Epic Six - Always War - Info Thread

[Sirian]

ok, will pm Griselda then the hidden link

My report is done for some time already and I am eager to post it and read how others played this game.

One of the issues with Always War is that purely random maps can only go so far. RB AW events can go farther. 8)

I expect we will hold many of them over the months and years. Not quite to a point of constantly having one going, though. I, too, need to see what players have done with this one before solidifying plans for the next one.


- Sirian

[ThERat]

One of the issues with Always War is that purely random maps can only go so far. RB AW events can go farther.

guess that is quite true and I do NOT mind playing more AW war events but that you would know already

[Kylearan]

Hi,

My report is done for some time already and I am eager to post it and read how others played this game.

I'm looking forward to compare my game to those of the battle-hardened AW veterans like you.

-Kylearan

[ThERat]

I'm looking forward to compare my game to those of the battle-hardened AW veterans like you.

well, you know that AW in C3C plays 'a little' different from CIV, so I won't be surprised if many players fared better than me
Regardless of that, the game was fun to play

[darrelljs]

Must...resist...tempation. Will weakening...

Darrell

[LKendter]

Game completed, and I finally understand why I don't enjoy Civ4 as much Civ3. War takes a lot more effort in Civ4, and that is the part of the game I don't like. I am a builder at heart, not a warmonger.

[T-hawk]

War takes a lot more effort in Civ4

I disagree. I find that war in Civ 4 actually goes faster in real time than in Civ 3. So much micromanagement has been removed from the interface. A typical industrial Civ 3 war would involve bombarding with fifty artillery each turn, and commanding thirty or more combat workers to build rails through newly captured territory. The simple stack control capabilities of Civ 4 cut through more than half of that red tape, and the game mechanisms reduce it further. The unification of attack/defense values, the increased time for unit healing, the removal of combat settlers, and the delay of border expansion for a captured city all mean much less time is required to micromanage on a war front. Finally, Civ 4 strongly encourages development with fewer larger cities rather than spamming settlers everywhere, and the AI knows this, which alleviates the overall task of conquest or domination.

However, in Civ 4, war most certainly takes more effort on the part of your _civ_, for less reward. You need to build combined arms forces, you need to replace them more often without the ability to bombard every defender to redline, and you need to actively prioritize military tech paths, delaying economic tech. And the snowball effect of acquired territory very rapidly goes to zero and even negative. But all those are content-rich strategic decisions and tradeoffs, much more so than in Civ 3.

[LKendter]

I disagree. I find that war in Civ 4 actually goes faster in real time than in Civ 3.

OK, let's try a different phrase. War takes a lot more thought in Civ4.

While the amount of time per year of war is up for debate, I know in Civ4 I am constantly debating actions. Once I had a SoD in Civ3 I simply marched up city to city and mindlessly attacked. In Civ4 every stack needs to be examined for containing medics (preferably weak enough that it is never attacked), sacrificial bombard units, defense against any possible attacker, proper promoting city attack units, and more. Every attack I was evaluating the best attacking, when it pays to attack with a weaker unit needing 1 experience point, when to risk my CR3 rifles, CR3 catapults, etc. I find every attack requires thought. Civ3 was *mindless* when it came to attacking.

I found Civ4 combat much more mentally exhausting then Civ3.

If we are going to debate this further, it probably should get its own thread. This debate is probably spam in this thread.

[Sullla]

If we are going to debate this further, it probably should get its own thread. This debate is probably spam in this thread.

You don't need a separate thread! This IS Realms Beyond, after all.

OK, let's try a different phrase. War takes a lot more thought in Civ4.

You say that like it's a bad thing, Lee. There are plenty of frustrating elements or things to gripe about involving the combat for Civ4, but this isn't one that I was expecting to hear. I take your post as a positive thing, actually.

[Sirian]

You don't need a separate thread!

Right.

I'll take this opportunity to point out to posters that they can change the default (sequential, CFC-style) forum view to one that is fully threaded. If you want to follow subthreads easily, this is the best policy. RB old timers will run off on tangents whenever it pleases them, and this is not only welcome but our normal operating procedure. Of course, subthreads should be going somewhere, not merely sides reiterating the same points they have already made. Other than that, and bona fide spam, go for it.

I'm sure Gris can put that better than I did. 8)


Anyway, Lee. Complaining that Civ4 combat is not as mindless as Civ3's, and that this is a NEGATIVE, does make sense to me. You're one of those who seeks pleasing repetitive relaxation from Civ, and all this strategy and challenge is getting in the way of mindless victory.

I use other games for that purpose, though. You know, little games, like Bejeweled or Mahjong Puzzles, Yahtzee or Chinese Checkers, etc. Or even, heh, some Diablo-style gaming. Civ is specifically designed to be a strategy game, and you have to admit that Civ4 does a better job of this than Civ3 did.


We -DO- offer a series of Gentle Adventures, which allow players to get in to one of those "not needing much thought" rhythms if they are already skilled players. There's nothing wrong with not pushing your limits. I'm not among the top tier Civ4 players because I simply don't play enough, nor care enough about mastering tricks that arise from side effects rather than design intent, to turn in the best results. Nor do I think through certain things far enough (Kylearan's Epic Three Oracle-Monarchy gambit being a great example). You don't have to relish the hardest challenges to enjoy the game.

Besides... There must be a reason you haven't gone back to Civ3 yet. In the end, mindless fun isn't all it's cracked up to be.


- Sirian