On the oft neglected joys of the late game

bbaws · October 30, 2002, 16:28

We've all gotten to that point, usually in the industrial era, where we haven't achieved a victory condition, yet realized that the game is undoubtedly won. uddenly a glorious game becomes a grinding chore.
How to avoid this? Especially for builders woh have trouble on the warmonger levels like deity?
All victory conditions except conquest turned off (even domination is best off, it tends to kick in just as this gets interersting). Play the game as normal until you have gained absolute control of you r continent, or string of islands or lumpy bit of your pangea. Increase your luxury rate, build the FP near the core of your empire (core time wise not geographically). Shift your palace to a nice spot and watch the WLTKD notices pop up. Any city that has built everything available build units to scare off the AI. Enjoy the spectacle of corruption and waste disappearing little by little turn by turn. As each newly conquered region gets to the point that every city has built everything you could wish for start looking about for your next province to annex.
To make the WLTKD trick work your going to have to trade your left testicle for luxuries. Do it, over the ages you will be rewarded with an increasing number of "core" cities. As the corruption goes down so will your science rate. But to keep it going you're going to have to let that precious tehc lead dwindle to one or two techs at most.
Playing hunt the tactical nuke equipped sub is a true joy when you are only half way to researching SDI.

Arrian · October 30, 2002, 17:25

Except for "hunt the tactical nuke sub" that's pretty much what I do in the latter stages of my games.

I make my mission corruption/waste reduction. Optimal Palace/FP axis is an earlier mission (hopefully completed no later than the middle ages).

If I've had a very successful game, I have secured 6-8 luxuries by the industrial age, so WLTKD isn't hard to come by. Just buy a marketplace, and all of a sudden a crappy 1-shield city may actually eek out 3 or 4 shields. Get it a courthouse, aqueduct, temple, cathedral (w/Sistine, of course), a hospital & a factory, and you may actually end up with a halfway decent city. I like working on that. It makes me feel like an enlightened ruler.

Of course, eventually the remaining AI civs will pick fights with me, forcing me to destroy them, and no matter how careful I am, I always end up triggering domination. That's just as well, because by that point the game is really over, and I'm just basking in the glow of victory anyway.

-Arrian

SanPellegrino · October 30, 2002, 17:38

same thing here.

Good Palace and FP Placement is my main target in ancient/med. When fighting is done, I try to make my brave new world productive by WLTKD (I usually got a lot of luxs then)

vondrack · October 30, 2002, 17:50

Yep, exactly the same what I do. Not really exciting, but it fulfils my desire to finish the game with a neat, greatly developed and ultimately safe empire... something like perfect, smoothly running watches...

Forgive a shameless plug, but I would like to turn your attention to the thread I have started today about an idea how to make even the Modern Ages an exciting and thrilling period of the game (so I hope it is kinda related to the topic of this thread, even though only remotely). The thread is here. Thanks!

gsmoove23 · October 30, 2002, 19:14

A fun way for me is to disband most of my army, all of the offensive units and navy except for the transports, leaving frontier cities with only 2 or even 1 unit and some core cities undefended. Now all you have to do is wait for the attack. If you have a few bordering civs this adds to the interest because you don't know where it will be coming from. Once the attack comes spend the next 10 turns desperately defending as you crank out nothing but military units. Gets my heart racing everytime.

SanPellegrino · October 30, 2002, 20:29

gsmoove, this is not gaming, this is masochism

to be honest, sometimes I find myself beefing up a civ with tech and resources to have a worthy "endgame-opponent".

Bambul · October 31, 2002, 04:33

I like to isolate myself during the middle ages so by the time I get to industrial one of the AI Civs has developed into a superpower. I then become a major power with a few other Civs and there are a couple of minor powers which will eventually be annexed. But the status quo sure is fun!

DaveMcW · October 31, 2002, 06:42

I've been having a blast in the modern ages playing OCC. On emperor level that just about evens the playing field.

gsmoove23 · November 2, 2002, 14:30

I usually keep large strong civs on my borders til the late stages by accident. I keep on planning for war with them but I have to wait for them to make the first move, I never start wars. Currently, I'm playing huge world map with 16 civs. France has been a bug in my bonnet since the get-go. We had a war in the middle ages and Joan's been furious with me ever since. Sometime in the industrial age she dropped 7 cavalry and 2 infantry on a small island of mine(?!?) and left them there next to my city. Its the modern age now and they've been there ever since. I know they're there and I know she knows they're there but damned if I'm going to let her know I know.

I need a break from civ.

Tattila the Hun · November 5, 2002, 08:05

What is good FP/Palace placement? Geocrphically? Can it be calculated? BTW, is there a thread about the optimal distances between cities?

jshelr · November 5, 2002, 15:00

Tat

Try http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=52098

jshelr · November 5, 2002, 15:00

Tat

Try http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=52098