This Game is Great, just too hard

[cu_tiger_2004]

This may well be my favorite game of all time, its just too damn hard

I could have my way in civ2 on all but deity, I cant even win on chieften. Im makin it to around 1200 ad before I get my ass waxed.

I am playin as america, i just cant seem to get enuff cities, land runs out.

Someone pleez help.

[TheDarkside]

Yeah that's one thing I can agree is actually improved. The military AI is much better- they attack in concentrated waves and pick off weak units from behind the shadows of your empire. It is alot harder to expand now, ICS has been properly halted, at least for you. The AI I suppose cheats and expands like a wildfire, since you couldn't match it under the game rules unless you had a utipian start location.

The current game I'm playing I did OK, I expanded as ruthlessly as possible ASAP, leading me to build 6 cities by the time I ran out of land, and my neighbors the romans had 7. Yet my cities were basically void of defenses and any barbarian raid can swallow me whole, while the romans curiously have a healthy army already

And diplomacy is still totally unrealistic, so always pay tribute to the bullies unless you want to fight vs. all the other countries like I ended up

[d_dudy]

gee, maybe with the ai using real strategies we'll have to use real strategies too

[cu_tiger_2004]

That is exactly what is happening to me.I will have good standing with all the civs except for one. He crosses my border, I ask him to leave, he declares war.

Within a few turns all others join him and I cant get anyone to join
in an alliance with me. I cant pay them, give them tech, nuthin

This is a great game but my personal belief is that cheiften should be a joke to win. The challenge shouldnt come till the middle level.

I hope their patch will address som of these issues

[Ming]

Too Hard??? Wait until you have played the game a million and times and understand everything... then we will see if it is hard.

Remember when Civ II first came out and everybody though Deity was too tough... Now, we can play at Deity and win with one city

[Ballz1998]

Yeah, the game is real hard. I'm playing on cheiftan and the computer seems to be keeping up with my tech research pretty well because they trade with each other ALL THE TIME. In fact every at the beginning I realized that its absolutely necessary to trade with the computers. The only difference that I have heard of between the difficulties is how much the computer gets to cheat on production/science/growth. Regent = no cheating, below it cheats in your favor and above its in favor of the computer. I have no doubt, however, that in 6 months time people will be complaining about how easy the game is :-P. It's just that this game is totally different from civ 2.

Excess resources/luxuries bring in much needed cash flow and other resources/luxuries you dont have access to. If you find someone that has a luxury which you are lacking... trade for it with one of your extras, AND try to milk some money from them as well.

Where the players are started has a huge effect on the game. If you get started in the middle of the desert, then you need to find the grass and expand in that direction ASAP. Sacrifice some science for money as you can always trade techs with the computer to keep up. Keep your cities defended and build a temple in all your new cities as fast as you can... rush build if possible, this bumps you ahead in culture which expands your borders and makes you look better to the other civs. Your priorities should be defense, culture, money, science. In that order... but don't let yourself fall behind in science, being even is ok tho. Just my opinion... hell my best unit is still the calvary in 1600's on chieftan!

[Leonidas]

I also find the AI tends to gang up as well.

My only suggestion would be to play with fewer civs and play on an island map. That way you can be left alone to grow without being surrounded and invaded too early.

I may try this myself - I would like to see what the modern era is like and to experience at least SOME semblance of diplomacy. . .

[dainbramaged13]

i seem to be doing quite fine on chieftain... i met up with 3 civs inthe first couple of turns on a standard map with two major continents, 8 civs, 5 on miy continent, 3 on the other, some civs had 5 cities before i had 3, but now im kicking ass in culture, power, and score, so... and i wasn't even the greatest civ2 player of all time either. IM sure anybody in the mp forums here could kick my ass at civ2.

[dainbramaged13]

Originally posted by Leonidas
I also find the AI tends to gang up as well.

My only suggestion would be to play with fewer civs and play on an island map. That way you can be left alone to grow without being surrounded and invaded too early.

I may try this myself - I would like to see what the modern era is like and to experience at least SOME semblance of diplomacy. . .

THE DIPLOMACY IS GREAT AND THEY DONT GANG UP ON YOU IF YOU JUST HAVE ENOUGH CULTURE!

build wonders and improvements in your inner cities and they will be very polite to you. This leads to them ganging up on your militaristic enemies, and ultimat++++to you absorbing cities (ive absorbed about 6 so far.. its a rather common occurence considering the map fills up so quickly and the AI will place cities in stupider locations just to have a city, even though it is absorbed 10 turns later by my capital city )
thats actualyl the only aspect of AI that hasn't improved too much... stupid city locations... and i would raze the cities when i capture them except for the fact that if i did, they would just come up and bild new cities right where i razed the old ones

[randomturn]

The game is way herder, no question, but still beatable. I'm cleaning up on king and will move on to Emperor, but there are a few things you have to do and if you get a bad starting location (as alluded to above) you may as well just start over.