Anyone printed out Vel's strategy guide?

sboog · March 14, 2002, 13:32

I have found Vel's strategy guide thread #2 and thread #3. There is wonderful help and information in both.

But I don't know if there is enough paper to print either of them out.

Have any of you printed either one out? How many pages did you use? Isn't thread #3 the most up to date?

And what parts of it do you consider essential in case I can't print the whole thing out?

Does Vel have a shortened version anywhere?

Thanks.

sboog

Arrian · March 14, 2002, 13:42

I'd bet you would kill a few trees printing those out.

Number III was the last, and therefore the most up to date, but it started, I think, prior to the 1.16 patch. Toward the end of the thread 1.16 had come out, I think, and people were amending their comments based upon that. The strategy discussion died down, unfortunately, shortly thereafter.

1.17 is a different beast, due to some fairly major changes to poprushing and AI tech trading, so some of the recommendations in those threads may not been such good ideas anymore.

To answer your actual question, I don't believe Vel got any farther than the summary at the top of thread III. There is no condensed-for-easy viewing/printing version that I know of. I think Vel originally intended to do a strategy guide like he did for SMAC (which I hear was impressive), but lost interest.

-Arrian

sboog · March 14, 2002, 15:52

I am really sorry to hear that Vel lost interest in writing a strategy guide for Civ3. His one for SMAC was wonderful

So now I guess I am stuck with the Prima guide, which is not that helpful...

sboog

Carver · March 14, 2002, 16:12

You made me curious so I just printed the strat guide out (at work of course, those ink cartriges are darn expensive). 183 pages of info that is much better than anything you can find in the manual or the official strat guide. But you do have to be careful and weed out pre-patch data.

P.S. that's 183 pages for the first page of the thread only!

FrustratedPoet · March 14, 2002, 16:13

Quote:

Originally posted by Arrian
I'd bet you would kill a few trees printing those out.

-Arrian

yep, tell us about it! - he's hard to stop once he gets going.

just kidding mate.

seriously though, it's all pretty useful stuff in that guide. i haven't printed it out though, just read it and tried to take it all in.

Arrian · March 14, 2002, 16:38

Quote:

Originally posted by Carver

P.S. that's 183 pages for the first page of the thread only!

In the name of Sid! 183 for the first PAGE of the thread!?!?!?
I figured it would be a lot, but that's almost unbelievable.

-Arrian

Velociryx · March 14, 2002, 17:29

Dayum! LOL...I didn't know we had that much info already either.....and not to worry....tho my interest in writing a strat guide for Civ3 has waned, I am keeping the option open....at some point, after the code stabalizes and no more patches are forthcoming, perhaps there will be sufficient depth reawaken that desire fully. I hope so....would love to see TWO strat guides up on my shelf....that'd be cool....

-=Vel=-

Spaced Cowboy · March 14, 2002, 17:51

You mean 183 pages for the 1st thread -- all ninw pages of the thread printed on 183 pages ...right??

Tuberski · March 14, 2002, 19:27

I did a lot of cutting and pasting and got the whole thing to about 60 pages... with an 8 font size.

sboog · March 15, 2002, 13:42

Tuberski, anyway you can send us the results of your cutting and pasting Vel's guide as an attachment?

sboog

Solver · March 15, 2002, 14:11

Shame to see Vel won't do it.

I printed out the SMAC guide by Vel, and read it 3 or 4 times.

Civ 3 strat thread, I read, though.

Who'll make the strat guide for Civ 3, then?

sboog · March 15, 2002, 16:30

I am saddened that Vel won't do it.

But we really need a good strategy guide.

Who will come forward?

sboog

Solver · March 16, 2002, 07:27

Alas, I can't

. I've wrote a couple of small strategy articles, and it's damn difficult. Eh...

sboog · March 17, 2002, 20:11

Well, I am really sad that we don't have a forthcoming strategy guide.

Wish Vel would reconsider. Give us at least a summary.

I realize this is asking a lot of someone to do a strategy guide for us.

But it would be so wonderfully helpful to not-so-good players like me.

Civ3 is an awesome and beautifully deep game. I wish I had something besides the Prima strategy guide...

sboog

Chowlett · March 17, 2002, 20:51

Sweet and holy... 183? for one page? The entire Smac/x v3 is less than that!

Capt Dizle · March 17, 2002, 21:22

the whole strat guide for v 1.17f would be very short build stuff buy tech kill stuff thats about it oh dont forget buy mpp with several ai and declare war cant lose to starved ai

asleepathewheel · March 17, 2002, 21:50

Quote:

Originally posted by jimmytrick
the whole strat guide for v 1.17f would be very short build stuff buy tech kill stuff thats about it oh dont forget buy mpp with several ai and declare war cant lose to starved ai

This is good advice to follow, if my desire was to play (not win) on chieftan.

If this is your "strategy", jimmytrick, then I can understand why you think the game is broken.

Arrian · March 18, 2002, 10:16

Actually, setting science to zero, buying techs, and warmongering like a madman is a viable strategy under 1.17, particularly on the higher levels. Very viable, it seems. I can't bring myself to do it, but it is more economical than maxing out science.

The reality is that warmongering is more effective than building. I'm more of a builder than a warmonger, but my best game (score) yet was played as Japan, and the first thing I did was crush India and China. My own continent + 3 great leaders = a big lead. I then played my normal style (go for the tech lead) and it worked great, but I could also have just bought tech as the AI got them and used the insane amounts of cash I was raking in to rushbuy large city improvments, and then, once my cities were all set up, switched back to research mode.

What Jimmytrick is referring to is the AI meltdown syndrome once Nationalism and Communism have made the rounds. Get them into a war (hence the MPP and attack comment), and they will go commie, and start drafting and whipping. In relatively short order, their cities are FUBAR, starving just to keep them from civil disorder. It's a little pathetic, and annoying if you actually wanted to keep a captured city (which, by that stage, I don't. I go with the William Wallace approach - "Burn it").

-Arrian

sboog · March 18, 2002, 19:10

Arrian, I'm confused. I thought setting science at 90% or 100% was a smart thing to do in order to get advances faster.

sboog

rlk1220 · March 18, 2002, 20:02

Quote:

Originally posted by Arrian
Actually, setting science to zero, buying techs, and warmongering like a madman is a viable strategy under 1.17, particularly on the higher levels. Very viable, it seems. I can't bring myself to do it, but it is more economical than maxing out science.

-Arrian

I agree...I feel like a pimp doing it, but man does it work. I was 4 or 5 techs down two 2 civs (as Greece no less..did SOMETHING wrong) and fell into it. Now they are buying techs from me...my research is maxed out and I'm still bringing in 600-700 gold/turn. They just keep selling their souls for the latest and greatest. This turn around took @ 40-50 turns straddling the last 2 ages. It didn't hurt that they were in the already mentioned meltdown phase...

asleepathewheel · March 18, 2002, 20:23

Quote:

Originally posted by sboog
Arrian, I'm confused. I thought setting science at 90% or 100% was a smart thing to do in order to get advances faster.

sboog

What he means is that at the beginning of the game, there is very little hope of gaining a tech advantage, due to the ai trading everything. Of course there are situations where you have to research, ie isolated on an island, need map making. If eveyone owns a tech, except you, which will likely happen if all are in contact, then you can buy the techs quite cheaply, often for a map or small amts of gold.

But: there comes a certain point when you have to do your own reasearch to try to gain a lead. I usually do this in the late middle ages, trying to get cavalry first. If you don't take the lead, you will find yourself losing out on wonders and will havie a weaker army.

However, I very rarely would set my tech rate to 90 or 100%. it just is almost cost prohibitive. But, since I had the tech rate so low in the beginning, I probably have built up a nice treasury for the run to cavalry, and can lose a bit per turn and not care

asleepathewheel · March 18, 2002, 20:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Arrian
Actually, setting science to zero, buying techs, and warmongering like a madman is a viable strategy under 1.17, particularly on the higher levels. Very viable, it seems. I can't bring myself to do it, but it is more economical than maxing out science.

Arrian-of course this is a viable strategy, one that I use myself sometimes. My point was rather that jt (out of anger or failure) was exagerrating the lack of intricacy of the game.