player. Only 3 have been done in BTS so far, but many of the strategies used in the earlier ones are still pertinent.

[Pidesco]

Do you want to start things off, Enoch?

 

 

Edit: I've sent a bunch of PMs to people who I think may be up to this.

 

Also, regarding the unofficial patch, I normally don't use them, but if everyone insists on it, I can install it.

Edited October 9, 2007 by Pidesco

[Pidesco]

So, most people have already answered my PMs, and I think we have enough people to start this off.

 

Right now, these guys are a go:

 

Pidesco (AKA, me)

Enoch

Oerwinde

Walsingham

 

I'm guessing that Steve is in as well, but he hasn't PMed me yet. Also, Tale has yet to PM me as well.

 

Of course, anyone else who I haven't PMed is free to join in at any time.

 

 

We still have to decide on what map settings we should play, but I say we just let Enoch pick whatever he wants, so that things get started as quickly as possibly. I'd choose the settings myself, but I always choose the same settings in my games so I want to be surprised.

 

 

Edit: The photobucket account created for the old thread is still up, so we can use that to upload screenshots

Edited October 9, 2007 by Pidesco

[Nick_i_am]

Yeah, the new patch takes multiplayer up the arse and does naughty things to it.

 

LAN GAMES SHOULDN'T BE GOING OUT OF SYNC THEN CRASHING EVERY FIVE MINUTES YOU FREAKING MORONS.

[Pidesco]

Tale is also in.

 

Edit:

 

From the old thread:

 

For the purpose of this game, I have made an account on http://www.photobucket.com

The account name is mca01a, with the password being the same. If this eventually gets filled up, further accounts (mca01b, etc) will be made.

Edited October 9, 2007 by Pidesco

[Enoch]

Okay, I'll get started tonight. The start and first round should be up within a couple of hours. I'll do it in a new thread.

[Musopticon?]

Good luck and good fighting for all, I'll be watching this and cursing my lack of computer.