Thursday, September 23, 2010

A different kind of war

As I mentioned yesterday, Civilization 5 has been going for a domination victory over my free time.  I have really been enjoying it, but that isn't surprise.  Civilization 1 was the first game I bought when I got my own computer (as opposed to a parents). So you could say I am a fan.

I like to play on the biggest map possible, which is Huge in this iteration.  For game speed, I am liking the marathon setting.  Each era (ancient,classical ...) feels like its own game.  This is great for me, as I hate seeing tech go by without getting some good use out of it.

For my first game, I chose Rome.  Fast forward several hours to 200 AD and my empire has been turned to rubble by the Chinese.  I leaned some import lessons.

  • Expanding too fast means slower growth and less happiness.
  • Don't forget about your army, the AI will attack you.
For my second game, I chose Washington.  I can't wait to get those B-17's and Minutemen.  My starting location was pretty nice.  To show the hexes, just hit 'g'.




To the west is a rather large mountain range.  Since it only has a single pass on the southern end, I prioritize settling near it.  Other civilizations cannot pass through your territory without a treaty or war.  Controlling it will secure more land for my empire.



Civ 5 has some RPG/MMO type features.  Once you earn enough culture, you can spend it on Social Policies.  I chose Liberty as my first, since building settlers 50% faster will help me secure more land.




I decided to try for a Wonder and the Pyramids had just become available.  In my first game, I was unable to finish any of them before a foreign civilization.  This time, I succeeded.




To wrap up this post, let's take a look at one of my favorite features: Demographics.