Enjoying the Late Game

[jshelr]

The Secret, which is no secret, is to be playing at the highest level. The game is more fun in its later stages if the AI has a chance. The problem for most people, particularly me, is that that deity ancient age is barely bearable.

Here is a solution that works. It turns out that the “new” Carthage civ makes surviving Deity in the ancient age much easier.

Play on the largest maps, and select lots of water in the game setting to keep the AI civs apart and techs expensive. Then

(1) You can get to literature first using 80 turns.
(2) You can use the palace to prebuild the GL arriving at 1 turn left after 80 turns. Often you can squeeze in a temple first.
(3) You can get the GL nearly every time (every time in recent games) without going over size 6 in the wonder-building city.

The GL makes life in the deity ancient age tolerable. The kicker relative to other alphabet civs is that Carthage has a UU that makes it very survivable. Usually, you can trade sufficiently to be able to build your UU and it seems to discourage AI early plundering. Moreover, in Deity, when just getting to the next age alive is a good thing, getting an early golden age in the first war actually helps. You will typically need to take out 2 AI civs to have enough living space to be realistically able to win.

I’ve had good luck not building any libraries or universities until just before ToE. If you build markets and banks, along with happiness buildings, it leaves you with enough shields to build lots of units. You will need those units. The AI research advantage lasts until the industrial era but you can offset it simply by buying tech until then. Carthage is a very efficient civ in the late going and you have a good chance to milk its economic potential.

Good hunting. The game is definitely much more fun in the remaining eras when you are playing Deity. It’s just that it is hard to get games off the ground. Carthage helps.

[Dominae]

Nice to see you posting again, jshelr!.

I, too, yearn for a fun late-game. I might just try this out.

This is a plug for AU209: in the latest AU game, I guarantee you will have an interesting (non-deadly) early-game, and that most of the action will happen in the Industrial and Modern ages. Are you up for the challenge!?


Dominae

[vmxa1]

My problem is with a large body of water, you may have limited contacts. If that turns out to be the case the GL will not be all that useful. Especially if a killer arises on some fair sized land mass out of your reach.
It is an approach that is worth while, but I really hate lots of water, thanks to AU402 (was that the one with huge map?).
I do agree that the main reason I play limited number of deity games is the hateful ancient age. I just have to keep reminding myself that they will get theirs.

[jshelr]

Agreed, Vmax1. You should probably not go all the way to an island setting.

But pangea allows the civs to trade early and often, so you don't get literature first in 80 turns and the strat is less successful.

The setting I use most typically results in land about the size of a standard map continent, but more of them will be present.

there is no doubt that the isolated start presents more difficulty than the start with several civs on your land mass.