h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

OK, I've padded out the intro a little bit.

So you're the spaceship-constructing type of player?
I am the evil nuker... (Sometimes I get to understand President Bush... Maybe he thinks this is all a game?)

HELL-er

I used to be a spaceship type of player but then I realised how much fun war was. This is the first time I've actually won using the spaceship in Civ III. Usually someone build the UN and it's game over.

After a couple of games when I or someone else won with the UN I turned that victory option off. I've only once managed a cultural victory and I lack the patience for a conquest victory (I usually settle for wiping out any other civilations on the same land mass as me) so my last couple of victories have been spaceship-based.

I feel that turning off one of the victory conditions is a bit like saying that I'm unable to win that way. Besides, I like to keep my options open.

no, as I said I turned it off because it was too easy to win by that particular method
if I couldn't win by that method I wouldn't have any reason to turn it off would I

But then you should build it before anyone else and not have the vote.

It can be annoying though. I was once playing a game where that was just me, the Celts, and the Egyptians and the Portugese left. I was at war with them both and I was winning. It was only around 1900AD so there was plenty of time for me to wipe them both out and and win the game. The next thing I know the Egyptians build the UN and and they won diplomtically.

I could do that but sometimes I get bored with the end game
I'm trying to force myself to get different types of victory rather than just UN all the time
That I'm impatient and have a short attention span doesn't help

Yah... You see that's one of the problems with civ. The game is nice to play, but the ending is not well-solved, IMO. Winning by nuking everyone out of existence is most fun, but is so negative. The diplomatic winning is not well implemented, you need the UN and stuff. Also, it's difficult, because as soon as your nation is the leader everyone is against you and starts ridiculous wars, embargos and make ridiculous alliances against you. Spaceship winning... well, OK, it doesn't appeal to me, but it's expensive enough in civ3 (in civ2 and civ1 it was too cheap, IMO)

Have you ever tried the 'capture-the-princess' or 'kill-the-king' type of games that come with PTW? (I tried it once, and thought this variant is not really good for round-based games.)

HELL

I played a regicide game once, but it was too easy. Kill the king and that civilization just dissapears. I suppose it's designed for quick net-play.

Oh, I loved this game. Many a night whiled away playing it.

Yes, I whiled away many a week on it myself.

Having read your entry, because of course I'm such a good little scout, I went and had a go at Civilization III. Oh dear...I wasn't good at all! I've played Age of Empires and the like so I figured I couldn't mess up TOO much with Civilizations. Boy I was wrong

Sorry that wasn't very constructive really...I'll go back and read the entry again in a bit

kat

Well Civilization is very hard at first. I remember my first game of Civ II, I was the Americans. There was three rivals, the Russians, the Carthaginians and the Indians. I remember building my first tank and deciding to go to war with the Russians with it. I sent my tank through Carthaginian teritory (the Cartaginians were busy wiping out the Indians) and up into Russia. I attacked one of their cities with it and my tank was destroyed. Then they launched a major attack against and destroyed half my empire.

And that's when I discovered the cheat menu.

Hah... When I first got the chance to build a caravelle I loaded three legions or musketeers (whatever it was I thought it was nasty) on it and headed towards america (was playing world map) The Aztecs saluted my expedition corps with Fighters. I imagine the dumbstruck faces of that caravelle's crew upon seeing a bunch of P-51 flying over their ship, and sinking it... I wonder if they knew what hit them.


HELL

I've never been that technologically backwards.

No wonder if you only play chieftain level (My game was in Emperor difficulty)

I stopped playing at Chieftain at least six months ago.

I play at . . . the fourth level, whatever that's called.

BTW: The first thing I did then (this was Civ1) was to build an army of diplomats and steal all technology of the Aztecs (nasty trick that worked with civ1: build a city somewhere on an island, put 15 or so diplomats right beside it, *give* the city to the Aztecs, and then let the diplomats wreak havoc...)

HELL

... Since then, of course I pay special attention not to become that technologiocally backward.

HELL