16-05-2005 07:25									#1
	Easiest level Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

This may seem funny to some of you but I play on the easiest level. It's not that I can't beat the AI on transcend, I just finished a game at the level squeaking out a win, but I just enjoy citizen more.
Am I alone?

	16-05-2005 07:38									#2
	Remove this text

No, but than again I am not very good either. I can't beat the AI on the third level. Every tactic that I use against them I always seem to be obliterated within about 50 turns. As such I have not even tried to go to transcend.

	16-05-2005 13:36									#3
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

Paramir: No, can't say I've ever felt the need to go back to an easier difficulty level since beating Transcend for the first time. I find Transcend easy enough as it is. Its been a while since I've been beaten as any faction thats not the Pirates. The pirates are a real achilles heel of mine.

reznod: Have you read around a little? I'd only played Civ3 for a few months before being introduced to Alpha but I was onto Librarian difficutly level by my 6th game. Do you want to send me some save games of an attempt at Transcend from every 10 years?

	16-05-2005 13:36									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

I play Thinker.

	16-05-2005 13:45									#5
	Support Apolyton

Whats the difference between thinker/transcend? 1min and one nut from every row for the AI?

	16-05-2005 17:12									#6
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

For my games where I terraform the world, I often play easiest diff, so that I have absolutely no problems

I swear, once I actually finishe terraforming planet, I will start playing transcend and with much less terraforming.

	16-05-2005 19:22									#7
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

To be honest, the AI in the game is soooooo inept, transcend is quite easy. Even if you don't get the early "game breaker" SPs like HGP/WP/VW/PTS, all it will do is slow down the inevitable. Although I do admit, if I am trying something specific, I'll play on Thinker just to make sure the AI stays out of my way.

	16-05-2005 19:27									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

If there were a diff level I'd enjoy it were double transcend or something around that, but I'd rather make it on my own, by tweaking the "faction.txt" so that the AIs become quite more powerful.

	16-05-2005 19:29									#9
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Also blind research is just so much more fun than directed!

	16-05-2005 19:48									#10
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Well, I'm cooking up a scenario right now which seems to be reliably getting the AI to build well from the beginning without the use of bonus satellites or energy parks. After a bit more tweaking I'm hoping to let people take a go at it.

	16-05-2005 20:05									#11
	Full PM-box? Change here!

quote: Well, I'm cooking up a scenario right now which seems to be reliably getting the AI to build well from the beginning without the use of bonus satellites or energy parks. After a bit more tweaking I'm hoping to let people take a go at it.

A checkerboard of to-do (just in case you forgot/didn't know about something):

1.{faction}.txt
a) agresiveness (aim for lower)
b) priorities (explore is a good choice - many CPs)
c) social settings (you might not wan't to fiddle with these, otherwise players will need to swap files)
d) social agenda (very useful if you know howto make max out of it, if you want I can give some hints.)

2.WorldBuilder - have you gotten SmackSims WorldBuilder mod? It does wonders with AI.

3.Special units at Aphax.txt like probe defenders and probe foils.

	16-05-2005 20:27									#12
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

transcend all the way for me . . I get confused on lower levels and do things like quell drones that would not appear or save up more cash than I need for a very beneficial SE switch

quote: Originally posted by livid imp To be honest, the AI in the game is soooooo inept, transcend is quite easy. Even if you don't get the early "game breaker" SPs like HGP/WP/VW/PTS, all it will do is slow down the inevitable. Although I do admit, if I am trying something specific, I'll play on Thinker just to make sure the AI stays out of my way.

I like your quotation marks as I would dispute that ANY of those can be game breakers. In a PBEM they get shared and against the AI it just doesn't matter.

I'm actually of the view that there is no single SP that is so super crucial. I think that many people overemphasize their importance. Don't get me wrong, tehre are many SPs that I find very beneficial but I would consider an inability to cope, if I don't get a desired SP to be a defect in my game. In a PBEM you have to figure that your opposition is going to pick up some of these good SPs. If they don't , you really need to find better opponents

	17-05-2005 05:09									#13
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Been a while since I last played on the easiest level. I remember it was during a rainy afternoon and I just wanted to have some quick fun. But the thing I missed the most was the need to build prototypes. You don't have to build them in the 'citizen' level.

	17-05-2005 07:22									#14
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Definitely Transcend...and I'm not even that good...I build what, like 6 bases, and sit there and just do absolutely nothing...if I'm bored, I might just kill everyone with probe teams...mind control a base, then obliterate it...mind control another base...

On serious games, I don't do atrocities...but I'm telling you, SMAC can be a great tool for anger management, ADD, ADHD, drug abuse...except that it addicts you in the process...

	17-05-2005 20:44									#15
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

To maximize your speed of advancement in SMAC, I highly recommend not getting locked into any single faction, and instead play different ones. I can't tell you the number of times I'd played one faction and got an idea on how to play that other that was giving me trouble. And nothing exposes the weak points of the faction that in AI hands was giving you trouble more than playing that faction yourself.

Another strange thing I discovered was that for me Transcedni level was easier than Thinker. I then discovered it was in part due to a bug that cut my maintance costs.

I also note that the AI has much more problems in resource poor enviorments than humans do.

For a kick, try playing Gaia on a max water + max fungus + arid + flat planet. Piece of cake! And a scoring bonsus for choosing max fungus to boot!

On having trouble playing the Pirates, I think that's the one faction I'd have trouble with. [I don't have the expansion] My own strategy envolves for any civ getting the The Weather Project, never founding any ocean cities, but enlarging my own land mass. Land bases are so much easier to defend than ocean. In fact when I'm conquering as soon as I have a submissive pact partner, they get granted the sea ones.

	17-05-2005 20:54									#16
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

For everyone bored with Transcend as much as I am, I'd recommend "switching factions" scenario.

Play a faction for 50 years, then switch to the weakest. repeat every 30 turns. If any faction is in danger of getting eradicated by AI, switch to it shortly before that.

you can even _lose_ against yourself, esp when in 2300 you end up with a faction that have one ocean base and you have to fight with several chopper-riding factions at one time...

It's the only challenge which i enjoy to play, because I prefer to have to do my best instead of handicapping myself by not using crawlers and so on.

	18-05-2005 03:54									#17
	Remove this text

I actually have tried that before...it was very entertaining...but I soon got bored at the end as I was playing as Miriam in a sea base completely surrounded by ocean trench...I'm sorry, but when it takes 20 turns to build one freaking probe team, all is at lost...

	20-05-2005 08:35									#18
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

Nothing wrong with playing on easier levels.

The highest level I (and some other person ) have played is Thinker. However I have just recently restarted, so I am sticking on Librarian level now. Don't want to think that much anyway

	21-05-2005 12:38									#19
	Remove this text

hey, everyone starts off somewhere...shoot, it took me 2 YEARS just to get up to Librarian. Now, I play Thinker and Trascend games. My Transcend games are very wishy-washy...sometimes I'll be ruling everyone and other times I'll get my butt handed to me.

But Lazarus' tips definitely helped me out.

	24-05-2005 04:10									#20
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

I too play transcend exclusively these days. I once did Kirov's faction-switch game, except that I built my Morganite empire for 100 turns before switching to a very backward and hemmed in Sparta. It was pretty impressive to have to fight an uphill battle against the AI, though watching it mercilessly level my boreholes and disband my crawler army was enough to make me weep. Even so, I was never able to get out from last place. I had an alliance of convenience with Miriam, and we were both mercilessly hounded by the Juggernaut morgan and an extremely irritating Yang. I suppose I should dig that game up sometime to witness the inevitable end.

	24-05-2005 13:16									#21
	Got spare money?

I play on Thinker level. Just below Transcend. Transcend gives me trouble with my play style. So I just stick to Thinker.

	24-05-2005 13:48									#22
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

quote: Originally posted by Dissident I play on Thinker level. Just below Transcend. Transcend gives me trouble with my play style. So I just stick to Thinker.

Altering your game to your playstyle, rather than altering your playstyle to the game?

	24-05-2005 15:06									#23
	Put an end to popups!

quote: Originally posted by Senethro Altering your game to your playstyle, rather than altering your playstyle to the game?

That's what Captain Kirk would do

	25-05-2005 14:10									#25
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger That's what Captain Kirk would do

Finally an answer to the bumper sticker posed question: WWKD?

	26-05-2005 09:56									#26
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger That's what Captain Kirk would do

my hero.

	27-05-2005 04:44									#27
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

I suck

I will need to post my saves and get some feedback here. Some of my fellow pbemers have been kind enough to give me advice and I've learned from them. You know who you are

	27-05-2005 05:25									#28
	Increase the size of your Attachments

Captain Kirk was a n00b and I've no idea why Spock wasn't the captain.

	27-05-2005 07:04									#29
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

WJSHD

What Jesus Should Have Done

	27-05-2005 07:16									#30
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

implying he didnt do something that should have been done?