Which opponants do you pick when you set up a game?

[sboog]

When I set up a game, I usually just click "random" for the enemy civs.

But there must be a smart way to choose which civs to play against.

If I am Egypt, for example, which 6 civs should I choose to oppose me?

sboog

[dunk]

I always choose random. Also, i turn off "Culturally Linked Starts" which will always have Rome next to Greece, Egypt, and Persia.

I would say to choose the weakest civ traits to be your opponents if that's what you're looking for. Expansionist and Commercial are the two traits that seem to get the lowest scores around here. Try padding your game with those civs and see if it's any easier.

[Rasputin]

i too also only use random, but i seem to always end up figihting the egyptians !!!!

[Inverse Icarus]

i usually do random.

i've actually been mulling it over and you could technically devalue early techs simply by the civs you choose opposite you.

Alphabet is an expensive tech, yes?

Commercial civs start with Alphabet. Drop in the Romans, French, English, Greeks, and Indians, and all of them get Alphabet, and the tech gets devalued.

Never tried it, but it should work in theory, right?

you could do the same for masonry (put in industrious civs).

if you're looking for pure strategic means, you'll want civs that your UU can handle.

War Chariots? You dont want to see any hoplites or Legionarres.

[jshelr]

I'm annoyed by Greece -- 3pt defenders
I'm annoyed by the Zulu -- no explanation needed
I'm annoyed by scouts popping my huts

So, those considerations guide my selection for smaller maps. Shameless conduct, true. But it doesn't seem to reduce the fun.

I always include Ghandi so I can dial him up and stick my tounge out at him when I pass him in techs around the ToE.

[Moonsinger]

I have always chosen "random" so far.

[Todd Hawks]

I always chose random and turn off culturally linked starting places.

I even use a random civ as my own.

[Arrian]

I go with random, usually with culturally linked starts.

If you want to "fix" things, you could play a largish map (or less than max civs) and make yourself the only expansionist civ. If you want to fight early, avoid Greece, Rome and the Zulu. If you want to be a hippy, play with the least aggressive civs... etc.

-Arrian

[N. Machiavelli]

Regardless of map size, never play with fewer than 10 civs. Cleo and Joan have a special reservation (afterall, they make such nice vassel states), the rest are Random.

[vondrack]

I really wonder why... but I seem to stick to Standard maps, 7 randomly chosen opponents (culturally linked locations on).

[frostycreep]

I always pick the eight most dominating civs that are alive in the world today. I play as the English, and go against the Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Russians, French, Germans, and the Indians. But playing against the same civs can get kinda tiresome so ive started to do random.

[Hagbart]

I always choose all random..

[zorbop]

i do random but i turn on culturally linked start. it was incorperated for game play.

for instance, the rider would be very hard to defend against if you didn't have a knight to combat it with, so india needs no recources for one. and japan's knight has a better defence. and they star near eachother.

greece, rome and persia start near eachother. greece and rome are the only civs that have a defence of 3 during the ancient age, which would help combat persian immortals.

and the french and enqlish UU's suck so much, it won't matter

[frostycreep]

true about he french and english UU's both sucking, but what about the german panzer?

[Fighter]

The German panzer rocks. Being as how Germans are scientific, you tend to be ahead of the game slightly and get to armour before anyone else then start cranking out the Panzers and blitz. The Germans have big advantages very early on in the game and in the Modern era, one because of tech advantage and the other because you have the best offensive unit in the game at that point on your side.

[Capt Dizle]

Did I hear some creep refer to France as a dominant CIv?

LMAO!

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by jimmytrick
Did I hear some creep refer to France as a dominant CIv?

LMAO!

Of the 16 available, Babylon, Iroquois, Aztecs, Romans don't exist anymore, the rest aren't very dominant, so France almost has to squeek in at #8.

[Gangerolf]

sometimes i set up an "ancient civs game", picking rome, greece, egypt, persia, babylon, china and india.

[Andemagne]

Originally posted by Moonsinger
I have always chosen "random" so far.

I have always chosen "all" so far.

[Thrawn05]

I play with all civs.

But I prefer playing against Germany, France, England, Greece, Egypt, and Persians.... since I play as Rome all the time.

[DRoseDARs]

After I've picked the civ I'll play as and map size (huge, always huge), I select six other civs that are different from my civ and each other ethnically. That means the Chinese OR Japanese plus the Greeks OR Romans OR other white race plus the Babylonians OR Persians OR Egyptians and so on. The Zulus are present in all of such games (sigh...). One game had me as the Greeks with the Zulus as neighbors to the east. For centuries they gave free, uninhibited passage for ALL the other civs (all fifteen on Pangea) through their territory to attack my lands, never once declaring war against me themselves. Wiped them out, only to have the Chinese further east and Romans to the north do the same. That game was painful...and no, never finished (endgame slowdown, 'nuf said).

[star mouse]

I usually play Random, but if I'm picking civs I will omit the Expansionist civs. I want the goody huts, dammit!

Where my choice is more restricted, I prefer to play against non-expansionist ancient-era civs (Babylon, Egypt, Rome, China, Greece, etc.) I prefer my opponents in 4000 BC to be civs that actually started around that time.

[Darkworld Ark]

Originally posted by Tuberski

Of the 16 available, Babylon, Iroquois, Aztecs, Romans don't exist anymore, the rest aren't very dominant, so France almost has to squeek in at #8.

Of those four civs, only the Inoquois don't exist as a nation anymore, the others have just gone through name changes. (Babylon = Iraq, Aztecs = Mexico, & Romans = Italy)

[The Pioneer]

I am a perfectionist builder that's why I tend to choose the more peaceful civs like India and France. That's why a lot of times I do not negage in war until I have MA!

So long..

[Harovan]

Most of my free games are standard, 7 random AI civs, cultural links on. I remember a time, where I still had enough time to spare to play on huge maps, but these are over. But I admit, thematical games are also fun, like "ancient" games with Rome, Greece, Egypt, Persia, Babylon, Zululand, India and China, or "modern games" with England, France, Germany, Russia, America, India, China and Africa (Zululand). Or the colonization of America, on a pangea with the Iroquois, Aztecs, English, French and Germans (representing the "other Europeans" like Dutch, Spaniards and Germans themselves. Where's PTW? And where are the Dutch in PTW? ).

[Robert Plomp]

I always play on a huge world with 16 civs.

[Adagio]

In all the games I play, I always choose random (for about everything: My own Civ, the world and the enemies)

I hope they (Read: Firaxis) one day makes it possible to choose random color, I'm tired the same Civs are always the same color...I love random, everything should be possible to make random...

[Falconius]

Lately I've been playing on Arne's Europe map, and using Gramphos' placement tool to put Civs in their proper locations. So I play against the European civs (England, France, Russia, Germany, Rome as Italy) along with someone in the MidEast (like the Persians or Egyptians).

[Switch]

Most of my games are Large Continental, 7 random civs, and I'm the Persians. Culturally linked starts ON. Unfortunately, that usually means I'm against the Zulu .

I also like to play as the Germans or Russians, and sometimes the Greeks too.

Too bad when the expansion comes out we won't be able to say "I like playing with American civs, with Aztecs, Americans, Iroquis, and Inca"

[ceroomaster]

I nearly always have Gahndi & Joan in. Hammy was in this category, but he irritates me now. Generally I set all the other Civs to random. But, sometimes I have Abe & Bissy in just to kick their butts.

I tend to go Egyptians now, adopted them as my 'home' Civ since they decided to remove Europe's oldest, & first great civilization- the Celts!