Quite a learning curve

dande · March 6, 2001, 10:17

Wow! I know I'm busy, but this is crazy. I have had the game for about 5 days now and am still clueless. I just loaded it on my system yesturday after trying to plow through a dense very detailed manual (I'm still less than half way through!) When I finally sat down to poke around yesturday I was so completely lost I couldn't even figure out how to build my first army (even in the tutorial scenario!!). Alas, after rereading the manual and playing some more I slowly started to understand things. (Although attrition of my sea vessels is phenominally high!)

I have been Civing for 10 years and EU is such a departure in gameplay (obviously! b/c it is not based on civ) that the learning curve is pretty long. Have you found this to be the case?

Steve Clark · March 6, 2001, 12:27

That has been my experience up until last night. I spent 3 nights (about 2-3 hours per) going through the tutorial several times since there's no save. During the day, I read (and re-read) parts of the manual. I remember the first night getting to the point about adding a merchant and not having a clue as to its cause and affect. I then took the time to study everything about EU economics and now got a handle on that.

So starting in again last night, I quickly went through the first part and then got into navies and armies (esp. in landing in England and then going south to the Catalunyas). It didn't take long to figure out about the weight parameters and attritions. I kept watching the transport fleet numbers go from 12 of 16 to 12 of 14 to 12 of 12 and then DISASTER. It's then easy to see that you have to methodically make your way south by building ports. It's not like Civ where you can keep a ship out in the ocean for years without harm.

I then got to see a little of diplomacy and that was fairly straight forward as to how to do it.

I think I'm done with the tutorial (or at least got what I wanted out of it) and now I'll play the Fanstasia scenario to practice some more. I'm finding that once you get past the tutorial (it is not too bad, imo), you've reached the upper part of the Learning Curve and can now concentrate on the infinite mix and matches of strategies.

Steve Clark · March 6, 2001, 14:01

The Tutorial is actually pretty good for learning the mechanics of the game, but not the strategies or the 'whys'. The popup message boxes are actually quite good and helpful in figuring out how to do something. I like the Tutorial for learning the mechanics, but wish there was a step-by-step accompaniment in the manual.

Victor Galis · March 6, 2001, 23:06

I plunged right in as France in the Grand Campaign... I played for about 10 years then restarted. That is the game where it is now 1740, and the world has been brought to its knees by the mighty kingdom of France.

The king had visions of France folding like a card table in future wars and wanted to ensure that there would be no one left to lose to

Kyle · March 7, 2001, 01:19

I think it's pretty safe to say for everyone, DON'T PLAY THE TUTORIAL.

Play Russia in the Age of Revolutions scenario, then Spain in the Grand Campaign.

All on the Easiest levels. With the former, you can play around and make mistakes without them being too costly. And with the latter, you get every aspect of the game quickly; exploration, colonization, diplomacy, war.

Savant · March 7, 2001, 01:40

It's certainly not impossible to learn! My 9-year olds are playing it and they got the hang of it within 2 hours or so. Of course, I also explained some things for them. But obviously, it is not like solving Rubik's cube.

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'Blood will run'

dande · March 7, 2001, 11:49

Wow,
You guys sure know how to make someone feel like dirt!

I better not show the game to my 4 1/2 year old or I'll really feel stupid!! Guess I should just put down the manual and start playing.

lord of the mark · March 7, 2001, 14:19

quote:

Originally posted by dande on 03-07-2001 10:49 AM
Wow,
You guys sure know how to make someone feel like dirt!

I better not show the game to my 4 1/2 year old or I'll really feel stupid!! Guess I should just put down the manual and start playing.

don worry, kids and computers are a natural combo for making adults feel stupid!!!!

Lord of the mark