IMO the spread bonuses are useless unless you can found your religion super fast (like turn ~50 founding and turn ~100 enhance). Unless I dream of "religion domination" of the entire world I would rather pick something like Defender of the Faith.
EDIT: well, I guess with some confidence, Just War + Religious Text can be very powerful against an opponent without a religion. But that's honestly about comparable to Ethiopia's UA (you are just conditioned on religion instead of # of cities).
The problem with Byzantium are two folds imo. First, Byzantium has a land UU and a naval UU; cataphracts are very strong imo, but classic era naval UU that cannot go into oceans is utterly useless (especially when you won't be getting a melee naval unit two eras later. Then there is the Byzantine UA which is only useful if you can spread your religion... but that is awfully difficult because Byzantium does not have any early faith buildings and religion is the most snowbally mechanics in the game.
I honestly think they should either remove Dromons from the game (replaced with a UB or different UU), or make them Galleass replacements instead, or make it that the Byzantine UA also allows building of temples 33% faster than normal.
Ultimately the most important factor in Deity (and immortal to some degree) is terrain. I once played a pangea game (immortal) in which i started as Spain on penisula with three 1tile access (two of them were owned by CS), i was cut off from mainland. This penisula was rich, and i created around 7-9 cities there (dont recall). I was pretty safe entire game. I fought one war-late game (Hiawatha attacked me -he was owning everyone in mainland) but i managed to hold the choke.
I won on science, but Hiawataha was very close. The important thing is, i never got to own any natural wonder. I discovered 2 but none of them for the first time. I never used any unique unit during entire game . (War with hiawatha was airplanes and artillery). So essentially i was playing entire game without any bonuses for civ, and i still won. Barely but still. Your civ isnt as important as Your spawning point, and good play. But of course it helps, and sometimes turns the tide.
Sure, given that kind of start, you can win even with a blank-slate civ that does not have any bonuses whatsoever. But I don't think that's why the game is fun.
On February 01 2013 19:28 Silvanel wrote: Somehow i always get a start that is Hollands wet dream (marshes, hills, lots of luxury and flood plains) when playing some other civs (America this time). And when i am playing Holland closest marsh/flood plain is like 20-25 tiles away.... Does computer discriminate against You in higher difficulty levels with starting positions? I am not talking about luxury/strategic resurces but simple type of terrain.
I hope so. Getting Holland and then editing up on a desert flood plain valley is just disgustingly OP if you get to plodder. Especially if you tech to Petra quickly too. [
On February 01 2013 19:28 Silvanel wrote: Somehow i always get a start that is Hollands wet dream (marshes, hills, lots of luxury and flood plains) when playing some other civs (America this time). And when i am playing Holland closest marsh/flood plain is like 20-25 tiles away.... Does computer discriminate against You in higher difficulty levels with starting positions? I am not talking about luxury/strategic resurces but simple type of terrain.
I hope so. Getting Holland and then editing up on a desert flood plain valley is just disgustingly OP if you get to plodder. Especially if you tech to Petra quickly too. [
LOL. This new Theodora game I am attempting on immortal have like 12 flood plain tiles I am working on (I have like 7 cities with minimal distance to each other. If I was the Dutch, man.... if I was the Dutch........
The bad part is that my Napoleon neighbour who was surprisingly passive for the last 100 turns or so suddenly became aggressive and killed India. Now he is like double my score =\. Got to kill him soon I guess.
On February 02 2013 05:56 Emnjay808 wrote: Its fun to do a Cultural Victory then continue playing after you won and just declare war on everyone. They kill you so fcking fast lol.
Which is why cultural victory is hard =\
If I go for science or diplomatic victory with a tall empire, I will easily be able to field a modern army that can protect me. But with cultural victory you will at most tech to syndey opera house... the rest is pretty much praying that the AI won't try to kill you or get spaceship befure your utopia project.
ya cultural victory seems to be more of 'I already won the game but now I am fucking around' or 'oh god oh god'
PS. Kashkiks or Camel Archers or even the Hun Horse Archers are so dirty. You just need a couple of them and the one infantry guy who will actually take the city. +2 attacks + 1 range. Hilarious.
On February 04 2013 10:56 Sub40APM wrote: ya cultural victory seems to be more of 'I already won the game but now I am fucking around' or 'oh god oh god'
PS. Kashkiks or Camel Archers or even the Hun Horse Archers are so dirty. You just need a couple of them and the one infantry guy who will actually take the city. +2 attacks + 1 range. Hilarious.
Hunnic Horse Archers can't attack then move, so it's not the same.
On February 04 2013 10:56 Sub40APM wrote: ya cultural victory seems to be more of 'I already won the game but now I am fucking around' or 'oh god oh god'
PS. Kashkiks or Camel Archers or even the Hun Horse Archers are so dirty. You just need a couple of them and the one infantry guy who will actually take the city. +2 attacks + 1 range. Hilarious.
Cultural victory is more like "I don't think going tall is best here, also I am unlikely to get attacked" decision taken at turn 25. You need to decide VERY early to go for cultural victory, otherwise it is too late on higher difficulties. There is no real mechanism to transition into cultural victory, unlike in civ4 where you could Sid's Sushi your way to glory.
On February 04 2013 10:56 Sub40APM wrote: ya cultural victory seems to be more of 'I already won the game but now I am fucking around' or 'oh god oh god'
PS. Kashkiks or Camel Archers or even the Hun Horse Archers are so dirty. You just need a couple of them and the one infantry guy who will actually take the city. +2 attacks + 1 range. Hilarious.
Cultural victory is more like "I don't think going tall is best here, also I am unlikely to get attacked" decision taken at turn 25. You need to decide VERY early to go for cultural victory, otherwise it is too late on higher difficulties. There is no real mechanism to transition into cultural victory, unlike in civ4 where you could Sid's Sushi your way to glory.
Well, I feel that cultural victory almost requires you to go into the Piety tree, in which case you lose Rationalism. Rationalism is so strong that you can't really achieve non-culture victory with it.
Liberty pseudo-ICS is very viable on immortal if you have a nation that has some bonuses towards it (France, Ethiopia, Maya, perhaps Egypt...) It's my favourite playstyle too :p
On February 04 2013 10:56 Sub40APM wrote: ya cultural victory seems to be more of 'I already won the game but now I am fucking around' or 'oh god oh god'
PS. Kashkiks or Camel Archers or even the Hun Horse Archers are so dirty. You just need a couple of them and the one infantry guy who will actually take the city. +2 attacks + 1 range. Hilarious.
Cultural victory is more like "I don't think going tall is best here, also I am unlikely to get attacked" decision taken at turn 25. You need to decide VERY early to go for cultural victory, otherwise it is too late on higher difficulties. There is no real mechanism to transition into cultural victory, unlike in civ4 where you could Sid's Sushi your way to glory.
Well, I feel that cultural victory almost requires you to go into the Piety tree, in which case you lose Rationalism. Rationalism is so strong that you can't really achieve non-culture victory with it.
Yeah, that's one of the reasons why you have to decide quite early. Expansion plan is the most affected thing, but yeah, taking piety definitely a factor too.
On February 04 2013 13:40 Scip wrote: Liberty pseudo-ICS is very viable on immortal if you have a nation that has some bonuses towards it (France, Ethiopia, Maya, perhaps Egypt...) It's my favourite playstyle too :p
I was doing it with Songhai. I had a great start, got away with choosing Messenger to the Gods, crippled my Roman neighbour, but I wasn't able to find the last AI player.... then all of a sudden "an unmet player has reached the Renaissance era", then I "found" him because he declared war on Arabia, whom I have a defense pact with... then I realized the AI which I failed to scout had twice the score as everyone else.
On February 04 2013 13:40 Scip wrote: Liberty pseudo-ICS is very viable on immortal if you have a nation that has some bonuses towards it (France, Ethiopia, Maya, perhaps Egypt...) It's my favourite playstyle too :p
I was doing it with Songhai. I had a great start, got away with choosing Messenger to the Gods, crippled my Roman neighbour, but I wasn't able to find the last AI player.... then all of a sudden "an unmet player has reached the Renaissance era", then I "found" him because he declared war on Arabia, whom I have a defense pact with... then I realized the AI which I failed to scout had twice the score as everyone else.
I can do maybe a short stream session later today with me doing ICS if you want me to, just the early game but still, hopefully enlightening. My favourite to do it is with France but I can try with Songhai too np.
On February 04 2013 13:40 Scip wrote: Liberty pseudo-ICS is very viable on immortal if you have a nation that has some bonuses towards it (France, Ethiopia, Maya, perhaps Egypt...) It's my favourite playstyle too :p
I was doing it with Songhai. I had a great start, got away with choosing Messenger to the Gods, crippled my Roman neighbour, but I wasn't able to find the last AI player.... then all of a sudden "an unmet player has reached the Renaissance era", then I "found" him because he declared war on Arabia, whom I have a defense pact with... then I realized the AI which I failed to scout had twice the score as everyone else.
I can do maybe a short stream session later today with me doing ICS if you want me to, just the early game but still, hopefully enlightening. My favourite to do it is with France but I can try with Songhai too np.
On February 04 2013 13:40 Scip wrote: Liberty pseudo-ICS is very viable on immortal if you have a nation that has some bonuses towards it (France, Ethiopia, Maya, perhaps Egypt...) It's my favourite playstyle too :p
I was doing it with Songhai. I had a great start, got away with choosing Messenger to the Gods, crippled my Roman neighbour, but I wasn't able to find the last AI player.... then all of a sudden "an unmet player has reached the Renaissance era", then I "found" him because he declared war on Arabia, whom I have a defense pact with... then I realized the AI which I failed to scout had twice the score as everyone else.
I can do maybe a short stream session later today with me doing ICS if you want me to, just the early game but still, hopefully enlightening. My favourite to do it is with France but I can try with Songhai too np.
That would be interesting.
just PM me when you have time, I am free whole today so yeah =D
EPT
