Do you play OCC - an informal survey

tonic · October 30, 2000, 22:49

With the expression of interest in a special OCC section, I gather there must be an appreciable number of silent OCCers here. Just as a friendly data gathering exercise here are a few basic questions:

1. What level do you play at

2. Do you play any of the Comparison Games listed at Paul's site ?

3. If not, why not?

4. What do you think of the Fortnight Comparison Games?

5. Any comments you have on OCC

ColdWizard · October 31, 2000, 04:10

1) i've tried OCC twice, once on prince and once on king

2) no

3) only recently been told of his site

4) they're very interesting

5) winning at OCC seems to be far out of the grasp of my mediocre civ skill, plus the hostility of the gold edition ai seems to make it harder still. i'll still keep trying every once in a while though

edit: changed answers to 3 and 4, i have tried OCC fortnight #19 and was doing well til civ crashed on me

, naturally i didn't have a save

[This message has been edited by ColdWizard (edited October 31, 2000).]

tonic · October 31, 2000, 04:24

Coldwizard: Paul's site (the url is in my initial post above) is well worth a visit - will really give you an overall picture of the strategy. And the Fortnight games are posted in the Civ2 strategy forum.

Scouse Gits · October 31, 2000, 08:45

I guess you know this, tonic, but yes I play OCC, at deity - have played most of the comparison games and am convinced that OCC is the easiest way to win at deity...

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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor
"The Great Library must be built!"

October 31, 2000, 08:56

1. I only play OCC these days! (See 5. below) I play at deity.

2. I've tried a few of the comparison games and I plan to try the rest in the months to come. But usually, I just set up a game on a random map, varying the settings a little every now and then.

3. N/A

4. I think it's a good idea, but I'm not participating at the moment due to the fact that I can't be certain to complete the game (including the very, very extensive log which I find to be more of a drag than anything else

) within 2 weeks.

5. OCC games are fast paced and you get to enjoy the most fun parts of the game (i.e. diplomacy, goody huts, exploration, NON-units, optimization of science rates etc., etc.) - and they're easily comparable from game to game. That's why I like to play this way more than the regular games I started out with. There's still a challenge for me playing OCC and trying to optimize the play from different starting positions and with different settings. Regular single play I'm afraid I've outgrown until CivIII comes along.

A special OCC section would be great, and I'd be sure to visit it frequently.

tonic · October 31, 2000, 16:24

SG(1): I am tending to agree with you after getting through the initial part of the learning curve, that OCC is the gateway to deity level and that a well-chosen comparison game would serve the transition well.

BTW one of the triggers for this thread is the thinning ranks of the Fortnight Comparison games - your presence is sorely missed.

Legman: I'm basically in the same boat - OCC only these days. I empathise about the extra hassle of keeping a log but there are pluses when you want to optimise your game - great for noting timely info. It's basically a habit which is now a part of the game for me. Look forward to your joining in the friendly rivalry in the Fortnight games where if one scores it's one's skill and if one's near the other end, well one had bad luck

Paul · October 31, 2000, 17:26

Do I really need to answer this?

I think you can guess my answers to 1-4, so I'll just respond to 5. I love to play OCC because the games go much faster. Lately I find that I don't have much time to play Civ, so OCC allows me to finish games. I can just about keep up with the fortnights and occasionally play a random map OCC.

ColdWizard · October 31, 2000, 18:07

thanks for the info and memory jog, tonic. i've edited my post with my current answers

tonic · November 1, 2000, 06:05

A gentle BUMP

blackbob · November 1, 2000, 08:41

1 Diety
2 I have played some
4 Looks like good fun
5 It is great for a quick game. Single player games just take to long and I've given up on multiplay as these are even worse to complete. If I was organised enough I would take part in the fortnightly games but I know I wouldn't have the commitment to keep the full log going. I will continue to download the games from time to time and it's good to see how everyone else is progressing.
Cheers

tonic · November 2, 2000, 07:34

Here's my input:

1. Deity
2. Yes and I'm gradually playing through all of them
3.-
4. This is my staple and I look forward to each new game.
5. As stated by others, it's brief and it's the only form of civing I do. I have learnt a lot about civ2 strategy since playing OCC. With only one city to run, the constant fine tuning in the micromanagement does not become such a chore. The satisfaction in optimising the science race makes even detailed logging acceptable. The comparison with fellow OCCers is both fun and instructive.

Lefty Scaevola · November 3, 2000, 16:14

. soon I shall have played, but it seems I must first obtain civ2 plain, rather than my MGE

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Gauis Mucius Scaevola
older richer & wiser than you

Builder · November 3, 2000, 17:32

1. King

2. no

3. dont know

4. I dont think about them

5. great if you wanna fast game

tonic · November 3, 2000, 17:57

Lefty Scaevola: Ribbanah seems to be doing very well on his MGE based games. Perhaps he can give us all some tips.

Builder: Perhaps Q4 could be rephrased: Does the idea of a regular OCC comparison game appeal to you?

Ming · November 3, 2000, 19:51

I used to play all the time when it first started.
Me and Rah traded the record back and forth... and then PAUL came around

so much for that... sigh...
We only played at Deity.

But then, MP got going real well, and I find playing humans far more exciting than the AI.

It kept me amused for a long time.
And to think some thought it even couldn't be done!
And now I just look at Paul's records... HA HA HA HA!

Keep the flame going Paul!

Scouse Gits · November 3, 2000, 20:05

Ming, you are definitely behind the times - just look at some of Ribanah's achievements - there is a new OCC Star in the firmament!!!
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The Scouse Gits in concert (and red wine)

tonic · November 3, 2000, 21:07

Which raises the question, "Is Ribannah a DL of rah?". Take away the middle five letters, convert the initial leter to lower case and voila!

Smash · November 3, 2000, 21:32

I have actually played a few MP OCC games.With 3 humans and with 2 humans.Played them on premade maps with IDENTICAL sites.It was pretty good.You really had to think it out because there is no way you will get all the OCC wonders.We made Shake's for humans a no-no.Figured it might be a little strong.Later it was modified to no Cope's and Shake's or no Sir Ike's and Shake's.

The Espionage tech played a major role.Ever steal 12 techs from 1 city in 1 turn

Me neither but my opponent did

tonic · November 5, 2000, 02:25

Perhaps I should add

Q6:
What challenges are left in terms of a scenario for comparison games?

Smash · November 5, 2000, 04:13

DaveV's Headstart

tonic · November 8, 2000, 00:03

OK it seems Ribannah's the only one who did it. Anyone else?

Julius Brenzaida · November 10, 2000, 07:01

Well, I sometimes play OCC. It's a lot of fun. And I think that at Deity, it's one of the easiest (and shortest and coolest) way to win. I'm currently playing one game with a gigamap and things are going great. From my point of view, the only big difficulty (once you've read and followed Paul's strategy) is building the starship. It takes a lot of time and the AI can (too often) beat you for AC.

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Oh Man, when will you understand that your greatness lies in your failure - Goethe

Ribannah · November 10, 2000, 10:48

quote:

Originally posted by tonic on 11-03-2000 08:07 PM
Which raises the question, "Is Ribannah a DL of rah?". Take away the middle five letters, convert the initial leter to lower case and voila!

LOL - he'd wish!
Err ... Rah in ban?

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If you have no feet, don't walk on fire

tonic · November 10, 2000, 19:45

JB: What about the comparison games? These would go like a breeze after your gigamap try.

Rib: What's the significance of the imagery?

Scouse Gits · November 10, 2000, 20:32

quote:

Originally posted by Ribannah on 11-10-2000 09:48 AM
Err ... Rah in ban?

Sorry, Rib, this loses something in the translation ...

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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor
"The Great Library must be built!"
"A short cut has to be challenging,
were it not so it would be 'the way'." - Paul Craven
[This message has been edited by Scouse Gits (edited November 10, 2000).]

Julius Brenzaida · November 11, 2000, 18:18

quote:

Originally posted by tonic on 11-10-2000 06:45 PM
JB: What about the comparison games? These would go like a breeze after your gigamap try.

Well I think the gigamap made it easier this time. The Carthaginians and Mongols were fighting each other on a huge, huge, huge continent, quite far away from me, with the poor Aztecs stuck in the middle, with 2 or 3 cities. The Russians were in the next island, further away from me and all three militaristics neutralized themselves and never discovered neither any signifiant technologie, neither my little island. The Germans were on a relatively small island, alas for them too close from the Russians. They did a great job of fighting of their opponents, but could not become a force in the game. It left only the Chinese, but well you know the light blue civilizations. They’re the weakest in the game. I did some diplomacy and some trading, it wasn’t even stressful and I launched my Spaceship in 1902 before anybody else had discovered space fly. It was a piece of cake. But it’s not always the case. Sometimes those big expansionist civs eat up a civilized one at the right moment and they become almost invicible.
BTW, I’ve heard stories about how the AI adapts its science rate according to our technologies. Does it do it at any lever or only at Deity ? If the latter is the case, gigamaps maybe tougher at Emperor level. I should try one next week.

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Oh Man, when will you understand that your greatness lies in your failure - Goethe

kcbob · November 12, 2000, 01:18

quote:

Originally posted by Paul on 10-31-2000 04:26 PM
Do I really need to answer this?

LOL!

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Frodo lives!

kcbob · November 12, 2000, 01:24

1. I play at Deity
2. I've played a couple of the comparison games.
3. I kind of jump around on what I'm playing these days. For instance, I just played a couple of OCC games yesterday. I'm in the middle of two succession games, and I've only recently learned all of the subtle nuances of ICS.
4. These are great. But the two I've tried, I've gotten my butt kicked when everybody else has been hitting AC in BC.

I guess I've still got a long way to go.
5. Comments? If you haven't tried OCC, you owe it to yourself to play until you win. It's an amazing concept that, until you see if for yourself, you won't believe it.

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Frodo lives!

DrFell · November 14, 2000, 21:21

1 - i play OCC occasionally, and i play it on deity.

2 - i love the comparison games

3 - looks like an N/A

4 - interestin to read, see how much better everyone else does than me

5 - completed most of the comparison games ive come across (about 5), but my times arent very good - yet

. not good enough to post

. im also to lazy to keep a log - if only the good old civ1 replay was in civ2. ive completed an OCC game on the original civ2. i also tried on tot, but found the ai hostility to be a major problem. tot is really starting to piss me off.
i play mp tot games on the zone sometimes - most of the players there seem to be quite poor, and ive thought about going OCC in an mp game, and see if i could win. never had a good enough start though.

Empress · November 16, 2000, 18:43

I played a couple times with Forrest -- and lost every time!