Yes, but Civ II was cut way down on combat complexity from Civ 2. Which was a huge shame. The AI just kept spamming me with cheap units, which I despise.
It would always be your last tank that can be moved for the turn, and that spearman would be the last in an epic battle for an important city.
Occasionally that spearman would have been able to throw off three or four attacks by the cavalry or tank, gaining experience in the process. It would have done this after having survived the multiple bombardments entirely intact.
Everything you want to know about Civ IV:
Another voice for Alpha Centauri. In several ways it does surpass Civ III. Especially the social engineering. Like governments in civ, but so much better. (By better I mean more complex and gives more freedom to the player)
Screw Civ IV. It’s the same damn game every time except instead of improving it, they just mix up the units. Oh and way to puss out by taking out the terrorist units.
Thanks for the responses!
Hmmm…SMAC looks interesting, but I can’t get past the in-game graphics. It was my biggest complaint of Civ II (yeah, I know graphics should be the least of my concerns as a gamer). Total Rome is looking better and better. I gave up on RTS combat a long time ago (I’m great with a joystick, but terrible with a keyboard and mouse pad), Age of Empires. However, the graphics on the later ones look cool enough to play. But man, gameplay was frustrating (for me, anyways).
Not true at all. Graphics are as important as anything. Heck, it’s a visual media, so graphics are arguably the *most * important thing about it!
Civ 2 does look pretty bad now. Partly that’s because Civ 3 seemed so much more alive. There’s no shame in that.
I usually try to play with as many opposing civs as possible. I have to know how you play to give you any real pointers. You have to flexible, while at the same time, maximizing your civ’s best attributes. For instance, if you’re Religious, Scientific, don’t go around fighting wars, culture your enemies to death. Obviously, some attributes are going to be easier to play than others (military, commercial).
Some basics, right off the bat:
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I know I said don’t war, but beat the crap out of your neighboring Civs as quickly as possible. If they have a scout, kill him right away. However, do not kill off that civ, they are your buffer zone and immediate trading partner. Force them to trade with you, if you have to. At higher levels, they will advance in some tech faster than you.
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Speaking of which, know which tech tree you’re going to pursue and try not deviate. You’re not going to get all the wonders or be the first to advance in every technology. However, if you’re the first one to advance to an advantageous tech, like Knights, exploit it as much as possible.
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Know how to fight, in what order, and how to stack properly to maximize movement. At higher levels, you can’t just plod units together and attach willy-nilly. You really have to strategize. Also, know how to use your terrain.
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Plan your cities correctly, make no room for error. Area of influence aside, make sure that your cities overlap at their farthest resource zone. Don’t overlap too much, or you’ll deplete resources too quickly, or you won’t be able to grow food quickly enough. You want big cities, fairly close together (minimizes corruption, maximizes resources from land). This is probably the most important step.
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Everything produces, somebody is doing something, don’t let anyone remain idle. In this vein, make sure that your workers are working efficiently.
I don’t play multiplayer on anything, except Halo. I should try it some time – I take it you mean on-line. DemiGod is beatable, but you can still get screwed by a misstep in your play in the end game. At this level, I try not to fight too much, b/c it only serves to piss people off (yours and the cpu’s). I really try to let the others duke it out, really only making sure that my buffer civs aren’t totally wiped off the planet. If I get stuck on an island map, I’m screwed and just start over.
At Sid level, it’s really just a coin flip if I can make it to the middle ages. It seems like all the civs are up against you and they have so many resources it’s not even funny. These games boil down to trying to not get your ass kicked too badly and praying for a UN win. So basically, you’re bending over for every Civ. The idea is to try to get the other civs to fight against each other, bargain like crazy, and generate lots of money, because you are going to need to buy your wait out of a lot of predicaments. If you’re lucky, domination is still possible, but you will have to choose flat, large map, and get lucky on the good huts. Random is not an option.
They’re competing with abandonware sites. 
One thing I hate about all these games is how poorly sea travel is intergrated. Even with civilizations that are supposedly good for sea stuff, it becomes a huge hassle and just isn’t any fun. I’m the bloody Ruler of the Empire! I don’t want to sit there trying to direct every fleet personally!
If you are into fantasy, try Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. Not as comprehenive as Civ III, defintely, but still a hoot to play.
wink, wink
I know. Hard to believe ain’t it.
Definitely a good game as well though not in the Civ mold. Still, lots of fun to play. For that matter the first Age of Wonders game was pretty fun too. I especially like the city attack/defense turn based tactical combat with its mix of magic spells limited by mana, ranged attacks, use of heros and THEIR mana pools/special abilities, and high level race based units (like dragons and such).
Haven’t played it in quite a while, though now talking about it I might have to dig up my copy and reload it.
-XT