- Is Montezuma always a psychotic bastard?
- Is playing 8 hours a day normal, or am I developing a problem?
- What’s the best place to look for game tips?
- What game should I try next? I love the graphics and strategy of Civ and want to try something similar.
- Yes. (and remember “Sister Miriam” when you get to my answer to question 4.)
- Yes and yes.
- Can’t help you here, I play at a medium level at best.
- Alpha Centauri may well be the pinnacle of the genre. For this, in space, you can also try Sword of the Stars (less “complex”, more tech/war management) or Galactic Civlizations II (which I find a bit…silly.)
Yes. So is Isabelle, and Tokugawa. Isabelle is sometimes not so bad if you share a religion with her. I kill her as soon as I can just on principle, though.
Totally normal. Civilization is the worst addictive game for the long term that I’ve ever played. I’ve been playing for… lesseee, I think Civ I came out in 1991. You do the math.
There’s nothing quite like Civ. If you don’t have the add-ons (Beyond the Sword and Warlords), they’re worth getting. There’s also a game called Colonization, which is built on the Civ engine but has to do with colonizing the new world.
In the same genre but not as good IMO is the Age of Empires series of games and games like CivCity.
You might also like the SimCity series.
WarCraft and StarCraft are also fun, if a bit dated. They’re coming out with StarCraft 2… someday.
Just to reiterate - IMO none of these are as good as Civilization, but they’re fun to play for a while. And sometimes you don’t want anything quite as addictive as Civ.
The files on the AI leaders show that Montezuma is one of the most likely to attack you, regardless of the situation. Heck, you can be +12 with the guy, trading everything he needs to him, and he’ll still attack you. He’s nuts.
The rules on Montezuma are:
Rule #1: Kill Monty.
Rule #2: When in doubt, refer to Rule #1.
Not to hijack this, but I figure I can use this thread for a question I’ve been meaning to ask.
I picked up Civ3 over steam during the holidays, and… how the hell do I learn to play this game? What’s the best way to really start?
Oh, you can do better than that. Monty’s a rabid attack dog, but I usually find that he’s my rabid attack dog. If anyone other than him declares war on me first (which is statistically pretty likely to happen, when you combine everyone else in the world), I bribe Montezuma into joining the fight on my side, and then he becomes somebody else’s problem, not mine.
In other words, Rule #1: Let someone else kill Monty, while you’re biding time and building up behind him.
Disclaimer: I play III, not IV, so this might not work as well there.
They’re older, but I loved Master of Orion 1 and 2. Still have 2 and play occasionally, but I haven’t had 1 in a long, long time.
God, what a fun game.
Playing Civ for 8 hours a day is only normal if you start playing at about 10 p.m. each night. More typical is looking outside and wondering when the sun came up. And then playing ninety or so just-one-more-turns. And then wondering whether it’s even worth calling work to let them know that you won’t be in, seeing as how it’s already lunchtime.
The best Civ-like game is Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri (a.k.a. SMAC), coupled with its expansion Sid Meier’s Alien Crossfire. They’re hard to track down, though. You may find that Master of Orion ][ (MoO2) will tide you over until then.
Avoid Master of Orion 3 and the Call to Power series, which are both pretty awful.
ETA: Oh, yes - there are certain leaders who will just declare war on you. Time and time again. If you’re too close to them for comfort, try and organise either to thrash them technologically, or to hold them off until late enough that defensive pacts start being offered. I once had a thirteen-Civ game where a religion-based border incursion resulted in a peaceful globe suddenly becoming nine civs - some of which had stealth bombers - declaring war on the Isabella/Ghandi alliance.
You may find entertainment in changing the settings to randomising leaders’ personalities. It throws up interesting challenges when you’re no longer sure how everyone’s going to react.
Alternately, if you get a combined religion and exploration lead, proselytise the hell out of Isabella early on.
Age of Empires, WarCraft, and StarCraft are all real-time strategy and are pretty intensive on the mouse. If I remember correctly, blinkie has some trouble with quick mouse movement, so those would be something to try before you buy. I second the SimCity suggestion. If you’re really into the management aspects of Civ, running a city is probably something you’ll enjoy.
Hell yes. As a matter of fact, MoO2 is in my CD tray right now. It may be a little tough to find, but its very well worth it. The first one was great at the time, but I played it again recently and the sequel has spoiled me way too much. MoO3 isn’t terrible, but it just doesn’t compare with the first 2.
The best way is probably just to throw yourself in a regular game (this really applies equally to any of the Civ games). Just set the difficulty to Chieftain and play through a game or two. The Greeks are a pretty good civ to start with in Civ3 if you’re having trouble choosing. You’ll learn plenty just by mucking through a bit and asking questions as needed. Also check out the CivFanatics link above, there’s tons of info there.
ETA- Does Steam give you the manual too? Besides the controls, it would be worthwhile to glance through the Beginners’ chapter (4 for me) and the City Management chapter (6). That’ll give you an idea of how to build stuff and how food/shields/trade are made.
Did you know if you play Indian you never have the revolutions and lose time to revolt? You can change civs and not have that annoying rioting in all your cities. And your special is the fast worker. I tend to play Asoka, myself. I also prefer pangaea, and marathon games.
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As everyone else has said, yes. I usually play the Supersized Continent game, and occasionally this means that Monty is on his own island continent, away from everyone else. This is the only time that he’s not on the warpath. And that’s ONLY until he can develop reasonable naval transport (something that carries more than three at a time). However, with Monty, at least you KNOW that he’s going to attack you or someone else as soon as he can. He’s reassuringly predictable that way.
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Perfectly natural reaction. But yes, you are developing a problem.
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You should look here, of course.
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Final Fantasy 8. Oh, you wanted something SIMILAR to Civ. The only response is more Sid Meier games.
Sometimes I like to make a note of which tribe was the biggest loser in my last game, and try playing that tribe on my next game.
My favorite is Civ III Complete. I like a lot of Civ IV, but Civ III is the one I’m most likely to play.
That’s actually true not just for India, but for any leader who is Spiritual. It’s also an awesome diplomatic ability. You can switch your civics to match a proposed ally, or if someone demands that you change, without much problem.
Spiritual+Pyramids (for all government civics) or Spiritual +Shwegandon Payahoweverthellit’sspelled (for all religious civics) are both tremendous combinations. If you can get the Pyramids early, switch quickly to Representation and you’ll have a solid advantage for the early game.
Also, Mansa Musa (Financial + Spiritual) can be a monster when it comes to technology and trade. Lots of money and the ability to switch civics to make anyone happy with you.
Yes Monty is a real prick. So is Shaka. When you see a stack of units anywhere near your border, rush your troops to the likely attack sites. They can’t resist a lightly defended border town.
#4: in addition to the first two Master of Orions, also find Master of Magic. Sort of like Civ 2 in a fantasy setting with optional turn-based strategy combat.
Thanks for the tips and yes I do have limited mouse control, I operate the mouse with my head. Timed games are difficult for me, but Civ works. I also have a little brain damage so it’s more than a little reassuring to know that I’m not the only one who had a bit of difficulty figuring out how to play.
Age of Wonders 1 & 2 being more modern spiritual successors, if you can’t deal with 640*480 VGA graphics
Lynn’s mention of FF8 reminded me; what about emulation and ROMs? I’m not sure exactly how much we can talk about them, but there are quite a few NES and SNES games where you’re in no hurry at all. Can we discuss emulators and/or post links?
ETA- I’m mainly thinking of KOEI games like Aerobiz and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but the list of good games from back in the day is a long one.
Does the computer “cheat”? In other words, do the other civs have bonuses the player doesn’t or do they see the entire map or anything like that? I ask because Montezuma (there he is again!) parked about 20 cuirassers outside one of my cities and is bombadring it with approximately 8 airships. It’s been 12 turns since I decimated a similarly large Aztec invasion. Where is he making all these units?
yes it cheats on higher levels (on chieftain you get production/happiness bonuses; on hard levels they get the production/happiness bonuses IIRC).
I can’t remember the difficulty level where everyone’s equal